Engine revs slow to drop down between gear changes

[EvenAce]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum (just signed up today!) and I just got my new 2012 Corolla ZRE152 Ascent Sport manual. Though I must confess, it belongs to me and the missus!

Overall we are really happy with the car, however there is one characteristic of the car that is a bit strange.

I notice that when changing gears, the engine revs take a little while to drop down. (they don't hang, just seem to take longer to come down then any other cars I've owned almost as if engine has a heavy flywheel) Even when you step off the throttle and push the clutch in to select the next gear they still seem to take a while to drop. I went back to the dealer this weekend, and they let me drive another brand new car they had and it exhibited the same symptoms so I figure it must be a part of the engine program to improve emissions or something. Funnily enough we are both starting to get used to driving it, and it's not as noticeable as when we first picked it up but I just wanted to see if anyone else has noticed this? It does make it really easy to rev match downshifts though. (heel and toe) :-)

Also, when the dealer did the window tinting, there was a mishap and the right rear door glass had to be replaced. I think the glass was scratched quite badly on the outside. This all happened before we picked up the car. I looked over it and everything seemed fine when we took delivery of the car, however for the first week we didn't wind down the windows as they said not to use them for a week. Last night I took my mates home and we had the rear windows down and on the way back I noticed a rattle coming from behind the door trim. It's not really loud but I HATE rattles, especially in a brand new car!

The car has to go for it's 1000k first service in a few weeks, so I think I am well within my rights to get them to fix the rattle under warranty yeah?

Apart from that, I love the car. I'd love to lower it a bit and put some bigger rims on. But I spent my 20s doing all that (and getting hassled by the cops for it too...) and now I'm trying not to go down that road again.. :P

I was reading through the FAQ page and someone has fitted Kings Springs to their silver Corolla. It looks really good! I had Kings on my Integra years ago and got them compressed where they heated up the springs and made them sit lower. Is that what you guys are talking about with 're-setting' them?

Just thought I'd say it's a great site by the way!

Mark

[dutchie101]

Welcome Mark!

Re rattle, def get that fixed asap, especially as they worked on the car before you took ownership.

Re throttle hang, its across the ZRE range, almost all years experience it. Most of us that have modded our ZRE's have found that with the intake changed (to SRI or CAI) the hang is reduced, and even further still with headers or full cat back system swaps. I know its a bit of work, but it annoyed the hell out of me too, and many others.

Re springs, I was more than impressed with the Eibach springs i purchased, very high quality for the price, ride was terrific.... Im not a fan of Kings, but others have had success, most have swapped them out for other brands. Lovell also do a nice set, and with the most drop for off the shelf springs. Depends how low you wanna go :)

Hope that helps

[ben yip]

I notice that when changing gears, the engine revs take a little while to drop down.

I guess because they do this to make the car less jerky when upshifting.. They try to make the rev match during upshift... How do I know? because I sometimes change gear very slowly and notice the car jerking when the rev drops too fast..

I am having fun with heel and toe recently, so I find out how this rev match business work...hehe

Edited February 5, 2012 by ben yip