New to Toyota - 2005 Corolla Sportivo!

[Squalled]

4 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Just remember this: Righty Tighty- Lefty Loosey and you'll never go wrong, until you get a reverse thread, then you'll be cursing 
Gas fittings tend to be these so you have nothing to worry about generally with cars.

Car looks amazing mate ! Good practice maintenance washing is the key to keeping it looking its best. Always top up your coatings and it will make it easy to keep clean, also resist environmentally contamination.

 

Well as it turns out, my oil filters thread is revered threaded and I had completely forgotten seeing as I hadn't done one for so long. Now I definitely know which was 🤣

Thanks a lot Tony! Also have some new product to test eventually which is another spray on sealant which should hopefully last a bit longer than the Happy Ending product I use currently.

[Tony Prodigy]

2 hours ago, Squalled said:

Well as it turns out, my oil filters thread is revered threaded

The Corolla has a reverse threaded oil filter ?? Really ?
i've never heard of this. My wife had a 96 Corolla, not sure how much difference there is between yours and hers, but I remember her's was standard thread.

[Squalled]

3 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

The Corolla has a reverse threaded oil filter ?? Really ?
i've never heard of this. My wife had a 96 Corolla, not sure how much difference there is between yours and hers, but I remember her's was standard thread.

I thought the same since I couldn't quite remember and it turned out to wrong. Luckily it only resulted in a destroyed used oil filter.

 

[Hiro]

First I've heard of a LH-threaded Toyota oil filter, are you using a relocation kit?

 

Or was it just cross-threaded to buggery?

[Squalled]

5 hours ago, Hiro said:

First I've heard of a LH-threaded Toyota oil filter, are you using a relocation kit?

 

Or was it just cross-threaded to buggery?

No oil filter relocation kit but, I'll note down next time I service which way I spin to remove it. I mean I feel like I did in the opposite from the norm but I'm not leaking any oil or anything either. I'm having 2nd thoughts whether I did it the way I previously posted 😬

[Hiro]

Not looking at it from the top by any chance?  Seems like the 2ZZ takes the same type of spin-on filter as most other Toyotas (and the 1ZZ takes the exact same filter as my 7AFE, which is definitely a RH/clockwise thread)

[Squalled]

14 hours ago, Hiro said:

Not looking at it from the top by any chance?  Seems like the 2ZZ takes the same type of spin-on filter as most other Toyotas (and the 1ZZ takes the exact same filter as my 7AFE, which is definitely a RH/clockwise thread)

Look at it from underneath but I think I've confused myself in terms of which way I was turning in all honesty. I think I'll leave it for now until I do my next change and see how I go.

[charlizetivo]

Car looks mint 😀 Diggin' the documentation bro, keep it up 👍 Keen for the next update

[Squalled]

Update time.

Not all too much new this time around. I'm quite happy with the Sportivo as is and just enjoying it for what it is now which I didn't think would be possible but after the last few changes, my car has finally turned out better than I ever thought back in 2015 when I bought it.

Since my last update I've had one minor change in the interior with a new gear knob and for once I've finally found one that has a great feel and looks the goods too after going through 2 or 3 in the past.

This is the RHI Design tear drop style gear knob. It's CNC billet aluminum and weighs roughly 130g, a bit less than the stock gearknob I've kept for the most part. Despite the difference in weight, it feels great in hand and still feels precise when changing gears. Only draw back I guess is the fact it is metal it does get quite cold/hot depending on the temperature so I'll have to cover it this summer. Very happy with the purchase otherwise.

Other than that, with the new lockdown restrictions coming in again over the weekend, I took some time when I was finally free to give the interior a quick clean since it was in dire need for a long time. Also gave the car another maintenance wash after some mixed weather over the last couple of weeks. Along with the wash I also applied the last of the Bowden's Happy Ending to finish the bottle. 

At the moment there's a few little things to do here and there. I'm still due to take the recaro's out and give them a nice steam clean and treatment so I may end up doing this once the warmer weather arrives again. I'm also looking into replacing a foglight as the passenger side one appears to have a leaky seal, if I end up sourcing the leak I may just seal it up my self but I'll have to see.

The indicator stalk likely needs replacing as when I indicate my high beams tend to come on at the same time too which gets quite annoying so that'll be on the cards soon. I need to eventually get a center interior brake light to make my new wing setup legal. I have yet to have trouble so far (TOUCH WOOD) but I really should get it done at some point once I find the right parts.

Stay tuned.

[Tony Prodigy]

Hey mate, she looks mighty fine and slick ! I'm not a big fan of carbon fibre look, but I must say it looks right at home in the Corolla. The shift knob looks ok too.

I am in deep admiration over the seats though. I must have missed that part somehow. They look awesome and I bet they are nice and comfy too as well as being able to hold you in your seat. The high bolsters remind me of my pair of original Scheel seats I still have. Those seats are extremely comfortable and keep you in your place too.

Well done man. Car is coming along great. Only a couple months to go before Spring time and look forward to the many more posts.

Cheers 

[Squalled]

16 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Hey mate, she looks mighty fine and slick ! I'm not a big fan of carbon fibre look, but I must say it looks right at home in the Corolla. The shift knob looks ok too.

I am in deep admiration over the seats though. I must have missed that part somehow. They look awesome and I bet they are nice and comfy too as well as being able to hold you in your seat. The high bolsters remind me of my pair of original Scheel seats I still have. Those seats are extremely comfortable and keep you in your place too.

Well done man. Car is coming along great. Only a couple months to go before Spring time and look forward to the many more posts.

Cheers 

Thanks Tony, I went for the look as my old Prelude had the same styling so I wanted to bring that across and I'm super happy with how it turned out.

I've had them for sometime now actually, I think around late September 2017 I had them installed. Definitely one of the best interior mods for a sportivo in my opinion. I was really over the lack of comfort and support from the stock seats and went for Evo Recaro's as they're a tad bit wider compared to say and SR3/4 from the Integra Type R's but still just as supportive and comfortable. 

[ZZT86]

I'm loving them seats 😍

[Squalled]

17 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

I'm loving them seats 😍

Cheers mate!

[Squalled]

Spent last weekend doing some fixes. Earlier last week, I noticed that my drivers side headlight began showing moisture inside after over 3 months of the light being on the car. Thankfully the weekends weather was perfect and I was able to pull the headlight out and find some sections to add more sealant too which had seemingly changed since I originally did them.

Let it set on the car and after some very cold mornings this week, some below 0 even the headlight has shown no signs of moisture again! Some rain has rolled through today so we'll see how it all pans out later today if it continues. Since resealing my passenger side headlight, I've had no issues with it either.

Have finally got to use Bowden's Melt Down a fair bit recently. As the name suggests, it's a spray used to defrost parts of your car and it's safe on basically all materials. I've mostly just used it on my windows and side mirrors so far but it honestly works a treat!

Some shots of -1 morning start earlier this week.

[charlizetivo]

She's a beauty 😍 i've honestly got to try some of that Bowden's Melt Down stuff, that sounds pretty useful

[Squalled]

On 7/9/2021 at 7:17 PM, charlizetivo said:

She's a beauty 😍 i've honestly got to try some of that Bowden's Melt Down stuff, that sounds pretty useful

Thanks mate! Yeah if your based in cooler areas of NSW, it comes in handy in winter. First time I've used it since last year wasn't cold enough.

[Squalled]

Nothing really exciting. With lockdown going on at the moment, I decided to get on top of some minor things that have been happening for a while. I ordered a new OEM style replacement indicator stalk as my original began having problems some time ago now where especially at night my high beams would turn on when I indicate.

After searching online comparing I found a cheap enough replacement that appeared to have no bad reviews at all.

Today I finally got around to replacing it.

Out with the old and in with the new. After a lot of fiddling around with the trim I was able to remove the old one and replace it with the new one. Before putting it all back together I confirmed that all lights and switches are functional and found I have a dead parker I need to replace so I may end up replacing both with some LEDs now. The trim was put back on and another minor item ticked off the list.

I have found some sites to get brand new guard liners from so I may end up ordering a new drivers side liner since I've not had one there for most of my ownership but I'll look into each site further to try get the right one the first time.

Stay tuned.

[Squalled]

Finally got around to giving the car a much needed wash. It's been a little neglected these days with everything happening in lockdown and just running out of time on weekends because I somehow manage to find other things that need to be done.

After a snow foam and 2 bucket wash, I finally got to use one of the new products in my detailing ****nal. 

After running out of Bowden's Happy Ending, I decided to give CarPro's HydrO2 Foam a go. So far I'm fairly impressed with it! The liquid doesn't have any nice scents or anything but it leaves the paint looking absolutely stunning with a nice glossy finish and the panels still feel as sleek as ever after a finishing foam. For the price, it's much cheaper than the Bowden's finishing foam and is also noted to last anywhere from 4-6 months on cars outside compared to Bowden's 2 months or so, which I'll hopefully see if this claim is true. The user experience is simple and straight forward, exactly like using any finishing foam in a foam lance and rinsing off once the panels are coated.

Currently I can visit my partner during the lockdown, which is the only thing keeping me sane! I noticed some time ago there's a usually empty side street around and I thought I'd get some photo's when my car is clean. I tried to go one night but found the lighting to be pretty poor so with a beautiful day like today, I got some shots before heading over.

As usual it rained ever so lightly this evening and looks to rain tomorrow as well so I'll get to see how well the coating handles the rain and get see some hopefully awesome beading.

That's it for now, stay safe and stay tuned.

[Tony Prodigy]

7 hours ago, Squalled said:

After running out of Bowden's Happy Ending, I decided to give CarPro's HydrO2 Foam a go. So far I'm fairly impressed with it!

As always, a stunning result. CarPro never disappoint with their product development and the Hydr02 foam is a very clever product. It is designed to be used as a wash and coating system in one.

For a more heavily soiled surface, I'd pre soak it first and pressure wash to remove as much grime as possible, then apply a second round of Hydr02 foam for the hand wash. The fluoropolymers do what ONR does and act to encapsulate the dirt particles, provide the lubrication needed to reduce the possiblity of washing induced marring and add sealant. It makes for a great maintenance wash product as it continues to lay down sealant and prevent potential scratching during each wash.

I haven't used this product as such, but have heard excellent reviews and this is just another positive example. Thanks for sharing mate 

 

[Squalled]

3 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

As always, a stunning result. CarPro never disappoint with their product development and the Hydr02 foam is a very clever product. It is designed to be used as a wash and coating system in one.

For a more heavily soiled surface, I'd pre soak it first and pressure wash to remove as much grime as possible, then apply a second round of Hydr02 foam for the hand wash. The fluoropolymers do what ONR does and act to encapsulate the dirt particles, provide the lubrication needed to reduce the possiblity of washing induced marring and add sealant. It makes for a great maintenance wash product as it continues to lay down sealant and prevent potential scratching during each wash.

I haven't used this product as such, but have heard excellent reviews and this is just another positive example. Thanks for sharing mate 

 

Didn't know this actually! How interesting, Would make washing a whole lot easier. Hopefully if it have the chance in the future when it's not too dirty. I did some videos of the usage and I just assumed that you could use it that way only if you weren't using a foam lance.

I mean for my first experience using CarPro products myself, I can definitely say I'll be looking into a few more of their products in the future.

[ZZT86]

Supa clean ZZSportivo - nice.

Damn, I keep forgetting about ONR & new tech  . . . . now HydrO2. At least the HydrO2 would be compatible with CQuartz & ReLoad.

[Squalled]

12 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

Supa clean ZZSportivo - nice.

Damn, I keep forgetting about ONR & new tech  . . . . now HydrO2. At least the HydrO2 would be compatible with CQuartz & ReLoad.

Thanks mate!

As far as I know, it seems most CarPro products work well with their ceramic coatings so at least it doesn't render a lot of them useless once you ceramic coat your car.

[Squalled]

Realised the other day that I don't think I've uploaded an updated picture of my dash setup.

With the Adaptronic ECU, it required a new lambda sensor along with an AFR gauge. So the Lufi gauge was removed and I don't really have any good places to put it so I will probably not use it again, maybe I might put it in my partners car but who knows.

In regards to my cluster, the CEL is only there because of the ECU and once lockdown is over I'll hopefully be able to organise some time with Adam to get that issue resolved as there is a way to stop it from staying on. The temperature gauge is also off and reads quite low as you can see which is another minor fix by changing some settings via a laptop connected to the ECU. I haven't got the firmware just yet so I won't be able to correct that just yet.

I also recently found my drivers side parker bulb had blown after having it for a number of years so I decided to bite the bullet and go for some LED parkers. I've still kept the standard halogen headlights and high beams as from previous experience, I don't like running LEDs other than as the parkers.

They're nothing special, just some cheap eBay specials, not that the expensive ones do anything different. Waited until the evening so I could get a better idea of how bright they are.

The pictures make it seem quite bright, I presume it's the angle I took them at because they were barely lighting up my garage door. So overall I'm pretty happy with this small touch, will see how they go and if I think they're a bit too intrusive to other drivers I'll get some new halogen globes again. Looking forward to when I eventually get some nice night shots after lockdown or if I ever get some actual camera shots. 

Stay tuned.

[Tony Prodigy]

Cluster lighting is really nice but a bit bright you think ? Does it distract you much ?

I'm not a fan of the LED lighting, even though they may work better than the stock halogens. I find them very annoying when faced with oncoming vehicles using these super bright LEDs. They are very intrusive in my opinion. My Aurion has the stock halogen globes and I find them to be more than adequate for night time driving. Sure LEDs will be brighter, but do you really need it to be ? You'll only ***** other people off.

[Squalled]

5 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Cluster lighting is really nice but a bit bright you think ? Does it distract you much ?

I'm not a fan of the LED lighting, even though they may work better than the stock halogens. I find them very annoying when faced with oncoming vehicles using these super bright LEDs. They are very intrusive in my opinion. My Aurion has the stock halogen globes and I find them to be more than adequate for night time driving. Sure LEDs will be brighter, but do you really need it to be ? You'll only ***** other people off.

It actually can be dimmed when the lights are on so it's not too bad, I took the photo with my lights off so it is pretty bright.

I'm the same to be honest Tony, they were only some cheap ones so I'll see how they are but I generally just my headlights everywhere these days which are still halogen. I'm completely again using HIDs or LEDs are headlights especially in headlights with halogen housings. They're just useless and blind everyone.