Kelpie

Put a set on my 'Rolla Sportivo late March and then did a tour of N.E Victoria, up and down the mountains etc. The tyres were magnificent. Quieter than the O.E Bridgestone's and handling on the tight and twisty mountain roads, in both wet and dry, was superb. So today I popped a set of 205x55/16's onto my daughters Suby Impressa. My 1st impressions of the fitting to the Suby, on the drive home only mind you,was that they will be as good on that car as I found them on the 'Rolla.

Not sure if you might not need an engineering certificate as well. If so, you may have to upgrade your brakes etc, as the 'tivo brakes are different from the other models. Authorities are getting tougher on that sort of thing these days. There are often lots of other little subtle differences between the models. Radiators , placement of under bonnet electrical devices etc. It can turn into a nightmare. As the others say- trade your current ride for a Sportivo. Much easier and probably cheaper in the long run. Plus you can drive it away and have fun instantly. Now if you were looking at dropping a 3S-GTE into a 6G Celica, in place of a stock 5S-FE-----!!

Thanks Guys, Always interested in other peoples experiences, they do help questioning initial thoughts. :) I have discounted the Continentals. Reports from other forums indicate that they grip like glue, but last as long as a Politicians promise. (Very soft compound it seems.) Toyo Teo Plus, The German Goodyears and the Savva's as recommended by Danthuyer are at the top of my list now, based on price and reviews I have gotten from the web. These 3 can be had for around or just under the $200 mark. The Bridgestone ER300's, being OME for so many manufacturers, are somewhat pricey and didn't score so well in Wheels Magazine Tyre testing. Will do some shopping around this morning before the GF starts. B)

Up to $280 a corner. Yeah, I'll take a look at the Michie. Thanx.

Yeah, you're right bonbon. I was thinking of the Cosworth BDA engine when I wrote that.

Its tyre replacement time for my 2003 Sportivo. As I am going to stick with the stock factory rims and tyre size, has anybody got any (helpful) hints as to what may be suitable to replace the OME Bridgestone ER30's that are on at present? Some choices are the Goodyear Excellence (German made);Continental Premium Contact 2; Toyo Teo Plus, plus the Bridgestone ER30 replacements, the ER300. I had Pirelli P6000's on my 6G Celica and was glad to see them go. They gripped o.k. but were soooo noisy towards the end of their life- I thought I had a crook wheel bearing, so I certainly won't be looking at them. I replaced them with Goodyear LS2000's and have found these to be excellent. But they only come with a load rating of 86 in the Sportivo size, so I cannot use them. The Sportivo is not used for any club competition work etc, just as the family "get around "road car, so I am not interested in anything with a directional tread pattern.

Nice. Love the 20 valve- a great engine with an interesting history. 2.0 litre or 1.6?

I spend most of my working day on the road behind the wheel and I can say from personal experience, that talking on a mobile is far more distracting than talking to a passenger in the car with you. While on the phone you tend to zone in on the person who is on the other end and zone out of what's going on in the vicinity of your ride. Not so when talking to a passenger in the car or listening to the car radio. Every week while driving, I inevitably end up in a situation where I have to take some sort of emergency action, to avoid a car driven by a "Richard Cranium" who while gas bagging away on their mobile, stuffs up through inattention to what's going on around them in the traffic. Hate to sound like a pontificating old fart, but having been through the coroners inquest process as a witness,(the aformentioned fatality) it is not something I wish to do again, or wish upon anyone else. It is not a pleasant experience and can be costly, both financially and also to ones whole future. And go ask any copper what its like helping to clean up the mess at the scene of a car accident. It's not nice, especially if any of the victims are kids. Just because a person has a police uniform on, doesn't make then immune to emotions. After a while they get sick of helping to clean up the carnage and they see a lot more of it than any of us. That's why they get grumpy people. Pull over and stop if you are going to use your mobile. It's safer and "Plod" will leave you alone. And no, I am not a cop, or an ambo or a firie.

The Toyota NASCAR engine is a 5.7 litre pushrod V8 , based on the best features of the old (and now discontinued) Ford 351 Cleveland, the Chevy 350 and current Toyota USA V8's. Their engines are US cast and built at TRD in California and were designed from the ground up by TRD USA as a pure racing engine. So don't go looking for one for your Landcruiser. Absolutely no Japanese input into them at all, apart from a few Yen here and there.

Although this is an older topic now-- may I clarify one thing. The police will book anyone using a mobile phone while driving, even if they are using a bluetooth earpiece or a bluetooth via a sat-nav link, irrespective of where the handset it in relation to you. If you are taking or making a call on a mobile while your car is in motion, even if it's via an ear piece or some other intermediatry device, then by their rules, you are using a mobile phone while driving. Same applies for a CB radio etc. And if you are eating or drinking anything while you are driving and you car is in motion, they can book you for that as well. Be careful at night if you are using a bluetooth ear piece. They flash a blue light when active-- a dead give away to any copper in your vicinity. I have a very good friend who lost his son when the boy was hit and killed by car being driven by a person, who was in the act of typing up an SMS on a mobile while driving. I have no sympathy for anyone caught and fined by the police for using a mobile phone when driving.

Interesting and informative. thanks silly-kar. What are your plans for the old AE-86?

Here are my "2 Blue" Toyota's. The 2003 Sportivo is our main car The 1999 6G Celica SX-R(manual trans) is the shopping cart-- the missus can load more in the back than she can in the Sportivo. Both are stock standard, except for an aftermarket Electronic Cruise Control fitted into the Sportivo. My days of modifying cars are long gone. I'm quite content to have them "ex factory" nowadays. The Sportivo has now done 65,000kms. Still has the original Bridgestone's fitted, but they are coming to the end of their life now. Not sure what I will fit as replacements. The 6G, with 124,000 kms on it, has just been fitted up with a new set of Japanese made Goodyear LS2000's, replacing the Pirelli P6000's that were on it when the pics was taken. I have not had any of the issues that others have had, with the Sportivo gearbox or shocks. Apart from the factory ECU recall, it's just been 'business as usual" with this car. Ditto with the Celica. Never had an issue with it.

ALL Motor Oils have mineral oil as their base, including the so called "Fully Synthetics." (That term is pure "Oilco" PR marketing spin. Sorry, but the old Mobil adds with Brocky in 'em, sprouting that nothing in the oil had come out of the ground and that it was fully man made, were full of bull) A Fully Synthetic oil has more chemicals and additives in it than the so named "Semi Synthetics." In fact more chemicals and additives than base oil! The "Semi Synthetics" have an equal proportion of base mineral oil and chemicals etc. A good quality synthetic oil is good for many thousands of km's, PROVIDED THE ENGINE IS FULLY WARMED UP ON EVERY RUN. The base (mineral) oils never break down, it's the chemicals and additives mixed in that have the limited lifespan. The more short journey's you do, the quicker the oil looses its protective abilities, regardless of whether it is a full, or semi synthetic. However a Full Synthetic will last longer than a semi synthetic. As Guzzla says, the common problem is distillation of the oil by unburnt petrol and condensation of water formed in the combustion process. These 2 are the quickest killers of engine oils (and consequently the engine.) Changing the oil every 5ks is highly recommended by all car manufacturers for obvious reasons, unless your cars engine is always warm, like a Taxi's. Cabs usually have their oil changed at around 10,000km intervals. Once upon a time, (in the days of pre CNC machining and ill fitting engine parts) car manufacturers used a very thin "initial fill" oil in new engines, which was good for around 1000 miles. (1,500 kms) You could not buy this oil commercially. This, combined with the instructions of operating the engine gently and not exceeding speeds of 80 km/h in the run in period, allowed all the internal parts and gears to literally grind themselves into place. Then what had become a sump full of watery and metal particle filled gunk, was changed at the 1st service (1,000 miles.) Manufacturers now no longer use this initial fill oil. Modern CNC machining and QC have made engine internal tolerances much finer and all a modern engine has to really do to in the "run in" process, is loosen up and the piston rings bed in. Nowdays manufacturers use the same normal Fully Synthetic oil that you can buy over the counter at any Auto Store or Garage. They use the top grades. If, as Guzzla experienced, the engine oil on a modern car is all black and watery after the initial 1500 kms of running, then certainly change it and the filter and then change it again at around 5000 kms. Better be safe than sorry and engine oil is a lot cheaper than an engine rebuild. And the fact that the oil was black indicates that it has been doing the job right. However Guzzla, your quote that "engine oil technology isn't keeping up" is far from correct. Go to any F1 race meeting and see what oil a team such as Ferrari use in their F1 engines.--In the case of Ferrari, the same Shell Helix Ultra (in the grey container) that you can get at any Shell garage. And that F1 engine is going to go through far more stress in a single race than the engine in any road car over 10,000 kms. Without the advances in oil technology that have occurred in years since the introduction of the 1st multigrade oils in the 1960s, modern engines wouldn't last 5 minutes. We would still be using the old "grunters" of the 1950's. The development of the modern engine has gone had in hand with the advances in oil technology. Oil company engineers and the engine designers of the car manufacturers, work hand in hand. Ferrari and Shell, Renault and Elf and BMW and Mobil, are all cases in point. When the 1st Synthetic Oil was introduced by Shell back in the early 1980's, all Shell Employees where give a 5 litre container of the stuff. Those who put the stuff into old Holden's etc, saw it come gushing out in torrents. It was if the engine had been attacked by white ants. In some cases the stuff was leaking out while the oil was still being poured into the engine. The new type oil was far too thin for the gaskets in those old pre CNC era engines.

Check out http://www.toyota.com.au/parts-and-service/maintenance Toyota state that all Corolla's built from July 1994 can use Petrol/10% Ethanol blend. I worked in a refinery belonging to a major oil company for many years and have seen what goes into the various octane petrol blends. The minimum octane petrol that I will use in any of my cars, is 95 octane!!! Nuff said!

Got an aftermarket put in mine when I bought it. Fully Electronic with Steering Wheel mounted controls. Would not be without it. My Sportivo has taken the wife and I right around Tassy and also all the way to Nth Qld and back. It makes long distance driving so much more pleasant and you do avoid speed creep as your accelerator pedal foot gets tired. Toyota should have put them in as standard.