Steven

it appears then that both the Sway Bay and front Strut Bar have had their design altered slightly from previous versions. Glad you got a quality product

Changed the spark plugs over today. Biggest PITA of a job I've done on the Aurion ever. Whoever designed this method for changing plugs should be taken out and beaten by those who are faced with this task. Finally got them in though with little more than a broken intake manifold stud, however due to some cleverness on my behalf it wasn't an issue. Also got 6L of Castrol Edge Sport 5W-30 to do an oil change, however looking at the color of the oil on the dipstick I think I'll leave it for a week or 2. At least until my nerves return to normal again.

DJKOR is spot on in this matter. I have considered using a simple timing circuit in conjunction with a relay so that the headlight power is delayed by about 2 seconds before power is applied, giving the engine time to start before power is supplied to the headlights. The only issue I found with this is that those short bursts (say driving under a bridge) would trigger the headlights on and off, however as the engine is already running this wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as having them try to activate with the engine turning over. I see this as the best way to have HIDs and keep the Auto function. I've just been too slack to get around to it

My only theory is that my frequent trips are only about 5 to 10 minutes long, after the car has sat for awhile, so it isn't getting a chance to get to operating temp very quickly and as such is spending most of it's time running rich.

Can you give another profile shot of the mounting holes for the RSB?

I get between 13-14L around town on BP ultimate with NO traffic just suburban driving, and up to 14.5L on regular. I don't boot it everywhere either, actually I'm very sedate. Those are the figures from the trip computer though if that has any effect? Changing spark plugs and oil fairly soonish once they arrive and I get some free time, hoping that helps things. I run around 36PSI in the tyres. Only thing I can assume for my "economy" is larger I'm a heavy ****d lad (125kg), with a few stereo amplifiers in the boot. Looking at other people's figures here I would still have assumed I'd get at least 12L per 100km. ***** sucks, all my cars end up chewing more fuel than they should. I bet if I bought a Nissan Leaf I'd still chew petrol <_<

Sounds like a lot of expense for TRD brakes, especially since the rotors aren't that much larger than what you currently have (and all the expense involved should maintenance or replacement parts ever be an issue).

I'll be there

Is that a DOT 5 brake fluid? I'm not sure whether or not TRDs come out from the factory with a DOT 5 fluid, but it's not recommended to change to DOT 5 if you've previously had a DOT 3,4 or 5.1 in there. I'd recommend a decent quality DOT 5.1 oil, however if that's what you got then please ignore

well *****. Got the curve for the lower bumper incorrect, and when rending the MDF further to the correct amount it snapped Have to start over, this time using 12mm or even 10mm MDF once bunnings is open again.

this is actually for the bottom of the bumper. If it turns out well then I'll be redoing the top half sections as well.

Another little project underway

yes I was referring to welding cast - The VT calipers actually look like they might weld okay, but it's not something I'd be willing to stake my life (and possibly somebody else) on On my next few days off I'll be making a replica front rotor/hub out of MDF including the caliper mounts so I can go around to various wrecking yards and test different types of calipers. 2 I'm very interested in so far are the R33 skyline, Hilux and landcruiser calipers.

That explains a fair bit. I would really like to get a wheel of a TRD and take some more precise measurements to compare the 2 different braking systems sometime. It be interesting to see just how different they are. I've since found the VT caliper is one of the only ones out there that has any hope of fitting due to the mounting bolts offset from the center of where the pads pressure is applied. Basically a flat adaptor plate would work here as the bolt face of the caliper sits at the exact same offset as the strut mounts, if that makes any sense. All other calipers I've seen sit forward of these mounts akin to how the factory caliper does, which means any adaptor would have to be offset as well which would make it far more complex, or at least relying on welded bits. I'm not keen on doing any welding at this creates a weakness in my opinion. So with no choice left but to consider ways to make the VT caliper fit, I'm reconsidering grinding them down. I think if I grind down a portion so they fit, but at the same time bolt AND weld my adaptor plates to them allowing some overlap, even though it's welded the overall result should be just as strong if not stronger. Apologies if none of this makes sense

Ive looked for different rotor designs however the only direct bolt on one is the one already mentioned. Djkor mentioned that a 320mm rotor was larger than the trd? How big are they exactly?

The larger rotors are only an extra 12mm bigger on the radius, i did a mockup out of wood and tge difference isbarely there. I have considered the hilux brakes, but theyre just as rare as the r33 type, but are found in much worse condition but asking nearly the same money

As I'm terrible with keeping secrets and I could use some help from the community, I've decided to let the cat out of the bag. The plan was to upgrade the standard rotors to some 320mm suckers, and change the calipers to the twin-piston VT/VX commodore type. I found the Lexus RX330/350 rotors are an exact fit for ours just that little bit bigger. Further I purchased a twin-piston caliper for fitment trials and was able to draw up a bracket in a CAD program to be cut from 12mm 350 grade steel. Everything was working fine except I confused radius and diameter with the rotor in a moment of blah, and I've now discovered this caliper cannot be used without cutting away some of the caliper itself which I won't do as it will weaken things substantially. So my plan now it to keep the 296mm factory rotors, and seek alternative caliper designs to fit. I have considered the AU falcon calipers but I believe they might have the same design flaw which I'll post in glorious paint format tomorrow. I have considered R33 4-pots which could fit based on some measurements Ive obtained, but these go for a premium second hand, are rarer, and I need one for measurement/fitment purposes first (that's a lot of investment if they don't fit, as they're around $300 a pair where as the commodore ones are around $40 each). Anyone else aware of any other types of readily available twin-piston or better calipers around that aren't worth a small fortune?

I'll be along, although in all likely hood I will be extremely tired so any assistance to prevent me falling asleep in my chair would be appreciate. Except from Mick and his shenanigans <_<

I'm putting together a little something special, but due to the cost and planning involved it may take a week or 2 to get it together however I'm hoping to get something up by this weekend as long as work doesn't interfere too much

back on the road and loving every minute of it. Haven't been able to figure out the varex yet, the exhaust system isn't loud enough in its "open" state that I've been able to tell the difference from inside the car revving the engine. I have considered unbolting the varex so I can actually see what state its in unless I'm able to figure it out with DJKOR's help at this weeks meet. Google doesn't help either as apparently there are a few different remotes being used by Varex.

cheers. As I haven't changed their effectiveness at all (left the reflectors etc untouched) then I believe it's perfectly legal.

I wouldn't bother with a sunroof. I have one from the factory and I virtually never use it, and it lowers your interior roof lining a fair bit. Money better spent elsewhere

Front page uploaded with today's quick photo shoot. First lot of pics since the car has been back on the road.

Those pads appear on the RDA website as one of their products, and the more I look into it I'd say that buy it now price is around $60 cheaper than what you'd normally expect to pay. Cheap yes, completely out of the question (knowing ebay) then no. I always hear conflicting stories about the quality of RDA rotors, but the general consensus is that the are perfectly fine for street use. I reckon I have a month left in my current set up before I need to make this decision. Further as I could only find a thread regarding brake options for the TRD I think this thread would be optimal to post other people's ideas and knowledge regarding the standard Aurion setup.