ZEEROLLA

That's turbocharged AWD isn't it? I saw one at the Motor show and yes its UGLY! But it has a big front mount intercooler stock. Hit it with bolt ons and it should be a real contender for the Evos and STIs.

The Vic guys will find out won't they :P But the Accord Euros are quick no doubt especially the 6 speed manual, mid-high 7s 0-100 sprint. It revs pretty hard too and the mid range torque around 4000rpm is fantastic. Should be a good match with the Stivo.

How did the drags go? I have seen EK Civic VtiRs running low 14s 1/4mile passes. They were heavily modded though with Mugen, Spoon parts. Any Stivos in the 14sec range yet with bolt-on mods?

Also with bigger rims as tyre profiles shrink if you run over a big enough pot hole the wheels can bend. I had that happen with some 17inch Chromies with 215/45 tyres and they cost heaps to fix. Not worth it unless you have smoooooth roads in WA.

Does it crank up and make strange noises? Maybe its the fuel system (pump?) or spark plugs? Otherwise it could be what you said before something elelctrical like the ECU or immobiliser cutting in/out.

Welcome to the forum mate. The problem also effects Celicas and people have replaced their clutch to rectify the gearbox issue. Toyota till this day still refuses to come to the party regarding this problem, but its good to hear what the mechanic said to you. Cheers, Zee

You can hardly go wrong with Honda, sorry to mention this on a Toyota forum guys but my family has a 03' Jazz and a 03' Accord Euro luxury and it has been more than a year for both cars and they have absolutely no issues. I am still keeping my Stivo though and has promised myself to keep her till i can afford another Honda. Really tempted with the TypeS or a 2nd hand S2000 but i will have to sell more than my bum to pay it off :P

Oh yeah, that car is beautiful! :D Looks better than the Elise too imo and the interior is way better equipped than the bone bare Elise!

I remember the silicon hoses i've seen and used for intercooler piping are really tough and thick so it shouldn't tear easy. Not sure if the TRD CAI uses something similar.

:( I was watching the latest Best Motoring International DVD which had the Lotus Elise 111R and was a little disappointed with its performance. It took on cars like the Nismo 350Z S-Tune GT (300bhp), Mazdaspeed RX8 (Non-turbo, 250bhp), Lancer Evo 8 MR GSR, Renault Clio V6 RS, DC5 Integra Type-R, and the BMW M3 CSL SMG. The Elise weighing 800kg with the 2ZZ-GE's 141kw was quick in the corners and late braking but the straight line speed and gearbox is a disappointment. The gearbox seemed very notchy and the shifter was slow. The driver commented the engine felt great over 7000rpm but it was slightly slower than the 300bhp 350Z S-Tune, while the Evo 8 MR and the BMW M3 CSL SMG gave it a whopping down the straight. At the start, the Elise spun the wheels so much in 2nd gear i instantly felt that the car is not worth $100grand. Maybe just needed fatter rear tyres. The corner speed was fast but weighing 800kg it should anyway. Needless to say, the BMW M3 CSL SMG came tops performance wise with a $200K price tag its supercar territory. The car seemed so easy and smooth to control with the SMG transmission and superb traction in all 4 wheels. This car would be so comfortable to drive leisurely and so wild on the track. Amazingly, the carbon fiber roof, door trims and other interior modifications over the normal M3 were superbly crafted and looked marvelous. Not rice at all, looked very high quality. The intake box is also carbon fiber and the roar at full throttle is simply seductive! The Renault Clio V6 is quick but not that quick, and i never liked the car in the first place so i am biased. The engine is actually midmounted and situated in the cabin!! The rear seats have given way for the big V6, now that's something different ;) Probably no need for heater during winter.. But the RX8 and TypeR came very close to catching the Clio, maybe because this track is Tsukuba which is a low speed track. But the Clio has grunt out of corners but taking the corners itself wasn't impressive. The TypeR being the cheapest car is amazingly competitive and lapped around the same lap times as the RX8 and Clio V6. ALthough it came last it showed that a FWD car can also be a quick track car. But again the TypeR was built for this tight circuits so everything matched that particular track from gear ratios to suspension. The 350Z's performance was expected to be good with 3.5 liter V6 280bhp stock, this S-Tune is heavily modified by Nismo and makes 300bhp with much better looks and handling. It came 2nd in the race. The EVO 8 MR came 3rd and is a 10 kgs lighter than standard Evo8 with aluminium roof and some extra aero parts. It also has shorter gear ratios and lighter alloys. It was quick as usual with AWD blasting out of corners having gas paddle to the floor most of the time. The Mazda Speed RX8 looked really nice with bodykit and new mags but basically unchanged performance from stock. Cornering was slightly improved with less understeer. So the Lotus, Yamaha, Toyota, Beams etc. tuned Elise 111R imo is not great value at slightly over $100,000 as there are cars like the 350Z, RX8 and AWD turbo cars with as much straight line poke and much more refinement. The Elise 111R looked really fun and challenging to drive but as a whole the car didn't impress me much. Zee

Is the elbow's material rubber or silicon? Silicon shouldn't be that easy to tear.

Any idea on pricing?

Can we purchase some silicone hose ourselves and use that instead of the CAI rubber hose?

What has it got under the hood? A 2ZZ-GE or a TOM's turbo kit? That car can certainly use more power, a 1ZZ-FE is just too bland for the MR-S

:o I am getting my CAI soon, please don't scare me guys!

I guess i am staying home to watch the V8s :o Hey Dave, want to go to Eatern Creek? :P

Exact same height, just that we get a body kit which makes the car look lower.

Damn, i better get my car dynoed soon to make sure i am not down on any horses :o But i have baselined with other cars and feel quite good about the car, just the stupid clutch.

Damn, i better get my car dynoed soon to make sure i am not down on any horses :o

Come on guys, if there is not a big turnout i will forget it.

Yeh, business sucks and not earning enough to support the Stivo :P Hey Craig, maybe we can work together and businees might improve :P

Well, i think there is only one alternative left for me and that is to get the clutch and flywheel installed by the same Toyota dealership. They said they will charge $480 for labour and will not void warranty if it was installed by them. This way i can only hope to maintain a good relationship with them and pray that if my gearbox does break during the warranty period, they will not double guess my driving and blame me for it. My car will be traded in for something else as soon as the warranty expires. I still have 2 years and 2 months remaining so might as well enjoy I am also thinking of getting Toyota to install the TRD CAI so that they know more about the mod, and that it is not something that will blow my engine up! Just a question out of curiosity, arn't all the gearboxes made in Japan? The cars are probably assembled in SA but the mechanical parts will have to be engineered and made in Japan? Zee

You can hear the sound of the hi-cam kick in especially VTEC cars like the S2000, my favourite :D . The Celica's 2ZZ-GE does seem a little dull when revved past 6000rpm, it seems to only really pick up speed when you rev past 7000rpm but the rev limiter cuts too early at 8000rpm. 1-2 gear shifting will land the Celica at 5000rpm, maybe it is suffering from gear shifting issues too :P .

Haha, i am changing career after less than a year in my current one. I thought if i wanted to change might as well do it early :P

Bad news, the clutch pedal adjustment didn't work for me. They rang Shane at Nunawading Toyota and adjusted the pedal as advised. Shane did say he cannot guarantee it would work. The service advisor told me once more that Toyota knows about the problem and it is clutch related. He even said Toyota knows people who can come up with a Clutch Kit but will cost close to $4000!! He also told me there is no way they will cover the cost if i decide to buy an aftermarket clutch kit and have it installed. They wanted me to give them feedback after i drive the car to see if it resolved the issue. I will ring them again tomoroow to see what they say.