ZEEROLLA

This car has the trd clutch and TOM's fly (if it is the car we think it is) so shifting should be smoother, at pace, but will take a bit to get used to (i've heard) But I agree with Zee take it for another spin and make sure it is warm before you try and hit lift (it is well worth it) if the dealer won't let you take it for a long drive just ask him if he is serious about selling it or not, you need to see this car in full flight to really appreciate it, get it on a highway or freeway and let it fly off the entry ramp in 2nd or 3rd (depending on the speed you corner at) and let your nose guide you from there.... This is all news to me, the SP23 is 2.3L hence the 23 in the name, it is a detuned version of the Mazda6 engine, and the RS Impresa is a 2.5L where as the WRX in a 2.0T, but turbo the RS and you have an absolute killer machine, the Forester GT runs this set-up and has as much to play with as the standard WRX (not STi) with a significant detuneing, in the UK they have an STi Type 25 (SPEED 014, Aug 2004) which has a turbo version of the RS and it is one of the most powerful things you can buy off the shelf with full warranty, be it from a tuning house, but still..... :D In Aus we are VERY lucky to get both the WRX and the RS as very few markets supply both at the tuning levels we have. In the US the WRX equivalent for many years was what we get as our RS, poor bastards were wondering what all the fuss was about!!!!!! Aus is suprising one of the larger markets for SUBARU so they take us seriously, unlike many other makes who couldn't give a s**t!!! ← Spot on with the specs Dylan, and youre right with Subaru having a huge market here. At the Sydney motor show the Subaru section had more people than Ferrari and Porshce combined They had to lock the door of the Sti after a while.. So whats going on Joey? Hows the car?

March! Is it actually gong to take that long Dylan:o I would go crazy if i were you! And i am just using Dave's Stivo as a lab rat for the flywheel :P Can't wait can't wait!

Zee, yes the necking down in diameter will certainly speed the air up but at the expense of a reduction in the mass of air entering the engine. The mass of air makes power (along with the appropriate mass of fuel...). I have no doubt that the restriction is to limit external driveby noise - and due to the high rev limit of the Sportivo engine, the driveby test is conducted at an abnormally high engine RPM point. The several small holes drilled into the standard air duct (you can see them in the 2nd picture) are a hint that the intake diameter was reduced significantly and another source of air entry down stream from the reduction in diameter was required to up the mass flow rate of air. Can anyone tell me if this air entry duct was the same in the earlier model (changed on the recall)? Cheers gc ← GC, nope the air duct remains the same only the "air cap" was modified to replace a piece of plastic that was restricting air flow. If you look into your airbox, you can see a white piece of plastic attached to the induction pipe, that was what they changed apparently. Don't know why they left the stock ducting though which i thought would have made more sense if they replaced it. Zee

The only concern for me is going up steep hills. I was told cars with narrow torque bands lose speed easily with too light a flywheel when driving up hills? ← mate, like me and the others who have done it, have said before. it has HELPED in climbing up hills. may not apply to other make of cars but on ours this is what happens. ← Well i guess i have to listen to you guys if i am going to get myself a lightweight flywheel. I will wait for Dave to have his fitted and have a ride to get a feel of it. Can't wait :P

I just cut off the hard plastic end bit and stuffed the rest of the flexible intake duct down into the area above the foggy. I think the narrowing of pipe serves a purpose such as increasing velocity of air as well as sound deadening? Welcome to the forum! Zee

Wow, never knew there were that many Stivos in Wollongong, we could all organise a Wollongong meet one day. What happened to Nikich btw? The car is great, imo looks much better lowred, looks mean and getting a lot more stares on the streets. I was surprised it isn't scraping my deep driveway or anything yet. It lowred the front 30mm and the rear 35mm from what i measured. Handling has definitely improved (but was expecting more reduction in bodyroll :P ) and the rear swaybar was put in at the same time with the camber kit. The front wheels have been dialled with -1degree camber. The ride quality is acceptable but you would expect a lowered ride to be firmer and slightly bumpier. Suspension should stay like this for me for a whileuntil i have enough money to spend on new shocks and front swaybar and bushes. Zee

Hi guys! Thanks for all the quick replies, I took it for a drive, and wasn't very impressed, the sales person was encouraging me to give it a bit of a thrashing, so I tried. Changing gears was quite difficult, it didn't rev up to 8000rpm, it kept cutting out before that. It didn't hold traction very well ether. The handling was ok, quite a bit understeer, I guess it could be because I am not familiar with the clutch and gearbox. In the end they were asking 27k for it, do you think thats a good price, even with the rims and suspension? I had a look inside, and in the engine bay, didn't seem like it had been in any accidents, is there anything I should be on the look out for? The drivers seat i noticed was well worn, I'm assuming the previous driver was a big fellow. If i do get it, will be looking to replace it, is it easy to get aftermarket seats put in the car? I am thinking recaro's. Thanks in advanced for the advice, I am quite keen, but I need some more information. Joey ← Hey Joey, test drive the car again and make sure its fully warmed up. If it is the Stivo we all think belonged to, it should be a pretty quick car. Not sure why he sold it. The Stivo revs to 8200rpm normally and shifting should be okay in that Stivo, unless it has a TRD quickshifter which will give a tighter shift feel. Search the forum for topics on gearbox/shifting and you will see that a majority of stock Stivos do have some gear shifting issues that could be related to the clutch/flywheel assembly. The TRD clutch would have improved solved the problem and improved the shifing/driving feel. If it is still cutting revs prematurely before 8000rpm, ask the dealer why and sort the issue out if not i will seriously encourage you to buy an unmodified Stivo or demo. Understeer is normal for the ZZE122/123 chassis Corollas but the Bates setup (Koni shocks and King springs) should have improved the handling substantially. You can add a bigger rear swaybar and some strut braces to stiffen the chassis. Could also be the tyres, and the cheapest way to reduce understeer is a camber kit. Use it to adjust your front wheels to neg 1 degree camber for greater tyre grip during cornering. You can hunt around for Recaros or seats from wreckers. There are TRD racing seats too if you have the cash. The standard seats are the most unsupportive seats for enthusiaistic driving but are soft and comfy for long journeys. You might also need custom brackets made up for certain setas. Hope to see another Stivo owner join the forum and BLACK is the better colour :P Cheers, Zee

The only concern for me is going up steep hills. I was told cars with narrow torque bands lose speed easily with too light a flywheel when driving up hills?

Cheers Zee for that info, I'll keep a look out!!!! :D :D :D :D But it's exams at the mo' so don't like my chances of running into her, any idea what she is studying, would help to find the best car park to browse..... I'll keep the notepad handy, I should also start putting fliers on other Stivos, I know of at least 3 others at Uni.... ;) ;) B) B) XOOM: that avatar cracks me up, was going to post first of all, 'how did you get the camera into my room????' but then watched, and watched, and watched, and cracked up when I saw the horse!!!!!!! GOLD!!!! ← Yeh i have seen 2 Black Stivos and a Silver in Shellharbour. I should leave some notes too and get them on the forum. A black stivo i saw has a cannon rear pipe and the rest are stock. btw my stivo is now lowered with black plates so don't confuse me for someone else on the streets:P And sorry Dylan not really sure what the girl does, haven't even met her before but i know the TypeR is in Wollongong for sure and she studies at Wollongong Uni. I have seen the car at the carpark. My mate sold the car after 10,000kms, he got it custom turboed with Garret T25 and spent around $10grand total but sold the car for $35,000. The TypeR only runs 4-6psi boost and is pretty reliable with a nice setup, especially the custom airbox. Go to www.screaminperformance.com and you should be able to see the red TypeR (1 pic only).

I haven't really seen her in person but i know my mate sold it to a girl so we can only hope she looks like the chik in your avatar :D

That's right go get a Skyline , WRX, Evo or Silvia if you are into turbos.. The satisfaction of N/A whipping turbo cars' esses at mountain passes would feel 10 times as good :D Also try throwing that Matrix on the track, it won't last 3 laps without overheating. Hey guys in the Illawarra, keep a lookout for a red DC2 Integra TypeR at Wollongong Uni. Its turboed with black intercooler and it used to be my mates car. Its now owned by a girl, she might be keen to get along:D

The labour costs is around +-$500. So do it at the same time. IMO, the lightened flywheel will give the best straight line acceleration improvement than any other mods. Honda claims the 2004 Civic TypeR is 0.3 sec quicker to 100km/h than the 2003 Civic TypeR because of a lighter flywheel. Imagine how much time we can cut by getting a eg. 3.8kg TOMs flywheel compared to stock 7.5kg. The heavier duty clutch will also improve the gear shifting feel and i truly believe gear shifting problems. WHY? Because i had a MY97 WRX before and my brother in law was driving in it one day and he all of a sudden pulled over. The gears JAMMED! Sounds familiar hey? I got in the car and the clutch was stuck to the floor. I pumped it many times and played with the shifter and luckily it loosened up and i was able to drive home. I got a brass- button clutch a couple of weeks later and everything was sweet, no sticking or jamming and my brother in law got to drive it again. But the weak gearbox only lasted about a year against the brass button clutch before i broke 2nd gear :( My Stivo has 13,000kms and the clutch feels stuffed already not to mention the annoying and troubling gearbox issue. For Stivo owners i will be inclined to mod the clutch and flywheel as soon as possible to prevent further damage to the gearbox. But Toyota should be the one taking full responsibility not us. I for one won't be backing down if i end up with serious gearbox issues Zee

10 and counting

I guess there were a few bad eggs. ← From the latest poll it looks like there are more than a few of us here with gearbox issues. What issues though? The poll is too general. Some of us have gear crunching but no gear shifter "sticking" at high revs. I have both :(

oops there are always exceptions, but didn't you realise any of these issues when you test drove the car?

I think most demos will not have the issues and i should have purchased the red demo i test drove the other time, had no shifting issues. Maybe its the way they break in the car? Or they just fixed the issues so people don't realise the cars have them when test driving Zee

If my 4th gear is that quick it wold be nice and i love the 9200rpm rev limit but hate LIFT cutting in at 1000rpm :P

I think they might have also altered the ratios and had to make the shifter itself longer for better reach. Someone also did mention they have higher rev cut in 1st 8600rpm and 2nd than our cars making it so easy to land LIFT.

Could be a synchro issue. I think the 6 speed has been underdeveloped and the double synchros are sh*t. The Type-R has tripple synchros and the S2000 has carbon mix synchros i think. But even these cars have some shifting issues. S2000's have gear crunching issues too but their shifters are so sweet.

14th August 2004 Dear Jenny, i see that the recall is now official to replace the air-cap and engine control unit. A lot of Corolla Sportivo owners i know are excited about this and waiting for the respective letters to be sent out in the coming weeks. However i have to let you know that this isn't the end of the problems list for the Corolla Sportivo unfortunately. Many disappointed owners have experienced numerous other problems which i have mentioned to you before regarding the gear selector cables and gearbox shifting problems. Owners have been forced to spend more money on the car to diagnose and fix these problems because most Toyota service departments don't want to know about it. The gearbox shifting problem is caused by a faulty clutch or flywheel mechanism and has been proven by owners who replaced the standard equipment with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) Clutch Cover, Clutch Plate and Flywheel which costs close to AUD$2000 including labour costs. The gear shifting improved dramatically and these owners has had no problems since. But not everyone has that extra cash to spend on something Toyota refuses to acknowledge. There is also a serious premature leakage of the shock absorbers causing the loud thumping noise when driving over bumps. Some owners had to bring their cars into dealerships numerous times (3 or more which takes months) before their concerns are taken seriously. I have to point out that the shock absorbers are a safety concern and could potentially cause the car to lose contol at high speeds or during an emergency. Aparently the shock absorbers are made and assembled by Toyota South Africa and some owners have had them changed to the ones made by Toyota Japan. I personally have not experienced the shock absorber problem as yet but hope that TMCA will look into this matter and all the other problems i have raised regarding the Corolla Sportivo 2ZZ-GE. Regards, Zee Low -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd October 2004 Dear Jenny, the Toyota Corolla Sportivo ZZE123 has a recall campaign addressing certain issues of the vehicle, which involved a new ECU and new gear selector cables. These new parts addresssed the performance issue of the car and resolved the annoying gear cable rattle in some vehicles but unfortunately the gear shifting problem is still present. I myself and numerous Corolla Sportivo ZZE123 owners around Australia have voiced their concerns on Toyota owners' forums and the majority are still experiencing issues with the gearbox. These issues have been present since DAY 1 which meant a manufacturer defect. Some symptoms include the gear shifter refusing to come out and go into gear and on occassions resulted in a loud crunching of the gear. The gear shifter is also unusually stiff and tight at higher engine revolutions (between 7500-8100rpm). These issues have been lodged by owners to their respective Toyota dealerships on numerous occassions but it seems that no action has been taken by Toyota to further investigate or attempt to rectify this manufacturer defect. Some owners went to the extent of spending money in an attempt to fix the problem and i am glad to say we have found out where the problem lies, ahead of Toyota engineers "investigating" this problem. It is an issue with the clutch and flywheel assembly. A few people had Toyota Racing Development (TRD) Pressure plate, Clutch plate and Flywheel fitted to their ZZE123 Toyota Corolla Sportivo's 6 speed transmission and the problem disappeared. The vehicle is so much better to drive and has rectified all issues related to the gear shifter mentioned above. However not all owners of the ZZE123 Toyota Corolla Sportivo have spare cash at their disposal and feel very frustrated by this problem. We greatly appreciate Toyota's recent recall campaign in an attempt to rectify certain issues to do with the vehicle but frankly it did not have a great impact. This issue is widespread and many owners have only just realised it is an actual problem as we were told by Toyota mechanics that the problem will disappear when the vehicle clocks more kms. We have since realised that it is not the case and they could have done a better job taking the matter seriously and investigating into this problem. News from other sources locally and overseas also tell of this problem affecting Toyota Celicas and Corollas overseas equipped with the 2ZZ-GE motor and 6 speed gearbox. Coincidentaly, the problems were resolved when a new pressure plate, clutch plate and flywheel were fitted. I hope you can bring forward my concern ASAP and i wish to hear from Toyota soon. Regards, Zee Low -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Their Reply 5th Oct 2004: Dear Mr. Low Thank you for your email which we have passed to the Technical Operations Manager of the N.S.W. Regional Office and also to the Technical Group in Melbourne. We will come back to you once they have investigated the issues raised in your email. Regards, Jenny Stewart Customer Relations Centre Manager Customer First Development Division Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited Email: jenny.stewart@toyota.com.au ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pardon any grammer or spelling mistakes. As you can see i don't proof read when i write something in frustration.

You might have a throttle sticking issue, better get it checked because it is really dangerous especially when you need to brake negotiating corners. A different issue but something i hate Toyota for, my family has a 98' Camry and it had a very wierd engine problem which has since disappeared. When your foot is off or on throttle eg on highway or braking, the engine will all of a sudden rev up and down by itself for between 5 seconds to 15 seconds and the automatic transmission will be in neutral. Its like the car is possessed ! When i try to accelerate i can't and have to wait for the "demon" inside the camry to leave before i can carry on driving. Brought the car to Toyota numerous times and cannot find the fault, but it has 150,000kms now and it has been a awhile since something wierd happened from what i hear or maybe my family has just gotten used to it. I have also brought the car somewhere else for service. I suspect an apprentice mechanic stuffed someting up when servicing the camry. Zee

Well actually I found your site through random searching on Google. I've been searching for info on my Runx everyday for the past 3 months. Everything was in Japanese :D . I just hit the jackpot one day. Here in Jamaica, the RunX is very new. I am one of the few persons driving the 6spd version on the island. People are interested in them but are sceptical. I owned an Evo IV before and so I need another quick car that was more reliable. A friend of mine who works at a import dealership told me about the car, He drove me around in it like crazy and I was sold ;) . There is a war going on here between Hondas and Toyotas with Toyota on the losing side. With my car and a few others, we are leveling the playing field. ;) I can't wait to start upgrading my car with your help. ← Welcome mate, what have you had done to your EVO4 and what are you expecting to do to your Stivo? On EVOs they are rare as in Australia but i have seen a guy driving in a Yellow EVO8 living in my area. I also thought EVOs are one the more reliable AWD turbos out there. They have strong drivetrains haven't they? Zee Zee

Hmm, i see the car is not lowered much but has heaps of front wheel negative camber. Vote submitted, go the Stivo!!

We have discussed this issue greatly in the past and there are quite a few of us here with 2004 Stivos with the problem, none of them SILVER in color!!! Anyway i started having this problem with 12KM on the odometer!! I then blew my relationship with one dealer and had to blast Jenny at customer relations to get her recommendation for a regional technician see my car but i was so f****n p***ed with them i missed the appointment on purpose because i had a mechanic drive my car and hit LIFT 10 or more times and he told me no problem, just a little stiff!! That is because he was waiting for a second or more before shifting into 2nd, that d***head Driving like he did i might as well get an Automatic car!! I have found a way to go around the problem though and that is hit rev-limiter in 1st and then shift. I can successfully land LIFT at 6200rpm 95% of the time with a confident quick shift when i do that. Most times i chirp the tyres going into 2nd and you know you nailed it. But there are times i fail and that is like once every 50 times maybe. Crunching of the gearbox 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd especially when i rev between 7500-8000rpm and shift SLOWLY or normally:blink: Now hear me all the sceptics of the problem, it is worse in my car when shifting SLOWLY at high revs with clutch fully compressed!! I have owned and driven many different manual cars and i am not an idiot who doesn't know how to shift. Peekay, Ilivfor6 and Shaohaok have had new Clutch, Pressure Plate and Flywheel put in and they all say the gearbox is shifting 100% smooth now. So i guess its up to you guys to try that out. But don't worry guys, just drive as you do and if you break a gear, stuff that up Toyota's **** and get them to give you a new gearbox. A NEW gearbox not a new gear i think i am goin insane ... Zee

With the 2litre being so torquey and no LSD they will have a tough time in tight corners. Has it got traction control like the Peugeot 206 Gti180? The TypeR still rules the bends with the LSD and 15 inch wheels (DC2). I think i rather spend money on LSD then tyres :D