ZEEROLLA

I would be changing mine again at the next service because i have taken the Stivo to the track and absolutely hammered it. So i guess it depends on individual driving.

Route? And i live 1 hour south of Sydney btw so cruisng south sounds good :)

I have seen people clean it with pressurised "distilled water" i think, they just spray the sensor to clean it. So is the Stivo MAF sensor hot wire type?

Forgot to mention the VVTi oil is Mineral based, not Synthetic.

That's very true, it is the transmission oil we should take better care of. That's because the engine has a pump that helps distribute the oil evenly throughout the engine, a radiator to help cool the oil and a filter to help strain the oil. The transmission hasn't got that. Change the oils regularly and everything should be fine. But use Synthetic oils because they are cleaner and check to make sure your dealer uses Synthetic and the recommended viscosity (5W30 or 10W30 for Sportivos). Zee

I was also thinking if its the ECU mucking up? Maybe its the UNICHIP?

Yep, but so long as you don't over oil it (dripping oil) it should be okay shouldn't it. Most of us here have K&N (panel and pod) which is oiled.

Homebush carpark? Darling Harbour? Chinatown?

Too bad about the S2000, how was its straight line speed though? Its true they only managed a 1min21 for the Celica but said it had heaps of wheel spin and the shifter was "Arthritically Slow" and missed shift often! That's why the TypeR had a 3sec advantage. Try to hit 1min18 next time and you will be in the TypeR's leaque! That's my aim anyway, but not with the stock suspension :P Nah that was only one of the sessions... the wrx did 1:09... it had full racing slicks on... AMG E55 did 1:12 ← ← Howd i go against the s2000? well the driver was an old guy... so yeh he wasnt going that hard... he only got fastest 1:22 i think... so yeh... im sure that car can do 1:16-1:17 easy... really a pro did 1:21 in a celica? hahaha mad... next trackday i gotta aim for 1:20 and beat that pro :P ←

Some guys here have Whiteline rear swaybar and TRD rear swaybar and they all say it makes a difference. I am getting mine for $190 which i think is the best BFYB handling mod, and very easy to install. The main difference i was told is in the weight of the bar and the Whiteline bar is 2mm thicker and much heavier than the stock swaybar. It will hold the rear end of the car down better and reduce weight transfer to the front hence the front end will have more traction=less understeer. I have a Whiteline strutbar and even that made a noticeable difference to the steering response of the car so i am confident about the rear sway bar. After driving the car at Wakefield Park, i have found that the Stivo's major weaknesses in handling are excessive body-roll, understeer and loss of inside front wheel traction on acceleration. The rear swaybar will improve all these factors. Look at the pics in Meet/Event section to see the major difference in cornering attitude between Dave's car and mine. His setup is really quite good and the car sits really flat even when pushing very hard through corners. Even QD180 who drives the PugGti180 was impressed by Daves's setup when he sat in his Stivo for quite a few hot laps, with me tagging closely behind of course:P . Zee

On stickers, it would be good if its white in colour, more visble. But it doesn't need to be big. I saw the previous stickers and it was black and inside stick making it hard to read under tint. No fuss about the design :) Zee

There was also a Porsche and a V8 Maloo Ute out there. Interestingly, the Maloo couldn't really catch up to the Qui's Pug Gti180 and my Stivo when we were battling hard, and the Maloo finally buckled trying to push too hard and went off road. Maybe he is new to the Ute and Wakefield is a tough track for such high powered RWD cars. We also had a few laps with the Porsche and it only had the advantage in the straights. I went slightly off road a few times pushng too hard to get away from him :P

A 1min21 ain't bad at all, a Wheels mag in 1999 tetsted a Celica and they ran a 1min21 and that's a pro driving it. The DC2 Type-R in that comparo did a 1min18, Civic Vti-R 1min23, Pug Gti 1min23, Pulsar SSS 1min24, Proton Satria Gti 1min24. Tuned turbo cars and prestige cars are out of our leaque, maybe a stock WRX and Type-R would be fun to run against. How did you go against the S2000 T-sport? Nah that was only one of the sessions... the wrx did 1:09... it had full racing slicks on... AMG E55 did 1:12 ←

Sent Saturday 1st Oct., received reply Wednesday 5th Oct.

Thanks Dave and Qui for your cameras and video recorder, the pics are awesome :D Cannot believe how much ROLL the stock Stivo has :o :o It felt that way though, i was being thrown around a fair bit trying to get away from or catch up to a Silver Stivo and a Blue Pug 206 :P I reckon we did good lap times out there today just by looking at the state of our tyres and the black lines we left on the track!!! A Stivo did 1min21 yesterday at Wakefield and the fastest car was an Sti that did 1min17. Too bad we couldn't get actual lap times today but the day was great and i can now pinpoint the Sportivo's weaknesses and work on improving the car :) Zee

I would have convinced your wife to buy a Pug 206 GTI180. Just sat in one today for 6-8 hot laps around Wakefield and it is a well balanced car, no need for mods. Each to their own :) Yeah... thanks guys, I like you too. Go on a bl@@dy corolla cruise & what do they do... convince my wife to ditch the corolla sedan in favour of an SP23. I'll be coming around to collect $16,000 from each of you soon. Beware any dark corners, I might be waiting in one of them to collect :o :o ←

Screaminrolla, QD180 in his Pug GTI 180 and myself were at Wakefield today!! All i can say is it was great fun to be able to drive the Stivo like we did. Did not have the problem you raised, we were out for 6-7 sessions. Check the Club Meet/Event section for pics and maybe even some videos we took! :D Zee

Everything with TOM's, TRD or KY on it looks good to me because i cannot afford any of them :P Wonder how much a 5 litre KY jelly costs? Zee from just looking at the container it is supplied in? Your an advertising executive's dream client ;) ←

I took the Stivo to the track today and i can say the shifting improved to a level when you are hammering the thing. I think its the fluids heating up lubricating the parts better. But i still crunched 3rd a few times but down the main straight was 99% smooth shifting at 8200rpm 2nd to 4th gear. Couldn't hear through the helmet whether i hit limiter or not but don't think so. I also received a short email reply from TMCA today, hope to hear something soon: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. *** 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Come on guys, lodge your complaints forward B) Zee

You should meet up with the other Stivos for cruises, will be fun. If you are getting the Stivo and have heaps of spare cash, have all TRD stuff ordered and fitted before the car leaves the dealership :D If not don't bother, most Sportivo options are expensive and i only had the rear skirt and front grille cos i like the look and i had it discounted. Lowering will certainly be good, as to exhaust there ain't a system around that will give good gains except the TRD headers = 6-8kw @ wheels. Get a UNICHIP or Apexi PowerFC, better clutch and lightweight flywheel. The car should be much quicker once you have those. Zee

Welcome mate, i would say the Stivo is very good value and you would be surprised the Stivo ain't that far behind you SS ute in a straight line, provided you learn the characteristics of the Stivo engine and have good shifting skills. Obviously the V8 will chew the Stivo coming out of bends and at speeds over 120km/h but if you have spare cash available, you can turn the stivo into a feisty banzai beast that has the Toyota name and accomodation for 5. Savings in insurance premiums and petrol will probably allow you to do that. But the car is really an all-in-one NA sports package.

:o :o You are kidding me, in the service book i remember it saying clutch discs are not covered under warranty, just like brake pads ain't! Because clutch discs can start to slip way before 100,000kms if you abuse it like doing burnouts or are a bad driver resting your foot on the clutch constantly. But i guess an argument is that if the car only has low ks like under 30,000kms, the clutch should still be in reasonable condition if not good. If what you say is true i will be asking TMCA the same questions and getting them to do something. Zee They already ordered a new one for me :). A few of my friends have already had the clutch replaced. All under warranty. The thing is, that no matter how much you abuse your clutch (in normal driving) it should last at least 100k km. Toyota Motor Poland knows it, and replaces clutches and gear cables No Questions Asked. Not long ago TMP was also replacing front and rear rotors. I had mine rears replaced 10 kkm ago, but now something changed and they are not willing to cover my fronts. ←

If we are not getting anywhere with Toyota, how about organising a group buy for TRD Clutch/Pressure Plate and if anyone wants the Flywheel we can also do that. I am sure Bruce can do us a good deal. Just go to the buy/sell section and post youre interested. I was thinking by the time Toyota acts on my car the clutch would be due for replacement anyway. And who knows when that may be, maybe when we have clocked 100,000kms and are ready to sell the car? We should keep trying though and hope they respond. I suggest lodge your complaint straight to TMCA, we will get a quicker response without having to go through the crap some dealerships make us go through. Here is the email address i used for my complaints before. jenny.stewart@toyota.com.au Jenny Stewart Customer Relations Centre Manager Customer Relations Department Customer First Development Division Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited

Pardon me but what do you actually mean by no washer?? Maybe the mechanic forgot to put it back in at the 20,000km service? Also with the Penrite oil, was that what you brought in or was it Toyota's stuff? That Toms oil looks good. What viscosity is it? Zee

I have raised my concerns on many occasions with Tory Toyota and the last time we were in contact, they offered a regional field technician to meet me and have a look at the car but couldn't make the appointment. I will raise the issue again with Wollongong Toyota and would like them to arrange the same. But this is a known problem with the 6 speed box. The celica has the same problem (@ high revs), it was mentioned in a Wheels magazine way back in 1999/2000 when the Celica was just released that the 6 speed was "arthritically slow" to use on the track but pleasant on the road. But look on the bright side guys, the japs and Yanks got it sorted, i am sure we can too.