-DAvo

Good stuff mate. I've been considering getting some Pedders Coilovers myself, but then I think 'is it really worth it?'. Not in the sense that yes they are great, but more along the lines of, what am I really going to use them on.

thanks Daryl, however, i would of thought if anyone would of benefit out of coilovers, you would be the one... with your regular mountain runs (damn perth flatness)... reason i bought them was because i like the improvement in handling, looks, and also the tinkering side of it! :P i like not bottoming out on large dips on the road and reducing the "bounciness" of the car when only fitted with lowering springs...

chicken - thanks man, when we gonna see you back on the road!!? need to get a cruise going again once the weather warms up! hehe

Lee - Thanks buddy, i must say a massive thanks to you, as you answered all my niggling questions regarding these coilovers and made sure i didnt forget to purchase the longer adjusters for the rear coilovers!

pics of the new stance to come. not mjuch lower than what it previously was.. aboutr 3-4mm lower in total but the drop has "levelled" out the attitude of the car.. :)

ok so a few changes have been made since i last posted here!!!

first off.

click. tune. play!

the coilovers totally transform the car!! going from the coil springs, to complete coilovers, the handling is MINT! i have it set halfway (15clicks) and it already feels like the car is on rails, while still being more comfortable than the spring/shock set up! cant wait to get out there later tonight to give it a good run to get a feel for the different settings. paired up with the front strut bar and rear sway bar (thanks to you know who ;) ) the car now feels crazy! hardly any noticable body roll, car doesnt lift or dip when applying the brakes/accelerating hard from standstill. car attitude is more level as well. very very very happy camper!!

will update with more feedback after i have given the car a good few drives!

also some minor things... colour coded the fron numberplate holder.. just sanded it back, 2 coats primer, and about 3 coats of white gloss.. then hit it with some ultimate compound and swirlx, then 3 layers of nxt 2.0

also did interior footwell lights but will get photos later on...

for now.. im off to go driving!!!

isnt m26 available locally? unless your getting the liquid version which (to my knowledge) was not supplied to the australian market... i would love the get my hands on some liquid m26!!

yea only paste version in aust, they used to sell the liquid but those who use it (experienced blokes) didnt need liquid because of the age old assumption that paste is more potent. they also stop liquid because hardly anyone used it on their DA. to be frank, i dont know alot of ppl who use finishing pads & their DA to wax - u just waste too much. hand is the best for waxing process.

on another note, got a quote on the autoglym high defintion wax today... $121.00!

for those who have used this product, is it really worth it!? at that pricing, i could easily look at zaino etc etc... is it really 3-4 times better than a meguiars wax?? :S

its up to you to decide really. some dude who uses one or the other may say that the one which performs poorer, is better. its like asking someone which speaker sounds better in the world of hifi? - subjective - unless someone has done unbaised tests in control environments.

does a luxury wax that costs $5000 per 475gram going to outperform one that costs $42? If not, why do people use it? if so, why cant we mass produce that $5000 wax at economies of scale to decrease the product cost? (and dont give me the excuse that its because of some exotic tree in brazil - because all natural wax sources are sourced from the same plantation.)

excellent points there wixy!

i would still like a liquid version of m26 thou, purely cos i apply most of my wax with the mothers wax attack palm polisher/buffer, not my DA... just makes the whole process a bit quicker (for a daily driver)

but having used the UQW for a few days now, i can honestly say im starting to rethink my hesitation about gold class plus... the UQW is hands down the best spray product i have used from meguiars... very VERY impressed by the finish and ease of application. Big thanks to Wixy for recommending this product... prior i was convinced all forms of spray wax were the devils work :P

IMO so far, gold class plus paired up with UQW is a pretty hard combo to beat... to my eyes the gloss and reflections seem to be nicer than what iw as getting out of NXT 2.0... now the only thing that needs to come out of this is the durability, which i beleve UQW will help greatly in!

I'm a meg's fan however I wonder what their equivalent of Mothers Step 2 sealant is.

My primary wax is their Gold Class Wax however, I am getting some M26 shipped from the states soon (as I am also getting CHEAP K&N oil filters and some pulleys for my supercharger) and am looking forward to seeing how the M26 performs.

I've never bothered with their NXT 2.0 wax for some reason.

isnt m26 available locally? unless your getting the liquid version which (to my knowledge) was not supplied to the australian market... i would love the get my hands on some liquid m26!!

you'll probably find that the gold class will give a slightly nicer shine (as it contains some polishing oils)... the m26 is great in the fact that you can "layer" it, as it contains little to non cleaning ability...

my suggestions would be to put 1 or 2 layers of gold class (allow sufficient cure time) and then top it off with a layer of m26... should be mint!

nxt2.0 is definately worth a try at some point... you might be pleasently suprised at the shine and protection it provides, being a synthetic sealent...

on another note, got a quote on the autoglym high defintion wax today... $121.00!

for those who have used this product, is it really worth it!? at that pricing, i could easily look at zaino etc etc... is it really 3-4 times better than a meguiars wax?? :S

well done mate

looks excellent :)

i only use autoglym on mine. tried to give meguiars a go, but i dont think it stood up to autoglym in both looks and durability.

nice, just with the AG stuff, have you used to hi definition wax before? seems like a qood wax? not sold over the counter here in perth thou :(

Do I smell coilies dave?

So while i was buying a bottle of UQW... i noticed sitting high up on the shelf... Ultimate Protectant!

being a sucker for new products... :P

(added a few other pics as well :P - missing is my bottle of ultimate compound - lent out to a mate )

The Mirror Glaze Sythetic Sealant M21 is the same product as Nxt 2.0 so you've got a double up there.

Also, the M205 and M2 pretty much do a similar job.

All up probably $300-$400 worth of products.

How do you find the interior quick wipes?

yeah i bought the m21 on a whim a while ago.

the m205 i find is hands down the best product ive used from meguiars... i find its shine to be a bit deeper than swirlx but that might just be me...

interior quik wipes are great, i only use them on my headunit screen and dash consol... rest is meguiars ultimate protectant. :P

new items up for grabs

1. Slim LIne visors to suit Aurion (possibly newer Camry??)

Condition: Brand new, test fitted without adhesives, then removed and placed back in package

Reason for sale: Decided the slimline look wasnt to my personal taste..

Price: New on Ebay for 75 with shipping.. i will sell for $70.00 with free shipping australia wide.

Extra Info: taken from the ebay seller:

*Color:Light tinted(light smoked) with silver stripe

*Material:High quality ACRYLICS,not black PVC.

*Helps Keep Rain out of car with Windows Partially Open and lets Fresh Air in Also Helps to Reduce Heat Build-up in Parked Vehicles by Allowing Windows to be Partially Open Custom-built for a sleek look that fits, and great looking.

pictures:

also see private numbers Camry, he is using the same visors.. these look identical to the OEM slimlines and are made to the same standards.

2. Genuine Aurion Sportivo grille (diamond white)

Condition: Brand new, fitted for 1 day, then removed and replaced with my custom grill, been sitting in the garage ever since.

Extra Info: SAme as what you will find on any pre facelift aurion sportivo, no marks or scratches. has a nice layer of autoglym extragloss protection to give it uber shine :P

price: $210.00 posted to your door

So while i was buying a bottle of UQW... i noticed sitting high up on the shelf... Ultimate Protectant!

being a sucker for new products... :P

(added a few other pics as well :P - missing is my bottle of ultimate compound - lent out to a mate )

hey mate

i see your a perthie!! woot!

im pretty sure the tyre size can be found in the Aurion FAQ... as for lowering, it would definately look better if you lower it.. /shameless plug - i will be selling my pedders springs in a week or so if your interested /end shameless plug)

you just have to be careful of tyre width to avoid rubbing?

Cheers Jap...you also love tinkering i see.... :D

G'Day John,yeah mate i was really disappointed i couldn't make the annual but sh!t happens :( some great pics were posted up so at least i got to see a few of the rides at there sparkling best.

and thanks everyone for your input and comments,much appreciated.

anyway as for the brake mod i'm still in search mode,this might take some time so there is no big hurry so any ideas are welcomed regardless of price,cost nothing to dream. ;)

Question...anyone know/seen/heard of any Aurions that have got anything aftermarket other than DBA or RDA??? very interested.

Cheers

Lee

lee,

i bought a magazine in singapore and in it they had a feature article (regarding its audio system thou) on a Asian Camry. It was wearing some pretty massive brembo's...

To start off the discussion...

I have always been a Meguiars fan... i find their products priced well for the quality they give..

recently have been reading into some of the mothers range, and find myself very interested in their california gold range and how it stands against meguiars...

would the Mothers california gold Wax be a direct competitor to the Meguiars Gold Class plus? anyone used the mothers wax and meguiars wax? which did you find produced better results? (in your eyes)

This is probably opening a whole can of worms here, but for those who are into their detailing and car care, what brands do you prefer? why do you prefer that brand?

IMO not one brand is totally superior to another.. but perhaps certain products are more suited to specific applications/personal tastes etc.

please post up your thoughts on different products you have used... this is particularly aimed at the Meguiars range and Mothers range... but if you have any input on a certain product from another brand (autoglym, sonax etc) please post here too :)

Don't do it Davo. If you have the coin do something unique.

i know, its a real ummm and ahhh point for me... have been in contact with r style to try and get a simple lip kit but im not confident with the responses im getting back... wonder if toyota malaysia sell their kits... bring on the rellos!! :P

only reasons im thinking of the spotivo kit is

1. easily available locally

2. OEM fitment...

but yeah i totally agree with you jeff, need to get something a bit different... ultimately i want that simple factory lip kit that you can get overseas... problem is landing it here :(

and as for car mate... <_<

i assume your looking for the "sporty" look instead of the "VIP" themed look?

The Sportivo looks pretty sporty without the need for a different bumper

indeed! had been toying on my mind for ages now whether to take the plunge and drop my coin on a OEM spotivo kit (minus the spoiler) LOL love that front bar!!

anyway sorry for the hijack

at the risk of being labeled a traitor here, i would go for the suzuki if it was me :P

dont get me wrong i LOVE my aurion but if i was in your position, i would honestly be looking for a reason NOT to buy the suzuki... (depending on which model your going for thou...) had a chance to sit in one and damn, they are nice... both inside and out..

i'd call dibs on buying your sportivo front bar if you ever choose to go down this route :P

IMHO i think styling your car similar to VF-X's sportivo would look hot in white...

lol if you dont mind a few underside scratches

oh i hate those vertical kerbs

hehe i dont mind, as long as they can be repaired :P

i assume your looking for the "sporty" look instead of the "VIP" themed look?

yea, id definately give it a try before taking it to the panel beaters...

mask off the area around it, get some fine sand paper and rub the area around the scratch and get some colour coded paint made up for you... i think they use a "clear over base" paint which dosent require a application of a sperate clear coat? and just do a few layers of spray until you get the results you want... and then let it de-gas and hit it with some compound and polish... (dont think you would need primer for a job like this?? but maybe someone else can confirm this)

recently used that method to colour code a few items on my car and it worked a treat..

good luck!

Dave, do you still apply the NXT wax with the wax attack buffer?

yes. depending on my mood i MAY apply with a microfibre hand applicatior (meguiars) but most of the time i will use the wax attack with my "nxt wax" only pad, to apply on the car, let it set and remove with a microfibre cloth.

you can achieve what you want to achieve with constant maintainence of Meg's spray waxes or WashnWax solution.

its all up to you, however because you've already got coats of wax on you car, doing the maintainence stage would make your washes easier as well, thats the sole reason why meg's designed the maintanance stage of products, so those who wash weekly can achieve sleek and continual protection without re-waxing. its like saying, you want to continue using a fork to eat rice, but man has invented the spoon to make it easier. both fork and spoon can used when eating rice, but the spoon is so much more efficient

so what im saying is:

wax your car with 2 coats. then when you wash you car the following week, use WashNWax then followed by a range of Megs LSP products like TechWax, TechDetailer,UQD or ESPECIALLY UQW. Do that (the last 2) everyweek and you'll soon see and feel that it's more worth while following the maintainence stage rather than doing $5 of liquid or paste wax per week.

if you use $5 of wax per week that equates to $260 per year, followed by the amount of years you own the car (lets say 4yrs), equating to $1040. $1040 over 4 years...that may not be much to you at all, but you'll save a bucket load if the maintanence stage was followed, and you'll have a spare hour up your selve to do something else while acheiving the same results.

in the end, its your call.

on your advice wixy, ive purchased a bottle of UQW... (previously only used the UQD)

hope to try it out this weekend :)

btw - i have to retract on my statement about gold class plus... its durability is really holding up (been haviong some crap weather here in perth with showers and the sun shine, followed by leaving the car outside for a few nights in the cold) its still shinning and beading up very well... (have only washed once lately with UW&W)

still prefer the sheeting ability of NXT thou and will be going back to NXT when i do my next detail in a weeks time... will save the gold class for summer.. for those long drives as the sun is setting...

how bad is it? (pics would help)

might be worthwhile going to your local autobarn (auto pro here in perth) and getting them to colour code you some paint in a small aerosol can and then you masking off the areas needed to be touched up, and giving it a good clean with isopropyl and then applying the colour?

after letting it dry hard, the buff it with a compound and then polish/wax etc etc... might look better than just hitting it with the touchup only?

whoo! looks great daryl!

makes me feel secure since ive recently signed up with AAMI to cover my pride n joy ;)

hey how'd you get into my garage??? :P

i'd call dibs on buying your sportivo front bar if you ever choose to go down this route :P

IMHO i think styling your car similar to VF-X's sportivo would look hot in white...