matt36415

2008ZR6 - in your 2nd pic, of the boot, my car has a metal brace shaped like an upside down 'V'. It looke like yours dosent have that. - or is the centre trim still there?

Wow, thats a lot of dynamat and a lot of $$$. Apart from the underbody deadener Ive also put stuff like dynamat under the rear seat and under the carpet from the front edge of the back seat down to the floor. Ive also covered most of the boot with dynamat like stuff and then closed cell foam over it. I tried to cover all of the holes in the metal frame on the boot (on the back of the rear seat). I dont carry a spare tyre so I made a boot shelf from ply and stuck the factory foam  / carpet sheet onto it then turned it over and I have a foam boot tray on top so there is quite a barrier from boot floor to main boot space. 

I probably wont do this... but I found some people filling some spaces with expanding foam. I might do the side 'pockets' of the boot - particularly towards the top front of the boot - a wasted space where the metal is pretty tinny when tapped. 

Parcel shelf - remove, closed cell foam under it and refit. No more rattles and further sound barrier from the boot.

Remove inner door panels, paint body deadener into outter door skin and closed cell foam between metal door and inner plastic panel.

Those last 2 are still to do. Waiting for foam sheets to come. Expanding foam is tempting but could be bad if I mess it up.

The 2liters of Penrite LV is operating normally after about 1000km. No change in shift quality etc. 

Ha. Found you. After you get one I can recommend a sway bar, lower it, big wheels, paint the front black and get blue interior lights. Then it will be truly cool. Like your brothers one. 

On 3 January 2017 at 6:52 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

This thread intrigues me.

I don't understand any Aurion having road noise by default. My 2012 has always been quiet as a mouse, and more so after replacing the tired Bridgestone tyres to Michelin Prmiacy's.

The gentleman with the new ATX, not sure what's going on there either ? On co**** road surfaces, its noisy - I want quiet.

Unless the workers at Toyota missed something during manufacture I can't figure it out.

I do know that the 50 series does have the felt/carpet type wheel arch covers at the back and this has been known to make a difference. They all do. Its pretty thin, 4mm possibly and not backed (probably so it dosent trap water) so its not really a noise stopper. It would be quieter when things hit it like stones though. 

I also know that certain tyres can also generate and amplify road noise too. Yes, I have 235/40/18 Ku39 tyres and Im pretty sure they are noisier than stock, its also lowered which may change things a bit too. I like quiet and I like fat tyres, flat handling and speedy corners. Unfortunately these seem to be largely conflicting goals.

Not sure adding additional deadener is the real solution. These cars are already sound deadened enough.  How do you know? If you have done some extra sound deadening please share your experience. I had time and read many audio and car model forums like this and found quite a few recommending sound deadening paint based on their own experiences of having done the job themselves. I like playing with my car. I am just reporting on what I did and how it changes the car, hoepfully for the better. Possibly someone will be helped like I have been by other peoples posts and photos.

 

Did the front, removed whel arch plastic liner, painted sound deadener on exposed metal, there were a lot of leaves and dirt in there behind the plastic. Not a hard job, jacking and wheels off was half the work. The silver painted metal here would be the outside of where the drivers feet go. It was pretty tinny when tapped so hopefully the sound deadener paint will do something good.

I removed the rear wheel arch liners, they are a kind of carpet material similar to the material that lines the boot. There was about half a kilo of dirt trapped above each one and when I hosed them the water came out muddy for ages. No surprise I suppose.

I hosed and scrubbed the metal areas. Most of the metal covered by the liner is just painted, there is a small area near the strut that has factory sound deadening but its less than a quarter of the metal area. I painter Septone Body Deadener over the whole area on both sides and on the underside of the spare wheel while I was there. Used a touch under 2 litres to do that. The stuff is really thick - far thicker than honey so that was only one coat. I wasnt trying to make it thin though. Its drying now so I havent driven it since. 

I will do the front wheel area tomorrow - mainly the firewall behind the plastic wheel arch liner. 

On a side note, the metal heatshild over the mufflers had about a cup of rocks on them which came out when I whacked them a few times.

Pics are before and after

On 6 January 2017 at 8:08 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

Can I ask A dumb question here ? Not a dumb question

Why are some of you changing the transmission fluid twice yearly ? I believe that the service schedule is made up with service costs and NRMA ratings in mind. So I think Toyota sells more cars by reducing the services and therfore the ownership cost to get a higher rating. 

I actually had a look in the service book and it doesn't specify transmission fluid change unless there is some kind of abnormality or driven under harsh conditions. Whatever Toyota says, I dont believe any oil lasts forever even in ideal conditions. Heat alone breaks it down and that assumes no wear particles or condensation of water or other contamination. I used to rebuild Commodore transmissions and the most common reason for failure was heat burning the oil or oil just being too old and deteriorating. So I replace mine to avoid that

My thought is that I could do a lot of 2.8 litre fluid changes and still spend a lot less than a rebuild.

It also says roughly as a guide, that the transmission takes around 6.5LT. How are you guys putting in only around 2lt ? When I take out the drain plug and 'straw' 2.8 litres drains out so thats what I replace.

When should the transmission fluid be done and how do you get all the fluid out ?

Another thing. If the factory fill is roughly 6.5lt and you're draining and refilling with approx. 2 or so Lt with non Toyota fluid, aren't you now cross contaminating so to speak ? I dont think contaminating is the right word. Mixing, certainly. Read up here and on Toyota Nation in the V6 camry thread and you will see lots of recommendations for Valvoline Maxlife which is a synthetic (WS does not seem to be synthetic)

You'd be better off just sticking with what Toyota have already put in wouldn't you ? Toyota would be - their fluid is almost double the price of a synthetic fluid. I think newer, cleaner oil is of more value than these other considerations as long as it fits the specs. Synthetic fluid is generally better as well - probably not in every case but most.

Has anyone had any advice from the Techs at Toyota ?  Dealerships are businesses whose first aim is profit.... so draw your own conclusions about how much they care about your car

.

Sorry, I wasnt very clear. I have done fluid changes in the past with Toyota WS.

2 weeks ago I bought Penrite and did the last drain and refill with Penrite LV. Its cheaper and its synthetic so I intend to continue my regular fluid changes with Penrite

I paid $42 for 4L as opposed to $68 for Toyota WS. I currently have 2 litres in one of our 2 Aurions. It all works exactly as it did before. I drain and refill twice a year 2.8 litres each time - thats about every 15,000km

Related but not 100%... I added a remote spin on filter for the transmission. I have it just inside the lower grill opening. It means the trans has half a litre extra fluid and some extra cooling as the metal filter is right in the wind. Not as much as a trans cooler, but some. This may be a way to slightly reduce your coolant temp as less trans heat is going into the engine coolant.

I also have a scan gague which tells me coolant temp as read by the ecu. It usually sits at about 83 on colder days and 87 when its hot. On a long steep hill it has touched 91 but that is still safe and within the normal range. I think adding significant cooling isnt going to do anything good, might use more fuel... The easiest way to make the engine run cooler would be to fit a cooler thermostat so it opens and circulates coolant at a lower temp. Unless you tow up big hills - that might need more heat removal capacity.

Thank you Mg85, I will post pictures and a db before and after

On 19 February 2016 at 4:54 PM, mg85 said:

Sorry mate I would have to take off the plastic inner guards to take any useful pics. I stuck it onto the outside footwell area (metal bodywork) which you can easily see one you have the inner guard almost all off, Take the wheel off first to allow easy access.

One sheet is enough to do one side almost perfectly.

Im going to have a go at this, just want to be sure, you take out the plastic wheel arch stone guard thing and then put the sound deadening sheets on the firewall that can be accessed. Is that right?

22litres per 100km is pertty bad. But if you do lots of 5km trips in traffic it wouldnt be surprising

Thanks for those replies. I might look at BC then. 

Hi all, I am looking to buy coilovers. Previously I have fitted lowered springs and kyb shocks to my SSS Pulsar and a 1999 Camry. The Pulsar was fun, needed more power but was lots of fun. 

I get the impression that the Pedders coilover set is quite well thought of here. Could anyone who has them tell me how long they last?

Can you adjust the height yourself or do you have to take it to Pedders to get that done?

Have they been pretty reliable / no problems once set up?

Any thoughts from people who have experience with these is much appreciated.

Take a look at the department of fair trading, they are a good starting place.

I have Bridgestone re003 on my 2007 atx. They are no more noisy than the yokohama 'blue earth' eco focussed tyres they replaced. I dont notice tyre noise, Although I havent seen it yet, I do expect faster wear and although I drive pretty conservatively I do value the ability to stop, turn... more quickly to avoid crashing. Thats why i chose them

2007 ATX, 213,000km. Nothing has died yet, all just service parts, pads, oil... I have dropped the trans pan, cleaned it and replaced filter then just drained the 2.8 litres that comes out of the drain plug another 2 times. Also added a spin on filter on the hose going to the radiator cooler, I extended the hose so the filter sits in front of the radiator just inside the lower grille opening. This increased the trans capacity by approx 700ml.

Car drives nicely although each time I replace half the trans oil it does shift more smoothly. I am interested to know what normally kills these cars... do head gaskets go, trans failure..? 

I had the same code, took a while to find but I had the same wire breakage.

I am pretty happy with the subaru upper engine cleaner. At worst it had no negative effects but I think it has slightly reduced fuel use. I base that on the numbers my scangague gives me on fuel use. A lot of smoke came out as I ran the car after / while using it. Several posts I read on similar sites to this said the smoke was the crap being burnt off. I used it in my 2007 with 200,000 km and wifes 2009 with 90,000km. both are running well approx 8000km after using it.

I think its good. I really have no proof though. Certainly nothing bad happened.

I am no expert.

The re003 set I have now has done well for the 10,000km Ive had them. They seem to be wearing reasonably, and they stick well. Its hard to compare when you only get new tyres every few years.

Cooler weather in Queensland? Are you keeping your car in cold storage? 

Since my intake air temp comes from the obdii port, I assume it is the temp at the maf sensor in the plastic tubing just after the air box - is that the most likley source of the intake air temp measurement?

Im going to source air from the hole in the bumper where more expensive models have their fog lights. I did this with a previous camry and it didnt have any problems with water etc.