SteveAndBelle

I really haven't done any research yet but eek... quick clay on a brand new, paint protected car ? I assume it's perfectly OK but couldn't I just add layers or protection when it's brand new instead of cutting it back first ? Using clay on a spotlessly new paintjob kinda freaks me out but again I don't really know anything about it... yet.

With two months to go until we recieve our new Graphite Levin ZR I thought I'd review my current car detailing kit while I wait. I used to religiously clean our current Corolla with Meguires and then changed to Bowdens Own using the two bucket method plus many trips to CarLovers Laserwash to blast the initial grit off before I wash (& sometimes even after I wash) but in the last year or two I've let her go a bit and haven't given her much attention :( I cleaned & waxed her once or twice each year with good quality cleaners & carnuba wax (used to take about 8 hours) and it shows because even though she's now really dirty it only takes a simple quick clean and she looks amazing again. Onward & upward though and I'm looking forward to blowing many weekends on getting the new Levins paintwork as sweet & rich as possible... but which products to use ? I've never used a clay bar before or anything more hardcore than a paint cleaner & carnuba wax but I'm open to any suggestions. I suppose what I need to know is: 1. What should I buy/do to give the car a really good start in life as soon as I get her home from the dealership ? 2. What should I buy/do for the normal weekly/fortnigtly/monthly wash ? 3. What should I buy/do for the 6-12 monthly upkeep ? Your suggestion can be as hardcore or as basic as you think appropriate. The floodgates are open... Steve.

Yeah, totally agree. These are definitely built for the low-end market but both the Fusion & Jaycar 12" Boxes were streets ahead of subs I used to build up for people in the mid-late 90's for twice as much, if not more. Technology has allowed these budget devices to get pretty darn good over the years I must admit. On the flipside you've still gotta be careful as per the Fusion 10" Tube and its build quality but in saying that the Fusion 12" box & amp were actually built pretty well for the money. Very solid and should last for many years. There's obviosuly no comparison between the under seat subs and the boxed subs. As per the review of the little 10" Fusion Tube above it walked all over both the Fusion under seat subs and cost less than half the price and the decent Jaycar 12" costing even less again (if you have a trade card and/or buy two at a time). I'm still sticking with the under seat solution for my new Levin ZR even though they're expensive and can't perform anywhere near as well as the boxies. It's just a personal choice of hidden convenience over boot-filling performance. They're not incredible but they certainly do the trick for enhancing stock systems. I think I did my last car system about 10 years ago which was probably just about when Fusion joined the marketplace. This is the first time I've ever really heard Fusion gear and to be honest even with the questionable build quality of the tube sub I've gotta say I'm pretty impressed with their products... especially if you're on a bit of a budget or just can't justify blowing thousands on top brand name gear. I haven't really looked around many outlets like I used to but you mention there's better for the same price. Could you mention a few names and where I might be able to find it all ? I might look into doing a comparison review later on (maybe).

... and now that the sun's up I thought I'd take a shot of the subs in the car in case any of you wanted to see how much space each of them consume. The first shot is obvious. The second shot has the Jaycar/Response Sub on the flipped downseat, my small switch box and one of the two Fusion Under Seat Subs poking out from under the drivers seat (I had to drag it out so you could actually see it).

BUMP Just finished the review. Exhausting. After giving the Fusion 12" a top score I would still personally go for the Jaycar/Response 12" unit. Why? Well, I can get them for just under $160 each with my trade card if I buy two or more plus they're a nice sized all-in-one unit making them perfect for hatchbacks. They sounded just as good as the Fusion 12" but just can't be cranked up as much at the upper extreme levels without sounding laboured. Oh, and I can add my nifty Speakon plug & socket system too making it a breeze to disconnect & reconnect at will. For the friends I'm helping with their stock systems in their new hatchbacks the Jaycar/Response 12" Sub fits the bill perfectly. Hope you all enjoyed my review. Thanks for reading.

OK Pete, I will :P See my review on Cheapie Boxed Subs here: http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28883

After reviewing a couple of different Under Seat SubWoofers for the forum (see http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28694) I thought I'd also review a few cheapie (under $300) boxed subs while I was at it. I have a couple of friends who just bought new cars and like me don't want to replace the head unit just yet and only want a bit more ooomph in the bottom end. The Fusion Under Seat Sub I reviewed was so impressive I bought two to install under the front seats of my 2010 Levin ZR (when it arrives) however these only do what I wanted and only accurately 'enhance' the low end but can add a touch of 'doof' to certain tracks too. They're very good but will not blow your head off. Perfect for me as also I didn't want anything clogging up the boot space however for those who don't care about adding a neat box to their boot then for around the same money you can't go wrong with a traditional boxed sub & amp. These are some of the cheapest decent looking boxed subs available and although they obviously wont even come close to the 'top' brands for power & SQ I feel they will be more than ample for those of us who just want a cheap solution to enhancing the stock audio systems in our cars. I've installed them all into my current car and have made a small switch box allowing me to A-B compare them to each other from the drivers seat. I've purposely only used speaker level inputs as this is the lowest common denominator and probably the most popular way subs of this calibre would be connected to a stock head unit. After spending a couple of hours tuning them up then taking them all for a few decent test drive auditions here's what I found... 1st Test Subject: Response 12" Active Car Subwoofer (CS-2271) Jaycar - $199.00 Features: - Solidly built MDF Ported Enclosure (520x365x350mm) - 12" Polycone Woofer (4ohm) - T-Nuts & Metal threads to anchor Woofer - Monoblock 120WRMS 4ohm Amplifier - 20A Socketed Fuse - Screw-down Terminals for Speaker Level Inputs - Large Screw-down Terminals for Power Input - RCA Sockets for Line Level Input - 40-200Hz Low Pass Filter - Gain Control - +6/+12db Bass Boost Switch - Phase Shift Selector Pros: - Affordable - Compact Size - Not too heavy - Built-In Amp - Line & Speaker Level Inputs - Strong Steel Cone Protection Bars - Rich & Punchy Low Freqs - Structurally Solid - Unique silver 'funnel' Cone Cons: - External Finish wasn't perfect - Power Inputs could be 8GA type, not just screw-down - Can't be driven as hard as other 12" boxed Subs (inc. 12" Fusion below) - Doesn't come with any cables Details: Opening the box of this Jaycar Response Sub revealed just that, a simple boxed sub with built-in amp plus a very basic manual for the amp module and a cruddy little kit of parts to anchor it to the car. Now I'm all for keeping it simple (stupid) but this just seemed a little too simple, even by Jaycars standards. Still, the proof is in the pudding so I kept on going. The external finish is a nice change from the typical black carpet. It's a textured black plastic/vinyl kinda stuff and is quite tough so shouldn't show any marks if beaten up in the back of your car. Although the plastic itself was good it could've been finished off better and the pattern wasn't as consistent as it could be either. All in all is wasn't bad, it just could've been a bit better that's all. Installing into the car was a breeze thanks to its neat & tidy finish and nice compact size. It's relatively lightweight too so it can easily be handled by even the weakest IT dork (like me). Connecting it up was easy thanks to the nice screw-down terminals for both the power inputs and the speaker level inputs although they would've been even better if they could handle 8GA cable as per most other amps. Seconds later it was up and running and sounding very nice even with my initial 'guesswork' adjustments of the crossover & level controls. On the test drive this Sub performed really well. It displayed good handling of smooth low notes found in electronic dance type music but could also handle a pounding when reproducing a sharp clicky kick drum in oldskool rock and in some jazz tracks. Turning up the wick to mid-high levels didn't phase this little beast and it just kept on kicking along really well. Cranking the crap out of the stock 6-speaker system and lifting the bass up the sub just started to sound a bit stressed... nothing bad, just working hard but you've gotta understand that the SPLs were quite high and the stock head unit & speakers were struggling far more than the sub anyway. You'd never want to listen this loud for long anyway (nor should you ;)). Summary & Score: After the dismal performance of the Response 'Under Seat Subs' I reviewed previously this was a very pleasant surprise. Advertised as 200WRMS (must be the speaker rating) but with an actual amp output of only 120WRMS it can reproduce accurate low frequencies and is capable of punchy tight notes even at high SPLs. Apart from the few flaws in the external finish it looks quite nice with its funnelled silver cone and solid chrome protection bars. Compact & easy enough to lug around it suits a hatchback really well. This is the perfect addition to any stock or entry-level/budget audio system and cost next to nix... especially if you have a Jaycar Trade Card and buy two of them ($158.95 each, yay). Convenient all-in-one package with a great sound at a great price I give this sub an overall score of 8/10. Photos: 2nd Test Subject: Fusion Encounter 10" Active Tube Enclosure (EN-AT1100) Wow Sight & Sound - $199.00 Features: - High Density Cardboard Tube Ported Enclosure (550x306x306mm) - 10" Polycone Woofer (4ohm) - Monoblock 120-150WRMS (approx) 4ohm Amplifier - 15A Socketed Fuse - Multi-pin Plug for Power & Speaker Level Inputs - RCA Sockets for Line Level Input - Remote Level Control - 40-250Hz Low Pass Filter - Gain Control - 6-18db Bass Boost Control Pros: - Affordable - Very Compact Size - Easily Manoeuvreable - Built-In Amp - Line & Speaker Level Inputs - Integrated Speaker Grille - Rich & Punchy Low Freqs - Slick Black & Green Colour Scheme - Decent Power & Line Level Cables Included Cons: - Enclosure build quality isn't the best - Plastic End Caps & Woofer held in place with chipboard type screws (half weren't even biting into the MDF/Cardboard!) - Power Inputs should be screw-down or 8GA type, not fiddly/messy/limiting multi-pin plug type - Chrome grille seems to be made from a brittle type plastic and may smash easily with sharp impact - Can't be driven as hard as 12" Subs (inc. 12" Fusion & 12" Response reviewed here) Details: As per all Fusion products this was boxed in an attractive, glossy & colourful outer and packed nicely inside along with a fat bag of cables, user/installation manual, anchor kit and the obligatory Fusion car sticker. Everything you need to install the sub which is always a nice touch. It's basically just a stocky little 12" dia high density cardboard tube with a nice little amp & 10" woofer screwed in. The top section of the tube acts as a port and runs nearly the full length exiting just above the amp module at the rear. Covered in smooth black carpet and embroidered with a large flouro green Fusion logo the sub has large plastic caps to finish off the ends and to provide small feet to keep from rolling around. Problem is that these plastic caps form an integral part of the construction and when the chipboard type screws are unscrewed from the front you soon realise they are all that holds the thing together, the plastic cap actually sandwiches the woofer into position... and that's it!! I didn't think much of this as I'd personally expect the speaker to be screwed in and then the cap screwed over the top separately. I thought less of it when I discovered that half the screws had stripped their threads in the MDF/Cardboard so they weren't all clamping the speaker into place as best they could anyway. Hmmm, not the best but lets take a listen. Installation was easy because it's such a great little unit, nice small and lightweight and fits into a hatchback without taking up the whole boot space. Wiring it up was a bit of a pain even though it comes supplied with all the cables. Unlike the other subs this has multi-pin plugs & flyleads for its connections instead of nice simple direct screw-downs. This isn't too bad thanks to the supplied cables being more than adequate however it just makes tidying of the cables that bit more difficult. On the flipside it allows the user to easily disconnect/reconnect the sub if it has to be removed & reinstalled to optimise boot space when required. I normally DIY this on my subs using a very rigid yet very expensive 8-pole Speakon plug & socket but these cost about half as much as this entire sub so it's understandable why they've used smaller fiddlier plugs :) Powering this sub up and guess-setting the adjustments gave a reasonable sound but I found I needed to increase the crossover frequency to get a nicer sound out of it which kinda tells me the woofer has a much higher resonant frequency than the others (obvious as it's a 10" vs 12"). Nevertheless it was only a small increase and after a few tweaks I got it sounding pretty good. Smooth lows & punchy tight notes but not as effortless as the 12" subs. Turning up the wick made it work harder and it actually kept up well without breaking up and distorting. It was at this point I remembered the dodgy screws but after listening as best I could I couldn't hear any air leaks or cabient rattles so maybe their designers are much smarter than me (not hard). Really cranking this sub sounded more like a 'cheapie' because you could hear it struggling. As per tests with the other subs these SPLs were crazy high for a stock system and everything else was sounding pretty bad anyway so it'd be rare you'd ever run this sub at these levels in my opinion. I assume it would run a lot better on a proper head unit with line-outs but in this test everything had to be stock. Summary & Score: Nice little unit, looks great and easy to handle but the construction method/quality is still a concern for me personally. Sounds very good for the size and easily out-performs two 'under seat' Fusion subs worth 2.5 times as much! If you wanted a compact, inexpensive add-on for your stock system with the added benefit of no-fuss disconnect/reconnect to remove/reinstall the sub without tools then this is would be a great option. Probably only suited for a stock system or very basic starter system though... no good for midrange systems especially when the other subs reviewed here perform better and cost about the same. Harping back to the construction methods though I'm not sure how long it would last but that may or may not be an issue anyway. Overall score for this little Fusion is 6/10. Photos: 3rd Test Subject: Fusion Reactor 12" Bass Pack (RE-PK1120) Wow Sight & Sound - $279.00 Features: - Solidly built MDF Ported Enclosure (550x400x385mm) - 12" Polycone Woofer (4ohm) - Separate 250WRMS (Bridged) 4ohm Amplifier (90WRMS Per Channel in Stereo Mode, 285x280x62mm) - 40A Socketed Fuse - Large 8GA Terminals for Power Input - Gold Plated RCA Sockets for Line Level Input - Gold Plated RCA Sockets for Line Level Output - Remote Level Control - 40-160Hz Low Pass Filter - Gain Control - Phase Select via Speaker Cable Pros: - Mid-Priced but still affordable - Not too heavy - Separate Powerful Amp - True SubWoofer Capabilities - Can be driven very hard without distortion - Very Solidly Built Cabinet - Slick Black & Green Colour Scheme - Very nice 8GA Power, Fuse & Audio Cable Pack included (worth $50 alone) - Makes the entire car Rattle :P Cons: - More expensive than other 'Cheapies' - Bulkier box gobbles up lots of space in a hatch - No Speaker Level Inputs on Amp, only Line Level - No Speaker Protection Grille - Separate Amp not as convenient as built-in Details: What's a Bass Pack I hear you ask? Well, it's a colourful cardboard box filled with a big black carpeted box containing a standard ported sub enclosure loaded with a nice 12" sub, a nice little 90WRMS Per Channel Stereo/250WRMS Bridged Amplifier, a decent wiring pack, user/installation manual and yes the good ol' Fusion car sticker. This is obviously different to the others reviewed because the amp is separate to the enclosure. This is good & bad... good because it keeps the weight of the enclosure down and allows you to install the amp somewhere else (like under a seat) and just run speaker cable to the enclosure but bad because it's not a nice neat all-in-one package. It's a case by case thing, some installs may not be able to cater for a larger, bulkier box as well as having to deal with a separate amp and if so this obviosuly isn't the way to go. Installation for the test drive was easy because I managed to squeeze the sub into the back of the hatchback and just put the amp beside it. It's only temporary so I didn't need to go to too much trouble (nice). I just connected the amp up as I've done with the others (but had to add a high-low level converter) and then connected the amp to the enclosure with a short piece of speaker cable. Easy but still not as neat & tidy as the all-in-one units plus took up a lot more room in the boot area than the others too. When I first powered it up with the similar guess-settings I used on the others it blew me away! This thing is soooo sensitive I had to really pull the levels right down to keep it under control and run at the levels of the others being reviewed. This 12" Fusion performed really well and was able to handle everything I threw at it without complaint... smooth calm lows, tight punchy kick drums, silly pure sinewaves of those crappy bass test CDs and the best bit was that it could handle all this really well at low, medium, high & stupid crazy high SPLs. After being completely satisfied with the normal tests I then decided to give it a bit of a run for its money and turned up the gain of the amp. OMG, this bass pack is mindblowingly good and that's just with a speaker level output from a stock head unit. Connecting this combo up to a decent head unit via RCA outputs should make it perform even better again. Summary & Score: Wow, what can I say. This sub crushed the competition for pure power & capabilities. From the outside the car was rattling and vibrating all over the place and from the inside it was just pure bass bliss. This would probably give even the big brands a run for their money and would suit stock systems right through to medium & maybe even high end systems... and all for under $300. Incredible. I doubt it could handle the crazy SPLs of those OTT systems but as a simple single sub for any hatchback or sedan boot this is definitely worth a look. I persoanlly still prefer a nice compact 'all-in-one' package but if you don't care, have enough space and have the room to mount the amp separately (or just screw it to the box) then I would treat this as a good standard to compare other more expensive units to. Overall score 9/10 (...and the addition of a cheap speaker grille would be a great idea to protect your investment). Photos:

Nice shots Pete! Thanks for the research and report and I look forward to getting mine (so they can sit on the shelf until the car arrives). Steve.

Years ago I used to use that Yankee Meguiars stuff and really liked it ... but then I too discovered the very local 'Bowdens Own' and love it. Not cheap but very good and getting better & better as each year passes plus they're local ! Check out their website here: http://www.bowdensown.com.au/ and be sure to look at their 'About Us' and FAQ pages if you've never heard of them before. Oh, and have a look at their car collection too. No Toyotas but pretty impressive nevertheless.

Hmmm, I'm no mechanic but I can't see how I can regularly get 700-750ks to a chokka-block tank of 98oct and you're only getting around half that. Got a hole in your tank or lines perhaps ?? Can't think of any other reason sorry. Steve.

Ew, quoting myself. Feels kinda funny ;) Here you go ... to prove my point above ... Now the needle will rise up a bit further than this when I start driving it but this was only 5 seconds after putting the key in. Oh, one other thing, do you use the AC all year 'round ? AC is a fuel economy killer !! Steve.

Wow, either you're driving it hard or something's wrong with your engine but I normally hit the 500km mark bang on the half-way mark. Unfortunately we all know half isn't actually 'half' but yeah you should be getting much better economy than that. Few things though ... is it a manual, are you using 95/98 octane fuel and are you really trying to drive it like a granny ??

Great work Kahle81. Great to hear someone else drives like a granny ;) Seriously though, how can anyone justify the extra initial extra expense and ongoing (& rising) cost of buying & fuelling a diesel car with stats like that? Only 6 months ago I was convinced to go for a diesel until I started investigating further. There's still rumours that Subaru will release their Impreza with diesel as an option here but it's been in the pipeline for so long I got bored of waiting. As per usual, Europe sees all or most models of Toyota & Subaru in diesel and even our Kiwi friends over the Tasman get the diesel Corolla so it still baffles me as to why we can't get them also but with fuel economy as we're seeing I suppose there really isn't any need. Zero soot problems when they get 'over-the-hill' too :) I'd love to do a fuel economy challenge here in Oz like the guys did in Top Gear (probably one of their most interesting & worthwhile challenges in my opinion). Say Brisbane to Sydney in a Corolla without refuelling. Anyone keen ? Kinda kidding (but kinda not too ;)) Hmmm, maybe get backing from Toyota and turn it into a charity event ... hmmmm. Food for thought.

I seem to remember them having oil problems and some even siezing up ... but it was so long ago I can't remember the details sorry. Oh, hang on ... just found this: http://www.notgoodenough.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=17852&sid=bbdc78b6814becf4661603235ca57d1a I do remember hearing and reading other similar stories too. Seems like something was up with the oil pump perhaps ?! Dunno for sure.

OK, now I know none of you are going to believe this but I regularly get over 700km out of my late 2001 Manual ZZE122s tank but last month I was shocked to hit just over 790km ... my most ever! There are probably a few reasons for this including: - It's a Corolla :) - I purposely drive like a granny all the time (had too many tickets in my youth) - I coast down selected hills when it's safe - I only ever use BP 98 octane (& guilty for still supporting them) - I fill up at the same pump at the same servo as much as possible as it puts the car on a slight tilt (front lower than back) - I fill up to the brim and spend many minutes refilling & refilling until it's as full as I can make it (wife hates that ;)) - I keep my tyre pressure between 33 & 35 - I use Michelin X1s (expensive & nothing flash but really decent tyres) - I know that I can keep driving for approx. 150kms after the fuel light comes on ;) - I know that I'm really pushing it and one day you'll probably drive past me when I run out good & proper :P Most of my driving is in the city but also do city highway stuff so it's not as though I only drive on the highway. Surprisingly the car hasn't been serviced for over 35,000km and has been on a big road trip from Brisbane to Tassie & back in that time too. I've got friends with similar size diesel cars who boast about their 800-900km ranges and they just cannot believe that our boring old petrol Corolla can hit nearly 800kms ... but they don't know that I'm probably squeezing in another 10L of fuel ;) This is one of the main reasons we decided against a Subaru Impreza RS or a Suzuki SX4 and defaulted back to buying another Corolla. Nothing beats the fuel economy of a Corolla !

OK, I think I've got all the LEDs sorted (but not yet ordered) to fitout the entire car and I'm getting a pair of 6000 HIDs from Dutchie for the low beams ... but what about the high beams ? I've had cheap 50W 6000 kits as high beams on two cars before and they've been amazing. They do take a bit too long to heat up though but I put that down to the cheap & cheerful ballasts. I noticed there were 'digital' ballasts around costing many times more but one of their features was fast startup times. Has anyone had any experience with these 'better' Chinese ballasts and/or has anyone fitted swapped out their ZRE152 high beams halogens for HIDs ?

Ooooh ooh, my hand is raised !! I was just about to look back into all this after getting a bit of a bonus in my pay and would've ordered them tomorrow. If you're willing to flog them off then yes I'm interested.

Just did my first ever product review/comparison: http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28694 Tired now, going to bed. Phew.

OK, after putting out the call for opinions & experiences with Under Seat SubWoofers and quickly realising no-one really knew anything about them I made it my mission to find out for myself. As mentioned in my callout, all I'm after is an enhancement to the low frequencies of the stock audio system in my 2010 Corolla Levin ZR (which is still about 8 weeks away mind you). I'm not after mind-numbing boom, just a smooth & accurate enhancement to suit all types of music, not just doof. I also value my boot space and don't really want to deal with a boot sub each time I have to carry stuff around. I've built many subwoofers for myself and friends in the past (last one was about 10 years ago mind you) and know a thing or two about audio so I know that a tiny box squished under a seat containing a small driver with limited travel plus a small low powered amp isn't ever going to be a replacement for a basic boxed sub & amp combo in the boot. I also know that I could probably replace my front splits, treat the doors with Dynamat and add a small amp to give me much better sound too but I just wanted to know how good/bad those super-compact subs really were before going down that path. Well, I took the plunge and bought a few to test and here are the results so far... 1st Test Subject: Response 8" Low Profile Active Subwoofer (CS-2286) Jaycar - $159.00 Features: - Solidly built 12mm MDF Enclosure (360x250x80mm) - 8" Electroplated Polycone Woofer w/Dual Voice Coils (2ohm) - Dual 55WRMS 2ohm Amplifier (2xTDA7396) - Inline 10A Fuse - Multi-pin Plug for Power & Speaker Level Inputs - RCA Sockets for Line Level Input - 40-280Hz Low Pass Filter - 0-18db Gain Control - Phase Shift Selector Pros: - Low Price (making two easily affordable) - Reasonable Low-End Enhancement - Can pack a punch when required Cons: - Suffers from Mobile Phone & Electrical Interference - Produces Cabinet &/or Grille noises - Gets overwhelmed easily - Distorts easily even at mid volumes - Continual level adjustment required (head unit or sub itself) - Has difficulty producing true 'sub' freqs Details: Bought two of these just because they looked incapable but once I got them home and opened one up I was surprised to find a dual voice coil driver connected to a nice little power amp module with two separate amp ICs. Looking up the IC data sheet (http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/stmicroelectronics/1512.pdf) these devices can output 45WRMS comfortably and up to about 65W if driven hard and at max voltage making this sub a genuine 90-100W performer but keep in mind these values are at 2ohms not 4 plus the distortion levels aren't the best either. At least they're honest so you've gotta give them that. Putting it back together and connecting it up for its first test run I was a bit disappointed with the multi-pin plug and supplied wiring for the power & speaker level input. Nevertheless it powered up fine and started making some noise so it's effective enough I suppose. Keep in mind I'm testing these subs the most standard way I can (tapping into the rear speaker output of the HU, not using the RCA Line level input) so it's not the best but thought this would be the way most people would probably connect them up to a stock system so went with it. Well, even though I was impressed by the technical side I was let down by the performance. The first thing I was faced with was electrical & mobile phone interference from nearby devices. Not a good start. I set all the levels to their mid-range setting, neutralised the head units bass & treble controls and played my 'test' CD containing a range of styles including classic punchy rock (AC/DC), jazz/pop/vocals (Kate Ceberano), cheesy dance (Bodyrox), smooth pop (Zero7), pop (Sia), oldskool metal (Metallica), neo metal/dance/industrial/pop (Pendulum), Rock (Living Colour & Dire Straits) plus a few others thrown in for good measure (Prince, Midnight Juggernauts, Cat Empire, Korn, Ravel, B-52s, VAST, Groove Armada, Cradle of Filth, Polyphonic Spree, Led Zepplin, Lenny Kravitz, Evanescence, Stevie Wonder, Tool, Nine Inch Nails & others). The sub started to make sub type noises but I couldn't help but hear the cabinet & grille making noises of their own. Again, not good however the 2nd unit seemed to be a lot better so maybe it was just a one-off and I'm sure Jaycar would swap it for another unit (within 7 days of course). Realising one wasn't going to be enough I connected both up together and went for a drive. I had to pull over a few times to get them 'tuned' as best I could but once I had them about as good as I could get them I still couldn't get them sounding right for different types of music. They were producing low freqs sure but not low enough (as expected) and they seemed to be artificially peaky at times. They seemed to resonate at about the 60-70Hz mark and dropped off sharply after that giving them that awful 'cardboard box' sound and really screwing around with the recorded material. The bass control on the HU had to be continually tweaked as each track played to prevent too much cardboard box 'boom' sound from being generated. Turning them right down to make them undetectable (as all good subs should be) was good but then they had to be turned back up again to get any benefit anyway so it was very 'catch 22'. They performed quite well with AC/DC and other punchy type rock music but were just terrible when wanting to get as much 'doof' out of them as possible in dance music. They sounded pretty bad when fed with nice smooth lows and just got overwhelmed when things got a little bit complex. They also started distorting easily even at mid-range volumes. In saying all this however you've got to keep in mind that I was testing these in a 2001 Corolla Levin that has 6" speakers in the front & rear doors plus the tweeters up the front. The problem here is that the stock 6" woofers can actually reach down quite low (but only at reasonable volumes) so the subs had to go lower to be effective. This could mean that these cheapie Jaycar subs could work quite well in an older car fitted with only 4" speakers. You would have to experiment with this yourself of course but it might be worth a try. Summary & Score: Surprising to find dual VCs and dual amp ICs but performance isn't great. Good peaky boom sounds at times but falls short of being good 'all-rounder'. Would probably suit an older car fitted with only 4" speakers. Considering all these factors I'm giving these an overall score of 3/10. Photos: 2nd Test Subject: Fusion Reactor 8" Super Slim Active Subwoofer (RE-SS18) Wow Sight & Sound - $269.00 on sale (normally $299.00) Features: - Very solid Aluminium Enclosure (330x245x78) - 8" Polycone Woofer (4ohm) - Monoblock 100WRMS 4ohm Amplifier - Line & Speaker Level Inputs - Dual 15A Socketed Fuses (Parallel Config) - Large 8GA Terminals for Power Input - Multi-pin Plug for Speaker Level Input - Gold Plated RCA Sockets for Line Level Input - Gold Plated RCA Sockets for Line Level Output - Remote Level Control - 40-120Hz Low Pass Filter - Gain Control - 0-12db 45Hz Bass Boost - Phase Shift Selector Pros: - Mid-priced but one is quite capable by itself - Good Low-End Enhancement - Nice smooth lows but can also be punchy - No Mobile Phone Interference - No Cabinet or Grille Noises - Can handle complex lows without fault - Once level set only limited adjustment required (remote makes it easy) - Fits like a glove in the 'well' under the ZRE front seats (see pics) Cons: - Can produce true 'sub' freqs but can't go all the way - Can distort when being driven hard Details: I only purchased one of these because I had a demo in-store and thought it was good enough by itself. Difficult auditioning a low-powered small sub in a huge open shop but from what I could tell it seemed OK. Got it home, ripped it apart and found it to be quite different. The 8" driver had a single 4ohm voice coil connected to a very decent looking amp PCB. This is in a completely different class to the Jaycar subs as it contained a quality amp containing all the same general componentry found in most standard car amps. They had just cut it down to the essentials and squished a shallow driver into the same box. Good design, solid as hell and looks good too although I think I might paint the grille black as I like my equipment to be as dull & boring as it can be ... love the Stealth look. Putting it all back together and connecting up the power wiring was a breeze thanks to the chunky 8GA screw-down terminals. I used the speaker line inputs (via the supplied fine yet perfectly acceptable little plug-in adaptor) to keep the comparison fair & accurate plus used the same test CD I used on the Jaycar subs too. The Fusion sub had a few extra features including a 'Bass Boost' (@ 45Hz) as well as a gain control plus it also came supplied with a wired level controller to mount somewhere up-front for easy adjustment on the fly (although you don't have to connect this). After tuning it up for about 60 seconds and being quite happy with what I was hearing I took it out for a test drive. All I can say is WOW ... but I'll continue going on about it anwyay :P This thing crapped all over the two Jaycar subs running together. It was reaching down to all the low freqs and it didn't seem to get flustered in any way when things got a bit 'technical' and complex. Stopping only once to tune it a bit further and pull the crossover frequency down to about 60Hz I went through more tracks and it just kept getting better and better. At mid-high volumes it still held itself together well and added that essential kick to most types of music. It even doofed a bit when playing dance music ! Very impressive. It treated smooth lows really nicely (sounding nice & caramelly) but did start struggling when they got super-low when the wick was turned up. It didn't make any of its own noises and perfectly complemented the Corollas stock audio equipment without just adding the dreaded 'cardboard' sound as the Jaycar subs did. Still no alternative to a 'real' boxed sub in the boot of course but the Fusion exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to add a 2nd unit to see how a pair of them sound together. Summary & Score: Amazing sub for its class and at a decent price plus fits so perfectly under the ZREs front seats. I doubt it could compete with a standard boxed sub of the same value but very decent nevertheless. Will definitely buy a 2nd unit and run both together to allow better handling of those true sub freqs. So, if you're after an inexpensive way of enhancing your stock car audio system with the added benefit of the occasional bit of punchy doof then the Fusion is the go for sure. Overall Score is 8/10. Photos: Coming soon ... I'll review the $200 MBQ 10" jobbie available on eBay. I'd also like to go to the other end of the scale and eval the 8" Focal version to see what the extra $300 gets but I'm not sure I could be bothered blowing that kinda cash now that I've heard the Fusion. Hmmm, will have to think about it. Keep your eyes peeled ... Steve.

WTF!? AU$134.00 for 6 piddly little LEDs ? Wow. I'm thinking there has to be a better alternative surely. I could make my own decent ones for that. Hmmmm, now there's an idea !

As I'm still about 10 weeks away from getting my car I'm trying to plan a few things in preparation. Does anyone know the brand/model of the stock head unit in the facelift Levin ZR ? Does Toyota still own Fujitsu Ten and still use their units ?? If no-one knows this does anyone know what's on the rear panel and/or if there's tricky things you can do ie. access line in/outs, connect a USB device through the rear etc. ? Also, as I don't own an iPod I have no idea what the interface is like on the head unit. Is it OK ? Would a 160Gb iPod chokka block full of music be too much for it or too difficult to navigate through ? I'm hoping not. I know there are plenty of aftermarket alternatives out there but initially I just want to keep things stocko.

Well, went my local decent car audio shop (Northfield) and had a chat to the fellas. I haven't been to a place like since I did my last big install for a friend about 10 years ago. Wow, how things have changed. Anyhoo, I was told exactly what I expected to hear from an establishment like that: Don't get an underseat Sub, better to Dynamat the front doors, replace the stock splits & add a small, decent amp. Apparently this will offer about the same (if not more) amount & quality of bass as the Focal under-seat sub. Fair enough ... but I really didn't want to go to those extremes straight away and just wanted to see how well the under-seat subs could enhance the stock system. Next stop was Wow Sight & Sound. I wasn't expecting much and when I couldn't find them on the shelves I asked the car audio guy if he had any of those "crappy under-seat subs". He replied with "well no, we've got some semi-decent ones actually" which kinda surprised me. He showed me a Fusion 8" (http://www.fusioncaraudio.com.au/australia/car-audio-1/active-enclosures-8/ress18-122-product.aspx) display unit which just so happened to be hooked up so I asked for a demo. He warned me that it wouldn't sound very good in the large area of the store but I still wanted a demo anyway. Sure it wasn't mindblowingly loud but as it's a sealed cabinet the driver was very tight and seemed to be doing a pretty good job and seemed to be reaching down pretty low too. I was impressed but agreed with the salesperson that it was difficult to get an idea of its true potential without actually installing it into a car. Not bad though with two 15A fuses, solid alloy casing, nice large solid terminals, nice super flexible rubber roll surround on the driver, reasonable looking grille (although I'd prefer it black) and was on sale for $269 from $289 but I reckon you could easily get them down under $250 especially if you buy a couple of them. Next stop was good ol' Jaycar. Had a look at their offering, a solidly built MDF boxed 8" jobbie with built-in 55WRMS amp (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=CS2286). I have a trade card at Jaycar so I can get these a bit cheaper (down to $127 each) but even though I didn't listen to one they just didn't look like they'd be able to do the job as well as the Fusion. Even if you bought two I still don't think they'd be able to get close to what the Fusion can offer but again I didn't get to listen so I really can't tell. Fuse was 10A and the wiring was the typical piddly type used in most cheap & cheerful gear. It had a single plug for power & high level inputs which didn't help the overall impression either and even though I know I should be able to see past things like that it just didn't seem 'serious' enough. Who knows, the Fusion unit may be similar on the inside but they've just blung it up to make it *look* better. Can't tell just by looking. So to summarise at this stage I understand everything Northfield were saying but I still don't want to go to those extremes just yet and I'd like to see how an under-seat sub will go anyway. Even if it's crap I can always get rid of it and upgrade the rest later on. The 8" Focal retails for about $500 and if they're not the ultimate solution anyway then I can't see why I should pay that much when I could go for a much cheaper option and get similar results. The 8" Fusion looks to be very similar to the MBQ I linked to in my first post (apart from the size of course). The twin 15A fuses kinda tell me the amp is probably very similar if not identical so maybe the MBQ will offer best bang for buck. Then again, maybe the Focal, Fusion and MBQ would all be far too punchy and end up resonating the bowels of the people sitting above them too much so maybe installing two Jaycar ones would be better afterall as they would probably be a bit smoother. I just don't know. Tell you what, I'm keen to give ALL of these a go as I think it would benefit me and a few others on this forum. It'll be difficult to explain how good or bad each unit performs as all things audio are so subjective but I'll see what I can do and use the stock system as the 'control'. If I can't return them after I've evaluated them I'll take the hit and just sell them on for a loss but $20-$50 here and there is a small price to pay to get to the bottom of if these subs are crap or in fact relatively good. Might start this next week with a single Jaycar unit or one of the $99 eBay specials and work up from there. I'll just temporarily install it into my current Corolla as it still has stock everything and should be a good enough standard base to test with. If all goes well I'll throw up a review here so keep your eyes peeled.

Home-Schooled myself at the wreckers yesterday & here's what I learnt ... Here's a couple of examples of what I originally had in mind (ignore the fact that they're faded & crappy looking) I then got around the the Daewoo/Kia section and saw these so had to rip the roof lining to see how they were attached. Turns out they're just bolted on but obviously not just to the outer skin sheetmetal. There's a bit of structural stuff there. Then I happened to stumble across a smashed up security patrol car (Ford Fiesta I think) with a single rack on the roof with two spotties. I had to see how this was mounted so again I ripped out the roof lining and found it was held on by two pop rivets. Hmmm, I assume it was like this because there's no real load on a lightweight allow bar with two small spotties. You obviously couldn't use this method for a real roof rack designed to hold a decent weight or wind resistance. But then I found this... This was the roof of a 1993 Subaru Liberty and someone had obviously had a similar idea to me ;) The marks left behind indicate the tracks were 1440mm long and were held on by 7 rivets spaced at 200mm & doubled at the front & rear by 30mm. The rails were 845mm apart. I'm now keeping my eyes peeled for a mid-90s Liberty when I'm out & about to see what the rails actually look like. I can't see myself drilling 20 odd holes into the roof of my brand new Levin to pop rivet faded dodgy old rails from a wrecked Liberty but I found it interesting that rails like this (& like the ones on the 4WDs & poeple-movers in the first few pics) are just holding onto the sheetmetal of the roof. They've obviously been modelled and designed properly in the factory but I just don't understand why Toyota can't do a similar thing or at least make it an option on the Corolla :( Oh well. I might look into what Rhino offers to see if yo ucan get these brand new as a retrofittable type accessory. Still a bit scared to drill all those holes but I can at least investigate further. Steve.

It's no problem on an Android (oooh, SNAP) Just kidding (well, sort of). I don't want to upset all the iPhone users out there :P Sorry, I've just come back from a tipsy viewing of Toy Story 3 and I'm currently knocking back another beer. Excuse me if my behavior isn't 100%. I'll post more on this topic tomorrow. BTW Charlie, your ZRE looks HOT ! I didn't want to believe that blue could ever look good but you've proved me wrong. Mucho Congratso.

Ha, yeah no worries Kenneth, you were nearly there ;) Charlie, what can I say ?! Brilliant. That's everything I need however I just had an email from a mate of mine with a bog standard pre-facelift Ascent and he says the High Beam Halogens in his are HB3. Odd. Strange they would change the type from model to model. So you're saying I can't even replace the low beam HIDs with generic replacements found on eBay like these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380249146430 ? There are others that are about half the price too but it's sounding like I might have to go for the Philips OEMs. Regarding the 'Fog Lights' though, I see you've changed them over to HID but how effective are they ? Do they actually add to the light throw or are they just to be seen ? I really wasn't expecting to see much with them and was thinking of just replacing the bulbs with LEDs just so oncoming drivers can see me even betterer. Thanks for all the info so far.