Hiro

The grooves aren't being constantly cleaned by the pads, thats why they are rusty. Remember that rotors are cast-iron, unless they are specifically treated/painted then they will always rust.

Had a go at trial-fitting the ST204 pad carrier brackets today in conjunction with the twinpot calipers, unfortunately I've got the 54mm SS AE101 discs rather than the 55mm SS AE111 discs so I couldn't quite get everything to sit snug, looks like I'll either need to machine the pad carrier a couple of mm on the mounting face or get a spacer for the rotor (which I'd prefer not to do as aftermarket rotors are all 55mm). Brand new seal kit and 4x cylinder pistons from Toyota, grand total of $130 +p/h through Amayama Showing the 54-to-55mm step on the AE102 hub - disc needs to be 55mm, wheels need to be 54mm. ST204 caliper bracket on the stock 255mm disc, the rotor just skims the inner face but there's too much room on the other side, wouldn't want a pad falling out... How the 275mm disc sits inside the carrier - since the rotor doesn't want to sit all the way in on the hub (due to the step) it actually lines up almost perfectly in the carrier, however the rotor can rock around a bit and would be dangerous to attach a wheel in this configuration No need to trim the factory heat shield, fits perfect SS pads fit snug in the ST204 carrier and line up millimetre-perfect with the edge of the disc No machining of the pad carrer where it bolts to the hub either (unlike the SS carrier) - perfect fit How it looks all assembled - if it wasn't for the mis-matched paint you'd swear it was a factory fitment Diameter comparison of the AE102 to SS AE101 discs Since the 14" spare wheel will no longer fit over the SS caliper (Superstrut models came with 15" wheels as standard) I decided to get a set of what I believe are facelift ZZE122 15x6" steelies.......that also happened to come with Advan A048 R-comp semi-slicks :D Might just keep those in the back pocket for Toyota Nationals next year... Even with the bigger wheels, clearance was pretty tight. Back side of the caliper was fine, but the clearance between the face of the rim and the front of the caliper is as about as tight as I'd be comfortable with And just for laughs I fitted the ST204 pad carrier and an SS pad to the stock AE102 disc.....yeah, these brakes are going to be heaps better :D

Basically no OEM-fitment brakes short of a Porsche or Ferrari will run dimples or cross-drillings (and then you're starting to look at ceramics anyway).

Might be easier if you post a topic in the relevant car-specific sub-forum, as well as mentioning exactly which V8 and which car you're talking about...

Step 1 of Project Twinpot - test fit of AE101 SS calipers on to ST202/204 pad carriers complete. SS pad carrier shown in centre for reference. This should allow me to bolt on the SS twinpots whilst still retaining the 275mm rotor diameter. Next step will be a trial fit to the car (hopefully this weekend) to see how much the rotor will need to be spaced or the pad carrier ground down, followed by a clean and paint (and probably a rebuild, no reason not to). This post also marks my first test of Flickr as an alternate hosting site to Photobucket. Here's hoping it lasts...

MAF? The 5SFE is MAP-sensored, do you mean that or the IAT (intake air temperature sensor probe which plugs in to the airbox)?

255 should be the standard size, 275 were the Sportivo brakes but I know some of the catalogues list the 275mm as an option for the ZZE122 for some reason (maybe as part of a towing kit or something? Facelift? Jap vs South African built?)

The difference isn't as bad for the V6 though, but the manuals for those are even rarer.

You said yourself that after 3 days things are basically back to normal - that points directly to parts settling or bedding-in after installation. Gas-charged shocks apply the same pressure to both sides of the shock piston (due to the valving - the gas is there to pressurise the oil to stop it from foaming or cavitating), so the only force acting to extend the shock is the CSA of the rod (which is the difference in acting area between piston- and ring-side of the cylinder). Take an average 1/2" piston rod, that has a CSA of 0.19in^2. Even with 360psi high-pressure gas-charge, that equates to a force of 32kg. Apply that to a 6kg/mm spring, and you get a ride-height change of 5mm (assuming you had absolutely no gas pressure in the old shock). 5mm ride-height change is not noticeable in anything short of a Formula 1 car - you'll affect the ride height more by filling the petrol tank.

Shocks do not affect ride height. The vehicle's weight is born solely by the springs (hence the term "sprung weight") - they deflect a certain amount for a specific applied FORCE. A 10kg/mm spring will compress 10mm when you apply 100kg of force to it, regardless of how fast you apply it. Shock absorbers on the other hand are dampeners, which resist MOTION - they apply a resistance in proportion to the SPEED that the spring is compressing. No speed = no resistance. Apply a 100kg force to a spring backed up by a shock absorber and it will still compress 10mm, but it will take longer to do so than if the shock wasn't there. The main purpose of a shock absorber is to dampen the motion of the spring and stop it bouncing around. Note that you can move the rod of a brand new shock up and down by hand with very little force (compared to the weight of a car), just slowly. A blown shock you'll be able to pump it up and down quickly with relative ease. This is a graph of the step response of an undamped, underdamped, critically (perfectly) damped and overdamped system, analogous to a car spring/shock combo suddenly having the mass of the car applied to it (you've literally dropped it off the jack-stands). Note that the end result is the same regardless of how damped the system is, just the underdamped system (ie a blown shock) will pogo around before finally settling - hence the "bounce test" to determine if your shocks are blown. Push down hard on each corner of your car and release - if the car bounces up and down a bit then the shock is blown, if it quickly and smoothly returns to level then it is fine. Thus, a car sitting "static" (a step-response system after an infinite time) will always sit at a ride height determined by the spring rate (all other things being equal) - springs do have some slight dampening built in to them due to friction, energy loss, inertia etc. Apart from static vehicle weight all the forces a car's suspension sees are impulse-loads, ie off-on-off rather than off-on step loads, which is where the performance of a shock absorber becomes relevant What people see as a change in ride height after installing new shocks is most likely either a placebo affect (because they expect it to ride higher, especially after seeing a blown shock side-by-side with a new one), the suspension hasn't re-settled after installation, or the spring hasn't been re-installed in to the seat properly (most springs sit in a pocket which can easily be 10mm deep compared to the rest of the seat). Additonally, new shocks means new spring seats/top hats/eye-bushes etc, all of which will have worn over the years and causing a "sag" in ride height. Even Monroe (ie one of the largest automotive shock absorber companies) states that blown shocks do not directly affect ride height, however they are often symptomatic of a suspension system that is worn http://www.monroe.com.au/what-are-shocks/shock-absorbers-explained.html and http://www.monroe.com.au/monroe-gus/Monroe-GUS-full.pdf

You won't achieve anything remotely close to "stance" or "filled guards" without lowering it, it'll just end up looking like a monster truck

BTW Repco pads are generic Federal-Mogul OEM (ie Ferodo but not the expensive race stuff) pads. I've run them a couple of times when I just wanted a cheap pad to throw in (front and rear of the Corolla, front of the Camry) and I've always re-used the stock Toyota anti-squeal shim (fairly sure the pads still have the notches for the shims to grip on to anyway)

Latest acquisition - AE102 Sprinter 3-dial dash cluster. Unlike the JDM BZ Touring and FXGT 3-dial clusters, this one has the correct tacho for the 7AFE (8000rpm vs 9000rpm) AND retains the Aus-spec 200km/h speedo (vs 180 for JDM). Also doesn't have the superfluous dash lights for cat temperature, rear light failure module etc (although since the ADM Sprinters were all pre-facelift, there is no seatbelt warning light fitted). Still requires a bit of wiring magic but I'll most likely palm that off to someone who likes electrons more than I do in exchange for some beer or something.

To try and stop the rebirthing industry NSW introduced some pretty harsh laws back in 2011 in regards to writing off vehicles, now there's basically no such thing as a repairable write-off that hasn't bought back by the original owner so basically anything that ends up at the wreckers or Pickles etc is statutory.

Throwing out the old Holden boat-anchor is a very wise thing to do.

Eaton TVS1320 for those playing overseas

Yes we have junkyards here, but remember that there were only ~600 TRD Aurions ever sold, so they're not exactly common

Spent all of Saturday afternoon and half of Saturday night on my back under the rear end installing my Ultra Racing rear swaybar, and what a pain in the ***** that turned out to be. Fortunately didn't have to drop the tank, but both straps, filler pipe, breather pipe and the exhaust from the cat back had to come out, and even then it needed some wiggling to get it out past the jack stands on the cross-member and holding up the tank. Stock 14mm vs UR 19mm (both solid) Fortunately managed to work out how to get my sensor light to stay on permanently, otherwise I would have had to call it quits as soon as it got dark and pick it up in the morning. Garage is too full of crap to get a car in these days, and chances are the light wouldn't have been much better in there since all underneath would have been in shadow. As it was I still didn't get everything back in and buttoned up until after 9pm.

Scott needs to stop having so many kids, they're driving him away from all the cool cars.

It depends on how the remote interfaces with the central locking. In the case of my '99 Camry the remote ONLY handled central locking, the immobiliser chip was in the key fob so pairing up a new remote was easy-as (probably due to remote central locking not being standard on all models or something). On my '97 and '98 Corollas however the immobiliser was part of the remote, so you needed an already functioning remote in order to program new ones yourself, or you had to take it to a dealership. Post up a photo of what your key and remote looks like and we might be able to tell which one it is (or if it's a newer system which is different again)

Not just the linkages, the boxes themselves are different - Sportivo is C64, Celica is C60 (Celica has a taller 6th)

This is completely normal, oil pressure lights etc stay on during cranking and only go off after the engine is running and the oil pump is generating pressure.

Overdrive won't turn on in certain conditions, such as the car not being warm enough. I'd also consider doing a full flush and filter clean/change of the transmission.

Have a browse through this thread, lots of info there

That'll be because Amazon (as an American company) would be looking at the US-spec 2010 Rav4 which runs the 2.5L 2AR engine, not the Australian-spec which still had the 2.4L 2AZ