Hiro

I've always been a fan of the Series 1 corner lights, as long as they are kept polished and clean (faded yellow/orange is a bad look) :P

Nice, now you just need the English buttons and the nav sorted (although the chances of that are slim to none I reckon)

?? I don't understand what you are trying to say... The foot-operated parking brake (ie the "third pedal" in an Aurion) is used for parking only. When you are driving around and need to do a hill-start (that would normally require the use of a traditional handbrake), either keep your left foot on the brake pedal and accelerate a little with your right before lifting off the brake (aka left-foot-braking), or push the brake pedal with the ball/big-toe of your right foot and accelerate with the outside of your right foot (heel-and-toe, although you don't really use your heel any more). If you're stopped/parked and need to do a hill-start, then hold the brake with your right foot whilst you deactivate the parking brake with your left. Then shuffle your left foot to the brake pedal (note how it is usually much wider in an auto than a manual) and your right foot to the accelerator. Or just quickly move from the brake pedal to the accelerator, unless you're trying to drive straight up a cliff you won't slip back too far.

Foot-operated parking brakes (which the Aurion has instead of a traditional handbrake) have almost no modulation and are useless for hill-starts - just learn to either left-foot-brake or heel-and-toe.

All automatics have some amount of hill-holding ability due to the torque converter not being able to 100% disconnect in drive - this is why the car can inch forwards on level ground without the accelerator. Exact same thing as slipping the clutch in a manual to hold it on a hill. This is not a "feature", simply a characteristic of a torque-converter automatic transmission. Auto-hold/hill-hold as a designed "feature" is usually implemented as extra valving in the brake system which keeps the brakes applied on a hill until a certain amount of throttle is applied (or the clutch released enough etc) - it has nothing to do with the transmission at all. It is also usually found on 4WDs, often bundled in with a hill-descent control to keep at a crawl speed going down hill when off-roading.

Do it, I might finally get around to entering this year too, depending on the state of the cars. Been meaning to for a few years now...

Only because I love you...

Whenever you check the oil, always pull the dipstick out and clean the end first, then re-insert it and pull it out again. Also make sure the car is turned off and has sat for long enough on level ground to allow the oil to settle, otherwise there's no point

If you overfill the oil significantly it can reach the bottom of the crankshaft and get whipped up to hell, which pressurises the crankcase and can cause your main seals to blow out. A cm or so above FULL shouldn't matter (since the level drops when the engine is running), but 3-4cm sounds like waaaay too much. Drain it immediately until it comes down to the FULL mark, and give your engine a good clean/degrease to see if there are any leaks.

To be pedantic, anti-roll/sway bars do not make the chassis more rigid - that is the job of strut/chassis braces. Even the stiffest chassis in the world will have significant body roll if the suspension is soft. Strut and chassis braces stiffen the chassis Stiffer springs reduce body roll but decrease ride comfort as well as making the ride bouncy/stiff over dips/bumps Anti-roll/sway bars allow softer springs for ride comfort and in dips/bumps but reduces body roll by twisting when one wheel attempts to travel more than the other

Well, the old girl got a tummy-tuck today....after many moons of scraping and scratching, we finally got the intermediate pipe remade and the exhaust raised up enough to no longer fear speed-bumps, driveways, seams in the concrete and the curvature of the earth. Big thanks to Premier Exhaust, who did what others said couldn't be done, and at a decent price too.

According to the Toyota Australia website Automatic 2.2L AWD diesel models offer a towing capacity of 500kg (braked and unbraked). Manual 2.2L AWD diesel models offer a towing capacity of 550kg (braked or unbraked). 2.5L AWD petrol models offer a towing capacity of 750kg (unbraked) and 1500kg (braked). 2.0L 2WD petrol models offer a towing capacity of 750kg (unbraked and 800kg (braked). The reason why there are different ratings for different models is because towing places quite a large strain on the engine cooling system, transmission, brakes and suspension. "Harsh" conditions in Australia often refers to the heat, which obviously impacts on the performance of the cooling system as well, thus it is not unusual for either towing capacities to be down-rated for outback use or there being an optional "heavy-duty towing pack" which would usually included beefier suspension and/or extra transmission coolers.

Google will only get you so far - you need to go oldskool and crack open the Yellow Pages, and pick up the phone and ring around. Any decent smash repairers will be able to work with OEM colours, the trick is finding one that wants to do something other than an insurance job. Kanmuri, flex paint is exactly what it sounds like - flexible paint (used on parts that are expected to flex and need the paint not to crack)

Firstly, do you have a twin-turbo or single-turbo model? Twin-turbos will be from a JZA70, JZX80/90 or early JZZ30. Single-turbo w/ VVTi will be from a late JZZ30, JZX100/110 and JZS170. Past that, assuming it is completely stock (and hasn't been installed in a different car yet), looking at the sump can be a reasonable way of determining as their are 2-3 different sumps (front, mid, rear etc) depending on which model it came from.

Why would that change anything?

Corollas changed from 4x100 to 5x114.3 in conjunction with the release of the ZRE152, which in Aus was 2007. Thus, 2012 wheels will be the same PCD as 2008.

Just to add further credence to the "it's highly illegal, don't bother" argument, these are the fines in NSW in regards to radar detectors (info is a year old but I doubt it has changed much) $1556 for owning, buying or selling a "speed evasion device" aka radar detector $1556 + 9 demerit points for using a "speed evasion device", plus confiscation of the unit $1556 if you fail to surrender the device. So in total, you could be up for ~$4700 worth of fines + 9 demerit points, which is the same as being caught doing 45km/h+ over the limit in a school zone TWICE (as far as fine is concerned), or getting caught 10-20km/h over THREE TIMES (for demerit points). Factor in the cost of the unit itself, and just how much of a speed demon are you that owning one makes financial sense? And just because they are supposedly undetectable, doesn't mean their use can't be detected (based off sudden braking etc) and they can't be found if you're pulled over... I'll freely admit that I'm not the world's slowest driver, and I do not always obey the limits (but still don't drive like an idiot), and I have only had 2 speeding tickets in my 10 year driving life, both for <15km/h over the limit - once in a zone where everyone was doing the same speed going up a hill from a 60 to an 80 zone, and once in a 60 zone that used to be 70 after a long frustrating day at work 2 blocks from home. Not once have I even considered getting a radar detector, because the cost outweighs the benefits many times over

They use the 6-speed box out of an Avensis diesel, and it isn't regarded as one of the best features of the car...

In case you didn't already know, radar/lidar detectors are illegal in NSW, and you're opening yourself up to a world of hurt if you buy and fit one.

In the news yesterday Volkswagen recalls 2.6 million cars for DSG, electric and fuel faults Food for thought...

Yeah, they even released a limited edition G6R to celebrate the WRC wins....and what better way to celebrate a world-championship winning race car than to bolt a 6-speed gearbox to a standard 4AFE... That blue one does look awesome though, even better than the AE101 FXGTs (and I love my 101 FXGTs)

Hey Duy, more proof that Corollas and Civics are one and the same :P AE111 Corolla G6 EP3 Civic

Got a few things going on in December (apart from Christmas of course) so it would either need to be early Dec or late November

Umm, unless you're using the "sports shift" manual shift there IS no "first gear" in a CVT auto....

Wish they offered some more black-on-white styles, black background just doesn't suit most white cars...