Hiro

Certainly seen more of them around than the main competitor, the Kia Soul.....urgh, horrible things they are too (the Kia that is, not the Rukus). It's way too early for Toyota to make a decision about how popular it is, it's not even at a mid-life facelift .

Jumped the Celica so I could move it out of the driveway to get the mower out....despite sitting there for a few months with no driving, it started very easily and with very little smoke....

An '88 Corolla 2 (also known as the Corsa GP) will have the 2ETELU engine, not the 4EFTE that came in later Starlet GTs (EP82/92). The earlier EP72 Starlets had the 2ETELU engine though, but they're fairly rare (basically all the Corsa stuff is, as is anything Starlet before the EP91 range that was sold here)

There's not much aftermarket support because it's a Toyota - it is driven primarily by grannies to the shops and to lawn bowls. Basically the only real decent aftermarket stuff you'll get for the AE10x and AE11x (the 101/102 suffer the same problem) will be out of Japan and Europe/UK where they still actually sold the sports models like the Levin and FX.

That is true, but you also need to consider the fact that the model is now basically 9 years old, so whatever spare parts were available, may now be more limited. ^this. I know a couple of people on various forums with the AE112 Sportivo, and a couple others with normal AE112s, and they have all commented on how hard it is to get genuine bodykit pieces (the main desirable pieces which are different from the Levin kit: ie the spoiler raisers). And if you think spoiler raisers and front lips are hard to come buy, take that Sportivo VIN and ask for a quote on a replacement ECU. I guarantee you'll die of a heart-attack over the price - I've heard of quotes up to and $15000, just for the ECU.

Number one thing to remember about the Escape is that it is actually a Mazda in disguise. Also, the fact that not many were sold is a bit of an indication of how good (or not good) a car they are. If it absolutely has to be an Escape though, I'd get the Mazda instead - better looking, all the good stuff that the Ford had, plus there were much more of them sold so parts should be a bit easier/cheaper.

Just remember with the Sportivo that it was only sold in Aus (nowhere else in the world had the turbo 7AFE) and they only made 110 of them in the first place (100 sold, 10 crash-tested I believe), so genuine parts are never going to be easy to come buy.

Pretty much every Toyota from the mid-90s on will use Toyota Red long-life coolant. There's nothing really wrong (some people will argue this though) with using the green coolants, but as noted you MUST do an absolutely complete flush (radiator, block, head and heater core, the lot) of the system with plain water before you can re-fill with the other colour, as they do NOT like mixing together.

L-plate. Why anyone would put that on their car over here, I have no idea, other than it might look "cool" to people who don't know what it really means....

Some factory turbo cars will come with boost gauges, a lot don't. Either way, once you drive the car and learn it you'll get to know when you're on boost. As for those figures, that is based off full-throttle. You can run higher revs on partial throttle and not really get on boost as the engine isn't generating as much exhaust gases as it would on full throttle for the same rpm.

"Boost" refers to when the turbocharger/supercharger is working enough to produce positive pressure (ie above atmospheric) in the intake manifold - it is "boosting" the pressure. Its not a case of turning boost on or off though, it is purely a function of exhaust gas flow through the charger and can't really be controlled by the driver other than by using the throttle (note that some superchargers come with automatic clutches that can literally deactivate the charger, these can be rigged up to be operated manually or in certain conditions). To put this into relative terms, I'll use my g/f's twin-turbo Soarer as an example. It has 2 turbochargers on an inline-6 1JZ engine - each turbo is fed the exhaust gases from 3 cylinders. As engine speed and load increases, the exhaust gas flow causes the exhaust turbine of the turbocharger to spin (like a fan running in reverse). This in turn drives a shaft which turns the compressor turbine, which (as the name suggests) compresses the air in the intake, increasing pressure and providing "boost". Now, in the case of the Soarer, the turbos are designed so that they start generating noticeable levels of boost at about 3000rpm - if you floor the car from idle you'll be a bit slow coming off the line, but hit 3000rpm and you'll get a big kick in the back as you hit positive pressure and the engine starts producing significantly more power. However, if you don't use full throttle, the exhaust gas flow isn't sufficient to create as much boost and you get a much smaller kick. And if you're just cruising along with very light throttle (and not much load on the engine), you won't be making boost at all - this is what I am referring to by "not hitting boost" when the engine is cold - keep engine rpms down and loads low by not accelerating hard, not using full throttle, and changing gears early. Then, when the car is warm (usually happens much faster in turbo cars than in NA because of the coolant getting heated by the turbos), you can drive harder.

That's not what a turbo timer does. The purpose of a turbo timer is to keep the engine running after you have stopped to allow coolant/oil to continue to circulate through the turbos whilst they cool down, preventing heat-soak and stopping the oil burning. If you're worried about the turbos when the car is cold, simple - don't hit boost until the car is warm. Just as you shouldn't thrash an NA car when it is cold, neither should you thrash a turbo one.

You mean Toyota engine :P The 2GRFSE is already being used in several Toyota models in Japan, the Crown Athlete and Mark X for instance. People need to get over this "it's a Lexus engine" thing, it's a Toyota engine designed by Toyota, built by Toyota, and used in Toyotas, and are no more special for the fact that they are used in the Lexus sister cars. To be precise, there has NEVER been a "Lexus-only" engine, apart from the 2UR ISF/LS600 V8 (comes from a series of Toyota engines though) and the V10 in the LFA - they have all been used in normal Toyotas as well. There have been a few occasions where the engine or engine series has debuted in Lexus models first, but it is usually no more than a year before they appear in regular models too. not my fault for knowing such things. it was the salesmen who told me that stuff. And salesmen will lie, cheat, and enhance the truth in order to get a sale (or because they don't actually know what they are talking about). Take everything they say with a grain of salt.

Which is my point. Some people just seem to deify things simply because they are available in a Lexus, despite them being an ordinary Toyota engine too. Hell, the ES runs the exact same engine as the Camry, always has done. Lexus was only created as a marketing strategy for the American market which believed in having seperate brands for different approaches to the same car - with GM you had Chevrolet as the base model, Pontiac as the sporty option, Buick as the entry-level luxury, and Cadillac as burger-with-the-works. Fords were standard-spec with Mercury for entry-level luxury and Lincoln for top-of-the-line, Chrysler was premium luxury with Plymouth serving the entry-level. Toyota thus followed the other Japanese brands (Honda created Acura and Nissan created Infiniti) in creating a luxury sub-brand for solely the American market, but instead of coming up with a whole all-new vehicle range they just put Lexus badges on the higher-end Toyota products (the LS was kind of different as it was a brand new design at the time, but was still released at the same time as the Celsior) and spec'd them towards the soft cruisey American style of car (so wallowy suspension, leather or plush velour from here to eternity, everything electric under the sun etc etc). It just happens that Lexus is the only one of the Japanese bunch that has spread from North America with any real success as a brand (mainly because Toyota didn't have a luxury image in most of the world)

You mean Toyota engine :P The 2GRFSE is already being used in several Toyota models in Japan, the Crown Athlete and Mark X for instance. People need to get over this "it's a Lexus engine" thing, it's a Toyota engine designed by Toyota, built by Toyota, and used in Toyotas, and are no more special for the fact that they are used in the Lexus sister cars. To be precise, there has NEVER been a "Lexus-only" engine, apart from the 2UR ISF/LS600 V8 (comes from a series of Toyota engines though) and the V10 in the LFA - they have all been used in normal Toyotas as well. There have been a few occasions where the engine or engine series has debuted in Lexus models first, but it is usually no more than a year before they appear in regular models too.

I see that as being much more likely though :P And feasible too...

I'm waiting for the "my best mate's dad's next-door neighbour's dog's vet's brother works for Toyota and he says it'll be AWD/RWD, he's driven the test-mule and did burnouts and doughies in the factory"

It's also illegal (unless there is a marked parking bay/zone) From the RTA road rules: (2) A driver must not stop on a road within 20 metres from the nearest point of an intersecting road at an intersection with traffic lights, unless the driver stops at a place on a length of road, or in an area, to which a parking control sign applies and the driver is permitted to stop at that place under these Rules. Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. Note 1. Parking control sign and traffic lights are defined in the Dictionary. Note 2. A driver stops within a particular distance from an intersection if the driver stops so any part of the driver’s vehicle is within that distance—see rule 350 (2). (3) A driver must not stop on a road within 10 metres from the nearest point of an intersecting road at an intersection without traffic lights, unless the driver stops: (a) at a place on a length of road, or in an area, to which a parking control sign applies and the driver is permitted to stop at that place under these Rules, or (B) if the intersection is a T-intersection—along the continuous side of the continuing road at the intersection. Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. Note. Continuing road and T-intersection are defined in the Dictionary. (4) For this rule, distances are measured in the direction in which the driver is driving, and: (a) for subrule (2)—as shown in example 1, or (B) for subrule (3)—as shown in example 2.

Those two hoses will be for the oil cooler. Is it for the AE82 in your profile or another car? Some cars pump engine coolant through the sandwich plate to act as an oil cooler, others draw oil from there and send it to a mini radiator at the front of the car, so it could be either oil or coolant lines depending on which car you have I'm assuming the car has been regularly serviced over those 9 years, so you can basically rule out the o-ring on the oil-filter itself as a culprit, so it'll come down to the oil cooler sandwich plate, whatever seals it has, and how the hoses connect to the fittings. Wouldn't be too hard for a mechanic (or a home mechanic) to diagnose and fix, nor should it be that expensive (as long as you don't have to remove the engine to machine mounting faces etc). By the way, how have you managed to get through rego for 9 years with an oil-leak? Most places I go to crack down fairly hard on that kind of stuff, especially oil (as it creates a hazard for other road users in sufficient quantity)

Interesting. I found the RE001's to be about as grippy as a pair of roller blades on ice when in the wet. Well not that crappy, but I wouldn't say they had decent grip in the wet. That's interesting, because the RE001/Adrenalin was the replacement for the GIII which was a highly regarded all-weather tyre....

Wouldn't the inside threads be also worn if it's under inflated? Depends on how under-inflated it is. Lower pressures may still give relatively even wear across the tread, but they will give more roll in the sidewall and it is always the outside sidewall of the tyre that cops it (due to weight transfer in corners), so you would expect to see more on the outside on tyres with soft sidewalls and low pressures.

Best way to haggle is to shop around, and actively voice that you are doing so. Helps to have a firm budget too, but the job of the salesman is to weasel you out of every last dollar of your budget, so it doesn't always work. However, the threat of taking your business elsewhere is always a good enticement to get them to lower their offer or throw in some tasty extras. Oh, and remember that the first place you go, their "final price" will never be their final price. Even if it looks like a great deal immediately, shop around and come back later in the day (or at least say that you shopped around whereas you just had lunch at the pub). When my parents bought their Camry, they went to one dealership first and haggled down to their "final price". They then went to another dealership in town, got the same deal for a couple of grand less, then rang up the first dealership to tell them that they had settled, only to be told by the first one "we can match that". My parents told them to shove it, as they had already given their "final price" and if that wasn't really their final price, then they aren't the kind of honest dealership that my parents wanted to buy a car from.

What's wrong with an AE92 booster? It's not like they're shockingly bad or rocking-horse rare..... By the way, in Aus it's either a KE70 or AE71, no such thing as a KE71.

Fixed. Chucking a huge (it is 4.0L remember) cast-iron block straight six into a dinky RA28 (they only weigh a bit over a tonne) is going to play havoc with your suspension and handling. Sure it'll go like a cut snake in a straight line, but say goodbye to corners. Remember Ford themselves tried the big-six-in-a-small-car with the Cortina, and the 4.1s were such lead-tipped arrows that they were almost deadly to drive. In my mind, if you need to go straight six in an RA28, go for a 1GGTE. It has been done tonnes of times before so there is plenty of knowledge and experience out there to help you out, the engine isn't massive and heavy so it doesn't impact handling too much, you can wring decent power out of them quite easily (talking 200kw at the wheels here), and best of all, you're keeping it all Toyota :P

My rule of thumb is that if there is a wear indicator there, it's there for a reason. So if you are worn down to the wear indicators on a bit that doesn't "normally" contact the road (it's worn though, so it must have contacted at some stage though :P), you still need to change the tyres.