Hiro

The Aurion was only released in October/November of 2006, if you go by the naming convention of the Yanks that makes them 2007 Model Year, which might be where the 07+ comes from.

WIDOW (What I Did On Weekend) + yesterday. Cleaned out car Drove car to Sydney Washed car Attended Toyotafest Drove home Then, yesterday Cleaned car out again Removed sub + amp from boot Removed back seat base Drove down to Sydney for drags Got as far as Gosford before hearing they were cancelled due to rain Drove home a sad panda with no bass. I'd love a set of those in 17"...

I think every now and then we need to be reminded that Corollas and Aurions/Camrys really are just whitegoods on wheels, designed to be driven from A to B with the least amount of fuss and hassle. They aren't supercars, nor are they show-stoppers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, nor is there anything wrong with us modifying them, but there is no denying what they intrinsically are.

Fairly sure the CSI only gets activated on cranking (and then only if the temp is cold enough). Once the engine is running it shuts off completely.

You got it the wrong way around dude. Both the gearbox and final drive are REDUCTION ratios, ie the first gear ratio of 3.166:1 is 3.166 turns of the engine gives 1 revolution of the gearbox output shaft. So to get one revolution of the driveshaft, you need to have 13.65 turns of the engine. So 2000rpm in first gear gives 146.6 turns of the driveshaft, and in 5th you have 569.4 turns of the driveshaft. (ie about 4 times faster than in first). With gearbox ratios, torque and speed are inverse relationships. So if you have a 4.3:1 reduction (ie 4.3 turns of the input = 1 turn of the output) in speed you have a 4.3:1 multiplication of torque (output torque is 4.3 times greater than input torque).

So is this going to make an appearance this weekend at Toyotafest?

I think there has been rumours floating around of the Klugers being made on the Altona line in the future though, doesn't surprise me as they use the same chassis and basic driveline as the Aurion.

Only the Camry/Aurion is still built in Aus, everything else is an import from Japan, Thailand or a few other places.

Nice work scoring an RV, and a manual one at that (I'm assuming it's manual as I can't see a transmission dipstick). The RVs were the top spec for the hatches, so you should have pretty decent kit to begin with (power windows, central locking, air-con etc) plus they had the same sports seats as the AE101 FXGTs and Levins, which are miles better than the pov-spec ones. Things to look out for, the aforementioned checking of the oil is definitely something to keep an eye on. All A-series engines, 7AFE included, like to burn a bit of oil as they get older, especially if they weren't looked after or run-in properly. It's worthwhile topping it up regularly (making sure not to overfill) or doing oil and filter changes every 5,000km. As for other things to look out for, rust isn't really an issue on these cars, they seem to hold up much better than the AE92s etc, Toyota really stepped up the build-quality when they moved to the Altona plant and started making the 10x series. For the same reason the body should be in good shape, with few rattles/clunks etc, although it's a good bet that the standard suspension is well and truly shagged by now (if it hasn't already been changed), so check things like shocks, springs, bushes, ball-joints and swaybar endlinks and replace anything that is getting worn. On the mod side of things, the F-head A-series engines are a bit of an orphan child compared to the 4AGEs, so there's not much off-the-shelf in Aus as far as bolt-in upgrades. Things like better shocks and lowered springs are a good start (the RVs supposedly got slightly sportier suspension than the rest of the pack but were still fairly pedestrian) to improve handling, along with the 3-point strut brace from an AE101 Levin (you have to drill holes in the firewall though). Engine upgrades are basically limited to exhaust and a cold-air intake unless you want to get custom cams and headwork (which would probably need an aftermarket computer or piggyback anyway). Exhaust and intake on their own will probably net you ~5kw at the wheels depending on how healthy your engine is and the size/quality of the exhaust, which is a nice little boost, and if your handling is sorted then it ends up being quite a nice car for twisty mountain roads, just don't expect it to be sizing up V8s at the traffic lights :P Biggest piece of advice I can give is to get the Gregorys manual for it, it's the best $50 you can ever spend for your car and is very, very handy to have around when you give the DIY a try for the first time.

Edit: Triple post

Edit: Double post

The Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles Annual Running of the Number 1 Formula Motor Car Grand Prize Race of the year 2010 Team: Red Bull Drivers: Webber, Hamilton Pole: Webber Fastest: Alonso Corner at which Alonso wishes Nelson Piquet was still driving: 17

Only the Ultima sedan is now a 2.0L, and it is also auto-only. I never said that a 5-speed was coming, I said that Toyota could probably stretch out the life and competitiveness of the model by fitting a better auto (the current unit is outdated compared to the competition, one of the big downsides to the model).

That particular engine is a 4AC, if you have to be pedantic it is a 4ALC (the L in Toyota-speak means east-west/transverse mounting, so it won't get confused with north-south/longitudinal RWD applications like the AE71 and AE86) The engine number should look something like this: 4Axxxxxxx, where the x's are numbers.

Long in the tooth? It's only 3 1/2 years old, and the sedan received it's mid-life facelift only in the last few months (at which time the Ultima got the 2.0L as well). Traditionally Corolla models have been replaced every 4 years (in Japan at least, Aus is usually a year or two behind), but the ZZE bucked the trend by lasting 5 1/2years (Dec 01 - May 07) and I'd anticipate that the ZRE would follow the same trend (there's no real sign of a replacement on the horizon yet), if not last longer. Basically if they bump the auto up to a 5- or 6-speed and make the 2.0L common across the range it could last for at least another 3 years against the current competition.

Boots with torsion-bars don't use gas struts...

Something that I thought of that would tie in with that, was one of the side windows open at all when the truck went past? High pressure pulse through the cabin, lower pressure zone between the roof box and the moonroof would make things worse.

Bit of a stab in the dark, but roof box is creating a negative pressure zone above the moonroof causing it to get sucked out?

According to NSW road users handbook "Unless a sign tells you otherwise, you can cross any type of dividing line when turning right at an intersection. You can also turn to the right across a dividing line to enter or leave a property (eg home or shops) by the shortest route" And I call BS on the "no reversing out of a driveway" law, it's the kind of thing that is applied in public carparks but defies logic and sense when you apply it to driveways. Think about it this way - if it is legal to drive nose-first into your driveway, then how are you going to turn around in your property in order to drive out nose-first again? I guarantee that NO-ONE who lives on a busy road would reverse into their driveway in traffic, otherwise it'd be absolute chaos - much easier to drive straight in, and (giving way to pedestrians of course) and wait for a gap in traffic when reversing out onto the road.

Is it gas?

3rd generation Ford Taurus (the only generation we got here), one of the New Edge Fords (along with the AU and first-gen Focus), Ford were delusional if they thought this thing could potentially replace the Falcon (although the current one is a good bit of gear)

is "balancing" another word for wheel alignment? if so i forgot to mention i got charged another 70$ for a 4wheel wheel alignment No, balancing and alignment are two different things Balancing is the act of adding lead weights on to the wheel to counteract any defects in the construction of the wheel and tyre that could lead to it creating vibrations etc Balancing is done with the wheel and tyre off the car. Balancing should be done whenever you get new tyres (as tyres are never balanced from the factory) Wheel alignment is the process of making small adjustments to suspension components so that particular characteristics are met, such as camber, castor, toe etc which affect how the car drives and handles (not all of these are adjustable on all cars, bear in mind). This is done with the wheel and tyre on the car. Wheel alignments should be done periodically (as they can "wander" slightly), also whenever you get new tyres and whenever major suspension components are unbolted/changed (hubs, struts etc)

Might help if the OP states what state they are in (no pun intended), as little niggly rules like this have a habit of being slightly different depending on what state you are in.

I know a few Davo has put at least something resembling care into his...