Hiro

I'm not implying that you are, however a vast amuont of the sort of people who buy these sort of products do so out of sheer cluelessness or getting sucked in by market hype without doing any proper research. As is evident by the number of threads I've seen started on forums along the lines of "I'm getting one of these whatchamacallit-dooveywhackers along with a bottle of snake oil, what sort of massive 1/4 mile gains can I expect from my 1.3l auto Yaris?"

I thought ugly was a visual thing, not an auditory one :P And I'd hazard a guess that every non-deaf person in Australia above the age of 10 has head a 90s Falcon or Commodore accelerate.

Only use analogies if they are actually relevant. You sir, fail at analogies. They are excellent tools for simplying complex systems into a manner which can be understood by the average schmuck (since I'm not an average schmuck, I need to use them alot). If I wanted to use an analogy based around rifles yet still linked to the booster, it would be this: Imagine an automatic rifle. A round is fired at a set rate as long as the trigger is pulled down. The limitations on the system are the speed at which the person initially pulls the trigger, the speed at which the firing mechanism operates, and the speed at which the bolt can cycle and load a new round. Now, you can invent a mechanical (or electrical, whatever's your poison) device to enhance the operation of the trigger, such that you only have to pull it half as hard in order to fire the first round. The mechanism is still the same, and there is still the same delay in the cycling of the firing mechanism and bolt, however you have reduced the time delay inherent to pulling the trigger, as well as the effort. Initially it seems like the pull is much easier and faster, until you become accustomed to the weight needed to activate it and learn your way around it. You'll still fire at the same rate once the first bullet fires(it is an automatic rifle afterall), but the effort for that initial pull is less.

I think you need to better define what you mean by "throttle response" and "acceleration". Get your average family hack and quickly twist the throttle butterfly by hand - there is a distinct (but small) delay between your inputs and the response of the engine. In a cable-driven car, that is the definition pure-and-simple of throttle response, as there is a direct un-altered mechanical link between throttle pedal and cable. In an ETC car, it is a bit more complicated. Let me break it down for you. In a fly-by-wire car, the path from foot to throttle is thus: 1) Foot presses pedal 2) Potentiometer or the like reads throttle travel and outputs a voltage (or variable resistance, which affects voltage) 3) This voltage is read by the computer, calculated and converted (taking other inputs into consideration) into an input for the throttle body actuator (a servo) 4) The throttle actuator receives this signal and outputs drive to turn the throttle butterfly to the specific angle 5) The engine reacts to the change in throttle position and draws in more air,causing engine speed to increase There are delays in ALL those steps. However, you can rule out improving delays caused by 4 because the system is controlled via closed-loop feedback by the TPS. In addition to that, the delay in step 2 is infinitesimally small (you're looking at current flow speed). You can also rule out delays by 5 as the response is identical with or without the booster. Thus, you are left with step 1 and 3. Since we're talking about computers here, which operate on the micro-second scale and smaller (they control injectors which are operating at several thousand times per second, remember, so you think your product has more power and operating speed than an ECU designed by a multinational with millions of dollars and hundreds of people invested in it?), any significant delays (and thus improvements) are going to be located solely in step 1, and that is all your product is doing - reducing pedal travel for part-throttle applications, in which case we are back to the hi-fi analogy. Plus, any "graphs" generated are useless as proof unless accompanied by their raw data or if undertaken by approved accredited bodies - treat them like a dyno graph, which can very easily be manipulated by the operator to give just about any desired output simply by adjusting parameters or over-riding settings.

Of course it could be a placebo - just because it won a single award at a single exhibition (who actually decided the award? Was it the public? Experts? Other stall owners? OEMs? Maybe it was a crap year for other aftermarket parts and it was the best of a bad bunch). Have you ever heard of a little product called Firepower? It received $400,000 in Australian Government grants, public approval from key government figures and apparent approval from major manufacturers yet has been shown several times to be a large-scale scam, and the former owner of the company under ongoing investigation by ASIC - however, in the time that it was believed to be a genuine effective product the company sponsored 3 major sporting teams (including the Sydney Kings, part-owned by Firepower, which had to quit the NBL because the sponsorship money promised never arrived and left them bankrupt) and even a V8 Supercar team, all thusly perpetuating a lie. Are you a salesman or spokesperson for this thing? Because it sure sounds like you are. The biggest flaw with this arguement is the fact that you cannot accelerate any faster than you can with the throttle at 100% (you state yourself that there is no difference at 100%). Therefore, any "increase" in performance is simply the equivalent of pressing the throttle harder. Of course people will see "improvements", but what they are really experiencing is an increase in the acceleration of the car compared to the amount they press the pedal. They are being surprised at the fact that they are getting greater acceleration than they are used to considering how much they pressed the pedal. Since humans are creatures of habit, all we will do is simply drive around with less throttle pedal input, thus giving us the same performance (unless you drive flat-out all the time, you are never using 100% of the engine's power and are really accelerating at a rate chosen by yourself). Since the work that you apply to activate the pedal is not measured engine power or fuel consumption, the only savings you can possibly get with this unit is a less-sore ankle. If you want an analogy, imagine a hi-fi system. The volume goes up to 100, and the scale is linear, so if you turn the knob to 25 you get 25% volume. Now, there is a "mod" which amplifies the output of the volume knob, so now if you turn the knob to 25 you suddenly get 50% volume - "wow!" you say, the output of your hi-fi is now totally awesome, it never used to be this loud. However, you like the volume at 25, so over time you simply learn to turn the knob down to 12 to get the same sound output. However, on the off chance you still want to shake the walls, you turn it up to 100 and yet you still get 100% volume, not 200%. On top of this, consider the power consumed by the speaker - it is completely linked to the actual output volume, not the input knob setting. You aren't going to save power by having the mod and turning the knob half as much, because the output of the speaker is the same and thus draws the same current, and thus the same amount of power. Sure, the music gets louder a _little_ bit faster, but that is purely a transient effect and only affects things when you change volume. As for the Hilux forums, take a look at any of the millions of eBay ads for "air-temp mod chips" and "fuel-line magnets" - each will have glowing reports from "experts" and dozens of satisfied customers yet those products have been proven time and time again to be completely bogus. Placebos are a scientifically proven (and used, the whole reason behind double-blind testing is to remove bias and the placebo effect) fact, be it a drug or a chip in a car.

Remove the wiper arm which is no longer moving (should be a small plastic clip and one nut to remove) and see if the spindle is moving when the wipers are turned on. If it is, then you have either stripped the thread on the arm/spindle or the nut wasn't done up tight enough. If it doesn't move than the linkage connecting that spindle to the wiper motor is loose or broken.

There is a difference between throttle response (the response of the engine to changes in throttle) and simple delays in the pedal-throttle connection. With one of these "boosters" there is NO difference whatsoever to the actual response of the engine to changes in the throttle butterfly, all it essentially does is reduce the travel of the pedal required to get full opening of the butterfly. A downside of this is that the throttle will become "twitchier" as small variations in the position of the pedal due to your foot moving naturally are now amplified, and you'll have to completely re-learn how to balance the throttle and the clutch pedals when changing gears. And of course you feel a difference, it's called the placebo effect - you expect there to be a difference so your body is feeling things that aren't necessarily there (or imagining that they are having a greater effect than they really are). And no, I have neither fitted one of these to my car or driven one with it fitted, as all the cars I have ever owned or driven have had cable throttles.

Page isn't loading, but it just sounds like one of those throttle-recalibrate things where it converts 50% throttle pedal to 100% butterfly in "performance" mode and the other way around in "economy" mode - there's no real improvement in response, acceleration or fuel consumption that can't be achieved by just adjusting your driving style and learning to use the pedals better. IE it's a complete waste of time.

Finally put it up for sale.....the AE82 that is, I'm sick of it taking up garage space. Might pump up the tyres and try and get it started on the weekend too (only been sitting there un-loved for 12 months)

Post-facelifts have 15" steelies, pre-facelift are 14"

Oh ok cool, good to know. Yeah the power folding mirrors are so handy. I use them every night when I put my car covers on. I've got a spare set in the garage as mine have a few chips on the triangular piece that bolts to the car (I'm a real fussy bugger, lol). Would be easy to fix but I'm just going to get the other ones sprayed as they're a different colour. Let me know if you're keen to buy the original ones. I've got a spare switch for it too. Thanks, I'll keep that option open. Seems like Aus really lucked out with our speck compared to NZ and Japan Are you after the indicator/parklights next to the headlights? Or the actual orange bumper indicators? The bumper ones, ADM models don't have the combined parker/indicators as our side repeaters are on the guard behind the front wheel

All our window frames are body-coloured except for CSX and RV models I think, definitely majority though. Our rear view mirrors are different to yours too (yours are the Jap-spec with the narrower neck and electric fold, would love a set of those). Got some weather-shields tucked away awaiting the day that the frames get painted, not going to bother putting them on yet as they'll just have to come off again and the black of the shields would stand out against the white of the frames. Thanks, does he have the indicators as well? I still need to track some down, 90% sure that Holden Nova ones fit but in case they don't (or I don't find any) it would be good to have a back-up plan.

'Bout time you replaced that wheel :P Sucks that you got one for $15 when mine ended up being about $150 from Japan (only about $30 actual sale price but when you factor in commission and air mail, it adds up). Our cars are becoming twins more and more by the day, I've been planning on getting my window frames painted black to match the seals/rubbers as the white just stands out too much.

The view results (null vote) button probably counts as a vote but doesn't go towards either of the poll options, I'm guessing. So there have been 10 votes and 3 people who just wanted to see the results and had to cast a null vote.

Probably similar to Superstrut....

It's as fast as an GD STi around the Top Gear test track

I do it out of habit, especially when I've got the window down because my elbow pushes the button down on the window sill :P

Awesome, that would make things a lot easier having all of the brackets there already. The funny thing is that every other Corolla over here has factory folding rear seats, except for my one. The weird part is that mine is an SE Limited, which is the top model you can get (aside from the GT) so I'm not sure why they decided to install fixed rear seats all of a sudden . Good idea to get the seats reupholstered using the fabric, that is a great alternative. Turning yours into a GT replica would be awesome B). Did you ever hear about the ULTRA rare TRD 2000 Corolla that came with the factory 3S-GE engine? I've got some pics of the sales brochure if you wanna see it ;) Yeah I've seen the TRD2000 stuff, pity they used a GenIII 3SGE and not a BEAMS, the BEAMS is my other main option for engine apart from the 7AGE 20V and in some ways easier, in some ways a lot harder though.

Yeah I'd love a set of GT rear seats, anything GT sedan-related though is uber-rare though. Our ADM rear-seats are 60-40 split fold already so there wouldn't be any cutting/shutting, I have considered getting Levin or Sprinter liftback (much easier to find) rear seats and then using them to re-trim the standard back-rests (base should swap over). Ideally I want to turn mine into a GT-sedan replica (with twin exhausts, interior except for the FXGT Momo wheel, 20v engine albeit with a 7A block) but with the FXGT front end instead.

Reckon you could track down some foglights for me then? :P Did those rear seats come from a GT sedan or from a Sprinter? I've got the Levin fronts but fairly sure the Levin/Sprinter/FX rear seats don't fit the sedans (wings are different).

Can't remember if you can do it on the N97m or not, but the Samsung OmniaHD runs the same S60 system, and when you're back at the idle screen you hold down the menu hard-button and it brings up a list of all the programs running, and you can shut them down that way (rather than opening the program and then quitting out) I know the X6 has this function too. But i prefer a main exit button which will solve this problem of having to close each prog.You can live with it but its a pain on the ..... One day i intend to get the Galaxy S and palm my X6 to my wife.Dont think she will be too impressed though .. I get around it by not having 10-million programs running at the same time. Takes only one more button press to get out of most programs then it does to just jump straight back to the idle screen, and I rarely need to multi-task

Can't remember if you can do it on the N97m or not, but the Samsung OmniaHD runs the same S60 system, and when you're back at the idle screen you hold down the menu hard-button and it brings up a list of all the programs running, and you can shut them down that way (rather than opening the program and then quitting out)

Hungry Hungry Hippo GP Team: Red Bull Drivers: Alonso, Webber Pole: Vettel Fastest: Alonso

Aren't traybacks delivered as bare cab-chassis utes and then the trays are sourced locally, thus no tub is ever delivered?

Longcat is what is known in this forum community as an "in-joke" Being a troll, you are obviously not a real part of this community, so of course you won't get "the joke".