SILVABULLIT

"no I'm ok with my TRD Cold Air Intake, it's really not that good. Important to note that I am being sarcastic as the TRD Cold Air Intake is in fact very good *laugh out loud*" I could understand him fine though? But mate your fluent in furry sik talk YO. It's one of your many talents that not everyone possesses

Hence why I deal with them...

BEEP BEEP!!!! You can always sit on your back seat in my car to remember just how good your Sportivo was.....:)

No arguments here.... <_< As for stock being best...Tested with what other mods(restrictive intakes for one) that will affect output. That is a rather big generalisation to make without pure and honest back to back testing in controlled conditions. Anyway CES do a cat back system with good gains(see trader section) and some others have reported some gains with changing the rear muffler with some of the more reputable brands of Jap tuners. Big thing is how much do you want to spend?? And what on cause a muffler can nearly cost you the price of a custom cat back system. Cheers SB :D

Happy birthday all!!

100% right there Rollamods. Guys the problem seems to be with the boots not the drive shafts and CV's. I mean if Northy hasn't broken one then they must be pretty strong.(he drives harder than anyone I know :P ) the boot I had replaced was an inner boot as is the case with Northy's car. For those who have pillow mounts you MUST keep them lubricated or else you will get this horrible clunking noise when you hit bumps or turn and go over a bump/gutter. Northy has one that is damaged from running dry and has worn a flat spot on the ball which then gives excess clearance. (also didn't help that Toyota didn't tighten a few things up properly <_< ) My suggestion is you get an oil can for a sewing machine with the sewing machine oil and once a month squeeze a few small drops into the pilow mount(where you can see the ball) to keep it lubricated. If you do that then you will have no problems. It also becomes worse after it has rained as it gets wet and the dirt/road grime gets thrown up from underneath etc etc so if you are aware of it then it shouldn't be a problem.

I think the cover should be a montage of a lot of members cars then each month a featured car that deserves to be there on it's merits whether it's a Sportivo or Ascent or Levin.

I'm definately up for this. Considering the lack of response to this idea I think that 1 car per pic will be the go.

Not sure if the front sway bars are the same across all models here in Australia but I know the rear sway bars are different between the sportivo and the other models in the lineup. Actual fact according to Superdave who has investigated this the sportivo has a smaller diameter rear sway than the ascent. How do I know?? Cause Superdave measured them and then swapped the rear sway from his Mum's car to his and from memory it was 1mm difference in thickness.

I think that it's not the CV's that are failing in the instances that I have seen but more the fact that the boots are failing. Both Northy and I have had the drivers side boot fail and both of us have had the gearbox's out of our cars for warranty work. Seems coincidental I know but has some strain been put on the boots when the box's were removed?? In our cases it could be the reason but others it could be when coilovers/suspension work has been done and the the whole hub assembly is left hanging on the end of the CV at it's most extreme angle. I always try and support the hub to avoid this from happening just incase of damaging the boots. Just a theory but could well be the case....

My car was lowered on kings and koni's. No probs at all.

I agree with the first part of your sentence... I take a sponge to work and wash mine in the manual high pressure bay at our servo... But what chemicals are left in recycled water??? Our recycler returns it to a drinkable state. Do Carlovers use sh!tty recyclers? yours might but most of the car washes around do not return the water to a drinkable level and suffice to say I won't be trying it anytime soon. The gov't has a standard that the water must be "purified and treated" and most of these companies recycle their water to just make the standard which is safe to touch but not to drink. It's like potable water but worse cause it's only for washing cars not watering plants so who cares. Over the last 5 odd years I have detailed that many cars that were owned by people who consistantly use these automatic car washes and the paint work is usually in a state of desperate attention. Damage from the nylon bristles that 'don't harm the paint' or those wonderful brooms or just the acidity and toxidity of the water. Classic example is a customer who had a 2 year old Commodore VY at the time. Plain red in colour and wanted me to do a polish on it to sell. I asked what condition it's in and he said he washes it about once a month at a carlovers style of car wash. When I got to detail it the paintwork was very badly streaked and the bonnet,roof and boot all had severe water marks and the start of severe oxidiation. I asked if the car was garaged and yes it was every day. So I had to cut it back quite agressively to remove the stains etc etc and got it come up a treat. The guy was as happy as Larry. Two weeks later he called and wanted me to give the car a quick clean as he had to use it and it rained as someone was wanting to look at it. I couldn't as I was busy so he said he'd do it. He went to his carwash again not thinking and washed the car. he got home and let the car dry itself a bit before chamois drying it. Where the water was sitting it had already marked the paint although not as bad as before as the polish had saved the paint from some of the damage. So I had to go back and re-polish the car again to remove all the marks. Obviously the water is contaminated with chemicals to breakdown the greases and oils and reduce the acidity to a safeish level. But at what cost??? I went to a car wash and got a sample of water. Using my pool chemical kit I tested the water. The acidity level was extremely high to the point of almost being off the scale. Levels this high not only cause paint damage over time but also cause rust. Hence why I NEVER use them on any of my cars no matter how good or bad they are. It's just too bigger risk to take. I've seen a carwash on the Gold Coast that has a disclaimer notice at the entry of the complex. Nobody prolly ever reads it but they basically have a water tight clause stating that any damage is entirely at your risk because they have warned you. It also says that if you have a dark coloured car then they advise you don't wash it here as it could be damaged..... Basically all I needed to read to make my mind up <_<

I got a CV boot replaced under warranty. Nowhere near as bad as that but still a big clean up job considering how clean I like to keep the underside of my car.....

Well send me your address so I can LOL

Put the cat back in.

there is a Sportivo owner in Brissy who is seriously looking at doing a Turbo set up like Xoom's. Have spoken with the company who is going to carry out all the necessary work. :D Only need a few more and then we can have the F/I qtr mile record column

guys I have the panels in my possession and just need addresses and if you want it sent directly to you or packaged up with someone else's. Postage will be by registered mail which is more expensive but still only at max $12 which isn't a lot and guaranteed to arrive unlike last time.

No arguments from me on that one!! guess the reason that you aren't out getting drunk is that you bought a black sportivo. Always looks dirty and therfore you are always cleaning it!!!!

Not allowed to use a hose in Brisbane due to level 4 water restrictions. I actually use a pressure cleaner due to being a commercial detailer have an exemption.

03 Sportivo 100 000k's with CAI,headers and exhaust. Using 95 octane it's usually around 650kms to a tank. Using 98 octane is roughly the same around the 650k mark. This is for city driving. Open freeway running I have been able to get up around the 740k's to a tank on either 95 or 98 octane.

Products you use will make a difference but also how often you give your engine bay a clean will also help with it's appearance. I usually give my engine bay a wash once a month with a high pressure rinse and then chamois off. Dressing all the plastics and hoses etc I do prolly 4 times a year and it keeps everything looking new. The only other thing I do is polish the strut brace and cooling panel prolly 3 times a year mainly to remove water marks and for a show. But yeah Meguiars FTW in my books and I've had a few

I'd rather lug buckets of water to wash my car than let someone else lay a finger on it or use one of the car washes like car lovers with their recycled water full of chemicals. Guess that's why after 100 000km's and 4 years of owning my Sportivo it still has what it takes to win goodies at shows....

Good news kids!! The panels are ready and finished so Monday I will be picking them up so for those who need to pay me the remainder of the amount and also for postage I willl PM you shortly to get this happening. Postage will be done differentyl to last time as these will NOT be going missing so costs may be a little more. Talk to you all soon. SB:)

Have a look in the traders section for the items you require. :D

I have got a price from a company here in Brisbane called Modicoat. They do all the dash dress up kits with the woodgrain and carbon fibre look inserts etc etc. This stuff looks the real deal and will handle the heat without an issue. Only problem is the price. Engine cover costs about $440 and I got prices on various other bits and pieces but it all ended up being over $1000 so I gave it a miss. But $130 sounds cheap as but the quality would be my concern. :D Anyone who may be interested in Modicaot PM me and I will give you all the relevant details. :D