Andrew162

Do you mean the first generation RAV4's from 1994 - 2000? If so there's more than enough. The 2-door variants are getting a bit harder to come by though.

Hmm.. don't quote me, but I think the downhill assist feature was added in '06 (as well as the much beefier 3.5L V6 engine). There were a lot of changes made and features added to the RAV in that year. Doing a search on carsales.com.au should tell you which models had what features in which years, like the 04 and 05 models had the 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine added as well as the bonnet scoop, but all of them should have a feature list when being listed for sale.

__________________________________________________________________________ Oh no, he's named it... now there's no going back. :P RSB (rear swaybar) is probably one of the best mods you can do, so have a look in the Whiteline online catalog and see if they do something for your ride. The rear swaybar upgrade effectively neutralises the understeer that most FWD cars are prone to. Usually they are thicker and come with their own mounts sold as a kit.

If you're in the market for suspension upgrades you'll have to take into consideration a few things: * How low do you need * Comfort * Purpose I rate those pretty highly. Firstly if you're bottoming out, you're going to need new bump stops. My car did that like crazy when I first got mine, and I discovered it had no bump stops in it at all. Second, aftermarket springs/shocks or coilovers? This point draws on the last two areas I named, comfort and purpose. Coilovers are usually attached to some form of racing or motorsport, kind of like if someone buys them they're made to do more than just road driving. A lot of people will say get coilovers, but consider the cost (research a few brands on a Google search) and consider the appalling lack of comfort you'll get from the ride. So my suggestion is that if you're not taking it any further than the road and value your teeth and spine functionality, go for a set of shocks like KYB's and maybe King Low's as a suggestion. A fourth area I didn't mention but something to be taken highly into consideration is Practicality. You'll want it low enough to feel good through the bends and sharp to drive, but still have enough stature to attack a speed hump or someone's inclined driveway. I've managed to pull this off in my ride. So if you're seriously into mods and want to research stuff for your car, ebay is a good place to start (after Googling brands of suspension and taking note of who actually caters for your model Celica). If you're still coming up dry on choice, you could always have a look on Yahoo Japan, because they'll sell a heap of stuff on there that was never an option for mods in Australia. Other physical places you might want to browse for ideas are Jap wrecking yards/shops, like Just Jap and Ichiban. They seem to carry a good stock of stuff that was made for Jap modifications but not necessarily Aussie cars. Food for thought.. now get digging! :P

I'll refer back to my previous post about doing other 'essential' stuff to your car to augment it's potential 'future' power output. Just because you can't drive it fast, doesn't mean it's not able to be setup to be quick. For example, my Celica is still a 3S-GE. It's capable of putting out 180hp (3rd gen Jap spec) but I don't need that kind of power to go quick. Most of this car's capabilities come from the setup in the handling. Yours is no different. It might be the next generation up, and a bit heavier, but you can still do largely the same stuff that I've done to mine without the wallet-destruction of working purely on engine mods. If I were you I'd be looking more at suspension mods (shocks/springs, swaybars, suspension bushes, strut tower bars, etc.) that can make a car feel quicker, without going for the extra $$$ for more power or speed. Anyway search those keywords in Google and start your research, and whet that modder's apetite. :D

Interesting... I used to moderate R4W in it's early days and help out Kelly with the site. Not sure what's happened to him if he's not taking registrations anymore.

In all honesty, power is probably the last thing you should be worried about.. but that doesn't stop you from reading up about how to do it properly. ;) Non-turbo engines aren't made for boost that most turbos deliver. The internals of the engine will give way from being put under too much stress a lot quicker than a build engine (ie. an engine made for the purpose it's going to serve). A 3S-GTE is a good example. The 'T' means turbo... from factory. Your 5S-FE isn't made to go as hard as a turbo powered engine will. Anyway, research is your best friend at this point, because it sounds like you have a bit of reading to do. :D "If something is worth doing once, then it's worth doing properly" a statement a lot of modders tend to forget when in your boat. Something I myself have learned over the years too.

Intake, exhaust, handling mods, ie. suspension, wheels, tyres, etc. The usual stuff for the power-hamstrung P-plater.

Probably a 3S-GTE, but only once you're off those P plates. ;) With a little more research and a fistful of dollars you could try looking at a 5S-GTE option instead.

Just wanted to add a comment to the OP, the 1st gen RAV4's with the 3S-FE engines were notorious for valve stem seal failures. Though having said this, it usually was around the 150k - 200k mark that they started to give up. I remember conversations like this one on the old RAV4World.com and RAV4oz.com as well, the general concensus was to use slightly thicker oil and most of the consumption problems would disappear. But also do check the back of the engine for rocker cover gasket failure as well.

It looks too dark to be the Blue Mica which was also a popular colour, but not one that was released in a World Cup series model. Also I believe this colour was removed from the colour list in 1997 during the 1st gen facelift period. 8L5 (Electric Blue / Royal Sapphire Pearl) was the colour of my RAV4 and it's very close to that colour, from what I can tell. Since this was a madly popular colour from the range (1998-2000 model RAV4's) I'd be fairly confident it was 8L5.