Rattle Rattleson

I was just browsing the TRD US website, looking at the parts available for the new Scion iM. For those who don't know, the new Scion iM is almost identical to our current model Corolla hatch except that it has an independent rear end instead of torsion beam and the valvematic version of our 1.8 litre (though with a couple of kW less stock power than our motor presumably because of the very tight emission requirements over in the US). But I was interested because Scion are considered the "sporting" versions of Toyotas and of course the Toyota 86 is actually a Scion over in the US. And TRD US have said on their website that they want to develop TRD parts for the new iM. Apparently a TRD air intake is coming soon and there is a photo of it on the website. It is hard to know what sort of compatibility there is but it's a reasonable bet at least some of these parts will drop straight into our cars. It will be interesting to see what parts they might bring out but certainly a fully enclosed TRD air intake - just like the one people here can already get for the Toyota 86 is very interesting. I have no doubt at least one Corolla owner in the US is going to try and fit this into their car and if it works it's almost a certain bet it will fit our cars as well.

It's OK. I took it to Pro Axle today and the guy fixed it. Did a good job too (left hand toe was out).

G'day all. I have a question relating to my Mum's 2006 Yaris hatch. I bought this car for her brand new back in 2006 and it has been pretty flawless. I don't drive it that often - perhaps 10 times a year or so and that includes having it for a few days at a time every 6 months to facilitate the servicing (done at the local Toyota dealer). I noticed when I had it this time around that the steering wheel was ever so slightly left-down at the straight-ahead, however this is only on roads with a "standard" camber (so a relatively low crown in the road). On those roads where the camber is obvious, the steering is straight. The car also tracks straight and the tyre wear is very good and even. The car was not like this from new - I 100% would have noticed this because half the time when driving straight ahead I have to have the wheel a degree or two left down which shouldn't be the case. Mum hasn't hit anything that would cause anything to bend (she is honest and has admitted in the past to any minor scrapes so I know nothing has happened). But down my way there is so much road work and our roads are so hopelessly damaged as a result that you'd need a Landcruiser these days to get around totally unscathed and in comfort. I've even taken to using alternative longer routes in my own Corolla to bypass these roadworks as they really are not good for any car. I'm not pointing fingers- I'm just saying...and I even cautioned Mum about being careful over them. Anyway, when I took it to the dealer today I mentioned the wheel issue and a possible alignment issue, but when I picked the car up, it had "passed" their "alignment test" and they did not take any further action. I suppose it is possible the car is now ageing and it might be simply a combination of this combined with a "default" suspension setting for driving on the left-hand side of Australian roads but it still seems odd enough for me to be asking about it. I am thinking of taking it somewhere to get another looking at while I still have it. Not a dealer or "tyre" place but maybe a steering and suspension specialist (apart from Pedders who in my experience are to be avoided like the plague as they invent problems that don't exist in my experience). But what I'd like to know is if anyone who owns a Yaris around this vintage or maybe just with say, more than 50 thousand on the clock has noticed this characteristic on their own car? Thanks

Mudflaps for the ZRE152 are not a problem, nor is it a problem for the ZRE172 sedan. The dealer already told me that. The problem is mudflaps for the ZRE182 hatch and they are not interchangeable with the ZRE152 or ZRE172. In Australia you can only buy mudflaps for the older ZRE152 hatch or the current ZRE172 sedan from a Toyota dealer.

For the first time since 1987 some atoms on the exterior of my moving car came in contact with something somewhat less compressible than air and water But it wasn't that bad - there was a high 90 degree kerb jutting out into a commercial driveway that was out of my line of vision and my front left mudflap ran over it. Luckily no damage whatsoever to anything else bar the mudflap. So I go to the local Toyota dealer today fully expecting to be able to buy a brand new replacement since my Corolla is a 2014 build ZRE182 hatch. I realised I might have to buy a whole set but never did I expect the parts guy to tell me that Toyota no longer sell them AT ALL!! What the heck, the car is only 18 months old!! Anyway, I've been scouting around for other options and the second thing I checked may be the go. The UK 2013 Auris hatch seems to be identical in all the respects that matter here. I then found the installation instructions for the 2013 Auris mud flap set and the illustrations of the actual flaps themselves and mounting holes appear to indicate they are 100% identical to mine. This kit (UK part number 53008-02010) is also specified for all E18 series which of course includes the Australian model (and other countries such as South Africa and NZ). So am I missing something obvious here before I go and buy a set from the UK? Toyota Australia are simply not interested in selling them and only stock the ones for the sedan model. Honestly though this seems ridiculous. I would have thought one should be able to buy ANY part for a 2014 Australian vehicle, no matter what that part is. I can understand less common parts dropping off after some years but not after 12 months.

I'm not sure where you have gotten your research information from, but the TRD exhaust for the ZRE152 fits onto the standard ZRE182 Australian rear end without any modification required. The only thing it does is slightly twist the hanger rubber by a few degrees as the hanger bracket is at a slightly different angle to the stock OEM exhaust. There is no TRD exhaust made for the ZRE182. There is, however, a TRD exhaust made for the Japanese ZRE186 which won't fit the Australian ZRE182 at all despite these models having much the same basic appearance. The reason is that it is designed for the independent rear end, not the semi-independent rear end of the Australian car where the torsion beam sits exactly where the exhaust would go. And yes, that ZRE186 exhaust does require the diffuser under the bumper. TRD US also now make an exhaust for the US Corolla which may possibly fit the Australian sedan version, since they appear to be the same car apart from the obvious US / Australian differences (though the exhaust system is on the same side for both). I'll have to disagree with your statement that it does not make any noticeable difference to performance as well. After I fitted mine the difference was noticeable as I have eluded to in my thread on the exhaust. It might not be so much performance (and without a dyno test I couldn't make such a claim either), but it definitely does what it says on the tin (i.e. it is a high response exhaust and that is exactly what it does - improves throttle response noticeably). Buying that TRD exhaust was the best thing I have doen for my car, since it now feels much more like it has a mechanical throttle linkage instead of an electronic one (this being one of my biggest issue with modern cars). But if you look up dyno tests of other TRD axleback exhausts on the net, you will see that they all deliver noticeable gains on the dyno. Not big ones of course, but they are there. As I say though, a dyno cannot measure throttle response - only torque and RPM (and thus calculates power from that). As for ADR compliance, strictly speaking that requires two tests - a stationery one and a drive-by one. For cars that are already ADR complaint and in service, the stationery one is what gets tested. The 83 dBA limit is correct for the stationery test of the ZRE182 manual transmission Corolla hatchback, being the (Toyota supplied to the Government) 78 dBA figure plus the 5 dBA allowance under the EPA regulations. I measured mine at 82.7 dBA which rounds down under the test procedures to 82 dBA. This 82 dBA limit is also the standard to which Japanese mufflers have to be built. The TRD mufflers all have a plate on them showing they meet the standard. This in itself, however, has nothing to do with Australian rules and if a car, for example, has a noise imprint in the Green Vehicle Guide of 77 dB or less, then fitting an 82 dBA muffler or louder is going to be illegal strictly speaking.

Hi, This is probably a long shot, but does anyone own the Podium II wheels in 16 inch (for Corolla)? Toyota offer these as a genuine accessory for the ZRE182 hatch and I am considering getting these next year. If you do own them I'd be interested in what you think of them. Also wondering if they are lighter than the original steel wheels. And one final question - possibly not Podium II specific. Do you require a different wheel nut when going to an alloy wheel from the stock Toyota steel wheels (forgetting about lock nuts for the moment).

I just thought of something though. What about the colour? Is the interior trim colour of the sedan the same as the hatch? My mats are a dark greyish colour. Corolla logo in a sort of woven off-white. btw, as another sedan-hatch compatibility sort of thing, the aluminium-finished "Corolla" door sill scuff plates (really classy) sold in the US as an official Toyota accessory for the US 2014 Corolla (which is a sedan only), fits the Australian ZRE182 hatch absolutely 100% perfectly. I know. I have them on my car (Mr. Rattles)!

Wilkin, I'm not quite sure which part under the dash on the left side you mean. On mine all I can see is a white nozzle type of extension underneath the heater blower outlet that is a secure but lose fit and that could certainly make noise, but I can't see anything else potentially noise-making on that side apart from the LED for the glovebox (which I have taped down with Gorilla tape). As for those pillow on the right, just be careful where you put them because it sounds like you are talking about the cavity in which the driver's knee airbag sits. I'm not sure of the ramifications of blocking that with combustible materials such as pillows, etc. My own driver's side dash rattle came back earlier this week out of the blue - and now worse than ever before. I'm stumped. I've probably put more hours into looking under that dash and prodding every single thing up there than anyone. I thought I had by now located everything that can possibly be lose, but yesterday I discovered that the back of the external rear view mirror adjustment control is a secure fit but a very lose one. Sufficiently lose that driving over a bump could conceivably cause a rattle. I've now put foam in there and of course the thing test drives in complete silence. But I'm now pessimistic that I have solved the rattles. Actually, I am 99% sure they will just start up again tomorrow, next week, next month..whatever. Yesterday was about my 10th attempt since June to resolve the loud dash rattles on the driver's side and every time I think I've nailed it the rattles just start up again - each time even worse than the time before. It's honestly sounding like an ex-rental delivery van with a million kms on the clock or that a whole internal structural part of the dash is broken (but it is all seemingly "fine" under there). It probably sounds even worse than it is because mechanically and in road noise terms the car is extremely quiet. I don't really have the resolve any more to keep chasing this. I now suspect the only way to have a hope of ridding these cars of their rattles is to completely disassemble the dash and re-build it from the ground up with noise suppression felt / foam on or around each and every clip, Krytox grease on every single internal mating surface and noise suppression foam in all the cavities apart from near the airbags. But even that is no guarantee of a fix and you could likely make it even worse yet again. Plus it won't resolve the squeaks in the steering wheel or the rattles from the clock spring. And you are still left with other parts of the car that whilst being a secure fit - have lots of free play in them so they rattle over bumps - seat belt adjusters, rear seat levers, interior dome light switches are good examples. It really takes the shine off this car and turns it from something that you would have pride in to something that is annoying and you can't wait to get out of it. I would willingly have paid another $5,000 for a Corolla that was thoroughly engineered from the ground up to be squeak and rattle free even if it was otherwise completely identical in every way to the one currently sitting in my garage!

They are not rectangular, so the measurements are not necessarily going to be meaningful. The mat has to allow for the fuel filler release on the hatch (right hand side of driver's seat) and this means it sort of "offsets" the rectangular pattern across to the right once it passes that fuel release. So you'd need a picture and a large number of different measurements to be truly accurate. But the main ones are: Width of mat at driver's seat end: 482 mm Width of mat in footwell itself (this is the widest part - past the fuel filler release): 495 mm Maximum length: 580 mm Distance between centre holes of retaining clips: 242 mm I'm just guessing, but if the fuel release is in the same position hatch vs sedan and the above measurements match the sedan, the mat may well be interchangeable. I'm just looking at Toyota Australia's website now and the pictures of the two mats are identical (not that this would necessarily mean anything). Maybe you could ring a dealer parts department and ask them if the part numbers for the mats for the hatch and sedan are the same?

I just realised. The RZ is supposed to have 16 inch wheels but the one I saw had 215/45/17 tyres on it. It was an RZ. I wonder if 17 inches is an option for the RZ? Now I know it comes with 16 as standard I wish this had been on the market when I was buying. Bummer. Oh well, I'll be buying a set of Podium II wheels at some stage so at least my car with the Podium II and TRD exhaust will almost certainly look unique.

Saw one on display at my local dealer and I have to say that I really like the look of it. I wish it had 16 inch wheels though. I tend to prefer the older school look of slightly smaller wheels and slightly higher profile rubber. Plus it benefits the ride, which is something we really need on our terrible NSW roads. It's for that reason only that if I were buying today, I'd still just go for the plain Ascent / Ascent Sport. You only have to look at the base model 86 to see that you can still have a very sporty and appealing looking car on 205/55/16 tyres.

For me it is a first generation TA22 with the 2T-G DOHC engine (which unfortunately was not available en mass in Australia). It has a beautifully proportioned body and I consider it one of the most aesthetically appealing cars ever built. Plus that 2T-G engine was a gem and provided the car with an excellent power to weight ratio for the era. My dream would be to do a nut and bolt restoration on one with no expense spared, but this will have to remain a dream unless I win Lotto. But I have an equal soft spot for the first front wheel drive version - the ST162 series. Probably because it came out a couple of years after I learned to drive and I was excessively car nutty at the time. I could not get enough of the car magazines and I used to go driving around to perv at all the new cars in the Sydney area car yards on Saturday nights. Cars such as the ST162 were more or less my dream car (I owned a base model AE80 1.3 litre Corolla at the time). Plus, at least for Australian buyers, the ST162 Celica - along with the Corolla Twin Cam, Supra and MR2 heralded the first time an ordinary buyer could enter an Australian Toyota showroom and actually purchase a "performance" Toyota vehicle with a DOHC 4 valve engine. We might consider all this stuff old school now, but back in around 1986 it was all cutting edge stuff, with these engines delivering specific power outputs that only exotic turbocharged cars had previously achieved. My eyes were opened to these new generation Toyota engines when my uncle bought the Twin Cam Seca in 1987. I was mightily impressed as it was my first taste of a decent power to weight ratio, a high revving engine and the smoothness of fuel injection. I remember thinking that if my uncle's Corolla felt that good, just imagine what the Celica would be like with that extra 17 kW (86 versus 103 at a time when my own car had 49!).

Well the rear muffler will always make by far the biggest difference in sound once the car is being driven on the road so you would tailor your sound by choosing what rear muffler you want. If mufflers are being offered that appear to be comparable but markedly different in price you'd want to ascertain whether there are material or build quality differences between them (both internally and externally). Personally I'd likely go for the more expensive model unless the cheaper one was locally made and the expensive one was imported. But what is the stock exhaust bore on the Sportivo? Isn't it 2.25 inches? That being the case, if you went to 2.5 catback you might gain even more top end power but will likely lose torque down lower due to a lowering of the exhaust velocity and I would have thought this would be the opposite to what people would be wanting in a car with a 2ZZ-GE in it (at least for road use). I think you would be better off sticking with the original bore.

Agreed and dyno tests tend to show that most of the power increases are derived from changing the panel filter rather than the whole intake. TRD do make intakes that I am certain would be fully compliant here in Australia but only for limited models unfortunately (from what I can see, mainly Scion FR-S / 86 and Scion tC). I'd still probably buy one if they did one for the US Corolla since I have a lot of respect for TRD's engineering and the resultant improvements from fitting those parts. But I think the chances of a TRD intake appearing for a 2ZR-FE engine Corolla are somewhere between next to nothing and none. As an aside, I am a bit baffled why TRD North America utilise oiled filters whereas TRD Japan have dry filters. I have an Apexi panel filter in my own ZRE182 (the one they market for the Scion xD) and that's the only change to the intake system. I thought the change was surprisingly worthwhile and it even actually made the car a tad quieter - possibly because the edges of the filter more effectively seal the airbox than the material Toyota use for their OEM filter (some sort of rubberised seal versus the highly compressed "egg carton" sort of edge material the OEM filter uses. I'd honestly recommend anyone just buy the Apexi filter first, save themselves several hundred dollars, not have to worry about rego inspections, the police, the EPA and just see if they notice the difference. It's actually noticeable and as I say I was pleasantly surprised by this. It's about 90% what you'd get if you put in a whole bespoke, highly engineered aftermarket intake system. when they tested a Scion FR-S in the States, they got about 5 hp with an Apexi panel filter over the OEM filter, so I don't think it is too much of a stretch to say we might get up to around 2 kW just with the Apexi in our 2ZRE-FE cars. But it is more about reducing that drive by wire feeling and making the car feel like it actually has a mechanical interface between driver and drivetrain. You can read my thread where I describe the Apexi panel filter and TRD axleback fitted to my ZRE182. I couldn't be happier (unless TRD cough up an enclosed system) and would spend the money again in a heartbeat. Although the Blitz filters are apparently even better in terms of power gains, they likely don't have the excellent filtering of the Apexis. I'll take half a kW power loss over much better filtration :)

Yes, I'd seen that previously and I think the rules are consistent from state to state. My reasoning about it being enclosed was not just because these government papers make reference to it, but also because I just can't see how an aftermarket intake without an enclosed filter is going to produce the same noise level as the stock intake. Most of the point with these intakes is ironically the very reason they represent a somewhat grey area depending on who you talk to. Not only that, but in my own research, I can't even see absolute consistency between these papers produced by the various road authorities and the ADRs themselves. The "rules" (such as the pdf you mention) seem pretty cut and dried in one sense as they are a "plain English" layman's sort of guide), but I don't even see where the intake noise level stuff is written into any ADRs. The ADRs only state a maximum noise level the car can produce during two tests - a stationary one (ZRE182 cannot measure more than 78 dBA + 5 dBA = 83 dBA for that one) and the drive-by one (cannot measure more than 74 dBA for that one). And if, for example, the stock car only measures 68 dBA on the ADR drive-by test (for arguments sake - I don't know what the drive-by noise level is), who is to say the K&N intake still won't exceed that 74 dBA ADR requirement anyway. Yes, it would definitely be louder but it may or may not meet that ADR requirement for drive-by noise. That being the case I think these rules are quite unfair to be honest. I've seen other members here fit the K&N intake which would likely be one on my own shortlist as I love the sound and it looks like a quality piece of kit. Then there is the argument about whether the filter is enclosed, since this appears to be designed to seal the filter when the bonnet is fully closed (otherwise there is no point to the sealing rubber around the heat shield), but naturally not when it is opened. It is really frustrating because there is some excellently designed kit out there and most of them make a great sound (you can pretty much buy to suit your aural taste). I'd put one on my own car tomorrow but the fear of being caught for a random check during a breath test and have to argue subtle legal points on the road side to a policeman who is just going to get ****** off doesn't seem very enticing (and I've been breath tested about 10 times this year and I've only done 5,000 kms so far!). Then there is the rego check but I'm too lazy to go removing stuff just for a rego then putting it back on every year. And that is the other problem with the ZRE182 - no owner has needed to have a rego check yet as the oldest cars are only 2 years old now. Although we could talk to a qualified rego inspector I've just heard too many stories about a conflict of opinion between the Police, the "real" rules and what passes a rego. It's a real pain in the butt. I understand the intent of the rules but the execution of them leaves a lot to be desired. But one last thing to think about. 95% of what you get with any sort of aftermarket intake is the change to the induction sound as compared to a high quality aftermarket panel filter. For example, an overseas car magazine tested the drop-in Apexi and Blitz panel filters and they both gave about 3 - 4 kW extra at the wheels on a stock Toyota 86. Changing the entire intake barely added much at all compared to just changing the actual panel filter. So personally, although I would love to go with an entire aftermarket intake, the panel filter option is a completely "safe" one if you are chasing improved throttle response more than you are induction sound (though I want both).

Actually unfortunately the overzealous laws for these late model cars go even worse than that. Not only does the filter have to be secure, but it needs to be enclosed and the induction sound levels cannot increase over stock. Which pretty much means we are stuffed as every single aftermarket intake for the ZRE fails on at least one of those three criteria. The only thing we can really do that won't risk a defect notice is to change the panel filter to something like an Apexi or Blitz whilst retaining all the other stock intake components.

It's the two 14mm bolts at the exhaust flange plus the one rear hanger at the rear end of the muffler. No welding or anything else required. As I mentioned, the hanger on the TRD exhaust itself is at a slightly different angle to the stock ZRE182 exhaust, so the rubber hanger will have a very mild twist in it but it is barely noticeable (see my previous post 12 for details). If you were pedantic you could have an exhaust shop re-align the metal hanger to make it a perfect fit for the rubber hanger but I don't really see the point. But please read my post 12 as it gives more details. This is really a two person job unless you are very careful and patient and can raise the car sufficiently high so that you have ample room to work underneath. Otherwise it's probably better to leave it to a professional exhaust shop. The stock bolts are on extremely tight (even after soaking them in WD40) and the necessary torque is hard to apply unless you have a long bar and thus ample room under the car for leverage. And unless you have an exhaust hanger removal tool (about $40 - $50), trying to remove the stock hanger will be a nightmare, especially on a car fairly new and with "tight" exhaust rubbers and especially with the Corolla where it is not at an easy angle to apply the tool. I already had all the tools but if you don't you might as well leave it to the shop to do. As I also mentioned, it is worth buying two stock bolts from the Toyota dealer as they are better than the replacement bolts supplied with the exhaust. You do not need to buy a new gasket as one is supplied with the exhaust.

Pictures:

I purchased my Apexi filter here, however you might be able to get a better price from Garage88 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400732607761? The Apexi filter if anything was very slightly quieter than the stock filter. I attribute this to the stock filter being made out of a single piece of material which includes the sealing on the edges - only it is a higher density and more compressed on the edges. The Apexi filter, however, has a dedicated rubberised seal independent of the filtering material. So although it permits a better air flow, it creates a better seal around the airbox edges. This probably accounts for it definitely not making the intake any louder and if anything it is slightly more subdued. My car is a manual. I can't really say how the filter / exhaust might change response in the CVT. Remember that these tweaks effect the manual and auto engine models in precisely the same way, so I would expect some sort of difference, even with a CVT. But remember that I am talking about response here and response does not necessarily equate to more power or torque. It means that when you change the position of the throttle, there is far less lag between moving your foot and the engine actually doing something. Whether these two tweaks actually add any power I can't say, however based on how they have improved other Toyota NA engines, then my guess is you probably get about 3 more kW in total from both these changes. This is just an educated guess based on what more powerful Toyota NA engines have gotton on a dyno when they have had a TRD exhaust and filter added and I have then reduced the total gain for the Corolla based on a lack of relative power compared to the engines tested (i.e. the more powerful engines like the one in the 2.0 litre 86 or 2.5 litre Scions made more gains than 3 kw). I'd suggest that you get the Apexi filter first then drive around with it for a few hundred kms. If you notice an improvement then the exhaust should offer you more of that. I'd say the filter gave me about 35% and the exhaust about 65% in terms of making the bog standard Corolla engine feel like the engine in a Swift Sport. btw, I decided to make a recording of my exhaust using my Windows 8 phone, so the quality is not very good. This was with the car sitting in the driveway after the weekly shopping trip. I just gently pressed the throttle lightly a few times - just enough really to increase the revs to around 3,000 - so I was barely cracking the throttle open. Then you hear me drive it into the garage. Obviously if I had been remotely aggressive with the throttle, you would have gotten what you hear in those other videos, but living in a very quiet street with doctors, laywers and engineers as next door neighbours, I'm not one for making un-necessary noise :) https://www.sendspace.com/file/zr3czw

You have to be careful judging people's videos. The quality of the recorder, recording, microphone and distance / angle from the exhaust make a big difference. That's why I am reluctant to attempt to record it as it will likely mislead people. But the first of those three videos is the closest. As far as loudness is concerned, because it meets the stringent Japanese requirements of <= 82 dBA (which I also measured once installed), it is never going to be a "loud" exhaust. As I say, it is about as loud as a stock Yaris, but unlike a stock Yaris, the sound has a very clear sporty pretension, a very pleasant tone and it let's you get a better idea of what the engine is doing. Put it this way, my neighbour noticed the difference immediately, and he isn't a car enthusiast - he thought I had bought a new sporty hot hatch or something when I was doing the noise testing lol. And you will definitely notice a difference under foot in terms of the engine feeling more like it has a cable throttle rather than this fly-by-wire stuff. I've now been driving it a couple of weeks and I had to drive Mum's Yaris around yesterday. Up until this exhaust change, the Yaris had always had the better actual throttle response (though obviously it never did much compared to the Corolla when you did press the throttle). Now it is the other way around and it is the Yaris that is doughy in terms of throttle response. To put it another way, with the TRD exhaust, the Corolla feels like the Swift Sport I was test driving a couple of years ago - both in terms of throttle response and performance. But you best do a decent job of it and swap out the air filter as well (I put in an Apexi as I was a bit worried about oiled filters). Suddenly after years of never taking a car out of the garage, I am actually now taking this Corolla out because I want to drive it - funny how two very minor tweaks can make the car cross that line between a car that gets you from A to B and a car that actually puts a smile on your face.

The TRD exhaust was $600 AUD excluding delivery from Garage88 in Sydney. I fitted it myself so I don't know what any labour charge for fitting would be. IT comes with the internal gasket so you don't have to buy the part from Toyota, but I would recommend you buy two of the exhaust bolts from Toyota Australia as I feel these are superior to the ones supplied with the TRD exhaust. Keep in mind that the official TRD exhaust for the ZRE182 does not fit the Australian Corollas as it is designed only to fit the models with an independent rear end (ours are torsion beam as you would be aware). Furthermore, it requires that the rear bumper insert be replaced with a diffuser. The exhaust I actually fitted was the one for the ZRE152 Corolla hatch (TRD part number MS153-12009). The exhaust hanger bracket on this exhaust is at a slightly different angle to the stock exhaust on the Australian ZRE182 hatch, so you will find that the exhaust hanger rubber has a very mild "twist" in it - but not enough to put any strain on it and most people would not even notice this unless they took a very hard look at it and were told about it. It never worried me, did not make the installation any more difficult and I have driven the car at speed over terrible pot-holed roads and it is perfectly secure. I also got breath tested over the weekend and the police were giving all pulled over cars the once over and they did not even have any comment about mine. That said, if you are handy with a welder and heating metal, you could either re-weld the bracket at the perfect angle or possibly even heat it and bend it (it is only out by maybe 10 degrees at the very most).

You might want to think carefully about any modifications that increase vehicle noise. A 2013 Corolla needs to comply with ADR83/00, which is extremely strict as regards noise - specifically exhaust noise when measured using a specific stationary test and also overall vehicle noise when performing a specific drive-by test (mind you, in Australia we only appear to use the stationary noise test for in-service vehicles). Your 2013 Corolla hatch cannot measure any more than 83 dB in the stationary exhaust noise test. The stock car is already 78 dB and my TRD axleback exhaust is already just under the legal limit (82.7 dB which rounds down to 82 dB under the legislation). The TRD exhaust is one of the quietest exhausts around -even quieter than a stock Toyota Yaris exhaust. Most aftermarket exhausts will push the Corolla into illegal territory since the lenience allowed from stock is so small these days (as mentioned, there is only a 5 dB allowance given for your 2013 Corolla). As for Varex exhausts, you would need to check for legality issues in Queensland. Here in NSW, they are illegal since they are considered to be a temporary noise reduction device which is outlawed under clause 18 of our Protection of the Environment Act (Noise Control) 2008. If you were caught with a Varex by the police here in NSW, you would get a $200 fine for having the actual exhaust installed. If the police happened to have EPA personnel with them (and they sometimes do), there would be an additional $400 fine for the noise it makes. To be honest I just don't think it would be worthwhile, since you would only need to be pulled over by the police or have someone report your exhaust noise and you would be in trouble. The breathing mods could also be suspect as they obviously increase the overall noise signature of the vehicle. Personally I couldn't really car less about aftermarket induction and exhaust mods (within reason and when used at acceptable times of day / night) but rules are rules and you need to understand what you are getting into.

Thanks for that picture. Lucky I did not buy the TRD ZRE182 "centre" exhaust then. It won't fit any Australian Corolla as it obviously only fits ZRE182 Corollas with the independent rear end (ours have torsion beams). Anyway, good news! I received the exhaust yesterday afternoon and having today off, I have already fitted it and test driven the car! I am very impressed with it. It fitted without any modifications, though the metal hanger bracket on the exhaust itself is in a very slightly different position and angle on the TRD ZRE152 exhaust versus the stock Australian ZRE182 exhaust. What this means in practice is that the rubber hanger does not fall perfectly vertically once the TRD exhaust is installed, but is very slightly canted and twisted (but only a matter of a few degrees). It is probably something no one would ever notice unless you pointed it out. The rubber hanger is not actually being stretched or pulled - we are only talking about 1cm difference alignment and you have that big chunk of hanger rubber to absorb that difference. It also does not prevent the tail pipe and tip from being properly aligned - they look perfect. Finally, it did not add any complications to the installation process. I doubt this minor alignment issue will cause any problems down the track but it would be prudent to check the rubber hanger every 6 months or so. Apart from that, the new TRD exhaust fitted perfectly. The exhaust actually came with the internal flange gasket (I had already bought a new one from my local Toyota dealer for $16) plus the two flange bolts. The flange bolts it comes with are slightly different to the stock ones (though thread diameter and pitch are the same). I actually prefer the stock Toyota ones as they are longer and have a taper at the end making them easier to insert. So I bought two from the Toyota dealer (only a couple of dollars each) and have just kept the ones supplied with the TRD exhaust as spares. The tip hangs well - not too high, not too low and it does not stick out past the rear bumper insert (I was a bit worried that it might, but it hangs very nicely). You might think from some of my supplied photos that the exhaust actually hangs too low but it is actually fine. It does give this illusion because the muffler is thinner and therefore there is more space around the heat shields and torsion beams. But the new tip is pretty much still at the same height off the ground as the stock tip. If you wish to buy this part and install it yourself, I would recommend you try to find a mate to help you. I did the job solo and it would have been much easer with two people - especially when removing the old one from the hanger, installing the new one on the hanger and to hold the original muffler when undoing those pesky 14mm head bolts (they are very tight indeed and you will need to apply considerable torque to loosen them). I had all the right tools (including an exhaust hanger removal tool) but it was still difficult with one person. I ended up putting bubble wrap on the rear end stiffeners, torsion bean, left rear spring and the exhaust components themselves, just to be certain I did not accidentally scratch anything during the removal and installation process, given at certain times three pairs of hands or even four would have been good. As it was, I never hit anything but it was better to be safe and sure. After installation, I ran a noise meter test comparable to the ADR 83/00 Stationary Noise test. Under that test, the EPA requires a maximum noise measurement of 78 dbA plus another 5dBA for the 6 speed manual hatch, making a permissible exhaust noise level of 83 dBA (if you were ever to get one of those letters from the EPA, 83 dBA is what will be quoted as the maximum allowable if you own the manual hatch). I measured 82.7 dBA (versus my stock exhaust measurement of 77.8 dB),so this exhaust would appear to just scrape in as legal, despite it actually still being quieter than a completely stock Toyota Yaris exhaust! It is, however, almost 5 dB louder than the stock Corolla hatch exhaust. I should add some caveats here. My noise meter is a class 2 one whereas the noise meters used by the EPA are class 1, meaning they are more accurate than mine (mine is specified to be accurate to 1.5 dB, though that is not to say it can be accurate to within 0.2 dB too). Secondly, I am obviously not a professional tester, so although I attempted to duplicate the ADR83/00 test as accurately as I could, in the end it is an EPA measurement that determines compliance and nothing else. On the plus side, however, my stock measurement was only 0.2 dBA different to the EPA one for the stock Corolla so it is possible that my TRD measurement is similarly accurate. Furthermore, if the EPA take a reading to a fraction of a decimal, they have to round it down. So my reading would actually have been 82 dBA, not 82.7 dBA had this been what the meter used by the EPA had measured. Finally, I would be really amazed if anyone with this exhaust on this car would ever receive an EPA notice or fail rego. The car so modified is quieter than many brand new stock cars and there are plenty of stock small cars around that are louder than this - even with the TRD exhaust fitted. The stock Yaris being one of them as mentioned. One other thing to bear in mind is that the TRD muffler itself bears a plaque which my research indicates is a noise compliance "certificate". Apparently since around 2010, any Japanese mufflers have to be rated to a maximum of 82 dBA. Given that I measured 82.7 dBA, if you round it down according to the internationally accepted rules (the ADR83/00 test methodology appears to be one that is adopted more or less worldwide, or at the very least throughout most of Europe form where most of our emissions compliance rules originate), then I also got a reading identical to the muffler's 82 dbA rating. When I was driving around having fitted it, no one turned around and looked. No one seemed to care. Which is good. I did not want a car that would attract any attention. The only interested person was my neighbour after I had run the ADR83/00 test. He came over and wondered if I had bought a new car. Anyway, to the exhaust itself. Unfortunately I do not have way to make a decent fidelity audio recording so any attempt to do so would just be misleading. There are enough YouTube videos of TRD exhausts and pretty much any of the TRD exhausts fitted to late model Corollas (even US ones) or the Scion tC would give you as good idea as any of the sound. There is definitely a TRD exhaust "house sound" and this one is no exception. Inside the car, the exhaust now has a more baritone flavour, has a bit more meat and vigour and makes an especially pleasant, crisp, resonating sound on trailing throttle. So much so that I actually enjoyed taking my foot off the throttle simply to enjoy the sporty noise! Heel and toe downshifting is also now more fun, since the sound you get the from the engine / exhaust seems much more in line with what you are actually doing with the controls. But the thing that surprised me more than anything is that the car actually does seem to go better and also that it has noticeably better throttle response. I was not really expecting either of those things, since we really have just changed the last 1.1 metres of pipe and a muffler. Yet the difference was sufficiently obvious I would bet my house that if I were completely deaf I could still tell a Corolla with this exhaust versus one with the stock exhaust. This exhaust really does go a significant way to making the engine feel like it has a cable throttle instead of a fly by wire one. Furthermore, the engine now just seems to rev more happily. It now feels just as happy and unstrained at 3,000 as it does at 5,000. If anything, it now seems to be smoother and happier the faster it spins (within reason of course). Perhaps the best way to summarise it is that this is the exhaust Toyota should have put on the Levin models as "stock". It looks the sporty part, I am sure it does help performance and it definitely beyond any question at all improves throttle response. Who knows, it could do for the Corolla what the dual exhaust does for the stock Camry - 135 kW versus 133 kW for the "standard exhaust". So Toyota might even have been able to claim a higher output which - however small - would still have differentiated the Levins from the two base models. I had also added an Apexi air filter at the last service and the two combined definitely make the Corolla a better car to drive, especially if you are sensitive to throttle response and were brought up on cars that had cable throttles. Anyway, I am very happy with this purchase. I don't regret the expenditure at all and I think I am pretty safe when it comes to ADR83/00 noise emissions (though I will be keeping the stock exhaust anyway). Put it this way. If some clowny prude reported a car that makes less noise than a standard Yaris, I certainly won't be putting the stock exhaust back on for an EPA test! I did take quite a few pictures but for some reason was unable to upload them. If anyone can suggest why I can't do this, please let me know so that I can upload them.

Just received a call from Jerry at Garage88 to say my exhaust has arrived, so TRD still make the part. However as they are all heading to a trade show in the US for two weeks, I mightn't get it for while (though they are going to try and get it delivered Tuesday). I am pretty busy between now and end of year anyway so I am not sure when I will have the time to test it for correct fit, install it (if it fits) and then test it for noise compliance. But I just thought I would at least update the thread to say the part does still exist and can be purchased.