Tony Prodigy

I find it staggering how much of a price discrepancy exist between service stations and postcodes. A good example of this is my local 7 Elevens. I pass two on my way to work, one in Blacktown and one in Seven Hills (which borders Blacktown). Both these are identical which is a relief, but when I get to the Shell just around the corner from work it's almost 30 cents per litre difference and that's only 15 minutes from my house. If we are governed by the Singapore oil index, how do you go from 143.7 cents a litre to 171.7 cents between two outlets only a few suburbs apart ??? It's a poorly kept secret I know, that the petroleum criminals are gouging us, half of which again goes to consolidated revenue just waiting to be wasted by our fearless leaders. It never ends. The poor motorists are seen as proper cash cows and wait till they devise a scam to gouge those who drive electric cars. Don't worry, they haven't forgotten them lol.

I am thinking I'll do a 50/50 test on the bonnet of my Colorado as it would serve as the perfect flat panel test rig. It's used daily and sits outside all day and night, so environmentally, it will be perfect. On one side I'll use Ice seal and shine and the other, the Graphene Flex Wax. I'll do a proper decon, then compound the surface with the Precision Platelet 1 and Done Compound. This will prepare the base for the application of both spray sealants. I'll post up a seperate thread for this later. Cheers everyone

Yes Robert. Very happy indeed. Turtle Wax have re invented themselves with all their new products and are ahead of the game now. The big boys need to be afraid lol

The only way to learn is to have a go yourself. Do some research and dive in. Brakes aren't all that difficult once you've done it a couple of times. They are all much of a muchness really. Similar way to remove calipers and similar way to push pistons back. Some cars have the wind back pistons which require a special rewind kit, but it's all pretty simple. Ian (Hiro) has you covered Pele. Let us know how you go.

I tend to agree Michael. I think the upside of the higher octane, having less sulphur content, will burn cleaner than the 91 which means less carbon deposits in the engine and less oil contamination. It won't make me use premium fuel based on this anyway as I do regular oil changes and my oil doesn't look too bad even when i've done it at 10K. I am going to start doing the oil at every 8K from now on I think because oil is cheap when on special and I have plenty in stock.

Supercheap are having a 30% off everything sale at the moment for club members, but you can sign up for membership if you don't have one and get $10 credit instantly to apply in your checkout. I posted in the detailing section the goodies I purchased today

Been waiting for a long time for the Flex wax and to my disappointment, the release price is/was pretty expensive at $69.99 everywhere. Supercheap currently have a 30% off sale for Club Members on everything in the store and I thought I use this opportunity to stock up on these detailing products I've been wanting. I already purchased the Graphene infused Max Wax on Amazon but the other two that make up the Trio couldn't be found on that same platform. The usual auto stores, SCA, Repco etc all had these but at full mug retail and I wasn't going to pay the extortionate prices they were asking. So with that said, I purchased both the Graphene Infused Max Wax Spray 680ml and the Precision Platelet One and Done Compound 473ml. So now I have the Trio to play with. If you'd like to read more about these, the links are below. If you are club members of Supercheap go grab a bargain while you can. If you sign up for a new membership you get an instant $10 credit for an even more satisfying buy. This is the link for the Flex Wax Graphene Spray. This is the link for the Flex Wax Graphene Polish. This is the link for the Precision Platelet One and Done Compound.

There are plenty of 40 series Aurions wrecking everywhere. I'm pretty confident the OP will find one to suit. If it's an ATX, then it would be obviously cheaper and sensible to go like for like, but in the event no good ones are available, then the higher priced option is always there. He can also swap out the rear garnish an fit the ATX one right ? That is, if he doesn't have the camera set up.

Yes it will. The panels are all the same within a given series. The cosmetics differ in terms of bumpers, grilles etc, but essentially the metal work is all the same. I believe the Sportivo may even have the boot spoiler. I don't know which series you have.

I have no doubt it will go over 500,000 Big Mike !

Not sure where you could find a spare cylinder head or engine, but will keep an eye out for you for sure. It may even pay to look for a spare car if that's even possible.

Hey there John and welcome aboard mate. Glad to see another DIY guy who takes pride in ownership. Good decision to stick with Toyota and as the others mentioned, keep up with the maintenance and you won't go wrong. Regular oil changes is the key here especially with the 2GR-FE. Do Not follow the stupid log book service and do the oil every 15K 😲 You will eventually sludge it up and destroy it. Shame on the manufacturer for even suggesting this. We like to do our oil servicing between 8K and max 10K. If you do regular short trips, then you would even go lower than 8K, say 5K and to max of 8K. Use only high quality fully synthetic oil too. We often announce the oil specials here too so you can go and stock up on your favourite oil when the getting is good. All the best mate

Hmm, I would've thought memory seats would be practically standard these days. I would take a stab and say this Rob. If memory seats is on the options list then I reckon Toyota could retro fit this. When you say you've taken delivery, do you mean you purchased it new from Toyota ? If so, call your sales guy and find out. Only raises another question as to why you didn't opt for this in the first place, that is if you did buy new. Congrats on the new car by the way. Hope it gives you many years of safe and reliable service

Hi Bill, don't give up yet. If the car has sentimental value, park it up, cover it up and preserve it until you can figure this out. Don't make any hasty decisions yet, especially wrecking it. These cars are becoming quite rare these days and it would be worth saving for sure. The 1991 Cressida was one of my favourite cars from that era. Always loved the shape and the silky smooth straight 6. If it's just a head gasket, are you not able to find a decent mechanic to carry out the necessary repairs ? What exactly is the hold up ? You mean to say that you can't find a gasket ? Are either you or Dad into DIY ? Why not tackle it together ? Hang in there mate and please don't part the car out. I'd keep it whole and try get it sorted.

That's very difficult to answer Ben, but on average I'd guess around 50 kays or so around town, more if cruising on a highway/freeway. Not sure why you'd ask this though. Do you run on empty often ? If so, I'd get out of that habit because you can damage your fuel pump with low fuel all the time.

It's so true what the guy in the video said. He stated that even though the manufacturer says it can go to 5,000 miles without an oil change, but when you do this over and over again, the problem will compound and it's the old adage whereby, you give an inch they will take a mile. So true in that the car owner will then start going over 5K. It will become 5.5K, then 6K, then 6.5K and before you know it, we're watching videos like this because there are engines failing everywhere. It makes me want to do my oil servicing even earlier now 😜

MAn, that's pretty fancy for a humble Corolla 😲

Good thinking. I should've done that too. I think I know which is the oldest by the amount of dust accumulation

I guess it depends on the engine, but in saying this, knowing more about the 2GR-FE, it is a robust engine without the frailties of some of the other manufacturers. The only caveat is that you really need to be on top of the maintenance. Do regular oil changes, and I mean regular. Allow the engine to warm up before applying the beans. It's not water temperature that does the damage, it's the oil temperature. You will have ancillary failures like water pumps, alternators etc, big deal, they all do. Just replace them and move on. Another important point, do not follow the stupid service book guide if you want the engine to last a million kays. 15k service intervals is a death wish. Also the beauty of the Aurion's V6 is that is never has to be driven hard like a four cylinder. Lower revs will extend the life expectancy for sure. The V6 has plenty of power and torque to propel it off the mark with very little throttle input and this, I think, is a huge bonus for it's longevity. It's a damn shame they stopped making the Aurion. I would've loved to have seen a final incarnation following the 50 series. Perhaps an all new 60 series ?? Imagine that.

Yep, I saw this yesterday too and didn't think anybody would be interested. I forgot you use Shell Ash. 50% off, how can anyone resist ?

Hi Ian and welcome to the forum mate. Plenty of good, knowledgeable people here, so don't hesitate to post. I hope you stay here is an enjoyable and fruitful one. All the best

Interesting video Ash. There are many good arguement for the use of the Gig casting process. What an amazing machine and looks really expensive too. I think Tesla are onto something here and with the constant technological advancements it really becomes a no brainer in an ever changing world. But in saying this, there are the Pros and Cons involved. What strikes me is that Tesla couldn't achieve decent quality control and more to the point, panel gaps, using traditional methods and have to resort to this more extreme option to cure these quality control issues. My Aurion has perfect panel gaps as I'm sure most others here do and it's not even a Lexus or a fancy luxury car and was made using the old fashioned way. Nothing wrong with stamped metal in my opinion. Also makes panel repair much easier as you can unstitch and restitch sections of the underbody. But this isn't what manufacturers will care about. They are more interested in driving efficiencies, which isn't a bad thing, but this will make the car a throw away if it's involved in a decent collision, where once upon a time it could be repaired quite easily. A cast alluminium sub frame won't bend like metal and will in most cases just break, rendering it nearly impossible to fix. You'd have to strip the entire car to do a thorough inspection to rule out any further stress cracks in which making a repair unviable straight off the bat. In the event the car is smashed, I'd say it would most likely be a write off. The upside of this would be that not only could you recycle the good, working parts, but all those exotic materials will have a decent scrap value too. The downside could be that cars will become like washing machines and fridges, no soul and a dash of planned obsolescence.

Are you also experiencing this issue Matt ? I must say, I've never heard of the issue until reading this post. I have a 2012 and I have never heard any type of buzz. It glides away smoothly and quietly. I'd be keen to know if anyone has drilled into this a bit deeper. Looks like Toyota put it in the too hard basket or they figured these cars won't be made anymore to give a crap about anything. Where's the work ethic in this country ??

Toyota build quality is the defining factor. No mechanically driven thing can be perfect, but Toyota definitely do it better than most.

Lucky kid to be able to drive a very decent vehicle in his formative years. I'd be extremely happy with the Aurion and it will keep him safe too. I'd have a VF GTS any day too, but I'd lose my license in that one 😀