ZZT86

How have you found the KYB's ?

Thanks Joe, I ended getting the complete Gates kit w/o the water pump as I already had a genuine pump sourced from the US months earlier at a good price. Despite the oem warranty of the belt, ie: 10yrs/150K kms the belt has started to make the cricket/rattle racket they're known for because of the hard material they're made of & will soon be swapped out for genuine parts to be covered by Gates themselves ! The genuine stuff is made in Japan not Taiwan which is where the Gates stuff comes from. Very annoying & a damn nuisance. Note to self - ALWAYS buy genuine Timing Belt associated gear - ALWAYS !

@awatea It should run as good if not better than standard ULP although you might not get the same economy.

Can you hear/see the clutch engage & the revs rise and stay on, dis-engage & then sooner after re-engage ?

How wide spread is/was the problem with oil consumption on the 2AZ-FE ? It's actually disappointing to see, I can distinctly remember 5S-FE motors in Celica's (Camry motor without the balancer shafts) was notorious for burning oil, the harder you drove it the more it used :/ The 2ZZ-GE engine was the total opposite.

@jeffy yep I'm aware of this, having said all that my dads ACV36 Sportivo 5sp is now well past 120K kms & hardly uses a drop of the 10W30 semi-synth I & Toyota prescribe for him ;) As always it pays to keep a close eye on your car for any abnormal developments.

They replaced strut only using your stock spring? If so perhaps the firm ride you're feeling is actually what you been missing out on due to the worn strut ? If you're not happy with them then the only solution would be to swap/exchange the strut which means ripping out the suspension & starting again = very time consuming & costly.

^^ not a bad price for a Shell product. Can't say the same for their fuel prices which are driving customers to their competitors in droves in Vic, which suits me just fine. Always like to keep an eye out for the latest catalogue specials from either Autobarn, Repco or Supercheap.

2AZ-FE calls for 10W30, latest spec SN GF5. If engine well cared for then that spec or 5W30 should continue to work well for it. Personally I would not use 20W50 unless engine was using a bit of oil &/or you consistently drove in very hot climate. ps: your owners manual will tell you the oil spec you should be using 😉

Sludge is only an issue if the car in Q is not serviced by the book and/or is neglected. Oils of the Semi Synthetic or Full Synthetic variety is best as it's less inclined to sludge up. If you service by the book then your engine's innards is likely to look like new & have nothing to worry about.

Brand new oils are at their most potent at cleaning right at the beginning & some have stronger detergents than others. It's a real PITA but I would rather disassemble the heads & sump & give it a real good wash. So much work though.

Yeah Toyota have done quite a few recalls of late, even last decade. The GS also got recalled several times from memory. Still, I would rather a Toyota or Lexus car than any other for the $$. Series II cars seem to fare better than their first attempt so they should be the desirable ones on peoples shopping lists.

I knew this would happen someday well before I even signed on the dotted line to buy one, it is after all a Subaru engineered & made product. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201810250056.html?fbclid=IwAR2pqypaZMX7_gpKwwzfjKUR4IN1QKazbxZD9v7bETNcLfl8o2ra9c6lOhI https://www.toyota.com.au/news/toyota-australia-recalls-86-vehicles-to-replace-engine-valve-springs?fbclid=IwAR1s_HOp2j1bQallHpoaiaPC4G_5ABWTwMcFUo863TsXUz93JwqDLggB6MQ https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/toyota-motor-corporation-australia-limited-toyota-86-0?fbclid=IwAR1W0pmeN6eR5X7b4fPNPy88cKt6y-lsrLNMExErUo4KEsHuASwnzXeoT5c

I suspect some contamination from somewhere, IAC possibly needs cleaning, perhaps an O2 sensor that is starting to play up. Idle is normally solid with bugger all variation regardless of octane, play it by ear & see how it goes.

The low profile tyres would make a fair bit of noise depending on the tread design & the Sportivo has a firmer strut setup, all of which would make me a happy chappy in an Aurion personally. The lack of insulative material is most likely cost cutting, still a really good car though & one I wouldn't mind owning for a daily. Keep us posted on your thoughts regarding economy, I reckon it has the potential to do well there if you're careful with the right foot ;) One tip: change your engine oil twice as often as required by the book, ie: every 7,500K & use semi-synth or full synthetic if you can.