AcoustiK

No difference, in either thought it did one time, but it was all mental and down to variance in traffic circumstances for each test, The only way to really test it is go across australia or something. If you have a card, get shell and fill up on not Vpower but Vpower Racing 100octane! :D

Agree with limited number of people interested in putting in an exhaust for this car and the sceptism of it all, there needs an ice breaker to prove with graph results that power is increased on a drivability and gain/cost perspective.

Good luck mate, Hopefully Toyota is on your side and try to make a buck out of this and tell them to do it the guideline way and buy parts from Toyota!

I also get water marks under my doors else well? And the gear changes does take time to change? Are referring to the slow gear changes under operating temperature, such as when you put your foot down to make it drop a gear? In that case, that is part of the design of this car. I think it changes slower to give a smoother gear change, which I must admit is pretty damn smooth. I get the typical lag when dropping down a gear which from what i can tell is the ECU doing heaps of planning before doing significant acceleration... The lag I am referring to is between 1st and 2nd only when trying to accelerate quickly from slower speeds. It seems to take a good 2-3 seconds just to complete the shift between the two gears, but every other gear change after there is as smooth as silk :S Yes but i get it also at higher gears, Toyota has reassured its all about driving habits and the ECU learning from them, WIth petrol going up and up, i tend to drive granny style nowadays and get around 9.6ltrs/100 day to day driving... So I really notice it lag when i decide to give it a boot now and then. All good from the service and with the leafy rattle Melb City Toyota has requested the mod fix for it, and got confirmation by SMS thats its arrived in the dealer and want me to book a time for them to put it all under warranty of course.

George... Find me a customer who has fitted a Gas system on their Aurion. I agree with Dave, Im sceptical on installers claiming its all good,

Instead of the Varex mufflers, and with the strong aussie dollar, try looking at importing some Borla exhausts, people in the US have been claiming its done benefits. As for an accident, Im with Luke on this, if its defective and is found defective on inspection you will not be covered. Furthermore you run the risk of police where the accidents are serious, they see it they will charge you as well!

My car is going in for service at Melbourne City tommorrow, guess im reaaaallly looking forward to how many bits and pieces they will fix up, Ive noted down 6 problems for them to look at...

I didnt get to see it, have you got a link to the thread or clip?

Im a fan of that wald kit! Also was that facia replacement insert a custom job or off the shelf?

With a FWD the losses are less as compared to a RWD, around 15%-25% rule of thumb so it sounds about right. As for the graph, 3rd Gear? I thought with a 6 speeder they would go higher like 4th. A proper dyno would involve a well ventilated big fan in-front of the car to offset any intercooler/ramming of the air.

I put mine 35's all round. If you do 40's you'll get premature wear through the centre treads as you will have the ball affect, though you'll roll easier thats the trade off

I remember 2 years ago me and a some mates hired a Falcon, hit a roo, front on at night up in Canberra, not that bad damage, doing 40-60kmh at point of impact. roo fell over, stood up and hopped away. But given it was a hire car, insurance doesnt cover these accidents, had to complain and still ended up paying a nice sum to cover repair. Funny thing was that we swerved to avoid but the roo followed us, our car headlights were like a tractor beam lol.

with all that tow hook debacle take it to a dynapack dyno, better readout minus the mass of the wheels (give slightly higher readout) and takes the variances of tyres. Can you scan / photo the graph, would love to see the curves, even tho u say its wierd looking.

lol thats the GM way of things for you, need more performance, lets up the displacement. Funny though, recent announcements have Holden opting Diesel and Hybrid models for 2010 commodore likewise with Falcon. Looks like their getting on board with the alternative fuel wagon, Im guessing all to do with their dwindling profit making.

Given your circumstances, I think Mazda 6 has Diesel option am I right? Thats great for stop start and overtaking from granny driving with a good amount of torque from down below. But on the topic I Havent done a full tank just on city driving only...

You can play DVD's anytime with it provided you earth the wire on the stereo which is supposed to connect to the handbrake. The factory one costs over $3000 i think. Yes just make sure cops don't see you driving with a DVD playing othewise you can get booked. Its a safety feature for it to be connected to the handbrake, but really silly IMO. I have yet to do it for my Kenwood HU, ive been to happy with my sub and playing music only so far.... Looking to get a Digital TV tuner for the car, so late night cruises on the weekend I can tune into ABC Rage :)

I really doubt that any CAI will do anything but give you a faster under bonnet look. This is mostly a huge con. There is no science to why it should do anything this side of the butterfly. Exhaust tuning will work but how much gain is the question. Better sound sure. More kw on the dyno well not much but a before and after test back to back would impress me. ECU tuning to make the exhaust mods work well that may add a bit but again who is doing it and how much. The basic facts are a 200kw 3.5L engine is not going to have all that much upside without some more major mods and CAI and exhaust aren't going to make big differences. Gone are the days when you could get your stock falcon/holden/valaint 100kw odd 3 Plus litre six to increase in power by 20% just by sticking on extractors and a decent exhaust. Totally agree, as said earlier, I would want to see a DYNO graph as well, if your just shifting power along the band e.g. (taking 10kw and torque down at 4-5000rpms and adding that to the peak is really useless and rice. unless your planning on fanging your car all the time... Otherwise you'll be wasting more fuel keeping up the revs) and plus major mods, say goodbye to warranty alltogether.

I give thumbs up to Melbourne City Toyota, I take it there coz i work in the city :).

Yep looking forward to test driving teh Turbo 6s from Ford 270kw 550nm of torque :P, The only downside to me in teh new FG range is the interior and that the body still looks too much like BF... Toyota/Holden/Ford Aus should not go the same patch as Mitsubishi as long they build global platforms here in Aus, Holden exports commies to MiddleEast and US under pontiac, Toyota ... no question there. And Ford are pulling the Focus production here in Aus! and hopefully the Falcon will become like the commie, unfortunately our strong dollar adds to the debate...

I agree its not advisable to go with the chop or press method of springs, but as an alternative to ripping through the guards then there they are... Unfortunaltely I dont think there is any room to flare the guards anymore otherwise i'll add that to the list.

I don't think the large car market will die in Australia due to the fact that people are getting fatter and bigger here in Aus unlike our European counterparts where they are more smaller/thinner etc. So there is always a market for large cars. What we'll see is large cars taking the step of improving effeciency, going alternatives, diesels, dropping smaller capacity engines with power into these large chassis. Yes the FG is the last fully built Australian car, the I6 is going to be dropped for the next model making way for most likely a US sourced Duratec V block, expect around 2010. Ford has to cut down on the engine ranges to improve the bottom line, and global platforms are all the buzz to saving costs.

Agree with beaves, If you want performance why buy an Aurion, its a family car in the end. As for ECU or any particular modification parts for that matter, I don't think the lifecycle and cult status of this car warrants 3rd parties to make dedicated parts for the Car, just look at the maxima, not many done up and how long on the market?. But don't get me wrong that you may be lucky and a business or two will experiment with performance parts.

have you got pics of the HID vs standard light on a wall/surface to see the light intensity/spread?

Im pretty sure the sportivo springs are teh same as the atx, because it got a body kit it will look like its lowered a bit, but thats all an illusion. Other alternatives... Perhaps try compressing the springs or cutting it to the height u want? Other alternative you could try is to modify the camber so the wheels tuck in more...

niiiice, are those polished silver or Chromes?