L-Rec

Just clocked 551km when the light came on today, I have been using Carltex Vortex since day 1 on my car.

http://www.mynrma.com.au/corolla-sportivo_toycorolla_spo.asp

I'm in favour of buying the Sportivo but i came across this review

At the moment, i'm not trying to negatively criticise the car but i don't know which source i should trust. So i'm just posting to confirm some facts.

I've read the review by Bill Mckinnon and he seems to be giving idea of how poor the Sportivo is.

He is saying that the Sportivo seems to understeer and its fuel economy is only average.

Above all, it claims "it's not particularly good value"

Is his criticism of the Sportivo a bit too biased?

I mean, he says "The dash features high gloss fake metal inserts" and i find them appealing.

So, how would you sportivo owners respond to his view of the car? He has a point or is he exaggerating about the problems?

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My opinion on some of those comments:

1) Yes, the Sportivo does understeer quite a bit;

2) Fuel Economy is nothing outstanding, could even be described as average;

3) Overall, the car IS GREAT value - e.g. 141kw engine, 6 speed manual, leather interior - what is he on about?

4) "The dash features high gloss fake metal inserts", this is a styling decision to match the charcoal/black interior with some 'sporty' silver bits. Its a matter of opinion. I do agree that there is a high gloss due to the clear coat, thats the cheaper way to do it, a better way to have done it would have been to get a matt finish by getting the parts satin chromed instead of painted, a more expensive process.

Overall, the car is great value. Just my $0.02 :)

Now I feel left out. How about running? Anybody tried that? You know, with two legs or whatever. Now that's my thing :P

Technically not a decal more an emblem/badge, but I will change this over to the red version when I get off my *****:

Forgot to mention, try Astor Base Metals in Sydney for gold plating.

Precison Plating Melbourne, if I'm not mistaken, do the gold plating for locally-manufactured vehicles.

What you may need to pay for is a specially designed rack(s) that hold the sportivo badges & Toyota emblem while they go through the plating process. It will be that cost plus the cost of plating & any deliveries...may get a bit expensive but it will be worth the end result, the gold plating would like rather sick, especially if your car is ink black or cascade blue.

In answer to the thread question:

If you really want to do it the proper way:

Contact a company in Melbourne called Precision Plating, they do gold plating. The process is they strip back the original chrome layer (its actually 3 layers of copper, nickel & chrome), then plate the emblems/badges (gold), then put a clear coat for a finish.

Going through the correct process will avoid having any adhesion issues down the track.

No Sportivo has the word "Sportivo" on the rear, unless it was added like mine has been

Mine has it under the Corolla badge on the rear, except that its not bright chrome, its got a satin chrome border & black paint finish. There is also a red one which I have & I might actually change that over.

These types of badges appear on the new facelifted Camry Sportivo, in dealerships now.

L-rec so its you that i see everymorning.....

mines the red one with red personalised plates.

Hey mate! I've spotted you before, but that was like months ago. If I run into you again I'll be sure to wave hi :)

hmm looks like half the melbourne population is around the Footscray area (me included).

I'm down Barkly St/Footscray Rd in the morning on the way to the monash freeway.

If you see a black stivo with slimline number plates & a unique Sportivo badge on the rear (black with satin chrome edges) then thats me

lol, they are mad over there!

Those are australian-built camry's, that vid. is probably from Saudi Arabia...GCC market we call it in the industry...

The WRX looks like it has a carbon fibre bonnet. Must cost a mint ;)

Just picked up my car from the dealer. I can also confirm that the torque hole has dissapeared, its bloody sweet. Lift in the 6000 rev range seems to be OK too, although not as profficient as pre-ECU update B)

Thanks Peekay, I'll fill you guys in when I have some results.

Can't believe he smoked an AMG Mercedes - just goes to show in some cases how the skill of a driver fair outweighs a head to head performance-wise only...

Hey guys

I apologise in advance if this question has been covered before, but could somebody recommend a place to get my engine dyno'ed in Melbourne, preferrably inner-city.

My car is going in the for ECC fix up tomorrow & I want to test it following that. My spivo is stock so it should be a good test case for how the recall fix will affect the overall engine performance.

Thanx in advance :)

With regards to the letter, I was pleasantly suprised to read these words:

"...incorrect engine cleaner cap & ECC were fitted...as a result the maximum engine power output may be marginally less than the allowable production tolerance"

Its in writing now ;)

The reason for the step is for styling purposes - TMC direction.

I would suggest that due to the mudguards being moulded in PP material (which is a flexible resin), it would be next to impossible trying to achieve the same paint range with a paint mask - therefore the jagged edges would be due to the paint masking tape being pulled off after baking.

It would be easier just to paint the whole thing. Make sure the back face of the part is masked off so you don't get overspray on that side (painted surface - visual face only).

Toyota's Fleet Magazine for fleet owners, forget the name of the mag even though its downstairs, has a good feature article on her...

She's a taxation consultant with Ernst & Young in Melbourne & the angle of the story is how she is taking on 2 male dominated arenas - finance & car racing. Its a good read. Her fiance is Garth Tander.

Thanks for posting that

Hey guys

The bumper is made from PP (polypropylene). You'd be looking at a wall section of around 2.5mm on the Corolla bumpers. More to the point, the Corolla bumper material would be specifically moulded from a TMC designed compound called TSOP-6.

& yes the grilles are made from ABS, usually its a special platable compound designed to get the best results for chrome plating.

I recommend the following:

PPG Primer

PPG Base Coat

PPG Clear Coat ("Nyflex Clear")

PPG supply paint for the majority of TMCA manufactured exterior parts (Camry & Avalon mudguards included), as mentioned previously panel beaters etc should have the colours you are after.

The base grill plastic will be a high grade-platable ABS resin (grey colour), the stock colour finish is a grey metallic one-tone finish.

so I'll keep calling myself that and scoff at others who just pretend.. tee hee

ooer, you are a l33t one, aren't you buddy?

Interesting to see the Hybrid Prius Engine coming first overall, not just in the 1.4-1.8 category.

On top of that it recently won (Toyota Prius II) car of the year in the States (forget which publication, the equivalent of Wheels here)...hybrid technology is on the rise!