DJKOR

Candice Alley - Falling I could listen to her music all day.

So simple... yet so hot. Kinda reminds me of this PSA in a way:

Now, bush mechanic wannabe Daryl though he would try something a little crazy... ... Soon proceeded to jizz in his pants, then sh** in them (as a figure of speech... well this part anyways). Now what you see above obviously isn't the final product. I was doing a test run to see whether or not this is going to be worth spending more time and money on. Since Ash had tried an intake and got himself a CEL, I wasn't so keen on the idea of spending a bit of money on something that will take a fair bit of time to get working and then costing more money etc. Anyways, you get the point. Well, I checked that everything was all put together tight, then went to start the car. Everything started fine which was a bit of relief. I then just lightly revved it to make sure the CEL wasn't just waiting to pop up. Seemed okay... definitely a bit louder. Only thing I noticed was on the return to idle, it sounded a bit iffy like it was trying to get itself into rhythm again. I let it idle for a couple of minutes then thought I would head out. I drove it gently for a kilometre so I could feel if everything was still alright. Then I gave it some. First some quick bits off acceleration. OMG did it sound good! I couldn't believe that my supercharger was actually making some noise... noise like a supercharger should. Wasn't crazy good like the traditional supercharger whine, but boy did it still sound loud and sweet. Then I accelerated onto the highway giving it redline in 2nd. All appeared to be okay. Upon exiting the highway, I was driving through some quiet streets giving it some acceleration here and there. Still sounding great and running like normal. Then after coasting for a bit, I decide to tap the throttle to get another listen. This is when I started to worry. I heard three quick 'pop' sounds. Not loud, but like a 'golf clap'. Immediately after, I saw my CEL come on and thought 'f***'. I also noticed my charge light come on, but I didn't think of it at that immediate moment in time. I eased on the accelerator again and it didn't accelerate. I thought it must have been a limp mode or something. It was only till there was a slight bend in the road did I realise why the accelerator didn't work... the car was off. I couldn't easily tell at 50km/h since the tire noise is louder than the engine to start with. So it seems that in that moment I tapped the throttle, the engine decided to go lean (I would assume), and then just stop. I pulled over, thinking I must have really done it this time, pressed the start button with the selector in neutral and my foot on the brake, and the engine started up again. I then proceeded to drive it home carefully, while still putting my foot down a couple of times, and it seemed to be okay again. When I got home, I revved the engine a bit to compare to before, and it seemed to return to idle like normal again. I'm not sure if the ECU has adjusted, or whether I'm just imagining things. Now I'm a bit worried and don't know what to do. One part of me wants to keep it this way (obviously removing the lower part of the filter box and securing the pod with a bracket I have) and see how it behaves over the course of tomorrow (then replace that upper rubber hose etc). The other part is telling me that this is not going to do it good and I better scrap the idea before something happens.

Fark Andrew. Your Camry is looking like 100x cleaner and better than before. Lovin' it.

No it's not necessary. You are not modifying anything related to your alignment when you change this component.

Since I have started to drive fairly casually these days (no reason in particular ... nah, just due to work and all) I thought I would see what my low shift points are in my TRD. It's not really a good comparison since the TRD has a little more torque from down low, and I seriously don't remember going light on the throttle in the Sportivo. All I remember in my Sportivo is that most standing starts that I would accelerate from, I would go to at least 4000RPM in first. I'd even reach redline quite a bit in first. All I remember is that for most low'ish speed roads, I'd already be up to the limit before it changed to 2nd. I do remember though that it wasn't difficult to keep it under 3500RPM from a standing start when in 'D' so I don't think the Aurion is that sluggish down low. Anyways, on my TRD, accelerating from a light to the road speed limit of 80km/h, my change points are: 1st -> 2nd = 2300RPM 2nd -> 3rd = 2700RPM 3rd -> 4th = 2600RPM 4th -> 5th = 2400RPM 5th -> 6th = 2100RPM The last two changes require backing off the accelerator for it to shift decently, otherwise it holds 4th for a bit while it thinks.

No. They aren't usually kept at a particular dealer. You have to go in and order them and they will ship it from where ever they have them. Realistically though, for the cost of getting them, there are so many other wheels out there that you can get for a better price and a bit more unique. Personally, the cost of the TRD wheels isn't really justified in looks.

Just less likely to break due to cheap production quality. No benefits really. Last time I heard, it was around $700-$800 per wheel It's to do with the hole in the centre of the wheel. Wheels will have a hole in the centre in which the hub of the car sits in and this is what centralises the wheel and does most of the support. If an aftermarket wheel has a hole in it larger than the hub on the car, you use a hub ring to make it all fit.

Damn I love that fresh band new clean look. I'd be so scared of dirtying it up.

Welcome mate. Now I expect to see you out at one of our meets I'm sure quite a few of us would love that: Brisbane Meetup (Every Thursday 8pm)

Just picked up a can of the "A/C Evaporator Cleaner & Anti-Bacterial Coating" from my dealer. I will be putting that through my A/C this weekend when I do my Pre-National Meet service. Mine doesn't have much of a smell.... only faint, but I got this more as a preventative maintenance since it supposedly is meant to give an anti-bacterial coating. One thing to note is what is said on the can: One of the service guys that came into the office as I was holding the can also gave good warning to really be careful with this stuff. He said he uses a mask but still personally doesn't trust it. He was saying if you want to spray direct from the inside through the pollen filter slot, you should be spraying it in while keeping your head (with mask) as far possible from the vents. For this product, you should be removing the pollen filter, putting the cover back on the front, opening the fresh air vent and use the rather long hose they supply with the can to stick in through the front fresh air inlet underneath the wiper on the passenger side. There was a bunch of details on a document that say more about the product etc, but my mate at the counter couldn't find it. When the service guy came in and after giving his warning, said they don't give that document out. Laughed a little and said it's a secret

To further comment on that, the differences are as follows: 195/60R15 -> 215/45R17 = 1.656% slower speedo reading 195/60R15 -> 205/45R17 = 0.209% slower speedo reading

The calculator that I prefer to use would be the following: 1010 Tires - Tire Size Calculator According to that, if your stock wheel/tire is 195/60R15, then with a 215/45R17 combination, your speedo will be showing a speed 1.656% slower than what you are actually travelling. So at 60km/h, your speedo will show 59km/h.

The Adrenalins are a asymmetrical, non-directional tire. One side is labelled as 'inside' and as long as this side is orientated appropriately, the direction of the tread pattern is fine, even though you can see the pattern pointing in the opposite direction. Have a look at several types of asymmetrical, non-direction tires. You will see the same type of situation with respect to the tread pattern direction. If it were a problem, you would think Bridgestone wouldn't be fitting them.

ATTENDING: Rowan - Driving (with group) Daryl - Driving (70% chance with group) Mick - Driving (with group) Ingres - Driving (with group) Corey - Driving (with group) Dave - Passenger (with Corey) Andrew - Driving (early by himself, via HV) Ash - Flying (maybe) Guan - Driving (with group) Travis - Passenger???? (with ????) STAYING: Rowan - Carlingford Daryl - Carlingford Mick - Carlingford Ingres - Mercure, Parramatta Corey - F1 Wentworthville Dave - F1 Wentworthville Andrew - Mercure, Parramatta Ash - Mercure, Parramatta Guan - ???? Travis - ???? DRIVING HOME: Rowan - Driving (with group) Daryl - Driving (with group*) Mick - Staying Ingres - Driving (Hopefully with group) Corey - Driving (with group) Dave - Passenger (with Corey) Andrew - Driving (with group) Ash - Flying (maybe) Guan - Heading South Travis - ???? * Once we organise a departure time from Sydney, I will organise myself to join up with the group when you pass the BP Connect at Heatherbrae. You don't need to stop in there... I will simply be there before hand ready to tag along when you pass by. My return trip detail is shown in the attached link. Google Maps Link

You can get any exhaust system you want... it just depends on how much money you have. As it stands, there is no exhaust system currently in production that bolts up from the headers back. You can buy headers separately for around US$699, and then you can get a TRD exhaust setup which bolts from the third cat backwards for around the same price as well, but you will still need to get an exhaust shop to work on the pipes in-between. Otherwise, you're best bet is to go to an exhaust workshop and speak with them and get them to look at your car. From there, they can make a quote of what they can do. As for sound, the only real way to know is to find someone who has had work done (all that really goes on is either just a muffler change or muffler change plus resonator removal) and get them to drive it. Otherwise you can just search on YouTube for 'V6 Camry Exhaust' and listen to the varying sounds there. Most of the time though, these are just free revving which sounds completely different to what it sounds like under load. Also, do a search around the forum here as most of this stuff has been discussed.

I'm not sure what it would be defined as, but to me, the tire felt to be a medium compound rubber. In terms of comfort, I didn't notice any difference in ride comfort changing from the Michelin MXV8's to the Adrenalins in both the 215/55R17 and 225/50R17 profiles. This being on a Sportivo with stock Sportivo suspension.

When the tires less than about (my estimate here) 70% worn, their grip in the wet is good, but there is certainly better out there. Any more worn than that and you start to experience hydroplaning a bit more and general wet weather grip starts to deteriorate. For everyday driving it has fairly reasonable to better than good grip. Within legal road speeds, you won't have them slipping an sliding when cold. It's only when you are giving them a hard run that you notice the effects when cold. But this usually goes away after a few corners. I reckon they are quieter than a Michelin Energy MXV8 in the same size (215/55R17). Under normal conditions where you don't always take roundabouts and corners at fast speeds, and if you have a good wheel alignment, these tires can be expected to last around 35,000km or more. On the other hand, if you always push them to the upper end of their grip and drive aggressively all the time, then expect to get around 20,000-25,000km out of them. Is this review about right for the RE001? http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Bridgestone/Potenza-RE001.htm Partly this is due to production costs, fuel efficiency and for ways to maximise profit. Safety kinda comes into play as well. The use of lighter alloy materials and more plastics means that you can make a lighter car for better fuel economy as well as saving costs since mess material is used. As well, certain use of plastics and more hollow body components allow for better impact absorbing properties in a collision. Then the simple act of reducing sound deadening also allows cheaper production. It's what you get when you want more for less.

Um.... profit. But yeah as said, try to look for someone more independent and with more competitive pricing. I wouldn't bother with the injector cleaning yet. If anything, get yourself a well known fuel additive that cleans your injectors and use that (eg. Fuel Doctor). The A/C cleaning as well isn't a bad idea if you are getting some really strong smells for more than a few seconds after turning your A/C on or off. However, you can usually get this done elsewhere for around $50, or you can just buy the treatment yourself for around half that and do it yourself. As for the power steering, if it has been 75,000km or more since you have had it changed, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do that. But once again, try to look elsewhere for better pricing.

The Aurion does lack a bit of sound deadening so road noise is something that you are definitely going to get. That said, tire choice will also make a fairly big difference. For example, On my last Sportivo, my stock Michelin Energy MXV8's were a relatively quiet tire. When I changed to Potenza Adrenalins, I immediately noticed a difference in road noise. The Adrenalins were a good deal quieter than the Michelins. On my TRD, I had been using the Dunlop Sport Maxxs at the front and Yokohama S.Drives at the rear. The other day, I did a rotation and put the Yokos to the front and the Dunlops to the rear. Immediately as well, I noticed a difference. This was more noticeable though. The Yoko S.Drives are quite a noisy tire. You get that wooshing sound like the Doppler effect or whatever it's called when you swing a length of hose in a circle around your head like a lasso. Never bothers me though cause I always have music to overcome it, but fact of the matter is that even though there is not much sound deadening present, you can still choose a quiet tire to make a bit of difference.

It's easy enough to do yourself as long as you have the right tool. Basically, apart from a jack and jack stands, you will need a decent socket set, torque wrench (preferable) but you an get away without one, and a pair of spring compressors (around $30 from an auto store). You simply remove each strut, compress the springs, remove the top spring retainer plate, put the new spring in (may need you to decompress the old springs and then compress the new ones), line everything all up and fit the spring retaining plate, and put it all back together. Afterwards, you take your car over to a wheel/suspension joint, get a wheel alignment, and you are all set. If you are curious how it all goes together on the Aurion, have a look at the following service manual. Page 15 onwards for the front, and page 35 onwards for the rear: Camry Stuff - Gen 6 Suspension.pdf

Yeah, looks kinda cheap and tacky.

Did you use a good clean microfibre cloth? If that didn't work the best for you, dilute it down more. Maybe like 1/4 metho to 3/4 water. I never really had any streaking issues along as it's wiped off well. Only thing I get is those smudges from that oily residue that build up on the windows. I've heard this is caused by the plastic parts in the car heating up and releasing them, but I dunno. Either way, it usually results in a few passes to completely clean up.

That said, inland can work out quicker due to less devices along the way that contain a lens. But I'm all about keeping this drive casual. Done one too many interstate runs at paces that should not be discussed here. No need for any of that anymore. I believe Andrew will be seeing his brother (?) and getting some wine. Me... I'll just be stopping by at Draytons at Pokolbin to pick up a bunch of wine/port. Because I will only be passing through to pick stuff up, I'm thinking to keep it fun, I can time it right so that I can meet you guys at say BP on the Pacific Highway at Heatherbrae which is about 2 hours out of Sydney along the way to Brissy. That could work. It only adds an hour to my total driving so it's nothing big. Then I can join in on the trip back. We just have to let them know in advance so they can be there when we are.

Modifications to the following: ATTENDING: Daryl - Driving (70% chance with group) DRIVING HOME: Daryl - Driving home via the Hunter Valley Andrew - Driving home via the Hunter Valley And if you are meeting at the Strapylton BP, then I guess you will be heading the Pacific Highway way then. It's quicker that way anyway.