DJKOR

I guess this is a challenge for me at the next hotel I'm at this coming Monday. So what do you plan... empty the contents of a microwave popcorn packet into the kettle? If it's a flat bottom kettle (not common in a hotel though), you could even get away with using traditional popping corn I reckon.

Your best bet would be to contact their head office in Melbourne and ask if you can buy directly from there or if not, where they supply to. Details can be found here: http://www.fuchs.com.au/Locations_VIC.asp

I'm just starting to LOL at this thread. This is just going to make it as unfair as it can be. I'd say if you choose to strip weight off the car, the driver of the XR6 will need to do the same to keep it fair. I will reserve my comments for now, but I will say this: Stripping too much weight off the Aurion will not necessarily give you a better time. It goes against what you would expect, but one way or another, I guess you will find out.

Naturally, 2nd gear will feel like it has a bit of torque due to it's gear ratio. Sitting on 3500RPM in 2nd, then mashing the accelerator will make the car feel like it has quite a bit of pull. This is just due to the gearing ratios. For future reference, all members can do this... not gold members only:

As I said, it could have been a bad dyno run. It's either that, or they screwed your front y-pipe up. Dynos can be off by quite a bit at times. Ash (SecaBoy) once got a reading of something like 248WHP one day for his TRD, then got 224WHP or something like that when he put it on the dyno again another day. These things do happen. Just go to a highway on-ramp and accelerate hard. See how long it takes to reach 100km/h or more.

I think it's more about being unique... and to some people, paying for this doesn't exactly bother them. He already got himself a custom paint job.

I've managed a flat 7 second 0-100km/h on a warm road. Obviously not really the best indication of power though since there are way too many variables. 1/4 mile is where it's at. I've got the stock pipework for my exhaust. All that I've changed is the rear mufflers. This means I still have the 1.5 inch splits at the rear. Mine didn't dyno a low figure, so I wouldn't call that a restriction in your case. Anyways, without the dyno graph, it's just going to be a whole heap of guessing.

Yes I can picture it, but I still don't see it as a restriction. Think of it this way. The volume of exhaust coming from the 2.5 inch pipe before the y-split gets divided up between two 1.5 inch pipes. That's not restrictive.

I don't get this, so does this mean it'll change gears close to the redline? Why wouldn't it be the same as flooring it on 'D'? :S We have talked about this in other threads. When in 'S' mode, the transmission overrides all the adaptive AI crap and uses a set shifting basemap... or that's what it feels like it does. Anyways, the changes are minor, but they do make a difference on the finer side of things. We here in QLD have taken Aurions to the drag strip a fair few times and have realised a few things about them. Pick a black dress. They do good to help your figure :P Seriously though, if you want to really make sure you will get a good chance at beating him, you need to practise your launching. The Aurion is pretty touchy with the way you launch it. Stall too low and you won't get a great time, stall too high and it will spin the wheels, axle tramp, or both. Unlike the XR6 which takes a little less skill to launch, which would also give him the upper hand if you don't come prepared.

Firstly you should post up your dyno graph if you have it. Secondly, dynos can be pretty crap sometimes. Quite possibly that could have been a dodgy dyno run. Thirdly, I'm trying to understand all your talk about the inches. The exhaust starts off as 1.25 inch pipe out of each cylinder bank. This mean there is 1.25 inch of pipe for 3 cylinders. Then it merges (really badly on the stock setup) into 2.5 inch pipe, which is what it remains all the way to the rear y-split where it goes into 1.5 inch (or there abouts) pipe for each muffler. I don't see this as a restriction.

Propeller Muffler Tip (eBay link)

Main thing you need to remember here is that the XR6, despite putting out 195kW, puts down 391Nm of torque (compared to 336Nm for the Aurion) and it does so much sooner than the Aurion. Add this to the fact that they can launch harder because of the weight transfer to the rear wheels, this is where a well performed launch can mean that you will be wearing the dress. Good luck mate.

In my opinion, it is a define fault of Toyota. That said though, it's not classified as a recall item so therefore if you are out of warranty, you will have to bear the costs. They are only treating it as a case by case basis, so if the problem comes up during warranty, they will replace it as part of the warranty. If you end up paying for it, better make sure that they will offer to fix it properly free of charge if that part does not rectify the issue.

Slightly off topic, I'm taking mine down to Willowbank this Saturday for the Test 'n' Tune. Mainly just because I want to make sure my intake hasn't adversely affected my performance. For yourself, you should probably consider heading down to your local 1/4 mile and doing some practice runs so you know what you are dealing with. Also, have a look through here to see the discussions that have been had about stalling it up etc: Took my Aurion to The drags Don't do nitrous... that's just stupid... plus it's cheating. Also, taking you spare wheel and jack out is all you really need to do. To really make a difference, you will have to then strip out all of your interior etc... then it is cheating once again. To expand on this statement, use 'S' mode and leave the gear selector on '6'. Do not perform the shifts yourself because you will lose time. Leaving it on '6' will mean the transmission will shift at the optimum point.

I hope that method works because all I can picture it doing is making the wiper operate further/less in the same direction.

He has the advantage that he can launch harder thanks to being a RWD. I would say it would be a close call that will be determined by how good each of you are as a driver. I reckon you would be wearing the dress though... unless you mate is a bad driver. Either way, I'm not concerned about who will beat who.... I'm more concerned about what time you can get. 14.131s @99.29mph is the time you have to beat.

A 10.1 inch widescreen would just fit but probably would have some screen cropping of about 1mm top and bottom. That would have been my ideal screen choice. Otherwise, I'd start looking for a 9 inch screen. But yeah, like you said, it's probably not going to be the most cost efficient.

To keep the wiper in complete working order, you will need to modify the intermittent circuit. Otherwise if you reversed the polarities, you may only get low and high and that is it. Now I know this is not the wiring diagram for the ZRE etc, but you would probably find that it would be something similar to this (this being the circuit on the Camry/Aurion). Basically you will just have to change the polarity of the diodes/transistors/capacitors (where necessary), make sure it's all isolated from the rest of the car just to be safe, and testing it to make sure it works fine.

Yay! That is excellent news to hear mate. One of two things: a) Continue doing other work to the car or cleaning it... I usually do the engine bay and interior if I have no other service items, or b) Go inside, grab a bear (edit) beer, watch some telly, then come back later. I like to let my oil drain for a good hour just to make sure a fair bit of it drips out.

The musty smell you get from the air conditioner is not caused by the filter. It's actually caused by bacteria on the evaporator when condensation forms on it.

Toyota should have a collisions repair manual, but as to whether they can let you access this is a completely different story. Usually they don't disclose stuff like this to everyone. Sometimes it helps if you know some of the people at your local dealership really well. Sorry I can't help you out with this one. Just letting you know that they should be out there. If you were asking about a Camry or Aurion repair manual though, I'd have just the right document for you.

Can't wait to see how it goes mate. I was thinking of doing the exact same thing... even had a good length of 50-core cable ready so I could mount the PC in the boot. Then I got the Auspack unit as a present. I was actually going to use the moulding and then finely hack it up so I can fit a 10.1 inch display in since it would just fit in with the right work. That would have looked great in my opinion.

Yup, changing the wiper position is easy but unfortunately, getting the wiper to move in the opposite direction is a little bit tricky. You can simply reverse the polarity to the wiper motor, however doing so will mean that the electronics that are in place to allow the intermittent wiper function will not be able to operate. This can be fixed, but requires a bit of circuit work to perform.

I've fitted HID's to a Gen 2 Kluger. They are extremely easy to fit because you have so much room available in the engine bay to work around. Placement of the ballasts are easy as well because it is so open and can be attached to numerous places. Just use your head. There is no need to do a DIY guide for it because it really is that simple. As for obtaining them, personally I'd recommend eBay because it is cheap, and the kits are of a decent quality. Most of them are all the same so just choose a buyer which looks trustworthy. No need to spend crazy amounts either. Under $100 shipped is the way to go. Now for the serious side of it: No they are not legal. The only time fitting HID's is legal is when you are fitting the OEM HID's to a car that has HID's as an option. This includes the auto-levelling stuff and the headlight washers. Since the Kluger did not have a HID option, there is no OEM kit and it is therefore illegal. On that topic, if a car has HID's as an option in a higher grade, simply fitting a HID conversion kit to the headlights of a lower grade of the same car will still be illegal. You have to fit the the exact same ones as the higher grade, including all extras that come as part of it. Secondly, HID's in the Kluger's reflector housing are really glaring. This can be really annoying to other road users and can even lead to a defect if a cop gets you. I would advise not to put in HID's, but that statement won't really sway anyone's opinion especially when it's something you want.

It's a personalised plate (obviously) in the 'Prestige' series, which means any alpha-numeric combination up to 6 characters (7 in special limited offers), and comes as a different design to the standard aluminium pressed number plate. The front is plastic (perspex, lexan or something like that) and the frame is made from aluminium. This is my front number plate (easier to remove) and you can see how it is constructed: