DJKOR

You should tidy up those cables for your amp. A nice place to hide them is in the area above where you mounted your amp. Mind me though, I'm a bit of a clean freak :P

2008ZR6; so I gather that you got your kit fitted by Fulcrum, but you're saying that Toyota should now have it as well right? After thinking about it however, I'd rather have it fitted by Fulcrum since I would trust them more given they are more knowledgeable about suspension. If you don't mind me asking; what price range would I be looking at to get Fulcrum to fit the SPF2904K kit?

Cool. I guess back when I was driving my 91 Camry, I've just been used to seeing all these meets with all this riced up cars. In this case however; count me in for Friday, and Saturday. On Friday, I'll meet everyone at the loop at 8pm. I did a browse through the other thread (what a long topic that was), and just need to confirm that this is the "loop/pool" that you're all talking about. http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/inde...mp;#entry192448 And on Saturday, should I meet at the F1 at 5:30pm?

Well count me in then. You shall see me there on Friday, and Saturday nights.

Thought I'd move my post here as this is where the action is: I would really like to go, but because I am a student, I'm working in retail at the moment. As a result, I am working on all four days. If I was to turn up, I would only be able to do Friday (meet at the loop at 8pm), and Saturday (meet at F1 at 5:30pm as I finish work at 4pm). It is such a shame that I will miss out on Sunday, cause that day seems way too fun. If Friday, and the other half of Saturday would be fine for me to rock up for (just seems odd not being there for everything), then I will join in for that since I have nothing else to do. On top of that, my Aurion is stock and I think I'll feel out of place among everyone else.

I would really like to go, but because I am a student, I'm working in retail at the moment. As a result, I am working on all four days. If I was to turn up, I would only be able to do Friday (meet at the loop at 8pm), and Saturday (meet at F1 at 5:30pm as I finish work at 4pm). It is such a shame that I will miss out on Sunday, cause that day seems way too fun. If Friday, and the other half of Saturday would be fine for me to rock up for (just seems odd not being there for everything), then I will join in for that since I have nothing else to do. On top of that, my Aurion is stock and I think I'll feel out of place among everyone else.

Are you saying that Toyota now stock the appropriate part to correct the problem? Even if it does involve going elsewhere for a true wheel alignment, I wouldn't mind if it meant that I got the corrected part under warranty. Would something like that be covered under warranty?

Nice work. Is that the stock speaker mould for the front speaker? If so, that would seem like a much nicer option for me cause I don't want to go to the length of creating my own mould (I'm pretty lazy these days). And did you manage to get the rear parcel shelf off without removing the seats? If so, looks like I know what I'm going to be doing pretty soon.

Ouch! It's so painful to see such a car with damage like that. I'm pretty sure if I was in that situation, there would be a fair amount of swearing coming from me. What a bummer; you do nothing wrong yet you manage to get that in return.

I haven't reset my 'Trip A' yet. When I noticed that it could count past 999.9km (which is all my Camry could count up to, and I just let it tick over time and time again never resetting it), I decided to leave it be and do the same. So far, it has tracked how far I've driven since I got the car; 6 weeks and now 3718km. For some reason, I don't want to reset it. Just me I guess. Therefore I wouldn't be able to comment on that question. I only reset the 'Trip B' and that is when my cruising range hits 0km and I'm not planning on getting petrol just yet. The average fuel consumption is updated in real time so when you have just filled up, the figures can be all over the place. I think it is just saying that "if you continue driving like you are at this moment in time, that's roughly how much fuel you will use". As the tank gets lower and lower, the average figure starts to level off and as it approaches empty, the figures don't fluctuate that much. I just use the average fuel consumption screen to get a rough idea on whether I am driving too aggressively. Obviously I try and stay away from higher figures cause it must mean I'm chewing through my fuel. I'm naturally lead footed so it's a reminder to ease off a bit. One thing I've noticed is that when you fill the tank to full (first to second 'click' on the pump), mine always states about 544km on the cruising range screen. From past habits, I have a tendency to sometimes fill as much as I can so I'll slowly add fuel so it goes up the filler tube. I've done this with my Aurion before and found that the cruising range will stay at about 544km (obviously since the meter can't read higher that what it recognises as full), so this can account for any inaccuracies in fuel calculations. Also, when you don't do a complete fill, I've noticed that it tends to give lower figures on the fuel consumption screen, but I haven't done enough testing to determine if this was a one off.

"Magical yellow stick" eh? Is that like the coat-hanger method but easier/safer against scratches? Also, nice work with the parking sensors JIN. I've seriously been considering installing some since I still haven't gotten 100% used to gauging distance at the back. So many times I have parked and ended up thinking I was about to hit the car behind me, yet I has nowhere near close. If I did it though, I'd need to find a way to mount the display (probably pulling it apart and working from there) so that it doesn't look like an add-on. After having numerous things here and there on my Camry, I want everything on my Aurion to be seamlessly integrated (subwoofer excluded, I'm too broke to afford a custom enclosure). I'm quite picky about the way things look. That's why if I want a GPS I'm not buying a Navman because for me, it will sit out of place and I wont like the look. I need to go and buy the factory fit, stereo/nav unit to make me happy.

I wouldn't have a go at Danny there. He is right; members of this forum have discussed this topic already. One example was over at: Fuel economy advise Then there were even more figures discussed over at: Presara Fuel consumption Bad Fuel Economy. (It isn't all about bad fuel economy, but the title should catch your attention) Yes we do list these figures in litres per 100km, but it isn't too hard to calculate the distance figures from that. If one of us says that we get 9.9l/100km, and you wanted to know how car you could travel before the fuel light comes on you would just need to divide 55 (as this is about the point that the fuel light comes on; also discussed in Fuel tank and gauge accuracy) by 9.9 then multiply by 100. I failed maths in high school and could figure that out (for once I can do something right). You would then get the answer of 555.5km per 55 litres of fuel which would answer your question. All the figures we have provided in this forum are our real life figures, so that should be what you're after. You will also find, when it is discussed, we explain the driving conditions. Not all of us are restricted purely to city or highway driving; there is always going to be a mix of the two. But that's why it is average fuel consumption. And no the 9.9l/100km fuel consumption isn't a lie. These cars are quite capable of doing that. It all comes down to how you drive it. I was running low on cash for the past week so I was forced to drive properly and not lead-footed like I always do. I've managed to get mine at the moment to 8.7l/100km and that was with 60-70% city driving and with the occasional wide open throttle.

I purchased the one from Auspack Electronics last week. Was going to take photos this weekend and start a new thread. Anyway its absolutely perfect. Picture quality is amazing. It is Plug and play to a certain degree. You will need to wire in the reverse camera, the power for the tv antenna, and the handbrake switch (which you can just earth so the DVD works all the time). The steering wheel buttons all work perfectly too. There is a factory harness adaptor which it comes with so it simply just plugs in. DVD, NAV, Radio, Reverse Camera, USB, etc all - Brilliant Ipod interface works perfectly, however the screen colours used are not to my liking. Hard to read the playlist. Sound Quality varies depending on how you wire it up. If you just connect is per the factory wiring that it is supplid with, it sounds like the factory stereo which is still ok, However It also beeps everytime you press a button or touch the screen - gets annoying. I wired mine up to my amp as it has RCA outputs. Sound is fantastic - couldn't be happier. The beep is also eliminated when you wire up via an amp. (the unit also has an AMP trigger wire to switch your amp on and off). Screen resolution is best i've seen in a car. 1440 hi res is correct and it is viewable from any angle in the car. Even from the front with no loss in picture quality. I would recommend this to anyone thinking about it. I'll post photos over the weekend. Not really the kind of news I wanted to hear. Looks like I know where my next paycheck is going. Guess I'll have to watch my spending for the next week. I've been looking at the Auspack unit for a while and wondering if it's price was too good to be true. I really want to change my head unit as the 6-CD changes just doesn't satisfy me 100%. I was so close to buying that Auspack unit, but just couldn't go ahead and bite the bullet. Thanks for taking that chance for us.

Okay, I've updated the links in my post so you can see exactly what I was referring to. I just purchased off eBay since that's how I've done it in the past. As for the heat issue, With the Aurion because of the location of the parkers, standard LED's and SMD LED's will be more than okay. The level of heat they will receive from the headlights are not that much. My sister had the SMD variety (which are smaller and you would think would be more sensitive) on her old Excel, and those were located just next to the actual headlight bulb itself. She even eventually changed her headlights to HID's and the LED's showed no signs of giving up.

The original bulb is the standard T10 5W type. Ideally, I would have used the 1W Luxeon type T10 LED replacements (photo 1) as I have used them before and they are really bright. However I have had several of these type burn out due to heat, so I don't really trust them anymore. They come with a larger heatsink now, but even still, I don't trust them yet. Because I was going to swap nearly all my bulbs in the Aurion for LED, I had a few different types at home already which let me find out what could and couldn't be used. For the parkers, you can't use an LED replacement that is too large. The type shown in the second photo (eBay Link) was way too wide to fit into the housing, so I couldn't use that there. I did however have a 5 LED surface mount version as well (eBay link), shown in the third photo, and that managed to fit fine. So if you are in search for an LED replacement, try not to get one which that is wider than 12-13mm. Most T10 LED's out there have the same style base, as you will see in all those attached pictures. As a general guide, I'd try not to pick one that has LED's that stick out wider than the top of that base. Also, don't get those T10 repacements that have just one large LED; the ones that Repco and the like sell. They are fairly dim, and will not be satisfying. As for the colour, I'd suggest sticking with white. In my photo, mine look rather blue. In person though, it's actually a pretty clear white. It also appears as bright as the original bulb when looking at it. Due to the characteristics of LED's however, it doesn't project as far, but the visual intensity is there. Just be aware that if you use an LED that looks more blue than anything else, the police might not approve of that as it says on the Queensland Transport website that blue lights are only allowable on emergency vehicles.

I understand what you mean about the "ripples". The Sportivo does that as well, but you usually need to go over a pretty decent bump to get that. Most common case is not slowing down enough for one of those metal speed bumps. That feeling is kinda weird. Of course I try not to do that intentionally for obvious reasons, but this all happened when I first drove it. I would imagine the AT-X giving a smoother cruise, but I guess it all comes down to your own level of comfort. After all, I owned a '91 Camry prior to this and that felt like you were really connected to the road. So in this case, the Sportivo is a damn smooth drive for me.

I would personally go for Mobil 1. I haven't had a lot of experience with different oils, but Mobil 1 seems to be getting a pretty good reputation. There has been a lot of debate as to whether fully synthetics are good on new or just run in engines. I believe that once you're first oil change comes along, you should be fine to put a fully synthetic oil in. After all; Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Chrysler, Corvette, Dodge, Ferrari, GM, Mercedes Benz, Pontiac, and Porsche all use fully synthetic oils as a factory fill right from the start. So switching over to synthetic at the first oil change should not ruin your engine. As for which grade of oil to use, you will be fine to use 10W30 as this is suitable for temperatures as low as -29 degrees. If you wanted to, you can use 5W30, but in my opinion there is no real need to with respect to Australian climate. The Aurion manual states that you need 5.7 litres if you did a drain and fill without changing the filter, and 6.1 litres if you changed the filter as well.

I've managed to change mine to some white LED's (the photo makes it seem a bit more blue than it is). Since I had to access the wiring for the parkers when I installed my HID's (for the relay circuit), I though I may as well open up the other side and swap the bulb there. Accessing it is kind of annoying, but if you change it to LED, chances are you won't be doing it again. With all the design work behind the scenes at Toyota, I'm surprised that this was their best solution for accessing the parkers. I didn't take any photos during the procedure (sorry), but I went down just then to take some photos as a guide. Mind the dirt; I haven't got around to cleaning the unseen areas yet. -Firstly, the way I did it was to remove the screw underneath the car that holds the under guard to the wheel arch guard (photo 2 taken facing the rear). When you look at the area, you can easily figure out the screw I'm talking about and how it all goes together. -Secondly, remove two of the clips holding the arch guard to the wheel arch (photo 3, and the top circle in photo 4). The lower one is a twist and turn, the upper one pops out in the centre followed by the remainder of the clip. -Thirdly, lift the arch guard up a bit and you will then find a screw holding the bumper in place. You will find it hidden around the location of the second circle in photo 4. Unscrew that and put it aside. - Then carefully unclip the side of the bumper and with a combination of having the bumper sitting to the side a little (for obvious reasons, don't force it to the point that it looks like it's going to bend) and pushing the wheel arch towards the inner of the car (more forgiving if you push it hard), you can access the parkers; providing your hands and wrists aren't too large. Having a torch is quite helpful at this point in time so you can figure out where you are going to have to send your hand to. I'm not too good with detailing instructions, so excuse me if it seems a little non-descriptive. Was it as easy or easier than installing the HID's? In general, I would say that it was probably easier. In my case though, my HID setup was a bit more detailed, and since I was also accessing the parkers for the HID's, I'd say that based on the "swear factor", both tasks were a pain in the rear end.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is going to be much of an improvement by changing/modifying the ECU. The Aurion is already pushing quite a bit of power as it is. Any modification like that would only really benefit with additional modifications/forced induction. But then again, having the VVTi, leaves some room for change, but wouldn't Toyota have already optimised that? I've also heard that the Lexus ECU's are encrypted. I would guess the new Toyota's would be the same right?

I'm don't know too much about how suspension works in fine detail, but I was quite surprised at how smooth the ride on the Sportivo is given how stiff the suspension is. On my old Camry, you could "bounce" the suspension, and the ride was nowhere near as smooth as my new Sportivo, where you can barely push down on the car. That being said, I do find the ride kinda bouncy at slower speeds (some bumps are amplified a little, but in a "springy" kind of way) on my Sportivo, but it's still rather smooth nevertheless. Acording to Toyota, the AT-X has the same ground clearance as the Sportivo. The Sportivo certainly looks lower, and I think that is due to the side-skirts, front, and back bumper. When Toyota says they have the same ground clearance, I think they are referring to the underbody only. Also, does the AT-X come with Michelin Energy tires? Where ever I read about the Sportivo, they mention the Michelin tires, so it would seem like it is another difference with them.

The one thing about the Aurion range (with the exception of the TRD) is that all models come with the same powerplant. The only drive related difference that the Sportivo's have that I am award of is the suspension setup. I haven't had the opportunity to drive any other models, so I can't really comment on any differences in performance. I'm guessing that the difference in suspension will probably affect the overall feel when you are giving the Sportivo some throttle, but as for the exhaust note, I can't explain that one. Maybe it's your mind telling you to go for the Sportivo. Speaking of suspension, does anyone know what the difference between the suspension is in the ZR6 in comparison to the SX6?