struan

making sure the engine is at operating temp is the key. Most engine wear (for normally driven cars) occurs at start-up, exacerbated if it's given a hard time before temps have normalised. That said, a typical toyota engine is over-engineered...as are most of their transmissions. You could bounce it off the limiter all day and not have any worries, as a couple of members have attested to. Showing my age here now, but i vividly recall a toyota crown with a 2m (2.3 litre single OHC- inline 6 cylinder) which was already 15 years old when i got it...valve bouncing at about 7000 rpm!!.....turbocharged a twin-cam 5m in another crown....i never blew it up but a mate did in his track car. I've bounced the aurion off the limiter a few times....LOL...not with the wife on board tho...a couple of times not concentrating, using 's' mode a accidently held a gear for too long. There's a really good reason why the aurion has the limiter on it....so you can't blow it up!! My advice!!...don't do nuttin' stoopid til it's all warmed up .... then hammer it!

i think for what the aurion is.....4 door family sedan!! the 'S' shift is great. Compare apples with apples...it ain't a porsche....it's not a tiptronic box. It's a brilliant compromise, it's easy to use...it's logical...the car hammers!! Compare it to the falcon....now there my friends is a clunky 'S' mode shifter...marketed as a 'performance auto'....if you're a bit on the shorter side (vertically challenged)...you'll find reaching over to where the falcon 'S' shifter position is a bit of a reach...and they still havn't sorted out proper ratios ..it only just does the job. The aurion however brings it across to you ..nice and close. There is a difference between 'D' and 's' mode 6. DJ is on the money there.....i don't take mine to the track and whilst you won't notice .2 of a second at the traffic lights, there is a difference. Whatever toyota have done (however slight) 's' mode is snappier.....LOL...there you go...it actually stands for snappy....it's great for engine braking (not breaking).

HI dimitri...i've only recently joined this site but i felt a bit sad for you when no-one answered your post....it's a few months old now but anyways. You should be able to find some fellow crown owners at classicrown. http://classicrown.multiply.com best of luck.

well mate toyota's on to a good thing with the aurion...lets hope a cosmetic upgrade doesn't stuff it up...the angle on the new front you posted looks slightly kluger-ish...but it does look alright...i agree about the tail lights...eeeeeek!! as long as the sportivo is visually attractive...we'll all be happy. And NO TRD anymore.......i think the ad goes....'BUGGER!'

Hey Michael...yeah it can be done...it's been done before...but it's a hell of a lot easier to put a supra 7mgte turbo engine into it (173kW)....bolts straight in on the toyota engine mounts...i had one for a few years. and i know a V8 sounds nice....but the look i used to get from ss commodore drivers when my 1969 MS-55 blew them to the weeds was priceless. I used a toyota 4 speed auto with the lock-up converter. You could also try the later supra 1jzge or 2jzge motors (2.5 and 3.0 litre 6 cylinder). both of which have twin turbo variants....there will be clearance issues with the twin turbo set up around the steering box but earlier crown engine mounts will bolt up to them. You could also try the toyota 1uz (4 litre quad cam alloy V8)...the bonus with using the toyota engines comes with the transmission fit-up...or simply bolt up options without transmission tunnel modifications. If you want any more info about this model crown, i'm more than hapy to talk with ya mate. cheers stru.

If you're still looking for some fellow crown nuts go and check us out at http://classicrown.multiply.com This used to be a huge site on the old ninemsn groups pages...but everyone has had to move to mulitply now. stru.

Yeah DJ, the increments....i guess it's a personal taste thing i spose.......on a positive...the blue looks excellent. Mind you DJ the speedo increment is pretty much the only 'fault' i find with the car.

Whilst it probably won't happen, toyota need to look at the speedo inclinations. OR include a digital speed readout in the lcd display with the trip info. I like the set out of the tacho/speedo...but the speedo needs attention. It can be difficult to get an accurate fix on one's velocity. At the very least...do it for the sportivo models....c'mon toyota...why is it, you do soooo many good things and then poke your-self in the eye with a lame speedo. WE ALL LIKE giving it to falcon and commodore drivers....and it wouldn't cost you much money production wise to fix the speedo!!!...surely.

The last two long distance runs i did: 1) Dubbo to berrigan: mostly 110kmh zone- cruise set on 120km/h (so about real time 116km/h) car fully loaded: Fuel econ= 7.6 L/P 100km. That was on standard Shell ULP. 2) Mossvale to Junee: mostly 110km/h and smooth freeway drive. once again cruise set 120km/h car fully loaded: Fuel econ= 7.2 L/P 100km. Shell premium (or what ever it's called!!) **3) Around Junee, very hilly short runs around town dropping kids to school and shopping. driven 2-3 times per day and less than 10km each trip the fuel econ 'craps out' to about 12 L/P 100km.

LMAO...DJKOR...i'll have to try this out now, but not with the wife onboard. Back onto the seq' mode...i've had a few manual cars, VR commodore, 2002 magna...and a few modified crowns....and driven plenty of others. For what the Aurion is, i think the transmission is brilliant. Let's be honest, in it's basic form it's a good family car. In SX-6 and ZR-6, it's a family oriented sport model. Compared to either the current commodore or falcon, i'd drive an aurion any day. Another good point for the seq' shift is where it's positoned in relation to the driver. It's nice and close, especially with the armrest pulled forward...you just flick it with your fingers...it's close to the steer' wheel as well. hehehe...now i'm off to see if i can get those front wheels hopping!!!

Yep...we've got first 12 months full replacement. After this it reverts to agreed value. Market value will DE-preciate ofcourse...as it is MARKET VALUE. Agreed value does not depreciate by virtue of the fact it is the agreed replacement amount for your car between you and the insurance provider. So if you're able to get it, agreed value...is good value should the car be a total loss. In our case we picked up an sx-6 for $36,290...$35,290 with the trade for our old cressida. (drive away). It's a demo with 35km!! The list price is about $43,000. So ofcourse if it's a total loss we can get a new one up to $43,000.This does not include some of the on road costs though. Either way it's all good.

When we were buying our sx-6 the other week, the dealer informed us that none of the aurions had fold down seats. The reason for this was the internal bracing inside the boot area...under the rear parcel shelf, which (according to the dealer) was there to give the body greater structural integrity. Having test drove an AT-X...and the Tourer which have the same suspension set up...and then the sx-6, there is a noticeable difference in the ride. Much firmer and precise in the sx-6. I guess it's the combination of the suspension and it's bracing as well as some half decent rubber. I have the tyres set at 35psi.

We picked up our black SX-6 today and the insurance quote we have through a broker is $625. We have our no claim bonus, one windscreen per year and agreed value. We're NOT in Sydney though we're at Dubbo in central west NSW. Both of us over 25 y/o.

Hey bretto...why don't you look up Flynn's wreckers in Cooma. They've got more toyota stuff than you can poke a pink stick at...thousands of cars...hundreds of toy's. The last time i was there was best part of 10 years and there was Mk2 stuff there....cause that don't mean it is now, but it's still worth the call... some advice: if you're going there then make ue trip count and take some $$ with you. their prices were never the cheapest, but of course buying bulk is always able to be negotiated down. have fun stru.

Hey STARR33... if you havn't found it already check out CLASSICROWN http://groups.msn.com/classicrown at classicrown you shall find what it is you seek...and pass to the dark side on the journey to become a CROWN-NUT.. lol ...struan

Hello peoples. Just for everyones information, if you are chasing parts for old toyota's, mainly crowns though, and you have not checked out CLASSICROWN, then it may be worth your while doing so. Classicrown is a net based crown club, almost 2000 mbrs, from all over the world. We've been going for a few years now. Many of our members also have other models of toyota's (don't we all!!) and may be able to source parts for those as well, or steer you in the right direction. There's also quite a bit of model info posted there as well. check it out: http://groups.msn.com/classicrown I've only just joined the owners club a couple of days ago, in the process of getting rid of our cressida and buying an Aurion. I also have a rare hard-top (coupe) 1972 crown which is for sale, but in need of a ground up resto'. Heap of spares included. Cheers. Struan Timms, president- classicrown.

Hey guys. I'm new to this club/forum and this is my first post here. Despite that, crowns are something which i know a great deal about. Had quite a few in my time and i'm also the president of "classicrown" which is a net based toyota crown registry. We have almost 2000 mbrs from all over the world. If you're not already a member of classicrown, then you should try there to source your parts. http://groups.msn.com/classicrown I don't have any parts left which could help you, but there are plenty of people at 'cc' who do have '50 series' (1968-71) crowns...utes, sedans, wagons, and coupes. cheers struan timms.