Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Toyota Celica (Hatchbacks / All Years)

13468932

Comments

  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    Perhaps a stronger spring to 2nd would be perfect?
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    will TRD pads warp my rotors? i just saw how a replacement set of rotors for a 98 corolla is 77 dollars each. that's a lot of money. someone told me that the carbon metalic pads are a great way to destroy a set of rotors. this was a little unsettling to me because i have a set being shipped to me as we speak. i hope i didnt just make a $200 commitment by spending 50 dollars on some pads. I'm not sure how hot these pads get. i mean i dont plan on mashing the brakes at 110 mph, but will normal spirited driving warp the rotors? anyone have any experience with this? i'll keep you posted on how these pads improve braking if at all. they should arrive this week and i'll have them on maybe friday or next monday. unless i get some more bad news replies.

    also, will brembo cross drilled rotors hold up to the heat better than oem rotors? even though i know the rotors wont help distance much will they last longer? thanks for your help.
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    I'm ready to purchase a 2001 Celica GT.
    After hitting the web hard, I went to a couple of dealers to get their prices. So far, carsdirect.com is still cheaper by $200-$300 dollars. (UP,CK,AW,CF,RF,SR)

    The only local dealer in town did provide a lead to help me sell my old '89 Corolla LE.

    However, now that same sales person is indignant that despite him being $300 above mean TMV on Edmunds and Kelly's Blue Book, I'm still asking him to go lower, or at least counter the other dealer.
    (He's more than 5% above invoice.)

    He says it's like comparing apples to oranges and that "service" is where it's at, suggesting I'll get better service and perks by buying from him and servicing the vehicle in town, as opposed to buying from someone else.

    I'm going to try one more time to get either or both dealers to lower their offers to at least the "no hassle" carsdirect price. Anybody buy from this website? I hear you pick-up your car from a local dealer anyway.

    Am I going about this the right way? Do I owe the local sales person anything for the lead that led to the sale of my old car? (It's a difference of $300.)

    What about the 15" alloy wheels? I've thought about just getting the steel stock rims/tires and purchasing custom 16" rims for the summer, and re-fitting the stock 15" wheels with snow tires for our Michigan winters. Anyone get ABS on their Celica? Worth it?

    Are the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712's any good?
    (205/50/16)

    The local dealer wasn't thrilled I was pursuing this option. He said most Celicas are coming with the 15" alloy wheels and that it would take 3-4 months to special order a vehicle from Japan.

    The other dealer said if they had another car on the lot with the stock wheels, they could swap them.

    Anybody purchase the mesh grill for the front intake?

    Thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated.
  • denniswadedenniswade Member Posts: 362
    Let's take em one at a time....

    Screw the saleman -- he has nothing to do with the service operation, and it's stupid of him to suggest that if you don't buy from him you'll get lousy service. I'd take that up with the service manager at the dealership he works for! Believe me, Toyota dealerships make plenty enough on service they don't worry about where you bought the car. On the other hand, I wouldn't drive into the service department with a license plate holder that has another dealer's name on it.

    Getting the stock wheels for winter and buying your own 16 inchers is a great idea, and exactly what I would do if I still lived in Michigan. The Kumhos are great tires, and an unbelievable value.

    The mesh is a question of taste and style -- I like it, but it's up to you what you do with your car to customize it. There's already a lot of stuff out there for the car, and more on the way.

    Have fun, drive a good deal and we'll see you on the turnpike!
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    Thanks for the quick response and ideas, Dennis!

    Where did you purchase your mesh grill?
    I've seen a few on e-bay. I think black will go nicely with the spectra blue mica and black front-end mask.
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    i did my grill myself. just buy some wire mesh, cut it paint it and install it yourself. click on this link for the instructions, http://www.phewl.com/how-to/default2.asp?id=33 . if you buy that thing from e bay all it is is precut for you but you still have to get under the car and get dirty and do it all yourself. i did my grill, painted it with black primer and it's barely visable but it keeps the radiator safe. took me an hour, all you need is some wire cutters a 10mm wrench and a jack and car stands. total cost for me was $5.86 for 5 feet by 2 feet of wire. good luck with your purchase.
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    Thanks for the tip, Alex. Looks like a fun project to do.
  • oneibtoneibt Member Posts: 12
    kgwxman - I just picked up my new GT yesterday. I got it with the aw and up option packages and paid 16,731, which is about 300 under invoice. Sounds to me like your salesman is an a-hole. The way I worked it was to tell the salesman at each dealership to give me the absolute bottom line price to shop with. They resisted at first, (wanted me to give a price) but when I made it clear how I was going to do things, they came around.
    By the way, just a personal opinion. I think the front end looks better without the mask.
    Anyway, good luck. So far I love mine, but it's killing me to keep my foot out of it while I get through break-in.
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    Oneibt, you got a great deal paying under invoice.
    I'm suprised that I haven't even gotten offers below what I can
    purchase a vehicle for on-line, at carsdirect.

    Seems someone wants a higher commission.
    I'll get down to business this week. Maybe waving a check in front of
    the sales people will get some action.

    Now, if those lower interest rates would just tricke down to my loan!
  • dq1dq1 Member Posts: 44
    is better: TRD or K&N? I've checked out prices online ($48 for TRD and $38 for K&N). I have an '01 GT and am not really looking to get any performance increase. I'm more concerned about getting something that filters better than paper so that I get the most life out of the engine. Thanks.
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    the only reason is that it's a 1 million mile filter. the only on you will ever have to buy. not sure but i doubt TRD can boast that. also $38 for the K&N sounds like the old one, part number 33-2041 . there is a new one that has modifications to make it easier to install, part# 33-2041-1 should cost about $45. i made sure i got the newer one for a few bucks more.
  • 00gts00gts Member Posts: 42
    The TRD is a K&N filter, just with TRD written on it. Go with whatever is cheaper.
  • jk111jk111 Member Posts: 125
    Just went to the new york auto show last sat. and saw a GTS with the new aggressive body kit (evo 7 spoilers and body kits.) Went to carsdirect.com and found out that it cost 1600 bucks to get that! I can not see thru the back due to the enormous high stance of the spoiler, I think I will get a gts without any spoiler..
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    the celica might even look better without the spoiler. and my GT will never really go fast enough to use the downforce. i think maybe 16 inch wheels and no spoiler and a turbocharger (i wish) and the celica would be like a little edgy front drive porche :)
  • bcloughbclough Member Posts: 97
    How big is the newer spoiler? The old one bisected the rear view out the back. Absolutely horrible. I suppose if you had to have a spoiler it would be better if it were huge and high, so that you could see out from under it!

    Brenda
  • gambit293gambit293 Member Posts: 406
    The celica's rear spoiler does have some virtues.

    It has a tendency to block headlights of tailgating cars, especially SUVs. This is useful at night, although during the day, it has the effect of masking tailgating cars, making it difficult to tell what kind of car it is.
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    Toyota specifies 27/34 mpg for city/highway (GT auto). I can easily get 34-35 on interstate, but I never had 27 in city, the best was slightly above 25 mpg. And I mean real city - no interstates, just small city with a lot of stop signs and traffic lights, with most of the streets being 25-35 mph.
    I have even driven full tank with as slow acceleration/decelaration I could manage, and this is really boring, just wanted to test if 27 is a real number (I know a lot of you can get 27, but in most cases that is not just city driving).
    Now, the celica's manual sais that this model does so called "engine braking" whenever you release the pedal (it states that it is advantage, my Ford does not do that). So, even if you go downhill you have to keep pedal slightly down burning gas (suxxx!)
    Last two weeks I was driving so that whenever I released the accelerator pedal (before stops, or going downhill), I also switched to neutral. Occasionally, I still punched it to the bottom. In spite of that I got 30 mpg city-only driving! This is about 20% in efficiency gain. My guess is that ~30-50% of total time I was rolling in neutral. I don't know if it that constant shifting is bad for auto, the switching is very smooth, but you have to depress pedal slightly when you shift from neutral back to drive, otherwise you will feel this slight "engine braking".
  • tmundartmundar Member Posts: 70
    Engine Braking does not use any more gasoline than idling. I believe that the accelerator in the Celica has a physical connection to the throttle, so whether you are in gear or not, you use the same amount of gas if your foot is off the gas pedal. The difference is that when in gear, the engine slows you down (or maybe that was your point). :)

    So the Celica AT tries to figure out when you need engine braking? There is another reason why I love manual transmissions. When I need engine braking, I have engine braking, and when I don't, I shift into the appropriate gear. Engine braking can be a wonderful thing. I rarely ever have to use my brakes (unless traffic is stopping, obviously). :)

    Tom

    P.S. I never get above the city milage on any of my cars. It is the price I pay to enjoy my drive.
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    You are right, engine braking does not use more gas (that would be real stupid) than idling. But you need to apply gas simply to keep running at constant speed, even if it is down the hill. And you are wrong - there are 2 idling regimes for modern AT (and Celica is no exception) - in gear, and in neutral. The difference in gas consumption seems to be ~30% for Celica. And here is why:
    When you you are standing still with brakes applied, computer keeps rpm at ~700, this is not some old car with no rpm feedback. Now, switch to neutral and rpm immediately spikes to ~1000 for a second, and then it goes back to 700 again. These extra 300 rpm (which translates into ~5-10 hp) keep constantly pulling your car. If you assume that gas/rpm dependence for neutral is linear (which is close to reality), it gives you >30% saving.
    Next, when you are going, for example, at 40 mph down a slight slope, the engine runs at ~1600 rpm. Switch to neutral and it drops to <1000 rpm. To avoid engine braking you have to "compensate", i.e. supply enough gas to keep it running at 1600 rpm - which is >30% of extra gas (10-20 hp). If you don't do that the car will take this 10-20hp from your car momentum, resulting in what you call "engine braking". Similarily, if there is no slope your car will slow down much faster if in gear.
    The Celica AT has some brains, but I doubt there are any for engine braking. It is simply the Toyota's design of AT which does not let wheels run faster than the engine.
    To save gas, I simply switch to neutral whenever aproaching stop, so that most of the time in short runs between stop signs or traffic lights I am in neutral.
  • tmundartmundar Member Posts: 70
    All AT cars will give you some engine braking, it is just that whenever you lift off of the accelerator, the AT will shift into its highest (overdrive) gear, so that the engine braking has a minimal effect. I was assuming that when the Celica AT has an engine braking feature that means that the AT holds a lower gear to slow down a car on a hill. Usually on a hill, you want engine braking so that you do not have to ride the brakes in order to keep a reasonable speed down the hill.

    Is the Celica's AT not shifting into overdrive, or is its highest gear ratio too short? Maybe, due to the high compression ratio, the Celica supplies more engine braking then the average car.

    Also, the EPA numbers are calculated in a laboratory, so, while they try to duplicate the rigors of real life, it is just an estimation. Maybe your city driving requires more stops and starts than the laboratory city does.

    Tom
  • gambit293gambit293 Member Posts: 406
    Why, according to the EPA, does the 2001 auto GT get better fuel mileage than a 2001 manual GT?

    2001 GT Auto: 29/36
    2001 GT Manual: 28/33
  • coupe2001coupe2001 Member Posts: 100
    sorry dude, your figures are wrong. check www.toyota.com and you will see that GT Auto Gets 27/34 and GT manual get 28/34.
  • denniswadedenniswade Member Posts: 362
    I agree -- the car looks better without the spoiler, because the lines of the car are resolved without interference. It looks absolutely sharklike without the spoiler (and it's cheaper to boot!) If I were to add a spoiler, I'd add an aftermarket, adjustable spoiler like the prototype had.

    Most modern cars have ECUs that cut off the fuel supply when decellerating - meaning that you actually use less fuel when engine braking than when you kick it into neutral and let the engine idle. Switching your car out of overdrive in stop-and-go traffic will do two things: calm your nerves by not having to brake as often, and give you better mileage. That's why that little button is there!

    It's also great for setting your suspension for those 90-mph sweepers!
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    It has to be realized that fuel injection is different from carburetors in this respect: Take your foot off of the gas. On a carbureted car, the engine will still suck a relatively large amount of gas in, based on the current rpm. On a fuel injected car, you take your foot off of the gas, all gas flow is cut off except for the amount needed to idle.

    Its been a while since I talked about carburetors, but I believe that is a reasonable synopsis.
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    Just purchased my Celica GT. Got the 5 speed, with UP,AW,CF,CK,RF, and SR in
    Spectra Blue Mica for $20,000 out the door. I pick it up Wednesday. Can't wait!

    I'm thinking of getting 16" custom wheels with the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712 tires.
    Not sure whether to get them now, or wait a year and run the stock tires on the
    15" alloy wheels. (Probably comes with the Dunlop Sport 4000.) Ideas? Comments?

    What about getting a little more horsepower? Is the custom TRD air filter worth the extra bucks? Thanks!

    Kevin
  • denniswadedenniswade Member Posts: 362
    Any effect it has would be at the high end, and it might actually hurt you on the low end. Save your money.

    On the other hand, if you want to spend a little cash, get a little more power and a really neat exhaust note, get the TRD muffler -- it is sweetness personified, and it will halp you enjoy that wonderful engine as you're winding it to redline.
  • jk111jk111 Member Posts: 125
    spoiler is useless on a celica anyways. The new agressive spoiler I talked about is at least twice as high as the current OEM spoiler, maybe a good 7 inches off the back.. reminds me of the supra spoiler some what.
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    isnt the change with a K&N so small with loss of low and and gain of high the you barely notice it? i can understand an inatake and exhaust, but you think an airfilter will have real affects? I'm not callin you a liar or anything of the kind, i'm just wondering since i put a K&N in my car and felt no difference either way.

    and you bought your celi with no spoiler? that's awesome. they dont have any cars at the dealers without spoilers where i am. i probably would have opted for no spoiler had i seen one with and without side by side. the pictures look so good without it. looks more mature and less boy racer-ish. maybe when i get some expendable money in the future i'll treat myself with a repaint and spoiler removal.
  • bcloughbclough Member Posts: 97
    It was darned difficult to find a Celica without a spoiler. I have never seen another one without, except for my own.

    Brenda
  • gambit293gambit293 Member Posts: 406
    I don't know who's right or wrong, but I got my numbers from the EPA website (fueleconomy.gov)

    Furthermore, I noticed these figures in a dealer lot, on those spec-sheets they have on the windows. I was looking at a manual and auto right next to each other. I asked the dealer why the auto had better mileage than stick; she had no idea.

    Could be that the EPA messed up on their website.
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    I don't have spoiler on my GT. I actually wanted a spoiler, but all they had with spoiler were GTS.

    denniswade - the engine braking may be saves gas if you actually _want_ braking. If you have a slight slope through which your car could simply roll in neutral at ~constant speed - then switching to neutral saves gas, the difference is just too big to be accidental (30 instead of 25 mpg). This time I am changing driving habit - accelerating as hard as I wish, but still switching to neutral when I get to cruising speed and there is a slope.

    BTW, how does swithing OD off save gas at stop sign? It is in the first gear anyway.
  • coupe2001coupe2001 Member Posts: 100
    we have the same car, i added 17" wheels with 215/45 tires, TRD exhaust, and K&N filter. I'm not sure about performance gains cause i added this stuff at 500 miles on the odometer, and didn't push the car to redline till 3000, but im getting killer gas mileage on 87 octane. I've posted great number before, but my last highway trip was 36.8 MPG (211 miles on 5.72 gallons). I cruised between 65 and 75 mph on and off interstates. My tires are slightly taller than stock.
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    Thanks for the info. I decided on 16" wheels with 205/50/16 Kumho Supra 712's.
    I'll give up a little performance for a bit less jarring ride. (So many potholes in Michigan.)

    If I add the TRD exhaust, I think I'll just wait until the first muffler/tailpipe goes.

    I doubt I'll get that kind of gas mileage. I usually cruise between 75-85 mph depending
    on traffic.

    Thinking of adding those HID Xenon headlights/brights/fogs. Anyone else install them?
  • dimitardimitar Member Posts: 4
    I have noticed the same thing - very good highway mileage, but poor city mileage.
    I have the GT manual and I get 23-24mpg for pure city driving - lot's of stop & go - pretty much from first to third gear and back again.
    And yes, it really helps if you cruise in neutral.
    Plus this way you don't have to worry about clutch etc, just breaking. Pretty cool.
    By the way, what is the considered breakin time for the Celica?
    Mine still has only 500 miles on it and I can't wait to be able to drive it without worrying about the engine.
  • denniswadedenniswade Member Posts: 362
    You are exactly right -- the loss of low end and gain at high end is so negligible, the only benefit is the appearance when you lift you hood. If that makes you happy, go for it!

    And unfortunately, no -- my wife's car does have the spoiler. She wanted it and it's her car. I would've saved the money and liked it better without it.
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    yea the K&N made me bond with my car a little. lol

    i put in some 100W eaglite xenon bulbs in my hi, lo, and fogs. they look pretty good and did increase my vision a little on very dark roads. i had them for about a week or 2 now so i cant tell you how long they last. kinda annoying to install them though. especially the fog lights. if they blow i'll replace them once and if i get another dud i will just put the stock bulbs back in. no important difference in vision, i'll just lose that bluish-ness. One kinda cool thing i noticed was the my head light assembly is blue durring the daytime when you look at it from the front because of the blue high beam bulb reflecting off the inside of the headlight. pretty cool looking on my carbon blue car. i bought some xenon parking light bulbs that should be hear next week to complete the whole xenon look of the car at night. I'll let you know if my headlights melt and turn brown. i dont want to think of the bill for that. i think that kind of stuff is rare though.
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    do any of you get a lot of valve tick from your engine? i can hear plenty from inside the car. is it normal? what causes it?
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    Good luck with the HID lights, Alex.
    Funny, I remember a pinball machine from the 1980's called, "XENON". lol!
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    1kgwxman, how did you measure 5.72 gallons with such precision? If you just filled a full tank, then it was easy to get it wrong by 1/2 gallon, add it to your number and you get 34 mpg. Or subtract and get even better mpg. I got 34-35 on a high way trip ~600 miles long - which for 0.5 gallon precision gives 34.5 plus-minus 1 mpg (at 72-80 mph). I wasn't impressed, I get 26.5 mpg on Grand Marquis, which is almost twice heavier and has 8 cylinders. The manual states that GT can do up to 40 mpg, 34 being average for highway. The cartest program also predicts 40 mpg for Celica (highway). And for larger wheels it predicts 2.2 mpg more, which is about the gain you actually saw. The bigger wheels must give you better economy, but they also must slow your 0-60 down by few tens of a second.
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
    the valves on the 1zzfe, are they controlled by mechanical or hydraulic components?
  • gambit293gambit293 Member Posts: 406
    I'm the proud owner of a 2000 Black GT-S. I only got it around a month ago, and it still has less than 2000 miles on it.

    However, I'm still new with stick. And I'm not used to high-reving engines like the Celica's. Furthermore, the Celica's engine is really loud; I'm not used to that also.

    I have enough experience that I don't stall as often any more, but I'm still slower than I'd like, especially driving from a stop. Consequently, I often find myself lagging behind slower cars and lots of (what I assume are) automatics.

    What speeds (or RPM) do you all normally shift at? When starting from a stoplight, are you normally in 2nd by the time you're past the intersection? I'm talking about in "routine" driving; I'm certainly not good enough to try to race anyone.
  • coupe2001coupe2001 Member Posts: 100
    i just filled the tank like everybody else does to compute mpg. I question the half a gallon difference. Pretty sure it allot more accurate than that.

    The Celica Owners Manual doesn't list EPA predicted MPG. Why you ask? Because the owners manual is for all of the Celica models. It doesn't know which model you have. I checked it as well and couldn't find anything on EPA MPG. Please tell me which page it's on.

    I can definitely tell you that it's not 40 MPG highway.

    WWW.TOYOTA.COM says EPA MPG for Celica 5 speed is 34 MPG. My window sticker says 33 MPG HIGHWAY. It is nowhere near 40 MPG.

    You say that larger tires account for 2.2 MPG more. That's crazy! By comparison the stock tire has 819 revolutions per mile, why my size has 838 revolutions. 19 extra revolutions per mile doesn't equal 2.2 miles. In fact, it's considerably less than 1 mile.

    Your automatic GT is rated the same for EPA HIGHWAY 34 MPG. www.toyota.com. congratulations! you are getting the EPA number.

    I question the slower 0 to 60 as well. My tires may be slightly taller, but they grip better than stock which is needed with a 5 speed.

    My setup (K&N, TRD, 17" wheels) is great for MPG and Performance. I know it would take any automatic GT, and be door to door with any stock auto GT-S.
  • tmundartmundar Member Posts: 70
    Hi, Coupe2001,

    Hey, I figured that I would argue with you here, too. ;)

    Actually, I just have some questions about what you said in your last post. You mention that your tires make more revolutions per mile (RpM (to avoid confusion with RPM (revolutions per minute))) than stock, but you also say that your tire is taller. If your tire makes more RpM, wouldn't that mean your total tire size (rim + tire) is smaller than stock?

    A smaller tire will increase acceleration and a larger tire will decrease acceleration (as long as all other variables (i.e. wheel weight) remain the same). The reason for this is because when you change the tire size, you change the effective gearing (i.e. the amount of times that the engine rotates to cause the wheel to rotate). To provide an exaggerated example, let's say that you put tires on that are half the size. As you accelerate, the torque sent to the street is effectively doubled (because the engine spins twice as much to move the car the same distance), but you have to shift gears when you are going only half as fast (because the engine spins twice as much to move the same distance :)). Additionally, if you incorrectly assume that the speedometer is still correct, the acceleration would seem even faster since it would read 60 mph even though you are only traveling 30 mph.

    Of course, that being said, for most sensible tire size changes, the difference in acceleration would be negligible, and may even be worse due to other factors (that I was ignoring above) like the wheels being heavier, rotational inertia being greater, etc. Also, 0-60 times wouldn't change significantly because you would have to shift gears more often to get to the same speed.

    This would affect actual MPG as well. Since the engine would have to rev higher to maintain the same speed, actual MPG would decrease with smaller tires. Apparent MPG might not change, though, because the miles measured on the odometer would be greater than the actual miles traveled, so when you do the calculation (miles/gallons) the artificially inflated mileage would increase the apparent MPG, even if the actual MPG is less.

    So, in conclusion, I have, um, proved that I am full of it. Heh. The different tire size does affect acceleration and gas mileage, but not significantly enough to care about.

    Sorry for wasting your time. :)

    Tom
  • 1kgwxman1kgwxman Member Posts: 9
    I just got my 2001 Celica GT. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.
    A few niggling things like some scratch marks on the rubber trim around the windows will be taken care of, since the vehicle was delivered from a different dealer in Ohio, who had the car on their lot for much of the winter. (Car was built 12/00.) I suspect when the car was brushed off from snow or ice, that these marks popped up.

    I'm eager to press the gas pedal, but for now will baby the vehicle for the first 2000 miles.
    Will suck on the highway, since the dealer said I should stay below 3,000 RPM and 60 mph.

    One thing I did notice which Toyota Motors should remedy, is the cheesy cheap plastic dash.
    My old '89 Corolla had a nicer one. Toyota should replace it with something a bit more
    classy. On the plus side, I've already seen heads turn, especially from younger drivers.

    All in all, I think I'm going to enjoy this one!
  • denniswadedenniswade Member Posts: 362
    The GT-S has VVTLi technology that kicks in hard at about 6000 rpm - redline for most cars, but the point at which the GT-S engine starts to really make power.

    Don't be afraid to rev the engine, even while you're breaking it in -- just don't hammer on the thing for the first 500 miles or so. After that, feel free to abuse it -- it's made for it, and it's the only way you'll get the power out of it.

    Also, learn to shift with a light touch, so you feel the gates. It's not a Mopar with a Hurst shifter, and if you muscle it, you can wind up grabbing the wrong gear and zing the engine or the gearbox.

    It's a great car that deserves your attention and respect. Driven properly, it will reward you way beyond your expectations.
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    coupe2001, I was confused - thought your wheel+tire were taller than stock. Since they are almost the same size (2% smaller), then there should be no difference in 0-60, unless you let them slip (with auto it is almost impossible), then you get some gain from better grip. I would still put considerable error margin for your mpg, especially if you filled your tank using different pumps. I am not saying your mpg is worse than you estimated, it might be also better. It is just that when I saw your precise 5.72 gallons I expected that you used some sophisticated measurement method. I can fill my tank at one station, and then drive a mile to the next and get another half a gallon in, but it does not mean my car makes 2 mpg.

    Indeed, Celica's manual does not have 40 mpg - sorry - it was on the sticker of my GT - it gives big numbers 27 and 34 mpg, and then below something like:

    ...results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between
    28-40 mpg (highway)
    22-32 mpg (city)

    Text was in small letters, numbers were bigger.
    Better numbers (40/32) are there to make you happy, the lower limit (28/22) is there to make them not responsible if your car does not live up to your expectations.
  • coupe2001coupe2001 Member Posts: 100
    i got the numbers backwards. my car tire is 819 revolutions per mile and stock is 838 revolutions per mile. that would give my tire a slight advantage. i used the tire calculator at http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi
  • coupe2001coupe2001 Member Posts: 100
    yeah, i know that i can drive to a gas station even 50 yards away and get more gas in the tank, even a 1/2 gallon. The term is called "topping it off". I never do that. When the pump shuts off, im done pumping. simple as that.
  • gambit293gambit293 Member Posts: 406
    Thanks for the tips. I've seen your postings around the Townhall, and your technical knowhow is impressive.

    I've already mishifted before, though not recently. Also, I was going pretty slow, so I don't think it did too much damage.

    Do you routinely take off in 1st gear in the 6000 rpm range? I guess I'm trying to get a sense of scale. Right now I either wonder if I'm staying in low gears too long, and thus straining the engine; or else I wonder if I'm shifting up too fast and thus wasting the potential power range. Most people say, "You can tell when to shift when the engine gets loud," though I assume this applies differently to the celica's loud engine.
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    Average shifting: Shift at 3500. Going up a hill, shift at 4000. Down a hill, 3000. That's your daily driving. Having lots of fun? Take it to redline, it won't hurt.
Sign In or Register to comment.