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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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Brenda
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.
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".
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.
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.
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
2001 GT Auto: 29/36
2001 GT Manual: 28/33
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!
Its been a while since I talked about carburetors, but I believe that is a reasonable synopsis.
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
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.
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.
Brenda
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Funny, I remember a pinball machine from the 1980's called, "XENON". lol!
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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.