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Toyota Celica (Hatchbacks / All Years)

17810121332

Comments

  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    Wax it. Reduces drag coefficient and adds a fraction of mph to max speed. Looks great too...
  • badtoybadtoy Member Posts: 343
    It will make your car sound awesome and have a fairly neglibible, although positive, effect on your car's performance.

    The wax idea is cool too....
  • alex18talex18t Member Posts: 117
  • steckelbergsteckelberg Member Posts: 1
    Any suggestions about adding a cold air intake? Anyone try a new muffler besides the TRD? Any news about the possible controller that could change the 2nd cam ( GTS )to start earlier? ( rumors said possibly at 5500 rpm ).
  • badtoybadtoy Member Posts: 343
    But if you get a CAI and muffler, you could spring for an APEXi Air Flow Controller. It's a piggyback computer you can use to tune your car for the increased airflow, to maximize the results. I have one on my turbo Corolla, and it's a marvelous little toy that really works wonders on fuel mapping, throttle settings, etc. It sits on your steering column (or console -- wherever it fits best) and you can change the settings while you drive.
  • phaedrysphaedrys Member Posts: 37
    With the up and coming Toyota Matrix AWD (which is using the GT-S engine), is there any chance of the Celica also getting an AWD option?
  • cdellecdelle Member Posts: 3
    Okay, so I got my first paycheck from the State of California today, and I figured I'd celebrate by getting myself a new car! I've been researching for a while now and was dead set on a Celica GT.

    I really wanted to get stick, but I had a bad car accident a few years back and my ankles/legs were broken (yes both pairs). I'm always afraid I'm going to have more problems with my left foot again, and driving stick would just aggravate my ankle more I think, so I went with auto.

    For my next paycheck I think I'll be upgrading the audio system (I got the standard because I knew I was just going to go get a better one anyway), and possibly getting a TRD exhaust system or some other type of mod. Any ideas? Keep in mind I'm fairly car-illiterate...

    BTW thanks to everyone on the board, you made my car buying experience much easier. Same goes for Edmunds in general. See ya on the open road!
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    Who has changed their oil on a 2000+? Can you easily reach up past the spoiler (or what would you call that plastic piece underneath?) to get at the oil filter? I still haven't seen if I can get this car on my ramps.

    Know the size of the pan plug? Previous Toyotas I've done were...hmmm...15mm was it?
  • boomn29boomn29 Member Posts: 189
    I changed it once on my 00 GTS, but never again. I'd rather pay $19.95 from now on and spend only 20 minutes waiting. It took me and my dad like an hour!
    We took off both of the underguards. Don't know if you can get around them or not, but we decided to take 'em off.
    Don't remember the bolt size. Something like 14-15-16 mm.
  • badtoybadtoy Member Posts: 343
    Okay -- now that you have your GT, let me offer a suggestion based on personal experience:

    1. Break it in easy for the first 100 miles (vary speed, no jackrabbit starts, nothing over 65-70 mph).

    2. After the first 1000 miles, put the hammer down. I mean, drive it HARD. You will be rewarded with quicker throttle response and a much faster car than the one you started with.

    Trust me on this one. 1ZZs don't really break in for about 5000 miles, and get another kick in the pants after about 10k.

    My only frustration is the automatic tranny -- it shifts way too lazy for a sports coupe, and unfortunately the shift linkage is no longer adjustable.
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    I do trust you! I felt 10,000 was kind of a magic loosening thing for my 1.8L Integra.

    Dogone it if not having a job keeps my oil clean and only 2,000 miles on my baby :(
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    I just had a long trip and was impressed by the changes in mpg since last year.
    Last summer, my GT auto was only 1/2 yrs. old, and had <10K miles on it. The city mpg was running about 24-26, and I could get only 34-35 mpg on interstate. I was really disappointed, because if it would be as efficient as my Grand Marquis it should give me ~27/40 mpg for city/highway (recalculated for its power/weight/drag coef).
    This summer I have 15Kmiles on engine, and things have changed. I now get 28-30 mpg in city, and yesterday I measured 39+ mpg on interstate, with AC off, made 330 miles with 8.4 gallons of regular. First hour I had to drive at 45-65 mph as there were a lot of construction (Chicago area), and then I had steady 74 mph for the rest of my trip.
  • desert5desert5 Member Posts: 12
    I'm about to order a GT and I don't want remote entry or security system, but I DO want power windows and doors. Question: is it true, that these are inter- connected so I can't have one without the other, or can I insist on wanting it my way?
  • bcloughbclough Member Posts: 97
    I have a GT with no remote entry, but I do have power windows and doors. So it can be done.

    Brenda
  • hbarkhbark Member Posts: 26
    I also ordered my GT with the power package (which includes power windows, doors, cruise), but without the remote entry and alarm.

    What you may be thinking of is, you can't order the keyless remote entry without the alarm, you have to get both together. Which is why I didn't order it -- I wanted the keyless entry, but not the alarm. So I got one installed afterwards, just the keyless entry.
  • bcloughbclough Member Posts: 97
    How much did that run you, hbark? I'm toying with the idea myself.

    Brenda
  • desert5desert5 Member Posts: 12
    I knew I was right - that salesman is trying to get me to take a vehicle out of his fleet, instead of ordering my GT from Japan as I told him to. <<P>> I also asked him to get my antenna power-wired to my radio and he said that "doesn't exist" - betcha he's lying about that too, right?
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    No power antenna.

    On my Integra, my best friend and I bought a kit from Sears for $35 or so...we wired a brand new power antenna to the radio. Amazing how simple it was. The worst part was tucking the wire underneath the plastic running alongside the interior, and past the driver.
  • marktestmarktest Member Posts: 43
    Some of the mileage figures talked about seem amazing or questionable. Grand Marquis' with 28 mpg on the highway, my brother's 2001 Crown Vic gets 21 highway. Celica GTS' getting high 20's - is that on the highway? My GTS Auto only gets 24 around town, 28 highway.

    I regret not getting the GT for the better mileage and 20% lower fuel cost, but some of the figures stated here seem to rival the Toyota Echo. I actually wish I purchased the Solara - much better ride, comfortable and quiet, and the 4 cyl Solara is just as quick as the Celica GTS auto, the 6 cyl must easily exceed the GTS auto, probably the 6 speed. Best of all, the 4 cyl Solara gets about the same mileage as the GTS auto and costs less (until the convertible roof is added).
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    My driving is mixed, with a lot of freeway right now. I have a 6-speed, and it is rated at 32 highway versus 30 for the automatic, keep in mind. I hope to get into the 30's on the freeway after some time, but we'll see!
  • kwrohrerkwrohrer Member Posts: 11
    Brenda, I cheapoed out and just got the $120 model at Best Buy, plus they charged me about $20 in parts. Installation was included with the price of the unit, but took several hours. I'm sure if you go to a more specialized place they'll charge more, just for the labor.

    It works okay, but the guy didn't install the feature that lets you unlock just the driver door or all doors like using the key in the driver's side door does. Also, if you lock the doors with the power lock button, the remote doesn't unlock them in that case (though that may be an installation goof-up).

    Of course he didn't make the "trunk" button do anything because there is no trunk popper to activate--which was the main reason I got the thing in the first place.
  • kwrohrerkwrohrer Member Posts: 11
    marktest: I have a GTS auto, with ~33k miles on it. I usually get the "low fuel" light with 350 miles on the trip odometer, and room for 12.5 gallons in the tank at that point without topping off. That gives me ~28 MPG for driving which is mostly Chicagoland expressway commute--i.e. not so express half the time.

    As for 20% lower fuel cost, it's only 20 cents a gallon difference out here, and with the cheap stuff costing $1.30 to $1.80 (depending on how far the price is jacked up) that's not 20%. But I too probably should've gotten the GT, since I don't push the engine hard enough to benefit from the extra power very often.

    My advice: drive a lesser car from time to time so you can appreciate the Celica better. I thought my acceleration from a stop was poor, until I realized how much better it does shifting at 5000 RPMs compared to flooring my wife's 4 cylinder Contour...

    I test drove a Solara, liked it much better than the Accord coupe, but had already discarded it in favor of a 2000 Maxima SE when the first Celicas became available. The Celica styling fit me much better, and it really is a different driving experience from the Solara and even the Maxima, yet wasn't as rev-happy as the "all I wanna do is engine brake" Prelude I tried.

    Plus it's my third silver hatchback (83? Celica, 90 Probe, 00 Celica).
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    I don't get 28 mpg on Grand Marquis '95. But I get steady 26+. And these are long drives, ~1000 miles one way. Its specs say 25 mpg. Though last trip this spring I had only 24+. I don't know why. May be because I am due transmission fluid and fuel filter change, plus it turned out that I have not changed air filter for a year or even more, it was very dirty. My friend has Crown Vic with handling package and gets only 24. But I heard that this package takes a couple of mpg's away. His car specs actually list 24 mpg for highway.
    The 21 mpg your brother gets look like for the older model CV (<92), I used to drive CV '81, and I had 20-21 mpg (highway) with that ship until it was 16 yrs. old. I guess there is something wrong with your brother's CV, or it is not just highway drive. It is questionable if low mpg is considered as something to be fixed under warranty. They always add some fine-print text. For example, my Celica's sticker shows huge number 34 mpg for highway, and then below there is fine print saying that this car gets in average 30-40 mpg on highway (or something like that). So that you could not complain if it is below 34.

    As for the GT mpg - I was getting low numbers (~24-26/34-35 mpg) until this summer when I got to ~15Kmiles. I always calculate city mpg when refueling, and now it is always 28-30. The high way mpg is based only on one 330 miles trip, so I would say it is 39, give a take a mile or two. You must, of course, take into account that city mpg is hard to compare as it depends heavily on the number of stops per mile and your average speed.
    Friend of mine just got a brand new Echo and he gets 38 mpg highway. I guess next year he will get >40.
  • bcloughbclough Member Posts: 97
    Thanks, kwrohrer. I have an ad here from a car stereo firm, offering keyless entry for $99 installed -- I may try it out!

    Brenda
  • phaedrysphaedrys Member Posts: 37
    is there any word on what (if anything) is going to be changed for the 2002 model year? i was mainly wondering if the 6 speed in the gts is being changed. badtoy....any idea?
  • boomn29boomn29 Member Posts: 189
    I have about 2k miles on my GTS. I usually get around 30mpg. That's a mix of interstate, city, and lots of commute!
    Anywhere from 27-32 usually.
  • jrieder_2000jrieder_2000 Member Posts: 19
    I own a celica GTS. Does Anyone know what toyota recommends as far as the octane level?

    I think I can get away with regular.
  • badtoybadtoy Member Posts: 343
    reading your owner's manual? It will tell you what octane the car needs.

    I would imagine it takes 91, although 89 may be okay. I certainly wouldn't put 87 in it, because it has higher compression than the GT, and I run 89 in mine.
  • badtoybadtoy Member Posts: 343
    I rented a GTS from work for a couple of weeks, and it had "premium only" right on the gas cap. The service garage might have put it there, but it tells me that premium is the way to go.
  • jk111jk111 Member Posts: 125
    GT-S requires premium to get the best performance. If you use a lesser grade, the ecu will retard the timing and the performance will go down.
    It sounds like some of you guys should have gotten either a solara or accord instead. Why the change of heart? I seen a lot of GT's on the road lately. I guess a lot of people just bought it just for looks. The GT to GTS ratio is probably around 15:1 here in North Jersey. I thought about buying an Accord, but it is not as fast as the GT-S manual nor handles as well. Sure the accord is quiet, but the car serves a different purpose.
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    As I recall, the compression is pretty high in the GTS. Retarded timing will probably not be enought to prevent engine damage! The recommended octane should ALWAYS be used. I can never remember a manufacturer recommending an octane that was not necessary.
  • jrieder_2000jrieder_2000 Member Posts: 19
    Thanks for all the info on this site. I love my new silver GTS celica. Driving it is so much fun! I'm still breaking it in. I'm glad I got the GTS over the GT. I really like the leather interior, 16' RIMS, and the sound system. I didn't know what I was missing while I was driving my 92 celica st. I haven't really pushed the engine too hard yet b/c it only has about 500 miles on it. The max rpms I hit was about 5k.
  • boomn29boomn29 Member Posts: 189
    The owner's manual for the GTS states octance of 91 or higher ONLY. You could possibly void your warranty if you don't use it.

    Oh, wait until about 900-1000 miles before driving it hard! It's difficult to wait, but worth it in the long run.
  • sergeissergeis Member Posts: 134
    jk111, not everyone judges cars by their engine power only. What makes Celica so different from Accord is not just loks (though Accord looks boring), but very sporty handling. Not everyone is ready to pay extra ~$4K for_ just_ one second in 0-60, which comes with leather seats (which I hate), premium gas and lower mpg.
  • griffinggriffing Member Posts: 21
    I have almost 30,000 miles on my auto GTS, and used to get about 23-24 in the city, and 28-29 on the freeway. I now average about 31-32 on the freeway, and 25-26 in the city, ever since I put on my TRD exhaust system. I gave it 15 more hp, that I can actually feel the difference. It sounds better too. (Except on the freeway, it can be a little loud at speeds over 60 mph.
  • jrieder_2000jrieder_2000 Member Posts: 19
    How much did the TRD exhaust cost? How much after installation?
  • garrick70garrick70 Member Posts: 5
    I own a 2000 Celica GT-S and recently read an article on Sport Compact Cars website that EL Prototypes is developing a Black Box (computer chip) that will cause the VVTL-I engine to switch to the larger cam sooner. Has anyone heard anything about this? badtoy?
  • boomn29boomn29 Member Posts: 189
    I heard somebody was working on it and had it kicking it at 5400rpm, but was trying to get in down to 5K
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    Oh what a sweet machine this would be with that chip.

    Anyone know the problems in trying to get the alternate cam activated earlier, other than the problem of circumventing the original programming?
    What are the combustion/operation repercussions?
  • oneibtoneibt Member Posts: 12
    Oil change on my 01 GT is no big deal. The plastic sheathing underneath comes off in less than 5 minutes. Just use a thin bladed screwdriver to pry down the center peg of the plastic fasteners, plus back the two screws out and it's off. If I remember right, the oil plug is 14 mm. The oil filter is very small though, and if you get the type that just slides over the end and doesn't clamp, it may slip. I found a wrench that clamps as you apply torque for less than $10.00 at NAPA. Also, you only have to remove the sheathing on the passenger side.
  • griffinggriffing Member Posts: 21
    is about $650 dollars I think. I don't remember exactly, and the installation was $50 through toyota. I also had a question for those who have the 6 speed. What is the max mph you can go in first, second, and third gear? (Redline limited of course.) In my auto, I can reach about 45 mph in first, and 80 mph in second. That means I have to wait until I reach those speeds to hit the 7600 rpm. I wanted to change the ratios of my gears so that I reach the peak torque and mph at lower speeds. I thought that the 6 speed went to 30 mph in first, 60 in second, and so on. I wanted to change my gears similar to that for faster acceleration. Does anyone have any recomendations as to what I should do?
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    Why? You will slow the car down, and picking the correct gear would be tougher than it is now! The former is worse than the latter.
  • griffinggriffing Member Posts: 21
    Would it slow down the acceleration, or the top speed? I heard that I could re-gear it so that it would accelerate faster. Do you know what the top speeds are for the gears of a 6 speed?
  • guitarzanguitarzan Member Posts: 873
    You're right, lower high speed. Higher acceleration? Not if it needs to hit 3 gears for your race instead of 2, right?

    After posting a big post, I deleted it...now realizing---this would be a final gear change wouldn't it?

    How about this: Will the increased rpms cut down your engine life? Will you have the capability to have a reasonable ride on your dates? Or will your dates always be complaining about engine noise, shifting too hard, etc?
  • badtoybadtoy Member Posts: 343
    Yes, E.L. Prototypes is working on a black box -- in fact, that's their specialty. They believe the engine is capable of 220 hp, stock, with nothing but modifications in intake, exhaust, emmissions equipment and fuel mapping.
  • boomn29boomn29 Member Posts: 189
    The 6-speed GTS comes with a warning as to engine rpm redline:
    1 - 37
    2 - 58
    3 - 80
    4 - 101
    5 - 129
    6 - not listed

    I usually take it to about 8k before I shift. That nets ya this: 40, 65, 88, 115, 140, ?
  • griffinggriffing Member Posts: 21
    GTS-
    1 - 46
    2 - 80
    3 - 120???
    4 - 140???

    Thanks for the info!
  • jrieder_2000jrieder_2000 Member Posts: 19
    How bad is it for the engine to be reved so high? I have an auto gts. The power really kicks in before red lining, but taking it that far can't be good for the life of the car!!!

    Those numbers for the gts auto seem pretty high, but I could be wrong.

    Also does anyone know the gts autos 0-60 time and top speed?

    Thanx
  • jk111jk111 Member Posts: 125
    I think it is pretty safe to rev the engine all the way up to get a good amount of power, the engine is designed this way. I haven't heard anyone having engine failures due to high revs (not including the mis shifts from 5th to 2nd,and spike the engine to 12000rpm.)
    I think the blackbox is just going to work the same way as the vtec controller, you will hit the lift sooner. But watch out for miles per gallon, that will just drop to the floor if you have it set at 5000 rpm or something. Actuallly, this will probably shift the power dyno graph to the left, so you get lower power at a higher speed?
  • boomn29boomn29 Member Posts: 189
    Hey, that's what a warranty is for! And, after all, it is a Toyota!
    Sometimes you have to 'feed a little life into your ride.' I am figuring most of us do this daily though...
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