nerdstrike

As a purveyor of generics, I have previously used Pagid discs. They didn't shear off on a trackday, and it's not like you need drilled, dimpled or grooved. I suppose any of the Eurocarparts generics would be similar, but I've never bought an Eicher part before. You'll never get to the point where grooves or holes will help on the road, but a change of pads could be beneficial either in price or sharper bite. Otherwise peruse Fensport's catalogue for shiny bits.

On topic: I imagine a FAQ will become necessary as the cars get older and the DIY increases Off topic: I'm an RX8 escapee too, the '86 is a better car to own and use, but the RX8 had more special fizz and better rear seating. I reckon a manifold+remap will put some more fizz into the '86, but it'll never brap and you can't get away with accidental 12k rpm over-revs...

The view does bounce a bit, where the wing mirrors are stable. You could experiment sticking a whole bunch of blutack onto the back to see if it damps the vibrations, then add a bit of mass more permanently. I imagine there's a bit too much flex in the arm or glass mount. It doesn't bother me enough to worry about it, but maybe you have awful roads or stiff suspension.

That is one expensive license!

Just you and 'roos! The factory fit fog lights are pretty limited in their use, I can see why you've pimped them. My favourite part about driving around Perth was how the Aussies react to a light shower. I've never seen so much wiper action!

Jeez, something hard fell on my windscreen this morning, and now I have a beautiful scratch arcing across the passenger side. I guess I'm now going to find out whether Autoglym screen polish is going to work as a rubbing compound! Pretty sure I've got some jewellers' rouge somewhere too.

Right you are, should have checked. Thanks for the insight into knock control!

It's not a myth, but usually the adaptation is toward safety and economy rather than "gains". A remap takes away some safety margin, or puts some back in if you're adding boost. Things that can change: Derestricted intake (e.g. less effective air filter), leans out AFR, ECU applies a little extra fuel to compensate Dodgy intake misleads air meter, car makes more peak power by leaning out the AFR. May self-correct over time. Freer breathing engine makes more usable power - irrespective of fuelling, an engine under less load can generate more torque. Exhaust pressure is load, intake restriction is load. It may make a little extra on top due to unexpected leanness. Things that cannot change without intervention: The base map. That safety margin for crap fuel, bad weather, high altitude and such is still there. Trims have upper and lower limits - you can't just add a turbo and expect the ECU to compensate. You might just about be able to handle a low pressure supercharger, but you would be living right on the edge. It doesn't know you need a different AFR, but it can at least add more fuel to match the observed airflow. Valve timing and lift settings, ignition timing In "closed loop" at low load the ECU uses the O2 sensor in the exhaust to compute a short-term fuel trim which it combines with long term and base map to decide fuelling. That informs the next fuel injection cycle and the long term fuel trim is tweaked. In "open loop" at high load, the ECU ignores the O2 sensor and blindly applies the long term trim to the base map. The learning is in the range of +/- 20%. Disconnecting the battery and flushing the trims is usually less helpful than normal driving.

I suppose this Supra will be unusual in that you'll be able to get your mods from AC Schnitzer.

It's alright Nigel, non-rotaries can usually tell when the sparks are not happening. It only gets troublesome when you have more than one plug per cylinder.

Well that's something at least. Acetone is a very effective solvent. You could couple it with a toothbrush maybe to provide some agitation to any deposits that get softened/mobilised by the solvent.

You're up north, so you could run a thicker oil if you felt the need. The manual has a guide for ambient temperature versus viscosity if I remember correctly. Lots of fun roads to be had in your vicinity, that's all you really need to get the most from the car. Depending on your taste, a tyre change can make a big difference to that too, especially if it's cold and damp all the time. Most of us linger with the original head unit, but change the speakers/amp, some bung in a joying/other Chinese Android headunit with the correct size front, and a few others install Alpine/Pioneer units with a fascia insert to stop there being a gap around the head unit. I think the stand out improvement for appearance is a small lowering of the suspension, but the ground clearance isn't great to begin with. I couldn't lower mine without grounding in the work carpark!

In my chemistry days I had to figure what solvents to use to preferentially dissolve things. The cleaning pattern in increasing severity went thus: soapy water -> scrubby brush -> acetone -> conc. hydrochloric acid -> ultrasound bath -> piranha solution. You're still at stage two so there's a few non-dangerous options to try yet! See if you can cadge some nail polish remover and try that on a spot. It's just acetone with some perfume in it. Try to keep it away from the plastic and rubber parts. WD40 is a lightweight and volatile oil blend, so it may or may not do the job.

I've used autoglym car glass polish (the bottle never seems to run out, had it a decade). Mainly I use it on the interior face to remove the grease that accumulates, but I have applied it to the exterior on a newly fitted screen that was covered in greasy marks. It's a bugger to buff off if it goes completely dry, and you get dust flecks hanging around everywhere after buffing, but I've never seen it leave permanent marks behind. Think hard about your solvent choices - if the residue is polar, then water might have shifted it, vinegar or IPA will be better than water but not if it's an oily residue. I suppose you could try a small amount of tar remover or some similar heavy solvent. Lemme know if you're around Cambridge soon, I'm curious to see what has happened.

I've experienced squeak-like behaviour on another car when the clutch slave seals started to go. That was 8 years old though, so probably not the issue here. You know your clutch slave is the problem when the pedal doesn't come back up!

I petition to change the thread title to "TC at light speed"

8.2 mpg isn't bad! Some thoughts: Series 1 default VSC is quite twitchy and steps in fast. Perhaps little bumps in the surface at those speeds is causing the level of traction to vary? How stable was the car? What was the track surface temp like? Any moisture around? It has been getting more moist in the mornings lately. Limiter at the redline could unsettle the car a bit with stuttering wheel speeds. Seems unlikely in 4th or 5th though. Is your tyre tread even across the axle? Stability systems get twitchy when wheels have different diameters. The TCS has been known to kick in to help the diff out under some circumstances, even when the traction control is turned off. It seems that would be more relevant to low speed skids.

Fob battery warning is yellow I think and appears in the centre of the instruments and flashes for a little while after engine turn off. There's also a warning beep when it thinks the battery is very low.

Ah, I love me some turbo pigeons. You can have a lot of fun with 200 lbf torque in a light car. The plumbing looks rather convoluted, but it's shiny and has some symmetry to it.

Oh wait... I forgot my shortest and worst journey. Landrover Discovery with the brakes rusted on and no interior - we removed the pads and it still wouldn't budge, so my mate towed it with me crouched behind the steering wheel until the rust broke loose. Steering was via dead power assist unit to big off-road tyres with a Rover V8 sitting over the axle, i.e. heavy, brakes were nonexistent barring the transmission brake, and it smelled mouldy. The rear air suspension was deflated. I'd still take it over the Corsa.

It wouldn't be the first time I'd heard of someone getting a new clutch fitted and it wasn't properly adjusted. I'm not sure how you'd diagnose that, especially since clutches can get cooked in heavy traffic.

Oooh, I think I'd give it to the Mokka so far. Terrible inside and out and with none of the historic bargain value of the Fiat 127. My worst drive... late 90's Corsa 1.2 - steering felt like it was connected by pulleys, zero contact with wheels, miserable power output, unimpressive fuel economy. Runner up: Nissan Rogue (US X-trail) with CVT transmission. The car was ok in a drab way, but the CVT was an aberration.

I think the main caveat is the limits they put on certain kinds of access. Example, drop the gearbox, it has to go out the long way, and the same applies to you. I imagine they're fine for wheel arch work and front/rear stuff, but not for rusty sills, exhaust changes, etc. They might foul on fancy side-skirts too.

The standard speakers weigh about as much as a pub coaster and are just as soggy. They're clearly the cheapest they could possibly be. The only factory upgraded sound system from Toyota was the JBL kit, which costs a packet, and shouldn't offend you even if it's not the best value for money. You can confirm this by finding the JBL sub under the boot carpet. The head unit is tolerable, and it's tricky to find ones that fit flush with the Toyota fascia, so that's a last thing I would attend to. I aim to replace it eventually, but more for Android Auto support than anything else.

Just the ones where the cogs fell out. I expect a bit of judder at full lock - the GT86 diff is tighter than the RX8 one, and that grumbled a bit too.