Sports type speedometer

Still thinking about the X Aerosports type speedometer...

The one below is the Z model. Nice but too different. Besides, not sure if it will fit with the rest of the functions on my car.

The one above is the high grade sports type on the G model. There is a additional light on the lower left hand side. Not too sure what it's for. But the meter shows white and blue light and I think the intensity of the light changes when you headlight is turned on. Possible option, but blue..... Nah..

This next one is my preferred option from the X Aerosports. Sport type, exactly the same as the X/X' E model with the exception of the top left hand corner. Parking light. When lit, the dials are red whilst the digits/display is white. Nicest in my opinion. Most probable option. Potential damage at S$680 without installation.

The good old plain vanilla version on my car. You can see that the fog lamp indicator is there, but it seems that most folks do not hook it up when they install their fog lamp. I don't quite like the sickly orange display.

Anway, here's an actual shot from Alvin's car. Should have got an X Aerosports instead. Now it's only a difference of S$4000. It's insane not to buy it.

Cheers,

Mtech Wish Ambulence

Mtech, the Japanese capsule toy maker also produces a series of collectors' automobiles. Here's a Toyota Wish ambulence. Pre face lift model.





Some of the folks I know love to put little cars all over the dashboard, amongst other things. I prefer to keep mine bare. In fact, that's one of the reasons why I'm hesitating to install the 3 Defi meters in a scoop behind the rear air con vent. But I badly need the water temperature meter. Don't understand why Toyota did not think of that when they designed the car. Silly.

Cheers,

Think Pink

This is definitely one way to make your Toyota Wish special. I have never seen one of these here in Singapore and even in Japan, it's not a common sight.

Fully kitted up too! Full replacement body kit, spoiler, large sports rims. Cool! Jason did want his in yellow. Another unique color. There is one in Singapore though.

Cheers,

Toyota Wish in Malaysia

Casual surfing for any information on the Thailand made 2.0 L Version of Toyota Wish that Borneo Motors is currently importing for Malaysia. Nothing much, but did come across a picture taken from the recent KL motorshow which I missed. I know Lim when there, but he didn't mention about this TRD dressed up Toyota Wish on display.

Photo is taken by a chap called Wenghun and more can be found at http://flickr.com/photos/wenghun/.

Pity about the girl getting in the way of such a beauty. Shame. Anyway, those looking for the front bonnet garnish with the Toyota logo will be pleased. It's now available in Malaysia.

Cheers,

TRD sports thermostat installed!

Went to Team Sportivo to check out a few things, namely suspension, stabilizer bars as well as the sports thermostat and radiator cap. In the end, installed the sports thermostat and the radiator cap for S$294. Hopefully, the fan kicks in less and the car is quieter as a result of a cooler engine, especially during engine idle.

Also decided to get the TRD Sportivo shock absorber and springs. Basically, the full suspension set.

Unlike the other suspension or coilover, this is not adjustable. It lowers the ride for better handling and comfort. More of a middle ground between performance types like Tein and the stock/original Toyota ones. Given my driving style, this would be a more feasible option for me, but at a cost of S$1780. More details at http://www.trdparts.jp/english/parts_sportivo.html

However, to maximise the handling capablities, I'm short of the lower front stablizer bar. It actually only comes as a complete 2 piece set (front and rear) and is only shown on the original Toyota Wish site in Japan.

This set is in White color, as oppose to the standard blue option of the rear stablizer bar. Just as well anyway, I like the white ones. This will be a S$980 exercise.

So these items are on order and will hopefully arrive end July. Just as well as I'm going to be out of town for the most part of July.

Also picked up the TRD fuel cap, which is a plastic add on, purely for comestic purpose. I saw it on Henry's car earlier and liked it very much. The chap at the workshop said that it would be nice if I could change my fuel door to the transparent type. For me, it does not matter even if it's not visible. I'll still enjoy it just the same. Also, picked up two TRD epoxy and chorme stickers as well. S$100 for a few pieces of ornamental plastic. I'm such a sucker.

By the way, dropped the idea of the HKS open pod filter. The mounting brackets were not complete. Besides, I'm concerned about the noise.

Cheers,

Blue brake lights?

Here's another unique option on the streets of Taiwan... Blue brake lights. I think it looks a bit odd, especially when the rest of the rear lights are red. But then again, there are some folks who modify their rides with lots of blue LED lights all around the car. Somehow, I think red color is the most effective for brake light. Drivers have an instinctive reaction to any red light lighting up in front of them.

Anyway, not something I'll consider. But the rear door garnish is looking more and more attractive. Simple and plain....

Cheers,

HKS Open Pod Air Filter

Got a lobang for a used HKS open pod filter. It's the mushroom type and it increases the air into the filter for more power. Supposely good for high torque at above 100 km/h. My only concern is for the increased noise.

It's actually Japanese and more information can be found at www.hks-power.co.jp.

White Wish with the same rims!

Henry sent me a nice picture of a white Toyota Wish with the same rims as mine. Really sharp looking! From the picture, it's definitely a silver polish rim, possibily 18 inch and could well be a D.A.D original.

Incidentally, this should be a pre face lift 2.0 Z model, but the spoiler looks diferent..

Maybe I shouldn't go for the chrome polished rims after all....

Cheers,

Another trip to Johor Bahru

Went to Johor Bahru yesterday to visit my grand parents. Point to point ride with a short stop at Giant. Nothing much. Was told that Jusco carpark is a hotspot for car theives so avoided it. Toyota Wish seems to be a popular target there.

Anyway, here's an picture of the car in daylight. The rims looks more decent here than those crappy photos taken in the carparks at night.

Toyota Recalls 1 Million Cars

TOKYO : Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp said on 31 May 2006 it was recalling 565,756 vehicles in Japan to replace their intermediate shafts and sliding yokes. Vehicles outside of Japan are also affected.

The vehicles to be recalled were manufactured under the brands of Wish, Isis, Prius, Corolla, Corolla Runx, Corolla Fielder, Corolla Spacio, Allex and Ractis made between September 2002 and November 2005.

The recall followed 31 complaints filed with Toyota between March 2004 and April this year but there has been no accident reported and attributed to the defective parts, the company said in a statement. The intermediate shaft and the sliding yoke connect the steering wheel to the gear box. The steering wheel could become uncontrollable if the connecting section is broken or dislocated under a strong force due to an unusual steering movement, Toyota said in a report.

For Toyota Wish, these are the range of chasis affected..

ZNE10-0001028 - ZNE10-0279365

ANE10-0001003 - ANE10-0024562

Here's the original link to Toyota Japan's site. http://toyota.jp/recall/2006/0530.html

Thank goodness my car is just outside of this range..

Car Wash!

Realise that I've not really posted a full picture of my Toyota Wish after I've changed the rims. Since I got my car washed yesterday with the guys, I thought I shoot a happy snappy.

Lighthing condition not ideal. The rims looks darker than it actually is. Should have turned the wheels slighty. Oh well....

Anyway, it was good fun to all go to Victor's carpark to wash our car. It's really spacious and convenient. Like a condominum. Here's K H Lee and Victor's shiny ride after the car wash. And check out K H Lee's shiny chrome front grill! Like Mercedes!

Let's see.. Alvin, Robin, Justin, Jason, Novaol, Lim was there too and Mike joined us later for coffee. Quite a gathering in the end.

Cheers,

Fuel Consumption - final update

Ok. Final update for this tank. At three quarter tank, I mangaed to clock 443 km.

When the fuel lamp lights up, the reading is showing 528.7 km. I believe I can squeeze another 80 to 85 km out of this but I wasn't going to risk it. Went to the petrol station to top up and put in about 52 liters of petrol.

Average speed was below 30 km/h, probably due to a lot of city driving. Average FC on the meter was 10.5 km/L. Seems like there is an improvement of 1 litre per kilometer after doing the light weight crank pulley. Nothing from the EZ stab, but Novaol said it takes about 4 more tank top up to show any real results. We'll see.

Nice to have some justification for some of the things I've done to the car so far.

Cheers,

Wish X Aerosports Edition

Wish X Aerosports edition... Cost about S$8000 more than the standard X model when I bought my car. Now it's about S$7000 difference.

Here's what the car looks like from the exterior. Basically, there is a full bumper bodykit. So the front and rear bumper is different and the side skirt is also installed, together with the roof spoiler. With the front bumper, the fog light is also included as the fog light harness is different from the regular one. One important difference is that the X Aerosports model has rear disc brake.

Front View


Rear View


Internally, the seat fabric is also different and the front passenger seat has an arm rest included. It also folds down as a table. Other than that, Aerosports has a sports meter and auto headlight function.





Here's a view of the control panel. You can see that sports meter has a red trim. The instrument and door panel is also cubic printed with carbon fibre print. The steering wheel and gear knob is leather. There are also additional control on the steering wheel.



I wonder how much does it cost to doll up the X model to the Aerosports Edition....Interesting option to consider.

Cheers,

RAZO RA107 gear shift knob

Yup. After the long quest, it's finally on my Toyota Wish. The nice leather and ash grey wood gear knob. I had bought a replica in hope of getting the elusive 8mm adaptor (which the display set did not come with), but to no avail. So I bought another RAZO RA108 to cannabalise the part to as to fit the RA107 on my ride.

RA108 is actually brown wood stain with leather in hyper black finishing whilst RA107 is ash grey wood stain with leather is matt silver finishing. I think given the current interior color scheme, there is only one option. RA107

So in total, this exercies costed my about S$38 plus S$110 X 2. Ouch!!! But when the instrument panels are done up in matching ash grey wood panelling, I think it will be perfect.

Anyway, it was actually on my ride for about a week already. Didn't manage to upload photos till now. So there!

Cheers,

Side Signal Light

Was informed earlier by Henry that the Toyota ist has the same side signal light as the Toyota Wish. It's the clear type, with E13 marking. Saw it on one of the rides the other day, but today, I managed to see it in daylight. Exactly what I'm looking for. Here's what it looks like.

Tried to call He Xing and Ric Tat but they don't seem to have stock of this item. Will probably arrive here end of next month. Long wait. Did manage to get the chrome trim finally though. Only S$15!!

Cheers,

Fuel Consumption - half tank update

So.. here an update. By the time the fuel indicator needle hits half tank, I've only done 343.3 km. Miserable. Knowing that the fuel indicator is not linear, I think I will at most do 10 km/L. Seems like all the additions are not doing much for me to improve fuel efficiency.

Oh well.... back to enjoying my ride!

Cheers,

Chrome Emblems for my Wish

So... my Toyota Wish is still plain jane vanila stock. Since I have no body kit and won't be putting one up in the near future... Perhaps some chome emblems to accessorize the exterior!!

Here's the Original Toyota X emblem. I will either add the VVT-i or the limited emblem with it.

Here's the layout I had in mind. But not too sure about the location. Probably at the boot area on the right hand side.

It's probably more of the second option than the first one. We'll see. On the left, I will put a TRD chrome emblem. No pictures yet, I will upload later.

Besides X, there is also the Z emblem for the Z 2.0 L models. Love the red Z. If only they did the same for the X instead.

On second thought, I might put the X emblem at the 2nd row passenger door frame instead. Let's see how it looks like.

Cheers,

Objects of desire

Gadget geeks behold... The new Leica C-LUX 1!!


Actually, it's been out for a while and it's also branded as a Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX01. Compared to the Leica D-LUX 2 (Also know as Panasoic LUMIX DMC-LX1), it's a lot more compact. But the D-LUX 2 can shoot in RAW mode. But with the 28 mm wide angle lens, this little fella will be great for taking pictures of cars.

• High-quality fabrication: Elegant and robust metal body available in black or silver finish.(Notice: The silver finish isn't available in all countries.)

• Leica lens:The extended focal length range of the Leica wide-to-telephoto zoom lens is equivalent to a 28-102 mm in the 35 mm format, suitable for interiors, portaits, scenics, and more.

• Optical image stabilizer:Exquisitely sharp photos even in candlelight or of moving objects thanks to the built-in optical image stabilizer and the high-sensitivity setting of up to ISO 1600.

• Display:High resolution 2.5-inch display provides a clear view of critical details.

However, it seems that noise handling about ISO 200 is not good. Pictures are soft above f5.6 and the flash is a tad too weak for anything more than close up party shots.

More details can be found at http://www.leica-camera.com/digitalekameras/c-lux1/index_e.html

Love the matching black color that goes so well with my Toyota Wish. So many gadgets, so little money... Sigh....

Cheers,

TRD Sports thermostat and radiator cap

Something to consider next...the sports thermostat!



It seems that by reducing the valve temperature by about 10 to 15 degrees celcius compared with that of a standard thermostat, the TRD sports thermostat increases coolant circulation and reduces performance bottlenecks caused by engine heat, to bring out the best in engine performance. (Maintains valve temperature of 71 degrees celcius.)

Certainly seems like a good addition for short engine bay vehicles such as Toyota Wish as the heat build up is rather rapid. When the engine is cooler, the fan noise is reduced and the car is suppose to be more quiet too.

However, heard from Henry that it has to be used with a better radiator cap for it to work effectively..



Upping the valve opening pressure of the pressure regulator on the radiator cap to allow higher radiator pressure increases the boiling point of the coolant, reduces bubbles, improves cooling, and generally maximizes the cooling performance of the radiator. The increased valve opening pressure of the TRD radiator caps is at 127 kpa (1.3 kg/cm2) and 147 kpa (1.5 kg/cm2).

Going to check it out tomorrow when I have the chance.

Cheers,

Fuel Consumption

Toyota Wish is reputated for it's fuel efficiency. Some of my friends get as much as 13 to 14 km/L in terms of mileage. However, with my heavy footed driving style, I normally get about 9.5 km/L. This is also in part due to the fact that almost 90% of my driving is in city traffic. So it's start, stop, start, stop.....you get the idea.

Anyway, I decided to try to go lighter on the fuel pedal and monitor my fuel consumption (FC) to see if it gets any better. Especially since I've changed to the EZ Voltage stabliser and light weight crank pulley.



On the first quarter of the tank, I manage to do 200 km. I was sure it was at the quarter mark, but when I turned off the engine, the needle seems to have dipped a little. Anyway, we'll see how it goes when we hit half tank.

Cheers,

Another upgrade

Another upgrade...



Went to TRD Singapore and dumped my Summit front strut and rear anti roll bar for the TRD ones.

These are the front strut bars. The first one was the Summit ones and it's also held at 3 point, but the engine cover is obstructed when you need to access it for maintanence, such as changing the spark plugs. The TRD one has a higher clearance and hence a lot more convenience. It's also one piece construction for more stability.





These are the rear anti sway bars. Since I changed the front, I might as well change the rear to TRD as well. But seriously, according to Rick, the TRD staff, the way the design of the Summit anti roll bar is not optimal. It basically ties the car together and whilst it prevents the ride from turning turtle at high speed, you do not get optimal control and the car can still skid. The TRD version is a solid one piece constuction and allows wheels to move out when necessary, but keeps the chasis in it's place.





Whilst I was there, I also change the crank pulley to a light weight one. This one improves the reponse of the ride, especially during moving off. But the car seems noisier. Total damage for this exercise was S$1071. Ouch!!

Next on the list will be sports thermostat and a spark optimiser. The list seems to be getting longer and longer as I do up the ride.

Cheers,

Updated Wish List

Ok.. after some thoughts, here's an update on my ever changing Wish list..

Performance:
01. OWS Stainless Steel air filter
02. Pro RS Stainless Steel brake hose
03. Water temp, Oil temp and Volt meters
04. TRD or Tien Coil springs
05. TRD front and rear strut
06. Light Weight Crank Pulley

Interior:
07. Leather steering wheel with Ash Grey Wood trim
08. Ash Grey Wood colored control and door panels
09. 3M car mats
10. Sound Proof rear door, firewall and roof
11. Original Toyota arm left rest
12. 1 DIN in car GPS system

Exterior:
13. Side mirror with LED indicator
14. Door protectors with thin chrome trims
15. Clear signal light with chrome trims
16. Red brake caliper
17. Crystal clear side signal light
18. Replacement HID front lamp

There's probably a lot more items that I haven't added on. But like I said, it's an ever changing Wish list....

Cheers,

Black Beauties

Was admiring these black beauties at the Kallang meetup on Sunday. Both are done up with Kenstyle bodykits. The first one has the rims which I had on previously. My ride would have been exactly like that if I had opted for the kit earlier.

The next one belongs to Justin and this ride had been upgraded to the max!! Bodykit with spoiler, 18" sports rim with low profile tyres, side mirror with LED light, Fog lights, Clear tail light, complete set of strut bars...etc, etc. If you can name it, it's already there! Fierce!!

And there's one more that I saw earlier at Paya Ubi. It's a Pre Face Lift model but also with a fully done up exterior. Check out the wide fender kit!

So the question for me remains.... body kit or no body kit....Sigh....decisions, decision, decisions....

Cheers,