4 pot front brake upgrade!

Can the fierce can fiercer?

Just look at the pictures and the answer is obvious. This is a JBT 4 pot front brake upgrade with fiery red caliper and sloted rotor.



Obviously, it's on Plot's Swage Line brake hose too. Full stainless steel. Nothing less.



Just look at it! Definitely got biting power!



For those of you know don't know, it's the BOSS' ride. Sigh...perfection is now another step further away from me.

Cheers,

C-ONE Motorsports Kit

C-One Motorsports is one of the lesser known tuner for Toyota and hence it's less popular. But they also have a front bumper replacement kit for pre face lift XS models. And it looks fierce!!



This kit focus only on the front as you retain the XS side skirt and rear bumper. It's a full bumper replacement, doing away with fog lights and the radiator grill.



For the benefit of those not familiar with the pre face lift XS kit, this is what it looks like.



More details at auto-style.jp

Allan is a fan of C-ONE Motorsports right? Something to consider?

Cheers,

Wish Soft Toy

Here's an interesting Toyota Wish soft toy. It comes with a suction cup so that you can stick it on the windscreen.





Also interesting to note is that you can customise your own number plate over there.



Only pre face lift version available. Not cheap. Almost JPY2600, which is about S$45.

More information at www.nuiguruma.com

Cheers,

18 inch dream rims

18 inch and chrome! Bling Bling!



18 inch X 7.5J. Offset at 48. PCD 100/114.3. Can fit WISH!!

Here's an alternative from WALD.



17 inch X 7J. Offset at 38. PCD 100-5 H.

So tempting...

Cheers,

Toyota Sport Emblem

Nice! I like!



So many emblem, so little space. Also available as a grill badge with holder. And here's another Original Toyota option for those BLING afficinados. GOLD logo!!




I think will look great on black cars with G Square front and rear garnish. John?

Cheers,

Mid Chasis Stabliser Bar

There is a company called Kimworks in Japan that has developed a mid chasis stabliser bar.

This is what it looks like and the installation is quite clever. It uses the seat mount to secure the bar in place.



This is what it looks like when it's installed. I suppose it can also double up as a footrest. I wonder if the effects are good.



This item retails for about JPY12100, which is about S$170. Suitable for Toyota Wish ANE10G/11W and ZNE10G. Something to consider?

Cheers,

Plot Swage Line brake hose

Since I've swapped out the rear drum brakes, my Goodridge stainless steel braided brake hose will no longer be usable.

As such, I've switched over the Plot's Swage line brake hose. From what I understand, it's one of the best brake hose you can get. It's also stainless steel braided and has a swivel connector which will prevent the hose from knotting up.



There are two options for the ZNE10 Toyota Wish. One with a standard steel connector (ST2043) and the other with stainless steel connectors (SW2043). Special price for us will be S$280 and S$380 respectively. Imported directly from Japan by MotorWorld on an order basis. From the above picture, you can see that the stainless steel version is on the left.

Obviously I'm not the only using this product. Ah Lim, Kenny the BOSS, Allan, Andrew are all also using Plot's Swage Line.



And now it's on my car!! Satisfied finally...

Cheers,

Rear disc brake conversion III

And after a whole day's work. It's up!! Mine was slightly faster as I didn't have to do the suspension. So it was ready at about 5 pm for a test drive!

Obviously on Andrew's ride, it looked very impressive as he has racing/sporty rims that shows off the conversion very well.



Mine on the other hand, was pretty much all covered up due to the wide spokes blocking the disc brakes from view.



After we refilled the brake fluid, we went for a test drive and tried emergency braking at speeds between 80 to 120 km/h, on both wet and dry tarmac. The effects was good and the car held straight when emergency brakes were applied. The effects of the ABS working on all 4 brake sets could be felt through the brake pedal.



Something of interest to note is that after the conversion, the rear wheel seems to be spaced further out by about 10 mm. Probably due to the additional space of the rotor between the axle and the drum brake. Initially, I was thinking of doing the 15 mm rear wheel spacer like Andrew, but now, it didn't really seem necessary. A bonus!



Finally, I did my tyre rotation and I also decided to do my wheel alignment with Kenny as well since I didn't do it before. He was kind enough to slot me in despite the full schedule. After his diagnosis, he confirmed my suspicion that Alliance Auto did not do any wheel alignment when they installed the TRD Sportivo Set. I can't believe a shop like Alliance Auto can lie about these things. Anyway, correct the left steer and he mentioned that there was inner tyre wear. The wheel alignment only cost me S$40.



And as for the finishing touch, Riverview did a diagnostic test to confirm that all the wheel sensors are working for the ABS to be effective. My foot brake was also tightened slightly to my prefered level. But this will not be as tight a my previous drum brake setting.

So now, my car is a step closer to the Toyota Wish 1.8 X Aerosports package.



Latest picture today. Actually, it still look very stock as all the recent enhancements are not visible. Oh well...

Cheers,

p.s. Incidentally, Kenny the BOSS also did his rear disc brake conversion with RED calipers yesterday. So now, Ah Lim, Justin, Andrew, Kenny and me are all on original Aerosports rear disc brakes. Allan and Raymond to follow soon. Perhaps we can form another rear disc brake club!

Rear disc brake conversion II

After analysis, the rear axle is exactly the same as the one we have. As such, the mounting is also similar. So the part that was needed was only the brake assembly mounted on to the axle.



The brakes were removed and the axle was discarded. Kenny from the wheel alignment shop informed me that this axle is not cheap. Sometimes, when folks mounted kerbs or get into accidents, their wheel will be out of alignment when this rear axle is damaged. To replace, it will cost about S$1500. But this item was too bulky for us to keep. So I gave mine to Kenny who also own a black Toyota Wish.



So for the next order, we only need the part that is separated from this bracket onwards. And also the ABS cable and Boot brake cable. Shipping will be much easier then as we won't need the large crate anymore.



The rotor and caliper was cleaned up and mounted. That's the easy part.



The left front passenger chair and the second row left passenger has to be taken out to install the foot brake cable as the original cable connection does not fit. Something to take note of. Good thing the brake set came with the correct cable. Otherwise, everything will stall at this point.



Incidentally, Andrew's TRD sportivo set came with this shipment and he installed it together. Life will never be the same again! Interesting that they have extra rubber pads and hose for spring protection. Alliance Auto (Local TRD agent) does not even have that. In fact, Alliance Auto did not even do any wheel alignment, which is very unprofessional as they lied to me that they did.

More to come.

Cheers,

Rear disc brake conversion I

The day is finally here, after so many delays. We've got 2 sets of rear disc brakes complete with axle shipped in and it's been sitting around waiting to get on our rides. Due to some miscommunication (on my part) the installation was pushed back from Tuesday to Friday.



So, Andrew and I made our way to Riverview for our installation. The parts were already sitting there since Andrew had to haul it there earlier after uncrating it. We got there at about 9 am and our vehicle was hoisted up, getting ready for the big operation.



First, the rear tyres came off and the rear drum brakes mounting were examined before being disassembled. The foot brake line, ABS cable and the brake hose were also scrutinized.



This is what the inside of our drum brake set looks like. The two arched part are the brake pads. As the pads are inside the drum brake cover, most workshops will not check it during servicing. They just advise you to change it every 100,000 km or so. Lazy.



Andrew said that our drum brake looks like a single actuator type. The effective braking for the brake shoe for single actuator type mainly on the top side of the shoe. Although the bottom side is slightly biased inwards, overall the whole of the brake shoe is not fully utlised.

More to come.

Cheers,

Tom's Racing Sports Suspension

Yesterday, Tom's, one of the four official tuners for Toyota finally released a sports suspension kit set for Toyota wagons, namely Wish (ANE10 and ZNE10 models only), Noah, Voxy, Ipsum (Picnic).



Height is adjustable via a screw adjustment system. Product model for Wish is TZE10 and it's priced at JPY113,400. Accordingly to early comments, it seems to handle much better than TRD Sportivo set, possibily comparable with Tein. As such, ride comfort and quality will suffer for those looking for comfort.

More information at www.tomsracing.co.jp

Cheers,

ATF Cooler installed

Touched down today from Taipei and went straight to install my ATF cooler. It's the customised version from GTBug (Daniel).



Quick installation as I don't have a bodykit. One of the advantages of a stock looking ride. Installation was done at the Ang Mo Kio Multi Story carpark, which was quite a hell to find. But the place was spacious and there was hardly any traffic. Daniel's wife also helped out and that was quite a surprise.



No drilling or hammering and a relatively smooth installation. However, the ATF cooler seems to be slightly crooked. Probably due to the steel braided hoses weighing it down on the right side.

From the above picture, you can also see that there is not much space left for anything else. Oil coolers are usually to big to squeeze into the space on the right. Perhaps an additional cooling fan. We'll see. And look at my lovely stock horns. Should be looking at replacing those too when I have the chance.



As you can see, the new hoses just attach to the original hose and there are proper connectors in place to prevent leakages. There was no top up of ATF fluid for this installation. I was advised that during the next servicing, just tell the mechanic to add 200 ML.



From a distance, it ATF cooler is not really too obvious, even when photographed with flash. If the cooler and the hoses were black in color, it will be a lot more discrete.

Total damage S$250.

Cheers,

Hello Kitty Wish

Once somebody loudly claimed that if I can get a Hello Kitty emblem, he would put it on his car and never take it off again.

So here is the emblem...



Shall I go to Hong Kong to pick it up and make him keep his promise?

Cheers,

Taipei Bling!

Some new stuff I saw in Taipei recently. Following the VIP style in Japan, especially Garson, these crystal adornments are now availble for your beloved Toyota Wish.

Here's the Pre Face Lift Logo and bonnet garnish. All hand applied with crystals.



Options for the New Face lift.



And if you like, you can have a Bling Bling meter too!! Who says only women likes jewellery!? By the way, this is the 3 ring 240 km/H meter. Not a common sight in Singapore and the wolf has one! Another ONO project!



And for the wolf who does not need any more bling, perhaps a cloak of fur for the extral regal touch.



Muaahahhhahh!

Cheers,