Better Protection

One day while I was at my friend's workshop, he noticed that my ATF is very black. I went back to my records and there is a post here in this blog on 25th June 2011 regarding my last ATF change. It's been 10 months and more than 30,000 km after my last change and it is way pass the time I should have changed it. While I was in UK no one was aware about it and after I returned I did not noticed it.

So, it was time to change the ATF again and this time I have a sticker that will remind me of my next change. However, after the ATF change my friend warns me about my gearbox. If the ATF is not changed often, it might be the end of my current gearbox. The possibility is increased because of my driving style that uses the M-Mode (tiptronic) all the time. This frustrates me as I can't drive without rhw M-Mode and worries me that I might have to stop racing.

I went on the look for ways to protect my gearbox. There was an idea I had a year back that could be helpful. It was for one day I would bring my car into the circuit for races but due to the lack of chances, I did not implement that idea. Now is the time to put that into action. So, I went to look for that part and had it install today. It is none other than an ATF cooler. An extra cooler that reduces the temperature of the ATF more so that when it is hot, there won't be lost of power and protects the gearbox more.

I bought an used ATF cooler from a chop shop (junk shop) for a cheap price. I was lucky it is a Calsonic ATF cooler. It is a company famous for tuning Nissan Skyline GTRs and by the look and size of it, it would be a good one. It is installed in front of the radiator and is highly visible from the front if someone look into the lower grill. My friend mentioned that it will reduce the ATF temperature and fuel consumption might be lower. What I felt was a slight increase in smoother power delivery. I hope in long term, it would be beneficial and protects my gearbox. It would be a very good investment.

ATF Cooler 

Brand and Model

Installed

Second thoughts

After the last mod, I realized I have overspent my budget and coupling with the previous dyno result, I was a bit concerned. I could not help wondering whether the throttle body was a waste of money. I could have done something else with that money. At the end I decided to remove the throttle body and replace it with my stock throttle body.

I had it removed and cleaned my stock one. When I was driving my Celica, it felt the same as before I removed the ported one. This brings me think about what the ported throttle body really does for my Celica. The fact is I decided to remove it and sell to get some financial freedom. Luckily, I managed to resell it to another member for a better use.

Ending this situation with no loss in financial status and gain a lesson in choosing my mods carefully, I begin to reconsider and plan my future mod plans. I want to do it when I have financial freedom and not to have to feel the pinch after I mod. There are a few mods I am thinking of such as open pod air filter system, porting of my exhaust manifold, porting throttle body and many other options that is possible.

Unlikely Result

After the installation of the ported throttle body and fine on-the-road tuning, I am enjoying better acceleration and high end power. I was testing how my fuel efficiency was and it did proved to be better than when it was completely stock. I am very happy with the results and was planning to go for a dyno power run to find out what is my new power output.

During my last tuning, my Celica achieved 149.8 whp and 15.48 Kg-M of torque. Now that my Celica is faster, I imagined my coming power run would result in at least 153 whp and higher torque. When the day came for my power run, I was very excited and called my friend to test his Celica too for comparison. The result was out and I only achieved 147 whp at the highest but the result printed is 145.27 whp with 14.53 Kg-M of torque. I was surprised by this low number.

Before

After

My friend's result was 142.25 whp with 14.26 Kg-M of torque. He had a more enjoyable time than me especially since after all the mods I have (Management unit, ported throttle body, air filter and muffler), I only manage to have a 3 whp differences. Luckily, so far I have been winning drag races with him. This causes him to have the urge the mod. I took the opportunity and sold him a Camcon unit. I should be worry about him winning me now but I'm more towards earning profit of him.

Thus, in conclusion I could only say this is the difference between on-the-road tuning and dyno tuning. The conditions are different and each gives a different style of tuning. Personally, I believe on-the-road tuning is more realistic and the feeling you get when you drive is the most important. The numbers and graphs is just an indicator. I believe in my tuner and I will not let this result to bring me down. I know my car is more than what the results say.

New Mod

It's been a long time since I upgraded my car and this is entirely due to the lack of money and cheap parts to modify. Up until now I have done nothing but research for what is beneficial to my car and is cheap for me. There were a few ideas I have been keen on and to start off I went for an easy mod. I bought a used Big Bore Throttle Body (BBTB) from a friend.

This BBTB is actually the stock throttle body for the 2zz-ge but the inner diameter had been ported from 65mm to 68mm. This causes the opening to be bigger than the stock throttle body and allows more air to travel into the engine which produces more power. It was an easy job to just remove the stock one and install the ported one.

Ported (Left) & Stock (Right)

The main issue was fuel consumption. Some say ported throttle body will cause higher fuel consumption and some say with proper tuning it will be fine. So after installing the throttle body, I had my car tuned using street tuning style. It was my first time and the difference from a regular dyno tune is the environment is more accurate like driving on the road. The tuner can also tune specifically for each driver's need.

Thanks to TopSecret for the tune !

It took almost an hour to get my car to the optimum performance. I told the guy I want good fuel consumption and power at the lower rpm. To my surprise, I learned that when you get the air fuel ratio right, even if you do not give too much fuel you still can get power. I also learned that the original auto ECU has very high fuel consumption. I'm glad I can tune my car.

Interior Upgrade

My car has a delicate yet awesome 2 tone interior of the classic panda tone, black and white. It is all nice but because it is a 7 year old car, some paint were fading and I personally think there is not enough white for my taste. So, not only did I repaint the already white part, I made more parts white. Now the cluster surround, window adjustment switch cover, gear indicator cover and door handle plastic is also white. There is also bonus parts for the interior.

Before

After

Wedding Convoy

Last month, one of the Celica member had a wedding and I was call upon for the wedding convoy. I was excited as I heard of wedding convoys before but have never joined one. So, I washed my car and prepared myself for that day.

On that day, I had to dress up my car with ribbons and a chinese wedding character with a Hello Kitty motive. Must be the mrs' favorite. All of the other members were excited too. My part in the wedding convoy was easy. I only had to follow the convoy of 7 Celicas, 1 Fairlady and the wedding car, Porsche Cayman S to fetch the bride and brides maid back to the groom's house.

It was tiring but fun to see a whole row of Celicas on the road. It was an attractive sight for the people on the road. We stole a lot of glances by motorist on the road and I was enjoying the attention. I would so join another wedding convoy and maybe for my own wedding I'll do the same.

Wedding Car

My Car

Show Car Competition

As mentioned in my previous post, my fellow Celica owner redid his interior just before the chinese new years. What he did was painted all interior plastics to black like my facelift Celica, wrapped his seats and redid a few parts of his interior. So it looks a little like my panda themed interior with major improvement. The company that did his car entered him in a Show Car Competition. 

Participant & Model

After modding

So as fellow owner and club member, I went down to support him and take a look of the event along with the others. There I saw many cars on display for their outrageous exterior and pimped out interior. There were even cars performing a fire show. It was my first time seeing a fire show and I was worried for their cars. We were given VIP treatment when the owner of the company invited us to the club located above the location of the event.

We had free flow of drinks and had some live show. Overall, it was a different experience for me. A fun night out. 

Toyota Alphard

Nissan Silvia S15

Participant