Altezza Diary 4 - Tyre Shop

After some time driving my Toyota Altezza, I still had the problem of my rim scraping the anti-roll bar. It is really inconvenient for me as I have to make u-turns every day on my way back from work. Since it was not caused by the suspension, the only other factor I could think of was the wheels department. So, I drove to a nearby tyre shop that I frequently go to check on my Altezza. While removing my wheels, they noticed that the tyres were not in good shape. I asked for the cheapest tyres available because I do not plan to own the Altezza for the long term. They recommended a Vietnam brand called Jinyu which according to them, is cheap and good. Even their BMW customer uses this brand. In the process, balancing and alignment will be done as well. I told them about the problem with u-turns and hope that they could do something about it. They found out that the steering wheel had been removed before but was not aligned when re-installed. When the front tyres are straight, it is possible to turn 2.5 times to the left but only 1.5 times to the right. It should be the same amount on both sides and because the left is turning more than it should, it is scrapping. The remedy is to realign the steering wheel. Now the turning is around 1.75 times on both side and immediately solved my problem.

 

While I was happy driving for a few weeks, another issue rose up and I was annoyed. I started hearing a vibrating, knocking sound whenever I shift hard. What I meant by shifting hard is when I release the clutch pedal and press the accelerator at the same time. However, It does not happen when I release the clutch first and press the accelerator a few seconds later. The sound was coming from under the center console near the handbrake. At first I thought it could be something loose under the console and I removed the center console but there was nothing. I drove a distance without the console to see if the sound is still present. It was still there and I brought the Altezza back to the nearby tyre shop because they also have a mechanic division. The mechanic raised my car up and found out that the screw to the clasp of the driveshaft was missing. The driveshaft is located in between the exhaust mid-pipe and chassis, and without the clasp, the driveshaft will bounce and hit either the exhaust or chassis. It is causing the knocking sound and is very dangerous. The driveshaft could be damaged or bent and cause the car to be unable to drive. If this happened while I was driving, the car could spin and cause an accident. I do not know how the screw could be missing but I am glad it was not a big problem. They just screw the clasp and did not cost me anything. Very good of the shop to not charge me. 

My last trip to the same tyre shop was when my aircon stop working. I was driving one day and suddenly hot air was coming out of the vent. It was super unbearable because of the hot weather in Malaysia. At first, the shop checked on the pressure of aircon gas inside the aircon circulation. The result was low gas content and luckily not something major. So, my Altezza was hooked up to an aircon gas machine and it started to pump gas into the circulation. It took around 15 minutes and it was done. I was told to drive for a few days to see if any part was leaking and also that the compressor might fail soon. After a few days, the aircon was still cold and I was relieved but I was still worried about the compressor. As I mentioned before, the price of Altezza parts are cheap and I quickly found someone selling a used unit. I bought the used unit, just in case my compressor fails. If it does not fail, I could give the new owner when I sell the Altezza. Overall, I am happy with what this shop can do and it helped me a lot. Although the main business is tyres, they have a mechanic, an aircon and also a car spa department. I do recommend this place to my friends. 

Altezza Diary 3 - Exhaust

The exhaust was a big concern to me from the first time I saw my Toyota Altezza. When purchasing used JDM sports cars, it is common to find loud exhaust systems on these cars. Although loud sounds do give the impression that the car is fast, I do not think I could not live with one. My first experience with loud exhaust was when my Toyota Celica was sent for repairs and was loaned a Celica with straight pipe exhaust. I always envied other Celicas' loud mufflers as mine was silent but soon, I changed my mind. That loud Celica gave me constant headaches unless I shift gears under 3000 rpm. The Altezza's muffler was loud during engine start but when driving inside, the sound was not that loud. Surprisingly, the Altezza's soundproofing is very good and I was able to notice that the current exhaust note is not only loud but also sounded weird. During the previous check-up, I learned that the muffler's inner filter was most probably, disintegrated and that was what caused the weird note. I decided to purchase a used muffler that is loud as a replacement. I found a used, FGK muffler, made for Altezzas that was famous for releasing some power but not loud. Just what I needed for me and my wife who does not like loud cars.

FGK Muffler

As this is just a simple exhaust muffler change, I brought my Altezza to an exhaust shop nearby. I was excited and expected a quick job when I arrived but something was wrong. At the shop, I realized that the previous owner could have altered the exhaust system and made it into a Frankenstein system. There are 4 pieces in the Altezza exhaust system which are the exhaust manifold, downpipe, mid-pipe, and muffler. The problem lies with in between the mid pipe and the muffler. Toyota uses a male and female design flange on its exhaust system but the exhaust shop noticed the flange of my car was the general, flat kind. It is safe to say that the previous owner modified the flange to fit a muffler that was not made for Altezzas. This made the muffler I bought, useless because it had a female flange and now needs modification to fit. I also realized that the position of the flange has been altered so it is now further away from the muffler. The only way for the FGK muffler to fit is to cut the Toyota flange and weld it with the current flange. Thanks to the previous owner's brilliant mod, a simple, 15 minutes job became a 45 minutes job. When it was finally done, I had another surprise. The weird noise was replaced with a nicer, bassy sound, which I like but the volume is the same as before.

Old Muffler

Installed FGK Muffler, the ugly way

It did not make sense why my Altezza's exhaust is still loud when FGK mufflers are supposed to be quiet. I looked at the exhaust system again and then it strikes me. The mid-pipe was also part of the previous owner's Frankenstein system. Original Altezza mid-pipe has 2 catalytic converters but now it is a straight pipe instead. That increases the sound but decreases torque and so, I knew what had to be done. I sourced for a used, original mid-pipe and since no one wants original parts, I got it for a cheap price. I went to the same exhaust shop and again, it requires some modification to fit the mid-pipe. The flange connecting to the downpipe can join the mid-pipe as both are original parts but the flange connecting to the muffler needs to be replaced with a flat flange. The mod was a success because the car is very quiet as expected. I kept the flange and decided to give it to the new owner when I sell the Altezza. The new owner could use the original flange if he/she decides to change mufflers that is made for Altezzas. I was exhausted with all these works, just to get a quieter ride. This made me hate car owners who would do bad mods, to save a little money. Exhaust mods are a nightmare for me now. I am happy I now, have a quieter ride and could enjoy the car more. 

Original Mid-Pipe

Frankenstein Mid-Pipe