Daphne the ZRE182

[Hiro Protagonist]

So whilst technically this is the wife's car, I'm the one burdened with modifications, taking photos, and posting of pictures/stories in the appropriate forums.

 

Introducing Daphne.  Yes, we like to name all our cars.  However, the first name my wife chose (Artoo, since she loves R2D2 and the blue is perfect) didn't quite gel when we decided after the first few days of ownership that HE was actually a SHE.  So far, Daphne has come out as the likeliest alternative, but we're still not 100% sold on the name so it may change again the future.

 

Anyhoo, Daffers is a 2018 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport in Blue Gem metallic.  She is kitted out as standard with 16" alloy wheels, fog lights, 7" full touchscreen infotainment system with 6-speaker audio, Bluetooth and the optional Sat Nav pack.  Interestingly, all the petrol models (which all have the exact same 2ZRFE engine) are chassis code ZRE182, which means they have a torsion-bar rear end, whilst the Hybrid is a ZWE186 which gives it the same IRS that the Auris and the US-spec I'm have.  Sucks to be us sometimes.
 

I'm yet to give her a really good wash (first road-trip to Sydney last weekend and a week's worth of daily commute for my wife has left her a little dusty), but figured I should at least get some nice photos to kick off the memories before we start doing anything serious to her.  These were taken at the Walka Water Works, which is an old 19th-century Victorian/Italianate pumping station that used to supply water to the Maitland and Newcastle regions, but is now part of a public recreation reserve.  Great spot for photos, although I wasn't taking too much effort and probably should have waited another hour or so for the golden hour light.

 

by Ian Rigby, on Flickr

[Hiro Protagonist]

So we've managed now to roll over a good 6 months before resisting the temptation to do any modifications (wife at least wanted it to get to the first service completely stock, and OEM floor mats/boot liner/weathershields don't count as mods in my book).  First thing on the cards was to give it a little more oomph in the noise department, however one problem about the Aus-spec ZRE182 is that the exhaust system is different from the ZRE186 that most of the world got (due to torsion-beam vs IRS) which means tracking down aftermarket parts can be quite exhausting (pun intended).  However, it does actually share a lot of things in common with the previous model ZRE152 (including suspension and exhaust), and by sheer coincidence someone was selling a 152 TRD axleback (that they had on a 182 so I knew it would fit) - couldn't say no to that.

After a few weeks of sitting in my mate's shed (too far for me to pick up and too expensive to post) I finally got my hands on it, only to then have to jet off to China for work for two weeks, only getting back less than 24 hours before I had to leave again for Toyotafest.  Took another 2 weeks before I managed to jag a break in both my schedule and the weather, but fortunately as far as mods go this was probably the easiest I have ever done (2 bolts and one rubber exhaust hanger).

by Ian Rigby, on Flickr

Comparison between the stock axleback and the TRD unit - interestingly the TRD muffler is actually smaller, and the exhaust tip sticks out quite a bit further (which is good since the stock one is hidden way up behind the bumper).

The TRD tip sits quite low too, no doubt to take in to account the TRD bodykit for the ZRE152 (which obviously the 182 doesn't have) - only really stands out if you're looking dead level at it, from head height or one the road it looks fine.  Sounds is nicely improved without being intrusive or obnoxious, and would easily pass even current stupidly stringent noise tests.  Most noticeable off the line as well as during engine-braking and coming to a stop, very little booming or resonance at highway speeds which is also nice (always worse in a hatchback) and at some speeds/engine-loads you can barely tell it is there.

Next step is probably some kind of lowering, but that'll probably have to wait until bonus-time next year.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Hiro Protagonist

[Hiro Protagonist]

On 10/14/2018 at 5:28 PM, Hiro Protagonist said:

Next step is probably some kind of lowering, but that'll probably have to wait until bonus-time next year.

Well ended up waiting a little bit more than a year, but I've also been slack in updating my forum threads.  

So, in clear violation of 2020 norms, we decided to socially un-distance the body from the wheels - Blue springs for a blue car, of course. Ended up with 40mm drop on the front and 30mm on the rear (but the rears should settle a little more seeing as how they are new). Passed the shoe test (cheated and used a boot :p), does make getting in and out of the driveway a little trickier since we have rolled gutters (so there is no dip on the driveway portion).

Not much changed in the year since (what with COVID and still being in warranty and all), but not long after said lowering was done the SX/ZR wheels that I had stashed away copped a load of Pilot Sport 4s and went on (was waiting for the lowering springs to go in and for a 25%-off tyre sale)

Here's how she sat, waiting for the train of cars to arrive at Nepean Dam for CCAD 2021

[Hiro Protagonist]

So in my continuing trend of spending money on the wife's car and procrastinating in actually getting my project finished (hell, it's barely out of the "started" phase really)...

K&N Typhoon SRI, mostly for noise (and it is noticeable when you load it up but not much just at idle or crawling around the suburbs) but there will be a slight performance increase, and unlike most SRIs at least it actually has a heatshield to try and minimise the amount of hot air drawn in (it still uses the snorkel feed that ran to the standard airbox)

Meant to be 100% bolt-in but due to the 11th-gen Corollas having a vacuum surge tank on the end of the head which the 10th-gen didn't (kit was designed for the 10th gen, but a lot of the drivetrain/chassis is the same between them) it meant I couldn't use the brace from the head to the underside of the intake pipe, so it's currently just resting against the seal on the heatshield - should be fine though.

Edited November 7, 2021 by Hiro Protagonist