Mido's TRD AURION

[MID02K]

Well here it is...
2007 TRD Aurion 3500S
3.5L Supercharged V6
It's all stock except for the Moon Roof...
7300KM's Ex Demo

And i love it!!!

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1259.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1260.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1261.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1262.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1264.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1265.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1266.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1267.jpg

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1268.jpg

More pics to come.. but its a beautiful car to drive...
The Eaton TVS blower is very quiet, but if you give it a little you know its there....
6 Speed Auto is fairly firm but as with all semi auto's its lacking the oomph of a shift kit.......


More pics to come!!!

[MID02K]

Hey who's the smartass HAT that made me a TuRD owner??? huh????

[NickS]

Looks very tidy mate ... congrats, although it must feel a little strange to have a big shiny TuRD on show 24 / 7 ?

:hide:

How does it go ? Plenty of power ? Any torque steer ? These are front wheel drive .. yes ? Sorry about all the Q's ...

[MID02K]

smart ass Nick, smart ass... :)

Goes very well...
its actually a tad strange... the blower has a bypass valve on it, when ur putting around its basically using FA boost... the moment u touch the accelerator it just pulls hard!!
Torque steer is only bad if you nail it in first when it changes to second gear.
Yeah its FWD, but its extremely nice to drive.
i must say though, even though i had work done to the SS, this does feel a lot faster, power delivery is a lot more intense but the ride is awesome, it rides well even on bumpy roads!

[DaveHAT]

Hey who's the smartass HAT that made me a TuRD owner??? huh????

:lmao: ... you're getting slow in your senior years Paul :lol:

That's been there since yesterday. :D

Any more requests? :D

Love it BTW ... nice score indeed. (From a fellow mid life crisis-er :confused:)

[MID02K]

Thanks Dave, you'll keep...
i notice it was turd hat, not TuRD owner...

And thanks mate, its awesome to drive, if ur ever near port botany let me know and u can take it for a wrap, it is nice to drive!

[savvy]

Sounds like your are impressed with your TuRD, they do look nice with the dark rims and moulded exhaust tips.


Hey who's the smartass HAT that made me a TuRD owner??? huh????


Don't worry i've got one of those :shitstorm: :hat: , you can rest as know one will touch your hat!

[MID02K]

As long as my hat is safe and secure thats all that matters, even if it is a TuRD owners hat........

Well 24 hours in and im still in love.... Of course it had to rain last night so naturally i now have a dirty car... Grrrrrrrrr
The interior lighting is weird, the SS was dark and mysterious, where this is all light and bright!!!! The centre display with the stereo and fan controls is all backlit like a picture... really nice soft blue.... and the dash just looks magic...
Ill add some interior shots tonight...

[HSV271]

Actually had a chance to drive one of these things at a MRT day @ EC last year(wasn't allowed to floor it though :cry:...) but when I did give just a little it was a hoot, that blower whine is just magic.

Nice pickup - Black always looks sexy as, have fun keeping it clean. :stick: :hide: :D

[Hethro87]

Hey man nice ride!

Congrats on purchase

Ive always liked those cars esp in red.

Would love to go for a drive in it one day could be a future car for me :D

Hethro

[MID02K]

Yeah i forgot how much fun owning a black car is!!!
I think i need Dan to pay it a visit as it has some swirl marks i want cleaned up....

Alex, if your ever going to be near Port Botany let me know....

Regards,

The TuRD owner :)

[Duffman]

Yeah i forgot how much fun owning a black car is!!!
I think i need Dan to pay it a visit as it has some swirl marks i want cleaned up....

I was under the belief that you can't polish a TuRD ;) Might be a big ask even for someone as good as Dan.








Jokes aside, I actually don't mind the look of your TuRD :eek: Looks quite classy.

[MID02K]

Everyone's a comedian........

[DaveHAT]

Everyone's a comedian........

Better? :D

[Duffman]

Wasn't joking when I said I liked the look of it :) I'm sure it's built much better than the POS I drive around in!

[MID02K]

Better? :D
Thanks Dave..... Smart ass!!!

[Aeron]

Looks great mate!!
I'd think about buying one if they were RWD. Thats the only thing that puts me off.
Other than that, I love it :D :D

[BOMI]

Looks great man :yep:


Troy :)

[MID02K]

More pics as promised.....
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1285.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1286.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1274.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1275.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1278.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1279.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1280.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1281.jpg

[MID02K]

http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1282.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1283.jpg
http://midson.net/trd/IMG_1284.jpg

[taztassio]

bang on a smaller pulley.
the tvs is begging for it ;)

[MID02K]

OK,
So the TuRD is commencing its renovation package....

Whilst im still learning a lot about the car with the limited info available, im preparing my base mods before i get too excited and go all out.... With just the simple changes im hoping to see small gains that will help the beast out....

Exhaust - Currently quoting it up, but looking for dual 2.5 or 3 inch and something that will mould into the outlets in the rear bar.....

Intake... Anything is better than the poxy thing on it, however im not looking for a pod.

Body... Needs some dark windows and thats it

Wheels - Standard, i love the TRD Rims, they really do suit the car... and 19 is big enough....

ECU reprogram/piggyback... Here is the dark horse, no one has an edit/piggy back available, so if i did want an edit, its a case of a new ECU... Apparently there are some toys you can get that play with the dual VVTI-L however i wouldnt trust myself not to d**k it up.... Even the guys in the US havent got a hack for em yet :( And seriously i would just prefer to have a safe tune put in, that would assist with things...

Blower - Ive thought about changing the pulley, however i think that 9 psi is enough for now... however i would love to know if there was a way to turn the farking bypass valve off on it.... Basically Toyota/TRD in their ultimate wisdom decided to stick a valve on that basically dumps boost if ur not nailing it, so on the highway its economical... bugger that, i knew when i bought the car there would be a petrol bill and im happy to pay it!!!!!

At some point i would love to get the car on the track, not that it would ever be a track animal, however would be good to see how it goes....
I have found out how to turn Traction Controll OFF, however it has a nasty effect, and no im not talking about wheel spin.
Unlike the holdens where u have a pretty little button, Toyota/TRD didnt want u to turn it off, however if u find the parking(foot) brake/brake pedal combo, u can turn it off... But you get more than you bargain for...

When you turn this off, you also turn off ABS Braking and the Vehicle Stability Control, so its just man, machine and a prayer, and i can tell you, its a tad scary!!!

Anyways, thats whats happening over the next 4-6 weeks, so i will keep you posted!!!

[WOMBIE]

When you turn this off, you also turn off ABS Braking and the Vehicle Stability Control, so its just man, machine and a prayer, and i can tell you, its a tad scary!!!

But it also sounds like FUN :lol: and yes please throw some pics up as you progress :)

[MID02K]

U think so Wombie??? I'll take you out in it at the WSP event and you tell me...

[WOMBIE]

U think so Wombie??? I'll take you out in it at the WSP event and you tell me...


Your on :woot:

[taztassio]

bypass is needed because if you are boosting all the time you will be heating up the air like a mofo.

basically you can get the bypass to react more instantly by what vacuum signal it recieves (ie from where).


if it has a boost solenoid (like an electrical boost resistrictor) you could bypass that so it runs mechanically.

I would be really hesitant in disconnecting the bypass, but it can be done. post a pic up of the blower for us to look at (and the vacuum/bypass arrangement)

[Mongy]

Mate, it looks great, BUT


I can't help thinking there is a natural evolution of man thing happening here

First, the SS goes and a Toyota comes into your life,

You know what happens next don't you mate, look at my address and avatar,

next the Toyota goes and along comes the caravan and you'll be a grey nomad hahaha. :sleep:

Never mind mate, you'll be able to look forward to our senior years daily "happy hour" :beer: Where we all sit back and tell each other how good we were :lol:

[MID02K]

The SS going wasnt really a hard call mate, i do miss it occasionally however it was becoming a real pig to drive... and i do mean a real pig.... I was sick of breaking tranny's repairing exhaust, fark u name it, it broke!!!

Anyways, the van and the 4x4 Hmmmmmmm.. Tempting, but im not a geriatric yet... :p
When i went to get the Aurion i was actually looking at the TRD Hilux, however just couldnt get my head around it... Nice bit of kit, but just to exxy for what it was.....
As for the toyota coming back mate, its not the first one i have owned, i had a KE25 Corolla which was an absolute animal, 1300CC's of carby fed goodness married to a two speed "Toyoglide" Tranny.... What an absolute nugget!!!!!...
However changing engines, trannys and some other things made it a good little car... as im sure .charged. would agree... there is nothing like a good corolla hehehehe.....

P.S. Happy hour, yeah ill be in that....

Taz, its not the conventional bypass valve that you are reffering to. Some brain surgeon at TRD thought that if you arent mashing the loud pedal, then it should bypass boost.... Now i have been looking for a solenoid, or even the valve that does it, but cant find it... I'll take some pics in a little while... The problem is being TVS is still relatively new in the Aus market, its hard to get info from anyone, including Harrop... Ive dropped the guys at Eaton an email to see if they can give me some more info on it, but so far nothing.....

[MID02K]

OK here come the piccies....
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0267.JPG
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0268.JPG
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0269.JPG
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0270.JPG
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0271.JPG
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0272.JPG

Mr UNEDITable.....
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0273.JPG

This is what i mean by the restictive intake.....
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0274.JPG

And here is the reason why you pray you never snap a belt in this thing!!!
http://www.midson.net/blower/IMG_0275.JPG

[seldo]

I always was a little disappointed at the power increase that TRD gained with the blower....but I think I now know - there's 6 flummin' idler pulleys in that belt drive - must consume 30kw!

[MID02K]

I hear ya...... I hear ya......
Having traveled with work and getting stocker Aurion's as rental cars, i think i will stick with the TuRD....... Its jsut not the same...

[MID02K]

For those that dont know that much about them... here are the TRD Video's
About the concept...
XlE9Ti4Spog
Mainly about the TVS
wAmFQBmbErY
Appearance
9zkvuJDeWkA
Chassis Design
0ZWke8nWR-8

[DaveHAT]

Bloody hell Paul ... can you say tight squeeze?

Damn there's some stuff crammed under that bonnet ... being E-W probably makes it look worse that it is.

That "fan belt" is an impressive thing. If the local cricket team ever needs a temporary boundary rope to designate the 4 & 6 area ... whip the belt off and loan it to them.

Is there any way to intercool (liquid) the blower? From what I've read the bloated IAT created by valley mounted blowers like the one fitted to the TRD is often what kills HP.

Presuming of course that I've not missed that it's already intercooled in some way.

Some intercooling if possible and a decent flowing exhaust would be a good setup IMO.

[MID02K]

Well there you have it!! I was thinking air cooled but there really isnt much room, and no one has actually made a kit for these so it would be a bastard customisation.... Before i put the FMIC on my Silvia, i had a water cooler from a Renault which worked a treat..... So im looking at the water cooled option again...
I still need to confirm what im going to do exhaust wise, but definately open the exhaust and some form of improved intake would help.....
In saying that... as crammed as it looks, there is a massive shroud on the front which makes out like there is no space, but there is a bit in their... somewhere.......

[taztassio]

a yella terra style water 2 air intercooler would work, need to contact them, they would make something up (unless they already have on on the cars).

the bypass actuator is the black domey thing on the side of the blower. it looks the same as my eaton m90 actuator.

http://www.l67torque.com/download/file.php?id=1838&mode=view

underside showing where the bypass throttle is
http://www.l67torque.com/download/file.php?id=1839&mode=view

so if u take a look at these pictures, the boost actuator has a vacuum line from the top of it, and the bottom runs to the boost solenoid (which will electronically cut boost) and then back to the boost 'tree' which is vacuum from the manifold.

the picture shows the top of the actuator going before the blower for vacuum. try run this to the manifold instead.

then the bottom of the boost actuator, run the line straight to atmosphere (bit of pantyhose on it).

so that should make the bypass snap on and off much faster.

what i did, i then blocked off the charger inlet to top of boost actuator feed with a bolt and cable tie.


So assuming yours is set up the same: (that said it might have response issues due to fly by wire throttle)....

do this:
1. route top of actuator to manifold (or in my case, to top of the boost tree which is the black little tower with 2 vac lines coming off it, replacing the line that goes to the solenoid with one going straight to the actuator at the top) i have pointed to this in the picture below
2. bottom of actuator to atmosphere (not pictured)

3. block the blower intake feed (ie where you took the line off in step 1, block this nipple with a bit of hose, a bolt and cable ties)
4. if it has a boost solenoid, disconnect the hoses as i said, but leave it plugged in, otherwise you will probably get an error code.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/taztassio/blower.jpg

hope this helps (if i had some better pics of it or you were in melb over s.e side i would help u out).

Cheers

Nick.


btw, if you were to swap the pulley, the one on the blower is already to small, try the one feeding from the main drive belt (so im guessing the snout on the blower is on the opposite side to the drive belts, and the drive belt side blower pulley with have a larger pulley).

Btw, gotta love the 4 lobe 90deg twist tvs eaton chargers... :D

[taztassio]

any word on this?

[MID02K]

Im working with a few people at the moment to source some info/manufacture some goodies... will keep u posted...

[MID02K]

ok ok, here we go, not much to report at the moment..
Finally got on to someone about an exhaust... Apparently its similar to the VAREX system available for the V6 Aurion, it has electronic baffle controls but im not looking for them, im just looking for something along the lines of a tuned length. Problem is not many people are modding these cars so parts are a PITA.
Still trying to find someone willing to play with the PCM..... Hmmm

ANyways, here are a few dodgy phone pics showing the tints and new plates...
http://www.midson.net/turd1.jpg
http://www.midson.net/turd2.jpg
http://www.midson.net/turd3.jpg

Again sorry for the dodgy phone pics....

[MID02K]

Well, looks like the first of teh interior mods is about to happen...
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/7-HD-DVD-DVB-T-GPS-Navigator-For-TOYOTA-CAMRY-AURION_W0QQitemZ260589303099QQcategoryZ75327QQcmdZ ViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLS L%252BPSSI%252BSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%252 BUCK%26otn%3D10%26po%3D%26ps%3D63

Looking at that head unit, which is an OEM fit including cabling into the TRD. Std unit is good, but no DVD/GPS/BT etc

Anyone ever experimented with this style of aftermarket head unit? Not necessarily a toyota one?

[35R]

just noticed the pics, car looks good! will know what to look out for now :)

[MID02K]

Yeah good on ya Dunc!!! lol
Pics have been up for a while... Look for the TuRD hat when out and about lol....

[MID02K]

OK, so today i went to see my old mate John Kritikos @ Carline Mufflers Mortdale to discuss options...
Put the car up on the hoist and then the laughter begins...
Toyota/TRD in their infinite wisdom decided to put 3 catalytic converters on this car.. That's right 3.
Car already has a nice 2.5inch system on it from factory but i swear my cat could fart louder than the exhaust was..
We discussed a lot of options and in the end ive come away a happy camper...

I have the rear mufflers removed.
Mwuhahahahaha

to be replaced with new rear mufflers....
I will get some pics up soon, but to make u holden boys laugh, you know the small commodore mufflers at the rear?? Well i now have two of them, straight thru design.
U can see in my pics those pretty exhaust outlets in the bar that always look black... Well no more!!!
the old system had an up pipe that angled into the bottom of the outlets. The new system tucks up under the rear bar (you cant actually see them when the car is on the ground) next to the outlets. each side has a dump pipe just a touch longer than the bottom of the bar pointing straight down. This way the system still looks OEM, has a nice note and the exhaust outlets wont go black with condensation :)

THe note is weird. Its still heaps quiet, however if u give the right foot a bit of help it has a nice note @ WOT...
Tiny bit of drone but nothing i cant handle :)

Needless to say, happy camper!!

[MID02K]

OK, So here are the pics, pardon how crude they are...

Before modification.
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex01.jpg

Remove left side
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex02.jpg

Dicky exhaust show piece - These as u will see from other pics get pretty dirty. The OEM pipe has an up bend in it to the bottom of this piece
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex03.jpg

The dickie dirty thing!!
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex12.jpg
Another view
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex04.jpg

A quick glimpse of the suspension bits. Apparently the guys at Heasman's in Sydney helpded out with the kit. Further to this its apparently made up of bilstein bits....
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex05.jpg

Other side
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex06.jpg

New pipe and muffler
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex08.jpg

Exit muffler
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex07.jpg

Tail pipe
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex09.jpg

Under side view
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex10.jpg

And another
http://www.midson.net/trd/Exhaust/ex11.jpg

[MID02K]

Well ive just ordered the new head unit.
Was looking at some stuff on the Toyota Owners forum, and noted a few guys had these flash looking head units that look OEM. So for the $$$ i thought why not!!!

The factory unit is 6 disc in dash changer/mp3/cd only. The factory navigation unit was like $3k to which i politely told Toyota where to go.

Change over to the OEM look a like and get the following..
* Play DVD, VCD, CD, CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, MP3, MP4, AVI, DIVX format
* 7" High Definition (800x480 pixel) LCD True Touchscreen
* Mini USB Slot Input
* In-built GPS and a free magnetic antenna
* IN-Built AM/FM 30- channel memories
* Free External DVB-T TV Receiver and a free magnetic antenna
* Free 2GB Micro-SD card with the latest Q3 2009 AUS + NZ map
* Multi-tasking (listening to music/radio while navigating)
* In-built high quality bluetooth
* Ipod connection
* 4 x 52W Amplifier
* Volume/Bass/Trable/Bal/Fad trumpet electronics
* Listening to Music via external Hard Disk/Mp3 Player/MP4 player or Bluetooth Connection
* Steering wheel Control (UNLIKE the SS, i wont loose steering controls.......


Didnt buy it from Ebay, however these are the same units...
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260589303099

Must say am pretty happy with what it does bang for buck, plus it looks OEM, plus i dont ahve to custom wire, its all piggyback, and i can still annoy shit outa people with the steering wheel controls!!!!