Im Famous..!

Its been hard to keep this under the radar, but I had a shoot done on my car back in May this year. My car was 'spotted' at BHP Show @ Lydden Hill at the beginning of May. Less than 2 weeks later, I was meeting a couple of freelancers at Brighton Seafront for them to take some pictures/words of the car for Japanese Performance magazine!

Here is the resulting SIX PAGE spread!

Sevice #2 - 2 YR / 20K Miles

The car had its 20K miles service today. Slightly early as I have been doing more miles than usual in the past year, as Jas has also been using my car a fair amount.

The second service included-
Enviromental Charge
Consumables
Screenwash
Brake Fluid
GSKT, Drain Plug
Oil Filter
Brake Cleaner
Fully Synthetic Low Ash Oil
Gas Treatment
Motor Flush

Total Cost - £307.92

New Shoes Pt 2

I was toying with the idea of another set of wheels for ages, but there was only one set I would only really settle for, and it was a set of Advan SA3r's. I had been searching the net for months trying to find a set to no avail. Thne one night I came across a set! I was so excited, they had only just been put up for sale on the Yaris Owners Club UK. They were a set of 15" x 6.5" refurbished in Blue wrapped in Toyo T1Rs. Didnt even try and haggle with the guy, I wanted them that badly, I thought they would look perfect on my quirky little car and perfect for sprinting with!

Really notice a different in handling and accelaration speeds compared to the heavy day to day Rota Grids, but the downside is the car is alot lower on these, it hates speedbumps and you can forget about going into Brighton multistorey car park!

Rolling Road Day

My local car club organised a Rolling Road Day at Surrey Rolling Road. We have been there many times before, I have always had a different car! I took my IQ along just for a laugh really, and to make up the numbers. Wasnt expecting big power, or even an improvement on standard, just wanted to see how healthy the car was running as I had the new custom exhaut and the induction kit etc.

My car managed to get a max bhp of 75.5HP. Im quite pleased with that, obviously they are meant to be 69HP but as I hadnt had it rolling roaded before the modifications, I cannot accurately say how much they have improved things by. 

Toyota Sprint Series Round 2

I went on my very first trackday with the Toyota Sprint Series, It was Round 2 at RAF Barkston Heath.

Very very enjoyable day out! Jas and I stayed in a hotel on the Saturday night as its a 3hr drive. Everyone was so helpful as I forgot a couple of bits and pieces but that was soon sorted. Lots of people interested in the IQ, Adrian Smith from Fensport even came over to say hello : )

I was in Class F which is for vehicles up to 1000cc Naturally Aspirated. There were 3 other competitors in my class:

Paul - Aygo

Dan - Yaris

Jane - Vitz

Us lot together!

They were really good fun and very helpful, even though its a competition they still help eachother out with ideas and advice on how to get the best from eachothers cars. They gave me a few ideas for mine as well!

My first practice lap was 1:25. By the end of the day I had got this down to 1:18 which im pleased with. My letdowns were my wheels, Im on 17s, the others in my class are on 14s and also the fact I had my full interior, the others in my class are stripped out.

My car in action

Limited Edition Gift

The first 100 people to place an order for an IQ received a paperweight in the post from Toyota. I actually missed out but someone was selling their IQ so I bought their paperweight from them for £20! Really pleased with it, its a great little keepsake!

Custom Exhaust System V.2

After all the dramas with the first exhaust system and also due to Toyota mentioning that my exhaust system was a poor aftermarket fit, I got fed up with the first garage and went to another garage. I went to The Exhaust & Auto Centre in Hastings.

They raised my car up on the ramps and we could not believe our eyes! The first garage had absolutely wrecked the exhaust system of my <1 year old car. Here are some pictures of what they had done to my poor little IQ.

This is how they stopped the exhaust knocking against the underside of my car...

As you can see, the pictures are shocking! Im now VERY pleased to say I have a complete new system made. The original garage used stainless steel, I dont think so!! Not quite sure thats how stainless steel is meant to go like after 6 months.

I am very very happy with Hastings Exhaust Centre, would recommend them completely. 25 years in the business and instead of using multiple pieces and welding together, they have used one long piece and bent it in the proper machine.

Here is some pictures of my new system

Here is a closer pic of the new silencer

 

Total Cost - £258.50

Service #1 - 1 YR / 10k Miles

Today my car was booked in for its first service at Toyota Uckfield. My car has done 9931 miles in its first year. As part of the service I asked them to check out a knocking noise I had heard recently. They found that the Front Strut Top and Bolt was loose and needed tightening.

The actual service involved:
Fully Synthetic Oil
Enviromental Charge
Consumables
Screenwash
GSKT, Drain Plug
Oil Filter
Brake Clean

They also carried out a free Visual Safety Report. This picked up an Exhaust issue, due to my custom system. They mentioned that the exhaust was not correct aftermarket and had poor build and fit. Also it was touching my rear suspension. We will cover more of this in a future post...

Total Cost - £178.28

Whats This Under The Bonnet?

Another package arrived today, this time from the lovely people at Fensport Performance! Inside was a...

Blitz SUS Induction Kit

A Blitz Radiator Cap and a Blitz Oil Cap

The instructions for the induction kit came in Japanese which was interesting! But luckily Jas has fitted a fair few induction kits in his time so had a pretty good idea of what to do!

Parts Fitted...Nice!

Induction Kit and Radiator Cap

Oil Filler Cap



Total Cost - £259.71