Toyota Celica T Sport

[TheStig]

For a while now I've been looking into a other car, and a Toyota Celica is one of the cars that was on my wish-list for a long time.

Last week I found a very nice Celica and it was in very good condition, low mileage and basicly every luxury option that was available here.

I went over to look at it and well... I was sold, just by looking at it.

For your viewing pleasure some pics:

(you can enlarge the pics)

Front view:


Rear/side view:


Sideview:


Interior:




Some extra shots:

Night shoot:

one at night with my brothers Corolla:


And one at the Ring:


Specs:
Toyota Celica T Sport (facelifted model)
Colour: Eclipse Black (also Called : Carbon Blue and Storm blue)
Engine: 1.8 VVTLi (2ZZ-GE) 192 hp
options:
- full Leather upholstery (perforated and heated leather seats)
- Xenon headlights
- Climate Control
- rearspoiler (a lot didn't opt for the rear spoiler, but I like it on a Celica)
- brushed alloy trim (pedals and in the doors (forgot how it's called)
And of course all the standard stuff like:
- Electric Mirrors
- Electric windows etc.

Mods:
- APR Performance Flex controlbar
- Blitz Realize TT-R axleback exhaust
- Blitz Oil fillercap
- Hotchkis Swaybars
- H&R wheelsparers (10mm front 15mm rear)
- Pilot led conversion (licenseplate and parkinglights)
- TTE loweringsprings (-30mm)
- Toyota RAV4 windscreenwiper (low profile)

[boganbusman]

Nice one Stiggy! Well I think the Type-R is still a better car but I love 2ZZs. All it needs now is a turbo

[TheStig]

The Type-R is a very nice car indeed, and it is a tad quicker, although I have to say for some reason the Celica feels quicker, maybe it's because it's lower or something.
In a way I'm sad to see the Civic go, but I always was a Toyota person, and I always loved the styling of the Celica, years ago my brother had a ST162 Celica and that was back in the days that I didn't have a license and I always wanted a Celica back then... well now I do.

A few of the things that starting to annoy me in the Civic where the fact that it didn't have a airco and other luxury, it's not that I use if that often but I got it in my workcar and well it can be very pleasant.
The Celica has tractioncontrol which the Type-R doesn't and in the wet it can be handy... and over here it's often rather wet...

I don't have big plans at the moment,
I'm thinking of getting different rims on the car and use the standard ones as winter setup, I do like the stock ones, they're simple and clean, but I think a set of bigger rims would fill the wheel arches a bit better, I personally love the Racing Hart CR rims, but I heard they are no longer build...

[jacoja06]

Wow… very nice, Stig! I’m a bit jealous over all the extra features your car has over mine. I’ve really been trying to alter my car so that it looks more like a late T sport/ZR model. Love the all-black interior that comes with the facelifted version of the 7th-gen… gives the car a lot more class then the grey.

I noticed you also found the 2ZZ-GE you were after. Very nice find!
Looking forward to more updates.

[TheStig]

The dealer that had this car also had 2 other 7th gen Celica's both where the 140 hp versions (1ZZ-FE) and the pre facelift, I did want the T Sport version for it's 2ZZ-GE engine, cause the 140 hp version would be a way to big of downstep.
I didn't mind that the other 2 where pre facelift versions, one of them was also silver and the other one black the black one had black en red cloth upholstery which I didn't fancy very much, the silver one did have leather seats which did give it a better look but sadly they where black and grey leather which made it rather grey inside.
The TS on the other hand had a bit more black in it, the dashboard is still dark silver metallic, and the overall interior color is a bit darker then the previous models. like you said jacoja it looks a bit better... cause sitting in a 7th gen Celica is not at all a punishment.
Details and exact colors are a bit hard to see with the photo quality but ok

[Texhnolith]

Nice ride man

Id say, check out http://www.wanganwarriors.com maybe something interesting for you.

[jacoja06]

Yeah, you definitely picked the right one then. I just also noticed that the interior has been revised for the facelift version. You have buttons instead of knobs for the Air-conditioning... damn you!

[TheStig]

It's the automatic airconditioner (Climate control), If I'm not mistaken it was also in the Pre facelift T-Sport.
The regular (1ZZ-FE) had a normal blower system with knobs and a AC as a option, most people did opt for it though, so chances are small you can find one that doesn't have AC.

I can't find clear pictures of the Australian versions, only small pics. and by the looks of it they are generally indentical to the european version, where the US version is more different, and most obvious is the butt ugly US spec antenna (on the back of the car)

Nice ride man

Id say, check out http://www.wanganwarriors.com maybe something interesting for you.

Nice group mate, but it looks like you are all south based? and well I am more up north, would love to come over sometimes when you have a meeting.

[boganbusman]

Yeah I keep getting a login popup for Tex's server. I think his sigpic is hosted on there and it requires a login to view the image.

[TheStig]

good point

[jacoja06]

Oh right… didn’t know it was climate control (Not that it actually gets too hot up there).

I also didn’t know the US got their Celicas with Landcruiser antennas attached to the back. That’s something I noticed when I visited America last year. They seem to receive mutated versions of pretty much every single car in the import market. I feel real sorry for them .

[Texhnolith]

right sorry about that popup thing switching servers and something got messed up it seems.

And yea, we are south-east based indeed. but meetings can happen between roermond and nijmegen mostly
And we will be attending JAF with our own club stand

[TheStig]

The weather finally cleared up a bit here, so I managed to take some pictures of the Celica yesterday.

Next task was to find a good spot for some pictures, but since it's vacation time, every nice spot is filled with tourists, and the weather window wasn't very big so it was a bit of a challenge to get some decent pics, but I think they turned out pretty good.

Spot 1, at a couple of old draw bridges and a sluiceway:




Spot 2, near a river inlet:





Yesterday evening I went to a Japanese car meeting that Tex told me about, and hopefully there are some nice nighttime pictures made there, I tried to make some pics later on in the night but didn't have a tripod so they are not so good.

[Texhnolith]

Yea a tripod was a must have to take proper pictures overthere
Awesome you showed up, didnt expect that

[TheStig]

Time for a small update.

I Changed some little things.

First of I had to change the tires cause they where winter tires and the soft rubber was basicly evaporating just by looking at it, so changed them for a set of Bridgestone tires, grip on the winter setup was good but had a horrible feel, you just didn't feel what the car did, now the steering response is a lot better and also very important they are a lot quieter

Next thing I ordered was a set of blank licenseplate holders, cause I don't like to drive around with a dealer commercial on my car, and they where just a few quid, I have to install them this weekend.

Apart from that my brother finally got a decent car, he has a history of getting bad cars that where eighter rubbish all together (Opel Omega 2.5 V6, although it was very practical for the few months it lived) or looked nice but where basicly a pile of junk ( Volvo 480)

Now he went back to Toyota with his '02 Corolla 1.6 3 door hatch
It's the luxury spec with leather interior, Climate control, tinted rear windows etc.
It's running on 18" rims and have to say it doesn't look bad at all (imo), not 100% sure but we expect it to be lowered, but no clue by what or how much, have to look at that later on

Pics of the Corolla and the Celica together





Stuff to do on the Celica:

- Remove the water vapor in the left headlight (can be seen on the front view pic) (FIXED)
- fix tiny damages to the windscreen (FIXED)
- there are a few places where the paint is damaged by small stones from the road (previous owner most likely loved to stay close to the person driving in front...)
- And other small cosmetic fixes.

stuff to do on the 'Rolla:
- Car is basicly in a very good condition inside and out, but there are a few scratches and a small dent but nothing that can't be fixed easely.
- TTE rear wing to give a more sporty look.
- a more sporty backbox, but nothing to loud or big, just something that looks a bit better then the black backbox.

We are also looking at making it look a bit more sporty all round with, stuff like a TTE front lip, skirt and rear bumper.
But most importantly for now it's a car that works

[TheStig]

Update time; New year, new upgrades and new plans:

I already added a Sig with the car on the Ring and some brandnames next to it... and now a updated sig, with 2 added brands.

So what did I do:

Near the end of the summer I took the car to a professional detailer, to be cleaned, polished and waxed.

Cleaning:

polishing:

Detail shot:

Global shot: (closeups where sadly to dark, ooh btw neighter of the 2 is me)


After that came some small updates:

- New OEM leather gear gaiter, because the old one had some nasty scrathes on it.
- The lowering springs on the cars turned out to be TTE (Eibach) 30mm lowering springs
- New white LED licenseplate lights
- New white LED parkinglights (small lights in headlight unit) so they match the Xenon headlights better

Front: (leds only)

Front: (leds and Xenon)


En then came the bigger upgrades:

Blitz Realize TT-R Exhaust system (axle back)

I wanted a system that had a OEM look and a decent none ricy sound, that you can live with on a daily basis, with that in mind I bought the Blitz kit and the TT-R is a stainless steel setup which is a nice bonus.

The stock 2ZZ exhaust:


Blitz Realize TT-R setup


Exhaust tip (stock vs new)



And some movies:

In the garage:

On the street... did I say street... track ofcourse



Already ordered and waiting to be delivered:
- APR flex control bar
- OEM RAV4 wiperblades (low profile version)

Future plans/upgrades:
- upgraded swaybars (hopefully early spring)
- Big brake upgrade front and rear brakes upgraded with other discs and pads (summer)
- TRD exhaust manifold and high flow cat and stainless midsection (researching on what exactly)
- LSD and flywheel upgrade.
- Toyota TNS700 headunit with Satnav and mp3 etc options, would have been a earlier upgrade if they wheren't so bloody expensive
- Front respray (front bumper, hood and fenders, and maybe the rear bumper also)

[Carcrazy]

- Toyota TNS700 headunit with Satnav and mp3 etc options, would have been a earlier upgrade if they wheren't so bloody expensive

Ooh, want. Those things are nice. I got offered one at discount when I bought my Corolla, but I didn't take it because I knew I'd end up replacing it with another in-dash GPS.

[PSZeTa]

Looks and sounds great. How much did the detailing cost you?

[TheStig]

To be honest I don't know the exact price anymore, and can't look at his site because he changed the prices.
I paid over 200 euro, but that was including several things to use in the future (shampoo, clay, leather protection, quick detailer stuff like that)
I found it to be a very decent price, it took him all day to do my car.

[archebald23]

smoking car you got there.. were all the replacement parts installed new? To this date how much is the detailing all in all?

[jacoja06]

Glad you’re one of those Celica owners who don’t add stupid things which destroy the looks of the car. The exhaust system looks and sounds great!
The detailing process looks pretty schmicky... much more excessive then anything I ever did when I had my car detailing job (which typically took about 3.5 hours per car).

About the TNS700 unit... Are you aiming to buy one because it's a genuine Toyota system, or have you also considered aftermarket head units for a fraction of the price? I’ve given up on a Toyota sat nav after I heard its price tag (which I seriously can't afford)... so I’m aiming at getting a Kenwood DNX5240, or something similar with a more factory appearance.
Problem is, if the speakers are upgraded in the car, the sound quality will still be restricted by the stock toyota head unit.

[steelsnake00]

Problem is, if the speakers are upgraded in the car, the sound quality will still be restricted by the stock toyota head unit.

This isn't strictly true. It's quite possible, in fact quite easy, to run heavily upgraded components of a standard head unit with equal (or even greater) sound quality to an aftermarket unit. I did so in my CSL for a while, running MB Quart components off the standard head unit until I traded it in for a double-DIN one, and if anything the standard factory BMW head unit was better quality.

[TheStig]

smoking car you got there.. were all the replacement parts installed new? To this date how much is the detailing all in all?

Thanks mate,
All replacement parts are all brand new indeed, detailing to date? well lately I can't be bothered to do very much about it because it will be dirty again in no time. so I just clean it and dry it and that's it.
And other than that in the past... well once you get the right products etc it won't cost much apart from time and effort.

Glad you’re one of those Celica owners who don’t add stupid things which destroy the looks of the car. The exhaust system looks and sounds great!

My goal was to keep the exhaust looking fairly stock.
Same goes for the rest of the outside of the car, it won't get a bodykit or anything, and if it's something you can see from the outside it will enhance the performance of the car (brakes etc)
I'm happy with the way it looks. so that's not something I will change.

About the TNS700 unit... Are you aiming to buy one because it's a genuine Toyota system, or have you also considered aftermarket head units for a fraction of the price? I’ve given up on a Toyota sat nav after I heard its price tag (which I seriously can't afford)... so I’m aiming at getting a Kenwood DNX5240, or something similar with a more factory appearance.
Problem is, if the speakers are upgraded in the car, the sound quality will still be restricted by the stock toyota head unit.

Been looking into aftermarket units, but since Toyota in all their wisedom choose to make double Din slightly bigger then the normal Double Din, aftermarkets won't fit as nice as a original Toyota and you have to fill up the gaps on the side with pieces of plastic, and imo it just looks wrong, and cheap.
And I want to go for a nice flush fit so not gaps and no cracks etc.
I don't really care much about the sound quality, if I want to listen and really enjoy the music, I won't listen to it in my car.
I'll just do it at home, with that I'm pretty happy with how it sounds anyway, sure it isn't great, but it will do for me.
I'm more interested in the fact that it's an integrated system that allows me to navigate, play CD/MP3 etc and has a bluetooth and Ipod fuction etc, and also still is able to show the fuel consumtion etc.
And I know it will fit perfectly with hardly any effort.


Ooh I forgot to post some pics of the latest upgrade, the start of the handling upgrades:

[jacoja06]

Ahh, sod it... you’re right about the large side gaps on either side of the aftermarket screens. They were much bigger then I presumed... (pic)
(Might consider a Toyota unit again , if the price is right. )

Problem is, if the speakers are upgraded in the car, the sound quality will still be restricted by the stock toyota head unit.

This isn't strictly true. It's quite possible, in fact quite easy, to run heavily upgraded components of a standard head unit with equal (or even greater) sound quality to an aftermarket unit. I did so in my CSL for a while, running MB Quart components off the standard head unit until I traded it in for a double-DIN one, and if anything the standard factory BMW head unit was better quality.

Yeah, the quality of the BMW head unit is probably a bit better than the ones built for corollas. I don't have much knowledge of car stereo systems though. Still learning.

Edit: Awesome Strut bar, btw Stig.

[jacoja06]

Apart from the nice deep gargling sounds the new exhaust makes... did the Blitz make a decent impact on the cars performance? I really love the look and sound of it.

Also... is that the stock ride height for the T-sport's suspension? How many mm's off the ground does it ride? Looks ideal for what I have in mind. .