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Thread: Toyota Aurion AT-X and Holden Commodore VE Omega Road Tested by MSN

  1. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by crisis
    I haven’t pushed it as reality bites. It may be squeezing things financially. And you are right about the recalls. My mate reckons to wait for the series 2 anyway. By then I may be a bit better situated.
    Nothing major just a seat belt recall (South African Supplier) and a few body module ecu gremlins, hang out for a series 2 SS-V or SS when the fuel is hopefully under $1 a litre.. They certainly have good road presence, although a V8 Calias V would do me also.
    SA IPRA cars 15, 25, 51 & 77
    Sharperto Racing IP Corollas
    http://www.sharperto.com.au/

  2. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyco
    I'm not THAT scary behind the wheel, I can drive sensibly (on rare occasions)
    i don't remember being scared in your car, it's not like you're a bad driver
    then again, i have been accused of being too stupid to recognize danger
    Quote Originally Posted by Sauc3
    2-12 March.
    Phillip Island Historics is 9-11 March, so make it happen on that weekend.
    that late? hope to god i can skip first weeks of uni
    how the hell did i manage it this year??
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  3. #93
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    Quick update on the Aurion AT-X. For the past week, I've been driving one again for work. No change to my original conclusions, but I thought I'd add some new fuel economy figures.
    All driving this time was urban/city mode (mostly stop/start with short freeway bursts), with no real open road use to reduce the mileage.

    Tank 1: 197.5 km (Sunday 7 Jan) using 20.35 litres to return 10.3L/100km (27.4mpg)
    Tank 2: 222.1km (Monday 8 Jan - Friday 12 Jan) using 37.5 litres to return 16.7L/100km (16.8mpg).
    Tank 3: 183.4km (Saturday 13 Jan - Sunday 14 Jan) using 19.36 litres to return 10.5L/100km (26.7mpg).

    Total distance: 603km
    Combined average fuel economy (urban cycle): 12.8L/100km (22mpg).
    Note: two of the tanks were for personal use, and Tank 2 was paid for by work, hence the three different figures.

    There are some mitigating circumstances behind the rather poor figure for the second tank. Melbourne's weather reached 39 degrees on one of the days and my job required me to map out my route at various times, so there were several periods during the day where I was spending ten minutes at a time with the engine idling and the air conditioning on full. Idling for long periods with the air conditioning on is NOT a recommended economy driving technique.
    The air conditioning was on for long periods for all three tank fills.
    The mileage recorded for the first and third tank is representative of what the car should achieve in the urban cycle (10.3 - 10.5L/100km). The second tank is an example of how bad the fuel consumption can get in pretty much any car in more extreme (in this case weather related) circumstances.
    So, overall, the consumption was acceptable.
    Last edited by motorsportnerd; 01-14-2007 at 05:43 AM.
    UCP's biggest Ford Sierra RS500 and BMW M3 E30 fan. My two favourite cars of all time.

  4. #94
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    You know what i say about Air Cons, They make you soft, In the VE i had it on 100% driving In my car it's window down.

  5. #95
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    Mate its been that hot around here i turn the car on and have the air con blaring before i get in.

  6. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by motorsportnerd
    Torque steer, the usual criticism of a front wheel drive car is not completely eliminated. However, it is absent in corners. I only noticed it twice – the first two times I accelerated very hard from standstill. A brief tug on the steering, by no means excessive. However, it was there. Interestingly, when I tried to replicate the torque steer later in the drive under hard acceleration it had disappeared. The car I drove had just 5kms on the clock when I picked it up, so was brand spanking new – basically a virgin car that I was first to break in. I suspect that the computer was still in learning mode and once it learned from the first couple of detections of torque-steer, it calibrated the VSC/traction control system to eliminate it from happening again. Just a theory, but even under hard acceleration just before I returned the car, I just could not get it to torque steer again. I have to mention the torque steer, simply because I did experience it. It was not in any way bad and as I mentioned, I suspect it will never be experienced by most Aurion drivers once the electronics have bedded in and “learned”. If I drive an Aurion in the future with more kilometers on the clock, I’ll see can generate torque steer again.
    Well, after 600kms in a second Aurion, I tried, and completely failed, to find any trace of torque steer. It simply wasn't there. My theory that the VSC/traction control systems need to "learn" how to eliminate torque steer may be correct. The second car I drove had over 8000km on the clock.

    Also, one other observation from the second week long stint in the car - there are times when having a gearbox with six speeds is just too many for around town motoring. Moderate acceleration up to the 60km/h speed limit would result in use of the first two gears. Once 60km/h had been reached the computer would then change up several gears to top all at once, causing a slight harshness in the motor. This doesn't change my opinion of the engine/transmission - I still think they're excellent. However, I'm surprised the computer isn't programmed to lock out the top two gears when travelling at low speed around town, or that there isn't a lock which can be manually selected to remove the two top gears. This would smooth things out completely in around town motoring - six speeds is probably excessive for around town, and far more useful in freeway conditions.
    UCP's biggest Ford Sierra RS500 and BMW M3 E30 fan. My two favourite cars of all time.

  7. #97
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    IIRC, for light around town motoring, Ford have programmed the ZF 6 speed to start in 2nd to reduce the harshness and make it quieter, which has also led to the discovery by enthusiasts that its possible to stall up more revs in 2nd than it is in 1st, leading to a peculiar method to extract the most performance out of the 6 speed.

  8. #98
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    That is what my brother was blabbing on about for the last 3 nights, I thought he might just be a little all over the place still.
    He also was saying they slightly detuned it now and some aren't happy. But he was thinking can he get a 190 I6 ECU and swap it with his, And then get 190kw?.

  9. #99
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    Maybe, maybe not. Apparently someone who tried to stick a ZF 6 speed into an early XR6T ended up going through a shitfight to get everything to work with the new ECU, including new wiring looms and an extra knock sensor.

  10. #100
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    So maybe not worth it.. He is talking again F6 engine but this time he is for real, But first he needs too get himself in order before he thinks about stuff like that.
    Out the front of the Hospital we spoke too a guy with a Fairlane ghia MKII 6 speed, We ask him how does the 6 speed go, He said you no it's BMW very good very good.. But we liked the interior set-up and the white dials in the dash.

  11. #101
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    Quote Originally Posted by charged
    Nothing major just a seat belt recall (South African Supplier) and a few body module ecu gremlins, hang out for a series 2 SS-V or SS when the fuel is hopefully under $1 a litre.. They certainly have good road presence, although a V8 Calias V would do me also.
    One story I heard about the ECU problems was that the software was produced in Germany, sent to America to be programmed and then modified here for a lower voltage. There is a suspicion that this is causing the computer problems.
    "A string is approximately nine long."
    Egg Nogg 02-04-2005, 05:07 AM

  12. #102
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    Quote Originally Posted by charged
    Nothing major just a seat belt recall (South African Supplier) and a few body module ecu gremlins, hang out for a series 2 SS-V or SS when the fuel is hopefully under $1 a litre.. They certainly have good road presence, although a V8 Calias V would do me also.
    Where do you go wakeboarding? ie where is that picture taken?
    "A string is approximately nine long."
    Egg Nogg 02-04-2005, 05:07 AM

  13. #103
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    You're saying americas causing problems in australia? As if! that would never happen!
    The Datto will rage again...

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