Intro & 1st impressions

[Joe D. Rolla]

I just registered and want to give a breif intro and my first impressions.

I started driving with an '81 Corona. Then in my 20's, I had always wanted to get a Supra. I bought a Tacoma in '97. Last year, I traded in my Taco for a '09 Corolla LE (pics soon to come).

My 'rolla is great for the price I paid. Things I didn't like right away were:
- The annoying clock that I have to turn on the ignition to see when I'm sitting in my car
- The very thin paint and clear coat. I've owned this car for just 10 months and the front end looks like it's been driven for 5 years behind a truck that's carying gravel
- The excessive body roll. It feels like the car is going to tip over just doing a 10 to 15MPH turn.
- The very weak antenna. I can't get my favorite station during my commute. So I've become a fan of newstalk radio since that's all my car can pick up.

My first mods:
- I had subs, amps, xover/eq, dynamat installed. Sounds great but needs more Dynamat and a re-configuration of where the amps are placed. I have no room for my golf clubs.
- I had PIAA fog lights installed. No complaints.
- I put in TRD front and rear sway bars. Much better. No more being pushed around by big rigs passing by and I feel safer making turns. I think that TRD lowering springs and upgrading to wider wheels/tires will be even better.

Some replies to threads I've seen:
- Yes, the TRD front and rear sway bars are great. I will add the springs later.
- No I don't like the Lexus badge on the Corolla. I like the Corolla. I have a Lexus and putting a Lexus badge on the Corolla is like throwing a shoe at the quality of product and service that is Lexus.
- I like a lot of the things that people have done to their Corolla. I've got a better idea of what I want to do. Let's keep this going.

I'm glad to have found this forum. I'll add my pics soon.

[trucknut1]

^^ Welcome!

did your Tacoma get bought back for frame rust? lost my '96 Taco last year... miss my truck

everyone hates the clock location... what where they thinking??

nose on my rolla is chipped fairly bad to, i think 3m tape is the only answer

yes Lexus badges on a rolla is silly... now if you could get a Ferrari logo in there..

is the dynomat worth the cash? been considering taking out the interior of mine and installing it...

[joeylgarcia]

all i can say for now is welcome to TN.

[Joe D. Rolla]

I had many fishing and hauling adventures with my Tacoma. Problems started with the rust that "ate" through my exhaust manifold. I heard that it was due to the design of the heat shield. Problems just kept accumulating from there. I got tired of spending weekends fixing that truck so I traded it in.

Dynamat Xtreme is what I had installed. It gets rid of a lot of rattle but I still need more somewhere in the trunk area. I'm going to work on it this summer. I've even heard of people having to use two layers of the stuff. If you put even one layer of the stuff on your trunk lid, it's heavy enough that the lid will no longer pop up all the way. I don't know if it's the amount of coverage or the placement but I'm not all that impressed with the Dynamat in my car. Still, it sounds better than without it.

[trucknut1]

^^^ too bad about the Taco, had mine for almost a decade and it was as close to trouble free as you can get... until a massive hole in the frame developed right beside the muffler. Toyota bought my 96 back for just under $17,000 in May 08! What a deal! But I still wish I had it!

Thx for the dynomat info, i think i will start pricing the stuff. I have heard mostly good things regarding it..

PS: Fight the urge to take the rolla fishing

[sinnaever]

TRD Springs are a nice choice. They are a modest drop that instantly improves the ride. You won't regret it. I've gotten many compliments about them.

As for the TRD Tower Strut Brace and Rear Sway Bar... how much did you pay for those... I've been thinking about getting them.

[buddy97]

i think paint on all cars these days is poor.

however, first in the yaris forum, then here, all i see are complaints about all the chips on everyones front end. in over a year and 20k miles with the yaris, no chips on my front end. in 6 months and 6k miles on my corolla, the only marks i see are bird poo.

i guess some people drive in some rough conditions? i do drive on interstates, in the city, in the suburbs....i guess i got defective paint on my cars?

[cutipie19]

Originally Posted by trucknut1

^^ Welcome!

did your Tacoma get bought back for frame rust? lost my '96 Taco last year... miss my truck

everyone hates the clock location... what where they thinking??

nose on my rolla is chipped fairly bad to, i think 3m tape is the only answer

yes Lexus badges on a rolla is silly... now if you could get a Ferrari logo in there..

is the dynomat worth the cash? been considering taking out the interior of mine and installing it...

I don't particularly hate the location of the clock, my mom's car has it in the same location and I learned to drive on it so getting use to the clock in the Corolla was simple. Also I wear a watch and carry a cell phone if I feel I need a different option. As for people saying it's difficult to see when your tall, I don't have a problem and I am almost 6'1.
That's just my opinion though.

And to the OP welcome to TN!