Happy Owner Of A T180 For Last 2-3 Years :)

[lungo]

Hi all,

not been on here for a while.

I have had (touch wood) 2-3 years of happy driving in my T180 and am now thinking of improving this car, eg filter, tuning box, brakes etc again.

Now that it has been a couple of years since I last spoke of this on this forum and got conflicting information, I was wondering if there are any T180 owners who has improved their motor and are they happy with the outcome?

Your actual thoughts and advise is appreciated.

Lungo

[Mistermena]

Hi all,

not been on here for a while.

I have had (touch wood) 2-3 years of happy driving in my T180 and am now thinking of improving this car, eg filter, tuning box, brakes etc again.

Now that it has been a couple of years since I last spoke of this on this forum and got conflicting information, I was wondering if there are any T180 owners who has improved their motor and are they happy with the outcome?

Your actual thoughts and advise is appreciated.

Lungo

Welcome back mate

I've added a TUNIT box thats given me 12mpg gain on the motorway @ 70mph. K&N air filter and a dose of BG244 in with the Shell V-power derv once every 10k. Apart from that its a standard car. The only other thing I've done is bought an extra set of T-180 alloys to use with winter boots

[lungo]

thanks for that mate :) any reason why you chosen tunit over the others? any improvements in all gears and torque?also whats the part number for the k and n filter? when i got the t180 i really had no tuning parts besides loads of 'black' boxes.you taken of the d-cat?

[Mistermena]

thanks for that mate :) any reason why you chosen tunit over the others? any improvements in all gears and torque?also whats the part number for the k and n filter? when i got the t180 i really had no tuning parts besides loads of 'black' boxes.you taken of the d-cat?

Tunit are one of the most expensive boxes on the market at £485! But as a second hand buy they are amazing. I paid £150 and it still had almost all of its 3 year warranty left to run and Tunit are the only piggy-back box that give a 1 year drive train warranty. I read lots of reviews from the car mags as well as the end user ones befor I decided on this box. You wont believe the difference in power and torque over the normal 177bhp factory set ECU.

The D-CAT can NOT be removed from the car (Even though some companies say they can) as the Denso ECU has not been cracked (To date) and thats why you cant re-map these and have to use a tuning box. I cant remember the K&N filter part number,but if you go onto the K&N site it will tell you or try eBay

[lungo]

sorry for double post but at work on my bb.Bear with me

[Heidfirst]

Mistermena seems to have forgotten that he (like me) has changed discs & pads for non-Toyota items (MTEC discs - Mintex pads in his case & Ferodo Premier in mine). ;)

I think that we both agree that they are an improvement in feel & effectiveness.

[lungo]

Cheers. seems there are more options now than 3 years ago. may have to see what is around and catch up

[Mistermena]

Mistermena seems to have forgotten that he (like me) has changed discs & pads for non-Toyota items (MTEC discs - Mintex pads in his case & Ferodo Premier in mine). ;)

I think that we both agree that they are an improvement in feel & effectiveness.

Oh yer! ... I had forgotten about that an all mate. I remember the !Removed! awful time I had with the Pagid set up! I have the drilled and groved black addition and Heidfirst had the drilled and dimpled if I remember correctly? Far better that the useless Bosch ones that were standard on the car.

There are some pics on the forum of my car with the MTEC discs somewhere. They look great and stop you well b4 the brick wall!

[pault38]

Mistermena seems to have forgotten that he (like me) has changed discs & pads for non-Toyota items (MTEC discs - Mintex pads in his case & Ferodo Premier in mine). ;)

I think that we both agree that they are an improvement in feel & effectiveness.

Oh yer! ... I had forgotten about that an all mate. I remember the !Removed! awful time I had with the Pagid set up! I have the drilled and groved black addition and Heidfirst had the drilled and dimpled if I remember correctly? Far better that the useless Bosch ones that were standard on the car.

There are some pics on the forum of my car with the MTEC discs somewhere. They look great and stop you well b4 the brick wall!

your k&n part number is 33-2926 cheapest i've seen is just under 40 quid on eBay with free postage a company called jays performance. i've just fitted my mtecs & mintex pads yesterday and they do look the dogs but i havent bedded them in yet(have a trip to stansted today to sort that out). i got a chip from a company called tuning diesels.com called synergy 2b. have run it for a month so far and it hasnt missed a beat and hasnt gone into limp mode once and it was only 200 quid. i ran it on the max setting for the first 2 weeks but have turned it down a little. As for economy well it might be better but i've spent the last month with a big grin on my face so when i have settled down a bit it might improve a bit but it hasnt got any worse,just not improved...yet

[lungo]

thanks for the information. looks like i have a list to get me going.

[lungo]

Was wondering if the replacement filter is better than the induction kit (if any )

[Mistermena]

Was wondering if the replacement filter is better than the induction kit (if any )

I would just stick to a normal K&N panel filter tbh. Far less hassel and you need cold air really for an induction kit to get the best out of them...

[Parts-King]

We also sell a chip kit for most Toyota models including the T180, PM me for more details

Kingo

[pault38]

i have looked around for an induction kit and couldnt find one. I know K&N do one for the petrol avensis and wondered if it could be adapted without too much aggro, have also seen a performance exhaust on a german or dutch site but havent been able to find it since, cant believe i didnt add it to my favourites lol.

[gazza1286]

Mistermena & Heidfirst,

I noted your comments about the brakes.

I've just acquired a 58 plate Avensis with 20K on the clock. Really unhappy about the brakes - They grumble, aren't very responsive and produce loads of dust. The brakes on my old '99 Avensis were swapped soon after I got it to Mintex pads and discs and they were absolutely wonderful.

Is it the Toyota pads or the discs which are the problem (or both). The discs on mine are unmarked and I was wondering if I could get away with just swapping the pads. What do you advise?

[lungo]

Parts-king : could you send me info please. Would like the info too on the brakes, just spent 60 on the indicator light :(

[Mistermena]

Mistermena & Heidfirst,

I noted your comments about the brakes.

I've just acquired a 58 plate Avensis with 20K on the clock. Really unhappy about the brakes - They grumble, aren't very responsive and produce loads of dust. The brakes on my old '99 Avensis were swapped soon after I got it to Mintex pads and discs and they were absolutely wonderful.

Is it the Toyota pads or the discs which are the problem (or both). The discs on mine are unmarked and I was wondering if I could get away with just swapping the pads. What do you advise?

If you are looking for the cheaper option then I'd 1st change the pads to Ferodo premium if the car has only 20k on the clock and see how you get on. The Mtec discs and pads will set you back around the £200 mark!

[gazza1286]

Thanks Mistermena

[pault38]

Thanks Mistermena

having run my mtec's and mintex pads in yesterday i can safely say they are better at stopping......pedal feel is still rubbish but it does pull up better, does anyone know if the rubbish brakes have been sorted on the new model diesel's? If so can bits be swapped out i.e new servo or vacuum pump, after all its the same engine's....more or less maybe the brake system is similar

[lungo]

Thanks for the information guys.

[Heidfirst]

Oh yer! ... I had forgotten about that an all mate. I remember the !Removed! awful time I had with the Pagid set up! I have the drilled and groved black addition and Heidfirst had the drilled and dimpled if I remember correctly? Far better that the useless Bosch ones that were standard on the car.

I went with the plain grooved plus the black coating.

Brake feel as well as effectiveness definitely improved with the MTEC discs/Ferodo Premier pads but the pads are dearer than the Mintex (or indeed the standard Ferodo).

[Druid Boy]

The best performance upgrade I fitted was an Institue of Advanced Motorists course. Yeah, yeah. I can hear you saying 'isn't that all about safety and stuff? Boring' but I have yet to outrun a copper and they use the same system...... Come to think of it I have spent a couple of days training with off duty coppers and we spent a lot of time between 100 - 120 mph - on B roads. Mega!

[lungo]

anyone else have used a tuning box on the T180?

Looks like there are only 2 people here with these..

[Mistermena]

The best performance upgrade I fitted was an Institue of Advanced Motorists course. Yeah, yeah. I can hear you saying 'isn't that all about safety and stuff? Boring' but I have yet to outrun a copper and they use the same system...... Come to think of it I have spent a couple of days training with off duty coppers and we spent a lot of time between 100 - 120 mph - on B roads. Mega!

I've got one of them an all! :thumbsup:

[Heidfirst]

in a similar vein the best thing that I ever did driving wise was get my HGV (now LGV) courtesy of HM Forces (had it 2 years before I could as a civvie ).

It really taught me to read the road ahead & anticipate & I frequently find myself taking preventative action whilst watching people quite a bit ahead of me virtually running into situations before suddenly slamming on the brakes.