New T Sport Owner

[cabcurtains]

Hello everyone,

I am now the proud owner of a lovely 5dr Thunder Grey T Sport :D What a difference to the Focus Diesel i have sold. I am glad to say that i ignored the cars magazine reviews as they dont do it justice (except for the boomy motorway cruise!)

The car has only got 24k on it yet the clutch was totally shot and was replaced prior to collection. Are the clutches prone to having a short life span? Also are there any common problems i should watch out for? (and i dont mean my local dealer )

Any advice is appreciated.

[Ckman85]

hi m8, congrats on ur car, im hopefully collecting my Tsport sometime this week. just wondering how much did u pay for ur car?

[MarcTS]

Hi there and welcome to TOC. Congrats on the car I have a 5 door CTS as well and love it to bits.

With regards to things to keep an eye on, the brake pads and discs are pretty rubbish and wear down fast so check those regularly. the cd dash unit tends to detatch itself from the surround on a lot of the corollas leaving a few mm gap (normally along the top). A lot of us also suffer from a notchy gear change too, but i'm waiting for a repsonse from the Yaris crew regarding a fix they have done for this on their T-Sports. The stock tyres are horrid too so when you need to change them get a different make (some people also go for 205/50/R16s instead of the standard 195/55/R16s aswell because the 55 tyres don't look very nice). There are a few others I can't remember off the top of my head but nothing is too major.

Also a lot of people are going to scream at you to change the springs on the car and I would have to agree with them. It firms up the handling and makes the lines of the car look a lot nicer as the stock height gives 4x4s an inferiority complex ;)

Anyway enough waffling. Welcome to TOC again and enjoy your stay

[cabcurtains]

Thanks for the gen MiniMarc, the brakes are squeaking a little but as this is a common issue i am not really bothered.

Ckman 85 the car was part of a deal with a Part X involved so its a little difficult to tell. However i am happy to assume my PX was written back so i paid £8600 for a 04 53 5dr done 21k with FSH the car has Sat Nav and Leather factory options. This is less than CAP says i should pay so i am happy :D

[UK86_MarK]

Welcome mate! :D

I also chopped in my Focus diesal for a T Sport 7 months ago. I love it!! Great car!! Things to look out for are as follows:

1) How quick the speedo goes up when you hit lift

2) Peoples reaction when they realise 'O thats not the normal Corolla then'

3) Friends that keep asking you to drive everywhere

4) Arguments with the mrs cos ur spending more time washing the car than with her lol :)

Enjoy!

MarK

[T Sport 1978]

Welcome mate! :D

I also chopped in my Focus diesal for a T Sport 7 months ago. I love it!! Great car!! Things to look out for are as follows:

1) How quick the speedo goes up when you hit lift

2) Peoples reaction when they realise 'O thats not the normal Corolla then'

3) Friends that keep asking you to drive everywhere

4) Arguments with the mrs cos ur spending more time washing the car than with her lol :)

Enjoy!

MarK

I echo all that above...haha.

However...

1. I find that it is sensitive to the fuel being used... Try and keep away from cheap supermarket fuel

2. Feel the lift and see if it ever diminishes - this is possibly to do with the lift bolts.

Other than that, ENJOY EATING BM 325s for brekkie!

[robtheman]

you will be lucky to beat the BM 325 (170bhpish an lots of torque). my m8 has one and we r equal on the straights but being a car that can handle it beats the cts in the twisty stuff...

[jc1978]

you will be lucky to beat the BM 325 (170bhpish an lots of torque). my m8 has one and we r equal on the straights but being a car that can handle it beats the cts in the twisty stuff...

You saying the CTS don't handle?

[robtheman]

in standard form, not the best but with some lowering springs/coilovers you will be sorted!

[jc1978]

in standard form, not the best but with some lowering springs/coilovers you will be sorted!

Well mine is standard (facelift) and seems to handle very well. Would certainly fancy a go at a 325 in the twisties. B)

[MarcTS]

in standard form, not the best but with some lowering springs/coilovers you will be sorted!

Well mine is standard (facelift) and seems to handle very well. Would certainly fancy a go at a 325 in the twisties. B)

If you drove yours and then one that has had the suspension/chassis tweaked a bit, you'll really notice the difference. Big gains can be had on the cts with a bit of effort and a few hundred quid

[fisel]

Welcome to the club mate

you will be lucky to beat the BM 325 (170bhpish an lots of torque). my m8 has one and we r equal on the straights but being a car that can handle it beats the cts in the twisty stuff...

My friend has a 330 230bhp and from standing he's not even a car length ahead of me. My other friend has a 325 and beat him all the time

[nrgizerbunny]

1. I find that it is sensitive to the fuel being used... Try and keep away from cheap supermarket fuel

This is not true... A couple of people on here: myself and thegooner work at an oil refinery. The fuel that goes into lets say morrisons pumps and the ones that go into Shell are exactly the same base product.

the only thing i would say is to check on your brakes. they are crap.

[robtheman]

in standard form, not the best but with some lowering springs/coilovers you will be sorted!

Mine also is the facelift (god knows what toyota were thinking when they released the pre facelift). My aim is to have a car that handles aswell as my m8s 320d coupe Msport. These are even lower and stiffer than normal coupes and are seriously quick

[T Sport 1978]

1. I find that it is sensitive to the fuel being used... Try and keep away from cheap supermarket fuel

This is not true... A couple of people on here: myself and thegooner work at an oil refinery. The fuel that goes into lets say morrisons pumps and the ones that go into Shell are exactly the same base product.

the only thing i would say is to check on your brakes. they are crap.

I had a personal experience with a problem where i was losing power and diminishing Lift... Had a contact in Toyota Edgware who hooked up the diag and found that temperature at intake was showing hot and that every degree it gains, i lose 3 hps. He asked me which fuel i had used and i said i only ever put in Sainsburys as they were cheap. He said to me "try 3 tanks of optimax and come back to me if i have a problem"...

Load and behold, my car was back to it's best after that. Obviously i wouldnt want to pay Optimax prices on every tank, so i just stuck to Shell normal 95RON and the car is just sweet since.

Better ful just burns cooler...thats his reason and it seems to have worked for me.

you will be lucky to beat the BM 325 (170bhpish an lots of torque). my m8 has one and we r equal on the straights but being a car that can handle it beats the cts in the twisty stuff...

Lots of torque yes, but also lots of weight.

I have eaten many a BMs in my time on the A31... Kinda twisty but not the worst twisty roads, and amongst them a good few 325s.

[nrgizerbunny]

I had a personal experience with a problem where i was losing power and diminishing Lift... Had a contact in Toyota Edgware who hooked up the diag and found that temperature at intake was showing hot and that every degree it gains, i lose 3 hps. He asked me which fuel i had used and i said i only ever put in Sainsburys as they were cheap. He said to me "try 3 tanks of optimax and come back to me if i have a problem"...

Load and behold, my car was back to it's best after that. Obviously i wouldnt want to pay Optimax prices on every tank, so i just stuck to Shell normal 95RON and the car is just sweet since.

Better ful just burns cooler...thats his reason and it seems to have worked for me.

By changing the fuel you CANNOT change the intake temperature of the air, so i don't know what kind of a frootcake (spelled incorrectly for emphasis) mechanic you took the car to.

[T Sport 1978]

I had a personal experience with a problem where i was losing power and diminishing Lift... Had a contact in Toyota Edgware who hooked up the diag and found that temperature at intake was showing hot and that every degree it gains, i lose 3 hps. He asked me which fuel i had used and i said i only ever put in Sainsburys as they were cheap. He said to me "try 3 tanks of optimax and come back to me if i have a problem"...

Load and behold, my car was back to it's best after that. Obviously i wouldnt want to pay Optimax prices on every tank, so i just stuck to Shell normal 95RON and the car is just sweet since.

Better ful just burns cooler...thats his reason and it seems to have worked for me.

By changing the fuel you CANNOT change the intake temperature of the air, so i don't know what kind of a frootcake (spelled incorrectly for emphasis) mechanic you took the car to.

Mate,

He's a respected techie in Edgware. Whatever it was, and whatever he said, it worked for me.

[charlyjo]

nice car my missus has had hers for 9 months now a sunburst red 5dr and im picking up a 3dr thunder grey one for myself with leather seats next fri,

when ive got them both here ill post a pic :D

[paulhtsport]

I had a personal experience with a problem where i was losing power and diminishing Lift... Had a contact in Toyota Edgware who hooked up the diag and found that temperature at intake was showing hot and that every degree it gains, i lose 3 hps. He asked me which fuel i had used and i said i only ever put in Sainsburys as they were cheap. He said to me "try 3 tanks of optimax and come back to me if i have a problem"...

Load and behold, my car was back to it's best after that. Obviously i wouldnt want to pay Optimax prices on every tank, so i just stuck to Shell normal 95RON and the car is just sweet since.

Better ful just burns cooler...thats his reason and it seems to have worked for me.

By changing the fuel you CANNOT change the intake temperature of the air, so i don't know what kind of a frootcake (spelled incorrectly for emphasis) mechanic you took the car to.

Mate,

He's a respected techie in Edgware. Whatever it was, and whatever he said, it worked for me.

Alright lads,

Since new year I haven't run my 04 facelift on anything but Shell V power (optimax witha new name), I have found that the car ticks over smoother and picks up better, it also seems to do 1.5-2mpg better which isn't much better considering it's around 4p per litre more expensive. But T sports are special so they should be spoiled, wouldn't you agree???