Improvement Ideas On A 140 Vvti

[kinky_willow]

Hi all,

Never posted before, even though i have been lurking for a while!

I bought a 140 vvti celica last may, so i have had my beastie for about a year now...and may i add i have loved every minute of driving her!

I wanted a Gen 7 for a few years, But being young (ish!) insurance was always a joke.

Any way my Insurance is finally getting to a sensible price, with 4 years NCB protected and my 25th birthday almost in sight, i figure its about time to have a little fun with my car.

I think i want to start off with just some cosmetic stuff, leave the performance for a couple of years.

My Celica is Chilli red, and so far all i have done is change my callipers red to match!

I want to get the large spoiler (is it the TRD?)....was wondering if this effects your insurance much?

Also want to get some nice skirts, and possibly a roof spoiler (just a little one).

Also contemplating getting new alloys in the future, because even though mine were re-conditioned when i bought her, they are starting to get the dreaded bobbling back in small patches!

Finally one last question, My brakes arent the best in the world(sometimes they feel a little lerthargic), and i think i may change them at some point, which would be the best to go for...any makes in perticular?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

~vicky~

[T600]

Welcome.

Insurance increases depend on your insurer; you'll need to ask them.

I made the mistake of not doing so when I put a standard spoiler on my Gen 7 and then when I did contact them they said they wouldn't insure the car with a spoiler at all, even though by that time that spoiler was standard on the car that I'd bought. Most aren't that bad though.

Re alloys - Parts King had some good deals on the T-Sport alloys with tyres recently. I'd see if he has any left because the cost wasn't that much more than the tyres alone would have cost.

[MIP]

Is your insurance that bad? I'm the same age with 3 years no claims, and my insurance was quite cheap when I was borrowing a gen7 140 (~£400 for a year). It's a bit steeper with the s2k but it's still alright. It was a bit of a struggle finding a decent quote but I found some reasonble ones on moneysupermarket.com. Also adding my folks as named drivers bought the price down a bit. And I just noticed your female, surely insurance is cheap as chips :)

Personally I think I'd want to put my money into getting a 190 or a GT before doing any mods, particularly performance wise. I get the impression the 140 is not as physically strong an engine i.e ovaling out if pushed to hard.

But if it's purely cosmetic stuff your after, there are a selection of kits here (you can choose different one's from the drop down list).

[silvercelica]

Is your insurance that bad? I'm the same age with 3 years no claims, and my insurance was quite cheap when I was borrowing a gen7 140 (~£400 for a year). It's a bit steeper with the s2k but it's still alright. It was a bit of a struggle finding a decent quote but I found some reasonble ones on moneysupermarket.com. Also adding my folks as named drivers bought the price down a bit. And I just noticed your female, surely insurance is cheap as chips :)

Personally I think I'd want to put my money into getting a 190 or a GT before doing any mods, particularly performance wise. I get the impression the 140 is not as physically strong an engine i.e ovaling out if pushed to hard.

But if it's purely cosmetic stuff your after, there are a selection of kits here (you can choose different one's from the drop down list).

What does ovaling out mean?

[T600]

What does ovaling out mean?

Something becoming oval when it should be round.

In this case the cylinder walls, caused by oil sludge behind the piston rings, and resulting in the infamous oil consumption problem.

[celica140sport]

i couldnt wait for my insureance to drop im 19 n paid 2k for 10 months cover lol anyway surely u dont need to change the looks of something so beautiful maybe the spoiler thou makes it looks more sporty but id stop there

[aquazi]

imo if you are only going for cosmetic changes then the best change i did for my car was lowering it on some TTE springs.

Also i am not a fan of the big body kits and opted for the most subtle TRD kit.. without the rear boot spoiler... which i have opted to have a small brash boy lip instead.

Also in terms of insurance my insurance provider... adrian flux didnt charge extra for any mod that didnt effect the performance.. so my body kit, and 18" wheels didnt nothing to increase the premium.

The stock toyota wheels are rubbish.. i went through atleast 2 or 3 sets under the warranty. Eventually i got so fed up i went with some aftermarket ones, and sold the original on eBay.

The same is true about the stock brakes... totally useless, and feel too spongy... i changed my disks to grooved black dimonds and predator pads.... with goodridge hoses.. made a bit of a difference but still nothing amazing, which i just learnt to live with!

Insurance wise when i was 23 with 5 years no claims i had a brand new M3, and i paying something like £900 pa for that, now 26 on my 140 i am paying £200 or so... so pays to shop around.

[Scarlett Arrow]

I'd advise the following Vicky, after market 17" Wheels with TTE or Eibach Lowering Springs. A pair of Dynamic Skirts and the subtle Roof Spoiler. The TRD/GT Spoiler is OTT IMO but changing to after market front Brakes is recommended. The most popular brands for replacement Discs are Black Diamond, EBC and Red Dot.

Spend the most time choosing the alloys, they can make or break the whole effect. As my good mate Aquazi has mentioned, the key word here is "subtle" for tasteful modding.

[kinky_willow]

My insurance is about £400 with protected no claims.

I really dont want to lower the car, as my other half already has trouble getting in, as he is really tall. I have the standard Black skirt, I dont think i want anything fancy but red plainish type would be good.

I have always wanted the larger spoiler, as when i was buying mine from Tekwesbury (spelling?) Toyota, they had a brand new 190 in with full Team toyota decal...which was very nice....but a bit out of my price range!

I will ring my insurers (bell) and find out the damage or adding new brakes, spoiler, etc...

Ta

Vicky

[kinky_willow]

rang my insurance company last night, and the total extra added to my policy will be a whopping £34 for the year....thats including : new spoiler, Side skirts, new brakes, roof spoiler, new alloys.

So im pretty chuffed.

What do you think the best brakes would be?

Also how much should a TRD spoiler set me back?

Any links to sites would be great.

Thanks

Vicky