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Falling out of love with the Celica


DannyScene

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I'm going to try bring it back better than before

I'm stripping everything out of the back

I've bought some lowering springs, a TRD elegance splitter, looking into spacers and the avensis brake swap, short shifter, ARB's and maybe strut braces

I've started working at euro car parts so can get crazy staff discount for any mechanical parts that I need, my lowering springs were £41 brand new

from what I can tell from driving it more and more its not actually driving any different other than the tracking

Edited by DannyScene
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I posted a similar thing on Looney's thread when he was thinking the same thing.

This is my opinion:

I've been there myself. I almost sold up and bought an Audi TT but came to my senses after thinking of the following.

The celica as standard isn't fantastic when it comes to equipment or refinements at all, but as 'ams' rightly said the car was, after all, released in 1999. The lights are halogen, ride height is far too high for a sports car, wheels are too sunken in, interior plastics seem cheap and can rattle, not much equipment, wipers are old frame styles, brakes are dreadful, etc. Unfortunately, it's these things that we pick up on the most when we drive and look at the car, and you look at German counterparts and think "Those things seem a lot better on those than this...".

To the average car buyer, maybe the celica isn't all up to it because of these things. They'd rather buy a car with everything done from the start, and who can blame them? But if you're a car enthusiast with a celica, there's so many things that can be done to cure all of the above problems, and it won't break the bank either.

Springs to set the hight correctly, spacers to set the stance just right, modern aero wipers, OEM type HID bulbs to modernise the lighting, avensis brake calipers to sort the brake problems, cree indicators for that modern instant flash look of indicators, etc. To me, most of these things are an absolute must for car enthusiasts with this car, as it finishes the car - makes it as it should be. It puts the car right in the firing line with more modern sports cars, and the more refined counterparts of the same year.

This is the exact route I went down with my car. If you browse through my thread and look at how I've modernised it while keeping it standard, you'll see what I mean. If I put private plates on the car, people would struggle to see how old the car is - the fact it's 11 years old with 127,000 on the clock wouldn't cross anyones mind.

The issue people have is buying a celica, and skipping all of these things that resolve the common issues it has, as they go straight into modding it. Different spoilers, sprayed wheels, big scoops, spray can'd center consoles, 'TRD' stickers everywhere, and so on. That's not the problem though - the problem is adding so much of these mods to the car yourself that you end up with a car that has its annoyances and issues from the start, and has been glittered with cheap mods. The result is a car that's gone way in the other direction of refined, brushing on 'tacky', and then you think "Meh, it's not actually as well built as I thought". And it's not all the car's fault.

If someone has a standard celica and is thinking of selling it because they've lost their love for it, I wish they could drive one like mine (or someone else's) with those above things improved, as they could see what it actually could have, and should have been like.

Then you'd have a car that you can concentrate on making yours with modifications, as it'll be a fantastic car as a base.

Keep that in mind :)

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To the average car buyer, maybe the celica isn't all up to it because of these things. They'd rather buy a car with everything done from the start, and who can blame them? But if you're a car enthusiast with a celica, there's so many things that can be done to cure all of the above problems, and it won't break the bank either.

The issue people have is buying a celica, and skipping all of these things that resolve the common issues it has, as they go straight into modding it. Different spoilers, sprayed wheels, big scoops, spray can'd center consoles, 'TRD' stickers everywhere, and so on. That's not the problem though - the problem is adding so much of these mods to the car yourself that you end up with a car that has its annoyances and issues from the start, and has been glittered with cheap mods. The result is a car that's gone way in the other direction of refined, brushing on 'tacky', and then you think "Meh, it's not actually as well built as I thought". And it's not all the car's fault.

Very well put, gt :)

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and there's a good reason for that! The same one as for not fitting shiny chrome strips round the rusty arches of a bmw / merc. :doh:

The other design corrections are ok though :thumbs:

:lol:

But why is one mod ok because you like it, but another one 'blasphemy' because you don't? :P

People are free to do what they wish with their cars, that's the beauty of the car scene. Be it a tried and tested method that's safe and guaranteed not to raise any eyebrows, or pushing the boundaries a little and attempting something new :):bye1:

It might work... or I may have to eat my hat.

But that's why if I have to wear a hat, I wear something easily digestible :laugh2:

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:lol:

But why is one mod ok because you like it, but another one 'blasphemy' because you don't? :P

People are free to do what they wish with their cars, that's the beauty of the car scene. Be it a tried and tested method that's safe and guaranteed not to raise any eyebrows, or pushing the boundaries a little and attempting something new :):bye1:

It might work... or I may have to eat my hat.

But that's why if I have to wear a hat, I wear something easily digestible :laugh2:

Hey! Now THERE'S an idea!!

Edible mods. Three "Disses" and you have to eat it. That would raise the standards a bit. :lol:

It would keep the size of rear spoilers to more digestible proportions too.

Win, win!

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Hey! Now THERE'S an idea!!

Edible mods. Three "Disses" and you have to eat it. That would raise the standards a bit. :lol:

It would keep the size of rear spoilers to more digestible proportions too.

Win, win!

Unless Ray starts filling his moulds with chocolate to make fully edible sideskirts and spoilers :drool:

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Unless Ray starts filling his moulds with chocolate to make fully edible sideskirts and spoilers :drool:

Now if I was a mischieviouss Tyke I would proffer that as being the real explanation for the scoop bubbling escapade!

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