Daphne the ZRE182

Just realised I had never gotten around to creating a thread for the wife's new ZRE182 on here, probably got lost by the wayside when the site went down for a while...so bear in mind, this is copied from another forum so treat it as if you're reading it for the first time back in March.

So whilst technically this is the wife's car, I'm the one burdened with modifications, taking photos, and posting of pictures/stories in the appropriate forums.

Introducing Daphne.  First, let me get some things out of the way
1) Yes the steering wheel is meant to be on the right hand side.
2) Yes it is simply a Corolla, not an iM or Auris or anything like that.  Toyota Australia kept the Corolla nameplate for the hatches back when Japan split the series codes and introduced the Auris, because the hatchback was always the more popular of the bodyshapes here and there have been a few prominent examples of Australian cars with long histories changing their names and suddenly losing popularity (the less said about the Pulsar->Tiida decision the better, Nissan).

Secondly, we like to name all our cars.  However, the first name my wife chose (Artoo, since she loves R2D2 and the blue is perfect) didn't quite gel when we decided after the first few days of ownership that HE was actually a SHE.  So far, Daphne has come out as the likeliest alternative, but we're still not 100% sold on the name so it may change again the future.

Anyhoo, Daffers is a 2018 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport in Blue Gem metallic.  She is kitted out as standard with 16" alloy wheels, fog lights, 7" full touchscreen infotainment system with 6-speaker audio, Bluetooth and the optional Sat Nav pack.  The Ascent Sport is the mid-spec level for the Corolla here in Australia, with the Ascent as the base model and the SX/ZR combination above as the sporty/luxury-sporty pair.  Alongside those there is also the Hybrid, which visually looks the same as the Ascent Sport (albeit with the blue halo logo that Toyota adds to all its hybrids) but has a spec level closer to the SX and ZR.  Interestingly, all the petrol models (which all have the exact same 2ZRFE engine) are chassis code ZRE182, which means they have a torsion-bar rear end, whilst the Hybrid is a ZWE186 which gives it IRS.  All the hatches are made in Japan too (Toyota stopped building Corollas in Aus back in 1999), but the sedans now come from Thailand (and are different to the US sedans too).

I'm yet to give her a really good wash (first road-trip to Sydney last weekend and a week's worth of daily commute for my wife has left her a little dusty), but figured I should at least get some nice photos to kick off the memories before we start doing anything serious to her.  These were taken at the Walka Water Works, which is an old 19th-century Victorian/Italianate pumping station that used to supply water to the Maitland and Newcastle regions, but is now part of a public recreation reserve.  Great spot for photos, although I wasn't taking too much effort and probably should have waited another hour or so for the golden hour light.







by Ian Rigby, on Flickr

So we've managed now to roll over a good 6 months before resisting the temptation to do any modifications (wife at least wanted it to get to the first service completely stock, and OEM floor mats/boot liner/weathershields don't count as mods in my book). First thing on the cards was to give it a little more oomph in the noise department, however one problem about the Aus-spec ZRE182 is that the exhaust system is different from the ZRE186 that most of the world got (due to torsion-beam vs IRS) which means tracking down aftermarket parts can be quite exhausting (pun intended). However, it does actually share a lot of things in common with the previous model ZRE152 (including suspension and exhaust), and by sheer coincidence someone was selling a 152 TRD axleback (that they had on a 182 so I knew it would fit) - couldn't say no to that.

After a few weeks of sitting in my mate's shed (too far for me to pick up and too expensive to post) I finally got my hands on it, only to then have to jet off to China for work for two weeks, only getting back less than 24 hours before I had to leave again for Toyotafest. Took another 2 weeks before I managed to jag a break in both my schedule and the weather, but fortunately as far as mods go this was probably the easiest I have ever done (2 bolts and one rubber exhaust hanger).


by Ian Rigby, on Flickr




Comparison between the stock axleback and the TRD unit - interestingly the TRD muffler is actually smaller, and the exhaust tip sticks out quite a bit further (which is good since the stock one is hidden way up behind the bumper).



The TRD tip sits quite low too, no doubt to take in to account the TRD bodykit for the ZRE152 (which obviously the 182 doesn't have) - only really stands out if you're looking dead level at it, from head height or one the road it looks fine. Sounds is nicely improved without being intrusive or obnoxious, and would easily pass even current stupidly stringent noise tests. Most noticeable off the line as well as during engine-braking and coming to a stop, very little booming or resonance at highway speeds which is also nice (always worse in a hatchback) and at some speeds/engine-loads you can barely tell it is there.

Next step is probably some kind of lowering, but that'll probably have to wait until bonus-time next year.

It's a very pretty color! Kinda wish we had those over here. But it's cool that your wife is on board with you modifying the car like that, even if you have to do it all yourself lol. At least it's something you can both appreciate and enjoy in the cars. Exhaust seems perfect for what you've got going on, and lowering will be a great next step

gold94corolla wrote:

It's a very pretty color!  Kinda wish we had those over here.  But it's cool that your wife is on board with you modifying the car like that, even if you have to do it all yourself lol.  At least it's something you can both appreciate and enjoy in the cars.  Exhaust seems perfect for what you've got going on, and lowering will be a great next step

You guys do have these over there, it's the Scion/Corolla iM (and I believe our Blue Gem colour is your Electric Storm Blue).

And all of her cars have been modified (except for Kevin the Camry, unless you count putting the headunit from the Soarer in it), she loves cars just isn't the most mechanically minded.

Finally got around to convincing the wife to let me fit the springs, actually ended up getting a new rear pair as the other ones were a bit pitted and rusty.

Blue springs for a blue car, of course. Ended up with 40mm drop on the front and 30mm on the rear (but the rears should settle a little more seeing as how they are new). Passed the shoe test (cheated and used a boot :p), does make getting in and out of the driveway a little trickier since we have rolled gutters (so there is no dip on the driveway portion).







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blue springs on a blue car of course! Looks nice. So does the driveway lol

Well not much has changed in the last year (what with COVID and still being in warranty and all), but not long after the above lowering was done the SX/ZR wheels that I had stashed away copped a load of Pilot Sport 4s and went on (was waiting for the lowering springs to go in and for a 25%-off tyre sale)

Here's how she sat, waiting for the train of cars to arrive at Nepean Dam for CCAD 2021