Guys, I was with my mate test driving a 2001 V8 VX Holden Commodore SS today.... Great to drive in a straight line but sucks for cornering due to its size...




Also I am not sure about the Manual guys, or the USA model Celica, but all Auto models here have a PWR/ECON mode button near the hand brake (E-Brake), and when I put mine into PWR mode it launches realllllyy good, and stays in gear for a lot longer too (which is the whole point of this button)

I can't fault Mr. Square as an "internet" person, but my god am I sick of the broken record of posts. I would recommend a Celica to anyone, but I hope he sells his soon so the bitch train can stop. Oh, let me guess his reply so that he doesn't have to post it: "You're just jelly because I'm going for a V8. "

rentaspace, do you mean the ECON button on the AC? I've never heard of this feature. Can you post a picture of this button, please?

This is not a phto from my car (or a Celica for that matter) but this is the button:


Found this about it:
"ECT -- Electronically controlled transmission. Essentially you have a two-mode transmission, with different shift points. Normal mode is designed for decent starts and good fuel economy, with low RPM shift points. Power mode gives you harder accelertion by shifting closer to the redline, but reduces fuel economy. The ECT switch changes the mode."


If you need I can get a photo of my actual button tomorrow

Excellent, thank you. I learned something new today. That photo is more than good enough.

That's the overdrive switch. On USMD autos its on the shifter itself.

Actually you'll be happy to know I listed the Celica for sale yesterday. I like the Celica, I just don't love it. If we could get the SS-III or GT-Four over here I'd probably be more content with the car, but seeing as we don't...

I'm just a cheap bastard when it comes to spending money of non-reusable resources. If I can't turn around and resell it, I don't want to spend money on it. That all being said I've decided I could care less about spending a few hundred dollars more a year in petrol if that means being happier while burning said petrol. I've yet to find a car locally, for some reason finding an OBDI Trans Am with the 6-speed is a bitch.


I just do it to make you angry. You're just jelly I'm getting a sports car that won't be raped by minivans.

That's just because you don't know how to drive it.

And that's the difference that you don't seem to be able to get through your stuffing head. I don't care because the car gives me the best feedback in corners of the FWD vehicles I've piloted. Wrong wheel drive is okay for this car. But, it's also my first car so I'm more enamored with it than I should reasonably be. It's not your first car and it is your least powerful car, blah blah, I understand that.

I enjoy playing contrarian sometimes too, but it gets old to read.

I understand what the car is about, it's the same thing the Miata has going for it: it's small and easy to drive at the limits. It's fun to drive as long as acceleration isn't involved. Sorry I don't wear rose tinted glasses like you do.

No matter how you drive a commodore, they are terrible around corners... They are the definition of boating haha...
That being said, they are still really fun to drive or be in


It isn't the overdrive, I have an overdrive gear too. The overdrive enables or disables the forth gear for towing caravans.

This guy says you're wrong.

Jamie Wincup


And the V8 supercars are barely even Commodores or Falcons haha

Still technically a Commodore though. Maybe something was wrong with the one you looked at, the Commodore is the same as our Pontiac G8 and it was praised for its handling. Then again the G8 was the same as the 08-09 Commodore, so it's all possible there were dramatic changes in those few years.

It's also to do with t fact that we have mainly been in nimble four bangers that are all handling and no power, and now with lot's of power, and wider turning circle, it feels like a boat haha

There's where the problem lies. Just because a car has some size to it and doesn't handle like it's a go kart, doesn't mean it's bad at handling. Also learning how to use the throttle and making it oversteer goes a long way in that department. Would always surprise kids in Miatas when they had their asses handed to them in the twisties by a Z28. I say try finding the 08+ Commodore or a 04+ Monaro to test drive, I imagine it'll be a lot better than the 01 model Commodore.

Anyhow, to bring things back onto topic...

You know you own a Celica when you:
Save gas in a stylish manner.
Dump the clutch at 4K because you're in a hurry.
Turn off the A/C to make it up big inclines and for interstate entry sprints.
Only take up a fraction of your parking space.
Wish you had the SS-III as the superior option to buying an Integra Type-R.
Drive defensively because nobody seems to see your bright fùcking red car.
When you downshift into third and can't tell if that was the car or your passenger eating peanut brittle.

See, I can be nice and in vogue with everyone else. Genuinely I like the Celica, even if it doesn't seem that way at times. If we got the SS-III over here odds are that'd most likely be my car of choice, but we got the short end of the stick in that regard. I've been around a lot of cars, and I honestly feel the Celica is one of the best FWD cars out there. The only other car I'd warrant being near the overall quality would be the Integra. With the GS-R and Type-R you get so much more in the speed department that kind of nudges them ahead in some ways. The rest of the cars are either cheap garbage, or don't hold a candle to the Integra in performance. I thought about a 7GC GT-S, but the cheap interior is huge turn off(as it also is with the F-body, if you must ask).

My mum used to have a (ex Police car) 1994 VR commodore with lowered springs and it was a leaky oil sieve lol...

My mates sister has a VR Berlina (Luxury Model) and his dad has the 2010 VE

The Berlina and my mums, were both boats haha the VE is very nice, not as nimble as the Celica, but alot better than the SS we tested.
Berlina:

VE:


Also, I should note that all these models I speak of are 6cyl, where the SS is an 8cyl.

For a 08+ SS you are looking at $20k+ second hand. Where this 2001 SS with 155000km is only $7k (All that my mate can afford at the moment)

He needs this for a tow car to pull his AE86 car to events and because the AE82 he DD just blew its bearings and is now the smoke machine (will post a video soon of what his car is like from my dashcam haha)


Back ontopic, you know you have a Celica when you can throw your car hard into tight corners and come out without losing traction

^You're not doing it fast enough then. I can break traction the entire time I'm making a turn in mine without breaking a sweat. One turn I take when going up to my uncle's there'll be a solid five seconds of tires howling. Totally a legal use of handling.

Your mate should get a Holden Ute. It's a car, it's a truck, it's a Ute!

He needs four doors and 5 seats



And I am meaning around my area in the National park, you can lose traction if you want... but you WILL die since the road is reaalllyyy narrow and has cliffs and trees all around

No he doesn't, he only needs two doors and two seats. In fact all any person needs is one door and one seat, but cars like that are hard to find.

EXCUSES. Tell that to all the people that drift down mountainsides in Japan. There's a difference in losing traction and breaking it.

depends though, cause when you have a family those extra doors really help

No, it means you both have sh!tty tyres!

why do I have crappy tires? I don't break traction

Just for reference from the discussion before, my overdrive and ECT buttons in the one photo:

So not breaking traction makes them shìtty, and breaking traction makes them shìtty. Make up your mind. Even racing slicks break traction if you push them hard enough. The secret is pushing them just slightly above their limits so that you're getting the most out of them while still maintaining control. I'll go ahead and mention I took that turn some ten times in increased increments of speed before reaching that point. To do otherwise is just asking for trouble.

I've seen some other cars have that, the SC400 comes to mind at the moment. All that does is keep the hydraulic pressure up and make for harder shifts. Makes it a little faster at the expense of smoothness.

It also increases the time between shifts, when in "normal" it wi shift at 3-3.5k rpm and when in "PWR" it shifts at 4-5k rpm.

She launches so good in "PWR" mode

Hey you know what would make it launch even better, a clutch.

Not nessecarliy

I follow the James May school of driving philosophy - it's fun to drive a slow car fast. I like non-grippy tires, and like Box said, I know the corners and turns on the way to work and I try to get 9/10ths out of the car as much as possible. I consider it a tribute to the fact that she's held up through five-and-a-half years, not to mention...I feel like every second of "proper" driving is repayment for the sweat, blood, and tears I've put into the car.

And to add fuel to the clutch comment - there is very little in this world that makes me feel as alive as chirping the tires into second after winding out first. Downshifting from third to second, or from fifth to third at higher speed is close behind.

Come to think of it Box, you should really invest in a 7GC short shifter. I think a lot of your qualms could be solved if you have less time to complain about speed between shifts.

Which is why every manual is faster than their torque converted counterpart?

I follow the Michael Schumacher school of driving philosophy, it's even more fun to drive a fast car fast. I can see the appeal in both schools of thought, as I've been in both. I just prefer to have ample amounts of both speed and handling. Why choose when you can have the best of both worlds? I'll even let you in on a secret about myself, and one of the cars that I'd really like to have. It'll probably surprise you, but that's good. Ready...?

























Now that you've picked yourself back up from the floor. I've thought about getting a short shifter, but the improvements would be marginal at best I'd think. It's not like from the factory it was a truck shifter like some other cars.

Not necessarily. The 350Z, for instance, has identical 0-60 times for both the 5AT and 6MT. The 5AT lacks the driving joy though, but had the benefit of not having to deal with the garbage clutch and syncros.

Also, you know you own a Celica when you are willing to take a 2,200 mile roadtrip I'm under three days to meet people from teh interwebz. And you trust the car enough to not take a single tool.

Way to just assume 0-60.

It's almost as if a Viper and Miata mated, out came Cappuccino.

The most bhp I've piloted, to keep with the British trend, is 340 in a Charger R/T. That was a test drive so I couldn't do it in anger, in which case that reduces to 200 from an A4 2.0t which I hooned a little more.

Damn all this talk about auto vs manual is making me want to swap my auto out.

^ Do it! Highly recommended, very satisfying to do and the end result is worth the pain. Doesn't have to be expensive either, I spent in the region of $450.

Nissan GTR
Semi auto, No clutch...

I never said manual was less fun; because it isn't. But newer autos are way better than what was available years ago, this why many super cars are coming standard with semi-auto transmissions.

I've probably will. The auto trand is the thing I hate the most in my car. If I had a stick everything would be 100x better.

If/when I ever do it, I will be engine swapping too...

Local guy has a 3S-GE +LSD /manual for $2k right near my house... They are open for offers too, I just don;t have the time, money or space atm...

The GT-R uses a DUAL CLUTCH transmission. Just like most every other supercar uses a dual clutch or some other form of automated manual transmission.

But the point was, the driver doesn't control it, they just use the flappy paddles or shift forward backward

Which isn't anywhere as fun. I don't care if DST's or DSG's are faster, I rather have a traditional manual. To me having the ability to jump around gears as you please is a little more important than shaving those couple of tenths of a second to 60... Already in the 3 second range anyway, as if those few tenths really matter or are even noticeable. The real reason they're doing it is so the rich fùcks that actually buy the cars can somewhat drive their status symbol.

"Semi-Automatic" also sounds better than "manual" or "auto", despite what it actually is

Manumatic.

this. if i ever did a tranny swap from auto which i desperately want to, you almost might as well hunt down a gen4 3s-gte

oh right back on topic... uhhmmm

....when every time you see those four lights you think 'lift or coupe?' and make sure to take note as it passes!
....when you look at interior pics to assure yourself they dont have a perfect looking armrest either, NOONE DOES!

I have a close to perfect armrest. At a glance you wouldn't see anything wrong.

Ehhh....

You know you own a Celica when you have it for sale and no one wants to buy it because they'd rather get a Honda.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HEAVY-STEEL-00...491&vxp=mtr

Why did you quote me talking about supercars, then post a short throw?

It'd help some I suppose, now what would help is somehow getting an extra 50 horsepower out of it.

I misread, thought you said it took you three seconds to shift.