DFB's Garage

[DFB]

IIRC from the OPT forum, this is just an RTU mixture of OPC, directed at the "Amazon" market. OPC isn't a big foamer.

I suspected as much. From experience with other APC's, it makes sense that I didn't like it as a tire cleaner.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

The key part there was "modern clear coat". I probably shouldn't have used the word "responsible", instead included "helped develop modern basecoat/clearcoat paint technology", as per the OPT website and what I had previously heard and read on the subject. My intention was to highlight his expertise in modern paint care beyond just a company and chemist flogging chemicals.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to fault you, I guess I am just skeptical of completely accepting what amounts to promotional material from OPT. Whether you are a job-seeker, a salesman, a company owner--you always try to present yourself, your experience, your accomplishments, in the best light, and maybe even embellish them. No doubt Dr. G has a unique perspective on automotive finish care, coming from the automotive paint industry. I just rather imagine that he could have worked in a department of 50 people, and that any one of them could claim to have "helped develop modern basecoat/clearcoat paint technology" as stated on his IDA Hall of Fame page: https://the-ida.com/mpage/ghodoussi_d

 

[Klasse Act]

Toyota Tried To Beat V8s With A Supercharged Camry-Based Sedan, But No One Cared | Carscoops https://share.google/HIagXJiSV3OkLvEx6

Deyon/Big Dave/Tas....could you guys please chime in on this, never heard of it and not sure why it never came HERE

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Tasmania]

Toyota Tried To Beat V8s With A Supercharged Camry-Based Sedan, But No One Cared | Carscoops https://share.google/HIagXJiSV3OkLvEx6

Deyon/Big Dave/Tas....could you guys please chime in on this, never heard of it and not sure why it never came HERE

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

They also made a 4 litre V6 Supercharged version of this for the hi lux

Both models just didn't really sell to be honest maybe because of the front wheel drive torque steer on the Aurion, Their kind of a sort after model now if you can find one.

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

Toyota Tried To Beat V8s With A Supercharged Camry-Based Sedan, But No One Cared | Carscoops https://share.google/HIagXJiSV3OkLvEx6

Deyon/Big Dave/Tas....could you guys please chime in on this, never heard of it and not sure why it never came HERE

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

That was a while back, maybe around 2008. Toyota Australia decided all Camrys would be 4 cylinder and they brought in the Aurion if you wanted a 6 cylinder sedan. It was bigger and smoother than the Camry, and the 3.5 V6 had 200kw driving through the front wheels. My brother had one in ATX trim, I remember it being a bit spooky to drive with that much power going through the front wheels. When they decided to make a sports version they decided to add a supercharger as well, rather than just make a trim and suspension package like a lot of car companies do. And they actually did a good job with the suspension tune, from what I read, no torque steer, and still comfortable. They were almost as fast as the standard SS Commodores and XR8 Falcons of the time, and more efficient. Looking online at the moment there are zero for sale, so those that have them are hanging on to them.

 

[DFB]

Toyota Tried To Beat V8s With A Supercharged Camry-Based Sedan, But No One Cared | Carscoops https://share.google/HIagXJiSV3OkLvEx6

Deyon/Big Dave/Tas....could you guys please chime in on this, never heard of it and not sure why it never came HERE

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Back in the late 90's, Toyota had made massive inroads on Ford and Holden in terms of yearly sales numbers. Where Ford and GM were only strong with one or two models each (Falcon and Commodore), everything else they sold was insignificant. Toyota on the other hand competed strongly across every model they sold and therefore climbed higher and higher on the sales chart. And yet, Toyota found it was necessary to have a large sedan to compete directly with Falcon and Commodore. Camry was built in Australia with 4 and 6-clyinder engines but was seen as too small to compete........................and yeah, the front drive thing (which I'll explain why is important in a moment).

Toyota went cheap and imported the tooling for the then discontinued Avalon sedan, then used the same Camry V6 to power it. The Avalon failed for various reasons. Firstly, it looked extremely outdated...................because it was. They facelifted it a few years later, but it was still desperately bland to look at. Secondly, it just didn't have the cabin width that made Falcon and Commodore so comfortable. Thirdly, while the engine was butter smooth, it just didn't have the torque to provide that effortless waft a 6-cylinder Falcon or Commodore had. And that lack of torque also restricted its towing ability, magnified by the front wheel drive layout.

Up to the late 2000's, towing ability was a hugely important feature for a large family car back then. You guys would use a truck or SUV, well back then it was large sedans that towed caravans, boats, trailers. Avalon just couldn't do it as comfortably. So, while front drive really wasn't the issue many Aussies will tell you, but when towing, it was a massive drawback. The Camry and Mitsubishi Magna also suffered the same fate. Toyota tried their hardest to convince the public it could tow, hence the press shot below, but no one bought an Avalon with that role in mind.





This was the 2003 facelift that did nothing to make it look any newer.



In this period Falcon Ute TV commercial, Ford had a little dig at Toyota, see if you can spot what it is..........................

Despite its flaws, the Avalon was considerably better made than any of the Ford or Holdens, which would explain why it became an extremely popular choice for Taxi fleets......................................and Toyota played along because no one else would buy them. But it didn't matter how well it was made, it was just the wrong car for the market Toyota was attempting to capture. And frankly, they never did become successful in this segment. The reality is, it didn't really matter because Toyota became number 1 in 2003 and has remained there ever since.

So, all of the above is to set up what ultimately replaced the Avalon. In 2006, the new Camry went on sale. In addition to the new Camry, Toyota also launched a new sedan called the Aurion. This was Toyota's new "large sedan" to compete with Falcon and Commodore. Large is relative because it was actually a Camry with different front and rear styling grafted on. So it wasn't any dimensionally bigger inside the cabin. Having said that, the 2006 Camry was basically a large car anyway. To put further distance between Camry and this new Aurion, Toyota discontinued the V6 Camry and made it 4-cylinder only, which left the V6 for the Aurion.

2006 Camry -





2006 Aurion -



The restyle to create the Aurion was completed in Australia. The same man responsible for the BA Falcon XR design a few years earlier is credited for the Aurion restyle. I actually thought these were a handsome looking sedan, not over styled, clearly aimed at a certain customer. But again, like the Avalon the front wheel drive thing killed its potential, even if the 200 kW 3.5 V6 they used was more powerful than Ford and Holden 6's, and waaay more refined too. Naturally, with so much power going to the front wheels, it became a little frenetic, no wonder there was no way to turn off the traction control.

So onto the TRD Aurion. This was Toyota's attempt to create some excitement around the Aurion. Many may not know this, but Prodrive was responsible for this model, both engineering and final assembly. Prodrive did the same thing with Ford to create Ford Performance Vehicle a few suburbs away. Having said that, they were completely separate developments. So the Aurion got a body kit, some bigger brakes, nice seats, retuned suspension, big wheels, and a supercharger attached to the standard V6, channeled through the same 6-speed auto (no manual).



Again, I actually thought these looked nice. But the killer was, again, front wheel drive. Putting that much power through the front wheels was silly, and the traction control remained undefeatable. Reviews at the time were positive about the handling and decent brakes, but the power was almost unusable. But the killer was the price. For the same money, you could by a V8-powered Holden or HSV, or the turbo Barra or V8 powered Falcon or FPV. No matter which you chose, any of them were more powerful and went faster than the TRD Aurion. That killed it before it even went on sale and Toyota quietly discontinued the TRD program after a handful of cars were made.



Overall, be it the Avalon or Aurion, Toyota were trying to win a gun fight with a pocket knife. It would be like Toyota trying to compete with the Mustang and Camaro using a front wheel drive Camry as the base.......................completely off the mark.

 

[DFB]

 

[Klasse Act]

Dave and Deyon, you guys came through like a champ

I'd love you guys to drive an i30N sedan and give me your honest opinion of the car

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

Dave and Deyon, you guys came through like a champ

I'd love you guys to drive an i30N sedan and give me your honest opinion of the car

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

"Nah mate, she's not a V8, and it fuk en front wheel drive.............................."

That's what the average Aussie bogan would say............................even though they drive a diesel-powered dual cab made in Thailand. The funny thing is, the most vocal of that type of person wouldn't actually own or drive a V8, or even an Australian made car.

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

Dave and Deyon, you guys came through like a champ

I'd love you guys to drive an i30N sedan and give me your honest opinion of the car

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

I'd give it a go, I did just drive my nephews Chinese Swedish EV, and I test drove a Chinese hybrid ute a couple of months ago.

I think it would be fun to go back and drive all my old cars back to back, to see how the driving experience progressed from model to model, but I'm pretty sure only about one or two of them are still on the road. Maybe they've all been recycled as EVs now.

 

[DFB]

I'd give it a go, I did just drive my nephews Chinese Swedish EV, and I test drove a Chinese hybrid ute a couple of months ago.

I think it would be fun to go back and drive all my old cars back to back, to see how the driving experience progressed from model to model, but I'm pretty sure only about one or two of them are still on the road. Maybe they've all been recycled as EVs now.

Me too, I love driving all types of cars, regardless of drive layout of cylinder count.

 

[DFB]

 

[DFB]

With the Wildtrak about to embark on a 1500 km round trip to Adelaide for the Tour Down Under, I wanted to get it back into shape before taking off. Compared to the usual maintenance wash, I spent some extra time making sure it was ready for action.

To start, I popped the hood and inspected the fluids. I then made up a solution of Bowden's Dry Spell to fill up the windscreen washer fluid reservoir, using the left over to scrub the front floor mats with. I didn't bother cleaning under the hood, I'll do that upon return.

I had intended wash this thing last week as well, but the heat was unbearable and we were supposed to get some rain, so I let it go. As you can see, we did get a light sprinkle, just enough to make a mess but not enough to wash off the dust kicked up by the high winds.

These shots are just for you @Tasmania ......................................







Tyres - Brake Buster (undiluted)
Wheels - Brake Buster (foamed undiluted)
Prewash - Optimum Touchless Decon Soap
Contact Wash - Optimum Car Wash (foamed and in bucket)



At the previous detail I applied ADS Ceramic Spray Sealant. CSS has excellent hydrophobic properties, and as you can see, makes for some awesome bead action. At this stage, the Gyeon Can Coat EVO base layer is now 8-months old.





After a blow down with the EGO, I went over the paint with Obsessed Garage Drying Aid, which I also used on the roller tonneau and door jambs. This product can sometimes be a little tricky, but it was playing nicely today. Exterior glass was via Invisible Glass.

For the interior, I finished a bottle of Nextzett Cockpit Premium for the general wipe down. From here, I had two additional tasks I wanted to do..............

Firstly, I wanted to clean the leather. For this I went with KCx Pol Star, which was administered via a foaming pump bottle and lightly agitated with a leather brush. From there, I went around and applied NV Nourish.



The second extra was to dress the interior plastics with KCx Top Star. Back in my earlier detailing days, I would periodically dress interiors to provide enhancement and UV protection. For the longest time I used 303 Aerospace Protectant, mainly because it enhanced without creating a slick or shiny finish. I also loved how easily it spread, which is not something I can fully describe, but I always found 303 was easier to wipe on and didn't produce high spots like some alternatives. However, I stopped doing this because a) my "good cars" sit under cover for 99% of their life, and b) the modern interior detailers have UV inhibitors which meant I can clean and protect in one step. So, I don't normally dress interiors anymore.

But in this case, considering the Wildtrak sits outside for its whole life, and with how freaking hot it is in Adelaide at this time of the year, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have something more substantial on the surface. Is Top Star better than 303? Not really, they both wipe on with ease, flash away to a matte finish, and both provide high UV protection. If you like scents, then Top Star will be your choice, the mild "clean" fragrance is common to most KCx products. Following this, I did the interior glass to remove any residue from the windows.



I've been continuing to sample the assortment of Griot's products I bought last month. So far, the tyre/rubber cleaner is my favourite, in fact I've nearly finished the bottle. I love how it lathers and it seems to clean extremely well. Next, I really like the tyre dressing, nothing special here but it spreads easily and evenly, smells nice and looks great. The interior detailer is nice too. Least favourite? The ceramic glass cleaner sucks, I much prefer the OPT or Stoner's equivalent. And the soap is meh.



The final steps were to wipe down the wheels with Amplify, then set tyre pressures. Ready for the road!

 

[Tasmania]

With the Wildtrak about to embark on a 1500 km round trip to Adelaide for the Tour Down Under, I wanted to get it back into shape before taking off. Compared to the usual maintenance wash, I spent some extra time making sure it was ready for action.

To start, I popped the hood and inspected the fluids. I then made up a solution of Bowden's Dry Spell to fill up the windscreen washer fluid reservoir, using the left over to scrub the front floor mats with. I didn't bother cleaning under the hood, I'll do that upon return.

I had intended wash this thing last week as well, but the heat was unbearable and we were supposed to get some rain, so I let it go. As you can see, we did get a light sprinkle, just enough to make a mess but not enough to wash off the dust kicked up by the high winds.

These shots are just for you @Tasmania ......................................







Tyres - Brake Buster (undiluted)
Wheels - Brake Buster (foamed undiluted)
Prewash - Optimum Touchless Decon Soap
Contact Wash - Optimum Car Wash (foamed and in bucket)



At the previous detail I applied ADS Ceramic Spray Sealant. CSS has excellent hydrophobic properties, and as you can see, makes for some awesome bead action. At this stage, the Gyeon Can Coat EVO base layer is now 8-months old.





After a blow down with the EGO, I went over the paint with Obsessed Garage Drying Aid, which I also used on the roller tonneau and door jambs. This product can sometimes be a little tricky, but it was playing nicely today. Exterior glass was via Invisible Glass.

For the interior, I finished a bottle of Nextzett Cockpit Premium for the general wipe down. From here, I had two additional tasks I wanted to do..............

Firstly, I wanted to clean the leather. For this I went with KCx Pol Star, which was administered via a foaming pump bottle and lightly agitated with a leather brush. From there, I went around and applied NV Nourish.



The second extra was to dress the interior plastics with KCx Top Star. Back in my earlier detailing days, I would periodically dress interiors to provide enhancement and UV protection. For the longest time I used 303 Aerospace Protectant, mainly because it enhanced without creating a slick or shiny finish. I also loved how easily it spread, which is not something I can fully describe, but I always found 303 was easier to wipe on and didn't produce high spots like some alternatives. However, I stopped doing this because a) my "good cars" sit under cover for 99% of their life, and b) the modern interior detailers have UV inhibitors which meant I can clean and protect in one step. So, I don't normally dress interiors anymore.

But in this case, considering the Wildtrak sits outside for its whole life, and with how freaking hot it is in Adelaide at this time of the year, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have something more substantial on the surface. Is Top Star better than 303? Not really, they both wipe on with ease, flash away to a matte finish, and both provide high UV protection. If you like scents, then Top Star will be your choice, the mild "clean" fragrance is common to most KCx products. Following this, I did the interior glass to remove any residue from the windows.



I've been continuing to sample the assortment of Griot's products I bought last month. So far, the tyre/rubber cleaner is my favourite, in fact I've nearly finished the bottle. I love how it lathers and it seems to clean extremely well. Next, I really like the tyre dressing, nothing special here but it spreads easily and evenly, smells nice and looks great. The interior detailer is nice too. Least favourite? The ceramic glass cleaner sucks, I much prefer the OPT or Stoner's equivalent. And the soap is meh.



The final steps were to wipe down the wheels with Amplify, then set tyre pressures. Ready for the road!

My right eye was twitching at the pic we got some here but not as bad!

Right now Deyon I'd take dirty rain over the damage caused to mums car.

 

[DFB]

Did a "sanity wash" on the XR6 today. With such dry and windy conditions, the poor thing was covered in layer of dust, which naturally shows up on such a dark colour. For today's effort, I did a bit of a hybrid wash.

The wheels and tyres were treated as normal, with the tyres scrubbed using Griot's 3-in-1 and the wheels with foamed NV Snow. Atom mac went on the rotors afterwards.







This is where I deviated. Firstly, the whole car was rinsed top to tail, followed by a hit with the blower to remove excess water. With a bucket of P&S Absolute mixed up, I then filled an iK sprayer and went around pre-spraying the whole vehicle. From here, a rinse-less wash using the multiple-towel method, Eagle Edgeless 500's in my case. After that, another hit with the blower to blast liquid from the jambs, grill, and badges ect, then towel dried with Amplify. I also used Amplify on the door jambs, then ECH20 for the engine bay.

From there, the exterior windows were cleaned with Invisible Glass, the interior vacuumed and wiped down with a damp towel, the drivers floor mat was cleaned with the Absolute I had remaining. Final touches being a wipe down of the wheels with Amplify and the rubber with OG Tire Dressing.





My XR6 is one the last Falcon's to actually feature a FALCON badge. In the lead up to the FG MK II update in December 2011, Ford deleted Falcon badges from the XR range. From that point until factory closure, only the entry level XT sedan and XL SSB ute were badged FALCON. G-Series and FPV models were never badged as a Falcon, even though they were. Officially, this was to make room for the EcoLPi and EcoBoost badges, but I'm not buying that. The deletion of the Falcon branding was intentional, basically it was Ford quietly and slowly stepping away from a model that was on the chopping block. And by May 2013, that intention became reality with the announcement of the of the factory closures and the retirement of the Falcon nameplate. Unlike Holden, Ford had no intentions of replacing the Falcon, and in my opinion that was a smart move. History will show no amount of badge engineering or marketing clout was going to fool anyone, GM discovered that the hard way.

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

Love those hood shots, the reflections are crazy.

On the Falcon badge delete, at least they didn't try sticking the Falcon badge on some Euro trash. Those last (not) Commodores have really disappeared off the road fast.

 

[DFB]

Love those hood shots, the reflections are crazy.

On the Falcon badge delete, at least they didn't try sticking the Falcon badge on some Euro trash. Those last (not) Commodores have really disappeared off the road fast.

I'm sure they were nice cars, made in Germany and all that, I actually really liked the Subaru Outback-style wagon they did. But the whole ZB Commodore was a nightmare before it even went on sale. Can you imagine being at the helm at Holden during those final years, career suicide.

The V6 AWD version of the ZB was never meant to happen, basically Holden funded its development from its own budget (they did the same for RHD version of the Arcadia). The reality is, the customers they were trying to keep were never going to buy this car, even if it did have a V6. No V8, no RWD, no manual...................you know how it went. Then Holden got screwed with the sale of Opel to PSA and had no option but to continue accepting stock from Germany, even though they had paddocks full of unsold ZB Commodores. In the lead up to the ZB launch, Holden crowed on about how much Australian engineering went into the new model, even inviting journalists to drive the car at the Lang Lang proving ground in the months prior to launch. They also told the media that even if the factory remained open, this was always going to be the car that would replace the RWD VF Commodore.

Sadly, the ZB Commodore failure was the catalyst for Holden's ultimate downfall. I know I'm a Ford man, but I always felt a sense of arrogance from Holden management and the marketing department, very cocky, very confident. So, did they just think the buying public would lap it up and buy a car they TOLD customers they wanted? Did their arrogance cloud the judgement when making those development decisions? And because Commodore was always going to continue, they continued to heavily promote the VF II right up to the end. If you look at Ford, they wound Falcon down to nothing so that when it did finish, they'd already transitioned to a new model to rely on (Ranger). (There were some rumours going around that Ford could have sold more Falcon's during the last couple of years, but they deliberately choked the product line.) When the ZB flopped, Holden had nothing to fall back on and overall sales tanked. GM stepped in, pulled the trigger and put the lion out of its misery. And yet, if you went back 10-15 years, Holden were unstoppable.

I think Ford did the right thing in ending the Falcon nameplate after 56-years of continuous production. Slapping the FALCON badge on a Mondeo or Taurus was never going to work, as proved by the path Holden took.

 

[Klasse Act]

Yeah Deyon, not a fan of Griot's Garage Ceramic glass cleaner, Bilt-Hamber Traceless has me spoiled, along with CarPro Clarify Phobics...nothing touched THESE products️️

As far as their main soap, agreed, nothing special but Deyon, have you tried their Foaming Surface Prep and Wash, also their Poly Gloss. I know you like scents and Foaming Surface Wash is tropical and Poly Gloss is Strawberry

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

Yeah Deyon, not a fan of Griot's Garage Ceramic glass cleaner, Bilt-Hamber Traceless has me spoiled, along with CarPro Clarify Phobics...nothing touched THESE products️️

As far as their main soap, agreed, nothing special but Deyon, have you tried their Foaming Surface Prep and Wash, also their Poly Gloss. I know you like scents and Foaming Surface Wash is tropical and Poly Gloss is Strawberry

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

I so wanted to love Trace-less, but for whatever reason it just doesn't work here. I thought it was just me, but others have said the same thing. Put it this way, 1-litre of Trace-less is $49.50, 1-litre of RRW rinse-less wash solution only costs $1.38 per litre and does a better job. I've never seen a product have such polar opposite results between users before. I'd truly like to know exactly what the problem is because I have a near full 5-litre drum taking up space in my cabinet.

As for Griot's, the company importing the brand is a nation-wide automotive chain store. With that in mind, they have chosen a very basic lineup from the wider Griots product range, as in meeting a specific target audience. Without trying to be rude, but I suspect the average consumer going in to buy soap wouldn't know what a Poly Gloss is. So, at the moment, they only offer the following soaps -

Brilliant Finish Car Wash
Brilliant Finish Snow Foam
Best of Show Wash & Wax
Ceramic Wash & Coat

As you can see, they've only allocated an end display to the brand, where as the likes of Megs, Turtle Craps, Bowden's ect all have a full shelf.

​

 

[Tasmania]

+1 i couldn't get Trace less to work