Hello everyone. First time poster here.
My name is Stephen and im fron sydney. I've joined up with Pradopoint because our family has one and I'm wanting to get some information from everyone regarding our car.
Its mainly my parents car but they do not know anything about cars or maintenance or anything like that, so I thought I'd take it on board myself and see if I can fix whatever needs fixing and maintain whatever needs maintaining
A brief background on the car. Was purchased brand new back in 2000. Since then it has served us well and has clocked up 180,000+ kms on it. For the first few years, we drove it and treated it right, gave it 98 Octane every time we filled up, washed it religiously every 3-4 weeks or so...and so on. But that probably lasted till about 100,000kms...since then, we havent been going evey 10,000kms service intervals and to be honest i have no idea where Dad has been taking the car. I think maybe to just a generic mechanic, which scares the crap out of me to be honest. It has never been off-roaded and has always remained a city runaround
Anyway, regarding the vehicle, I have a few ideas and plans to, how shall we say, "improve' the cars condition by changing bits and pieces and making it feel nice to drive again.
So I'm wondering if I can ask everyone a few questions for those who are knowledgable on prados.
1 ) I'm wanting to change the suspension on the car to make it comfortable for daily driving. What do people recommend? People seem to go for a BIlstein shock and Lovell springs? How much are they?
2 ) Do Prado's have sway bars as well? If so, which one would be a good brand to go with? Price? Where can I buy it from?
3 ) I'm wanting to get the car breathing better so perhaps some headers (I dunno if the prados take a 4-2-1 or a 4-1 design) and a catback. DO these have to be custom made or can one buy these off the shelf? Price? Where from?
4 ) I'm wanting to upgrade the rotors and brake pads as I'm positive they have not been changed for a LONG LONG time. Brakes feel spongey and when I press lightly on the brakes, it doesnt do anything. You really need to step on the brake pedal to get anywhere....What brake pads/rotors are good for daily driving? OEM is nice but maybe looking at slotted. Pads? Bendix? Price/WHere from?
5 ) What engine oil would one recommend? Where can you get the oil filter from? Toyota spare parts I'm assuming but is there a cheaper place?
6 ) Any reputable mechanics that you guys take your prados to apart from the dealer? I'd rather take it to someone who knows their prados than to just the dealership....
7 ) I'm wanting to install HID headlamps. What bulb does the prado take? H4? H7? And are there any kits you guys would recommend? Price/where from?
8 ) Also, I saw a picture from someone on here that had LED tail lights? WHere can I get these from and how much?
9 ) Tires. At the moment, I have some Cooper tires on it. Not sure which brand but they were put on there at 130,000kms I think? The rims are the stock rims so I think theyre 16's....unsure of the specs though. What tires do people recommend for daily driving city use only? price/where from?
10 ) Any other niggling things I should be looking out for since the car is almost hitting 200,000kms? THings that may break or needs an eye on because its getting on with age? I know timing belt for one? anything else?
11 ) With the tank and subtank included, how many kms does everyone get from both tanks? We only get about 550-600kms? Is this right? or is the car running rich? how many kms should I be expecting?
Sorry for the barrage of questions everyone
As you can see, this prado is not really like most on here as it will never be off roaded. So basically I want to sort out the suspension and brakes first and get it handling nice, stopping well and breathing better. If anyone can answer these questiosn for me i'd really appreciate that!
Thanks in advance guys! And I look forward to meeting some of you in future GTG's
My name is Stephen and im fron sydney. I've joined up with Pradopoint because our family has one and I'm wanting to get some information from everyone regarding our car.
Its mainly my parents car but they do not know anything about cars or maintenance or anything like that, so I thought I'd take it on board myself and see if I can fix whatever needs fixing and maintain whatever needs maintaining
A brief background on the car. Was purchased brand new back in 2000. Since then it has served us well and has clocked up 180,000+ kms on it. For the first few years, we drove it and treated it right, gave it 98 Octane every time we filled up, washed it religiously every 3-4 weeks or so...and so on. But that probably lasted till about 100,000kms...since then, we havent been going evey 10,000kms service intervals and to be honest i have no idea where Dad has been taking the car. I think maybe to just a generic mechanic, which scares the crap out of me to be honest. It has never been off-roaded and has always remained a city runaround
Anyway, regarding the vehicle, I have a few ideas and plans to, how shall we say, "improve' the cars condition by changing bits and pieces and making it feel nice to drive again.
So I'm wondering if I can ask everyone a few questions for those who are knowledgable on prados.
1 ) I'm wanting to change the suspension on the car to make it comfortable for daily driving. What do people recommend? People seem to go for a BIlstein shock and Lovell springs? How much are they?
2 ) Do Prado's have sway bars as well? If so, which one would be a good brand to go with? Price? Where can I buy it from?
3 ) I'm wanting to get the car breathing better so perhaps some headers (I dunno if the prados take a 4-2-1 or a 4-1 design) and a catback. DO these have to be custom made or can one buy these off the shelf? Price? Where from?
4 ) I'm wanting to upgrade the rotors and brake pads as I'm positive they have not been changed for a LONG LONG time. Brakes feel spongey and when I press lightly on the brakes, it doesnt do anything. You really need to step on the brake pedal to get anywhere....What brake pads/rotors are good for daily driving? OEM is nice but maybe looking at slotted. Pads? Bendix? Price/WHere from?
5 ) What engine oil would one recommend? Where can you get the oil filter from? Toyota spare parts I'm assuming but is there a cheaper place?
6 ) Any reputable mechanics that you guys take your prados to apart from the dealer? I'd rather take it to someone who knows their prados than to just the dealership....
7 ) I'm wanting to install HID headlamps. What bulb does the prado take? H4? H7? And are there any kits you guys would recommend? Price/where from?
8 ) Also, I saw a picture from someone on here that had LED tail lights? WHere can I get these from and how much?
9 ) Tires. At the moment, I have some Cooper tires on it. Not sure which brand but they were put on there at 130,000kms I think? The rims are the stock rims so I think theyre 16's....unsure of the specs though. What tires do people recommend for daily driving city use only? price/where from?
10 ) Any other niggling things I should be looking out for since the car is almost hitting 200,000kms? THings that may break or needs an eye on because its getting on with age? I know timing belt for one? anything else?
11 ) With the tank and subtank included, how many kms does everyone get from both tanks? We only get about 550-600kms? Is this right? or is the car running rich? how many kms should I be expecting?
Sorry for the barrage of questions everyone
As you can see, this prado is not really like most on here as it will never be off roaded. So basically I want to sort out the suspension and brakes first and get it handling nice, stopping well and breathing better. If anyone can answer these questiosn for me i'd really appreciate that!
Thanks in advance guys! And I look forward to meeting some of you in future GTG's
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