Recommendations for performance upgrades?

Jhow

New Member
#1
Hey team,

I just traded in a 2000 Camry CE and picked up a 2015 Toyota Corolla S plus 6 speed manual transmission with 17,500 miles. I negotiated hard and walked out of the dealership when they wouldn't lower the price any further. Knowing I wanted the car anyways, I came back and paid the $16,500 out-the-door asking price.

Whoever had the car before me put on some nice mods. It came with an upgraded axle back that gives a great sound. It also had some Ruff racing wheels that I like.

I love driving this car and now I'm interested in any recommended performance upgrades. I looked through CARID and saw a myriad of performance upgrades and wanted to ask if anyone had any recommendations that will increase performance, style or comfort. All recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks.

my car.jpg
 
#3
Yeah, you got plenty of options. Not much in the engine performance category though. Intake and exhaust.
More stuff is becoming available.

These cars already handle great, but can be vastly improved upon. That's where I focused when I first got mine.
Then stereo performance, lighting, ways to improve its looks. Little things here and there that no one else would even notice. Lol
 

Jhow

New Member
#4
I've thought about putting in performance intake--such as a short RAM, but I can't seem to figure out if it will add much in terms of performance. I like the idea of stereo and lighting upgrades.
 
#5
Short ram will give you a little more power in the lower rpm range. This is great if you do a lot of city driving, but it will leave you hanging on the highway.
It's also a good option should you ever want to sell the car. Installation only requires that you remove the top portion of your stock intake. I went this route while I was under warranty, since I could easily return to stock should the need arise. Another benefit is that it's easier to clean or replace your filter.

Cold air intake will give you a little more power in the higher rpm range. This is great when your doing 70 on the highway and need to pass the ding dong in front of you! Lol
Installation requires that you remove the entire stock intake and you may need to remove your front bumper cover, depending upon your level of mechanical experience. It's also a pain in the arse to get to the filter.
I just recently I installed a cold air intake by Injen which replaced a short ram by HPS. After a few months driving in all conditions, I will be removing the CAI and going back to the short ram.
Either intake will make your exhaust sound better and a touch louder.
If you decide to do this, I would recommend that you also install a MAF sensor from jetchip.com. It will also give you a little more power.
Lots of great YouTube videos on this subject.
 
#6
To whom it may concern

I like this subject

I drive a Rolla iM 2017 1.8 Ltr and was looking for some performance stuff my self.
what would you guys recomend me doing bisides the cold intake ?
I have the TRD Lowering Springs , haven't put them ON yet, waiting 2 drive it a few more miles, before doing this changes.
riding on wider foot prints as well, from 225/45/17 to 245/40/17 nicer ride !

Help w feed back please

IMG_5092.jpg

Thanks you RollAddicts !
3ddie @.
 
#7
Exhaust. Jetchip MAFS.
Strut tower braces, front and rear.
Sway bars, H bracket, etc.
There is not much available for increasing the power output. So intake and exhaust is your best bet. There are headers available for the Corolla but I don't know if they're the same for the iM version.
I focus more on the handling. Many many options available!
 
#8
The thing about the iM though is that it has independent rear suspension. The regular Corolla does not. Since this was previously a Scion model in the US, I'm not sure what else is different between the iM & the Corolla at this point. Just haven't done the research yet, but I'd love to have that independent rear end on mine....
 
#9
Thanks for the feed back guys

Hey Chris, Ive been looking for aftermarket parts for the iM, cant find any my self, can you guide me
to some webs, by chance ?
Ive seen the Exhaust Manyfold and the Catback Exhaust System 3" Round Double Walled Tip Muffler
by Auto Dynasty its save on the bookmark, haven realy seen much more.

Hi DJ
In regards to the Scion iM and the Rolla iM, there is no difference, the only changed is the Name Toyota Corolla !

Thanks
3ddie @
 
#10
Thanks for the feed back guys

Hey Chris, Ive been looking for aftermarket parts for the iM, cant find any my self, can you guide me
to some webs, by chance ?
Ive seen the Exhaust Manyfold and the Catback Exhaust System 3" Round Double Walled Tip Muffler
by Auto Dynasty its save on the bookmark, haven realy seen much more.

Hi DJ
In regards to the Scion iM and the Rolla iM, there is no difference, the only changed is the Name Toyota Corolla !

Thanks
3ddie @
I knew that already 3ddie, but what I don't know yet is how different the iM is from the regular Corolla aside from the rear suspension.

You can check out sites like CarID.com & AutoAnything.com for starters. I recently got most of my suspension parts from THMotorsports.com. There are others out there as well. Most allow you to enter the make & model of your vehicle, & then display what fits it.
 
#12
Thanks for the feed back guys

Hey Chris, Ive been looking for aftermarket parts for the iM, cant find any my self, can you guide me
to some webs, by chance ?
Ive seen the Exhaust Manyfold and the Catback Exhaust System 3" Round Double Walled Tip Muffler
by Auto Dynasty its save on the bookmark, haven realy seen much more.

Hi DJ
In regards to the Scion iM and the Rolla iM, there is no difference, the only changed is the Name Toyota Corolla !

Thanks
3ddie @
I can look around. I don't know much about the iM, but willing to look into it.
Just don't put too much oil in it. Lol!
 
#13
Cool, that would be nice of you, am looking for RED calipers 4 the iM, cant find any !

ill try NOt 2, ( LOL )
but thanks for the FYI !

iM its on 5K miles so dealer takes care of that them selfs, but, I like to ck the oil on my vehicles every sunday morning !
its a habbit !

I think thats why I have a 2002 Tacoma w 333K miles on it , my EyE's are always ON the fluids, tire pressure etc,,, !
 
#14
Hey team,

I just traded in a 2000 Camry CE and picked up a 2015 Toyota Corolla S plus 6 speed manual transmission with 17,500 miles. I negotiated hard and walked out of the dealership when they wouldn't lower the price any further. Knowing I wanted the car anyways, I came back and paid the $16,500 out-the-door asking price.

Whoever had the car before me put on some nice mods. It came with an upgraded axle back that gives a great sound. It also had some Ruff racing wheels that I like.

I love driving this car and now I'm interested in any recommended performance upgrades. I looked through CARID and saw a myriad of performance upgrades and wanted to ask if anyone had any recommendations that will increase performance, style or comfort. All recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks.

View attachment 2554
Dude you got one of the rare sweet grats
 
#16
Cool, that would be nice of you, am looking for RED calipers 4 the iM, cant find any !

ill try NOt 2, ( LOL )
but thanks for the FYI !

iM its on 5K miles so dealer takes care of that them selfs, but, I like to ck the oil on my vehicles every sunday morning !
its a habbit !

I think thats why I have a 2002 Tacoma w 333K miles on it , my EyE's are always ON the fluids, tire pressure etc,,, !
I haven't seen any aftermarket caliper kits for the Corolla, cuz I'd love to get a set of Brembo's... But what I did was paint mine blue. I highly recommend the G2 Caliper Paint for this, as it is designed specifically for the high heat of the brakes. They have a variety of standard colors, but can also custom match just about anything you want. It's just a matter of whether you want to remove the calipers completely to do so, or leave them on the vehicle.

If I had it to do over again; I'd buy brand new calipers to paint, & then just swap them out.
 
#17
I knew that already 3ddie, but what I don't know yet is how different the iM is from the regular Corolla aside from the rear suspension.

You can check out sites like CarID.com & AutoAnything.com for starters. I recently got most of my suspension parts from THMotorsports.com. There are others out there as well. Most allow you to enter the make & model of your vehicle, & then display what fits it.
You actually got parts from THMotorsport? You have better luck than I do!!
 
#18
You actually got parts from THMotorsport? You have better luck than I do!!
Yeah, they had everything but the H-Brace from Megan Racing. They said like 2 months to get it, so I spent like the extra 20 bucks or whatever & get it straight from MR. Was the last one they had is stock. I ended going with the MR race spec strut brace, as well as there front & rear sway bars. All of which I got from THMotorsport in about a week or so after ordering. Could beat their prices, plus free shipping.
 
#19
HI Guys
I know this was a HOT topic last week or two ago.
I got a Toyota Rolla iM 2017, it came with BABY tires 225/45 as I call them, I replaced those BABY tires and rims with
245/40 and the TOPIC was GAS miles with wider fooy prints.

Well check this OUT, I think that the wider foot prints really didn't affect the miles on the iM as am a 14 Gallon tank Rolla,
light hasen't kicked ON yet, Now how many miles can I get on a warning light ones it kicks ON ?
ANY ONE ?!

IMG_5352.JPG

Thanks RollAdicts

3ddie @.
 
#20
HI Guys
I know this was a HOT topic last week or two ago.
I got a Toyota Rolla iM 2017, it came with BABY tires 225/45 as I call them, I replaced those BABY tires and rims with
245/40 and the TOPIC was GAS miles with wider fooy prints.

Well check this OUT, I think that the wider foot prints really didn't affect the miles on the iM as am a 14 Gallon tank Rolla,
light hasen't kicked ON yet, Now how many miles can I get on a warning light ones it kicks ON ?
ANY ONE ?!

View attachment 2590

Thanks RollAdicts

3ddie @.
I'm assuming you're talking about the fuel light that comes on when you're tank get low? I easily went about 20 miles past that before filling up, but I wouldn't want to do that again. Depending on the way you drive though, you can easily get 450 miles or more on a tank. I only did that once, cuz I was driving like a grandma the whole time. It's freaking hard to stay in the Eco zone! :(
 
#21
Yeah, they had everything but the H-Brace from Megan Racing. They said like 2 months to get it, so I spent like the extra 20 bucks or whatever & get it straight from MR. Was the last one they had is stock. I ended going with the MR race spec strut brace, as well as there front & rear sway bars. All of which I got from THMotorsport in about a week or so after ordering. Could beat their prices, plus free shipping.
i must've been having a bad day when I posted this. Just saw all my grammatical errors. Oh well, I think you all got the gist of what I was saying. :D
 
#26
I think that Rolla comes w a 2.5 Ltr my Rolla has the 1.8 Ltr
but, if you see or know about some parts, let me know.
looking for RED calipers also

3ddie @
 
#27
I think that Rolla comes w a 2.5 Ltr my Rolla has the 1.8 Ltr
but, if you see or know about some parts, let me know.
looking for RED calipers also

3ddie @
They seem mostly the same if you watch the video I linked to.
We have the same 1.8 ltr engine.
Valvematic is not offered on the Corolla. Same CVT.
Since the iM is in its second generation, I'm willing to bet they come off the same assembly line. Which would also indicate a very similar underbody.
All though hatchbacks aren't my thing, I find myself increasingly interested in what lies under the exterior of the iM's!
 
#32
Yeah I've watched this before. And I still bought two different intake systems!
This video is not fair though. The car they used has an intake that is already engineered for high performance.

Now I'm gonna HAVE to buy that GoPro H5 and make some videos on the dyno!
I've got the CAI on currently but can't seem to get my hands on an HPS SRI.
They're out of stock EVERYWHERE!!
 

Bunta

New Member
#33
Yeah I've watched this before. And I still bought two different intake systems!
This video is not fair though. The car they used has an intake that is already engineered for high performance.

Now I'm gonna HAVE to buy that GoPro H5 and make some videos on the dyno!
I've got the CAI on currently but can't seem to get my hands on an HPS SRI.
They're out of stock EVERYWHERE!!
the intake shouldn't matter for the purpose of the test. whether it had that intake or not, the purpose was to show if the different intakes make any difference in power increase or decrease, but if that video doesn't convince you, they have another one where they did the same test with a all stock car. can't remember the name of the car they used , but it's a pretty weak car. i might look for it and post it on here.
 
#35
HI Guys
I know this was a HOT topic last week or two ago.
I got a Toyota Rolla iM 2017, it came with BABY tires 225/45 as I call them, I replaced those BABY tires and rims with
245/40 and the TOPIC was GAS miles with wider fooy prints.

Well check this OUT, I think that the wider foot prints really didn't affect the miles on the iM as am a 14 Gallon tank Rolla,
light hasen't kicked ON yet, Now how many miles can I get on a warning light ones it kicks ON ?
ANY ONE ?!

View attachment 2590

Thanks RollAdicts

3ddie @.
What's wrong with this picture? The lame "D" showing that you have a CVT. Should have bought a ^MT for some real driving enjoyment. The 225/45R17 tires aren't really baby tires. They are wider then any Corolla tire though the Corolla should come with them instead of the too small 215/45R17. The 225/45R17 tire is the same diameter as the 195/65R15 and 205/55R16 tires that other Corolla models may be equipped with. I upgraded my original tires to the 225/45R17 size. If you get a better tire that will be even more important then the wider 245/40R17 but it will fit fine.
 

Bunta

New Member
#36
here's a simple thing that anyone can do to their car, change your fuel filter.
no one ever thinks of this one. if your car is over 30k then you can benefit alot from a new filter.
cleaner fuel means better gas mileage and even more so, a very healthy engine.
 
#37
here's a simple thing that anyone can do to their car, change your fuel filter.
no one ever thinks of this one. if your car is over 30k then you can benefit alot from a new filter.
cleaner fuel means better gas mileage and even more so, a very healthy engine.
Fuel filters in the Corolla are in the fuel tank and aren't really designed to be changed. The other benefit in today's world is that gas is filtered at every step of delivery where it never used to be decades ago. The easier thing to do might be to add an additional fuel filter in line that was easier to change and could be located under the hood.
 

Bunta

New Member
#38
Fuel filters in the Corolla are in the fuel tank and aren't really designed to be changed. The other benefit in today's world is that gas is filtered at every step of delivery where it never used to be decades ago. The easier thing to do might be to add an additional fuel filter in line that was easier to change and could be located under the hood.
on some of the newer models. i think that 2014(maybe) and up yeah. before that, they would sometimes have it under the car , others were inside the tank , in some toyotas , it's under the car still, but behind one of the rear wheel covers(the plastic shield cowl thing). for example, my 2004 jetta is under the car, tucked into the side for easy access. should've seen that thing when i took it out, looked like muddy water. for some corollas, to change it would have to be whenever you're fuel pump starts to fail and might as well have it changed then as well. and this is why:
i do wonder if the fuel pump is located under the seat or if you would have to take the tank for that one.
 
#39
Someone mentioned this on a thread on ToyotaNation that the filter and pump were in the tank. I'll have to check with my buddy that works at a Toyota dealer to find out for sure. I was doing some research on line and they show the pump and filter to be a single unit but the filter is nothing like older designs like on the video you showed.
 
#40
Yeah I've watched this before. And I still bought two different intake systems!
This video is not fair though. The car they used has an intake that is already engineered for high performance.

Now I'm gonna HAVE to buy that GoPro H5 and make some videos on the dyno!
I've got the CAI on currently but can't seem to get my hands on an HPS SRI.
They're out of stock EVERYWHERE!!
Did you sell your old one, or what?
 

Bunta

New Member
#42
Someone mentioned this on a thread on ToyotaNation that the filter and pump were in the tank. I'll have to check with my buddy that works at a Toyota dealer to find out for sure. I was doing some research on line and they show the pump and filter to be a single unit but the filter is nothing like older designs like on the video you showed.
i remember some models made it so that you can change the pump from under the bench seat. keep in mind this was on the older models 08 and lower maybe.wouldn't be surprised if the newer models have it in one single unit like you mentioned. makes sense because i would get conflicting results when searching for fuel filters, some would be like the normal ones and others looked like a fuel pump assembly unit. but i do know for sure that some toyotas went the other route with the fuel filter/pump locations. i just can't remember the exact generations or model years that it was done.
 

Bunta

New Member
#43
another cool and easy mod are the rubber hoses inside the engine bay, i'm thinking of switching them to the colorful silicone ones. if i can find green for my green corolla, then it would be perfect.
 
#44
i remember some models made it so that you can change the pump from under the bench seat. keep in mind this was on the older models 08 and lower maybe.wouldn't be surprised if the newer models have it in one single unit like you mentioned. makes sense because i would get conflicting results when searching for fuel filters, some would be like the normal ones and others looked like a fuel pump assembly unit. but i do know for sure that some toyotas went the other route with the fuel filter/pump locations. i just can't remember the exact generations or model years that it was done.
From what I found the 10th Gen Corolla is set up the same way as the previous gens and it is able to be changed from under the back seat. The fuel pump and filter are one unit and the filter is more of a double ultra fine screen from the video that I saw on YouTube.
 
#45
another cool and easy mod are the rubber hoses inside the engine bay, i'm thinking of switching them to the colorful silicone ones. if i can find green for my green corolla, then it would be perfect.
I was thinking the same thing. I was going to do it in red though as that is my accent color on my silver Corolla.
 
#46
From what I found the 10th Gen Corolla is set up the same way as the previous gens and it is able to be changed from under the back seat. The fuel pump and filter are one unit and the filter is more of a double ultra fine screen from the video that I saw on YouTube.
Yup, there's an access panel under the rear seat. Just discovered it today when I installed my seat covers.
 

Bunta

New Member
#47
Yup, there's an access panel under the rear seat. Just discovered it today when I installed my seat covers.
good news then. i love this type of set up. as long as i can change the fuel pump myself, then i'm golden. i swear to god on this; when i took my jetta for a fuel pump change, the sob charged me like 300 bucks to change it. said he had to drop the tank to access it, of course at that time i didn't even think it was possible for the fuel pump unit to be under the bench seat,other wise i'd have done it myself.
 
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