TRD99prizm

I have a 99 Corolla, the gen before the current car. It was only used for a year before i bought it in 2000 and i have owned it ever since. I've put 65,000 on the car since then and over the course of the past 5 1/2 years I have only spent about $1000 total on maintenance and 'repairs' (excluding the new set of tires/wheels i upgraded to). I really haven't done anything special to the car over my course of ownership, the wheels and a K&N air filter are about it, and the thing just keeps on ticking. I also put Mobil 1 motor oil in it so i only have to change the oil about every 10,000 miles. Though I've never been a big fan of the current Corolla (de-evolved from an independent rear suspension to a solid rear axle!?, too tall, stubby nosed) it's a much better choice than an Ion. My sister just bought a 2005 Ion earlier this year and has had a few problems with it already. Plus the ergonomics of the Ion are all jacked up, the torture chair rear bench seat, center gauge cluster, mismatched design shapes throughout the interior. They rectified some of the problems that plagued you 2004 for 05, engine noise is reduced through the use of QuietSteel behind the dash, but overall I'm not impressed by the car. You will also enjoy better gas mileage in the Corolla. I believe the Ion gets an EPA rated 34mpg on the highway, the Corolla get around 40-40+ depending on your driving. If you're not in an over all hurry there will be a new Corolla appearing either fall 06 or spring 07, i might wait till then if i were you. But if your looking to unload your plasticmobile before then, i would suggest depending on your needs; a Corolla(an XRS if you want to spend that much, when the cheaper tC is quicker), Scion tC, or a Mazda 3. Plus there is also a new Honda Civic out their now which, though seemingly quirky (2 gauge pods?), gets good gas mileage and comes in a variety of flavors (sedan, coupe, hybrid, SI). Also, the Corolla XRS may hav 171hp(lost 9hp due to the new SAE hp ratings) versus the Scion tC's 160hp, but look at the torque #'s XRS-about 128lb/ft, tC-about 160lb/ft. The XRS's Celica-sourced 1.8L VVTL-i is a little gutless below the 6000rpm mark, while the tC has the 2.4L VVT-i four from the Camry which keeps you in the seet spot better, due to the engine's larger size.

If you buy anything from the J.C. Whitney catalog you're just asking for trouble, because pretty much anything they sell in that catalog is garbage or will be after being on your car for like a year or 2. If your looking for clear indicators, look on ebay they always have a bunch of stuff like that for cheap, but whether it's better than what you'd get in a j.c. whitney catalog is debatable.

Well one thing that I do know is that if i were able to get some disc brakes to swap for the drums it wouldn't really be that expensive cuz i'd scavenge the parts from a wrecked celica, also I'm switching the brake lines to stainless steel because Corollas from my generation have horrible braking 70-0 in like 200+feet!...COME ON! and both upgrades will help lower that number, hopefully significantly. I do not have a modified, or ricer car but another plus is the look of discs all around versus tacky looking drums, plus maintenance is a hell of a lot easier. Eventually I will swap out the powertrain to either the Celica GT-S's or a Scion tC's 2.4L since TRD now offers a supercharger for it(2.4). I'm not a ricer or anything so I'm not going to tack a bunch of useless unnecessary crap to my car it is a sleeper so that's why the subtle disc brake upgrade is a nice upgrade for the car, since I will eventually Autocross it too.

I am trying to find out some info about what toyotas have rear disc brakes that would easily swap for the crappy drum brakes on a 99 corolla, i'm thinking that celicas wowuld probably be the most likely candidates as, maybe, an 05 corolla XRS. If anyone has done a similar swap and can provide me with some info and give me an idea as to what a swap like this usually will entail and cost, let me know. :)