Friday, December 28, 2007 - 10:20 pm, by: Mike Beck(Gold_40gt)
Hmmm well, Ive just bought a JZZ31 as some of you may have seen, which means I have two cars at the moment, the second being the Celsior of course.
Its a terrific Car the Celsior, Big, Solid, Full of features, super quiet, and packs a decent 'trust' available under the right foot...
But after driving this coil suspension 350kg lighter JZZ31, with the brilliant 2JZ six over the last few days it feels so different, the ride is so cushy its amazing, literally feels like sitting a 'water bed' around the bends, VERY comfortable and just shows what a quiet relaxing car the celsior is...... which of course makes it slightly frustrating to sell it...
as.. In contrast the JZZ31 is very firm and stable, has VERY precise handling, in fact the most precise handling soarer Ive driven, it is the newest too. Ride is also very good and interior is quiet, not so much as the celsior but only a slight difference. At least now I can hear more of whats between me and the road, not just an airy silence that blocks out the outside like in the Celsior..
Interestingly, acceleration wise the Soarer is MUCH more lively and quick down low, which makes sense as it s 1/3 of a Tonne lighter than the Celsior, and has a much faster revving engine as being a Straight six.. Think the Diff ratios also play a part here too. Hopping back into the celsior the acceleration is slightly slower as theres the extra mass to pull up to speed, and the long gearing and slow revving engine much more lazy. The JZZ31 is just much more crisp off the line which is easily expected but its just interesting....
Further up top they have the same performance, the Celsior does feel more comfortable up top though, but much less precise due to its insulating qualities while the soarer is simply well focused and far more agile.
As a whole the Soarer is MUCH more exciting to drive, handles properly as the Celsior's is rather vague compared -
So as much as Id like to keep the celsior, I dont really have the need for it, more in need of money for a few things like the work car and lots of small tune ups and upgrades on this Soarer which will make it an even better car.
So basically the Celsior is going to go on the Market (Trade Me) very soon in couple of days Id say, Considering its had ONE owner for 16.5 years, and me for 8 months which has generally been a period of upgrades and servicing its an excellent car which would be VERY hard to fine here Im sure, especially with under 108,000kms - Ive only done 5,000kms over this period.
Heres a list of the Servicing details I have performed on the car as well as some other upgrades.
1. Engine Leads – STI – 102,500kms – 5th June 2007 - 2. Rear Bulb replacement – 102,510kms – 6th June 2007 - 3. Engine Rotors and Distributors – 102,700kms – 10th June 2007 - 4. Oil change and Filter – Penrite 10w-50 – 102,860kms – 16th June 2007 - 5. Radiator and Cooling system flush – New TLLC 50/50 ratio – 103,250kms – 6th July 2007 - 6. New Radiator Cap – Genuine Toyota 88kpa – 103,250kms – 6th July 2007 - 7. PCV Valve Clean and check, new rubber grommet – 103,250kms – 6th July 2007 - 8. Air filter – Genuine Toyota – 103,300kms – 7th July 2007 - 9. Thermostat change – 103,600kms – 18th July 2007 - 10. Diff Oil change Valvoline - 104,400kms – 6th September 11. NGK Iridium Spark plugs fitted – 104,450kms 12th September - 12. Castrol Super Dot 4 Response – 104,850kms 23rd September - 13. Oil Change and Filter, Penrite 15w-60 – 105,100kms – 2nd October 2007 14. Penrite MHP Transmission fluid flush 15 liters – 105,450kms – 12th October 2007 - 15. WOF till May 2008 16. Rego till February 2008
Other Upgrades
· New Head-deck with clean installation (May be replaced with a decent 50x4 Pioneer headunit with sub out though) · 150w Sony Sub amp for new 8” Sub · Custom BFI intake – Gives a pleasing sound that lets you know theres a V8 under the hood. · Satin Black Grille · Satin Black Lower Dash Panel · Satin Black Steering wheel · Satin Black and polished gear shifter/Wood Surround – Looks stunning · 15” Wire soarer alloys with near new Firestone Firehawk 215’s with around 6-7mm of tread on all · Stock Exhaust, no cats · Tidy engine bay · Excellent Paint work · Clean interior · Black coloured floor Mats · Non Yellow Fog Lamps
Options on this Car
· UCF11, with everything accept Sun roof, leather seats, rear vibrating seats, parking pole and the torch for the tool kit · Has spare space saver, Jack and the tools · Air suspension which is working perfectly giving a great ride only less than 108kms remember · Memory seats, 7 Speaker Stereo, Ultra sonic mirrors – All the normal gadgets · Two keys, Remote and Sub key with basic alarm remote
The only Issues I have noticed with the car is that on Cold start up it needs a tap on the pedal to get it into a normal warm up idle other wise it sits around 400-500 for a few seconds. Other than that theres nothing wrong with the car to my knowledge – The kms and condition plus top care make this a decent Car
For it Ill be asking around $8500 Cash ONO , So if you know some on that might be interested in paying the extra for a decent Celsior that’s hard to come by let me know.
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