Howdy Howdy Howdy

So its late 2019 & i'm shopping for a new/used hatchback and see this listed online:



Wow
Knew i liked the look of the Scion tC, but wow. Nice colour, wheels... just, wow. And it was a stick. I was sold.

So i trained to the next city & bought a new toy:



Drove it home that afternoon and took it to work, and just fell in love.

And yeah, I'm one'a those dips who names their cars. There was the Black Pearl, Little Red PP, Bender (it was so rusted that if u sat down too hard it would bend the chasiss in the middle). You get the idea.

Welp, this one became: M'Baby




But winter was coming (as everyone kept tellin' me), so got some new rubber, being Canada & all: 11 months of winter vortex and 1 rainy day:



The best that money can import: Nokian Hakkapeliittas. Yummy. Can attest they might be the best snow shoes out there...



Anyway, they went onto the stock 18" rims, so 'natch i needed new summer items. So come next/this spring and one TireRack shopping spree later:



19" AMA GT13 bronze puppies shod with Continental Extremecontact DWS06 rubber.


​​​​​​... and I've yet to begin my modding!
Next post tho...


Cheers
Azz

___

 

Part 2: So like most, love love loooove the car... but believe there are areas that it needs improvement

Mods made by previous owner (which by the glitter found in the trunk, i'm guessing.... stripper?): hood bug deflector, maybe window tint? I mean, its super dark. Can't see out of it

My current mods:
1) sound deadening matt (so far i have 36sqr feet, but not enuff to finish doors & A-pillars). Loud inside. Surprised how bad it is in such a nice car.
2) upgraded to LED headlights & 'specially backup lights (window tint issa killer when backing up). Live in the country & need the extra light to see the wildlife thats jumping infront of me
3) also interior light upgrade. No underdash lighing (yet) but, yeah, currently blueish tint. Looking to see if there'r other options
4) TRD airbox w/ K&N filter. All for now until i get the exhaust sorted. Then match the intake for real-world performance.
5) chrome Scion anti-scratch door sills. Size 12 boots tend to kick alota bung aboot. 'Sides, they make the car purdy for when guests climb in
6) blackout LED cyclops brake light. Nuff said
7) Weather Tech floor matts (remember, winter 11 months a year)
8 ) leather armrest cover with a little personal foam added for comfort. Tired of sticking to the stock plastic in summer (remember, that 1 rainy day?)
9) cross drilled & vented rotors with performance pads. Decent action. Always experimenting in this area. Looking for good, progressive bite for controlled skids in the snow.
10) lotsa parts on order (in the mail): cheap header, axle back exhaust can, front strut brace, and a few other bits & pieces


Looking to correct:
1) sloppy engine surging - pretty sure its the overly soft engine mounts. Intend to pour U86 into the "hole" in the stock rubber mounts.
2) tricky off-idle throttle response - maybe a throttle position enhancement box? Expensive, but need t'do something... anyone with ideas?
3) chassis flexing - unusually twisty in vigorous cornering. Need to get some chassis braces. Then i can upgrade to coil-overs.
4) sloppy shifter. Need a short throw. Even buffed up shifter rubber - - > urethane?
5) Need moor power Scotty! Was gonna stay NA but there's almost no aftermarket support for this engine. But i understand there's a turbo-kit for the tC2. Something to consider if it becomes my 2nd car: currently its my daily driver.
6) I appreciate "sleepers" more than "flashers", so the outside will prob remain close to stock. Maybe an OEM wing/spoiler.
7)... and fog lights. 'Coupla rivers in the area = lotsa fog. Definition of fog: an area to find large immovable objects ie. cows, deer, moose, bear, elephants etc.

Welcome ideas & opinions



Cheers
Azz

 

Wow, your tC looks to be in great condition. For the throttle response, I would look at the Sprint Booster. Whenever you do get a short-throw shifter I would recommend getting shifter cable bushings as well (Torque Solutions makes some good ones).

 

Thanks Jake, i'll look into it

I've been minning the site for awhile, but there's an alarming trend of dated info. Its like trying to chase down ghosts sometimes. Haha

I appreciate up-to-date input. Thanks



Cheers
Azz

P.S. Not slamming the site - its great. Just some of the posted info is no longer supported on the outside by the relevant companies...



​​

 

Welcome dude, that's probably the best color the tC came in.

This car does have a bit of flex, quality coilovers help tremendously. Also adding a front strut tower bar actual does something on this car (you can feel what the front wheels are doing), so that's a worthwhile addition as well.

For power, I'm fully bolted and tuned and it's only marginally faster than a stock tC - it does make it more fun to drive though and less terrifying when merging into traffic. Plenty fast enough for a daily most days (now). Good luck finding a turbo kit nowadays though. Dezod might be able to piece one together for you but they're not very responsive since about a year ago when the owner had to deal with some medical issues.

The surging thing... that's just what these cars do. Cleaning the maf and tb help, but it doesn't go away completely. Filling the front motor mount is great for cleaning up the slop between the 1-2 shift, but will make you feel that surging a little more intensely. I'd recommend the lowest duro material you can find. I filled mine with 60A and you definitely won't want it any stiffer. If there was a 40A or 50A option I'd go that route. Since you're a stick, check out the Supertek STS, MTEC shift spring and Torque Solutions shift bushings. These all piled together completely change how the shifter feels for the better.

 

Thanks Drizzoh
I'll def look into the shifter issue next

Hate that surging. Already disassembled & cleaned the MAS & TB. Looked for vacuum leaks while i was at it. Can't figure where its coming from, if its even a mech failure? Fuel mapping calibration sub-standard? Even feel it during cruise-control hwy riding. Daaaaang...

Long story (can be skipped): back in the day when i was working for one of the Big Three, i was part of a team doing engine/fueling calibrations for natural gas vehicles... took over 3x trips, each about 3-4 weeks long, to implement & test new ECU maps. Think Death Valley, in June. I was a junior engineer at the time & was flabbergasted at how much time & effort was put into verifying *only* one aspect of the drive cycle - hot weather idling & with various component loads (ie radio, a/c, etc). This doesn't include the actual programming of the eproms we were testing. Never saw the computer jockies who did that part.

I feel this is a rushed product with "fine tunning" missing from its development cycle. Usually because of a bean counter making a decision based on $¢. That leaves small issues like this and exploding roof glass (ha!) creeping into the vehicle's legacy.


Still... love my tC. Please don't take my candy away from me...





Cheers
Azz

 

Oh.. if it's happening while driving that's something completely different. I'd keep searching - this is the first I've heard of that while driving - but then again I've been tuned for a few years now and that smoothed everything out considerably. The main issue that I was referring to is an rpm dip when idling when the cooling fans kick on - upgrading the alternator I've heard is a good fix for this, but until the car exhibits any real charging problems I'll be keeping mine stock there.

 

Gas cartridge struts inplace - hood. Was very concerned about drilling into the hood & strut towers. We use alota soul-eating salt on our roads = rust as you watch.

So primered the holes as best i could. Gonna seal with black silicone, just as soon as it stops raining. Days now...






Noticed my car seats look natty. Gorra take care of that next, maybe. Maybe fog lights. Maybe header. Maybe sound deadening.... ah whatever. Hand me 'nother beer. Haha

Cheers
AJ