My buddy and I just moved to Alaska. I began my drive in Arizona, him in Colorado. We both agreed the cars were amazing the entire time. The American side of Alaskan highway was littered with potholes. I had a couple of butt puckering moments but the car held up with no damage (taking it to Toyota for a full inspection and oil change just incase).
Anyone done any long drives in their corollas? What were some of your opinions about it?
To start I’m not 100% sure it’s the clutch right now it’s feeling/ looking more like hydraulic issues.
To preface I bought this car used ( not smart I know) at about 50k miles clutch went out within two weeks less than 2k miles. Threw in a uniclutch track with new throwout bearing and reused oem dmf. That was 51764 miles, break in was done to the T for the clutch.
Fast forward today I’m sitting at about 59100 miles and just earlier I was getting off of the highway when all of a sudden my clutch felt super spongy and stiff and the engagement point/ window changed and became super small (very much so on/off). Clutch is now slipping but not burning (haven’t burnt this clutch since it’s been in). Gear engagement feels super weird and reverse is almost impossible to get into without going into a forward gear first. Also super easy to stall now since the clutch engagement is basically on/off.
Mods wise car has mst v2 intake, verus pitch mount, torque solutions sts, racer x lateral shift linkage, dc sports exhaust valve controller ( oem exhaust), and blitz power con (installed by previous owner).
I find it hard to believe that this is a clutch issue and want to believe that it’s the hydraulics or possibly even that I reused the oem flywheel ( which shouldn’t matter since uniclutch uses its own friction surface).
Completely dumbfounded folks. Just ordered an exhaust but now I may cancel that and put more money towards the drivetrain. Gonna call uniclutch and then take my car into a shop tomorrow. Should go to a Toyota but honestly can’t trust em so who knows.
If anyone has tips, advice, diagnosis, or clutch recommendations with user feedback please do chime in.
In the meantime wish me luck, I’ll be praying for all of the grc clutches in the world.
As I continue to build my car in pursuit of "The Quickest Road Going GR Corolla in North America", I'd love to share with you all my learned lessons and interesting takeaways. If this is cringe, I'll stop, I don't want to annoy you all, but if it helps someone answer some questions they may be tossing around in their heads, even if it's just ONE other person, I think that'd be amazing.
Winner: 93
$0 is pretty hard to beat, LOL!
Loser: E85
Expect to spend at least $2000 getting to where your car can utilize and take advantage of E85 or even an E85 blend such as E40-E70. If you're a nutter like me and you go whole hog, you'll need a flex-fuel sensor but the upshot is that the stock fueling system seems to be up to the task. I'm still running the stock fueling system. That said, I think higher flow injectors and a higher flow pump is definitely a good idea. After some testing and seeing where the tuning limit is at this point, I may just make a fuel-system upgrade part of my "Phase 2". I'll have to research more on that, however.
Winner: 93
But not by as much as you think. Around town, 93 really shines here. Even with my heavy foot, I can get anywhere from 20~23mpg. I live in suburbia with a LOT of roundabouts and traffic lights so YMMV (literally). This is amplified in the winter time where E85 and E-Blends tend to fall on their face. On the highway it's actually pretty comparable. On my recent road trip, while using 93, I averaged between 25.1 and 26.7 MPG.
Loser: E85
But not by as much as you think, LOL! Around town I average 19.1 to 20.4 MPG. On that same road trip as above (on the way back) I averaged 24.1 to 25.5 MPG. Around town is worse due to stop and go and speed-up/slow-down style driving. The difference between E85 and 93 closes up a lot when you're able to set the cruise control and just drive at a relatively constant speed for long distances.
Winner: E85
Here in Fishers, IN, E85 is (at the time of writing) $3.35-$3.45 per gallon. Factoring in the economic losses and you're still doing pretty damn good per tank, especially if the majority of your driving is highway or long stretches without speed-up/slow-down driving.
Loser: 93
At the time of writing, 93 here in Fishers is between $4.60 and $4.80 per gallon. It almost doesn't make sense to get 93 if you're looking to save money on fill ups.
Draw (with a slight edge to 93)
I haven't had any issues since switching to corn juice. I started off with an E40 blend, then gradually worked my way up with Boosted Performance and Limit+1 on speed dial just in case something went awry.
In the winter time, 93 is the winner but only at cold starts. Cold starts are . . . . stumbly . . . with E-blends. Especially here in Indiana where our winters range from pretty cold to air-hurts-your-face cold. On days face-hurting days (say below 12F/-11C), E-Blends really struggle. Something something vaporization temperature, something something vapor pressure, something something rough starts in cold. It goes without saying, if you live in a place where it drops below 0F, do NOT run E-blends or E85 during those days. I haven't experienced it, but I've heard anecdotes of E85 turning to gel. Is it true? I don't know, but I would rather just remap back to 93 if it's gonna be that cold. My car is parked in a finished 3-car garage year-round so I don't worry too much about it.
Winner: 93
But only just. 93 is what these cars were built for so drivability is just a matter of hopping in your car and setting off.
Loser: E85
But only just. If it's cold, you're gonna wanna idle for a bit. Not a super long time (you don't have to idle for a half hour or anything crazy), but just enough to where your exhaust warms the tank enough to get things all loosey goosey.
You'll also notice that, until you reach OP-Temp, your car may feel like it's not running at full power. This may just be something I notice and it's now intentional as my car is programmed to not allow "full beans mode" until it's warmed up fully. But even prior to that, I noticed that until my car was running at full temp, it felt like trying to get up to speed quickly took a bit more effort.
This is the fun one, right? Why we all switch to Corn Juice.
Winner: E85
BY A LANDSLIDE!
Even with an E40 blend, the power difference is tremendous. If you're wanting 300, 320, 330, or even 350+ WHEEL horsepower with basic bolt-ons and a tune, you pretty much have to do this.
You're going to be between 30 and 70 WHEEL HORSEPOWER up depending on tune and E-blend. Again this is at the WHEELS. Drivetrain loss with stock driveline components is approximately 11.11%, so you can "QUIK MAFFS" what your BHP is at those numbers.
Loser: 93
In a "stage 1" map and Eventuri intake, 93 is down by 20awhp over E40. . . yes . . . E40 . . . not E50, or 70, or 85 . . . 40! It's not even a competition.
^("Oooookay, Dave. Why did I just read all of this?")
Honestly, and like I said at the start, I am hoping that even if it doesn't mean anything to you specifically, that someone (at least ONE person) finds this information dump useful.
So I thought I had a chip free windshield until today, swapped to my summer wheels, did a couple laps around the block to reset the tire pressure sensors and when I pulled back into my driveway this crack appeared out of nowhere. Only thing I can think is that there was a very small chip and because the temperature change the last few days it cracked. Anytime I do take a rock off my glass I always check for a chip incase I need to get it filled, I also barely drive due to not working for nearly a year and when I do I never tailgate specifically to avoid rock chips. But I guess I must have missed one and ya I'm gonna have to pay for it. I don't think my insurance covers chips or cracks and I have a 25p+ so HUD, sensors and heated section for the wipers. I assume it won't be cheap.
I'm wondering where most people would go for a replacement? The dealer is my first choice as I don't really trust random shops with my car but I'm curious what others think.
Tracked this fully stock auto 2026 GR Corolla Core with low miles on it this past weekend at an Audi Club HPDE held at the Spring Mountain Motor Resort in Pahrump, NV (April 17-19, 2026 for those reading this in future).
I only drove it for 1 out of a total of 8 half-hour sessions (partner drove the other sessions). I think it went into limp mode about halfway through my session because I had incredible traction earlier, but then later on the GRC started to feel slightly squirrelly on turns and hard braking.
There was another GRC at the event, owned by one of the instructors. He pointed out a plastic rain channel attached to the underside of the plastic hood vents that helps with cooling when removed. A cinch to do in 5 minutes.
Also, the Southern California chapter of the Audi Club is incredible. I’ve previously attended other HPDEs where each organization seems to have their shortcomings, looking back. Not saying Audi Club can’t use improvement, but they’re inclusive, welcoming, positive & encouraging, and the instructors were the epitome of patience, never leaving me feeling rushed. Everyone is so friendly. I received the most engaging instruction on track I’ve ever experienced, which allowed me to learn the general line quite quickly. Their hospitality is a notch improved over BMW CCA for example. Overall an outstanding experience, and I'd easily & highly recommend them to everybody.
Milage is about 37k. Should I replace pads and rotors or just pads? Fronts are squeaking daily.
Looking to get a new set of summer tires but want to fill out the wheel well.
It's not surprising that a driver of Latvala's caliber was able to put on such a performance, but it's very exciting to see Seth Quintero pull off second place in his second ever rally event. Looks like the guy has some real potential.
Incredibly cool to see GR Corollas not only on the rally stage but winning like this.
Hey guys,
I am having trouble finding this info on the Toyota website (it's left blank in the info sheeet), as well as googling it. I've found variable info ranging from 5.3 in to as low as 4.7 in for the clearance height.
What is the stock ground clearance height? I assume they won't list it since it might be adjustable? Sorry I don't know much about the car but I'm interested.
which racetrack should I use for the free track day. I can go anywhere from Denver - west. I wanted laguna seca, but I don't think it's included. I'm leaning towards sonoma. Am I on the right track (pun intended)
Well it’s about time for new tires again. I made the stock PS4s last about 18k miles, and now my Continental DWS06+ have lasted 23k miles.
I know it’s a hard give and take for performance and lasting treadwear.
What other tires are you guys using? something cheaper than the DWS? or longer lasting?
I kinda want something that has longer tread life and good all season grip. Less performance. as i can’t afford to keep replacing these tires once a year, at least not right now.
For extra info: I live in North Texas, mostly dry, heavy storms here and there, winters are like a month or two of pure ice no true snow.
Hey Guys, I just picked up a brand new 2026 Premium plus and I just noticed this bizarre button next the hood latch that does not look OEM. Did the dealership install this and if so, what do you think it is?
Finally had some time to take some pics of my new car.
HKS pulled up to a local car meet, really cool to see their offerings in person.