We have been wanting to get a GR Corolla as a project car for a while. We usually don’t want to be early adopters of a new model, and when the car was introduced in 2023, there were some rumors of engine failure. Looking at the engine’s internals, though, it was apparent that the inline 3-cylinder G16E is a sturdy part, and in other countries,s people were getting impressive power numbers on stock bottom ends. With an AWD drivetrain, excellent brakes, and suspension, the car is a zippy fun to fun-to-drive car.
In the meanwhile, my Daughter @kursuta.k graduated from college and didn’t want to drive her 520 whp STI as a daily to her future job in California, bumper-to-bumper traffic. She wanted a hot hatch to haul her stuff and friends around, and this year the car was available with a GR-DAT transmission, which is an 8-speed performance automatic, race-proven in the GR Corolla TC race car. The idea of a performance automatic appealed to her even though she grew up driving an MT.
Kurisuta is a hardcore enthusiast. She has started to race in SCCA, Lucky Dog, and Go Karts, as well as learning drifting and doing occasional track days, but she didn’t want us to mess up her new daily car. She appreciates performance and wants the car to be capable of driving to a track day and driving home. She does not want a bone-crushing ride, loud exhaust, noisy and dusty brakes requiring a track pad change, ground scraping aero that makes driving stressful, fast wearing, dangerous in the rain, no tread gumball tires, a loud exhaust note, and poor mileage.
All of this gives us a challenge, to improve the car without making it an impractical daily driver. Kurisuta pointed out that she already has a fast car, and this car should not turn into that!
Our first mod is one that will preserve the finish on the car. The car will not be garage-kept and driven day in and day out in all sorts of weather. It will also be driven on the track, and So Cal tracks are amazingly abrasive to your car’s finish. We have had freshly painted race cars come out looking sandblasted after just one weekend at Willow Springs.
To prevent damage to our cars’ insides and outside, we asked our friends at STEK USA, our favorite maker of protective films to protect a car with a full gamut of their protective film products. STEK worked with our favorite installers, AeroWerkz, to give our car the full protective treatment that will keep our car looking great for many years to come.
We have used AeroWerkz on a number of our cars and have always been impressed with the quality of their work, with a minimum of seams making PPF nearly invisible with the careful application, leading to no reason to return the cars to them to be redone. Even other experiences we have had have resulted in several redos, as PPF is difficult to apply properly.
Most of our car was covered in STEK DYNOshield gloss PPF. Dynoshield is an 8-mil-thick PPF film made from Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) plastic, which provides tremendous elasticity and durability against punctures and tearing, especially compared to PVC plastics found in cheaper PPFs and vinyl color change wrap films. Dynoshield is designed to stop rock chips and scratches while being nearly invisible over factory paint.
16 comments
I wondered who would want a GR Corolla with an Auto but when you really dissect what the car is, it leans more to a fun road car than a track beast. I like the idea of a build showcasing creature comforts and occasional track day fun as opposed to an all-out transformative build on what is a brand-new platform, just to get YT views. Did Toyota add a OEM arm rest for the auto atleast?
I kinda disagree with the logic… I think a manual is more import to a fun street car than a fun track car. unless we’re talking a slow 4 spd slushbox that never does what you want it to, a 2 pedal track car can still be tons of fun… but going 2 pedals over 3 on a street car, you gotta make up A LOT to get near the same fun factor. then again a crappy shifter and super long ratios can ruin a 3 pedal car too. (talking cars in general, not GR Corolla specific)
ever drive a manual in our traffic? gets old quick.
sure, but I said fun street driving, not traffic street driving. if I had to drive in heavy traffic regularly I’d rather have 2 cars that add up to 40k than one 40k car. one for traffic and one for fun. but hey, if the GR Corolla is the traffic car… thats not bad…
I agree. Done my fair share of excruciating manual driving in CA Bay Area and LA traffic, but I feel the benefits of enjoyments out on an open or twisting mountain road more than make up for it.
The auto is what comes on the TRC race cars and turns faster lap times than the manual. That seals the deal.
It is a motorsports derived transmission and it is used in the TRC cars. It does faster lap times than the manual. good enough for her
I applaud the courage to get the auto. Having driven the manual GR Yaris in everyday traffic, it does get old quick.
But on twisty backroads, I wouldn´t want anything else.
The GR Yaris has the same kind of forged carbon roof, but is covered by a carbon-look vinyl from the factory, so the Corolla roof even without the PPF looks better.
The auto is faster on the track and in fast driving. After that, I don’t care.. With the PDK in my Porsche and GT-R, I am not going back.
In my locale, a FULL STEK PPF wrap “Starts at,” $10k. Just the front end alone is “Starts at,” $4k. Insane. I can leave the city and save maybe 10%. But still, that’s a lot.
I understand if you have like a 100k+ car, but 10k of ppf on a 30-40k car? my brain doesn’t bend that way…
I have a friend who drove a BMW 3-series for years that was manual in LA traffic. So, you know, about 25-30 miles, an hour and a half each way. She eventually had to give up driving stick because of knee pain. Lots of Porsche PDK owners for this reason.
I get it, little car, lots of power, decent handling out of the box, and a stick. “hot hatch,” they call it.
At the same time, given the pedigree and experience of the owner, it’s not out of bounds to say, I have a track car, now I want a quiet easy car with all the creature comforts.
I share the same I5 as you guys, we have a 405 that is equally as awful. I at times wish to have an auto as my daily. Funny thing, my project car is an auto! I enjoy driving my wife’s car, also an auto. I have dreams of converting my project car to a T56 or TR6060; but as an auto in traffic it’s rather nice.
I have heard of windshield protection films before, but have never heard of their short warranty or propensity towards scratching or hazing or whatever. Kinda bums me out, unless it’s a super inexpensive and easily replaceable type of product.
I think this is such a cool hatch! Hoping you and Krista like it and give us more follow up on driving impressions, real world results, etc. Thanks!
Wow I’m amazed how long the PPF last, that’s definitely a worth doing on your nice car.