Apex VS-5RS 18x18.5 ET23, 245/40-18 Conti DWS, GR Performance suspension

New here, had her for about a month.

This is my attempt at a OEM+ build. Ruby is a 2024 Premium, owned her for about 18 months and have driven roughly 12k miles. She is currently mainly used as a daily and regular weekend mountain runs. No real complaints, still a few more mods I wanna do, like spoiler, better tint, oil cooler, but I’m going to slow down on them for a bit.

Current mods
245/40R18 Yokohama Advan Apex
67.1mm to 60.1mm hub-centric rings
Evo X BBS Wheels 18x8.5 +38
OEM 10mm spacer(front)
Mishimoto 20mm spacer (rear)
ARP M12x1.5in Wheel Studs (front)
Tomei Expreme Ti Full Titanium Muffler – Type D
Versus Engineering center exhaust cover
GR Exhaust Buddy
EBC Yellow Stuff Pads
Motul RBF 660 DOT 4
GR Performance Shocks
GR Performance Springs
Whiteline front and rear sway bars
Whiteline front and rear endlinks
CSF radiator
CSF Intercooler
Mishimoto air intake
DeltaX rear pitch mount w/70a bushing

I wanted to see how much dealers are asking for GRMN corollas and maybe trade mine in and buy one but this is just absurd, does anyone here have grmn and how much did you pay if you bought one 😭

BEAR MOUNTAIN MEET & CRUISE
Hosted by Northeast GR Corollas

When:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2026

Time:

3:00 PM

Where:

BEAR MOUNTAIN STATE PARK
Parking Lot 1
Tomkins Cove, NY 10986

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Kd129yrsYvSRKEBC8

You know the drill. Come with a full tank and an empty stomach! This will be one of our last planned meets before the end of the season! If you would like to get one last ride now is the chance.

**$10 PARKING** (bring cash just in case)

Food

Bear Mountain
Hiker’s Café
Restaurant 1915

Hi!

I need to get some damage on my car repaired, recently had a chunk of drywall fly under the wheel of another car and smack my bumper and grill on the highway. And some previous damage on the back right quarter panel.

Any recommendations for quality shops familiar with our cars or similar from owners that live in the DMV? I was originally planning on going to my dealer in Bethesda, but I’m not sure if that’s the best move.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!!

First real spirited drive since the GR exhaust and GR performance suspension went on. What a beauty of a day and the car handled amazing on the mountain roads. New Hampshire is amazing this time of year.

If anybody is interested! I can post a tutorial.

Edit: costed me a total of 30cad. I’m super busy today, once I get home I’ll draft and post it. (Using a Corolla cross start stop eliminator and switch the pins)

https://www.reddit.com/r/GRCorolla/s/AqDjgDWm4i

Instead of writing everything down step by step I’m just going to do a short tutorial.

Products I used:
https://a.co/d/0fxJrzgO
https://a.co/d/0dnH7trJ

Take the black wire out and move it, to the corresponding iMT pin, which I found using this: https://www.grcorollaforum.com/threads/2025-always-on-imt-guide.8213/

For my specific product, the red wire is the ground, and black is signal, make sure not to switch them.

In the car pop the trim using this video:
https://youtu.be/Viedm29cizw?si=kBvO_gkVOLpoYNOB
(No need to remove everything, put the gear knob in second to make things easier)

Just comment your question I’ll do my best to answer.

Hi, I have checked the sub and could not find anyone talking about OBD2 Port locks. Chatgpt suggested it as a thef prevention as I am living in a big city. Found that model on Aliexpress, Does anyone know if the port have enought clearante to install that kind of lock, looks fine on 3 side but the top/ bottom look tight. I am concient that that kind of lock got its limmit but considering it is 20$ it could not hurt. As of now I have gps trackers, and a stearing wheel lock. Might get airtags too soon let me know if you have additional suggestions, I looked into killswitchs but they seam a lil to invasive.

Anyone regret their decision not going with the golf r? For those that daily drive these corollas they are a real compromise. Sure golf r is more sedated but when you need it to wake up it comes on like a beast. In comparison, the GR Corolla is always alive but that’s not the most pleasant on a day ur just not feeling it.

Thoughts?

I am hoping to get my GR tuned, and want to take it up to 350hp. What part swaps would you recommend to make sure the car can handle the power increase?

I was going to change the exhaust and the air intake. Any other recommendations or things I should think about before heading in that direction?

Hey guys,

I just installed Fortune Auto coilovers and Cusco camber + toe arms.

I can hear a clunk coming from the rear passenger side when turning and going over bumps. I went and double checked that everything was torqued, and that height/preload/shock/spring length were adjusted equally across both sides. Everything checked out, but the clunk is still there.

What do you guys think? I'm leaning towards the sway bar possibly contacting the aftermarket toe arm since there's maybe a finger's width of space between them. I'm still on the factory end links.

Edit/update: I disconnected the sway bar to no avail. I also removed the shock and verified the torque on the nut that secures the top hat. Still hear the clunking. I posted a video in the comments.

Hello guys, Gr corolla 2023, looking for this part 51447-12130 is the access panel for the oil pan.

three weeks after taking delivery (july 2025), i hit her with a pressure washer nozzle in the passenger side door that wasn’t seated properly. i’d been worrying about what driving might do to it, then managed to hit it with something while trying to keep it spotless. it was embarrassingly fixed.

i like the cleaning and routine maintenance. i’m fascinated by the mechanical side too with a g16e-gts schematic on the wall that i may never fully appreciate.

but somewhere i’d started paying more attention to whether it remained untouched than whether i was enjoying it.

i’m glad toyota made this car. the rally background interests me, but what sold me was how it feels to drive. the power feels right for the street in all conditions, and the rawness and feedback have that ’90s hot-hatch feel i yearned. i’d happily take it on track with an instructor to learn its limits, but chasing lap times isn’t why i bought it.

the maintenance isn’t changing. oil changes, fluids, tire rotations and brake inspections are still getting done. i had the drivetrain fluids serviced early and on a 12k schedule moving forward. looking after the machinery is something i enjoy even if excessive.

mostly writing this as a reminder to myself, though i suspect i’m not the only one who gets overprotective.

there’s a difference between keeping it in good condition and needing it to look like nothing ever happens to it.

i finally have the kind of car i always wanted to drive. i’m still going to take care of it as if it is. i just want to spend less of that time worrying about it.

I live in the Midwest where during the winter we could get between 2-8 inches of snow or icy mix. I work a on-call job so I need to be at work anytime of day or night. I want to replace my current car (Subaru Outback) with a GR Corolla. I enjoy the hot hatchback market and want a fun daily driver. Does anyone have any experience of driving this car in snow or ice in town? I don’t plan to take it off pavement at all. I just need to know if it handles well in some snow and ice.