A automotive will typically obtain tiny, unpublished modifications for every year of its mannequin run. Automakers will barely reprofile a bracket, enhance a component that has an opportunity of failure, or just work out a option to make it cheaper. In the case of the 2024 mannequin yr Toyota GR Corolla, nothing a lot has modified apart from a number of peculiarities: Some new bolts, a pair of air ducts, and improved aerodynamics from 4 strips of specifically designed aluminum tape.
In a video posted by professional drifter Ken Gushi chronicling his set up of the 2024 mannequin yr elements on his 2023 GR Corolla, the tape stands out as a very unusual improve. The elements are available a 2024 improve package, which incorporates new rear subframe bolts, new steering rack bolts, new air ducts for the air curtains, and the aforementioned strips of tape.
You may assume that the tape would assist seal an air duct or reinforce a very versatile half, but it surely truly manages electrostatic discharge. The thought, which is patented by Toyota, is {that a} automotive develops a optimistic cost whereas driving, and the air surrounding it’s also positively charged. Two positively charged issues repel each other, thus the airflow surrounding the automotive will get disturbed.
According to Car Watch, the thought has been round for the reason that mid-2010s and was initially examined on the Toyota 86. During the event of the facelifted 86, Toyota engineers began noticing inconsistent conduct from check automobiles, particularly when the fabric for the bumpers was modified from prototype-spec to production-spec. This led to the examine of electrostatic discharge, and the next discovery that aluminum tape rectifies the issue and likewise magically improves aerodynamics.
Gushi says he felt a distinction in how his Corolla drove after the upgrades. It’s laborious to not say oh, actually, but it surely’s simply as laborious to make a judgment with out a correct apples-to-apples check. It’s actually a minuscule change, however serial automotive modders will know that the smallest modifications typically make the largest distinction. Perhaps it’s time to start out smacking aluminum tape onto all of our mission automobiles.