Ideas, Please

[banzaijoe]

Hi everybody,

You lot are one of the first to know this – I've managed to find a completely original, absolutely mint, low mileage, one owner from new… blah, blah, blah… AE86 Corolla GT. It's silver over graphite and has only clocked up 26k miles since new. Aside from a bit of flaky paint on the rear bumper, this thing is almost good enough for a Toyota heritage museum. And I'm chuffed to bits!

Anyway, although I plan to use this car as a project for Banzai magazine, I am fully aware that something this good shouldn't be messed around with too much. Therefore I want all modifications to be sympathetically carried out, ie nothing that can't be changed back to original spec.

Although I've been searching for one of these models for ages, I am new to the AE86 scene. So I'm looking for inspiration from you guys. What modifications do you recommend? What would you like to see featured in the magazine? Are there technical aspects that you would like to see explained?

Any help from you lot would be really appreciated.

I will post a few photos soon but the only ones I've taken are much too large.

Joe Clifford

Editor

Banzai magazine

[gordypix]

G'day Joe and welcome to TOC.

You've got a great magazine there mate.

Give it a few minutes and the corolla lads/lasses will kick their brains into gear for you.

Good Luck. B)

[JT]

!Removed! hell, where did you find that! :D

with something like that, id be tempted to keep it looking as stock as possible from the outside, save for the wheels and lowering it, or whatever. i certainly wouldn't do anything drastic visually - not when its only done 26k. as for mechanicals... well, ill leave it to someone who properly knows what they're talking about in that dept. however, id maybe try and think other than 4AGE, 4AGZE or whatever, for something new.

[banzaijoe]

Well I can count myself as doubly fortunate – I found the car only a couple of minutes from work.

The reason why the mileage is so low is bizarre. The old guy who bought it new back in '87 drove it home and slightly nudged the front splitter while manoeuvring it into his drive. No damage was done but it put him off the car, so it was laid up for a decade or so unused. His son then decided to get it back on to the road, and took it to a Toyota dealer to service, MoT and get back to health. Since then he's had it on a limited mileage insurance policy, using it every now and then to drive to work. The result – only 26k miles.

Yes, I do plan to keep the car looking relatively standard. But want to source a suspension setup, new alloys, other chassis mods etc. Can anybody recommend a specific type of suspension, ideal wheel specifications (size, offset etc)?

[Treuno]

Alright mate, ive been through a few different suspension setups (std-Koni adj's etc) and found Billys all round work the best for my drivin style with a set of rally/race springs all from Fensport! It also helps having a set of polybushes to tighten it all up, and uprated anti-roll bars!

You can go really fancy and have adjustable panard rod/ adj 2 1/4 coil overs/ eccentric top mounts etc but it depends what u want it for?! Do you want the ultimate suspension setup just so it sounds good in your spec list, which is fine if you got the dolla! but if your like me on a budget and just want the car to handle well 4 the track the suspension setup i have got is spot on!

Its not too hard so that your jumpin around the place and gettin a real twitchy rear end but its definatly not too soft so that your picking an inside wheel up when tanking it round the track!

As for wheels i dont go any bigger than 14" and no wider than 7" cuz you dont want to be spoiling your nice rust virgin wheel arches!

In the dry i use 7x14 supra rims with AO32's and in the wet i use 6x14 std wheels with A539's. Some people may disagree and say that they have better grip/handling with bigger wider rims etc which maybe true, but i dont want to take away the most fun part of drivin an AE86 and thats goin sideways! hope ive been a little helpful and not too bigheaded!

[lsd addicted]

All of us go for the 13" type R supperlites which suit them very much cause they have a polished finish.

My opinion wood b that u dont change the outside of her wat so ever.so go 4 performance upgrades,such as some new runnin gear form fensport.

make sure u look after her and happy driving lookin out the side window

[banzaijoe]

Thanks, guys!

Okay, so for starters I'm probably going to go for either 7x14s or 7x15s. But would it be best to use the original ET21 offset, an ET0 like many drift cars do, or go for something in between, seeing as the Corolla will be used equally on road/track? I would prefer not to have to roll the arches too...

[guglielmo]

The old mk2 Supra wheels are 14x7 with ET8 offset and work very well on the AE86 with 185/60 or 195/60 rubber. Much better than the ET21 standards - too narrow. Those Intra wheels are just as heavy as the deep 7" Supra wheels as well.

The Supra's are cheap too, so stock up and have a spare set for abusing.

I've got some Bilsteins and Fensport springs I was going to put on eBay if yer interested...all depends on what YOU want from the car though to deduce the setup that would be best.

A 26k AE86!! Unbelievable. Did you have to pay a fortune? I would have done for such an example...

As for engine...if it's in good shape (it should be with 26k) keep it in. A nice exhaust and filter will help. New clutch and light flywheel, refresh brakes and bushes and the car will be well on it's way! You don't need to overpower the car...just ditch the spare, jack and tools and feel the difference that makes for a start.

My AE86 is quick because it's light and well balanced not because it's powerful (it isn't, though it does sound like it might be!).

Any advice you need, give us a shout. I've had these things since I could (il)legally drive!

[banzaijoe]

I daren't tell you what I paid for the car, except to say I feel rather jammy. Got it insured on a classic policy from Herts with limited mileage, and on an agreed value of £3500. I will keep the insurers informed about the car's progress and increase the agreed value as the project goes on. Another great thing about this policy is that Herts is completely fine with most modifications – they won't affect the premium. Bonus.

Does anybody here know where there's a set of Mk2 Supra wheels then? As long as they're not completely mullered I'd be interested as I'll probably get them refurbished anyway.

As for the suspension, I'm trying to get hold of a set of Tein HA coilovers. They're a deleted range but I've heard that some are still available at Tein's HQ. Does anybody have any experience with this setup, or am I going to be your guinea pig?

[knowlson]

Welcome to TOC mate

If you have a look at www.overboost.com in there store you will find that they sell the TEIN HA coilover kit for the AE86 @ $2190, I have just brought some ground control springs from them that should be here in 10days there service is very good

[JT]

Does anybody here know where there's a set of Mk2 Supra wheels then? As long as they're not completely mullered I'd be interested as I'll probably get them refurbished anyway.

keep your eye on eBay - a set usually comes up every now and again. they do really suit the AE86

[guglielmo]

The Tein's for the AE86 are a very good coilover for a car that will see mostly street use. I believe you can run near to stock height but the range is not that great and the car cannot be run really low. I don't think they are a short stroke set-up either, which is a bit !Removed! if you plan on running anything lower than 1.5" from stock height. Just because Tein stuff is quality, doesn't mean it's right for everyone's usage.

I'd personally recommend Gabriel Tyler's T3 custom coilovers. You can choose whatever insert you want, whatever start height/case cut, and spring rate. Again, it depends on what you want from the car but AE86 suspension tuning options are endless so think about the usage it will see and the adjustability you require and then your choices will get narrowed down.

I just got some fronts from Gabriel. The cases are 40mm shorter than stock, with a short stroke KYB AGX insert. This gives a range from about -40mm to properly on the floor. Around -40 to -50mm should be fine for me. Even at this height, ride quality shoul improve since the stroke of the absorber is still in the optimum position, not robbed of travel like it would be on a standard length stroke.

If you need to discuss any of this to try and make some sense of it, PM me.

[banzaijoe]

Great advice, guys. Cheers!

Do you have contact details for Gabriel Tyler? I've never actually heard of him before.

On to other things (hope you're not getting tired of this), I've found out that JUN makes a lightened flywheel for the 4A-GE AE86. It weighs 4.1kg, which JUN says is an intermediate weight, as there's also one which is down to about 3.5kg. I know a lightened flywheel is probably a good mod to carry out – reducing engine inertia etc – but is 4.1kg a reasonable reduction to offer enhanced performance without losing the standard car's driveability?

[hachi-roku]

www.technotoytuning.com

Thats Gabe's site... he's a really great guy to deal with, blooming fast, and really honest :)

Those coilovers of his are amazing :)

[gus]

Does anybody here know where there's a set of Mk2 Supra wheels then? As long as they're not completely mullered I'd be interested as I'll probably get them refurbished anyway.

I do but the only prob is they are attached to my car. ha ha

you may be able to source a set from TCB Performance Parts.

they supplied all the bits for my rebuild and are very reasonable.

:group-cuddles:

TCB Performance Parts LTD

Florance RD Kelly Bray

Callington

cornwall

PL17 8EG

01579 383879

[hachi-roku]

Gus, you got a number for them?

I would be interested in getting some of those :)

Cheers

edit - Mental note to self... read posts thoroughly :)

[gus]

Gus, you got a number for them

01579 383879

[starletsr]

Hey hachi-roku looking at ur pic, 86 it says yeah? Does it have anything to do with Initial D? just asking :D

[guglielmo]

Re Flywheels...

Yeah, worth doing and refresh the clutch at the same time.

I run a 4.1kg flywheel. Takes a little getting used to pulling away, but well worth it in terms of lower gear response, rpm acceleration and saves bearings if the engine sees a lot of high revs.

If I could, I'd go for the even lighter one as after a couple of weeks you know how to treat it gently in traffic.

I don't think you'd notice any loss of driveability...you'd be too busy grinning as the engine spools up to where it needs to be...the NA 4AGE's haven't got any driveability below 4.5k really anyway!

The only real negative is getting used to being very gentle with the clutch and adding a few more revs than usual when taking off.

If you go for Gabriel's stuff (you should), tell him I sent ya. He's on ggtyler@yahoo.com.

[banzaijoe]

Oi, guys: none of you lot are allowed to call TCB before I do. Don't want you nabbing my old skool 14s! <_<

I feel loathed to have to change the clutch after only 26k miles, and seeing as I've limited myself to 5k a year the original should still last for ages yet. Surely the OE clutch is capable of handling up to 140bhp or so?

[banzaijoe]

Well... I'm now the proud owner of a set of five Mk2 Celica Supra alloys, including all centre caps and bolts. Weren't that expensive, either. Phew!

So thanks for the contact details, Gus!

It's only a little thing, but my car's running on 195/60 tyres, probably still the original set too. Yet I've noticed that most of the drift/street cars are running 185/60 tyres. Which do you think is best? I'm thinking of fitting cut slicks to the Celica wheels for summer/track use and regular tyres on the original Inters for winter/wet use (the car may be pampered but it's not trailer queen).

Still on the subject of suspension, I think I've narrowed it down to three possibilities: Gabriel Tyler coilovers, Leda coilovers, or the cheaper option of Apex lowering springs and Bilstein/Koni shocks. Decisions, decisions.

[guglielmo]

If you want to run about 1.5" lower than stock and that's all, then lowering springs and Bilsteins are the way to go. Koni's are nearly as dear as Bilsteins but NOWHERE near the quality. Billys will outlast the car. This is probably the best compromise if the car will see a lot of street use on our dodgy UK roads. Plus you could save some cash and buy my little-used Bilsteins which are as good as new...

If you want lower than 1.5", you need short stroke shocks like Tokico HTS, TRD or KYB AGX. Forget the standard stroke stuff like Billy's, Koni's etc for going very low...you'll lose all the stroke of the shock and ruin ride and handling.

As for tyres, I use 185/60's as I get them free/very cheap. They also are a nice size for the lightweight AE86. 195's are a little more sure footed but less lively, slower and less communicative. They'll also rub on the seam on the front inner arch on hard cornering/bumps.

You could even put 175's on the Intras for proper Winter entertainment...

[Treuno]

I run 195/60 R14 A032's on my 7x14 supra rims, im lowered by 40mm and i dont get any rubbing weather im giving it large on the track or on full opposite lock out of a junction! where as on my std 6x14 rims i run 185/60 R14's. The tyres are nice and taught with just a little give so its not too twitchy!

[Kp30 tony]

Using 215/60 on the fronts and 225/60s on the back on the RA40 :P

Mind you can still get the back end to come out and play. :D

[gus]

So thanks for the contact details, Gus!

Not a problem pal. thats what the forums are all about.......

all you have to do now is go GOLD and save yourself a pack more