Gen 7 T - Sport Celica - Ecu Upgrade?

[Jack190T]

Hi guys,

I am fairly new to this site so apologies if this has already been posted, i have recently bought a T sport celica and absolutely love it. I was wondering whether there are any ECU upgrades available and if they are actually worth doing?

Cheers

[edwardio]

Hi,

Simple answer - NO!

The stock ECU is tuned as best as it can by Toyota. If you put a piggy back ECU on it, the stock ecu WILL overwrite it in a short period of time (people have done it & learnt the hard way).

The only option you have is to get a stand alone ECU, but this will only give you small gains if any. Only engine mods & a stand alone ECU will give you any power increases.

[Jack190T]

Cheers! ive only had her for about 2 months, so just looking to find out what the best mods are etc.

Thanks again!

[reidy]

Good mods for the 2zzge are:

Induction kit/CAI

Exhaust

Stage 2 cams (work rather well with stock ecu)

Aftermarket ecu (expensive but will make the most out of the above)

Rotrex supercharger install like edwardio has (££££+)

[Jack190T]

Thanks! I'm gonna get a cat back exhaust first. Then probably some coilovers or lowering springs. I would love to super charge it! But as I am only 19 there is no way I could justify that sort of money just yet!

I quite like the look of the halo head lights, however they are from America so can they be set up for uk use?

[reidy]

No idea about your headlights

Induction kits make the 2zz sound amazing, listen to this (Corolla has the same engine)

[Jack190T]

That sounds sweet!!! I'm impressed! I was thinking of the typhoon kit anyway so that has just re-assured me. What are they like on performance increases?

[edwardio]

There are no performance increases from an induction kit, unless it is completely heat shielded. The stock air box with a performance filter will provide more performance than a normal induction kit. A shielded kit will only offer a couple of bhp if that.

Regardless of what induction kit or exhaust you won't hit above 190bhp on a dyno (all 2ZZ's produce about 175-180ish on a dyno). The only way to get real gains is to pump some money into it.

As mentioned stage 2 cams are good, as they smooth out lift, provide a slight bhp increase and give some extra low down torque. They work fine on a stock ECU, but their real gains are brought out from an aftermarket ECU.

As for the Halo's, I have them and they are good but a right PITA to align.

[Jack190T]

Thanks for all the help and advice guys! I have a lot of Saving to do. Gonna take it one step at a time.

One last thing... The boot struts are starting to struggle to hold the boot open, I know this is a common problem with the celica but do Toyota garages do better ones or are they an after market part?

[edwardio]

There are two types for the Celica. The stronger ones have SP on them for 'spoiler', so make sure they have SP on them.

But yeah a common issue. You'll find yours will seem fine in the summer if you don't change them, but back to normal when colder.

Might be worth joining Celica Club for more info & meeting local owners.