Upgrading a 2.0 GT Celica

[RobE]

I have a 2.0 Celica GT (N reg), and am contemplating upgrading the power a bit. I have looked at:

http://www.tdi-plc.com/toyota_celica.html

one thing I notice is that they mention stages, are these done in the suggested order they should be done, eg. it's not worth doing stage 2 unless you've already had stage 1 done to the car.

Also, I am contemplating getting some 17" alloys for the car, are there any issues I should be aware of with doing this, or will any 5 stud design be okay, with no need to modify the suspension etc?

Sorry if this seems a bit thick, but I'm not a car expert, I just love my gorgeous black Celica!:)

[GRiM]

There's no law that says you MUST upgrade your car in any set order.

However, most people do "mod" their car in a set order (stage 1 - 9), and according to their budget.

Sit yourself down, agree a budget in your head, (add £1k to it) and go from there.

Here is a link to some good reading on modding your car, over at the MaxPower web site.

Max Power Web Site

Best idea is to call Mark @ TDi and talk to him.

[CelicaSimon]

With regard to fitting the 17" alloys. I put have been running with 17 inchers for about a year and have not had any problems, etc

I too have a gorgeous Black Celica !!! *See Gallery and you might get an idea what your car will look like with 17's

[GT4ever]

I dont know how big the calipers are on the GT but on my GT4 there was limited choice for alloys as most didnt have the shape to get round the calipers.

17" SHOULDNT BE A PROBLEM AS U WILL BE RIDING ON LOWER PROFILE TYRES FOR THE EXTRA WHEEL SIZE SO THE OVERALL INCREASE IN SIZE WOULDNT MAKE TOO MUCH DIFFERENCE. dOES THE gt COME IN 15" OR 16" AS STANDARD?? ooop gone into caps...

[Khan]

I have had 18" wheels with 215/40 tyre.

No probs at all.

[jimma]

I have 225/17/40's on my georgeous black Curren (jap celica variant) no probs except very minimal rub on full lock. Have been told 18's No problemo

[djdna2000]

Hi RobE

Basically, there is not one 'right' path to follow when modding (though there are a few wrong ones).

Ignore this 'stage x' crap, there are no set 'stages' to go through, other than being fleeced of your cash by places like TDi.

First off, get some a new dizzy cap and rotor, some new plugs and leads and a new fuel filter. This will get you back somewhere approximately to where the car was when it was new. Not glamorous I know, but necessary!

From there, you want a better exhaust, kick the cat, and get an open induction kit fitted (or an aftermarket filter for the stock exhaust).

After that, reality check time as it gets quite difficult to extract more power from a normally aspirated car. You could go for some aftermarket cams, and electronics upgrades e.g. Dastek Unichip. Or even think about a supercharger or turbo conversion.

It's up to you really, depends on your budget and inclinations!

btw you can fit 18" 215/40 on no problem, just remember they are 5x100 wheel hubs (i.e. 100mm spaced 5 stud).

Whereabouts in the country are you? Let us know, perhaps there may be some better places to go for bits etc...

hope that helps! :)