Unlocking Potential....

[El Saundo]

Hello all,

I have recently purchased a '91 celica gt-r in sexy black. I love the car, especially the pop-up lights, and was wondering what can be done, and what its actually worth doing to it. I'm not talking 1000BHP skyline here, just making the best of what's there. At the moment I'm basically thinking k&n induction kit, some lowering springs (was thinking Jamex here as they seem to be cheapest, 35mm drop) and perhaps a re-map if its worth it. It already has a Kakimoto Racing s/s steel exhaust that was fitted in Japan, it's a bit too big & loud but can't see the point in changing it. Has anybody used any of these products and noticed worthwhile benefits, or can advise on other good 'bang for buck' tuning options?

It already has some white OZ wheels which the previous owner reckons were the type used on the rally car (could be bulls!t) which I plan on re-conditioning. It's only done 108,000km so enginewise it's a spring chicken, I think I got a pretty sweet deal for a grand.

I'll appreciate any input.

Cheers.

[Jones~32]

Welcome to TOC

What engine is in your Celica? 3SFE/3SGE?

and pics? :D

[chris202]

Doesnt really matter i guess mike?. Either engine , make it breath easier and thats about all thats worthwhile . Get the suspension/brakes sorted , full exhaust and a good quality panel filter mate .

Oh and yeah PICS PLEASE>>>

Welcome ;)

[El Saundo]

It's the st182 3SGE non-4WS, didn't fancy the potential repair bills for a turbo, four wheel drive or four wheel steer systems. The kakimoto exhaust goes all the way back to the manifold, so barring a high-flow manifold the exhaust's pretty much sorted (if a little tasteless). I plan on getting the induction kit and springs within the next months.

What options are there for upping the brakes? I've driven a 1.4 diesel 206 that has better stopping power. Obviously better pads would help (greenstuffs maybe?), are there better disks, callipers, servo's etc. out there that'll make a good improvement?

Hope to rob the missus' camera to post some pics soon.

[daktari]

Hi. Welcome to TOC and the wonderfully nutty world of Celica ownership. Most of what you can do for reasonable money has already been mentioned, but additionally you might want to consider a couple of things.

Firstly if you are going for an induction kit, do it well. You`ll need a direct cold air feed to avoid dragging in the hot air from the engine bay. Might sound obvious, but you`d be surprised at the amount of people that just stick a cone filter on and think thats it. There`s also a bone of contention as to whether it`s best to use a cone filter or a panel filter. There are pros and cons to each, so the choice comes down to personal tastes.

Brakes are an issue with the gen 5`s To get the best out of the normal setup you`ll need to get some decent pads. Something a bit softer than standard. EBC Green stuff, Mintex Fast road, that sort of thing. Grooved discs would probably help as well. Again there is a good deal of choice and opinions vary as to whats best.

Ask lots of questions from as many people as possible and try and work out whats best from the answers.

Lastly. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair and enjoy the ride.

Oh and the drinks are on you.

[Dan_Q]

hiya :) nice choice of car sir, ST182's are the best (in my highly biased, blinkered opinion)

As for tuning i'd have to agree with what has been said above. The standard ECU will take small mods (filter, exhaust etc) but if you want a remap you will need some piggyback kit.

Brakes? You mean these cars come with brakes? They're atrocious arent they....... and without massive mods like dak says, new discs and pads will improve things. I currently use black diamond discs and pagid pads on mine- still poo poo though, if not improved. I've witnessed green stuffs destroying discs before the pads are fully worn, but this only seems to be in some applications- i'd enquire with other celica owners before purchase to see if they run OK with the discs you have in mind.

The Kakimoto has that reputation :D and if your wheels are 5 spokes (OZ chronos) then yes they will be rally wheels.

Best off asking on here when you choose which mod you want to do, and all suggestions will come flooding in

Good choice sir and welcome

[Jones~32]

Doesnt really matter i guess mike?. Either engine , make it breath easier and thats about all thats worthwhile .

Good point

[El Saundo]

Cheers for the input so far. I've been pondering the panel filter vs. induction kit pros and cons for a while now and my thinking (not necessarily correct) is as follows:

The basics

1. The more air the better.

2. The cooler and therefor denser the air the better.

3. To some extent a restricted supply of cooler air is better than a readily available supply of warm air

Panel vs. induction

1. Air supplied through the factory air box is protected from the heat and is as cool as you're gonna get.

2. Fitting a high-flow filter will improve the availabilty of the air but the volume is restricted by the diammeter of the intake piping and the non-flow friendly nature of the box.

3. An induction kit with a cold air hose aimed at it will have access to greater volumes of air, but will to some extent be affected by the warm air surrounding the engine at slow speeds, when the cooler external air is not being 'rammed' into the engine bay. The 57i kit comes with a tubing for a cold air feed but no form of heat shield.

My conclusion, for which I'm open to suggestions otherwise, is to fit the induction kit, see if it makes any difference and if not look into some form of heat shielding. The induction kit seems to me to have the greater potential, but more work is involved in getting it right. The panel filter seems the easier option with no heat worries and fits straight in, but I'm guessing you don't get the induction sound? And if you sound faster, you are going faster right?!

[me&mygt]

I like that theory and tend to agree. Wouldn't change my k&n induction kit now i've heard it. It sounds great. By the way welcome to TOC.

[chris202]

I like that theory and tend to agree. Wouldn't change my k&n induction kit now i've heard it. It sounds great. By the way welcome to TOC.

K&N Induction kit = Flatspots

TRD panel filter = None

I had a cold air feed coming from the bottom of the front bumer too . Anyway the exhaust drowns out any induction sound i had .

Personally i prefer my panel filter .

[El Saundo]

I like that theory and tend to agree. Wouldn't change my k&n induction kit now i've heard it. It sounds great. By the way welcome to TOC.

K&N Induction kit = Flatspots

TRD panel filter = None

I had a cold air feed coming from the bottom of the front bumer too . Anyway the exhaust drowns out any induction sound i had .

Personally i prefer my panel filter .

Flat spots? Any chance of an explanation of this? Wouldn't flat spots imply that the engine is starved of air? If so, the induction kit should allow the engine to have access to a greater volume of air and therefor have less chance of causing flat spots. The only hinderence I can see to the induction kit is exposure to the warm air, reducing combustion and some kind of heat shielding should prevent this right? Where these both fitted to the same car? Did the flat spots occur at particular revs or did they vary?

I'm not doubting what you're saying as you've road tested them both so to speak, I just can't think why that would happen, anyone have any suggestions?

[Fizz]

I had a K&N on my ole 5th gen but admittedly it did come already fitted on the car so couldnt compare.

I added a cold air feed to it and it seemed to run a little better and the throttle response was also better with it.

With your intended Heat shield i reckon you will be fine mate. Its the best option to go for. If i had the time and monies i would put one on my current celica.

Ohh and welcome to the cub matey.. :)

[chris202]

I like that theory and tend to agree. Wouldn't change my k&n induction kit now i've heard it. It sounds great. By the way welcome to TOC.

K&N Induction kit = Flatspots

TRD panel filter = None

I had a cold air feed coming from the bottom of the front bumer too . Anyway the exhaust drowns out any induction sound i had .

Personally i prefer my panel filter .

Flat spots? Any chance of an explanation of this? Wouldn't flat spots imply that the engine is starved of air? If so, the induction kit should allow the engine to have access to a greater volume of air and therefor have less chance of causing flat spots. The only hinderence I can see to the induction kit is exposure to the warm air, reducing combustion and some kind of heat shielding should prevent this right? Where these both fitted to the same car? Did the flat spots occur at particular revs or did they vary?

I'm not doubting what you're saying as you've road tested them both so to speak, I just can't think why that would happen, anyone have any suggestions?

Both on the same car - 94 Celica GT .

I cant remember exactly but after fitting the panel filter i remember thinking the car felt much more "solid" (sounds weird) and felt a lot smother . I'm not the most techinical on here and dont know exactly how a car functions/runs but i do know when its running well and when its not and on my car i feel its better with the panel filter ...... p.s DE-CAT is a must too

[Dan_Q]

I find the induction kit adds throttle response but it doesnt feel any quicker.

It did OK on the rollers where heat soak can be a problem so I don't worry too much about it.

[El Saundo]

No going back now, the 57i kit is ordered...