New Corolla Owner From Greece :)

[zzzleepy]

Hi guys! I'm a new Corolla owner from Greece and just wanted to introduce myself to the other members... :) (please be gentle )

I bought a used '98 5doors Corolla with a 1.6litre engine just a few days ago and I must say that I'm very pleased by its engine power, neutral handling and lots of space. I had to go for the 5D model 'cause I'm a family guy now :D and needed the extra room and the 2 back doors (not to mention the HUGE trunk :P ). My previous car was a 3d 1.4lt Peugeot 206 which had superb handling but lacked the power that Corolla has. For starters I'm planning on going for new shocks-springs (without lowering) to improve the already good handling and dim the car's windows. I'm thinking about the classic Eibach-Bilstein combination but I'm open to discussion and proposals (don't forget I live in Greece and not in England :P ). I also want to know if anyone else here has the same model as mine because I think most of you own the 3D version (G6 or not)...

And two requests:

1. Do you know if a G6 gearbox could fit in my car and, if yes, would this change be worth it?

2. Do you know where can I find detailed specs about my engine (4A-FE) such as torque, horsepower etc. I found some web pages but I'm confused because the specs are for japanese or usa motors and differ in each page...

I have more questions coming but that's enough for now, I think

Thanks to anyone who is willing to help

Cheers!

[4afte]

4A-FE Engine (Toyota)

Engine displacement - 1.6 liters (1587 cc)

Layout - DOHC Inline-4 (Straight-4)

Valves - 16, 4 for each cylinder

Power - 105 hp (77 kW) @ 5800 rpm

also as 114 hp (84 kW) @ 6000 rpm used in Europe E10 1.6 GLI Liftback (only delivered in 1992)

Torque - 101 ft·lbf (137 N·m) @ 4800 rpm

Redline - 6300 rpm

Fuel Delivery System - MPFI

Note - power and torque specs are from the 1988-1992 North American Corollas

thats taken from the wikipedia site, i think that its quite accurate.

No the G6 (4E-FE) box will not mate up to the 4A-FE engine without modification, however the G6R box will (because that uses the 4A-FE engine) so you might want to have a look for that. If you want it or not its really up to you, its a close ratio box so the final gear isn't that much faster than the 5 speed, but its will allow you to stay in the car's power band for longer.

Hope this helps

[zzzleepy]

Thanks for the help m8!!! I 've already read that info on Wikipedia, and all the history of the Corolla and the Corolla engines as well ;) The website about the 4A-FE engine is yours? Good job

Any tip about the suspension? :P

[4afte]

yeah, its an absoloute b****! so many drop links broke on mine, had to replace all the rear ones :censor: when i was changing over the springs, a lad i know put koni's on his and g-max springs, said it drove like it was railed! but really unforgiving. I use uprated KYB's from the fensport site, 20% stiffer than the originals and lowered on blitz springs, its really noticable! driving is taught but not excessively hard. i only when down 35mm but definately uprate the shocks if thinking of lowereing anything more than 30mm. yeah the website its mine, need to update it now that i've got my exhaust made up, its ace (custom job so not too cheap tho) i think the 4A-FE rocks personally!

[zzzleepy]

I don't want to lower but I want it much more stiffer than it is now. I'm thinking of the classic Bilstein solution but I'm afraid they'll prove more stiff than I really want. Do you think it's good to change the stock springs, even with no lowering or leave it as is?

[4afte]

its definately worth changing the springs too even if you don't lower it (i lowered it as i wanted and even lower centre of gravity and to introduce a slight negative camber, yes not good for the tyres but amazing in the corners!) the stock springs are designed to work in conjunction with the standard shocks. so when you reach the limit of the shock's travel the springs might still try to travel upwards, this will give you an interesting handling characteristic not to mention a jolt! you need the springs to reach there hlimit at around the same time the shocks do. Many people go for a blistien/eibach combination for this. you don't necessarily have to lower the car to make its stiffer, but it is a lot of fun in corners if you do!

[zzzleepy]

I had my previous car (Peugeot 206) lowered by 35mm with this combination and it was like a train in corners. But lowering is not for greek roads. If you ever been to Greece you will know what I'm talking about... trying to avoid a pit leads you to another one :D So it's a pity to have the car banging around, loaded with all the family stuff. For this reason I don't want to lower it, even though I want to... :P

Thanks again for your time!