Celica Sx Mods

In the 'States we have the "GT" and the "GT-S". Not sure which model the SX is.

The basic differentiations are the GT has about 160BHP and the GT-S has about 180BHP. Which configuration do you have (high or low output)?

The GT has drum rear brakes and the GT-S has discs.

The easiest mods are to add a Cold-Air intake and a larger exhaust. This could get you anywhere from 5-20 extra HP. You can also increase the size of the rotors with TRD parts or aftermarket like Brembo, etc; higher temp pads, larrger rims, wotever.

Are you going for looks or are you going for Wrap It Around A Tree?

I think its probably closer to the GT, here in Aus we have the SX and SX-R so i'm assuming they are alike, we also have a ZR.

Not sure about the BHP but its suposidly 100kw

And no, i'm not looking to wrap it round a tree thanks, and if i were going for looks i'd add a body kit / atermarket bonnet w/ scoop etc

I'm just looking for a little bit more performance, nothing crazy thou, don't want to get it to like 400kw or anything, just something simple.

-Michael-

LOL! I can't blame you for not wanting to wrap it around a tree!!

Like I said the easiest things are the C-A Intake and the exhaust. You can get some inexpensive stuff, but I'd go moderately priced at least. You kind of do get what you pay for. If you want to get a few more, get a mild turbo charger; bear in mind, though that some engines do not take kindly to turbocharging.

You can also chip it; that is, adding a performance chip. these are generally good for anywhere from 15-100 or more HP (I've forgotten the conversion from HP to kW...). I'd go pretty mild if you want the car to last.

You can also, like I suggested, do the brakes (you may want to after the other add-ons) and get a suspension kit. I would advise against going to rear discs; it can be a pain unless they use the same set-up on all models; if they did then you can get the parts from a wreckers'. You'll need the rear discs, calipers and pads; I'd get the discs and the pads from a retailer and try to find the calipers at the wreckers; you may also need the booster and you will definitely ned the proportioning valve, since these are different from drums to discs. Get these at the wreckers as well.

All in all we're up to about $1500-200USD; the Intake, exhaust, brakes, and chip. And that's if you do the work yourself.

Good luck. Report back what you do. It'll be interesting!

And get going! Summer's almost half over! (or, winter, if you're here...;)

Hahhahah,

Just a question about the chip, i recenlty had the ecu replaced to fix a prob with the alarm, if i get a new chip, does that mean that the newish ecu i got, gets replaced?

I'd love to turbo it, but i don't think i can just bolt one on, there is alot of work to be done that goes with that, but the cold air and exhaust sound ok, just don't want a loud exhaust as i often arived home late at nite and don't want to wake the rest of the street.

And yeh, i'd like the car to last, its great to drive, when it was being serviced (160,000km) i drove around the commadore, and boy was that weird.

Currently it has good brakes, i had to stop going about 70km/h and it did it quite fast without locking, and it apparently comes stock with "sports" suspention

Another option that was sujested to me, was to drop a celica gt-4 motor + gearbox and transmission (awd) in mine, is that a viable option, or just crazy talk?

-Michael-

A year or model would be helpful for model specific tuning tips but to give you and idea, my dad has a 86 sx the only mods to it are a leaned off airflow meter, done by adjusting the spring tension. A decent set of custom made spark plug leads, genie extractors and a motor and gearbox from a Japanese domestic market carona of around the same age(only got because it cracked the head and it was only a couple of hundred more than a new head, plus the gear box was badly work from a previous owner using the wrong oil in it). At the moment he has traction problems with the motor and can smoke the tyres easily away from the lights. it hasn't been on a dyno yet so I cant give you any power figures but it can easily beat most cars away from lights except for the big v8's and big turbo sports cars(little silvia's and wrx's get eaten up and chewed out most of the time). as it is this think is a handful in the wet if you aren't careful. it also gets 7.5L/100Km on the highway And around 9L/100Km in the city even though it sits at 3500RPM on the highway in top gear.

You cant actually get chips for Toyota ecu's you get interceptor boxes which trick the factory ecu. if you want to go down this road get a unichip interceptor and get it tuned for your car.

As for the gt4 motor and gearbox, they just wont bolt straight in. you will need a MR2 turbo gearbox to handle the power or you will be replacing gearbox's often, and this will need to modified for a different shifter arrangement. I wouldn't expect to get much change out of 5-10 thousand dollars depending on how much work you do yourself. a car with this setup should be fast in the dry but in the wet defiantly try to kill you unless you treat it with respect or get traction control fitted.

If you have a late model car get a head of a MR2 and put on the factory block a set of extractors for a 86 the should fit the car, a K&N filter with a decent cold air intake and a unichip fitted and tuned is the best budget increase. you should be able to do this for around 2000 dollars and will give you around another 50-60hp and most likely better fuel economy.

Nick

Its a 1998,

So yer, think i'll go with the air filter, mates going out to get one for his car on fri, so i'll go out with him, and the cold air intake. Might skip the chip and engine swap until later, once i've gotten the hang of the new clutch i got put in yesterday, which is why it was a little weak in power, clutch was constantly slipping. Better fuel economy sounds good, i normally get 400k out of a tank if i can increase that i'll be happy.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, i'll let you know how it goes.

-Michael-