4age tuning cheap tips????

[kipsy]

Hi everyone! Im running a corolla as a road rally car and am about to spend a fortune on getting a shell refurb and paint job etc! So funds are low! Im not allowed(or can afford) due to regulations to put carbs or throttle bodies on my car but I would like to gain a few bhp to give her more of a kick! At the moment she is standard with a 4-branch, exhaust and filter in a cold air box! Ive just purchased a fidanza flywheel and ordered a 4.7 cwp! I have heard that mappable chips supposed to be good anyone had any experience with them! Dastek etc??
Also in the pictures on the site a lot of engine shots seem to show cars with rather large plug leads? Do they make much difference to good standard ones? What is an 'earthing' kit and does that do anything??
Cheers for any replies people!
Kipsy

[Ivan141]

No easy wins in performance on a budget I'm afraid. The plugleads are something I havent noticed, and never heard anyone talk about. It's usually turbo engines that require all this stuff to get better ignition.
Earthing kits have been dyno proven to add maybe 1-2 hp, but those are the expensive kits..havent seen one of the cheap and dirty ebay specials tested yet. Not what I'd call a worthwile investment.
Personally I think dropping a smallport 4age in would be the best thing you can do on a "budget". Might be a little more expensive but you'll have a better base to work from later. Probably not allowed by regulations I can imagine.

[firehawk]

We raced a full season of endurance saloon with our AE82 FX-GT running a fairly stock smallport 4A-GE with fully balanced lower end, Toda 3.7kg flywheel, TRD 0.7mm head gasket and 0.2mm shaved off the deck. The power increase probably wasn't very spectacular but the added compression and lighter+balanced rotating assembly made the engine really pleasing to drive and it revved like motorcycle! Although we were able to outbrake them by almost 20 meters, we got really badly beaten by the BMW E30 325i:s with their big engines and big power that kick out some major straightline speed.

After throwing in a pair of 304/8.5mm cams and a TRD group-A ECU, the engine got really peaky and didn't really pull until 6500rpm and went up to 9000rpm. Since the endurance saloon regulations forbid re-gearing transmissions and limit the final gear to those which were only available on that bodystyle, the car was actually about a second per lap slower due to slower corner exits. Went like crazy on the straightaways, though. The lesson is: going for more power on a small displacement engine isn't always a good solution.

[NZ Trueno]

Getting a supercharged 4 agze would be quite expensive but worthwhile i think, good torque right from the bottom of the rev range. But maybe you dont want forced induction.

[kipsy]

I cant run a super charger as per the rules but could fit cams but their expense puts me off a bit! Prob realistically lookin about a £1000 to fit, set them up and get the head shimmed with valve springs etc so thats a bit much for me! Since fitting my 4-1 4-branch I have lost a gair bit of bottom end torque which doesnt bother me on the quick stuff but when it comes to the road/lane tightening up into a 90 or hairpin the she bogs down if any lower than 4k revs! Hopefully the cwp will help a lot! I can drop her down into first the get her back on the power to slide the back end out but hits the limiter almost straight away and this isnt exactly smooth driving or good for the car! Has anyone had their ecu mapped and if so does it give more power and mid range or will I be wasting my time and hard earned purchasing one?
THANKS FOR THE REPLIES GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ivan141]

What is allowed by regulations? I s'pose you need to have the original engine in there, but if regulations leave some room a high compression AE92 engine will get you what you want/need. Which is better torque and slightly higer power output out of the box. Otherwise have the head milled down a little, you'll probably gain a bit of torque from the added compression. You could give megasquirt a try if you want a cheap standalone but it probably wont do much good if the engine is fairly stock to begin with (the OEM ecu is capable of handling that).

[SekiguchiUeno]

hallo

i try to master similar problem, car that will be good for hillclimb and normal driving, wilder cams are mostly contraproductive for this, you loose most of down and mid range torgue and that will not work on unlightened car with high speed gears.power its good but nothing all
you are not allowed to change to smallport? nothing happens.
leave the tvis to do his job and the standard cams and got more compresion, wiseco pistons have the best price/power ratio i think, CR of 11,5:1 give you much more tourgue throught the powerband.
i use the 7rib block with oil squirters if i find it.(to buy complete smallport enjin here is nearly impossible)
porting head and polishing chambers can you do yourself to minimize selfdetonations and then let the chipmaster to your engine to adjust fuel map
another possibily is the 7afe for even more torgue-contact 7hero

sorry for this long post of things that you know probably better than me
but i try to do something similar, but with carbs

uff good engrish training, correct me if i am wrong

[meshin]

firehawk Wrote:TRD 0.7mm head gasket and 0.2mm shaved off the deck.

What compression ratio did you have with that stuff ? Can it run normal on 95 octane petrol ??

firehawk Wrote:After throwing in a pair of 304/8.5mm cams

Little to big cams for my thaste, but I would like it to see the nidle running from 7000 to 9000 rpm with that

firehawk Wrote:Although we were able to outbrake them by almost 20 meters

Normaly when you have ~320mm front discs on ~800 kg car.

[NoHachi]

Maybe try and do the exact opposite first, lighten the car as far as you can. Far cheaper, definately noticeable and increases performance throughout all area's (accel, braking, cornering). Do you have/ are you allowed to have things like light weight rims, seats (mucho difference there), lexan windows, no underbody coating, reduced wiringloom etc etc.

Other things you can try are: port matching the intake and exhaust (free), try some sort of carbon cleaning flush for the head (seafoam or similar). True cold air scoop for the stock airbox..Anything to bump up volumetric efficiency.

I would be extremely weary about chips like dastec etc that are not mapped specifically for your engine.

[SekiguchiUeno]

probably he can not make this mods in gr N as are lexan windows fiberglass panels are not allowed.
with other things you are right

but the cage weight the same or more as you save on sound deadening, light rims, bucket seats and tubular exhaust.