http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ ... -Suck.aspx

Such a bully

a lot of what he said makes sense... early cranks are weak, early blocks are weak, oil pumps can fail. BUT just because HE can't build one (183whp from a stroked OS valve 4AGE is actually piss-poor) doesn't mean it is a bad engine......

In the 21st century we have 1 liter direct injected engines make 200% of the power of a stock 4AGE... so based on current stuff, it is a bit of a yawn......

BUT.... a 4AGE is quite compact (bit tall), it can be used in both fwd and rwd configurations, and it can be built to double its power.

Technology marches on. Journalists need to write stuff that sells magazines.
Car manufacturers put shopping basket engines in shopping basket cars. Race
cars have engines designed and built for racing. All of this is self evident.

There are very few production engines that take kindly to modifications that
double their power and require them to run 2000rpm higher than the factory
red line. They are not designed to do that. If you want an engine with a high
specific power output and race durability, pay the money and buy a modern
engine designed from the ground up for racing.

Yes, there are people who want to build 200hp plus 4AGE engines, and good
luck to them However, as many of us have found, you don't need 200hp to
have fun in a little old Toyota. A few basic mods that you do yourself while
learning about cars can get you 130-140hp with good reliability.

Mike Kojima is a straight shooter and writes a good article. Just remember that
he has a job to do, and a catchy headline sells magazines

Cheers... jondee86

He obviously didn't do good enough research. Who would use an early bigport with the three rib block, early 40mm crank, and early oil pump in order to push over 200 HP?

Total clickbait. Clicking on it, sharing it, talking about it is exactly what they want you to do.

yoshimitsuspeed wrote:Total clickbait. Clicking on it, sharing it, talking about it is exactly what they want you to do.

said the frying pan to the fire.......

I see his points with the early engines, and really there are much better engine designs today. But in the real world I can kick the snot out of my 20v all day, sounds amazing, looks good, and just simply works. Fun article to read so I thought id share so we can discuss.. In the comments in the article "rwd toy" is throwing around some big 4a numbers. Anybody know anything about that??

why cry? because some dude says a 4ag can't hang with 20 yr newer designs or they don't do what they were never designed to ?
Big frickin deal
what would u like a 4ag to do ? Carefully plan it, I bet it delivers, and at a surprisingly decent value
Read the comments below that article. Some 4AG diehard is putting the stick to him - lol

PS... I didnt really cry

he speak the truth but didn't have to be so harsh, lol

What truth ? That it's not feasible to build a 250hp 10,000 rpm 1.6L 4AG to buzz around circuits for extended sessions ? So they suck ?
Seems plain stupid to me, to use that criterion. What percent of 4AG enthusiasts fall into that extreme category ? 0.5% u reckon ? ...if that
For example, look at the countless 150-250hp+ turbo stock bluetops been documented, that totally transformed corollas and plastered ear to ear grins on their owner faces... for years. Blue was never designed for that... so it sux ?
What about stock blacktop heads touching 450-500up..... stock $47 ze pistons well past 500hp. Ya, reaaallly sux for a 80s tech puny 1.6L
Truth my azz

Look at the questions the author is asking about 7AGEs. WTF!... Nuff said.
Listen to him if u like, but u may be better off thinking for yourself

Just while I am thinking about it, and since it is semi-relevant to this thread.
In this part of the world there was a long tradition of 6-hour endurance races for
production cars. Basically, competitors would take a showroom stock production
car and prep it to go hard out for a full 6 hours of racing on a road circuit.

Even with 12 months worth of preparation, it was interesting to see that a lot
of cars could not last out the 6 hours. Overheated engines, failed gearboxes and
diffs, electrical and fuel problems etc would take down quite a few good quality
cars before the 6 hours was completed. Note that engine modifications for more
power were not permitted... these cars ran stock power levels.

So why is it you might ask, that a car in perfect mechanical condition could not
last for 6 hours of high speed running ? And the answer is that production cars
are not designed to be run flat out continuously. In the real world that is simply
not possible with other traffic, speed restrictions and less than ideal roads. So
the manufacturers build a family car that can go hard out for short bursts, but it
is not built to be capable of continuous operation at maximum power.

Modifying the engine for more power will simply cause the car to crap out sooner
UNLESS all the mechanical components are uprated to handle the extra load. If
you want a car with 250hp, far better to start with a car that had close to 250hp
when it left the factory. Cheaper and safer than trying to squeeze 250hp out of
a car that struggled to make 100whp stock.

If only I could have figured that out before I started messing with Corollas

Cheers... jondee86

See im digging the discussion! Story was def click bait but I like motoiq, I hit that site up everyday.
Love me some 4age but can't say I would turn down a f20/f22 haha

Right at the top of the second page it says:

If you want to make any kind of small amounts of power, a billet large journal crank is a must since the stock crank brakes easily

Heh.... the LEGENDARY Hemi.... gets taken down after 5000 rpm! Yes... a top fuel drag engine (8000+hp), get taken apart between runs... a run is less then 5000 TOTAL rpm.... So we are no longer talking about seasons, or weeks, or days, or even hours..... but now we are talking about SECONDS between service

Perspective is what is needed....
first..... time... our little engines were designed over 35 years ago, it was revolutionary in its day
now, - with more modern management, they can be EASILY built to 100hp per liter, and fully tractable - wide powerband

second..... "little", out engines are indeed little... not even 100 cubic inches. They are also physically compact (except height), they can be fitted into some very small cars - Locust/Locost, Spitfire/Midget, and a few others. Not many engines are small in physical size anymore... because most cars are no longer the size of an 80s rwd Corolla.