Want an ae86, need help! (honda owner)

[ChreesHatcher]

First off i would like to give basic info about me:

-I drive a 97 civic coupe with a b20vtec conversion and im kinda done with hondas, i have lost a lot of interest
-I like N/A over boost anyday, mostly for reliability because i want a reliable daily
-I like lightweight, high revving, short geared cars.
-Dont care for drifting i just like a nice looking, low car, good fitment, not much camber preferably, and overall a great handling car.

Now to my question:

-I want an AE86 coupe, flip up headlights(trueno?), not sure for the technical name for this, but its what i want haha. so i want to know the best trim model for my best start in swapping it
-Looking for about 2 hours at some info on 4age's and i want a fuel injected version thats easiest to swap. (4AGE16v Redtop?) i heard the 20v re harder to swap so ill stay away for now. lol
-as far as modding it goes my goals would be about 160hp MAYBE if its affordable, but ill settle for what i can get.
I was thinking a stock bottom end, cammed head, itbs, exhaust, and a tuned ecu. i looked at bill sherwoods guide and it helped a bit. but can i achive that horsepower with those mods without it costing too much
-What transmission is best for this and also what rear end? I was thinking GTS lsd 4.77final drive and tranny?

So what i asking is, whats the best car for this swap with minimal money and effort needed to do a 4age 16v swap with decent hp gains?

[ryun84]

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Depending on where you're located, it may be difficult to even find an 86 for sale. So if you haven't already, I would post in the "Want to Buy" section of the Classifieds that you're looking for one. There are people on here who have been looking for months (years?).

The fact that you want a Trueno coupe might make things easier (seems like more coupes are for sale than hatchbacks). Also it'd help to know your budget and what you're willing to spend on just the car (not all the parts/build you're planning). If you want a very clean 86, be prepared to pay and/or possibly wait a long time to even find one. If you're OK with a somewhat beat up one, the price would be lower and your choices would increase significantly.

Anyways, good luck and again welcome!

[totta crolla]

Hi,
Itb's are not necessary to get 160hp and some people have managed it on a stock ecu although a standalone would probably be best.
Personally I prefer the redtop "small port" engine with a modified small port inlet manifold and if you want to keep costs down you can run this engine on an AE86 ecu with
264 degree cams. (the stock engine will also run 264's on stock ecu)
Longer duration cams and lower final drives go hand in hand.
4.778 final drives are easy to get but anything lower is going to be expensive and hard to find.

[death_blossom]

So what i asking is, whats the best car for this swap with minimal money and effort needed to do a 4age 16v swap with decent hp gains?

I'm going to be cynical in my answer and say that getting any decent hp gains out of a 4AGE is NOT going to be all that cheap. gaining horsepower in the 86 world won't be anything to what you've been used to in the Honda world.

get a GTS, and a 4.77 final drive is a good start to get that lightweight revvy feel going. knowing where you live is also a benefit.

[burdickjp]

Getting power out of a 4A isn't expensive if you do the work yourself. High comp pistons and nice cams can go a long way.

ITBs may not be necessary, but they do provide some tunability, have aesthetic benefits, and are very easy on the 4A.

A microsquirt or DIYPNP can take you about as far as you'd like for tuning on the 16v 4A.

[oldeskewltoy]

Welcome.......... as has been mentioned what is your budget.... ????

Here is a VERY nice coupe... with a number of quality modifications - viewtopic.php?f=26&t=13241 - it isn't cheap, but it is daily-able. This engine is about 130-135hp(112 @ the rear wheels)

You need to understand that the AE86 isn't a Honda... PLEASE take no offense, but Honda performance parts are MUCH cheaper then AE86 performance parts, and the same holds true on a B16/B18/Bsomething hybrid, versus a 4AGE, 5AGE, 5.5AGE, 7AGE, 9AGE (only the first one, the 4AGE was available from Toyota... all the others are stroker models, or mix and match from other Toyota models)

Proper building techniques can easily make the power you desire. For example, I'm making a bit more than 160hp, and I'm doing it on mostly stock internal parts(except cams, valve springs, and wrist pins), and I'm Oregon emissions compliant.

Transmission choice is minimal... the original transmission, T50, is not very strong, are all 30 years old, or older, and most have seen better days. There is a rebuild kit available from time to time. There are a few aftermarket bell housings available so you can fit the Supra 5 speed (W58, or other W5x series), and then if your pockets are a bit deeper, you can fit a J160 6 speed from the Altezza/IS200.