Possible engine swaps cheap and good.?

[Dropilih]

Buying a ae86 and doing sime research for engine upgrades ..but its pretty hard to upgrade and not that much power i like the engine but i need some power like 230hp and to get there with the 4a its pretty hard im only 16 and dont have that much money..need help..what should i do? Keep the engine or swap?

[rumsawatti]

Depends on what you buy, the 4age is a good motor for beginners which it seems like you might be. I would stick with that and just use it to gain experience with light mods, then from there look into swapping/building a more powerful motor. The 4ac(single cam) you wont get far with though so try and find a twin cam. Believe it or not, 230hp in a car like this is actually pretty serious power well over double what it came with, there isnt really any "easy" way to achieve that other then building the motor a bit and turbo, even then depending on your build you might not hit 200hp. Swaps are about as much work, time, and money as upgrading the 4age. Your best bet is maybe an sr20det or 3sgte for easy swap and that power range, but again, swapping is just as difficult and costly as building it. Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong on anything.

In my opinion, I think you should buy the car first(its a great car especially for beginners) do some small mods, suspension mainly and light motor upgrades(exhaust, intake, etc) and have fun. Then find out what direction you want to go in after you get some experience and go from there.

[yoshimitsuspeed]

If you are willing to go with boost 250 WHP is actually quite easy and comfortable for the 4AGE. The biggest things is that you will need to upgrade the pistons and ECU. Once that is done 250 won't even be breaking a sweat.

I agree with most rumsawtti's other points though. Get all the tune up and maintenance stuff taken care of first. Get the suspension dialed in and start getting familiar with the car.
If you have a 4Afe or 4AC or something then that would be your first hurdle. Either one can make a little more power but would not be practical choices for your goals. 4AG will be the easiest swap but will still require some wiring. If you are willing to pay for a harness that will make your life a lot simpler.
If you have a worn out 4AG your first step would be to get it healthy or maybe find and build another motor while you still drive your car.
If you have a healthy 4A and are willing to go with boost then you would be well off starting with a basic turbo kit with low boost on the stock ECU. A little tuning on the stock ECU and a couple small mods and this should get you to around 150 WHP. It doesn't sound like a lot but in these little cars that makes a massive difference in how the car feels. Now if you really want more power you are already setup on a good track. Good engine management and you can probably got to around 180 WHP or so pretty safely. Get some good strong pistons in the motor and the sky is your limit.
As a 16 year old I would definitely suggest not trying to bite it all off at once. You don't want to drop $8k on your $2k car, have it sit in a garage for 6 months and get sick of it and sell the car and all the parts for $3k before even driving it. Build it up slow and in progressive steps, spend as much time driving it as possible and as you build up get a feel for how far you really want to go.
Going with a turbo lines you up well for these progressive steps because they all work together and it will give you the best possible $/HP gains you can with a particular motor.
I would avoid the idea of swaps for a good while. Even if you have a 4AC I would rock it for a little while and get familiar with everything before jumping into other swaps.
I would also try to take the most prepared angle possible. If you want to do a 4AG swap then find the motor and rebuild it. If you want to go turbo or high comp or whatever add your internals at that point.
Get your harness as complete as possible or order one from Tweaked or MR220V and get familiar with how it's all going to go in when it's time. Study everything and get so familiar with it all that when it comes to swap time you unhook the old motor and start hooking up the new one with as few surprises as possible.

[phanist]

Base on what you said... You're only 16 years old and no money....
But u want a corolla with 230hp... That is a long shot bro...

You sir should only think about this deep... Is your dad or close relative a machanic ? Any of them willing to help u?
If yes ask them to help you built it.
If no but you still want it...
Find a shop that willing to do the job drop the car off pay them and have it done right...
Because from experience even with all the help from all the above ... It not easy... I guessing you properly dont even understand 50% of what they just said...
But then again im alway wrong. Been wrong before..

But first thing first buy the car ... Learn with what the car came with for awhile.
These little corolla . To my opinion it does'nt feel very safe 230hp on the wheel.. For beginner..

So buy the car... Drive it enjoy it for awhile.. Then if u are one of those rich guy with load of cash to spend.
Find a good shop pay them to do your engine swap or what ever upgrade you wish... Do it right. Dont waste time upgrade little by little... U may not like the part u install first and end up resale and buy new cost more and waste time...

I spend way over 20k on my corolla and still not happy with what i got.

Go to track make friend with people with built corolla beg them to let u drive their car... See how it feel... Then know what u want to do with ur car... Then pay ppl to built it and enjoy it...

[Dropilih]

Suspenssion work..what are good?

[Dropilih]

And what should id buy first?

[yoshimitsuspeed]

First I want to point out that although you have three posts in this thread you have by far the least content added to the thread.
The more we know about you, your car, your budget, experience and goals the more we can help you.
I can't speak for others but for me when someone doesn't take the time and pay the attention to detail of writing a well thought out paragraph using something relatively close to proper English I have a hard time believing they will have the patience, focus, or attention to detail to do much of anything to their car.

What kind of condition is the car in?
How many miles on it?
Any service records?
Is it clean, tight and well maintained or has it been tossed between 12 other 16 year olds who tried to drift it every weekend without putting a dollar into it?
What kind of skills, experience, tools, and friends do you have?
What have you done previously that compares to restoring an old car and then making it faster?
What have you driven to compare to and to know what you want out of your setup?

As far as the suspension goes it depends on what is worn. Almost always a car this old will need all new bushings. Pretty much anything rubber or plastic should get replaced. Anything bent or sloppy should get replaced.
All tie rods and ball joints should be inspected and replaced if at all questionable.

[MisterJerk]

And what should id buy first?

At the rate you post and the info you provided.... Just buy a civic :/

[allencr]

...i need some power like 230hp... im only 16...

Bicycle. They are the most efficient machine on the planet.

[trigun402]

...i need some power like 230hp... im only 16...

Bicycle. They are the most efficient machine on the planet.

You need to get an electric bicycle that recharges when you pedal.

[phanist]

Just buy the car it self first.. U are without a corolla right now right?
U are thinking of or looking to buy a corolla right?

[Dropilih]

I dont own the car im justin looking to buy one and a need some thoughts on what should i do first i dont have any expierence builiding cars im only 16 .. I know a shitload about cars...but at least my brother and my uncle can help me build it ...

So i replaced the bushings first and then the suspension work?

[Dropilih]

Im thinking of buying a ae86 yes..phanist

[Dropilih]

My goals with the cars is to be a good street car with a good engine ..but i would love to race in the mountains "touge" ...i know that a dont make a paragraph ...because there so many answers that i dont know what to answer ..sorry guys i will try to answer my best..but thanks to all really appreciate the comments and pointers...im just looking for a fun car rwd that runs great in the streets and cheap parts but good .. Thanks

[Dropilih]

I know an engine very well my brother owns a evo x my mom a civic si 2013 my dad a s2000 cr ..and my uncle builds pretty good cars especially lancers with 4g63..he could help me ..but i just need some pointers is the car good is the engine good what can i do to it or i swap..like phanist replied i thinking of keeping de 4age engine becuase im a begginer and i need to learn some things ...

[yoshimitsuspeed]

but i would love to race in the mountains "touge"

In that case get a 4AC. Take a potato and drill a 1/2" hole through it and then stuff it in the tail pipe.
When you turn 18 remove the potato. When you turn 20 throw in an NA 4A.

[Dropilih]

Jjajaja is that a joke bro?

[Dropilih]

Okay another thing...what do you guys have on the ae86 and is it good and how much it cost:)

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Jjajaja is that a joke bro?

It was meant humorously but in all seriousness a 16 year old living out some initial D fantasy in a 230 HP 86 is one of the scariest things I have had to think about on these forums in a long time.

Had you said you wanted to go hit HPDEs, and track days and wanted to learn how to properly drive a car fast I would be all about it.

[Dropilih]

Yeah pretty stupid but i just want a fun car ..and dont really think racing in the mountians just want a fun car that has some at least amount of power to have fun

[Dropilih]

A down to earth question...what should i do first when i buy it?

[phanist]

Hmmmm

If you have that much family that know car well ... You should start with them.... Sound like they know their car well too base on your words...

I found this website is where people come for help one they run in a problem... Im one of them...


So buy the car ... Try and tune/ built it what ever way u know how... Then fall in a pit while doing it come
Back and seek the help....

What else ? Can i say... Zzz
Good luck bro...

[phanist]

agree with master yoshi..

road racing it very dangerous. not only to yourself but mostly to other on the road too...

[teun]

A down to earth question...what should i do first when i buy it?

Learn to drive it well. Power is nothing without control.

I do a bit of circuit instruction and car testing and even after having driven a lot of different (race)cars, I still prefer a small under powered car with a good balance to a an overpowered monster that scares the **** out of you every time you touch the throttle. Next to that, an under powered car will teach you more about car control since you can't mask your problems with horsepower.

I say buy the car, give it a good service and in a couple of months you'll know what you need to fix/buy to make you (not the car!) go faster and you can ask everyone here what the best options are on how to accomplish just that.

[morgan]

A down to earth question...what should i do first when i buy it?

drive it and get a feel for the car. a GTS can prove quite fun with a bone stock motor. a wise man once said "upgrade yourself, before your car."

[Dropilih]

Thank you phanist ..a agree with him too...when i buy the car i will stick with it stock to just learn to drive it and then if i got the money i will start upgrading things like morgan and teun said ...my brothers evo is very hard to control with 520hp so i will drive it stock for a while... thanks you guys it really help!

[futurehachi]

Jjajaja is that a joke bro?

It was meant humorously but in all seriousness a 16 year old living out some initial D fantasy in a 230 HP 86 is one of the scariest things I have had to think about on these forums in a long time.

Had you said you wanted to go hit HPDEs, and track days and wanted to learn how to properly drive a car fast I would be all about it.

I'm only 18, and know how to drive a car pretty damn well IMO. and that is scary lol. I plan on taking my car to track days, and maybe gettin into autox and drifting.

as for the OP- I just got my 86 about 3 weeks ago, it has a N/A 3tc swap and it's built. All I can possibly do for any more power other than a little tuning, is change my distributor. A decent, not too expensive power adder for me was e3 spark plugs. those coupled with my MSD ignition made for a noticeable power difference (granted the 4age is a totally different animal). As it sits, I have invested over $10k in the car. Budget and fast 86 don't seem to mesh at all. (however, mine isn't slow... but it's not 230whp) I don't know what it puts out for power, but I can say it smoked an 06 BMW M3 the other day...

[grappletech]

what were you doing to smoke the 06 M3? drag? drift? autox?

[yoshimitsuspeed]

what were you doing to smoke the 06 M3? drift?

Isn't that like saying you won the figure skating race?

[phanist]

Was that documented?
I want to smoke a m3 too... But I bet all I"ll see is the m3 tail light if I'm fast enough... Lol