1991 Corolla All-Trac Wagon - I NEED more POWER!

[SirRipo]

SO just wondering what sort of things I can do with the 4A-FE. Do the usual "import" mods (short/cold air intake, exhaust, etc) apply? Are parts for the 4A-GE compatible? What sort of tuning options are there?

[Drainx]

Most of the 4afe mods that actually get you going are going to be expensive and hard to get ahold of. Like custom cams, headers, pistons, turbo. For the time and money spent on them for the 4afe you might as well have just dropped a 4age silver/black top in with just as much or more power than a turbo on a 4afe. The other stuff you can do for cheap is the short air intake, plugs, wires, not a whole lot else. Wouldnt hurt to do a coolant flush too if it hasnt been done in a couple years and put in some Zerex G05.

[rickytan456]

Don't bother spending money trying to squeeze power out of the 4afe...just accept that it's a gutless reliable daily. in the end you are going to be disappointed if you are modding it with power in mind

[eage8]

why wouldn't they apply? an engine is an engine... what kind of power are you looking for though?

[SirRipo]

Originally Posted by Drainx

Most of the 4afe mods that actually get you going are going to be expensive and hard to get ahold of. Like custom cams, headers, pistons, turbo. For the time and money spent on them for the 4afe you might as well have just dropped a 4age silver/black top in with just as much or more power than a turbo on a 4afe. The other stuff you can do for cheap is the short air intake, plugs, wires, not a whole lot else. Wouldnt hurt to do a coolant flush too if it hasnt been done in a couple years and put in some Zerex G05.

Only thing is I don't think I can justify spending a grand or more on just an engine (and maybe a tranny) for a car I paid $300 for. And with an altogether cost of probably somewhere close to $1500 (at least from what I've seen) for the engine+tranny, then tack on the cost of the ECU, and then add in clutch and all that jazz, and probably sitting close to $2k.

But an intake + more open exhaust (no emissions around here, so I can run without a cat) really wouldn't gain that much? I would have figured at least 10hp between the two, that seems about the norm on 4cylinders. I can do an exhaust on the cheap (have a friend with a welder, and I've got some welding skillz, and exhaust piping isn't too pricy around here, depending on size). How big is optimal? 2.5"?

I'm really not looking for much, maybe 15-20hp.

Also, what about old-school tricks? Like swapping in cams from a different engine? Or playing with the timing? That kind of thing.

[eage8]

I got my silvertop w/ trans, harness, ECU, pretty much everything for $850

2.5" is too big, you're going to want around 2" pipe.

optimal exhaust for my subaru with a 2.5L is 2.25...

other than that I would just start doing maintenance. replace spark plugs, change trans oil, stuff like that.. you'd be surprised how much power can be robbed by not maintaining your car properly.

you can get cams from web cams: www.webcamshafts.com
they're the only ones I know of that make them for the 4afe

[SirRipo]

Originally Posted by rickytan456

Don't bother spending money trying to squeeze power out of the 4afe...just accept that it's a gutless reliable daily. in the end you are going to be disappointed if you are modding it with power in mind

It's as much about power as it is wanting to improve how the engine runs. Obviously, the simple stuff (intake, plugs/wires, etc) will help clean it up. But the exhaust needs to have something done to it anyway, since there's a huge hole, so I figure I might as well try to make some improvements while I'm there.

[RogueMoog]

My friend and I are thinking about putting a turbo on my All-Trac wagon's 4A-FE. Just a little boost, nothing crazy, so that we don't have to rebuild the engine for low compression. I don't see how 2.5" exhaust would be harmful to a build like that. Is there some sort of guideline for determining exhaust diameter? I know most Honda guys with NA motor builds (4 cyl) do 2.5" exhaust. But those build put out ~200 whp.

[toyotaspeed90]

Originally Posted by eage8

I got my silvertop w/ trans, harness, ECU, pretty much everything for $850

we're talking about an alltrac....

little more complicated... not horribly.... but it is.

if you live in an area that necessitates the AWD then keep the car, keep it stock.... spare the $1k on mods and if you really want, find an AW11 or an ae92 gt-s.... still relatively gutless, but wonders in comparison to the alltrac ae92/6

[eage8]

Originally Posted by toyotaspeed90

we're talking about an alltrac....

little more complicated... not horribly.... but it is.

if you live in an area that necessitates the AWD then keep the car, keep it stock.... spare the $1k on mods and if you really want, find an AW11 or an ae92 gt-s.... still relatively gutless, but wonders in comparison to the alltrac ae92/6

I think grinding away the lump on the block to make it compatible with the awd trans is less complicated than converting to EFI

[RogueMoog]

You guys should see the Russian and Australians who've turned their All-Trac wagons into little monsters... hehe.

I now know that I don't want to go too crazy since too much power at the wheels means no traction in the sand, mud, etc. Would have to really feather that clutch to maneuver.

[toyotaspeed90]

Originally Posted by eage8

I think grinding away the lump on the block to make it compatible with the awd trans is less complicated than converting to EFI

right....

but if I recall... the diff's aren't all that strong..... the AWD system is still just 60f40r.... when engaged.... it's also quite heavy.... so, installing even a silvertop may be pushing the boundaries of the ae96's transmission/diff....

I'm not even sure how much power the rear end can take..... IIRC it's more of a solid axle.... but weaker than an ae86 SR5 unit....

so, to make it stronger you could then use an ae86 gt-s or supra rear end.... or maybe convert the bellhousing of a celica alltrac trans over then use the rearend out of one of those... those use independant rear axles....

but again.... more difficult, but doable.

[j2b4osan]

IMO best bang for your buck would be an upgraded carb (prob2-500$) fix exhaust with 2" pipe, replace all fluids with high quality synthetics and keep all the filters & wareables fresh. However it will Still probly only net 5-10hp with all those mods and never handle IMO like a gts/sr-5 because of the nature of the weight and suspension of the alltrac. If you seriously want something that is fun to drive that you can throw into corners like a remote controll car and you want a cheap yota you need either an ae86 or ae92 gts/sr5. It still won't have any REAL power but they handle absolutely marvelously with nice sticky tires and a maintained suspension.

[eage8]

all all-tracs are fuel injected. no carbs

[2wickedtoyz]

get the 20valve 4age best bang for your buck. and if you get it with the 6spd tranny you could sell it for 300 to another guy