91 corolla sedan talk

[gr91]

F*** man! I've been on this forum for one week and it just makes me want to keep it! >.< some guy in another post told me he wouldve kept his when he was 18. He said we always go back to where we started, and he's right! I've put more time money and attention to this car than my previous and my life and my girlfriend put together times 10! I can disassemble the dash board in less than 10 minutes and change the radio at the same time! Everything on this car is simple. I may waste gas but I get everywhere I want. I really don't want to get rid of it! I may not! But being 18 being on your own and owning 2 cars is a bitch! I would love to swap the 4afe for a silvertop or something bigger! I want to do so much but I just can't >.< so what kinda mods have you put in your 88-92 sedan? Any? Even if it was soooooooooo stupid!
Here's my list:

Cut springs
2 12's kickers with 1200watt Hifonics Brutus amp,
eBay clear corners
6k HID hi/lo conversion
LED EVERY BULB!!!! EVERY BULB!
Autozone foglights
Kicker dash speakers and Sony rear deck speakers
Mb motoring wheels 14's
91 Honda accord led spoiler
2010 corolla s badges (except they broke the s trying to steal it)
TRD badge

That's all I can think of right now but let me know what y'all have done!

[90 GP]

That's a nice ride you have. Keep it . Get rid of it and you will be kickin yourself for it later. They are easy to work on and exceedingly reliable.

[gr91]

I would love to keep it, and it would be great to keep it I already know how I'm goin to feel without it! But it's just I'm 18 and yeah my corolla is reliable , but to a certain extent, I have a 20 year old car, I just can't keep putting money into it, yeah on these forums it's great to have one, but i just throw money into a pit! I'm goin to college next semester, I don't think I'm geting much financial aid , therefore I need to get something newer and something that saves more gas ! Plus I want a standard car. There is alot of factors but I just can't keep it :/ unless I hit the mini lotto and win around $1500 tax free money! Then I'll keep but I really can't, im just keeping for one more year! So let's see how my last year is,

[SuperRA]

How much are you expecting to spend on a new car and how much gas are you expecting to save. Even with generous numbers it still does'nt work out to be a savings. For example, my GTS gets 25MPG at worse. I drive 15miles a day to and from work. Lets say I bought a yaris that gets at BEST 36MPG. So:
GTS costs $2.70 per day ($4.50/gal * 1gal/25mi * 15mi)
Yaris costs $1.88 per day ($4.50/gal * 1gal/36mi * 15mi)
savings of $0.82 per day
Say the GTS costs me $3k to fix everything
Used Yaris costs $10k minimum (around here at least)
Difference of $7000
7000/.82=8536
That's 8-1/2 thousand days to recover the cost of the "better" car, in gas savings. Normal work week of 5 days per week make this 32 years!

What does this mean to you, possibly nothing. Your situation could be different, but the point is, DO THE MATH. You almost never come out saving $$. Pay attention to my numbers, I favored them to get the maximum savings and still it gave this result. The yaris most likely will cost more thant $10k and get worse than 36MPG. Gas cost is not $4.50/gal (yet!). I doubt my GTS will cost me $3k to fix and really it only cost me $1200.

Really most of the time the only reason for getting a newer car is, well, because you want a newer car. Which is fine, but let's stop making the MPG excuse.
Just my $.02

[gr91]

Haha ok. Let me start by saying I fill up every 5 days, everytime the car hits 180-200 miles driven that's it time to fill up, I fill up 10 gallons. That's only around 20mpg that's terrible for a corolla. Ok now consder that I live in houston Texas ! Where it's hot as shit outsid everyday except for about 2 months out of the year!!! When it's hotter gas evaportes faster! It's only goin to cost me around $500 to fix it back to stock. But my transmission and acceleration are terrible I'm thinking the transmission is bad, and I am not about to go swap out for a new one. I'm thinking of getting a TDI jetta 2006 only cost around $8000and gets around 36mpg I bought my corolla for 1600 but it had almost perfect everything !

Yeah I want a new car but I would like to keep this one, my plan is to save to $1000 hopefully get at least $600 in income tax an then get sell this for $1400 giving me $3000 cash for down payment then build credit. I'm goin to college soon and I have barely enough money. But
You have a great point! It's a fact you car is a Blake hole tht just sucks money NO ONE WILL EVER RECUPERATE 90% of the money they put in a car but oh well. You know? It's life. But anyway
I know I will return to corolla! I know I will! Lol but anyway. Any mods on that car of yours superRA?

[SuperRA]

Nope, no mods engine wise. It does have upgraded suspension. Yea, a diesel should be good for mileage. I'd take a look at why your corolla gets such poor mileage. Fix that and you'll regain some costs.
Glad you realize that your gonna lose money no matter what. I guess it's just a matter of slowing down the rate of loss.

[gr91]

Yeah I'm a realist I like to think at what might happen look for common errors and apply! Lol but yeah I'm not sure why >.< and it posses me off when people on this forum say they get 33mpg on a sedan! Shit! Lol the distributor and rotor cap are all new since last year fuel filter changed last year. I got an eBay air intake that has saved gas! But im not sure >:/ I might be the fuel injectors. Maybe .. Does you know how to take em off to check? I change oil all the correct months / miles whichever comes first . Tire inflation is checked every weekend on Sunday ! I just don't know what else it could be, :/ and I never put it through a computer. Could they check? Maybe idk . But a tdi is the way I would like to go. If not just regular 2.5 jetta 2006 oh well f*** it. I will one day go back to corolla sedan and turbo the 4afe to maybe 5-8 psi !don't ask why I would just like for it to happen!

[SuperRA]

Well, you said the transmission is probably bad. That could cause poor mileage. Just a thought.

[gr91]

im not 100% sure though! Like It Picks Up soooooo SLOW! i've driven an '82 corolla and a '92! AND THEY NEVER PICKED UP SO SLOW! and when it shifts it pulls hard sometimes, and also when the a/c is on it drives so much slower almost like i have too much weight on the car, Thats where my theory of a bad transmission comes out... or could it just be a bad transmission mount??

[90 GP]

If it is slow on acceleration the timing may need to be adjusted. The a/c does put a load on engine and cuts down acceleration . If you are heavy on the gas pedal that could account for your low mileage. I would keep it bone stock do all the required maintenance and keep it till you graduate from college. Put the money saved (by not buying a replacement) toward any repairs during that time frame and your college expenses. If you do all your maintenance (oil,tranny,differential,cooling system fluid changes) thermostat, plugs etc. those repairs would probably be minimal.

[gr91]

Ooh never thought of the timing, hmmm, how long and how much on average would it cost? I need it everyday and I can't really miss a day without it.

[90 GP]

You need a timing light, a wrench to loosen holdown bolt on distributor and you have to jumper two terminals in box on drivers side strut tower. Maybe your bud at autozone could do it for you. Easy job.

[gr91]

Yeah I'll look up on how to do it, I'm sure it's easy cause it's on the corolla ! Lol thanks I'll see if that's the problem I'm not looking for Ferrari fast I'm just looking for quicker than grandma slow. And my grandma doesn't even drive -_- lmao thanks man!

[90 GP]

You mentioned you got an air intake of EBay. The original airbox has an air temp sensor plugged into the side of it.. If you removed the original airbox and the sensor is no longer reading the incoming air temp that could be affecting your performance and mileage .

[gr91]

The intake has that hole. It is plugged in. That wouldn't be the problem anyway, it was running slower with the old air box -_- lol when I changed it it started picking up quicker