Increasing performance-95 Corolla 1.8L 7AFE

I have:
-header and complete 2.25 exhaust
-performance ignition wires,plugs
-cold air intake

-lightweight 15" rims w/ performace tires
-front strut tower bar
-upgraded rotors and pads in front
-short throw shifter

-looking at suspension upgrades?
-ignition sytem upgrades?

Anything else out there-that works?

Rear sway bar (or a beefier one if you already have one) made a world
of difference for the handling on my Matrix.

I have not been able to find a rear sway bar for the 95 Corolla. I agree...I
think it would make a huge difference but I am unable to find one :(

I have found something called a rear tie bar but I do not believe it does
much.




"Mark" <bogusmailmark@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1126888528.700375.186050@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Rear sway bar (or a beefier one if you already have one) made a world
> of difference for the handling on my Matrix.
>[/color]

This place seems to say they might have one for 93-97 Corollas:

[url]http://www.p-s-t.com/sport/sisway.html[/url]


This is where I bought my Progress sway bar, they don't show one for
the 9x Corolla, but you could call them and ask...

[url]http://www.ptuning.com/[/url]


It's also possible the suspension setup on the 95 Corolla does not
allow for a sway bar. Otherwise I would expect there to be some
available after-market. Best of Luck

Your Matrix and a '95 Corolla have COMPLETELY different rear suspension
systems.

"Mark" <bogusmailmark@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1126888528.700375.186050@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Rear sway bar (or a beefier one if you already have one) made a world
> of difference for the handling on my Matrix.
>[/color]

....which I believe I allowed for a little while ago...

What does a sway-bar do?

I am no suspension/steering expert, but I have done a little reading
and my understanding is that most front wheel drive cars are set up to
"understeer" by default, which means that the rear end of the car is
slow to respond to directional changes the driver asks for by turning
the steering wheel / front wheels. A sway bar or more accurately
"anti-sway" bar couples the rear wheels together more tightly and
actually causes the rear wheels to break loose from the pavement
sooner, which causes the rear end to come around faster in a turn and
reduces understeer. In the case of my Matrix, there is much less body
lean with an aftermarket sway bar that is thicker and heavier than the
one that came from the factory. It was an easy 10-minute install,
although I do recall the bolts being pretty tight.

[url]http://www.answers.com/topic/anti-sway-bar[/url]

st-bum wrote:
[color=blue]
> What does a sway-bar do?
>[/color]

Gives the car greater resistance to rolling about the longitudinal axis
during cornering.

Matt

1. Replace rubber bushings with harder poly bushings
2. Shorter, stiffer springs
3. Upgrade the struts - not sure if Bilsteins are available
4. Do you have after market clutch options - stronger motor mounts?
5. You can improve the acceleration by reducing the weight - get rid of
the back seat, carpet, under coating, sound insulation, AC, radio, and
speakers. Replace the glass side windows with Plexiglas, replace the
front seats with light weight carbon fiber seats, replace the gas tank
(metal?) with a smaller fuel cell.
6. You can stiffen the body by bead welding all of the seams.
7. The final performance improvement - NOS!

Would I do any of this myself? I have stripped out the interior of one
old car I had, but that was because it leaked and every time it rained
the interior was soaked. Yes, it was a Ford!

Justin D. Earhart wrote:
[color=blue]
> I have:
> -header and complete 2.25 exhaust
> -performance ignition wires,plugs
> -cold air intake
>
> -lightweight 15" rims w/ performace tires
> -front strut tower bar
> -upgraded rotors and pads in front
> -short throw shifter
>
> -looking at suspension upgrades?
> -ignition sytem upgrades?
>
> Anything else out there-that works?
>
>
>[/color]

1-4 are in line...

I have done the bushing thing before and they squeak like crazy after time!!

NOS is not what I am looking at for streetability and commuting :)

Removing items would not be what my wife would go for.

Thanks for the imput. All great ideas!

"ma_twain" <ma_twain@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:432F692E.5040908@yahoo.com...[color=blue]
>
> 1. Replace rubber bushings with harder poly bushings
> 2. Shorter, stiffer springs
> 3. Upgrade the struts - not sure if Bilsteins are available
> 4. Do you have after market clutch options - stronger motor mounts?
> 5. You can improve the acceleration by reducing the weight - get rid of
> the back seat, carpet, under coating, sound insulation, AC, radio, and
> speakers. Replace the glass side windows with Plexiglas, replace the front
> seats with light weight carbon fiber seats, replace the gas tank (metal?)
> with a smaller fuel cell.
> 6. You can stiffen the body by bead welding all of the seams.
> 7. The final performance improvement - NOS!
>
> Would I do any of this myself? I have stripped out the interior of one old
> car I had, but that was because it leaked and every time it rained the
> interior was soaked. Yes, it was a Ford!
>
> Justin D. Earhart wrote:
>[color=green]
>> I have:
>> -header and complete 2.25 exhaust
>> -performance ignition wires,plugs
>> -cold air intake
>>
>> -lightweight 15" rims w/ performace tires
>> -front strut tower bar
>> -upgraded rotors and pads in front
>> -short throw shifter
>>
>> -looking at suspension upgrades?
>> -ignition sytem upgrades?
>>
>> Anything else out there-that works?
>>
>>
>>[/color]
>[/color]

Justin D. Earhart wrote:
[color=blue]
> 1-4 are in line...
>
> I have done the bushing thing before and they squeak like crazy after time!!
>
> NOS is not what I am looking at for streetability and commuting :)[/color]


No one says you have to use it at every stop light :-)

[color=blue]
>
> Removing items would not be what my wife would go for.[/color]


You would need to remove everything to bead weld all of the seams. This
takes time, but it improves the body. You can just forget to put
everything back on the car :-)

Good luck with the project and keep us updated!

[color=blue]
>
> Thanks for the imput. All great ideas!
>
> "ma_twain" <ma_twain@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:432F692E.5040908@yahoo.com...
>[color=green]
>>1. Replace rubber bushings with harder poly bushings
>>2. Shorter, stiffer springs
>>3. Upgrade the struts - not sure if Bilsteins are available
>>4. Do you have after market clutch options - stronger motor mounts?
>>5. You can improve the acceleration by reducing the weight - get rid of
>>the back seat, carpet, under coating, sound insulation, AC, radio, and
>>speakers. Replace the glass side windows with Plexiglas, replace the front
>>seats with light weight carbon fiber seats, replace the gas tank (metal?)
>>with a smaller fuel cell.
>>6. You can stiffen the body by bead welding all of the seams.
>>7. The final performance improvement - NOS!
>>
>>Would I do any of this myself? I have stripped out the interior of one old
>>car I had, but that was because it leaked and every time it rained the
>>interior was soaked. Yes, it was a Ford!
>>
>>Justin D. Earhart wrote:
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>>>I have:
>>>-header and complete 2.25 exhaust
>>>-performance ignition wires,plugs
>>>-cold air intake
>>>
>>>-lightweight 15" rims w/ performace tires
>>>-front strut tower bar
>>>-upgraded rotors and pads in front
>>>-short throw shifter
>>>
>>>-looking at suspension upgrades?
>>>-ignition sytem upgrades?
>>>
>>>Anything else out there-that works?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>[/color][/color]
>
>[/color]