I am considering getting a 91+ tercel and am wondering if you can actually make this thing turn well. I currently have a mk2 mr2 and would just hate having to drive something that had massive understeer, extreme body roll, and a flexy body. I understand that it has a torsion rear suspension (?) and that is somewhat of a killer. The new civic has it and is a beast to handle compared to the old ind. rear cars. Just curious if it was possible to fix or if it wasnt that terrible to begin with.
Also I hear that the 95+ has a stiffer body and is suppose to handle better. Is this true? Can a 91+ be easily fixed to at least get to this level? I ask cause there is a 91 for sale locally and it is CHEAP!
it's not going to act like a midship (i, too, am a midship driver, but of the MkI SC variety). whenever getting into a vehicle, one has to remember the configuration and adjust driving styles accordingly.
I understand that there probably not a chance that it will ever handle as well as my mr2. I used to have a svt focus, which is a great handling car for fwd. I am trying to get something more along those lines. Driving with the rear end and trying to minimize understeer.
Has anyone attempted to find a irs that will fit in this car (probably not but I thought I would ask), such as an older tercel unit (if it ever had it) or a corolla unit?
i have a 95 tercel and i have k-sport coilovers, whiteline rear sway bar, paseo front sway bar, front upper strut bar and i have 14x6 wheels and tires. the car handles great. last time i went to the track i was keeping up with an STI on the turns just he pulled away obviously on the straight... the car i think is great at handling with all the suspension mods. its also decently stiff. i hope this helps, im pretty sure all the parts i have will fit your model tercel also.
Well I was looking at a 91, I havent actually bought one yet.
You actually tracked a tercel?! Thats wonderful. Thats basically what I was looking for. I am fairly sure that it wont handle all that well out of the box but if it has potential at a fair price, perfect.
depends on how good of a driver you are. my 94 has oversteer when flicked 0r under braking . I don't even have sway bars so body roll is a bit more without them but I have adjusted my tire size and pressure to make a very fun to drive car . I have 205/50/15s up front and 175/70/13s in the rear. you might think I'm crazy but if you think about it what has the most effect on a cars handling ?thats easy ... your tires ! as a rule you never let off the gas and you wont spin out in a front wheel drive car. that is assuming you have a reasonable corner entry speed . I did not say dont use your brake in the corner , just stay in the gas and use your brake as an oversteer understeer pedal ....... staying in the gas keeps the front tires from locking up under hard mid corner braking ,BUT .push the brake hard enough in a corner and your rear will slide out ( just point your car and go ) FWD drifting can even be done with this method , just add a tinny tinny tap of the e brake and your all the way sideways . All this has been done often in my 94 tercel. I have only spun out once and that was before the current tire setup ( at that time I had 155/80/13s on the back )
dang thats alot of stuff
So in summary = If you drive a fwd car like a rwd car your going to crash.
Oh 1 more thing the more power the fwd car has the more it is probably going to understeer under full acceleration and lsd will feel like you cant pivot very well in the corners also. fwds with lots of power or LSd will require a super stiff rear sway bar or springs or both to make the car pivot at will.
THE END
Last edited by clintster77; 04-04-2008 at 02:10 AM.
Reason: misspelllll and quote
I had a fiero once and it was fun to drive but at times the front end would get a little light over bumpy corners. I assume almost any car can have its flaws under certain conditions , with my tercel wet pavement is a killer of fun unless the e brake is used to swing and point the car.
i dunno, there are very distinctly different lines one drives in a wrong wheel drive vehicle. yes, i too get trailing throttle oversteer in the EL31, but mine is caged and braced and i have the TRD linear race springs and dampers along with some custom made stuff and Cynos parts. late apexing in these doesn't really net much of a gain unless the person behind you is scared or is just as underpowered. i'm not really much into toe/heel technique in this car anymore. it responds much better with on/off pedal actuation. in the AW11SC, good toe/heel technique is paramount.
i dunno, there are very distinctly different lines one drives in a wrong wheel drive vehicle. yes, i too get trailing throttle oversteer in the EL31, but mine is caged and braced and i have the TRD linear race springs and dampers along with some custom made stuff and Cynos parts. late apexing in these doesn't really net much of a gain unless the person behind you is scared or is just as underpowered. i'm not really much into toe/heel technique in this car anymore. it responds much better with on/off pedal actuation. in the AW11SC, good toe/heel technique is paramount.
why is heel toe paramount in some cars and not others ? I know many people associate heel toe with drifting because of the Drift King and inital D. But heel toe is a technique to make a smooth downshift during braking /not to upset the car into drift . lets you kill two birds with one stone, brake & downshift at the same time with minimal upset to the car when you rev match . otherwise you would have to brake first and then downshift or you may over rev at race speeds . DK comes from a Road Course back ground so It comes natural to him to almost always use this technique to get his car in the correct gear for the corner he is entering . he upsets his car with off/on pedal actuation ( I put off first because he almost always has his rpms very high after his heel toe entry and just lets off the gas & that puts engine/trans brake on the car & that shifts the weight off the rear wheels and kicks out the rear )back on the gas and the engine/tras brake goes away . this is not power over(powerslide)drifting . Anyway heel toe to me has a place in all racers driving as it is not to upset but to smooth out a downshift on corner entry without losing speed while late braking .
Last edited by clintster77; 04-06-2008 at 03:43 PM.
Reason: mis spel
more properly then you refer to rev-matching. i'm NOT into drift. i guess it's fun to watch, but in my opinion is the slow way around the track. yes, one has to familiarize with drift in order to understand the handling characteristics of a vehicle, and sure there are times when one utilizes drift to get through a 'hairy' situation, but, geez...
i don't really feel that one 'drifts' in a wrong wheel drive vehicle. it's more like a dog who drags his arse on grass after he takes a dump. yes, a four wheel 'drift' is altogether a different story. just my opinion.
more properly then you refer to rev-matching. i'm NOT into drift. i'm not really much into toe/heel technique in this car anymore.
I was just commenting on your EL31 comment ((i'm not really much into toe/heel technique in this car anymore.))
and how heel toe is a road racers friend / not how to drift, but to grip during late braking.
I don't know why you keep saying wrong wheel drive.
To me fwd are more forgiving If you enter a corner way to hot and is very hard to spin out If you understand how to drive them like a fwd ( that comes in very handy when on a road trip or an unknown stretch of road ) I love fwd and rwd
I have both ( tercel and fwd 89 celica gts & 2 ae86s ) all are worth less than $4,000 added together
all TOYOTAS
Last edited by clintster77; 04-07-2008 at 12:13 AM.
Reason: mess
sorry, in the EL31, left foot braking is seemingly the better technique over toe/heel to me. i guess i modulate more when i toe/heel...more on/off throttle than anything. blipping (also), if you will.
wrong wheel drive makes me laugh.
and as far as forgiving...doesn't really phase me much.
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I love fwd and rwd 
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