Performance opinions: Weber or Headers + Exhaust?

2213 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by novanutcase, May 2, 2020

aHarmony

Discussion Starter · Mar 31, 2009

I'm stuck on performance modding my 4-AF (so shoot me! haha). I have a fairly limited budget at the moment, and can only afford either:

- Weber 32/36 with a regulator + upgraded fuel lines

OR

- Pacesetter 2 or 2.25" headers and a complete new exhaust (2/2.25 all around, new muffler...no cat.)

What do you guys think is going to have the most impact on performance and keep me entertained long enough? I want a more informed opinion to let me know which one is going to be bottlenecked less than the other one.

Keep in mind, the Weber would also include a higher flowing intake. Also, my stock 1 3/4" exhaust is currently catless and has holes all over (less backpressure, whee...it's hard to say whether it's just causing more turbulence or not. Haven't been able to completely look underneath the car yet.)

Thanks for any information

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Flashmn

· #2 · Mar 31, 2009

Honestly... why bother tuning anything if you just plan to do it half way. Though the exhaust would be the better option for now

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Ghostyman

· #3 · Mar 31, 2009

If you need to spend the money on the car, I'd put it into the suspension instead of power adding. If you're set on power, do the exhaust because it will still be useful if you later get a couple hundred bucks to swap in a 4AGE or even 4AFE.

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aHarmony

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 1, 2009 (Edited)

Flashmn said:
Honestly... why bother tuning anything if you just plan to do it half way. Though the exhaust would be the better option for now

I think you misunderstood me

I'm not one for half assing...I don't plan to only do it half way. I can only afford one thing at a time, so I was asking what would provide the most power and personal enjoyment with the least bottlenecking for now, until I get more money.

Ghostyman said:
If you need to spend the money on the car, I'd put it into the suspension instead of power adding. If you're set on power, do the exhaust because it will still be useful if you later get a couple hundred bucks to swap in a 4AGE or even 4AFE.

An engine swap is pretty much impossible for me to do, unless I had someone do it for me. This is my daily driver, so I can't keep it in the shop for more than a day. As for doing it at home, I would love to (still can't due to time involved), but don't have the tools or knowledge. Also, finding a motor in this city would be near impossible

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TonkaTom

· #5 · Apr 1, 2009

I think that you would notice more of a difference if you put your money into the suspension. You will have a lot more fun on the windy roads.

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Ghostyman

· #6 · Apr 1, 2009

The Weber will probably give you the most gains but once you've upgraded the carb, you're basically done with that engine. You don't want to be trying to squeeze more power out of the 4AF -- anything you do to it will by cost-effective compared to an engine swap. Neither the intake or exhaust mods you've mentioned will give you a very substantial increase in power.

If you can't afford to have your car down for more than a day, be very careful about any mods you do. I'd even be wary of the doing the Weber install just because you need to do some tuning after installing it.

Not trying to disagree with your goals, just trying to point out what your future will hold.

Cliff notes: engine swaps are the only cost-effective way to make power on a 4AF Corolla. That's why I initially suggested the exhaust -- it's still compatible with 4A engine swaps.

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aHarmony

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 1, 2009

Ghostyman said:
The Weber will probably give you the most gains but once you've upgraded the carb, you're basically done with that engine. You don't want to be trying to squeeze more power out of the 4AF -- anything you do to it will by cost-effective compared to an engine swap. Neither the intake or exhaust mods you've mentioned will give you a very substantial increase in power.

If you can't afford to have your car down for more than a day, be very careful about any mods you do. I'd even be wary of the doing the Weber install just because you need to do some tuning after installing it.

Not trying to disagree with your goals, just trying to point out what your future will hold.

Cliff notes: engine swaps are the only cost-effective way to make power on a 4AF Corolla. That's why I initially suggested the exhaust -- it's still compatible with 4A engine swaps.

Hmm. Well, thanks for the advice

Cheers guys!

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freakinbox

· #8 · Apr 1, 2009

Yeah it can be expensive to mod the 4af, but it's different. Your car isn't going to be just another modded ae92 like so many before it. Only way I am putting in a 4age is if I put a rod through the block on my 4af and write it off

.

I think the exhaust would be the better first option. Don't go all huge with the exhaust! You will feel like you lost power and will be disappointed. Remember it is just a 1.6 liter it doesn't need a HUGE exhaust.

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aHarmony

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 1, 2009

freakinbox said:
Yeah it can be expensive to mod the 4af, but it's different. Your car isn't going to be just another modded ae92 like so many before it. Only way I am putting in a 4age is if I put a rod through the block on my 4af and write it off .

I think the exhaust would be the better first option. Don't go all huge with the exhaust! You will feel like you lost power and will be disappointed. Remember it is just a 1.6 liter it doesn't need a HUGE exhaust.

Yeah, I'm thinking something along the lines of a 2" or 2.25". Almost every place here will refuse to do mandrel bent stuff (even if I order it...dunno why.) so I might just go with 2.25 to make up for the crush bent pipe and call it a 2"

Not sure if I'm going to go forward with this now though...I've got a possible buy on a 5MGE MkII Supra....so we'll see how that goes.

Like Ghosty said too, I am aware that I'll have unforseen stuff come up when it's out of service. Not sure if I want to risk that with my job, so the Supra sounds like it might make a delicious project car for my garage

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eage8

· #10 · Apr 1, 2009

I'd go for the weber, not only will it give you more power than the exhaust, but it'll increase your gas mileage as well...

that being said, I'd upgrade the suspension first.

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freakinbox

· #11 · Apr 1, 2009 (Edited)

We all said we'd like to do suspension first. But a good suspension will cost more than an exhaust...

I wouldn't go larger than a 2" exhaust on a stock 4af. Even after the weber carb the 2" exhaust will be more than enough. Also just so you know headers on these engines aren't all that special. The stock manifold isn't all that restrictive, not like manifolds in the 70's and earlier on domestics....

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me_runnin

· #12 · Apr 29, 2020

aHarmony said:
I'm stuck on performance modding my 4-AF (so shoot me! haha). I have a fairly limited budget at the moment, and can only afford either:

- Weber 32/36 with a regulator + upgraded fuel lines

OR

- Pacesetter 2 or 2.25" headers and a complete new exhaust (2/2.25 all around, new muffler...no cat.)

What do you guys think is going to have the most impact on performance and keep me entertained long enough? I want a more informed opinion to let me know which one is going to be bottlenecked less than the other one.

Keep in mind, the Weber would also include a higher flowing intake. Also, my stock 1 3/4" exhaust is currently catless and has holes all over (less backpressure, whee...it's hard to say whether it's just causing more turbulence or not. Haven't been able to completely look underneath the car yet.)

Thanks for any information

Save

Reactions: 1

me_runnin

· #13 · Apr 29, 2020

Dude,
First of all, I'm a stroke victim, so take it all with a grain of salt. WEBERS are the best performance (that includes corners) carbs out there. They are also really pretty simple. You've heard of Occam's razor? The simplest answer is always the best. I can impress the chicks by rebuilding a quadrajet, but my car? No, as few screws to adjust as I can manage and as few wires under the hood as possible.

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Reactions: 1

novanutcase

· #14 · May 2, 2020

I tend to agree with most on here. Do a 4AGE engine swap. It'll be the foundation for future mods that will yield you much more power than anything you could comparably do to a 4AF.

I'm in Cali and I like to drive my cars and not have to worry about getting them to pass smog out here so I'm somewhat limited in what I can do save finding an '88 - '91 GT-S, '88 Nova or '90 - '92 Geo Prizm GSi. These are the only cars with the 4AGE engine available with Cali emissions intact. If I can find one it will allow me to be able to up the HP legally and not have to figure out a way around getting the car cleared for smog.

The 4AGE can easily be modded for more power by camming up the motor along with the usual bolt ons and, if smog isn't an issue in your state, you have a choice of JDM 4AGE's to choose from.

John

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