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 meHonestly... why bother tuning anything if you just plan to do it half way. Though the exhaust would be the better option for now
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 impossibleIf 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.
Hmm. Well, thanks for the adviceThe 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.
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"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.
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![]()