Newbie with a 95 Celica Options

[95Celica5Spd]

Hey Guys,
I have a 95 Celica ST with 1.8 and 5 Spd has over 200K miles and its all original
I would like to get to know about it like what particular motor and all I have and how to find out it all
Then begin to do some mods to it
I have had it over a year and other than doin the front spindles and putting 7th gen celica wheels with new tires on it and other odds and ends to get runnin and driving nice.
Most of the underhood stuff has been replaced just need to do a drive belt and will be all new parts

This is my first Celica and newer car as I usually drive and work on old Dodge and Plymouths like my 74 360 Dart Swinger and 73 340 Duster so not all up on good parts sources and mods to do to my car to make it perform well

Also How do I post pics?

Thanks for any and all help

This post has been edited by 95Celica5Spd: Jul 28, 2013 - 12:14 AM

[fatherof4]

Welcome, Lots of great info on this site. Just look at all the sticky's at the top of each page. You can also use search to find almost anything but here is a start for you . http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=47845

[Box]

The ST uses the 7A-FE engine. Not much you can do with it performance wise, it is an economy engine in all senses of the word. Just think of it as the highest quality, best handling, and best looking economy car ever made.

This post has been edited by Box: Jul 28, 2013 - 3:30 PM

[95Celica5Spd]

Welcome, Lots of great info on this site. Just look at all the sticky's at the top of each page. You can also use search to find almost anything but here is a start for you . http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=47845

Thanks For the link. I have tried to use the search feature but it is terrible

The ST uses the 7A-FE engine. Not much you can do with it performance wise, it is an economy engine in all senses of the word. Just think of it as the highest quality, best handling, and best looking economy car ever made.

How hard would it be to swap in a better engine like a 2.2 out of a 97 GT. Would my current 1.8 trans bolt in? What else would I need to make the 2.2 a bolt in motor? Read something about needing my current engine harness and the 2.2 harness and you send it to somebody and they make it work and send it back to you to use

[Box]

The 5S-FE is also an economy engine, just with less economy and a little more power than the 7A-FE. The amount of work it'd take wouldn't be worth it, as it'd be much easier and cheaper to just buy a GT. They use different transmissions. The ST has a C series transmission, and the GT has a S series transmission. As far as worthwhile swaps go you have the 1MZ-FE V6 which is easily found here in the states. You have the red top BEAMS 3S-GE which would have to be imported. You also have the 3S-GTE which in its second generation was used over here in the MR2 Turbo and Celica All-Trac, then the third generation which was used in the 6GC GT-Four and would have to be imported. All of those engines can utilize the GT's S series transmissions. When it comes to swapping the GT is a little easier to work with. That being said there is the 4A-GE in 20 valve varieties that'll work with the ST, but those have to be imported. Also the 4A-GZE used in the supercharged MR2 which could be found over here, but there's really not much out there on it for swapping into our cars. Keep it around as a daily driver that gets good gas mileage and save tearing up with streets to your Mopars.

[95Celica5Spd]

The 5S-FE is also an economy engine, just with less economy and a little more power than the 7A-FE. The amount of work it'd take wouldn't be worth it, as it'd be much easier and cheaper to just buy a GT. They use different transmissions. The ST has a C series transmission, and the GT has a S series transmission. As far as worthwhile swaps go you have the 1MZ-FE V6 which is easily found here in the states. You have the red top BEAMS 3S-GE which would have to be imported. You also have the 3S-GTE which in its second generation was used over here in the MR2 Turbo and Celica All-Trac, then the third generation which was used in the 6GC GT-Four and would have to be imported. All of those engines can utilize the GT's S series transmissions. When it comes to swapping the GT is a little easier to work with. That being said there is the 4A-GE in 20 valve varieties that'll work with the ST, but those have to be imported. Also the 4A-GZE used in the supercharged MR2 which could be found over here, but there's really not much out there on it for swapping into our cars. Keep it around as a daily driver that gets good gas mileage and save tearing up with streets to your Mopars.

Ok well I plan to make it handle alittle better with bigger sway bars and front and rear strut braces and also put new struts and stiffer rear springs and 1" lowering springs up front to close the tire to fender gap up front. And maybe change front tires to 225-50-16s up front and keep the 245-50-16 out back
And also change some of the exterior like a 96 front end or find some fog lights that look good in my current bumper and a body kit and redo the interior
Would I get some benefit of throwin some boost at it as I have been wanting to put a turbo on it and run 9 or 10 PSI. Would it handle it with stock internals? If not what is a safe amount to run?
Where is a good place to get aftermarket hoods for these?

This post has been edited by 95Celica5Spd: Jul 28, 2013 - 8:14 PM

[95Celica5Spd]

Also plan to eventually change interior to all black with leather seats and repaint the car back to black as original paint is starting to show its age badly. (Yes those are El Cheapo Seat covers but the upper and lower side bolsters on the drivers side are torn up and didn't wanna fix them)


This post has been edited by 95Celica5Spd: Jul 28, 2013 - 8:03 PM

[Box]

Ok well I plan to make it handle alittle better with bigger sway bars and front and rear strut braces and also put new struts and stiffer rear springs and 1" lowering springs up front to close the tire to fender gap up front. And maybe change front tires to 225-50-16s up front and keep the 245-50-16 out back
And also change some of the exterior like a 96 front end or find some fog lights that look good in my current bumper and a body kit and redo the interior
Would I get some benefit of throwin some boost at it as I have been wanting to put a turbo on it and run 9 or 10 PSI. Would it handle it with stock internals? If not what is a safe amount to run?
Where is a good place to get aftermarket hoods for these?

Tein makes great lowering springs, KYB GR-2 struts are good to pair with the Teins. Suspension Techniques makes good sway bars. I'd keep the tires equal all the way around, being FWD and all it wouldn't make sense to have wider tires in the rear. 205/50-16 is the proper size for our car on 16's, so that the tire diameter matches the OEM diameter as closely as possible. There were OEM fog lights for 94-95, but they were on Euro and JDM cars.

Here's info on how to turbo your 7A-FE: http://www.6gc.net/howto/turbocharge_your_7afe

[SwissFerdi]

Welcome to the forum. 245/50 is a wicked incorrect size for this car, Box is correct on sizing. I would like to add that our Tein spring version is very soft, almost too much so. I really recommend Megan or Eibach instead.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 28, 2013 - 11:02 PM

[95Celica5Spd]

Ok well I plan to make it handle alittle better with bigger sway bars and front and rear strut braces and also put new struts and stiffer rear springs and 1" lowering springs up front to close the tire to fender gap up front. And maybe change front tires to 225-50-16s up front and keep the 245-50-16 out back
And also change some of the exterior like a 96 front end or find some fog lights that look good in my current bumper and a body kit and redo the interior
Would I get some benefit of throwin some boost at it as I have been wanting to put a turbo on it and run 9 or 10 PSI. Would it handle it with stock internals? If not what is a safe amount to run?
Where is a good place to get aftermarket hoods for these?

Tein makes great lowering springs, KYB GR-2 struts are good to pair with the Teins. Suspension Techniques makes good sway bars. I'd keep the tires equal all the way around, being FWD and all it wouldn't make sense to have wider tires in the rear. 205/50-16 is the proper size for our car on 16's, so that the tire diameter matches the OEM diameter as closely as possible. There were OEM fog lights for 94-95, but they were on Euro and JDM cars.

Here's info on how to turbo your 7A-FE: http://www.6gc.net/howto/turbocharge_your_7afe

I am wanting better handling struts than factory replacements but not sure what brands are good. Can those fog lights be purchased easily?
Thank You for the link it will be helpful when I go to install a turbo at some point

Welcome to the forum. 245/50 is a wicked incorrect size for this car, Box is correct on sizing. I would like to add that our Tein spring version is very soft, almost too much so. I really recommend Megan or Eibach instead.

Eibach is what I was lookin at and have run in an old late 80's Camaro. When I need tires again I will get all the same and lower it completely. I want a good handling/lowering spring and eliminate more body roll as well as bigger sway bars and strut braces
I think I am just gonna cut the front springs to lower it for now till need tires and struts for real.


Need to get rear struts though cause they are blown out. thinkin of finding a vert with good struts and just install whole assembly on my car. Do verts have stiffer rear springs?

I just have 245-50 out back and 215-50 up front right now. I am thinkin a shorter sidewall and much wider

[Box]

Teins utilize a progressive spring rate vs a linear spring rate, which means that the more force applied the stiffer the spring becomes. Which would account for them feeling softer under normal use. That and for for whatever reason they're only stiffer in front while leaving the rear at the OE rate. I've never had a problem with them being too soft, if anything it'd be the opposite. Body roll is pretty much nonexistent as well, and I've taken the car to the limits of what's safe on the road. As far as the fog lights go they're easy enough to find on eBay, and sometimes people occasionally sell them on here.

[SwissFerdi]

I think I am just gonna cut the front springs to lower it for now

I would absolutely advise against that.

Box, most everyone with a Tein spring reports bottoming out. I have never had such an issue with mine and I never heard of such with Megan, which is why I name those two as reliable choices. I'm not sure if Intrax is still available.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 29, 2013 - 7:38 PM

[95Celica5Spd]

I think I am just gonna cut the front springs to lower it for now

I would absolutely advise against that.

Box, most everyone with a Tein spring reports bottoming out. I have never had such an issue with mine and I never heard of such with Megan, which is why I name those two as reliable choices. I'm not sure if Intrax is still available.

Mostly not gonna do it out of laziness as I don't wanna have to take the front end apart to do it and unload the spring too.
Also never really had any cars with coil springs. All my old Dodges and Plymouths utilize a torsion bar front suspension and leaf spring rear.
So what is the problem with cutting lets say 1/4 or 1/2 a coil out of the spring?

[Box]

I've yet to have that problem and the roads around me are pure crap, dirt and gravel with more potholes than I'd like to count. Odds are they ended up with counterfeit springs. For the longest time people were selling counterfeit Tein products online. Supposedly it's gotten better, but I've seen listings on eBay here recently where they were selling counterfeit Tein products. That or they used cheap struts not even good for OEM height, much less being lowered.

[SwissFerdi]

So what is the problem with cutting lets say 1/4 or 1/2 a coil out of the spring?

The springs are designed to work exactly as they are, and when you remove a coil the characteristics of tension and undulation change. If they don't sit the same they don't work the same, and you can have a dangerous failure occur. But it's your car, do as you wish. Megan springs are about $130 or so, for that price you can reliably lower all four corners. Then add to that $200 for a strut that can handle the lowering. Or, $560ish for Megan coilovers, which are a two-in-one and height-adjustable solution.

That or they used cheap struts not even good for OEM height, much less being lowered.

Fair enough, I would agree with that too. I suppose this also is reported mostly with 17 and 18" wheels, so I guess that's an isolated issue due to that as well.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 30, 2013 - 8:01 AM

[Box]

I have the ultra rare and light OEM 14" alloys. Anything over 16" is just daft on our cars.

[95Celica5Spd]

So what is the problem with cutting lets say 1/4 or 1/2 a coil out of the spring?

The springs are designed to work exactly as they are, and when you remove a coil the characteristics of tension and undulation change. If they don't sit the same they don't work the same, and you can have a dangerous failure occur. But it's your car, do as you wish. Megan springs are about $130 or so, for that price you can reliably lower all four corners. Then add to that $200 for a strut that can handle the lowering. Or, $560ish for Megan coilovers, which are a two-in-one and height-adjustable solution.

That or they used cheap struts not even good for OEM height, much less being lowered.

Fair enough, I would agree with that too. I suppose this also is reported mostly with 17 and 18" wheels, so I guess that's an isolated issue due to that as well.

Is that 560 for the coil overs with no springs?
Reason being I want to lower the front and not the rear is that I have 245-50-16 on the back and 215-50-16 up front and want to close the tire to fender gap up front. So unless you know someone selling a used set of front lowering springs I maybe out of luck. Yes that tire is ridiculous to some but I think it looks good.
Although next time tires are need I may just go with 205,215 or 225-50-16 all way around.

If I didn't do Megan Coil overs what are some good struts that can handle being lowered or at OEM height? As I plan to lower it later down the line.

[Box]

It just looks tacky having fatter tires on the rear of a front wheel drive car, it's almost as bad as staggered wheel sizes. Not to mention it'll just make the problems associated with FWD even worse. Rear wheel drive cars Hell yes, front wheel drive just Hell no. Next thing you know you'll have a Civic with staggered wheels and fatties in the back with a giant spoiler.

If you shop around you can get springs and struts for around $400ish. Cheapest coilovers are Megan Street Series and they're a tad under $700.

This post has been edited by Box: Jul 30, 2013 - 5:04 PM