Whats the best way to make power with 7afe??...Suggestions??, Building on a budget. Options

[rapid3642]

I got a 94 ST, now first off i do want to add that its my daily driver, i could take the max 3 days at a time to do a long build. Now i got nothing done to this thing, and im dieing to make some power out of it!, ill defiantly turbo, but maybe i should consider other options?? im not sure, im here to find the best way to squeeze the most out of the ST without emptying out my pockets and doing mods that could risk having my car down for weeks at a time. Im trying to prevent any unexpected down times. My budget in this build that i wont mind doing is probably around 2k, is there a way to make power out of the ST with 2k of cash?? like i said keep in mind this is my daily driver and needs to drive everyday to work and back, so i want to stay out of mods that could easily go wrong. Thanks!

I probably posted in the wrong section lol, if so can a admin move my post to the appropriate forums? Thanks

P.S. Tired of Normal sedan's messing with me and putting my car to shame.

This post has been edited by rapid3642: Oct 17, 2011 - 11:44 AM

[stephen_lee]

N/A stuff. Things that won't kill your reliability.

-Advance timing to 15* btdc, run supreme
-If its auto, convert to manual. that'll make a big change.
-Exhaust
-Headers (move power band to higher RPM)
-Cams ($500 or so. can be installed in a day. No downtime IF you buy a stock set of cams to ship off to be ground)


Advancing the timing requires supreme gas or you'll probably get pinging.

If you get cams, you will want to get some device to tune the car with. Hell, tuning alone on a stock motor can gain you 10hp I bet.

F/I stuff may hurt reliability... and take a bit to install:

-Turbo (2 bar map, double injector size and you're left with little tuning to do)
-Supercharge (lots of custom stuff)
-N2O (Probably the cheapest and quickest to install. lots of "IFs" though)

Swaps:

Relatively simple, "bolt in".
-4age
-4agze

May take a good while, and require new mounts, tranny, etc...
-7age (this is a hybrid motor, will take longer than the 3days to do...)
-v6
-3sgte


Of course search feature is your friend.

This post has been edited by stephen_lee: Oct 17, 2011 - 12:17 PM

[mandrek]

look here for a good example of what u may want to go with for your requirenments.

[rapid3642]

Thanks! I like the very detailed list! and i am considering forced induction, but i dont think i will get the power i want out of it, i am eventually looking to get up to 300hp, do you think turbo is the way to get there? or would i have to do a motor swap to get that kind of potential?

[stephen_lee]

the 7a will take a lot of mods to get to 300. including a rebuild with foraged parts.
the rods, specifically rod bolts, are a weak point in this engine. the head is not designed to flow very well... its designed to make low RPM power.. which is bad for high rpm/high HP.

the 3sgte can make 300 with a lot less effort

[PolliS_5S-FE]

and the 3sgte would still have room to grow higher. 300hp on a 7a would be difficult.

[96stgreendemon]

Trust me, i had the 7a for almost 2 years, swapped to st205 3s, never loooking back

[NYp8tBaller07]

Thanks! I like the very detailed list! and i am considering forced induction, but i dont think i will get the power i want out of it, i am eventually looking to get up to 300hp, do you think turbo is the way to get there? or would i have to do a motor swap to get that kind of potential?

thats one of the funniest things ive herd in a while. okay now Im not trying to be an ass but first if this is your DD I would stick to simple things like a modified intake, 2" exhaust with header, lighter rims, and remover weight( this wont "add" power). These upgrades will increase some power while keeping your car as reliable as possible without dipping into other options. Simple bolt ons are the best way to go for a DD. Take it from me, I have an st as my DD and for a long time I wanted to add power but the fact is unless you have another car, a good amout of spare cash, and a good deal of time your not going to get a 300hp st, super reliable DD that you can make in 3 days. If you want a fast car. save up and buy another car.

[Soulend]

isn't the a phrase on here?

"Cheap, Reliable, Fast... Pick two"

there isn't a lot you can do with the 7A to keep it reliable and fast, while working on a budget. my suggestion is wait and save your money in the end that is the best way to get it done.

Kevin

[rapid3642]

Agreed. Thanks. Ill stick to bolt on's for a decent DD, i will buy another car later down the road, the only thing i really care about is getting from point A to point B. i might consider the 3s later down the road after i buy another car, but i wonder how hard it would be to throw in a 3s into a ST, i heard the mounts are different for the motor??, i have no clue about the tranny. Thanks for all the responses, and to clear something up, someone posted a reply that i tried getting 300hp in 3 days? i think they read it wrong, or i may have explained it wrong, but what i meant was i would have 3 day intervals of getting the performance mods done, i would have the weekend plus a day if i needed to take off work, but thats the most i would be able to due, so for example, i would have a max 3 days to do one mod then wait till the next weekend and have another 3 days to do another mod. And yea i know it would be hard to make a 300hp car reliable, i know its defiantly possible, but the smartest way is what you guys suggested, which is to buy another car then do some mods to this one. The whole reason for this post was to see what was the best route to take for an ST owner to make the most amount of power he could and the least cost effective without making the car extremely probable to breaking down. Thanks again for all of the responses!

[trdproven]

you'll never be satisfied with building a 7afe. it will be lots of money for not so much gain. you can turbo it, and sure it'll be faster than a 5sfe, but it will never be in the satisfaction of a 5sfte or 3sgte. so i'd say don't waste your money and go for the kill. (i just think if someone is going turbo, they are serious about money or dedication, now if you really want a turbo 7afe, you must really love that motor)

[NYp8tBaller07]

you'll never be satisfied with building a 7afe. it will be lots of money for not so much gain. you can turbo it, and sure it'll be faster than a 5sfe, but it will never be in the satisfaction of a 5sfte or 3sgte. so i'd say don't waste your money and go for the kill. (i just think if someone is going turbo, they are serious about money or dedication, now if you really want a turbo 7afe, you must really love that motor)

agreed. I see the st as a great looking, fun , fuel efficient car :-)

[SwissFerdi]

you'll never be satisfied with building a 7afe. it will be lots of money for not so much gain.

The 3S (or insert generic) swap is definitely better value for money, but I'd like to experience a 7A-FTE to judge what you're saying there for myself. I'm actually not that dissatisfied with the stock engine, it just sucks that it is coupled to an auto. So I imagine if I had a manual, and let's say about a 50-60 percent increase in power, which should be doable on a reliable boost setting as long as everything is absolutely installed and functioning perfectly. I realize much more power can be made with a 3S, but for me that would involve attaining an S54 and appropriate axles, unless I sprung for a whole clip and swapped over the E153 as well. I imagine if the turbo parts can be ascertained cheaply, maybe snagging good deals over a period of time, whilst discounting labor ($beer) and tuning (which might have to be done several times, therefore not necessarily being a certain value), it would come out a bit cheaper than everything a 3S swap would entail. Even if I hit the HP wall before 200, it'd probably be fine. Most of my driving is done at 45 or similar, and my commute to work is insanely short. I would have nowhere to use the 3S' power, even if you consider autocross. I'd be fine with a 7A there as well, wouldn't have the skill right now to handle 240 on the front wheels anyway.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Oct 22, 2011 - 11:11 AM

[cheela]

7a auto sucks lol!! but ferdi said it nicely. I wouldn't have much use for the 3s power right now and the 7a is perfect as it's dependable and fuel efficient.

swap-wise i'd wanna try a 4agze or 7age just to be different lol. HP don't matter to me

[trdproven]

you'll never be satisfied with building a 7afe. it will be lots of money for not so much gain.

The 3S (or insert generic) swap is definitely better value for money, but I'd like to experience a 7A-FTE to judge what you're saying there for myself. I'm actually not that dissatisfied with the stock engine, it just sucks that it is coupled to an auto. So I imagine if I had a manual, and let's say about a 50-60 percent increase in power, which should be doable on a reliable boost setting as long as everything is absolutely installed and functioning perfectly. I realize much more power can be made with a 3S, but for me that would involve attaining an S54 and appropriate axles, unless I sprung for a whole clip and swapped over the E153 as well. I imagine if the turbo parts can be ascertained cheaply, maybe snagging good deals over a period of time, whilst discounting labor ($beer) and tuning (which might have to be done several times, therefore not necessarily being a certain value), it would come out a bit cheaper than everything a 3S swap would entail. Even if I hit the HP wall before 200, it'd probably be fine. Most of my driving is done at 45 or similar, and my commute to work is insanely short. I would have nowhere to use the 3S' power, even if you consider autocross. I'd be fine with a 7A there as well, wouldn't have the skill right now to handle 240 on the front wheels anyway.

if you have at least driven a 7afe corolla, its that similar. Definitely in comparison if you had to go left and right between either swaps and you just had enough money to do either, what would you do. The question is not i don't mind trying a 7afte rather, i'll just get whats worth the money.