Tuners, If you knew then, what you know now.... Options

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

Dont get me wrong the car is awesome.
But as I see it, its kinda pointless to go any further. Last year while launching, I couldnt give it all it had. I would need to baby the car in first gear. This car would be a perfect track car(road course), those tracks are very expensive to race on.

My car is almost at the point where the power becomes usless. So why would I want to upgrade further if I cant use the power ? From my experience a 3sgte would be much better in AWD or RWD for serious tuners. If you want to swap one in and keep it stock form, I would then recommend FWD.

With so many people posting things like these, we all need to find out a better way of getting these cars to hook up. There has to be something with the suspension that we can do. If nothing else, you should put slicks on if your up the 250hp mark. I think the price of a swap should include the price of a set of slicks if you intend on taking the car to the drag strip.

[lagos]

i dont think its as big of a problem as jeff makes it out to be. its all in how you drive, what tires you have and where you boost is set at. its not like you are at a dead stop when your tires break loose, you are still moving fast. i can see it becoming a larger problem when u upgrade the turbo, but with a stock ct26 its not that bad.

the only time it might piss you off is when you go to a track and try to get the best time possible.... but lets face it, how many times a year do people go to a track, 1-5? i have never been to a track in my life (not even as a spectator).

99% of your driving will be done on the street where you can totallly control your traction.

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

I think the biggest problem is that the 3SGTE configuration in our cars using FWD isn't effective enough in drag racing, especially using the patheticly short gears of the S54. The E153 is a totally different situation, as you're sharing the longer more effective gears used in more powerful cars. On the track or street in stock form, I'm sure its much better suited.

As far as what I would have done differently......I wouldnt have soaked so much money into the stereo when I first got my car, and I would have done a 3SGTE swap several years ago when I had the cash for it.

[Drew-887]

I would've done my 4A-GE swap by myself and gone with an ultra-light flywheel and an AT200 C52 instead of using the AE101 C52.

Whats a AT200 C52? Is that the stock St tranny or something like that?

[playr158]

in regards to the traction issues and launching

Nemisis 2.5 has staged boost control + slicks i think could help the issue a lot

[boosted_K2]

if i knew what i was getting into....

I would have:
Not sold the 6gc (surprise!!)... instead i would have kept it, taken a little better care of it and saved my money. Eventually I would have purchased a 350Z i think (surprise again!!) and kept my 6gc.

reasons: the MR2 is a badass car... but knowing what i know now, and where id eventually go with cars and motorsports, i would rather have a fun good looking daily driver (6gc VS my current cobalt) and a badass new competitive race car (BS classed 350Z) rather than blowing all the money i did to end up where i am... with a cobalt lease and a NA MR2. heinsight is 20/20.

[Consynx]

not bought the first car i looked at.

[Insanity-74]

Not bought 18" alloys...17" handles alot better + the tyres are alot cheaper.

Done alot more reading and research before starting things I knew little about.

Thats about it really.

This post has been edited by Insanity-74: Mar 13, 2006 - 2:13 PM

[hitcachi]

Greening, this is an excelent post.

[playr158]

for me...
listened to senior members more when i was starting out...

[BBoYRuGGeD]

hmmmm for me my biggest regret to this day is not buying this e153 trans off a solara with the dual synchros and all that good stuff with only 30k miles on the tranny for only $300 of this guy who just needed it gone instead my dumb effin a$$ had to buy a GT trans (tho in very very good condition) for more money than the e153 because i was afraid of all the "short axle problem" with using the e153 but now since theres a solution to the short axle prob...i cant seem to find that good of a deal for another e153...DOH! hey Doc if u read this do u remember that guys email? lol

i personally dont think alot of power in the front tires matter much in normal everyday driving or even in some situations were street racing is a must. i gutta admit tho that when you DO launch hard in 1st the tires will spin spin SPIN lol

bboy

[nik]

well if i new then what i know now

i still would have done the 7afte just cause i learned alot about the car

i cant comment on my 7agte but right now i dont know if i would have done it now just cause of the down time with the car and money spent but im sure i'll change my mind once i drive it

but i wish we could convert these into rwd or awd for under 5000

[jgreening]

i personally dont think alot of power in the front tires matter much in normal everyday driving

This is a good point and needs further elaboration. For those of you who are considering the swap, you should not get the idea that the car spins the tires when the driver is being easy on it. That is NOT the problem. The problem is that when you get much over 200whp, tire spin will impede your ability to put the availble power to the ground (and thus use it for speed and accelleration).

[playr158]

how much are you putting down with the GT28rs setup?

[Supersprynt]

A nice 2 stage boost controller or electronic programmable boost controller will def. help in this.

[jgreening]

how much are you putting down with the GT28rs setup?

Still haven't got in to the dyno yet. I will post it up when I get it done though.

[lagos]

i personally dont think alot of power in the front tires matter much in normal everyday driving

This is a good point and needs further elaboration. For those of you who are considering the swap, you should not get the idea that the car spins the tires when the driver is being easy on it. That is NOT the problem. The problem is that when you get much over 200whp, tire spin will impede your ability to put the availble power to the ground (and thus use it for speed and accelleration).

yep

the basic idea is... if you plan to drive your car on the street with the stock turbo, dont worry about traction. youll be just fine. during daily driving, it drives just like a normal celica.

if you plan to take it only to the track, well then youll probably learn all about the negative sides of fwd. the problem will be even worse with an upgraded turbo.

[scothaniel]

For me - the first lesson is expecting the swap to only take a couple of days.

Second lesson was making assumptions about the state of used parts. Snapped valves, bad gaskets, turbo shaft play - if your going to spend the time and money to swap a motor, pay to have it properly checked out and/or rebuilt.

[boosted_K2]

For me - the first lesson is expecting the swap to only take a couple of days.

Second lesson was making assumptions about the state of used parts. Snapped valves, bad gaskets, turbo shaft play - if your going to spend the time and money to swap a motor, pay to have it properly checked out and/or rebuilt.

i very much agree with your second statement. I would still have a MR2 turbo had I done that.

[frosty]

I would have to say the best advice would be to take your time and think about what you want acomplished. Try to have the whole build (or as much as possible) planned before any money is spent. That's what I'm now doing. (it also makes saving money alot easier )

That is just something a bunch of you guys are saying in a subtle way...