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Easy Performance Improvments


benfti

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Hey Everyone,

 

first post and recent return owner of a rolla, used to have an 07 which got moved on as the family got bigger, but when the decision was made recently to downsize the 2nd car to a small day to day runner was made, of course Corolla became the car of choice, a friend in Melbourne who was moving overseas was happy to oblige by offering me her soon to be redundant 90 AE92 seca for a very cheap price. I'm happy about this because it suits my purposes with the added bonus that I have been wanting to dabble in a restoration/improvement project for a while and I think a car of this vintage i a good place to start.

 

I actually haven't got the car yet, I'm in Adelaide and I'm flying to Melbourne next weekend to pick it up, top up the fluid levels and drive it back.

 

Engine wise from the pics it appears everything is stock. Well maintained, relatively low ks for the age 190xxx my question is probably what are good, easy initial improvements I can make to the engine that might see it get back to its former glory assuming the test of time has probably reduced the performance, obviously things like a good service, plugs and points would probably get it running well, but is there any easy ways to eek out some extra kW (BHP) I'm pretty sure it got a 4A-F motor, and it an auto?

 

any suggestions are welcome, and thank you in advance.

 

Ben

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4a-f and auto isn't the best combo esp if you chasing power, I think in your case the greatest benefit will be a freshen up, so oil and oil filter, plugs and leads,fuel filter and a tidy and clean up will restore few lost ponies. If you wanted to spend a little time and.effort a good cold air intake will score you a bit more power also.

 

Depends on your budget. Cai shouldn't be more than 60-100 depending on how adventerous you want to get.

But ultimately and realistically a good service should do the trick.

 

To give u proof, I picked up ae93 sx for dirt cheap and was.neglected basically gave it overhaul and a tidy up my fuel economy has improved by about 50%, goes a shit ton better and actually had someone offer me 5k cause its uber neat!

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unfortunately any mods other than a the CAI (ie a pipe from the front of your car..) aren't going to be cheap compared to the benefit you will get. a new exhaust may cost you $500, and will make the car louder and go maybe 2% faster.

 

and being auto you aren't starting with the best setup anyway.

 

i say service it properly, adjust the timing just before it starts to ping. run it on good fuel and enjoy some happy corollering!

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Thanks for that info guys, yeah the good service is a given, i can manage that myself, the cold air intake sounds like a good idea. I know given its an auto there is not as much that can be done, I suppose just getting to run 100% is probably the aim here though 110% would be nice.

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Convert it to manual! Uses less fuel, is quicker on acceleration and definately feels a lot faster and more direct when you hit the pedal.

 

The 'F' motor was meant for Fuel efficiency, while the "G" motor was for Go, so swap in a 4AGE if you want seriously more power. If not, is it worth doing a head job?

 

Port & polish it and skim it, get a cam cut while the head is off, then a set of extractors & a sports exhaust. They will all make the coldair intake work better too. Whiile its apart sort out any oil leaks and renew gaskets & O-rings.

 

I'm not sure how much performance gain there is in an aftermarket computer for the 4AF, but factory stuff is a bad compromise between fuel usage & performance, loaded cars & empty cars, open road driving and sitting in traffic etc, so better tuning of injection and timing can make a big difference sometimes.

 

Good luck with it-

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  • 7 years later...

My Carina II has the 4A-F, Carbbie 5sp.

My question follows on from 'cheap gains' ??

I understand [mebbies] from much WebbieMining that the Post '93 4A-FE (3rd Gen..?) engine has the same head as the 7A-FE (Camry/Celica) and has a 7mm cam lift.

The 1st gen head on my 4A-F is an 'orphan' = nothing will swap/upgrade from an injection engine cam (4 or 7).

Without any other 'mods' does anyone agree that an INCREASE in my Inlet valve lift would be a Good Thing..?? (simply for inlet charge/flow?)

I'm minded to try a 'heel grind' - for cheapness - to gain perhaps 2mm... This I think would match 4A-FE /post '93 lift.

I havent managed to determine my current inlet lift (not doing a cambox off/DTI at this early stage in the game).

Some suppliers of heel ground (0.150") supply a 'lifter/under shim' to make up this reduction as Toyota shims haven't the range [away from factory stock heel radius] - some opinions reckon they would pop out but @under 6k, the 4A-F is no screamer! they seem to be working...

Any of you 'back in the day' racer boys know any dimensions or have proof of what swaps into what.. ??

Cheers

4A-F

Edited by 4A-Foottotheboards
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Well, lift gives more torque, duration gives more power...

Pick a cam that opens quickly, so its 050" lift figures will be a tad higher than others. They will also be limited in the max rpm from opening the valve open & closed too quickly.

The max lift will depend on the size of the spacer you can put under the shim to make up the heel grind. I have heard of shims flicking out of motors, but I expect it depends on the rpm you're going to use and if it approaches valve bounce or not.

If you're going for mid-range feel rather than peak rpm then the porting job isn't so important.

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Thanks for that....

Someone has a full set of 4A-F cams, actually a full head, they could send me... But, considering the cost of a pro regrind, it makes little sense to 'fiddle around' without doing a Whole Head 'flow n fettle' job. I'm not going there.

I'm concentrating on getting the best out of the Aisan, redoing the vac hosing + checking the dizzy works OK.

4A-F

Edited by 4A-Foottotheboards
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