How to modify a Celica VVTi?

Celica.S

Hi i recently got a Celica VVTi and I want to improve its performance, does anyone know where to start? Turbo, Intercooler, Supercharger, Induction kit etc, also if anybody knows about the 'chip' for the E.C.U. and how it works and if it's a good idea let me know. Any other suggestions on how I can improve performance of this car please let me know I'd appreciate it.

hi_im_fil

It all depends how much you want to spend. Turbos/superchargers will be big money.

A good start would be breathing mods like a free flowing exhaust an air filter first. Then you can add better cams etc

Atomic Pineapple

You might find better and more specific information on an owners club.

Try here -http://www.celica-club.co.uk/

I dont think there's much room for improvement on the 190bhp really unless you go the route of turbo charging it, big money and you'll need to look at whether or not brakes etc.. can handle the extra power, if not they'll need to be upgraded too.

colm_mcm

if it's VVT-i, then you're better off getting a VVTL-i model instead.

There's a latvian (?) guy living over here with a LHD Celica 140 that's turbocharged, it's putting out about 280bhp now. he's on Celica Club.

But as I said, the best thing to do is cut your losses and get a VVTL-i

Celica.S

Ok at the moment a VVTL-i is not an option for insurance reasons and whatever I buy for my VVT-i I'm sure would also fit on a VVTL-i if the opportunity did come up, So I don't mind investing a bit of money into this car. I have already bought a K&N induction kit for this car but it hasn't arrived yet. So whats next? Fitting a better exhaust?

B00MSTICK

If you're against a VVTL-i for insurance reasons then a turbo/supercharger is completely out of the question.

You may also have to declare any of your mods to the insurance co. too which can be a few hundred euro extra

Atomic Pineapple

As Boomstick said if insurance prevents you from getting the 190 Celica then it definitely prevents you from any significant power increases to the 140.

Do the basics, filter, cat back exhaust, decat, lighter wheels but dont expect much gain and also notify your insurance company of any mods too, you probably wont see an increase in your premium for basic mods

Celica.S

Ok thanks for that advice, and does anybody know about E.C.U. chips or remapping? If they work well or are good value etc?

Atomic Pineapple

Celica.S wrote: »

Ok thanks for that advice, and does anybody know about E.C.U. chips or remapping? If they work well or are good value etc?

You'd only want to remap your car after putting modifications onto it to get the most out of the modifications.

a remap on her now wont get you any gains like a remap on say a turbo diesel Golf

Sqaull20

Celica.S wrote: »

Ok thanks for that advice, and does anybody know about E.C.U. chips or remapping? If they work well or are good value etc?

They work, but only worth it in turbo charged cars, wouldn't be worth doing in a non turbo.I think you should leave the performance mods alone, build up your no claims and then buy a fast car.

Celica.S

Ok well the way I was looking at it was that whatever I could fit onto my VVT-i, besides remapping, I would one day be able to put onto a VVTL-i, so whether I wait till untill I can get insured on a VVTL-i or not doesn't really come into play as I could just swap over the parts.
As for the E.C.U. chip, I visited www.autoremap.ie which claimed that it could give non-turbo cars 8-11% more torque, on the website it said that this was due to car manufacturers reducing the power output, to increase MPG and hence increase marketability. Can anybody vouch for this?

Atomic Pineapple

it probably would increase it a bit but its not worth the money in my opinion, you wont notice the extra torque or power at all on the road.

As Sqaull20 says, build up your NCB on the 140, save your money and look at your options when you've built up your NCB and I dont mean a 190 Celica, you could start looking at much more powerful cars.

I wasted money on my first car that if I hadn't I'd be driving a much more powerful car than I am now

colm_mcm

planning an engine swap down the line is just silly. unless the 140 has extensive body mods etc. there's no point in not just being a proper 190.

Celica.S

Yeah your probably right. Seems that whatevers actually worth getting done to your car is just going to make you un-insurable. And I rang the number listed on remap.ie and they said that they don't do non-turbos and that if I was to get it done the effects would be minimal.
Ah well, thanks for all the usefull advice, it's probably saved me a fortune. I'll be back when I want advice on modding my Lambhorghini:P

Atomic Pineapple

Join a celica owners club anyway and you'll get loads of info that you'll need throughout your ownership of the car, stick a few pics up in the shows us your car thread too sure

Sqaull20

Celica.S wrote: »

Yeah your probably right. Seems that whatevers actually worth getting done to your car is just going to make you un-insurable. And I rang the number listed on remap.ie and they said that they don't do non-turbos and that if I was to get it done the effects would be minimal.
Ah well, thanks for all the usefull advice, it's probably saved me a fortune. I'll be back when I want advice on modding my Lambhorghini:P

Celica's are making ok money even now, you could always trade up for something!

It will have to be a trade though, style over power all coupe's with power are very hard to insure and the fast yokes you can insure dont look the part.Tough choice!

Fallon2304

Hi mate.

Speaking from experience, I've owned a 140 and 190. Your not going to get major power increases out of either without going down the road or turbo or supercharging. Induction kits are a waste of time and gains are minimal.

190 is a different animal over 6k rpm. If you want power, trade up. Simple as.

steveonagle

if you want power buy a different car sounds harsh but its true you could spend a fortune on this car and not see great gains besides vvti sucks couldnt even beat a b16b ctr 1.6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZmGI34VR8g

kennethk

sell it:rolleyes: