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Well, nothing comes for free, big power means even bigger $$$, but there are a few cheap mods that can be done to improve things.
First of all, give your car a full service. That's oil, filters, ignition leads, plugs etc.
Grab a bottle of Penrite HPR30 oil, it's cheap and it has been found to be a good oil for these engines. Don't waste money on stuff like Mobil1 or Royal Purple, we're not building a hipo sports car.
The genuine Toyota filter is the best, only bettered by the TRD filters (get them from Ebay for the cheapest price), although Ryco is ok on the cheap.
Toyota part number - Ring Toyota
TRD Part number - 90915-SP000 (up to 1987), 90915-SP010 (after 1987)
Ryco part number - Z386
For plugs, NGK BKR6EP11 are the proper plugs to use. They are the platinum tipped type, but are more expensive than the copper cores, they last much longer though.
If you're on the cheap, NGK copper core plugs can be used, BKR6E-11.
According to the Japanese AE101 Service manual, these are the part numbers:
4E-FE/4A-FE/5A-FE:
Nippon Denso - K16R-U11
NGK - BKR5EYA-11
4AGE 20V:
Nippon Denso - PK20R11
NGK - BKR6EP11
AE101 4AGZE:
Nippon Denso - PQ20R-P8
NGK - BCPR6EP-N8
For the leads, any decent lead will do. Just tell your local parts place what car you've got and buy the mid range leads. You can pay a bit more for the coloured leads if you like, but remember, the thickness of the insulation makes NO difference to the performance of the lead (it just makes it hard to fit), it's the core wire in the lead that makes the difference. Carbon cored leads are ok I guess, spiral wound is better. Top Gun make good leads (most big brands are quite good), but remember, the thicker leads don't perform any better than the thinner ones of the same type.
Don't forget to check the distributor cap and rotor button too, these are consumable parts and I've seen many get neglected. I don't know how many cars I've seen with brand new plugs and leads, but the ignition is producing a bad spark because the rotor cap and button are the original ones the car rolled out the factory with.
You'll have to consult the local parts place or Toyota for part numbers, they change between models.
Now the air filter. First, don't bother with a pod filter. 99% of pod filters are set up incorrectly and actually end up hurting performance.
You DO NOT want to just stick a pod filter in your engine bay, this will simply force your engine to suck in hot air, which means less dense air, which means less fuel can be packed into the air, which means less power (got all that?)
We did a test on a mates Mazda 323, and with a bare pod, his Microtech was reading an intake temp of over 80 degrees!! With the stock air box installed, he was reading no more than 30 degrees, and the car was noticeably more punchy and powerful.
If you REALLY need a pod, set up a proper cold air induction system, as covered elsewhere in the FAQ section of this site.
Ok, so you don't want to ruin your power with a bare pod, so what can you do?
Put a stock filter in.
Yep a stock one.
The stock filter is fine for your purposes. It flows well and filters well, it's also cheap. The restrictions in your system isn't the filter, so just stick with a stock one.
If you've really got the itch, then you can spend some coin on a K&N filter, but being oiled, make sure you check it regularly as it will filter a lot of the fine dust and clog up quickly. You can get K&N recharge kits cheap too, just follow the instructions and DON"T over oil the filter. You'll hurt performance badly.
My neighbour had a K&N panel filter in his stroked Jeep Cherokee, which the mechanic waay over oiled. The car would barely idle and lacked top end power due to the restriction (try to suck air through a wet t-shirt, same effect). We properly oiled the filter and his idle was perfect and power returned.
Now we move onto the fuel filter. This filter often seems to get neglected. You don't have to change it very often at all, but you probably don't know when it was last replaced. A blocked filter will starve your engine of fuel, so best to replace it if you can. A basic Ryco filter is sufficient here.
Don't forget to check your belts while you're at it too. If they look cracked, frayed or worn, best to replace them. The size will be written somewhere on the belt, if you can't see it, turn your engine over a few times to spin the belts around so you can read the number. It'll be in the format 5PK320 or something.
If you want a nicer note from the exhaust, a set of extractors and a 2 to 2 1/4 inch exhaust will be enough. You can either scour the wreckers and the forums for a set of stock or second hand extractors, or buy a new set. There are a range of brands available, from generics for a few hundred at the most, to Pacemakers, Genie etc all the way to HKS and Cusco's that will set you back over a grand.
If you can get a set of silvertop or blacktop extractors, INCLUDING the secondary pipe (the bit that goes under the engine), they make a nice upgrade, with a minor mod to the outer flange bolts. (an angle grinder is all that's needed to enlarge the bolts to make it fit the 16v engines). The blacktop extractors are a bit bigger and are the best of the stock extractors, but they are pretty rare.
Don't bother with a cannon, they are almost always too small for the application, resulting in a buzzy, droning, overly loud note. Although, if you like sounding like a Honda, go for it.
Just stick with a large oval type resonator (they have a lot more internal area than a hotdog resonator, which helps deepen the note and reduce buzz) and a nice big straight through rear muffler (although a turbo muffler is fine if the straight through type is too loud) with a simple chrome tip or the like. Performance, and class, all in one.
Spend the bit extra on a mandrel system, it worth the gains, but stick with mild steel. Your car isn't a show car, and mild steel will last 10 years at least anyway. Plus stainless has a bit more of a raspy sound to it too.
That's all I can think of for now, more to come. (or make suggestions
)
good write up Terra
