Okay well i have the TC2 and its basically all stock, and i want something that going to give me a boost in power and responsiveness that will not void my warranty and will be fairly cheap. Let me know what you have in mind! BTW i have a low budget! haha

 

define "low budget"...

 

Springs.

Light-weight crankshaft pulley (risk involved with this -- might take a year or two to know for sure what negative impact it might have on engine reliability, caveat emptor etc.)

Front strut bar

Weapon-R I-Throttle

and I'll let others contribute as well.

 

as in i can only spend a few hundred.. :/

 

Are you aware of anyone else with this upgrade? because i was reading its description on a site and it looks quite affective.. Just wasn't sure how affective.

 

Which upgrade are you talking about?

If you're referring to the NST crankshaft pulley, I think only one prototype is installed that we are aware of. There are no long-term analyses done on second generation tC's. The stock crankshaft pulley in the tC2 is much heavier than the tC1 pulley, so . . . I would theorize maybe there's more risk for the tC2 in a light-weight pulley vs. the risk (or lack thereof) that existed with the tC1's. I'm still signed up for the group buy, I don't want to rock the boat or do anything that would lead it to fall through, but I'm a bit leery of actually installing it.

Since I'm installing a turbo soon-ish, I probably won't really need it anyway.

 

smh.. lol the Weapon-R I-Throttle

 

Yes, many positive testimonials. Some pretty surprised people, too. One would think that pressing more quickly on the gas would accomplish the same effect, but feedback from skeptics who order it seems to be quite positive. For example, it seems to reduce input->output lag markedly in a way that's pretty hard (if not impossible) for the human driver to do on their own.

 

honestly, you can't really add any horsepower without voiding the warranty. also, you're 16, and this is your first car. 180 horsepower is more than enough for you. trust me, save your money. do some fun worthwhile upgrades like sport springs and sway bars. maybe an intake or exhaust if you want some more aural enjoyment.but anything that adds any serious horsepower (i.e. a turbo) is going to be beyond your budget and driving skills.

 

i throttle controller makes the car more fun to drive. i dont turn it on a lot though cuz i tend to burn through gas, lol

 

I can say 180 hp isnt enough.. lol it seems SOOO slow in like 4th gear... like a CELICA blew past me today on the highway, it isnt as fun to drive as it could be at this point.. haha

 

wow so you must have it installed, so is it alot more responsive and faster in the high gear range?

 

And how would springs and sway bars make the ride more fun? Just curious.

 

...

Better handling on the car makes it somewhat more fun to drive?

 

sigh..... as for the throttle controller from weapon-r....

All throttle controllers are effectively the same. It alters the voltage that is produced when you press down the gas pedal.

The reason for this is because of the DBW (drive by wire) which causes the unresponsiveness. There is a position sensor that senses how much the gas pedal is depressed. The voltage increases as the gas pedal is depressed more.

Now, if you you graph the throttle position (from 0% open to 100% open) on the y-axis of a graph; and you graph the amount the gas pedal is depressed (0% depression to 100% depression) you will obtain an exponential curve.

What the throttle controller does is modify the voltage output which is why the throttle controller needs to be "tuned" when you first hook the thing up. It alters the voltage that the position sensor reads and ultimately corrects it so that the graph is more linear (more like that of a cable throttle).

That is all it does. There are many throttle controllers out on the market from Blitz, weapon-r, TWP, etc etc.



Also.... for a few hundred bucks, you're not going to get any significant performance gains. An intake, brand new will set you back a good couple hundred. Same with the exhaust. And those won't even net you that much of a gain.

 

take it from somebody who has done everything this his tC except audio system. you don't get any significant gain in horsepower without spending thousands of dollars, with the exception of nitrous oxide.

trust me. start with suspension, and learn how to drive car. I guarantee you it is more car than you can really handle. there is no reason for a celica to blow past you unless you don't know what gear you should be in to be in the optimal power band. 4th gear being so slow, sounds like you short shifted and were too low in the power band. I don't know the tC2's max speed in gear, but considering 3rd gear in the first gen tops out at 77 mph, i'm going to guess you upshifted too soon, and that is why the celica blew you away.

also, don't race everything on the road, your car isn't that quick, and your driving isn't that good.

 

^This.

He's right. You won't see any significant power gains with a couple hundred dollars in bolt-ons. That's just how it is. Companies can post dyno results all day for a bolt-on cat back exhaust, but at the end of the day, you're probably going to lose hp somewhere in the power band. Pretty sure this has been discussed.

Get to know the car that you've had for less than a year. Take it to the track bone stock. Stock class AutoX is super fun, imo. You'll be able to hone your maneuvering skills there. Take it to the drag strip to get some times, and try to improve your reaction time and launch technique. Know every gear's feeling at every rpm and I guarantee you'll take that Celica.

Putting power in the car for an easy win isn't as fun as you think. It's like racing a car you know you're going to beat. Boring.

Also, aftermarket items won't void the warranty outright. If there is a problem with your car, they have to prove that aftermarket part is what is causing the malfunction. However, if you do start modding your tC2, keep all the stock parts. If something goes bad, and you have to take it into the dealer for some "Warranty" work, put everything back to stock and lie through your teeth that you never modded it.

 

Okay i am one of the people that has everything done to their car pretty much. I have a manual tc and i have the current upgrades. hks axle-back..injen coldair..weapon r headers..weapon r throttle controller..trd short shifter..torque solutions motor mount. I spent a total of about 1200 on everything with labor and all. Didnt get much peformance out of these mods but i can give you numbers really quick to show what difference i got as far as 0-60..0-80..0-100..top speed! im basing these numbers off of car and drivers track sheet and take into consideration that they did theirs on a track, i did these on the street and got these numbers off of my edge performance monitor. car and driver numbers(0-60 in 6.9)(0-80 in 11.6)(0-100 in 19.2)(top speed 133)..My car numbers(0-60 6.6(0-80 11.05)(0-100 17.05)(top speed 150-151) im sure on a track i wud do alot better!but all that money spent i really didnt make that big of a difference. Mods that made a difference were motor mounts(before motor mount 0-60 was like 7.4 sometimes 8 secs) ...quick shifter(was a night and day difference when it came to shifting)...weapon r throttle controller(which gave this car a +10 fun factor like if vtec kicks in lol)! the bolts on gave the car a little more pep and an aggressive sound but i probably net about 10-12 hp if that with bolt-ons....i will say that the tires suck on this car and that should of been my first upgrade

 

alright guys thanks for the help.. im just going to stick to cosmetics and might do intake and exhaust(not sure which one) and i really dont want to do suspension untill i can get some aftermaket rims and tires on there.

 

Light weight wheels and better tires=best bang for buck. The crank pulley is a solid investment as well. It's on my list next along with a throttle controller.