Ss3 Modification Update

[Golden bay NZ]

Toyota Celica 1998 SS3

2.0L Red Top Beams engine with vvti

ST202-BLMZF

197hp stock / 216hp now

1150 kg curb weight {1250 kg stock)

31 m.p.g / 10 to 12.5 km/L

Times: 1/6/2011

95 octane, cold tyres

0 - 100kph .. 6.2 secs

20 - 160kph 13.37 (without dropping clutch)

80 - 120 ........3.7

100k to 160k..7.7 secs (7.69) - hard acceleration up to 100

(useful sites - torquestats.com / zeroto60.com / albeedigital.com)

Modifications

* Ram air fitted with 4 litre container behind fog light

* Lightened Flywheel 5.4kg

* Electric Water Pump / Racing Fan and Digital Controller

* Racing Spec Condenser and Earthing Kit

* Catalytic converter core removed

* Aluminium GT4 bonnet

* Battery removed / 5.5kg dry cell 440 amp installed

* Spoiler removed also spare wheel, jack, fog lights

* Stereo and a/c removed

* K&N Panel Filter

* Fuelstar installed to fuel line

* Heat wrap on exhaust manifold

* Secondary airbox removed from behind left front parklight

* Expansion chamber (resonator box) removed from air intake

* Stock Platinum plugs

* Volk TE37C 15" x 6.5 mags (45 offset)

* Tein Super Street Adjustable Suspension

* 2 piece Rotors/ alloy hats

* 15mm wheel spacers

* Toyo T1R / Proxy4 tyres / Toyo Teo Plus / GT Radial Champiro 228

* Amsoil 10W30 full synthetic oil

* Soundproofing in front and rear guards, firewall, undercarpet

* Low compression 350 degree Racing Brake fluid

[Golden bay NZ]

(They are my own guess, based on feel and times) so best to use them as a relative reference to the other mods. Ive also stated some hp claims for weight loss. These dont add hp but free up your existing hp.

My biggest power gains came from -

1. Ram air intake ( 4hp)

[This alone took 1 sec off my 20 to 160k time]

2. Condenser (2-3 hp over the entire rev range - www.buddyclub.co.nz for dyno chart on Honda Integra)

3. Electric Water Pump (2hp)

4. Removing catalytic converter core (1hp)

5. High Flow panel air filter (1.5-2hp)

6. Removing expansion chamber (1hp)

7. Heatwrapping headers (1hp)

8. Fuelstar on fueline (2hp)

9. Lightweight front rotors (2hp eqivalent)

10. Volk TE37C 16" rims (2-3hp)

11. GT4 aluminium bonnet (2hp/weight, +1hp for more cooling]

12. Aligning spark plug gaps to face air intake (dyno proven) (1hp)

13. Weight removal 91kg - 21 kg for soundproofing, gauges = 70kg

The equivalent of 1hp for each 6kg so about 15hp

[Golden bay NZ]

Weight Shed (current weight on res. 1146 kg)

Weight Loss will;

* improve acceleration in all gears

* improve handling and roadholding

* Improve braking distance and fuel economy

12.1 kg - Spare wheel ((I carry tyrefoam)

12.0 kg - Aluminium GT4 bonnet (6kg)

11.0 kg - Air conditioning

9.6 kg - Tein Super Street adjustable suspension

8.2kg - Rear seat behind driver

7.0 kg - Spoiler

6.5 kg - Stereo and aerial

5.5 kg - Battery

5.5 kg - sideskirts

4.3 kg - Boot tyre cover, wires, lining

3.4 kg - spare wheel cover, lining, Top trim off hatch cover

3.4 kg - Volk TE37C mags

3.2 kg - T1R 205/50/16 (8.62kg)

3.0 kg - 2 piece front rotors with alloy hats

2.4 kg - jack and brace

2.8 kg - racing fan

1.5 kg - Fog Lights

1.2 kg - glovebox

1.0 kg - Rear wiper and motor

0.9 kg - passenger visor, air vents

0.7 kg - aluminium heat shield

______

110.6 kg

[About 13 kg added with respray, soundproofing foam and extra gauges, wheel spacers]

[Golden bay NZ]

Handling

When I got this car the handling was sloppy with a lot of body roll and sway under hard braking.

New shocks all round helped. the aluminium bonnet and lightweight Battery improved the cornering noticeably

The 20mm lowering springs also dramatatically improved handling

The next best upgrade was the 16" x 7 rims. This stopped the remaining sway

As the wheels were *46 offset from a Subaru (42mm on 94 to 98 Celica), I put on the 15mm spacers to move the wheels out more. The car immediately felt wider and flatter. These were G Racing Hubcentric Spacers engineered to 0.05mm

Now it could take corners at speeds 10 to 15 k faster than before, probably faster but I havent found its limit yet.

They also made the suspension softer and the steering better, as previously it felt a little light at high speeds

*Note: The 46mm offset did actually fit without touching the calipers and I drove it like this for 2 months.

I put on new slotted rotors but they were quite heavy (6.8 kg) and robbed me of power.

My old stock rotors were only 4.7kg, but they had been crossdrilled

and were very thin at 21mm (celicas are 28mm/26mm min)

With my mechanic taking the necessary measurements we convinced a company to make us some 2 piece rotors

Luckily the Celica pistons are 69mm long. This means that with worn pads and rotors at 22mm

there is still 23mm of piston left inside the caliper( I never let pads wear more than 2/3)

This was necessary as the only disc that fitted was 24mm. It is still thick and weighs 5.3kg with the alloy hat

My brakes dont seem to get hot much, but I do run a 600 degree low compression racing fluid

At present with standard Toyota pads but I may upgrade to some Rally type pads when I can afford a set

Muffler: I have put on a straight through carbon fibre. It improved my times by 0.2 secs but was 500% noisier so I removed it. I have tried the Flowsound muffler which had good performance reviews. It slowed me down by 0.4 secs. I am putting my stock (quiet) muffler back on as it has given me these times. i have heard the Blitz Nur Spec R is good and quiet.

Tein Super Street Suspension

The car sits completely flat round bends, its made a huge difference. and Its the first time Ive got seat belt burns from cornering. It was very hard for the first month and it has speeded up the wear on my sway bar bushes and rear struts which all needed replacing

Future Options

 HKS Speed Defence/Harness

 Lexan Quarterlights

[Leeky]

Denso iriduim plugs aligned to intake (+1hp)

WHAT!?

You are joking right?

Let me start by saying that i dont mean to flame you. I'm sure you are a nice guy but i get the feeling that you've read too many magazines and watched the Fast and The Furious too much. Or perhaps you've received a lot of bad advice from someone who think's they know what they are talking about.

* Racing Spec Condenser and earthing kit - eBay? These earthing kits are a waste of time. If they worked then Toyota would fit them as standard.

* Denso iriduim plugs aligned to intake (+1hp) - This just isnt true. Your spark plugs only go in one way and it makes no difference to the power of the car if you somehome figured out a way to align all the tips in precisely the same direction. A spark is a spark. The standard 197bhp figure is based on a good brand new spark. So even with the worlds freshest and newest sparks it'll still make 197bhp

* Fuelstar installed to fuel line and magnets - Again eBay at its finest. I've seen no hard evidence that this device does anything other than add weight to the car. And again, if they worked why dont Toyota fit them as standard?

* Airbox cut from behind left front parklight - If you've cut it where i think you have then this is just going to allow engine heat back in and reduce power.

* Crankcase breather hose removed - Yeah... that is there for a reason you know.

* Soundproofing in front and rear guards, firewall, undercarpet - So how much weight has this added?

Or do you mean you have removed it?

1. Condenser (about 3 hp over the entire rev range - www.buddyclub.co.nz for dyno chart on Honda Integra) - No 0hp

2. High Flow panel air filter (2hp) - Possibly...

3. Removing air box (2 hp) - No 0hp, thats essentially the same as the above mod

4. Ram air intake ( 4 to 5 hp) - No, 0hp. The Non Turbo engine takes in the same amount of air as it isnt forced induction. All you've done is made sure it has a good supply of air.

5. Removing catalytic converter core (3hp) - Yeah you're probably about right on that one.

6. Removing expansion chamber (2hp) - Sorry this wont do anything just like your ram air.

7. Heatwrapping headers (2hp) - This will give 2hp on a 400bhp+ Skyline... it will do nothing on a 197bhp non turbo celica.

8. GT4 aluminium bonnet (1hp)[more cooling over plenum] - Cooling yes.... horse power..no

9. 10. Synthetic oil (1hp) - 3SGE is designed for Semi Synthetic and running fully synthetic is a waste of time. Just use semi synthetic and do more regular oil changes. Also your oil wont give you power, it would only take it away if you were running the wrong oil (i.e way too thick)

11. Aligning spark plug gaps to face air intake (dyno proven) (1hp) - Dyno Proven? Didnt you say you havent dyno'd the car yet? Please explain. Anyway I've already covered this.

12. Fuelstar and magnets on fueline (2hp) - I've already covered this too

13. Remove crankcase breather from plenum - And this

14. Weight removal 70kg - 10 kg for soundproofing, gauges = 60kg - Yeah adding sound proofing and gauges ADD's weight.. it doesnt remove it.

The equivalent of 2hp for each 11kg so about 10hp - Yeah ok... sure..

15. Electric Water Pump (4hp) - 1hp max

16. Lightweight front rotors (2hp) - How do brakes make power!? This is just stupid...

Horsepower calculation

I have not had the car dyno tested yet

My estimate is based on two races with my friends 1996 255hp GT4

He has 100,000 k on the clock and a performance exhaust

We have had two races from 50k up to 170k and level pegged each time

I have added the condenser and Ram air plus a few other changes since then

I worked out the horsepower by weighing our cars on a weighbridge

and formulated the hp with our power to weight ratios

Estimating that his car is 255hp + 4hp for the pipe

minus 3 hp for old plugs = 257hp / weight = power/weght ratio

His power/weight ratio x my weight = my hp (roughly) - This is just crazy talk. Your saying your car is lighter and more powerful than a mk4 Supra Manual non turbo. But the supra would beat you o-60 and top speed. See where im going with this? Some serious issues with the Maths here.

I've read through all your modifications and all those will add up to about 3-5bhp at an absolute maximum.

What you've got to remember is loosing weight from the car DOESNT give you hp. Loosing weight from the car just makes the car lighter so you NEED LESS horse power to get the same performance.

The only reason you are able to keep up with your mates GT4 is eiter because you've shedded so much weight from your car, he isnt a very good driver or there is something wrong with his car. His GT4 will do over 150mph which you wont ever be able to do. So you would only be able to keep with him for a little while as above 100mph he'll just disappear into the distance as he has plenty of torque and your engine has a lack of torque. Also a standard 255bhp GT4 is very restricted by the standard exhaust system and the weight of the 4wd system. With about 3-4 simple modifications he could be pushing over 300bhp easy.

Honestly... the Red Top Beams 3SGE with VVTI is a good engine but would struggle to make 240bhp with thousands of pounds worth of block and head work. Your car is probably just over 200bhp.

Sorry to burst your bubble dude. But this is a forum where a good number of high level and professional tuners live. So we wont suger coat anything here, just give you the facts and im sure you can appreciate that :)

But i do think you're 0-60 claims are well founded :) I've always thought the SS3 VVTI was capable of a mid 6secs 0-60 :)

Why not take your car to a weighing station and find out exactly what it weighs? And also get it dyno's to find out exactly what it makes. From those two figures you can make some pretty good estimations on the vehicles performance.

[TARManiAC]

Surely a NA engine will benefit hp wise from being force fed with fresh cold air from the front of the car. This is a well known method in racingcar and also motorcycle circles. Tests has shown this method to give 0.3 bars of pressure in the intakesystem on a street sportsmotorcycle (Kawasaki). But this means that the intake piping and airboxsystem must be a closed one. It´s no use if you open up the airbox so the air (pressure) escapes before it reaches the intake manifold.

[Leeky]

Surely a NA engine will benefit hp wise from being force fed with fresh cold air from the front of the car. This is a well known method in racingcar and also motorcycle circles. Tests has shown this method to give 0.3 bars of pressure in the intakesystem on a street sportsmotorcycle (Kawasaki). But this means that the intake piping and airboxsystem must be a closed one. It´s no use if you open up the airbox so the air (pressure) escapes before it reaches the intake manifold.

You're right, on some NA cars/bikes you can actually measure and see a benefit of channelling air towards your intake but i've only ever seen these benefits on NA's with multiple throttle bodies. Racing NA's tend to have multiple TB's and pretty much every race bike i can think of has multiple TB's. But on the 3SGE you have a single TB which is a restriction. I've never seen or heard of anyone ramming air into this type of intake and seeing a mesureable benefit (dyno measured) other than a good cold supply of air.

There is only so much air that can be passed through a restriction (without going forced induction). Im sure the slightly cooler air would give the car a slightly more lively/responsive feel pulling away from the lights as it has access to cooler air, but i doubt very much in this type of application it would make an actual difference. And if it did, i'd say we'll be talking less than 1bhp.

[TARManiAC]

Yes single TB is a restriction compared to multiple TB. But still most forced induction engines use a single TB. I´m sure that a cold, dense supply of air forced into the airbox gives more than 1 hp. And still many racecars with single TB use a system which takes air directly from the front of the car. A good system with a direct route to the airfilter should be able of producing around 5 hp in conjunction with other mods.

[Leeky]

Yeah forced induction is a totally different ball game. And most forced induction engines use a single TB because multiple throttle bodies are expensive and if you can push enough air through a single TB then there is no need for more than one.

Which race cars have you seen with a single throttle body on an NA? I'd love to see a picture of a professional (Something i'd see on TV, nothing amateur) NA where they have stuck to a single throttle body.

No, on a road car you cannot create positive pressure above that which the throttle body naturally flows without a compressor of some sort - ie a turbo or super charger.

Ram-Air's work on Fighter Planes and proper high performance vehicles which travel at very high speeds.

5bhp is just not going to happen unless you had the air being super cooled down to freezing temps. Normal atmospheric air is too warm. When you have a NA its the volumetric efficiency of the intake which in the 3SGE's case is restricted by the throttle body.

The atmospheric air would need to be cooled so that its denser in order to get more of it in. A massive cold air ram isnt going to cool the air temp, its just going to collect and divert it to your intake filter.

You say with supporting mods, but the only two supporting mods i know of which could push more air through a throttle body are a turbo or supercharger. You NEED pressure, without pressure you get either a vacuum or a perfect supply at the same rate its being sucked in by the engine. This is basic physics of how a non turbo engine works.

Again, air-ram's are fine to make sure your NA engine is getting a good supply of cold but you cannot ram air in to an NA road car like the celica and expect to see anything.

Look at Honda's S2000 engine. That makes 240bhp. The reason it makes 40bhp more than the VVTI 3SGE (Same size engine and same amount or valves/cylinders) is that Honda did a crazy amount of work on the head and built up the block to take upwards of 9000rpm.

You cant just stick a bit of 'pipework' on an engine an get 5bhp unless the standard system restrics the breathing of the engine by 5bhp and you are essentially removing that. Which isnt the case on a 3SGE. And i've never seen any evidence that positive pressure can be created with a Ram-Air on a road car. Although i would love for you to prove me wrong and post up some evidence.

[Golden bay NZ]

I let my times speak for themselves

And yes I am now going almost as fast (within 0.2 to 0.5 secs) as some stock WRX's from 100 to 160k

(torquestats.com)

Most of these mods were tested one by one with multiple runs to check time improvement

Some of your comments show you havent researched much on subjects such as Ram Air

and how lighter rotors can improve times, or I think you have answered hastily and thought I was talking about brakes? This is talked about on many WRX sites

Ive done many hours of research on most of these subjects as Im wary of changing anything initially. It often seems there are 2 sides to many things such as lighter rotors / flywheels / synthetic oil. Though I have often found that most of the negative views come from stories of people using a cheaper or incorrect modification.

The Fuelstar is used on the Australian V8 supercars

The spark plug alignment has been dyno proven repeatedly

The Condenser is used on World rally Cars. I think it has more like a 6 to 9 hp gain with a turbo.

See more about it below where I have answered your questions one by one.

[Golden bay NZ]

The research I did before installing the Ram Air said that you could only expect about a 0.18 psi boost

and that you rpower gains would most likely come from the cooler air more than anything.

As I said it took a massive one second of my 20 to 160 k time

When I do these times I always do multiple runs. it is on the same stretch of road and the same time of day.

I can be up to a second slower if I dont change gear right or exactly at 7000rpm. I have a technique that I have mastered and I can do two runs within 0.1 sec of each other using a stopwatch

I disconnected the Ram Air today while I tested a new muffler and it was 1.4 secs slower without it.

[Golden bay NZ]

I do take it to a weighing station.

And for your information the 3S-GE has been taken to 400 to 500 hp in the Japanese Formula 4

I go by times with each mod, and racing other cars also seems to match what I have written

I will see if I can organise some races with an STI from 100 to 160

[Golden bay NZ]

My Mates Gt4 was bought from an enthusiast who owned 2 of them. Its a 1996, done 100,000k and is running I think standard 3 to 4 psi, a high flow panel filter and Blitz Nur Spec R muffler.

[Golden bay NZ]

* Racing Spec Condenser and earthing kit - eBay? These earthing kits are a waste of time. If they worked then Toyota would fit them as standard.[ This is a commonly asked question Car manufacturers dont do mods as they want you to buy the more expensive and powerful model. Buddyclub is a racing parts supplier and a main advertiser in the NZ Performance Car magazine where jap cars in NZ are now commonly reaching 6 to 7 secs for the quarter mile with 1000hp motors. See more about the condenser and how it works below]

* Denso iriduim plugs aligned to intake (+1hp) - This just isnt true. Your spark plugs only go in one way and it makes no difference to the power of the car if you somehome figured out a way to align all the tips in precisely the same direction. A spark is a spark. The standard 197bhp figure is based on a good brand new spark. So even with the worlds freshest and newest sparks it'll still make 197bhp [Not true. I cant remember links to the site but it was proven over multiple dynos on different cars to work everytime. By aligning the gaps towards the air intake the spark is slightly more advanced. You need new plugs to do this and you need to swap them until they align as close as you can]

* Fuelstar installed to fuel line and magnets - Again eBay at its finest. I've seen no hard evidence that this device does anything other than add weight to the car. And again, if they worked why dont Toyota fit them as standard? [ As above – B) Fuelstar is a British invention from WW2. It is a capsule containing lead and alloy. The fuel passes through it and picks up nano particles of metal that somehow makes the fuel combust better. I have put it on two cars and I could hear the louder explosions inside the engine as soon as I drove away from the garage. It was reinvented and marketed by an Australian company and is now standard on the Australian V8 Supercar Circuit www.fuelstar.com.au]

* Airbox cut from behind left front parklight - If you've cut it where i think you have then this is just going to allow engine heat back in and reduce power. [it is outside the engine bay and inside the left guard sucking air in from the road. I didnt test this seperately, but it seemed to free up the air. ]

* Crankcase breather hose removed - Yeah... that is there for a reason you know. [And what is that apart from recycling emissions and providing hot, de-oxygenated air into the intake? Does it need some oil for the valves?]

* Soundproofing in front and rear guards, firewall, undercarpet - So how much weight has this added?

Or do you mean you have removed it? [ive added 15 kilos or so, including 10 cans of underseal in the guards, underbody and doors at 0.5kg each and a 1 litre can of underseal yesterday. My car is almost as quiet as a Camry now with very little road, exhaust, or engine noise comng through. There is a type of medium density foam you can buy here at rubber stores. Its used for insulation on marine motors, about 8mm thick with a silver, flame resistant surface and adhesive backing. I have put $600 of this on the firewall, behind the engine, under the seats and footwells and all inside the boot and side cavities. Not to mention expanding foam in the sills, chassis rails, some guards and boot. I also have a fair amount of household insulation stuffed into corners]

1. Condenser (about 3 hp over the entire rev range - www.buddyclub.co.nz for dyno chart on Honda Integra) - No 0hp [www.buddyclub.co.nz Click on the Racing Spec Condenser and find the dyno graph. It has more like a 6 to 9hp gain on turbos and is used on the WRC I think. They are a series of capacitors. Voltage coming from your Battery varies and this interferes with computer controlled ignition and timing. The capacitors store the voltage and release it at an even rate, which apparently allows your cars computer to work more evenly, providing more power. The makers also claim that it will help your lights, stereo and all your electrics work better. As well as this it puts a cool blue neon light under your bonnet. Price is about 100 pounds]

2. High Flow panel air filter (2hp) - Possibly...[20% more airflow]

3. Removing air box (2 hp) - No 0hp, thats essentially the same as the above mod [poss. not, but it seemed to improve throttle response and torque. This is the secondary airbox inside the left guard]

4. Ram air intake ( 4 to 5 hp) - No, 0hp. The Non Turbo engine takes in the same amount of air as it isnt forced induction. All you've done is made sure it has a good supply of air. [ It took an entire second off my 20 to 160k time when I had been struggling for months to take 0.2 off. Id say about 4 hp. I could maybe get more if I taped the 4L container outlet onto the intake pipe, but I have left a gap to let water out as I heard of someone who wrecked their motor by sucking up water]

5. Removing catalytic converter core (3hp) - Yeah you're probably about right on that one.

6. Removing expansion chamber (2hp) - Sorry this wont do anything just like your ram air. [i dont know how it works but it does. When you put on a pod you also get rid of this by having a single tube intake. Also, you wouldnt notice a lot of these mods on your car, but I did on mine and on my Rav4]

7. Heatwrapping headers (2hp) - This will give 2hp on a 400bhp+ Skyline... it will do nothing on a 197bhp non turbo celica. [i could tell it had more power as I drove it over the garage parking lot. A 1% improvement is 2 hp]

8. GT4 aluminium bonnet (1hp)[more cooling over plenum] - Cooling yes.... horse power..no [but a cooler plenum/engine/air intake all helps to condense that air providing more power. I didnt test this seperately]

9. 10. Synthetic oil (1hp) - 3SGE is designed for Semi Synthetic and running fully synthetic is a waste of time. Just use semi synthetic and do more regular oil changes. Also your oil wont give you power, it would only take it away if you were running the wrong oil (i.e way too thick) [it took me weeks of talking to mechanics, the Toyota dealers and web searching to find that almost all of the new jap cars need 10W30. Even the local mechanics said to use a 40 grade oil and I got a lot of flak. But now ALL the garages in town use 10W30 semi synthetic which is what Toyota recommends. Full Synthetic is far superior after the initial 1000k run in period as it has less friction in the moving parts. My car ran faster and more slipperier. I thnk you should only change to full synthetic if you have done 120,000 k or less as the mineral oils put a coating on your bearings and the synthetic (a dispersant) will take it off. I use arguably the best oil in the world. Amsoil were the first to make full synthetic oil in 1972 for jetplane engines. They guarantee their oil for 25,000 miles or 1 year between changes - I change at 6000 miles. And they have the lowest metal wear particles at 5 to 10 microns. The next best oils such as Mobil One have 10 to 20 micron particles and most of the rest at 15 to 25 microns. I have been using it for 40,000 miles, and you have some idea how I drive. I don't nurse it and I road race regularly. Amsoil also has one of the lowest heat evaporation rates and keeps its viscosity for a long time. It is expensive ;) ]

14. Weight removal 70kg - 10 kg for soundproofing, gauges = 60kg - Yeah adding sound proofing and gauges ADD's weight.. it doesnt remove it. [Thats why I said 70kg – 10 = 60kg]

The equivalent of 2hp for each 11kg so about 10hp - Yeah ok... sure..

15. Electric Water Pump (4hp) - 1hp max [www.daviescraig.com.au][ Craig Davies have sold 20,000 of these and previously made car cooling fans for 40 years. Their dynos have shown a 6hp gain on a 6cyl engine. The external electric water pump frees up your cambelt providing more power. You need to lathe off the blades on your internal pump and keep it as an idler pulley. It has a digital controller with 5 temperature settings and 3 pulse settings for the pump]

16. Lightweight front rotors (2hp) - How do brakes make power!? This is just stupid... :ffs: [ I quote the 2hp figure to show the amount of power that is being freed up by the lighter rotors. You're right, it doesnt create 2 more hp - it just makes 2 more of your existing hp available when it would otherwise be used up in getting the rotors turning. As you may know, one kg of weight removed from your unsprung weight is the equivalent of at least 3 or 4 kg of your sprung (car body) weight. This weight loss is even more important when it is on the revolving centrifugal mass of the wheels, tyres and rotors. Less power is needed to get the wheel turning and more is available for acceleration. As well as the fact that a lighter wheel/rotor will improve roadholding.

I calculate that 2 kg (weight saved on 1 rotor) X 3 (unsprung weight) = 6kg

6kg is the amount 'sprung' or car body weight you would need to shed to equal 2kg lost on the rotors. So 12kg is the equivalent of 2.2 hp freed up]

What you've got to remember is losing weight from the car DOESNT give you hp. Losing weight from the car just makes the car lighter so you NEED LESS horse power to get the same performance.[or your existing hp will give you more performance. This is where almost half my extra (or available) power is coming from]

The only reason you are able to keep up with your mates GT4 is either because you've shedded so much weight from your car, [ Now you’re getting there] he isnt a very good driver [hes good] or there is something wrong with his car. His GT4 will do over 150mph which you wont ever be able to do. [Actually my car has a cut out at 195k and his has a cut out at 205 or 210k. Also both our needles would stop after hitting the odometer peg at 215k]

So you would only be able to keep with him for a little while as above 100mph he'll just disappear into the distance as he has plenty of torque and your engine has a lack [a massive improvement] of torque.

Why not take your car to a weighing station and find out exactly what it weighs? [i do this every 9 mths or so]

And also get it dyno's to find out exactly what it makes. [i was plannng on dynoing it. But there are only a few facilities for this in the South Island and I would have to drive 500k to get there and book 2 months in advance. Also it wont take into account my ram air (unless they have a blower) or my weight loss. And thirdly ..I dont think its a good idea to put a car on a dyno that has its maximum horsepower at 7000 rpm -200 rpm below its redline! My car gets enough punishment from doing my times, and I am confident that my system is working. The proof is in my times. According to torquestats.com Im only 0.2 secs behind one WRX in the 100 to 160k time (Thanks to my Ram Air)

[john905]

* Racing Spec Condenser and earthing kit - Ebay? These earthing kits are a waste of time. If they worked then Toyota would fit them as standard.[This is a commonly asked questioncar manufatures dont do mods as they want you to buy the more expensive and powerful model. Buddyclub is a racing parts supplier and a main advertiser in the NZPerformance Car magazine where jap cars in NZ are now commonly reaching 7.5 secs for the quarter mile with 1000hp motors]

* Denso iriduim plugs aligned to intake (+1hp) - This just isnt true. Your spark plugs only go in one way and it makes no difference to the power of the car if you somehome figured out a way to align all the tips in precisely the same direction. A spark is a spark. The standard 197bhp figure is based on a good brand new spark. So even with the worlds freshest and newest sparks it'll still make 197bhp [Not true. I cant remeber links to the site but it was proven over multiple dynos on different cars to work everytime. By aligning the gaps towards the air intake the spark is slightly more advanced. You need new plugs to do this and you need to swap them until they align as close as you can]

* Fuelstar installed to fuel line and magnets - Again ebay at its finest. I've seen no hard evidence that this device does anything other than add weight to the car. And again, if they worked why dont Toyota fit them as standard? [ As above – fuelstar is a British invention from WW2. It is a capsule containing lead and alloy. The fuel passes through it and picks up nano particles of metal that somehow makes the fuel combust better. I have put it on two cars and I could hear the louder explosions inside the engine as soon as I drove away from the garage. It was reinvented and marketed by an Australian company and is now standard on the Australian V8 Supercar Circuit www.fuelstar.com.au]

* Airbox cut from behind left front parklight - If you've cut it where i think you have then this is just going to allow engine heat back in and reduce power. [it is outside the engine bay and inside the left guard sucking air in from the road. I didnt test this seperately, but it seemed to free up the air. ]

* Crankcase breather hose removed - Yeah... that is there for a reason you know. [And what is that apart from recycling emissions and providing hot, de-oxygenated air into the intake. Does it need some oil for the valves?]

* Soundproofing in front and rear guards, firewall, undercarpet - So how much weight has this added?

Or do you mean you have removed it? [ive added 15 kilos or so, including 5 cans of underseal in the guards at 0.5kg each and a 1 litre can of underseal yesterday. My car is almost as quiet as a Camry now with very little road and exhaust, engine noise comng through. There is a type of medium density foam you can buy here at rubber stores. Its used for insulation on marine motors, about 8mm thick with a silver, heat resistant surface and adhesive backing. I have put $600 of this on the firewall, behind the engine, under the seats and footwells and all inside the boot and side cavities. Not to mention expanding foam in the sills, chassis rails, some guards and boot. I also have a fair amount of household insulation stuffed into corners]

1. Condenser (about 3 hp over the entire rev range - www.buddyclub.co.nz for dyno chart on Honda Integra) - No 0hp [www.buddyclub.co.nz Click on the Racing Spec Condenser and find the dyno graph. It has more like a 6 to 9hp gain on turbos and is used on the WRC I think. Thye are a series of capacitors. Voltage coming from your battery varies and goes up and down. this interferes with computer controlled ignition and timing. the capacitors store the vltage and release it at an even rate, which aparently alows your cars computer to work more evenly, providing more power. the makers also claim that it will make your lights, stereo and all your electrics work better. Price is about 10 pounds]

2. High Flow panel air filter (2hp) - Possibly...[20% more airflow]

3. Removing air box (2 hp) - No 0hp, thats essentially the same as the above mod [poss. not, but it seemed to improve throttle response and torque. This is the secondary airbox inside the left guard]

4. Ram air intake ( 4 to 5 hp) - No, 0hp. The Non Turbo engine takes in the same amount of air as it isnt forced induction. All you've done is made sure it has a good supply of air. [it took an entire second off my 20 to 160k time when I had been struggling for months to take 0.2 off. Id say about 3 or 4 hp. I could maybe get more if I taped the 4L container outlet onto the intake pipe, but I have left a gap to let water out as I heard of someone who wrecked their motor by sucking up water]

5. Removing catalytic converter core (3hp) - Yeah you're probably about right on that one.

6. Removing expansion chamber (2hp) - Sorry this wont do anything just like your ram air. [i dont know how it works but it does. When you put on a pod you also get rid of this by having a single tube intake. Also, you wouldnt notice a lot of these mods on your car, but I did on mine and on my Rav4]

7. Heatwrapping headers (2hp) - This will give 2hp on a 400bhp+ Skyline... it will do nothing on a 197bhp non turbo celica. [i could tell it had more power as I drove it over the garage parking lot. A 1% improvement is 2 hp]

8. GT4 aluminium bonnet (1hp)[more cooling over plenum] - Cooling yes.... horse power..no [but a cooler plenum/engine/air intake all helps to condense that air providing more power. I didnt test this seperately]

9. 10. Synthetic oil (1hp) - 3SGE is designed for Semi Synthetic and running fully synthetic is a waste of time. Just use semi synthetic and do more regular oil changes. Also your oil wont give you power, it would only take it away if you were running the wrong oil (i.e way too thick) [it took me weeks of talking to mechanics, the Toyota dealers and web searching to find that almost all of the new jap cars need 10W30. Even the local mechanics said to use a 40 grade oil and I got a lot of flak. But now ALL the garages in town use 10W30 semi synthetic which is what Toyota recommends. Full Synthetic is far superior after the initial 1000k run in period as it has less friction in the moving parts. My car ran faster and more slipperier. I thnk you should only change to full synthetic if you have done 120,000 k or less as the mineral oils put a coating on your bearings and the synthetic (a dispersant) will take it off. I use arguably the best oil in the world. Amsoil were the first to make full synthetic oil in 1972 for jetplane engines. And they have the lowest metal wear particles at 5 to 10 microns. The next best oils such as Mobil One have 10 to 20 micron particles and most of the rest at 15 to 25 microns. My car has increased its oil consumption by about 50 to 100ml from 100,000k to 166,000k. And you have some idea how I drive. I don't nurse it and I road race regularly. Amsoil also has one of the lowest heat evaporation rates and keeps its viscosity for a long time. It is expensive]

14. Weight removal 70kg - 10 kg for soundproofing, gauges = 60kg - Yeah adding sound proofing and gauges ADD's weight.. it doesnt remove it. [Thats why I said 70kg – 10 = 60kg]

The equivalent of 2hp for each 11kg so about 10hp - Yeah ok... sure..

15. Electric Water Pump (4hp) - 1hp max [www.daviescraig.com.au][ Craig davies have sold 20,000 of these and previously have ben making cooling fans for 40 years. Their dynos have shown a 6hp gain on a 6cyl engine. The external electric water pump frees up your internal one. You need to lathe off the blades on your internal pump and kep it as an idler pulley. It has a digital controller with temperature settings and 3 pulse settings for the pump]

16. Lightweight front rotors (2hp) - How do brakes make power!? This is just stupid... [Not brakes..rotors. they are the discs your brakes pads grip onto. As you may know, one kg of weight removed from your unsprung weight is the equivalent of at least 3 or 4 kg of your sprung (car body) weight. This weight loss is even more important when it is on the revolving centrifugal mass of the wheels, tyres and rotors. Less power is needed to get the wheel turning and more is available for acceleration. As well as the fact that a lighter wheel/rotor will improve roadholding. My rotors were very thin (21mm) I put on new ones and they weighed 6.8kg each. My old ones were 4.7kg! My car was noticeably slower with the new ones. My 2 piece rotors are thicker but only 22mm and 5.3kg each

What you've got to remember is loosing weight from the car DOESNT give you hp. Loosing weight from the car just makes the car lighter so you NEED LESS horse power to get the same performance.[or your existing hp will give you more performance. This is where almost half my extra (or available) power is coming from]

The only reason you are able to keep up with your mates GT4 is either because you've shedded so much weight from your car, [ Now you’e getting there] he isnt a very good driver [hes good] or there is something wrong with his car. His GT4 will do over 150mph which you wont ever be able to do. [Actually my car has a cut out at 195k and his has a cut out at 205 or 210k. Also both our needles would stop after hitting the odometer peg at 215k]

So you would only be able to keep with him for a little while as above 100mph he'll just disappear into the distance as he has plenty of torque and your engine has a lack [a massive improvement] of torque.

Why not take your car to a weighing station and find out exactly what it weighs? [i do this every 9 mths or so]

And also get it dyno's to find out exactly what it makes. [i was plannng on dynoing it. But there are only a few facilities for this in the South Island and I would have to drive 500k to get there and book 2 months in advance. Also it wont take into account my ram air (unless they have a blower) or my weight loss. And thirdly ..I dont think its a good idea to put a car on a dyno that has its maximum horsepower at 7000 rpm -200 rpm below its redline! My car gets enough punishment from doing my times, and I am confident that my system is working. The proof is in my times and the 31 cars I have raced against (still unbeaten, minus one Ferrari who I let go past as he was risking his license..albeit i havent raced an Evo, Skyline or WRX yet, only VR4’s, BMW’s and an S2000 and a few 4.5L V6 Holdens, a 6 L, 340 hp V8 Holden (1750kg). But according to torquestats.com Im only 0.2 secs behind one WRX in the 100 to 160k time (Thanks to my Ram Air)

sorry but you dont have a clue mate, after reading this you did make me laugh lots, you must be one of those guys that buys some thing off e bay for about £2 and because it says it will give you 30bhp you think is true sorry its not, the reason leeky may seem to be funny is he knows what he is talking about and you dont

[Golden bay NZ]

And you do? You put orange wheels on a blue car.

Once again you are just proving your ignorance

[Golden bay NZ]

Re: hp calculation / n/a Supra

According to www.albeedigital.com the 1994 Toyota Supra has a 0 to 60 time of 6.9 secs and a quarter mile time of 15.2. These times are averaged on what professional drivers can do on a track and sometimes without using the clutch. So yes, my car is faster than this particular year N/A Supra because the Supra is heavy. Though power to weight ratio isnt gospel. It seems that your gearing and how well your gearbox matches your engine makes quite a difference. Turbos are different again as is whereabouts in the rev range your car peaks at torque and hp.

[john905]

And you do? You put orange wheels on a blue car.

Once again you are just proving your ignorance

ha ha i do 1/4 mile racing the orange wheels are on the front with my slicks on, i spend money on real mods not stupud magnets on fuel lines, got some advice for you if you hoover your car out with a dyson that will give you 3hp over any other hoover

[Fawbs]

Haven't we had this before, i'm sure i was involved in something like this in the past and those damn magnets on fuel lines, thats another one haha.

It is very far fetched claims like this, if you want to shut us up mate a dyno video with power outputs would go a long way but even then we can't be sure what mods you actually have. A dyno vid would be a big help though.

Even then i know the SS celica cars had the beams engines is it? Very good N/A engines and yes they produce good hp but would be high unlikely to produce anywhere near the torque a force induction car would produce, i'm not expert though.

[Golden bay NZ]

According to www.albeedigital.com the 94 n/a supra has a 0 to 60 time of 6.9 so yes, my car is faster. But thats a stock supra and very heavy.

[Golden bay NZ]

In retrospect I should have got a GT4. The funny thing is, my mates GT4 feels like its going faster when the turbo kicks in, but I catch him up in the high revs. This is why Ive been forced to search for these alternatives, until I put in a Nos or turbo. But if I can shed some more weight I may be happy with it.

[Leeky]

Haven't we had this before, i'm sure i was involved in something like this in the past and those damn magnets on fuel lines, thats another one haha.

It is very far fetched claims like this, if you want to shut us up mate a dyno video with power outputs would go a long way but even then we can't be sure what mods you actually have. A dyno vid would be a big help though.

Even then i know the SS celica cars had the beams engines is it? Very good N/A engines and yes they produce good hp but would be high unlikely to produce anywhere near the torque a force induction car would produce, i'm not expert though.

Totally agree. If you could present us with dyno figures and the slip to back it up i'll be happy to eat my words :)

[edwardio]

Sorry but there is no way you can mak3 40hp buy doing all that on an NA engine.

To make real gains in an NA engine you have to spend a lot of money. Basically you've made your car lighter, breathe a little easier and improved the grounding. The most likely thing is that your car accelerates better and maybe has a few hp.

Car mod retailers will say - add a cold air feed/induction kit & a sports exhaust & see 15+hp. This is rubbish. Just becuase the air filter material may breather 20% better, does not mean it's going to increase hp. It just means its easier for the engine to get the level of air it would normally need for the combustion.

[john905]

Haven't we had this before, i'm sure i was involved in something like this in the past and those damn magnets on fuel lines, thats another one haha.

It is very far fetched claims like this, if you want to shut us up mate a dyno video with power outputs would go a long way but even then we can't be sure what mods you actually have. A dyno vid would be a big help though.

Even then i know the SS celica cars had the beams engines is it? Very good N/A engines and yes they produce good hp but would be high unlikely to produce anywhere near the torque a force induction car would produce, i'm not expert though.

Totally agree. If you could present us with dyno figures and the slip to back it up i'll be happy to eat my words :)

x3 please prove us wrong, dont think you will but thats my opinion

[TARManiAC]

Wake up guys. He´s talking apples and you are talking oranges. Surely an engine does not get xtra power from taking weight off the car. And thats not what he´s saying is he? But it surely will get faster. That´s what he´s saying.

About all the dyno hype. I don´t take it seriously. I´m a racing driver, what works for me is the stopwatch. If the clock says the car is faster, what you have done to your car works. Fact. Stopwatches are more reliable than rolling roads, they are all different and don´t take into account a lot of factors.

And yes ramair works on N/A engines. You are ignoring what I wrote about the R/D work many motorcycle manufacturers have done to prove that it will give UP TO 0,3 bars of pressure in SOME N/A engines.