Celica ST165 GT4
Discussion
Hi all, thought I would join up as I spend enough time reading the forums and site!
My car is a 1988 Celica GT4, the first generation of the GT4, it used the then brand new 3sgte engine which has subsequently featured in many a big power Celica or MR2.
I purchased my car completely standard in 2004, since then it has been continuously modified to a fast road spec. I also compete in the Toyota Sprint Series, so far achieving a best result at Barkston Heath of 18 overall and 8th in class. I also plan to do a few track days and maybe some more sprint work locally to me in the west midlands.
The car.
She runs a standard bottom end, with a re con cylinder head and standard cams.
1.2mm TTE metal head gasket
ARP bolts
FMIC
Hybrid Turbo
MOCAL coolers for Gearbox and PAS
HKS EVC boost Controller
Straight Intake
Blitz SUS filter
Racing Battery
Custom Ali rad
Stripped out A/C and EGR
New Clutch
Later model Gen 6 ST205 gearbox for closer ratios/
Last on the roller we were 251bhp at 0.8bar with a boost leak, Since sorted so 1.0 bar should be 260bhp ish
Plan is for Link G3 re map and bigger top feed injectors
Chassis wise she has
Brakes
I have installed ST185 calipers with Black diamond discs and Pagid Pads, braided hoses and all new rear components, budget permitting I hope to upgrade to an AP racing 4 pot kit with 330mm discs
Suspension
The Front uses
KYB AGX adj insert with whiteline control springs
Tein pillow ball top mounts
Whiteline Caster anti dive kit
Whiteline Camber Adj bolts
Poly bushed wishbones
Std anti roll bar bushes
Whiteline front strut brace
The rear uses
Standard New rear shocks
Whiteline control springs
Adjustable whiteline ARB with poly bushes
New bused rear subframe
Whiteline Camber Adj bolts
Whiteline rear strut brace.
Wheels
I run 17"x 7.5 Compo 5 spokes with Parada 2 205 40 17s
Body wise the few mods such as vented wing and bonnet and enlarged cooling holes in the front bumper are primarily to aid cooling and intake.
Un like the later GT4s my car had no bonnet vents so suffered when standard from high under bonnet temps.
I run the car with full trim, as I used to have a stripped out car for sprinting and I hated using it on the road for daily driving, I am not going to make the same mistake again.
The condition of the car is A1 and a lot of time has been spent keeping the underneath rust proofed and the car free from rust which is this models killer.
I hope you like her, there are fairly few left on the roads in good condition now, which is a shame.
My car is a 1988 Celica GT4, the first generation of the GT4, it used the then brand new 3sgte engine which has subsequently featured in many a big power Celica or MR2.
I purchased my car completely standard in 2004, since then it has been continuously modified to a fast road spec. I also compete in the Toyota Sprint Series, so far achieving a best result at Barkston Heath of 18 overall and 8th in class. I also plan to do a few track days and maybe some more sprint work locally to me in the west midlands.
The car.
She runs a standard bottom end, with a re con cylinder head and standard cams.
1.2mm TTE metal head gasket
ARP bolts
FMIC
Hybrid Turbo
MOCAL coolers for Gearbox and PAS
HKS EVC boost Controller
Straight Intake
Blitz SUS filter
Racing Battery
Custom Ali rad
Stripped out A/C and EGR
New Clutch
Later model Gen 6 ST205 gearbox for closer ratios/
Last on the roller we were 251bhp at 0.8bar with a boost leak, Since sorted so 1.0 bar should be 260bhp ish
Plan is for Link G3 re map and bigger top feed injectors
Chassis wise she has
Brakes
I have installed ST185 calipers with Black diamond discs and Pagid Pads, braided hoses and all new rear components, budget permitting I hope to upgrade to an AP racing 4 pot kit with 330mm discs
Suspension
The Front uses
KYB AGX adj insert with whiteline control springs
Tein pillow ball top mounts
Whiteline Caster anti dive kit
Whiteline Camber Adj bolts
Poly bushed wishbones
Std anti roll bar bushes
Whiteline front strut brace
The rear uses
Standard New rear shocks
Whiteline control springs
Adjustable whiteline ARB with poly bushes
New bused rear subframe
Whiteline Camber Adj bolts
Whiteline rear strut brace.
Wheels
I run 17"x 7.5 Compo 5 spokes with Parada 2 205 40 17s
Body wise the few mods such as vented wing and bonnet and enlarged cooling holes in the front bumper are primarily to aid cooling and intake.
Un like the later GT4s my car had no bonnet vents so suffered when standard from high under bonnet temps.
I run the car with full trim, as I used to have a stripped out car for sprinting and I hated using it on the road for daily driving, I am not going to make the same mistake again.
The condition of the car is A1 and a lot of time has been spent keeping the underneath rust proofed and the car free from rust which is this models killer.
I hope you like her, there are fairly few left on the roads in good condition now, which is a shame.
Hi, the engine is a 2.0 16v DOHC lump with turbo, stock when released way back in 88, it was 184bhp, later engines were up to 250bhp as stock in the later gt4s.
It was the first UK car sold with a catalytic converter, and came with a list of fuel stations and a spare fuel can as standard! how times change!
The rally version was highly successful after teething troubles with the drive train and cooling were sorted, the cars were well capable of beating the works Lancia Delta Evos. but now compared to the Lancias and even other Jap 4wd cars, they are ignored. Too many have suffered neglect and been broken up.
It was the first UK car sold with a catalytic converter, and came with a list of fuel stations and a spare fuel can as standard! how times change!
The rally version was highly successful after teething troubles with the drive train and cooling were sorted, the cars were well capable of beating the works Lancia Delta Evos. but now compared to the Lancias and even other Jap 4wd cars, they are ignored. Too many have suffered neglect and been broken up.
coupeboy said:
Hi, nice car, I've got an identical car with 57k miles and totally standard.
Hi I notice you are in the midlands too, I have quite a few spares for the car if you ever need bits, plus I read on an older posting you were after advice for fast road spec tunning.Drop me a line if you need any help, I spent a lot of time researching the suspension set up for my car, as stock they are soo soft, comfy but not what I would call sporty..
Nice miles on yours, mine has now done close to 97k.
Its been ages, but as we go to our first sprint of the year at rockingham this sunday, I thought I would update this post.
Since the first posting, I have made some considerable changes to the car, all really engine and chassis.
Engine bay now looks like this:
In short,
Home made cold airbox, made from foamex and nimbus heat shield, with draught exculder tape!
Standard ECU junked
New Haltech E6x ECU fitted and mapped
Evo 8 injectors
At 1.0 bar boost we are at 270bhp, and once the new walbro fuel pump is sourced and fitted this wil rise, as the hybrid is cappable of higher boost levels, as is the rest of the engine.
A later model gear shift has been fitted, giving a much more positive change.
New track wheels with track rubber.
new FIA approved budget seats
few action shots
on track at Brands
Spot of wet weather sprinting!!
night racing at teeside
Practice in daylight
Wet weather fun again
Best sprint result last year was 5th in class and 11th overall, so hopefully we can do better in 09, however, lack of funds is holding up development so far this year.
Saying that, I still have a few nice bits to go on, such as different springs, modified engine mounts, brake stopper, uprated ARB, few gauges, so there is plenty to do.
wish us luck for 09.. should be good.
Since the first posting, I have made some considerable changes to the car, all really engine and chassis.
Engine bay now looks like this:
In short,
Home made cold airbox, made from foamex and nimbus heat shield, with draught exculder tape!
Standard ECU junked
New Haltech E6x ECU fitted and mapped
Evo 8 injectors
At 1.0 bar boost we are at 270bhp, and once the new walbro fuel pump is sourced and fitted this wil rise, as the hybrid is cappable of higher boost levels, as is the rest of the engine.
A later model gear shift has been fitted, giving a much more positive change.
New track wheels with track rubber.
new FIA approved budget seats
few action shots
on track at Brands
Spot of wet weather sprinting!!
night racing at teeside
Practice in daylight
Wet weather fun again
Best sprint result last year was 5th in class and 11th overall, so hopefully we can do better in 09, however, lack of funds is holding up development so far this year.
Saying that, I still have a few nice bits to go on, such as different springs, modified engine mounts, brake stopper, uprated ARB, few gauges, so there is plenty to do.
wish us luck for 09.. should be good.
Edited by alwayzsidewayz on Friday 27th March 00:53
Cheers for the comments.
Re the car, they go for anywhere between 99p - £2,000k for really really good ones. ( rare as )
They are typical 80s jap classic, so rust is a real killer, sills, floor pan arches, wings and sunroof are favorites.
Mechs are pretty good, a great upgrade is to find a crashed donor late model GT4 ST205, and transplant the engine / box, easyish conversion and with chassis mods you have a car easily cappable of 300bhp and great handling.
The car is old school style 4wd, mine behaves like a mk2 escost with the track suspension, really fun to play with on the limit.
Brakes you can upgrade from the later car too.
Basically find the best shell you can, as parts are cheap as chips with a bit of modifing work.
Re the car, they go for anywhere between 99p - £2,000k for really really good ones. ( rare as )
They are typical 80s jap classic, so rust is a real killer, sills, floor pan arches, wings and sunroof are favorites.
Mechs are pretty good, a great upgrade is to find a crashed donor late model GT4 ST205, and transplant the engine / box, easyish conversion and with chassis mods you have a car easily cappable of 300bhp and great handling.
The car is old school style 4wd, mine behaves like a mk2 escost with the track suspension, really fun to play with on the limit.
Brakes you can upgrade from the later car too.
Basically find the best shell you can, as parts are cheap as chips with a bit of modifing work.
few more updates.
nice bigger intercooler, after we blew the old one.
New re map saw us gain 8 bhp with the bigger intercooler for the same boost level
added a flat shift which helps on track
Revised the suspension, with new stiffer lower springs, increase in neg camber for the front and rear. We tried a Stiffer 27mm front ARB, but on the loose tracks, this was not great. So we went back to the standard one for the rough sprint tracks.
revised the inter cooler piping layout, which helped with intake temps.
A few recent on track shots.
new engine bay layout.
Engine mods in the pipe line are a change to NA cams from the 3sge engine, with shimless buckets and a side feed manifold. that plus a uprated fuel pump will give me a 20bhp increase and alos give me a few more revs to play with top end.
Since swapping the master cylinder to one from a later one from a ST185 gen 5, I finally have good brakes and its made such a difference on track.
last race of the year is Teeside, so the front ARB will go back to being the stiffer one. should finish off the R888s.
New oil cooler and filter relocation kit going on very soon.
Best result on the series so far this year is 8th in class and 17th overall, a slight oil leak from the turbo held us back, but in a competitve series I am very pleased with the progress.
nice bigger intercooler, after we blew the old one.
New re map saw us gain 8 bhp with the bigger intercooler for the same boost level
added a flat shift which helps on track
Revised the suspension, with new stiffer lower springs, increase in neg camber for the front and rear. We tried a Stiffer 27mm front ARB, but on the loose tracks, this was not great. So we went back to the standard one for the rough sprint tracks.
revised the inter cooler piping layout, which helped with intake temps.
A few recent on track shots.
new engine bay layout.
Engine mods in the pipe line are a change to NA cams from the 3sge engine, with shimless buckets and a side feed manifold. that plus a uprated fuel pump will give me a 20bhp increase and alos give me a few more revs to play with top end.
Since swapping the master cylinder to one from a later one from a ST185 gen 5, I finally have good brakes and its made such a difference on track.
last race of the year is Teeside, so the front ARB will go back to being the stiffer one. should finish off the R888s.
New oil cooler and filter relocation kit going on very soon.
Best result on the series so far this year is 8th in class and 17th overall, a slight oil leak from the turbo held us back, but in a competitve series I am very pleased with the progress.
Very nice GT4 indeedy. There is always something about japanese cars. Yes, they aren't as sexy as TVR's, or porsches, but they do have a certain something. Old Soarers, old Datsun GTR's, GT4's, MR2 Turbos, Supras... All cool as f
k to me. They have a sort of geek cool, if you know what I mean. Like a geek may proudly own an old spectrum or something. Lovely car, and you're lucky to have such a nice example.
k to me. They have a sort of geek cool, if you know what I mean. Like a geek may proudly own an old spectrum or something. Lovely car, and you're lucky to have such a nice example.
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