AE92 Corolla Coupe

Hi, I have a 1990 Corolla coupe SR5 (AE92) that I picked up for real cheap when I was looking for a project car. Right now I have just been doing track days with it but my long turn goal is to race in IT category locally. Its pretty stock now, I just opened up the valve cover and it looked real clean and so did the oil pan. I replaced timing belt ect and have been driving the heck out of it. The car has been gutted from anything not needed for track days hahaha. I am running hawk HP pads and regular discs. I took the car in its stock form to track days so I can see how this platform and to see if it worth the effort. I like it its not a bad platform and I will be doing some camber updates for my next track day together with sway bars and rear disc conversion which I already have the parts now the time is tricky. let me how to post pics

Hey, another AE92 owner! Good to see someone starting out with these when so many of the guys who used to race them are sending theirs to the scrap yard

I'm also swapping in the performance goodies from the GTS model:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/ae92-corolla-sr5-gts-goodies-swap-in-mini-build-th/57697/page1/

To post pics you need to upload them to a site like photobucket.com, imgur.com or minus.com and then link them here using HTML code or the camera button above the smilies.

If you have stock suspension, getting something harder will make a huge difference. I'd go straight to some good coilovers if you can, ISC and MRP are good ones. Also urethane-fill the front, rear and gearbox-side engine & trans mounts (don't do the pulley side...it can cause the aluminum there to crack). It makes the car feel more solid and makes the mounts last much longer.

Also get an oil cooler for track duty, the US GTS models came with one so that's a cheap junkyard upgrade.

The sway bars make the cornering feel better but some people say the front bar is bad for traction on corner exit and prefer to run without it, it depends on the rest of your suspension setup though. I added a front sway bar after I had coilovers and it didn't make any real difference to handling balance, it just reduced body roll and made the steering feel sharper.

I will be installing the rear sway bar first and strut toer bars for front and back. I will be also doing coil overs but later on. I have already filled engine mounts. You can check out pics of my car in my profile

AE95 (all-trac sedan)owner here....

Check the rules for your chosen racing class before you make any mods.

I kept the 4AFE, but I did a number of modifications to the engine to produce more power.

@ gameboy, you installed GTS brake rotors and the non GTS brake calipers correct?

@olds, I am planning on running the 4AFE and i will be doing a head swapp with the 4AFE from a AE101 for now as power goes. But I am building the car to IT spec and going by SCCA rules

No, GTS calipers as well, the GTS rotors are vented and much thicker so you have to swap calipers too (and MC, and prop valve - or you can leave the SR5 prop valve and get way more rearward brake bias).

For doing GTS brakes on the rear it's easiest to swap the whole subframe, but there are better (but more difficult) options for the rear like AE101/111 brakes or Celica brakes.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Thanks for the info on the calipers. I own euro parts/service shop and I check part numbers with my supplier and they are diferent. I will see the car that I have been buying parts of to see if they are in good shape. As far as the rear conversion I have the whole sub frame and I think I will be using a manula brake bias valve so I can work with brake bias.

Thanks

I have a VERY early 4AFE... 1989. Here are a few views of the chambers...

before and after chamber work... chambers machining marks were blended

Here is the BIG problem with an early 4AF head.... the oil drain(orange X) blocks full porting on #1 exhaust port...

so I did the following to gain what I could

now as far as the block internals.... I'm using internals (block,crank, and rods) from a 20V 4AGE, and I'm using non US 4AGZE pistons. All told it helped bump compression to about 10 to 1 (from 9.5) and I have fully counterweighted crank, that has been fully balanced

more details on the oil drain and its interference in the port...

As compared to its opposite #4 port

when I was finished... #4 port on top minimally ported, #1 port on the bottom, extensively ported (not sure which, if either is actually mirror imaged in view below)

I managed to get flow numbers that when averaged (for all lift points) MATCHED

Thanks for the info and for the pics. I am planning on using a head from a ae101 which I already have.Intake manifold and cams are a bit diferent and should help power wise. Eventually I will have to swap to be competitive in IT class.

My head should be very similar since my car is a 1990 4afe

andy_ae92 wrote: My head should be very similar since my car is a 1990 4afe

I know the "F" head for the AE101/102 is different, along with the intake manifold... it is a FAR superior design. You will need head and intake manifold, the early manifold will not fit on the later head The cam lift on the AE101/102 heads is superior....

decent porting, compression bump and you can easily plant some decent power

The head I have is complete with intake manifold, injectorsm and all. I will do some light port and polish and maybe a thinner gasket to bump compresion a small bit, but at the moment I do not want to mess with the bottom end since its in such good shape and I am more focused on handling for now.

BTW just order some ground control coil overs with 3000lbs springs up front and 200 lbs in the rear. Pretty pumped my next track day is sep. 22, hopefully will have coilovers installed and some camber work done by then

Here is a pic of my car car at the last track day

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliflex/9906636885/in/set-72157635821188014

I have installed coilovers ground control but I am still running OEM shocks, not the perfect set up but better than oem set up, imptoved my lap time by 3 sec from my last event. I also installed a strut tower bar upfront fron a AE101 and I made one for the rear which is welded on . For the next event in November I am palnning on running camber plates up front.

Got pics of the rear strut bar? I have plans to make one like this:

(Tilt intentional, gives better torsional bracing)

I can take them today at lunch and post them. I made a single bar similar to the one sold by ultra racing. I made two flat metal bases that are about 2.5'' and I used a 1'' chromoly pipe across and welded it. The metal in the car in that area is very thin so welding it has to be done with low power and constantly checking the wheel well making sure it doesn't go through, especialy the side of the fuel tank hose.