Toyota Carina Tuning

""In a car" is an anagram of "Carina"!"

The Carina was an option for people looking for something a little larger than the Corolla. It is really a family car and built for comfort rather than for performance.

Improving the handling should be the top priority in your Carina tuning project. We suggest that you fit uprated suspension and lower the car by 35-45mm. Larger drops require arch work - especially on models already equipped with sports suspension.

Turning our attention to the Carinas engine we need to get a bit more power out of the top end.

Smaller engines do not provide much of a return in terms of power so start with a bigger engine. Engine swaps are a good option if you have a small engine size. Toyota have some stunning turbo engines so it would be good to explore these for suitable donors.

Toyota Carina Tuning modifications.

On a NASP engiene a fast road cam will offer one of the biggest performance gains. When pushing up the power you will need to pay attention to the fuelling.

More power needs more fuel. Improve your cars response to the throttle with a Fuel pressure boost valve. To get sufficient fuel you may need to uprate the injectors on your engine. A fuel pump will only deliver a finite amount of fuel, so you may need to uprate this.

Now we move on to the intake and exhaust and ensure proper flow through the engine. For small Carina engine sizes go with a washable panel air filter. On larger engines and turbo vehicles an induction kit will help increase power. Sports exhausts balance the flow of air throught the engine. But if your exhaust is too large (say over 2.5 inches bore) you will lose back pressure on most engines.

In nearly all cases of Carina tuning your clutch will start to slip and this needs to be uprated - read our article on clutches for more information. Remaps offer significant power gains on all turbo charged cars. On NASP engines the benefits are doubtful, but will help unleash the potential if you have done a lot of mods.

The largest power gains for NASP engines usually involve the addition of forced induction. It is easier to bolt on a supercharger than it is to get a turbo working.

With a turbo the boost curve is related exponentially to the engine speed making it hard to map. Superchargers however will give a boost which is proporttional to engine speed so is easier to map. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.

Toyota Carina Wheel modifications.

The benefits of alloy wheels include a lower unsprung weight and more efficient brake cooling. The downside to large alloy wheels on your Carina is that you alter your effective final drive ratio and this will have a detrimental effect on performance. Although some people have gone larger we would stick to a 16-17 inch rim size as the maximum.

Please join us in our forum to discuss the Carina options in more detail with our Carina owners. It would also be worth reading our Toyota tuning articles to get a full grasp of the pros and cons of each type of modification