1995 Geo Prizm

S

seditionchase

New member
Points
26
Location
USA, Pittsboro, NC
Car
1995 Geo Prizm 1.6L
Hey, new member here (also new to car tuning in general) and since there's no Geo section in these forums, I figured Toyota would be the best place to start, since the Prizm and Corolla are essentially the same car.

I have a 1995 Geo Prizm 1.6L, it's my first car and right now in pretty poor condition exterior, interior and audio wise. As far as performance goes, it drives great as an economy car, but that's about it. And yeah, 35-42 mpg is nice and all, but I'm hoping that with the abundance of Toyota tuners out there, some performance mods could be done to my Geo as well.

Looking around the internet I've seen a few Geo tuners... the standard engine mods seem to be CAI kits, performance exhaust, and racing plugs and wires. At this point, I'm actually prioritizing adding power last, as I want my car to be fully prepared with braking and suspension tuning before I start kicking up the speed and acceleration potential... but are those mods going to be the best place to start?

Eventually I might add a turbocharger to it, but when I first started researching that I realized I'd need to get something like $8,000 USD worth of other equipment (in addition to the $3000 minimum for the turbo kit itself) just to ensure that my engine wouldn't explode. Not a worthy investment for a Geo Prizm if you ask me.

The exterior and interior mods, I've pretty much got down in my head, I just need to order the parts/equipment/tools and get to work on it. Same for weight reduction measures. But as far as performance goes, I'd like a few pointers. Including suspension, braking, transmission and engine modifications, what are the first 2-5 things you'd recommend getting for each category?
 
May I as the site admin wish you a very warm welcome to TorqueCars. It is really nice to meet you and I hope you'll be spending some time with us over the months to come.
You'll find us one of the friendliest and most helpful car tuning forums around.

What plans do you have for your car? I'm sure we can give you lots of ideas and suggestions if you need any.

Do feel free to chip in on our other topics and discussions, we are all here to share our passion for cars. Being friendly and helpful is a forum rule here and I'm sure you'll fit in just fine.

The best mods for a car engine are as follows.
Internal work yields the biggest gains, head work like porting polishing and 3 angle valve jobs will maximise the airflow and raise the power.

If you want to go to the max then cryo treat the block, get it rebored and look into blueprinting and balancing as well.

Bigger valves are an obvious addon but not all engines are suitable as it depends how close together the OEM valves are.
A fast road cam will yield good power gains, especially in the top end of the rev range. Don't go mad though a profile of up to 270 degrees will give the best gains without the engine becoming cammy.

The most popular power mods are induction kits (which are questionable as power mods but they can sound nice if that is your sort of thing) and sports exhausts with sports catalysts or decats.

To keep the car legal I'd recommend a sports catalyst rather than a decat.
The last mod should always be a remap as this will allow you to fully realise the power gains on offer from your mods.

Turbo cars respond very well to remaps.

It's worth having a read of the articles on www.torquecars.com/tuning/ for more information on these mods and what the terms mean.

We get asked this question a lot so have a look at this thread which covers the basics. I have to admire your ambition though!:D And I hope you pull it off.

http://www.torquecars.com/forums/f101/adding-turbo-nasp-engine-15003/
Cheap turbos can be purchased from breakers yards which are ideal for a try it and see type project.:bigsmile:

Please note that I don't think it is worth adding a turbo to an old car with a small capacity engine. There is nothing stopping you but the money and hassle will just not be worth the power gain you get. It is better to just buy a better car for your tuning project.:confused:

Adding a turbo is a major engineering task and without a kit with full instructions and all the parts you need there is a big risk of blowing up the engine. Expect to spend 50 hours upwards on a project of this type. This is not the sort of modification you should undertake unless you are mechanically competent and know what you are doing.

It is worth looking at superchargers as these are generally much easier to install than a turbo is.
 
Hi waynne, thanks for your detailed response, it's been a big help already.

My goal with this car is to mod it into a sporty, fast car that looks good and is reasonably powerful.

I'm not looking to take it to drag races or anything like that (not anytime soon anyways), so I don't think a supercharger will be necessary at this point, but thanks for the tip on that.

I think that for the time being, DIY mods like a CAI kit, exhaust upgrade, racing plugs and wires and some internal engine work should be suitable.

The Prizm has a distributor rather than an ECU, is there any chance it could have an ECU installed for remapping or is that something I should just pass on?

My understanding about CAI systems is that they can improve power at higher RPMs, but can also cause a loss at lower and mid RPM ranges. Can this be negated to at least some extent by installing a hood scoop as well?

Thanks again for your input!
 
Hey, thanks for the warm welcomes!

Another few questions here... If I do go the supercharger route, what might I do if I want to keep my air conditioner intact? I read the TorqueCars article on supercharging, and the A/C unit was a recommended spot for installation.

I've done a little research and apparently 1.6 liter Mazda Miatas can be fitted with a Jackson Racing/Sebring supercharger... since this is the same engine size as mine, might this be compatible? If not, where else should I look for one?

Also, what other mods am I looking at to make the rest of the engine safely compatible with a supercharger? I know that poorly installed turbos (and engines poorly equipped for them) have a high risk of damage and failure, do superchargers generally run the same risks?
 
the AC route was basically so you dont need a custom belt or building new brackets to fit
the jackson racing one would do, you could also look the ones fitted to the mini cooper.


yes they do run the same risks as turbos.

as for the rest of the engine youd be looking at making it stonger, making sure theres enough fuel etc
 
seditionchase said:
Hey, new member here (also new to car tuning in general) and since there's no Geo section in these forums, I figured Toyota would be the best place to start, since the Prizm and Corolla are essentially the same car.

I have a 1995 Geo Prizm 1.6L, it's my first car and right now in pretty poor condition exterior, interior and audio wise. As far as performance goes, it drives great as an economy car, but that's about it. And yeah, 35-42 mpg is nice and all, but I'm hoping that with the abundance of Toyota tuners out there, some performance mods could be done to my Geo as well.

Looking around the internet I've seen a few Geo tuners... the standard engine mods seem to be CAI kits, performance exhaust, and racing plugs and wires. At this point, I'm actually prioritizing adding power last, as I want my car to be fully prepared with braking and suspension tuning before I start kicking up the speed and acceleration potential... but are those mods going to be the best place to start?

Eventually I might add a turbocharger to it, but when I first started researching that I realized I'd need to get something like $8,000 USD worth of other equipment (in addition to the $3000 minimum for the turbo kit itself) just to ensure that my engine wouldn't explode. Not a worthy investment for a Geo Prizm if you ask me.

The exterior and interior mods, I've pretty much got down in my head, I just need to order the parts/equipment/tools and get to work on it. Same for weight reduction measures. But as far as performance goes, I'd like a few pointers. Including suspension, braking, transmission and engine modifications, what are the first 2-5 things you'd recommend getting for each category?
Click to expand...
you can also look at the SC12 supercharger from the Toyota 4 AGZE engine
 
hey, thanks for the tip Rsi.

i've actually been looking into just doing an engine swap with a supercharged 4A-GZE. looks like it might actually be cheaper than adding a new supercharger to my geo's engine. given that the 4A-GZE is a toyota made, 1.6 liter engine i think it's a pretty feasible goal... just trying to find out what kind of other mods i might have to do to make the swap.

i'd assume a new gearbox and mounts will be needed at a minimum, anything else i should prioritize with that? clutch upgrade, maybe? my main concern is that the 4A-GZE was designed for RWD cars, whereas the prizm is FWD. is that a realistic swap? not sure what extra work would have to be done to make that work.
 
Last edited:
Hi,

pleasure man, i will also just swop the engines because it will cost you less and then you don't need to go and find/fabricate all the brackets for the SC - i know that your car was once fitted with the 4 AGE motor - the 4A-GZE engine was found in the 85 - 87 MR2 and the 90 - 92 FWD Toyota Levin, as far as i know they were never fitted to the RWD AE 86 - you can fit the standard 4AGE box or the FWD Levin's gearbox (LSD), it is a direct bolt on,the MR2's has the same one but it won't work in the FWD because the gearlinks are on the wrong side - just check but i am sure the enige mounts will work

You have to look at the following :

*the sideshaft/driveshafts on the SC gearbox are much bigger where they fit into the gearbox
*go for a stage 1 or 2 clutch - the SC motor produce 30 - 40% more torque - 4AGE has a 200mm clutch where the 4A-GZE has a 220mm one
*intercooler with all the piping
*bigger radiator - SC motor runs hotter that normal 4 AGE
*upgraded brakes
*new high pressure fuel pump and maybe the fuel lines - the 4AGE has 182cc - 235cc injectors and the SC
*57 - 63mm exhaust
*after market ECU
*maybe a set of 15' wheels, you will need the traction
*better suspension
*electric fans
*new wiring

I have an AE 82 Toyota Conquest RSi with the 4 A-GZE motor - they are called different names all over the world but it has the same shape as the AE 86 but it is only a FWD

send me your e mail adress and i will mail you pictures of my ride

hope it helps

kobus
 
hmm... looking at the 1989 toyota MR2 specs, i think all MR2s were RWD but equipped with the 4AGZE, maybe there's two different versions of the engine built for FWD and RWD?

i found a site offering an OEM 4AGZE from a 1989 MR2 for $1700, good deal but i'm guessing it'd make things a lot easier for me if the engine was already set for a FWD car.
 
well yes technically it is RWD (they call it the midship) there are absolutely no difference in the engine for the RWD (MR2) or the FWD set up - the only difference is the cam covers : in the MR2 the lettering on the covers is facing backwards, towards you if you stand in the back, which is correct - if you fit the enigine in a FWD you have to turn it 180 degrees then you will see that the lettering is facing towards you steering wheel (upside down)

as i said the MR2 gearbox won't work because the gearlinks are on the wrong side

look if you can find the 4 Agze engine from the 90/92 levin, that was a FWD set up

the 89 one was the last one's that they put into the MR2's
 
I am also an owner of a Geo Prizm but 1993 and the 1.8l. I heard CAI and induction kits werent very useful for low-end bhp and torque, and my car is running stock at 115hp. What i saw from the general sticky's were the first things to do was a performance air filter, fast road cams, and a sports exhaust.

What would be the very basic mods you suggest for my car and what brands? Most bang for the buck and low-mid range power are preferred. Thanks
 
Hi there,

well yes, most of the times people just put the CAI in their cars for the looks and the sound, and then afterwards they don't understand why the car is suddenly heavier on fuel and it feel if there is less hp

*the most basic mod is to replace the airfilter as you said with a performance filter - i will go with a K&N which is a very good filter or go for the more expensive HKS one - stay away from any cheap one's they won't help and you will only waste money
*go for the CAI - the more cold air the better the performance - you will have to take the car to tune the air/fuel ratio , remember the performance filter sucks more air than the standard one
*go for a good header and exhaust set up

hope this help
 
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