More "tunable?"

[Toushi]

OK, I figured this belongs in this forum since its not specific to one car.

I'm looking at buying cars and wanted to know which car is more "tunable," which has more parts, better engine etc.?

The cars I'm looking at are a 95 Toyota Corolla and a 96/97 Nissan Altima. I'm asking because I thought Corollas were more common to being tuned and Altimas were more economy/family cars, but when I did a quick look on Wikipedia it says that the Altimas come standard for the 93-97 years with a DOHC 150hp KA24DE engine that seems to produce more hp/torque. Here are the specs for that:

KA24DE

• 2.4 L
• Bore × Stroke: 89.0 × 96.0 mm (3.50 in. x 3.78 in.)
• Displacement: 2389cc (145cid)
• Max power: 155 hp (116 kW) @ 5600 rpm (Frontier Engines 143 HP @ 4300rpm)
• Max torque: 160 ft·lb (217 Nm) @ 4400 rpm
• Valve Configuration: DOHC, 16 valves
• Compression ratio: 9.5:1(94-98), 9.0:1(91-93) (Frontier Engines: 9.3:1)

And here are some of the Corolla engine specs :

1ZZ-FE

• 1.8 L
• 1794 cc
• Bore is 79 mm and stroke is 91.5 mm.
• 120 hp (89 kW) at 5600 rpm with 122 ft·lb (165 N·m) of torque at 4400 rpm
• 140 hp (104 kW) at 6400 rpm with 125.8 ft·lb (170.6 N·m) of torque at 4200 rpm

So which car has a bigger tuner base, has more aftermarket parts,
and can perform/handle better as a performance car? All thoughts are welcome.


The guy who is selling the Corolla is also selling it for more than the Altima, and even though it might have a good engine he is trying to sell it for the "Good" KBB condition with a f#&#@ed up paint job, tint, etc., which makes me wonder why he thinks it's worth more.

 

[HDi fun]

I'd go for the Nissan without hesitation.

In this country we had the Primera P11 which is pretty much a European Altima but with a 2.0 square engine (4 cyl, 86mm x 86mm, twin-cam 16 valve). Handling and roadholding was sublime with the multi-link front suspension and a clever independently sprung rear beam axle.

The Corolla, although very good, is not in that league.

 

[Skullion]

I'd Say Nissan

Even Tho I know Toyota, but I remember somewhere it said 1ZZ-FE engine was crap.

 

[Toushi]

OK, had a quick talk with the guy about his two cars today, found out he is not willing to drop the price of the Corolla because of what he bought it for, and the Altima is actually a little more.

Unfortunately it looks like I won't have a ride to go check out that car until the weekend.

 

[HDi fun]

Which do you favour?

 

[car1969]

I use 2005 Corolla (standard). Maybe its not fare to suggest to you for tuning the Nissan but the main points : bigger engine work capacity, more torque.....are big plusses already for tuning.
I hope that you have checked carefully the bodywork of those cars as well.
If the body are "soft" already then better leave it.
The pricelevel of the rebuilding should be on the same class.