My brand new 2003 Celica GT

[Philter451]

Okay fine, its used.

First let me say hello. I just joined these forums so I will introduce myself. I'm a 24 y/o guy living Kansas City working at a Computers and Tele-Comm company. Believe it or not this is my very first car. I worked all through highschool and college to pay for the college itself and now that all of my student loans are finally paid off, I saved up and bought myself a well-deserved present.

The only problem is, she is entirely stock, and while I want to make some mods to the car, I have no idea where to start.

I was thinking about getting a body kit first, and then changing the air flow on the car such as exhaust and a turbocharger. I figured that it was a good place to start.

As far as the body kit goes, I don't know where to shop for them, and whether it is wise to attempt installing it myself. I have done plenty of work drilling metal, but if I ruined the body of my very first car I think I would die.

Any pointers and recommendations for complete newbies would be greatly appreciated.

 

[obi_waynne]

Hello there and a warm welcome to TorqueCars. Which engine does your Celica have as this affects a lot of your tuning options?

I don't think a turbo will be very easy to add, your better off getting a turbo block from a GT Four and doing and engine swap.

I wouldn't try to fit a bodykit yourself, it will need to be professionally sprayed as well or it will look really tacky.

 

[BAD63R]

Welcome to the site mate. As Waynne says really ^^ but on the other hand, it would work out cheaper to buy a GT4 as you will still have the 4x4 system. IIRC they are similar difference to the Calibra and Calibra Turbo, the centre tunnel is slightly bigger to take the prop shaft and transfer box/ rear diff. So would be far better having a 4x4 Turbo than a FWD turbo.

 

[Skullion]

Hi Bud, and Welcome. Very Nice Choice of Car, Do you have the 3GSE Engine in it?

First Mod I'd go for is Exhaust!!!! ...... And I mean a Proper Custom one and not one you buy from a shop and weild it on. I got a Back Box Made from PowerFlow £250, which I was very impressed with, worth every penny and you'll get alot of Attention from it, then think about Induction Kit to Allow more Air Flow, and if you have money then Chipped and Cam her to start off with before Turbo.

You can get a TRD Replica Bodykit for £230 as Offical ones you'll pay alot more but beware of POTHOLES, As I've crack mines due too a very Big Hole I missed lol

 

[Philter451]

Thanks for the advice about the body. I was pretty sure I didn't want to tackle that myself.

Engine

1ZZ-FE / 140 bhp

Not very much horsepower. An engine swap seems way out of my league, and it might be better if I chose my next car considering engine choice.

I really got this car because the price was so right. With all of the recalls going on with new Toyotas, some people became frantic and decided to sell. I found this one with 90k miles in excellent condition and at $4,000. The recall couldn't have happened at a nicer time.

The more I looked under the hood, the more I realized that there was almost no free space so I figured that a turbocharger might be out of the question.

I'm confused about a couple of things:

Induction Kit - Is this like an intake or a forced induction system? I thought turbochargers and superchargers were induction kits.

"if you have money then Chipped and Cam her" lolwut? Keep in mind that I am not with it on the lingo. I am guessing that chipped means getting a different chip on engine control. If so, what sort of chip do you recommend. Cam? Are these cam shafts? I'm not even sure what cam shafts do, so I need some explanation there.

I am not looking to make some amazing high performance tuner, I just want to improve what I've got.

 

[Philter451]

Also can somebody recommend a CAI for me or at least a good filter? I definitely want to start using a reusable filter for enviromental/economic/performance reasons and I can definitely make my own intake tubing as I do work part time at a metal working shop.

 

[turbonutter69]

Welcome mate

 

[pgarner]

the CAI if you can make up your own tubing all you need is a filter. look toward ITG for these.
chip or remap is putting a new fueling map on the ECU - however toyota are nasty people and cant be done. it needs a whole new standalone ECU

cam is the camshaft. these open the valves at the correct times to allow the fresh air in and exhaust gases out. by adjusting the hight or duration of the cam more air can get in