workin on my '90 corolla sr5

[rolla_sr5]

hey all, i'm new to this site so i'll tell you about my project. i bought a 90' corolla sr5 about 5 months ago but the history of the car is really unknown. it's been in a few accidents but the body and frame are in mint condition. i need help figuring out what to start with. ive already put 2 grand into a stereo system, and put new monroe sensatrac struts in. i want to change from the stock 13" wheels to a 16" or 17" wheel with low profile dunlop type s's. i'm getting the gts body kit and instrument cluster but i want to know if there's a real difference between the regular sr5 and the gts engines. both are the twin cam, 1.6L EFI's. the only thing is the model # for my engine is 4L3, which isn't standard for the car, and even the toyota dealerships can't help me. is there anyone here who can?

[WissNX01]

Lemme guess, you want to take a perfectly good car and fix it up?

[WissNX01]

I dont understand why you have a car that is optimized for 13 inch wheels, then want to put 16s on them. That defeats the purpose of a sports car. Upgrading internal stuff that doesnt affect performance is fine, but when you want to take HP away, then want to try and regain it with a Tornado or something else as dumb.

Now if you want a pimpmobile or something like that, then why stop at 17s? Go for the gold rims, not chrome. And you better get yourself some bitches with fat asses.

YOu need to do a search on your engine, cause i think that might just be a block # or somekind of manufacturing reference. Did you call the dealer and ask them what engine you have? If you did that, then thats even dumber. They cant know shit without looking at it. Take it in to them, they will run the VIN and you will know what was suppose to be there. Then they can help ID it for you.

[rolla_sr5]

i didn't think larger rim's with a lower profile tire would reduce HP, i know it'd improve handling and such. i also want something that combines speed with looks. i'm getting rid of the system in a few months when i start making some serious mods because it adds about 150 lbs. on my back end. also this is my first car, which is one reason why i want some of your advice, so i don't do something overly stupid with it. i do think the car has potential for some speed however, as civics are toys for me, i've taken some older BMW's, and had a early 90's celica gts up until about 100 km/h. one of the things i want to know if there's a difference between the gts engine and regular sr5 engine. they're both twin cam, and the dealer couldn't find anything else different. reason being i want to put the gts instrument cluster in and the redline is 7100 instead of 6200. i don't want to blow my engine because of being stupid.

[WissNX-01]

YOur reducing your wheel hp. Also low profile tires are a waste of money. They wear out sooner and cost way too much.. Anyway, I would go no bigger than 14s if you want a different sized wheel. You would be better to look at boring out your cylinders to have more capacity, and maybe a different head gasket for higher compression. Dont waste your money with bolt ons. The only bolt on worth anything is a turbo, and that takes a lot of work just to get it where you need it. I would just focus on internal mods for the engine, it would be a real sleeper, if thats what you want.

[rolla_sr5]

thanks, i've decided not to do overly too much to the engine. i'll do some little things that aren't too expensive since i just found out my dad is buying a '90 toyota mr2 fully loaded/leather/twin turbo. it doesn't have too many k's on it, 123,000, and he is only getting it for a year or two of driving to work part time before he retires. i'll be able to buy the car cheap off of him, and that's a car i can make fast, that's meant to go fast. probably a much better choice than trying to turn the econo AFE sr5 into a 13 second car. i've seen the mr2's run stock and they're already pulling hight 13's. thanks for the advice though, i'll be using some of it for sure.