Planning to get a 2000 - 2003 Celica GTS

[96 ls]

I m planning on purschasing a 2000 - 2003 Celica GTS and I m wondering what is the best year to buy the car. I heard that in a certain year there would be a lot of miss shifts and a year where they lower the rpm because they didn't something different to the engine. Could you guys tell me the differences and changes in the engine, tranmission, and Redline they made in the Celica from 00 to 05?

[96 ls]

Any help?

[caviman69]

My buddy has a 2000 celica gts and he loves the car. So far it has about 40000 miles on it and no problems. Also the car moves great. If your planning on doing mods to it start with an AEM cai,greddy exhuast and power fc.He did those mods and is running mid 14's in the 1/4.As toredline it think its about 8500, but i could be off a little. With the vvti the car fels like it has a turbo in it.Im not sure about the transmission and what not but i hope i could be a little bit of a help.

[Vip09]

Originally Posted by 96 ls

I m planning on purschasing a 2000 - 2003 Celica GTS and I m wondering what is the best year to buy the car. I heard that in a certain year there would be a lot of miss shifts and a year where they lower the rpm because they didn't something different to the engine. Could you guys tell me the differences and changes in the engine, tranmission, and Redline they made in the Celica from 00 to 05?

Yes, there are differences.

2000-2001: are pretty much the same.

2002: Because of all the miss-shifts, the transmission was redesigned with wider shift gates. The ratios and everything stayed the same, the ONLY thing that changed in the tranny was the shift gates.

Also in 2002, the rev limiter was lowered to 7800rpms instead of 8400rpms in the previous years. This was also done to prevent over-rev from mis-shifts.

2003-2004: In 2003, Toyota now uses DBW (drive by wire) in the celica. Instead of there being a throttle cable, the throttle is controlled electronically. The rev limiter is raised back to 8400rpms. The interior also has a minor upgrade.

2005: The 2005 Celica is back with the 7800rpm rev limiter. Everything else remains unchanged. Who would have thought Toyota would let the Celica go out like this?? Drive by wire AND the lower rev limiter.. thanks Toyota

[Vip09]

Originally Posted by caviman69

My buddy has a 2000 celica gts and he loves the car. So far it has about 40000 miles on it and no problems. Also the car moves great. If your planning on doing mods to it start with an AEM cai,greddy exhuast and power fc.He did those mods and is running mid 14's in the 1/4.As toredline it think its about 8500, but i could be off a little. With the vvti the car fels like it has a turbo in it.Im not sure about the transmission and what not but i hope i could be a little bit of a help.

Your friend should be much faster than that.. he should be running low low 14's or high 13's. I could run sub 14.5's stock with my interior out..

[caviman69]

well im sure he will get better once he gets his launches right. He hasent been to the track that much and i think he is a little afraid to tear out his clutch. I Think the only thing he took out was his spare. But i will let him know that he can pull better times. All i know is that they are quick cars and a lot of fun to drive. (wish i had one)

[96 ls]

Originally Posted by Vip09

Yes, there are differences.

2000-2001: are pretty much the same.

2002: Because of all the miss-shifts, the transmission was redesigned with wider shift gates. The ratios and everything stayed the same, the ONLY thing that changed in the tranny was the shift gates.

Also in 2002, the rev limiter was lowered to 7800rpms instead of 8400rpms in the previous years. This was also done to prevent over-rev from mis-shifts.

2003-2004: In 2003, Toyota now uses DBW (drive by wire) in the celica. Instead of there being a throttle cable, the throttle is controlled electronically. The rev limiter is raised back to 8400rpms. The interior also has a minor upgrade.

2005: The 2005 Celica is back with the 7800rpm rev limiter. Everything else remains unchanged. Who would have thought Toyota would let the Celica go out like this?? Drive by wire AND the lower rev limiter.. thanks Toyota

What year Celica would you get? From the information here is 2002 the best year of the celica? What is better DBW or the throttle cable?

[Vip09]

Originally Posted by 96 ls

What year Celica would you get? From the information here is 2002 the best year of the celica? What is better DBW or the throttle cable?

No, 2002 and 2005 (both have 7800 rev limiter )are the worst years to get followed by 03 and 04. The best to get would be 2000-01. The DBW system has worse throttle response than a throttle cable setup. And I don't really belive in the computer controlling my throttle.. is it really full throttle, or is it what Toyota wants full throttle to be? There's something to think about

[96 ls]

So performance wise the 2000 - 01 Celica are the fastest?

[Vip09]

Originally Posted by 96 ls

So performance wise the 2000 - 01 Celica are the fastest?

Yes.

[96 ls]

Is the handling and suspension better than the GT or is it the same? My sister drives a 2003 GT and the handling is superior compared to my 1996 Integra LS.

[Vip09]

Originally Posted by 96 ls

Is the handling and suspension better than the GT or is it the same? My sister drives a 2003 GT and the handling is superior compared to my 1996 Integra LS.

The braking will be better in the GT-S. The 7th gen Celica (both GT and GT-S) have awesome handling.

[96 ls]

Sorry for bringing back this thread since it's a couple months old. Well I finally sold my Integra and now I m officially in the market for another used car. Right now I m looking to either buy a 2000-2001 Celica GTS or a 1997-2001 Honda Prelude Type SH. I found some decent Celica's for around $10,000 and I want to know what you guys think of it. My budget is about $10,000. I've been searching for a Prelude and I can't find anything decent for under 10 Grand and I've turn to a Celica again hoping I could find something nice for around that price.

http://www.craigslist.org/eby/car/84680883.html
^
That GT-S is 12,000 for 70,000 miles.

http://www.craigslist.org/sby/car/84374372.html

^That GT-S has 100k miles and it's listed as $10,000.

http://www.craigslist.org/sby/car/84126441.html

^$12,000 for a rebuild motor.

I driven a base Prelude and I think the Celica's out handle the base Prelude. I haven't had a chance to drive a Type SH Prelude yet, but do you guys know how the handling would be compared to a GT-S Celica? The Celica is proably the best handling car I've driven and I m hoping it was be somewhat as good as the Type SH. The main reasons I wanted the Type SH was for the ATTS, but I haven't driven a Type SH yet and I just want to know your guys feed backs.

[91 Celica St]

the celica far outhandles the prelude, not just beuase it has a better suspension setup but simply beucase it also weighs about 500 pounds less

[96 ls]

Originally Posted by 91 Celica St

the celica far outhandles the prelude, not just beuase it has a better suspension setup but simply beucase it also weighs about 500 pounds less

Does it handle even better than the Type SH Prelude? They say the Type SH is the best handling car for under $40,000.