part 1 incresing boost

[Guest Enzo]

Tuning the starlet turbo.

Weather you have an ep82 GT Turbo or an ep91 Glanza v the steps for tuning them are the same. There were subtle differences and improvements to the 4e-fte. the main loom on the ep82's use two plugs for the ecu instead of three in the latter ep91's(bar the autos which are a different configuration again) series one ep82's(90-92) use a hole type actuator instead of pin type to operate the flapper. The ep82 came equipped with the ct9-A turbo charger. Later ep91 turbo utilised the ct9-b. The former sporting an extra fin within the compressor wheel (ct9-bs can be found on some diesel Toyota units with reversed exhaust housing)

The ecus between the series 1 & 2 Glanzas are subtly different too. Im having a guess that was something to do with more stringent emissions laws.

stage 1 engine modifications

What I refer to as stage one mods will see your starlet produce anywhere up to 25bhp over the standard 133 from the factory.

This will include the

• obligatory exhaust and airfilteraye t upgrade (same as the Na boys)
  
• An up rated actuator set 12 psi
  
• A boost gauge to monitor boost levels
  
• Updating the manifold and gutting the cat
  
• Along with refreshing the engine
  

Boost gauge

You need to monitor your boost levels with stage one mods,

The purpose of the boost gauge apart from monitoring it is for setting up your actuator, any higher than 12.5 psi and the car will hit boost cut

* boost pressure can be measured in two units. PSI and Bar. 1 Bar = 14.7 PSI.

picture is of a Apexi EL unit on a EP82 GT dash measuring in Bar.

Actuator.

The job of the actuator is to regulate when the waste gate flapper opens and closes.

Think of an actuator as the first type of boost controller within a turbo system.

The actuator keeps the internal/external waste gate closed until the intake reaches a specific set pressure,

once it�s pressurised to the set amount, it pulls the spring which allows the waste gate to open.

Now varying the length of the actuator arm in effect varies when the spring will open at what pressure.

The standard ep actuator has a soft spring so is weak to higher boost applications so the first port of call is to upgrade it to an adjustable version with the most popular being from hks

important note. early <92 Ep82s came with a hole type actuater while all later turbo models came with a pin type.

when fitting it is a good idea to measure your standard actuater arm then use that as a refrence.

* HKS actuater- pin type. Held on with a C clip lengthening the arm will decrease boost. decreasing the length will have the oposite effect.

Up rating the manifold

The cast manifold on the 4e-fte has a sevier restriction in runner number three. I honestly cannot fathom why Toyota engineered it that way. Getting rid of this with the use of an up rated manifold will give you a more responsive engine.

*note heavy restriction in runner number three. could cause problems with piston number three if run in conjunction with sustained hi boost levels.

Gutting the cat -totally legal

The cat is the most restrictive part of the exhaust side. Since the ep91 turbo has no UK equivalent when mot time comes the tester must only perform a base idle test negating the use of a cat,

Doing this mod will increase midrange bringing your torque output inline with your power (like for like on a modern 16valve engine)

*if undertaking this yourself it is recomended you ware a mask as toxic cemicals are housed within the cat

* gutted cat ready to be be fitted.

Engine refresh.

Considering some fte�s are approaching 18 years old an engine refresh is always a good idea, depending on the condition of the engine you could replace all seals,

All filters and all belts, spark plugs while giving the engine a flush at the same time. A simple compression test is a good idea also. You should get preventative maintenance drummed into you as Toyotas are designed to last if you spend a little time and money looking after them.

After you have reached this point you should be left with a much more responsive up that will have decent midrange. With these modifications expect to have anywhere between 150-160bhp.

A good return for a relatively little outlay.

Stage 2 utilising the turbos full potential to get to the magic 200 chavaux

For every bar of pressure, you are in theory doubling your engine capacity. So if you turbo a 1.3ltr on 1 bar (14.6 psi) then already your ahead with a 2.6ltr engine

After completing stage one. You will be left with a very muscular and tractable engine not reflecting its tiny humble 1.3 displacement.

Adjusting the fuelling to match the increased boost levels

Fuel cut

You are limited to how much boost you can run due to a failsafe within the ecu called fuel cut. Does exactly what it means, cuts the fuel supply to the engine if the boost reaches or spikes over a set parameter.

You might experience this on the odd cold morning when the air is most dense, a little engine management light will come on and the car will feel as if it�s hit a brick wall when under load.

The crude way to sort out fuelling (not recommended)

Now to give you an overall picture of starlet tuning I must discus the wrong ways as well as the right.

To get round fuel cut you could simply purchase a fuel cut defender. This little box will by pass fuel cut leaving you to turn up the boost but as the engine cannot supply the right amount of fuel to match the huge volumes of air being pumped in by the turbo. This will in turn screw up the air fuel ratio making the car run lean. Running lean cause�s detonation/pinking which as a result will melt a piston.

In order to turn up the boost past fuel cut (12psi) you have to find a way of adjusting the amount of fuel being pumped into the engine by the injectors.

A crude way of doing this is by fitting what is called a rising rate fuel pressure regulator, this along with an up rated fuel pump will increase the amount of pressure of fuel being pumped through the engine.

This is a very crude way of making power. Promoting boar wash and the chances of burning a valve.

The right way to sort out fuelling

the right way to increase fual pressure and moniter it to make sure the engine is operating within safe peramiters would be to pic some form of pigy back ecu.

the most primitive type available is an Apexi SAFC. after that you have different Greddy E-manage Units with the Power Fc being the ultimate. its worth noting the more money you spend will give you greater controll over how complex the maps are available to you. refrenced by a wider range of mapping points within the software.

1bar incidentally is approaching close to the limit of what the ct9 can be run at day to day. much more and you will reduce the life of the turbo.

After going for stage the simplicity of stage 2 you should be left with a bit of a conundrum on what route to take next. IL scan over a few possible solutions and give my own opinion where necessary.

every day set up

now that you have a way of increasing the fuling to supply more boost, the next limitation you will encounter are the strength of the internals.

the 4e-fte internals can cope with a fair amount of power. for a 1.3 it is very robust and can produce close to 200bhp per litre on a daily basis reliably . it would be possible to run 240-250bhp on standard internals with a healthy engine and decent fuelling tune.

In my own opinion id always be after the most effective fast road set up available to bait Scooby�s and the like with.

the maximum amount of power considered to still be usable in most condtions would be 230 bhp with a Quafe diff to reign in the torque stear. any more than this will upset the balance as the same wheels that put down the power also have to stear.

there are numerous ways of getting up to that power you only have a few real turbo options suited to 1331cc.

turbos

a hybrid from tongs turbos.

this ct9/12 garrat hybrid is capable of 230bhp at around 17psi with minimal lag it has all the eue opening midrange punch of your standard ct9 - with the ability to run higher boost levels.

ball bearing turbo units

the ultimate in zero lag would have to be a gt20 series ball bearing turbo by garrat. some configurations of this turbo are capable of producing up 250bhp all be it at hi boost that would probably warrent forged internals.

comon turbo upgrade

a pupular turbo option are the range of TD04 turbos from subaru. good for 240bhp at relativly low boost levels. only down side is power delivery as the turbo is alot bigger than the dinky ct-9 meaning the power comes with a bang instead of one linear motion. incidently the manifold that that comes with this kit has a flange capable of fittting any subaru vf/td manifold(there are loads to choose from of different sizes)

[Guest Enzo]

could people ahve a read over this and tell me if i have missed anything out or give input??

thanx