Nicholai Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Hello All, I have the bug again for a starlet it has stayed low for a while but from seeing one in my home town has made me want another. But there is a big but here lol who uses them as an everyday car? I have just got myself a mint leon cupra r which is amazing but once i sell my opel manta drag car i am tempted to buy one to as a project of sorts to strip down and get the below bits and peaces sorted. full service including cam beltbig end bearingshead gasket changetomz kit including rear wingclutchpossibly a new turbo set upremapped to 1 bar if it has the standard ct9The above bits and pieces are what i would do to make sure the engine is sorted and give it more reliability but the question i have is are there any starlet owners that still use the gt and glanza as an everyday car and are you having to repair the beast regularly. Could you also tell me what setup you have and hp your running? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bean Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 i use mine daily and have done since the start of the year to do almost 40 miles every day its a stock engine with hybrid ct9 and usual bits n bobs. I have had a few oil leaks but i think there more from lack of maintenance from a previous owner. Ive had the car. The car must only be around 165 ish bhp i think untill i get the emu on it to map it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bluebear Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I daily mine. Forged lump as the cylinder walls were too worn so rather than risk wasting money on another secondhand engine, I decided to go the whole hog. Running a standard CT9 on 0.7bar. Talk about wasted potential :DOther than more frequent oil top ups, I've not had any issues really, other than normal maintenance. Old g'box went though, which I just put down to age. BHP is approx 164 (figure from RR @ TD). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
5e colin Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) G.I. bottom end and cynos b acis full head rebuild by me and some extras :) tfo35 hm 1.1 daily on the good old pfc fcon setup Edited December 5, 2015 by 5e colin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 Thanks guys i am tempted still to get one will be hard for me as it would be a MK1 that i will get if any. I would like to put her up to a 1 bar but at the same time i would worry if anything that something would go. I have seen so many engines popping but i hope that is down to not enough maintenance or to much power without the right mods but i could be wrong. If i could get her up to around 200bhp and she would still be reliable then i would have it and keep it. I love the starlets but am always worried about that they are unreliable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Coxxy_94GT Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 My 300bhp gt is my daily Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adzy Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 I do 300 miles or more in my glanza every week, hasn't gave any major bother. Still running standard boost but with all supporting mods. Prob about 150bhp - 160bhp atm. Will hopefully be running 1 bar boost soon tho. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
5e colin Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Thanks guys i am tempted still to get one will be hard for me as it would be a MK1 that i will get if any. I would like to put her up to a 1 bar but at the same time i would worry if anything that something would go. I have seen so many engines popping but i hope that is down to not enough maintenance or to much power without the right mods but i could be wrong. If i could get her up to around 200bhp and she would still be reliable then i would have it and keep it. I love the starlets but am always worried about that they are unreliable. i dont know where you got the idea that there not reliable ?????? its only rebuild failure by rookies or bad tune that kills them really there the strongest engine out of its time when it was designed back in the 80s Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 My 300bhp gt is my daily Dam man that is a serious daily lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 i dont know where you got the idea that there not reliable ?????? its only rebuild failure by rookies or bad tune that kills them really there the strongest engine out of its time when it was designed back in the 80s I guess it is from posts that i have seen on a number of sites. I would like one to have as a daily as i am such a retro car guy lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Coxxy_94GT Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Yeah shes actually a much better daily than my old gt which was stamdard . The bigger turbo means i can average better mpg when i want to . No lsd though does mean its pretty mad ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Yeah shes actually a much better daily than my old gt which was stamdard . The bigger turbo means i can average better mpg when i want to . No lsd though does mean its pretty mad ;) Yeah i bet mate need to take it easy on corners. What is your spec if you dont mind me asking? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bean Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 lots of starlet bottom ends seem to go but alot is what Colin says, poor builds, parts thrown at cars and not tuned or setup properly. When the cars are as cheap as they are they dont get looked after like they used to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Coxxy_94GT Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Tuning developments stage 2 forged engine and hybrid billit td04 pluss support mods obviously Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Tuning developments stage 2 forged engine and hybrid billit td04 pluss support mods obviously Wow mate that is some build no wonder you have that running mate. lots of starlet bottom ends seem to go but alot is what Colin says, poor builds, parts thrown at cars and not tuned or setup properly. When the cars are as cheap as they are they dont get looked after like they used to. I know what you mean but saying that if you find one that looks good it is in high in value. I saw a mk1 on ebay standard looks good but that was up for 3500. Its good to find a clean looking well looked after starlet but like you said hard to come by let alone MK1. That is what i would get a mint looking MK1 so my such will be long lol but worth it when done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ollieh17 Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) i dont know where you got the idea that there not reliable ?????? its only rebuild failure by rookies or bad tune that kills them really there the strongest engine out of its time when it was designed back in the 80sDebatable ;) Edited December 6, 2015 by Ollieh17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chtec Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I've been using mine daily since owning mid summer, still on the ct9 with supporting mods pushing the usual 160-170 @ 0.7 bar. Regular servicing and maintenance, I've had no bother. I think like said above it comes down to the maintenance side of things, as with most cars, and a lot of things in life lol. I think it's a great little car for daily driving. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 Thank you very much for all the info. What kind of mileage are you getting in your starlets. Could you also tell me what sort of supporting mods you have running that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StuDoc 72 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I dont know where you get the idea that there is any kind of reliability issue with starlets. I've owned about 10 cars and out of them all my starlet is by far the most reliable of them all. ( That's including a 5 year old BMW ) If you buy a standard fresh import with very few mods it will be bulletproof. The 4e engine is one of the best engines toyota has ever produced. If you want more power a ct9 at 1 bar with supporting mods will also cause very very little hassle. They are also extremely good on fuel its still a 1.3. Alot of folk think when they are tuned they drink fuel they don't at all for a start they have a tiny fuel tank. If you compared any car with similar power outputs (diesels aside) I would put my house on it that starlets would be up there for economy. Baring in mind most people make 200 bhp and there is absolutely no other 1.3's that make that in production. I had a Corsa VXR before <<<<hence the pic. They are 200bhp and they are shocking for fuel I mean shocking. Without a doubt the most hated of all my cars. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 I dont know where you get the idea that there is any kind of reliability issue with starlets. I've owned about 10 cars and out of them all my starlet is by far the most reliable of them all. ( That's including a 5 year old BMW ) If you buy a standard fresh import with very few mods it will be bulletproof. The 4e engine is one of the best engines toyota has ever produced. If you want more power a ct9 at 1 bar with supporting mods will also cause very very little hassle. They are also extremely good on fuel its still a 1.3. Alot of folk think when they are tuned they drink fuel they don't at all for a start they have a tiny fuel tank. If you compared any car with similar power outputs (diesels aside) I would put my house on it that starlets would be up there for economy. Baring in mind most people make 200 bhp and there is absolutely no other 1.3's that make that in production. I had a Corsa VXR before <<<<hence the pic. They are 200bhp and they are shocking for fuel I mean shocking. Without a doubt the most hated of all my cars. Thank you for the write up buddy. I will get one more than likely but it will be my project car for a little until i have it up to the right spec and have a slight rebuild. I want to keep the engine stock but want her to be poky. So i will probably keep with the CT9 but with the correct mods to support around a bar. But saying that i might go down the route of a TD04 to give it a bit better poke up have it at lower boost. if i could get 180 to 200 that would be perfect as long as the engine could cope and be happy. I dont rag the crap out of my cars i like to have the power there if needed but drive sensible. Another question i would like to ask an electronic boost controller can you have it set to 2 modes or maps. For example could you map it to 0.5 bar making 180bhp and have 0.8 bar at 210 is that how it works? Sorry i know my stuff on cars but when it comes to maps and boost controllers i am not that great lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chtec Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) No problem, the glanza is a great learning curve for me regarding tuning, as it's all pretty fresh to me, likewise I know my cars but learning them is never ending. Supporting mods - boost solenoid bridge.. (someone please correct if I'm wrong) so that the factory two mode low & high boost is disabled so you run high boost only, adjustable actuator, fmic, exhaust, mines currently using an fcd but the car is coming off the road soon for td04 swap and some proper management, fuelling, mapping etc. StuDoc I agree with you on the VXR front, I have two mates with them always complaining about fuel. I travel around 30 miles daily to and from work with mixed driving, with any other little outings included probably 200 miles a week, which a full tank can just about see through with exceptions.. I had a diesel ibiza before the glanza churning out a steady 50+mpg all day which you could probably drive to the moon on a full tank lol but overall for what the glanzas and starlets are they return exceptional fuel economy I must say ð¤ Edited December 7, 2015 by Chtec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicholai Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 No problem, the glanza is a great learning curve for me regarding tuning, as it's all pretty fresh to me, likewise I know my cars but learning them is never ending. Supporting mods - boost solenoid bridge.. (someone please correct if I'm wrong) so that the factory two mode low & high boost is disabled so you run high boost only, adjustable actuator, fmic, exhaust, mines currently using an fcd but the car is coming off the road soon for td04 swap and some proper management, fuelling, mapping etc. StuDoc I agree with you on the VXR front, I have two mates with them always complaining about fuel. I travel around 30 miles daily to and from work with mixed driving, with any other little outings included probably 200 miles a week, which a full tank can just about see through with exceptions.. I had a diesel ibiza before the glanza churning out a steady 50+mpg all day which you could probably drive to the moon on a full tank lol but overall for what the glanzas and starlets are they return exceptional fuel economy I must say ð¤ Cheers buddy. Well depending on what i buy does depend on what i have to do i might be lucky enough to get something with good mods but like i said i will strip the engine down new gaskets and inspections including maintenance. I might be lucky enough to have a good spec but there is an issue as i really want a mk1 and has to have the mk1 interior as that was one of the best things on my old mk1. It was modified on the outside but stock on the inside. Old dog new tricks lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) I'll sit on the fence with this, but when I had my Starlet's, I had nothing but problems with the engines, one engine had an oil pressure problem, the other blew the ringlands (stock engine, stock boost). Maybe I was just unlucky, but it's experiences that gives people the opportunity to make their own mind up. As much as I love Starlets, I'm not a fanboy whos's going to sit here and say their better than Vauxhalls, Honda's blah blah, but I do completely understand why people adore them. The 4E engine is at least 16 years old, if you want a mk1 you could be talking as old as 26 years! Going in with the frame of mind that their reliable, and don't have any issues could and most probably will kick you in the nuts. Their old, tired, seals are going to leak, missfires are going to happen etc. Even getting one that has been well looked after, maintained doesn't guarantee reliability security, yes it helps but their not bombproof. Yes they are relatively good on fuel, and yes they do put out good power, sorry to burst bubbles, their not going to compete with other engines:- Not a true twin cam design- No variable valve timing- Low compression- Tiny exhaust valves (for fuel economy reasons)- No direction injectionTo name but a few. Claiming that they are one of Toyota's best engines is a bold claim:4AGE2JZ2ZZ3S1LRAnd that don't even include any diesel motors. I don't want it to come across like I'm slagging them off and you shouldn't buy one, because I do understand why people love them, and hence why I'm still around. They are a small engine with a turbocharger strapped on the side, and for any enthusiast, that's a boner moment Just my 2p worth, and my opinion on engines alone, shopping trolley Starlet chassis is another topic Edited December 7, 2015 by AdamB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Coxxy_94GT Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Just saying i get 40mpg out of my 300bhp gt on a run 👍🏼 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Coxxy_94GT Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 And yes with a boost controler you can change the peak boost the car will run . Mine has three settings .8 bar 1.1 bar and 1.4 although i just always leave it on 1.4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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