Questions for the Hachi Techs....

[rb180sx]

hey, i'm about to get my hands on a hachigo and i'd like a few opinions since my hatchi knowledge is limited. alright, first off i'm getting an SR5 model, i figure getting a gt-s doesn't matter since i'm gonna gut the car completely anyways.

my main question is on suspension. i'm not sure what to look for when it comes for suspension for a hatchi, i got a sil80 right now and it was pretty easy to find some nice JIC coilovers for that. should i be looking for a full coilover set or should i try to go with some usual sport style shocks, springs, camber plates...etc... i'm kinda lost here because my searches for coilovers aren't coming up too well.

also, i'm looking to do a levin front but i'm having a hard time finding anyone who sells a conversion kit, how much would i be looking to pay for that alone.

last, i'm gonna go with a sr20 in this thing, don't ask, nothing is gonna make me change my mind and i will make it happen. but i'm trying to see if there's any company that already makes a 3" exhaust for a turbo'd hatchi? just about every exhaust system i've seen for a hatchi is for a regular 4ag motor. hope u guys can help me out here on some of this crap, or if u have some other advise, feel free to share, i'd appreciate it.
thanks

[PhoPower]

check out tein, tanabe, and, as you said jic has for yuor 240 and they have it for a corrolla too.

[GRiDRaceTech]

First off, the '84-'87 2-door Corollas here are not equipped with an independent rear suspension. That means the axle is kept in check by lateral rods and a Panhard bar. First things first you should upgrade those to keep axle movement in check. Check out TechnoToyTuning (3T ) and Battle Version (Alex Pfeiffer's Shop) for suspension upgrades, along with Tein and Tanabe. Ground Control also offers coil-over kits for the Corolla.

Jspec should be able to hook you up with a Levin front end... they have tons of connections. I also might be able to hook you up... if you're serious, that is. I'm guessing the complete front end in good condition would cost around $800.

Any good muffler shop can get ahold of some good stainless piping and weld up a nice system for you. It'll probably be cheaper than an aftermarket exhaust anyway. Hell, have 'em put a Magnaflow Ti muffler on there for the bling, too.

Oh, and Club4AG
is your friend.

[rb180sx]

thanks for the heads up on the rear end part. would it be that difficult to just swap out the rear with one that came from japan, i figure that would the simpler and the best way to go?

i really am interested in the levin face, and $800 sounds better than i thought it would cost, so if u can get your hands on one of them, u got yourself a buyer.

thanks

[raging panda]

Im not quite sure what you know about corollas, but there are differences between the sr5 and the gts, you should read up on wha they are. Also, there a few differences between the main components in japan and the US.

Your sr5 came with rear drum brakes, you need a gts rear end for disc brakes, very important if you ask me. coilover kits are very expensive when it comes to corollas, the cheapest being T3 (techno toy tuning) coilover conversions for around 900 for the set. The next cheapest ive seen is tein at about 2100. I'm going with TRD springs, tein camber plates, T3 NRCA, and HTS shocks or AGX shocks, a cheaper setup and I really dont care too much about adjustability.

The SR20 swap has been done a few times in japan, But ive never seen a 3" exhast for the ae86. It would be best to do a custom exhaust since you also need a custom downpipe to mate to that exhaust, just have one place do it all.

Look around on club4ag for the levin conversion, there are a few for sale every once in a while.

[GRiDRaceTech]

The Japanese rear end is of the same non-independent variety we got here. Panda is right, you'll want discs and a factory LSD if you can get it. (Discs were standard on GT-S' but the LSD was not)

I asked about the Levin front end and am waiting for a response.

[Slonie]

You might consider a more stout rear end if you're planning on going SR20DET. Much more than 200hp (with corresponding torque) and the GT-S's rear end is going to start breaking ring gears and shredding axles more than you might like. For sure you're going to have to change out the SR5 rear end, anyhow.

Of course, that requires custom work, but if you're already doing a SR20 swap you are probably friends with some fabricators. Seems to me that putting a different rear end onto the AE86 is easier than with an IRS car, anyhow.

[rb180sx]

thanks for the idea on a new rear end, but if i'm going to switch out the entire thing because of the motor and i end up having to custom fabricate the whole thing, which parts do you think i should go with. should i try fitting an S13 lsd instead of a hachi's? just have the axles made from scratch or re-enforce some different ones? i get the idea but i don't know where to begin with for parts, get what i'm saying?

thanks

[MK2_GTI]

Go with a celica supra rear axle. That's what some of the drag corollas that I know use.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Bigger rear axle= more unsprung weight. More unsprung weight= less good for drifting.

Just put a 4AGZE in there and be done with it.

[marshun]

an sr20? put a 13b! :P

i just really like the idea of that.

but T3 does have really nice stuff. they got a big brake upgrade on there now. thats awesome

[rb180sx]

Rotary, HA!!! i have the utmost respect for what those motors can do. but i don't understand the concept of that motor in anyway, it kinda scares me cuz i know how often people blow them. so i think i'll wait till i understand a regular motor alyl better before i try a rotary. i actually thought about doing a 350 small block FC for awhile

[CelicaDRIFTER]

Originally posted by MK2_GTI
Go with a celica supra rear axle. That's what some of the drag corollas that I know use.

Yeah, off an '81 supra, it also has bigger rear disc brakes. For an lsd, you can use one off a '84/ '85 supra since both rear diffs are 7.5. I might end up doin this rear end swap later one once i build up my turbo 22RE. But for now im swapping in a '86 corolla gts lsd rear end.

[marshun]

Originally posted by rb180sx
Rotary, HA!!! i have the utmost respect for what those motors can do. but i don't understand the concept of that motor in anyway, it kinda scares me cuz i know how often people blow them. so i think i'll wait till i understand a regular motor alyl better before i try a rotary. i actually thought about doing a 350 small block FC for awhile

www.hotstuffworks.com is a good place to understand. thats where i finally understood it. :P the rotary that is.

but yeah a 13 built and tuned right wont blow for a good while. unless of course youre gettin crazy power from the motor.

[Boro86driver]

i have a turbo 86 and i have run into alot of the problems your going to run into. exhaust... it will have be a custom job, no company is going to make an exhaust for a non-standard engine in any car. they would never make their money back. the SR20 isn't as difficult as some people would make you believe... there are people on the CLUB4AG board that have done it. i think i saw pictures of one swap this week actually. i'm not going to try to sway you to the turbo 4AG route... go for the SR20 man its a cool motor. suspension wise there is actually a ton of stuff out there, but the best route you can go for the money is having T3 make your short strut/GC coilover conversion for the front, and either using coil over's on the rear (make sure you re-enforce the shock mount) or short strut/ lowered springs on the rear.
ok... getting your power to the ground... your going to eat stock rear end's like candy, twist axels, shear pinions, ect. forget the stock LSD its junk anyway. get a 79-81 celica-supra rear... it bolts up with the exception of needed a slightly longer lateral (panhard... whatever you want to call it) rod (T3 will make one for you). and the 4 links bolt up but the supra rear's holes are 14mm and the 86's are 12mm, so you can either have a set or different helm joints added if your going with a T3 or other 4 link setup (recomended) or use spacers around the 12mm bolts.
before you do all this, you should take a few things into consideration... the AE86 is a 20-17 year old car... its old. it was also made much more flexable than newer cars, and the more power you put in it the more this becomes apperant. your going to need to carefully examine the body for stress cracks, and strengthen it with a roll cage, spot welds, stiffening beams, and possibly structural expansion foam (not the crap from home depot)
while your fixing this stuff... replace every suspension bushing... TRD makes a kit for about 250$ made from hard rubber, or you can get every one in OEM rubber, both are very very good. stay away from the poly bushings, they are too stiff for the AE86. can't wait to see you on the CLUB4AG board... i'm 87AE86GTS over there.