Ok i have a '91 TR AUTO 2.6 litre 4 cylinder. The thing is stock apart from a heavy duty alternator and a V6 century battery. Now what i want to do know is what do i have to do to mod my car to make it as quick 0-100 as say, a TE or VN/VP/VR/VS, i'm sick of my commy mates dissing my car cuz it's not as powerful, but i say my car has so much more class than theirs, and a better stereo :P. Anyway i just want rough prices as well, just so i know how much to save up. When is the next dyno day in VIC gonna be? would be cool to see how it goes stock, and then how each mod makes a difference. I was gonna save up for a TE/TF but i'm attached to this car and i like the 2nd gen look better (sorry 3rd gen guys :P) and i only wanted a TE/TF for the power boost to show my commy friends they arn't so tough and also would be cool to have a sleeper car :). I only drag people to the speed limit so its not like i'm dangerous ;). So i'd only be after major boosts in the 0-100 range, any help would be great, thanks

Dont know how much (alot), TURBOs' are serious power gain stuff :badgrin:.



Quote: i like the 2nd gen look better (sorry 3rd gen guys )
Don't tell , but in secret my favourite shape is the T/K S with rear spoiler and Mags :D .

why don't u trade your 3rd gen in for a 2nd gen then? :P :P

From what I heard those Astron 2.6 litre engines.. are slow, llike slooowww :nuts: and my suggestion is do what KB did, and throw in the 24valve V6 into it. Its just not worth spending heaps of $$ adding a turbo/nos kit when you could have a more refined, powerful smooth v6.

So does this asnwer your question "What mods will make a TR as quick as a TE?"

All my mates drive commy;s 1 vn 1 vp hdt improved, 2 vr's, 1 vh, 1 hq 1tonner 253 with sequiential shift, theres plenty of competition and I love it. Their faces are priceless..

From what I heard those Astron 2.6 litre engines.. are slow, llike slooowww and my suggestion is do what KB did, and throw in the 24valve V6 into it. Its just not worth spending heaps of $$ adding a turbo/nos kit when you could have a more refined, powerful smooth v6.

I definatley dont agree with you there, besides te fact you cant fit a v6 into a 2.6l magna because the passenger side mount is different (well you can if you hack one out of v6 and weld heaps of stuff etc but thats not worth it) The 2.6l motor, especially the last ones in the ts were great, and from my research should have no problem makings a significant ammount of power from the right mods, only problem is you have an auto box, which is hell slugish,

I had a TR V6 Manual before my TJ. I had extractors, 2.5inch straight through zorst with rear LR2779 muffler & pod filter and it was quicker than a manual 3.5 litre Sports (not sure of the exact model, looked like a TE or TF). I ran this particular Sports heaps of times one afternoon and kept killing it

So i reckon go buy TZABOYS manual box and V6 when he sells his soon, do a few mods to it like i did and you'll have a winner!

it was quicker than a manual 3.5 litre Sports (not sure of the exact model, looked like a TE or TF).

I think those models are 3L not 3.5L. If it was 3.5L must have been a TH or newer.


Also the Astron 2.6L has been proven many times to be an excellent base for turbocharging, for both outright power and longevity. But it would be a waste of money to try and get power from mild mods such as exhaust, cams etc (esp with an auto).

If you turbo it you will need heaps of extra $$$$ to do extra things such as exhaust, brakes, suspension as well as a new manual box or rebuilt auto. Oh and to probably rebuild the engine first so it hangs together. Not cheap but neither is an engine swap.

Cheers
Dave

try a turbo kit off a sigma gsr turbo, my stepbrother reckons he could pull it of for around $1200 + exhaust without strenghtning it or anything, but yer, should be about 120kw

I was afriad you guys would say my motor is **** :(. I only have an auto license so i cant drive a manual until i'm 21, I was thinking of getting a TE auto but i've been told the auto gearbox is crap. How much would it cost to get a TE auto box so it wont stuff up? I could buy a TE and just mod it :). But i was hoping the car i had now could go at least in par with a 3.8 commy :(.

im assuming ur car is efi? unlucky i guess :D ... but yeah, go and get a sigma turbo manifold and graft it onto ur car. u may want to get a bigger turbo put on though. then just go about strenghthening everything. you'll need an aftermarket ecu so u might aswell put in a mild cam while ur at it. only $275-$300. RPW sells them.

i've seen a 1st gen magna get a $2700 turbo setup put in it and i think it got 100kw at the wheels or more. though these were cheaper components and only the stuff that needed to b put in to run. it's doable and dosen't have to be THAT expensive

[QUOTE=Leighm85]I was afriad you guys would say my motor is **** :(. I only have an auto license so i cant drive a manual until i'm 21, [QUOTE]
Auto license? is this just something that SA doesnt have or sumfin?

Turbo turbo turbo, otherwise trade it in.

Take out a 10k loan and do it properly if you are attached to the car.

Or seriously look at a change over to a V6 motor and manual box, it will be cheaper then a turbo job, then mod the hell out of it, then you will leave the 3.8l commos for dead. :badgrin:

Auto license? is this just something that SA doesnt have or sumfin?[/QUOTE]

In NSW and Vic, P platers are restricted to drive autos unless with a fully licenced driver, if they sit the driving test in an auto car. I don't know about other states.
there are also gearbox restrictions on truck licences like auto only and syncro manual boxes only (no roadrangers etc).

[QUOTE=Leighm85]I was afriad you guys would say my motor is **** :(. I only have an auto license so i cant drive a manual until i'm 21, [QUOTE]
Auto license? is this just something that SA doesnt have or sumfin?
Here in VIC -
I sat my P's test in an Auto, so i'm bound by the restriction of only driving an auto on my P's, however when i get my full license after 3 years i am able to drive auto/manual. So i cant drive a manual until i'm 21, but then i wouldn't even know how lol.

You can go and resit the driving test for the manual part you know. Thats what im going to have to do some time early next year.

Here in VIC -
I sat my P's test in an Auto, so i'm bound by the restriction of only driving an auto on my P's, however when i get my full license after 3 years i am able to drive auto/manual. So i cant drive a manual until i'm 21, but then i wouldn't even know how lol.

Thats what I did, sat for Ps with auto, turned 21 and now I'm driving manual :D

What mods have you done (sorry if you already posted this, I didnt see it when I read the thread)

Here's my suggestions if you have tons of money:

Rebuild motor
Port and polish
Lightened, balanced, knife-edged crank
Higher compression pistons (11.0:1 or something like that)
Billeted Camshaft (with a better profile)
Lightened cam gear (adjustable)
Lightened crank gear
Higher flow injectors
Improved injector rail
Rising rate fuel pressure regulator
Full aftermarket ECU (Haltech E6X/E11, Wolf 3D V4, Microtech, Motec etc)
Custom extractors (Unless pacemaker already make them. The other brand available I have issues with, but I refuse to discuss that on here)
Larger throttle body, then machine the plenum to suit.
If you can find someone who does it, you can extrude hone the intake plenum and manifold.

You'd HAVE to run 98 octane petrol all the time with this setup though. And I also dont know if the Auto box would handle the new power from that extreme setup.

Just throwing ideas your way....

i have similar problem with all mates driving more powerful cars. Even tho i can get close to a couple of them i think theres no real way to get massive power out of the 2.6 without spending large amounts of cash. Ive got extractors on mine and am getting rest of exhaust done soon but am only going to do a few other mods than that. Pod/CAI of some description, FPR when the next group buy is (hint hint), bored out throttle body and am considering manual conversion but just have to see how things go.
I think this will give me a chance against the older v6's which is enuf for me until i get a new car.

you want an easy power increase without going to the expense of a turbo conversion then the one thing that will give the greatest power improvement in a 4cyl auto TR is a manual conversion. i've had both manual and auto TR's and the manuals go a hell of a lot better, beyond this all u can really do is make the engine breathe better. - CAI, extractors & exhaust,cam-head work-computer. The TS 4cyl had a slightly different engine with a more efficient & powerful combustion chamber in the head, one of these heads and a TS computer might also deliver a slight improvement in performance, I had a stock TS 4cyl manual and it went noticably harder than any TR 4cyl manual I have had.

I agree with benau, doing a manual conversion can be done much cheaper then a V6 conversion or a turbo install, and it will give you a hell lot more control in power. The biggest problem i find with the Astron+auto is the lack of *oomph* from a standing line. It just does not go (esp. uphill, ARGH!) until it reaches 2800rpm and then the thing starts to go. So having a manual at least allows you to clutch dump it off the standing line which gives you a bit more advantage on the bottom end.

Other then that, maybe an auto stall converter might help?

yes, there right, i own a 93 tr magna. first if ur looking for mods, get a manual put in..who cares, manual kills the auto, trust me, i dragged one, beat by bout 10 car lengths. then get ur exhuast, put a pod in. enlarge throttle body, some good sparkys and good leads. increase timing and run 98 octane... man the tr's go hard. mine revs to about 80/85 in second at 5000rpm/5500rpm, so yeh... i can keep up with vls and stuff...but the vn's, once theyve got a bit of speed going... but yeh do those mods...and u can see whats happening to car and ull notice the whole lot...and extractors. but i aint put in extractors coz im turboing my car soon...
doing the sigma conversion.......
just using a high flow t3 instead out of a vl...my girlfriends cousins, and its been running on 8psi since hes had it.....
manual
exhuast
extractors
pod/cai
plugs and leads
increase timing for 98 octo fuel
ull be set, and these are just cheap mods by the way....

i like my 4 pot after burner :)
i think it;s your driving style, maybe you dont push you car hard enough.
seriously only changing the engine with something better will be beneficial or save plenty and turbo, but then you might as well buy a jap turbo car.

save your cash and make it handle better. and a bit in the looks department.

and like above said, i normally would be doing very close to 100 on second.
and the auto g/box

thank **** i blew the g/box now i can get an excuse to put a manual but then i might buy another car or maybe no car. :)

Manual = no go, looks like i'll just be saving up for a TE/TF, should be able to afford one by May next year :).