Improving performance in a Celica ST auto..., How do you do that... Options

[LigerZero]

I want to improve my throttle response and torque but not sacrifice my current fuel economy and my current reliability... So what can I do that want cost me more than a grand or two, no more than 3 large okay?

[Coomer]

If you're willing to give up five miles to the gallon, then you have lots of options.

The first thing I'd do is get an exhaust system, or have one custom made. I have 2.5" crush bent piping from the cat back and a 5Zigen muffler, and it costed me around $200 total.

Also, you can build your own cold air intake for a little bit of money. There's a great how-to on the site about how to do this.

Other mods that are a bit more work are a lightweight flywheel and an underdrive pulley. A lightweight flywheel will transfer your horsepower to the ground faster because there's less rotating mass for the engine to spin, which will make your car faster. An underdrive pulley will give you a fair gain for the price. For these parts, be sure to check out the parts database and see what you can find.

New spark plugs and wires may increase your throttle response depending on the condition of your current plugs and wires, but don't expect any noticable power gains from these unless your existing parts are in really bad shape.

Also, a few members on here have Apexi S-AFC and S-AFC2 air fuel controllers to optimize their air/fuel ratio, and some have gotten good results from properly tuning their S-AFCs.

Also, I don't know how much work you want to do, but you could always convert your car to a 5-speed, if that's what you want. A few members on here have done it.

All of these modifications shouldn't affect your gas mileage very much. I hope this helps you out a bit. If you've got more specific questions, just post 'em here and we'll try to help you out.