Improving Corolla Sportivo

[2zz corolla]

I have a quick question related to improving the handling of the sportivo. I probably only have a budget of $250 to $500 and i am just wondering if i can do any thing that is worth wile to the car for that amount of money. I am starting to get sick of the feeling as if i am driving a boat :P. All help would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry i am so broad, i have never really payed that much attention to the handling of cars so i lack knowledge in this department.

p.s Is it possible to get an exhaust system for the corolla in that budget or is it best to save up for the CES cat back exhaust?

Thanks for your help

Dave

[CME-LFT]

Use to search function, theres so many topics relating to exhaust and there prices and so on.

With your price range you could do king springs and lower it. should improve handling a fair bit over stock.

[2zz corolla]

Use to search function, theres so many topics relating to exhaust and there prices and so on.

With your price range you could do king springs and lower it. should improve handling a fair bit over stock.

Yea thanks i was aware of that and i did use the search function but alot of them were full kits which were out of my price range. thanks for the info though about the king springs, ill search harder on the forum :)

Edited October 12, 2009 by 2zz corolla

[CME-LFT]

u could also do whiteline rear sway and front strut, i think there about $140 each from bursons auto parts. There the first sussy mods i did and i noticed a fair bit of change in handling.

[2zz corolla]

u could also do whiteline rear sway and front strut, i think there about $140 each from bursons auto parts. There the first sussy mods i did and i noticed a fair bit of change in handling.

yea i was thinking about doing that but maybe only on the rear. i heard from a post a while back that the front is already stiff enough . Ill definitely give those coil overs a look. I guess i am kinda asking for the impossible, i am searching for improved handling with still a nice smooth ride and not scraping over every speed bump.

i guess i am trying to make my sportivo a wanna be civic type r :P.

Thanks again

dave

[cypher]

hrmm $500 - handling i wld suggest getting king springs low ( not super lows- as these wld prolly scrap over speed bumps a lil and going up ramps)

And then a rear sway bar as they would effect the handling the most. front strut bar is prolly not going to make as much of a difference- and will prolly only add to the bling factor. so maybe a front sway first then a front strut - if u want to go down that road.

Good bang for buck , with coil overs - they can be pricey and in my opinion not really necessary unless ur going to be driving ur car hard.

Prolly after u can save up for some aftermarket strut bars - KYB's what i have.

In regards to echaust i would budget abt $800 to $1000 depending on what you want to do - if its just a muffler wil be cheaper.

but performance headers plus custom catback wld b more including labour obviously.

1) springs

2) rear sway

3) struts

[Suprathai]

Maybe king springs low, that should set you around $450 installed including alignment, or your could DIY ;)

Personally I preferred the stock suspension over just king springs only, or springs + shocks (which at this stage is outta your budget).

If you don't want to sacrifice comfort whatsoever, then rear sways bars followed by a front sway bar, strut bar doesn't add too much of an effect. I wouldn't recommend coilovers but everyone to their own.

[2zz corolla]

hrmm $500 - handling i wld suggest getting king springs low ( not super lows- as these wld prolly scrap over speed bumps a lil and going up ramps)

And then a rear sway bar as they would effect the handling the most. front strut bar is prolly not going to make as much of a difference- and will prolly only add to the bling factor. so maybe a front sway first then a front strut - if u want to go down that road.

Good bang for buck , with coil overs - they can be pricey and in my opinion not really necessary unless ur going to be driving ur car hard.

Prolly after u can save up for some aftermarket strut bars - KYB's what i have.

In regards to echaust i would budget abt $800 to $1000 depending on what you want to do - if its just a muffler wil be cheaper.

but performance headers plus custom catback wld b more including labour obviously.

1) springs

2) rear sway

3) struts

Yea im not to interested in scraping every where :P. Im not interested in any bling factor either thats why i bought a corolla no offense :P i like my car as a sleeper. Ill try and find some nice sway bars then or save up and go for an exhaust system.

so from the info that im getting your saying its best for me to get a rear sway bar.

sorry i thought a strut bar and a sway bar were the same thing could some one please inform me about the difference.

thanks very much for the info!

[2zz corolla]

Maybe king springs low, that should set you around $450 installed including alignment, or your could DIY ;)

Personally I preferred the stock suspension over just king springs only, or springs + shocks (which at this stage is outta your budget).

If you don't want to sacrifice comfort whatsoever, then rear sways bars followed by a front sway bar, strut bar doesn't add too much of an effect. I wouldn't recommend coilovers but everyone to their own.

cheers yea i think i might step away from the springs and go towards the sway bar can some one please inform me what a sway bar actually is and how much it will cost for one to be installed.

Thanks very much for all the info i didn't expect a topic that has been repeated so many times to still get some good answers :)

cheers

dave

[DreadAngel]

Perhaps some suspension bushing?

I'm running Whiteline Plus and SuperPro on my AE111 atm, they make a BIG difference, bigger difference than you'll get from a strut brace ;)

Whiteline Plus offer "Sway bar - ball/ball link kit" while SuperPro offers bushing for the LCAs :)

[SILVABULLIT]

Springs and rear sway would be where I would start. If you need a price on stuff let me know. Happy to help out....

[2zz corolla]

Perhaps some suspension bushing?

I'm running Whiteline Plus and SuperPro on my AE111 atm, they make a BIG difference, bigger difference than you'll get from a strut brace ;)

Whiteline Plus offer "Sway bar - ball/ball link kit" while SuperPro offers bushing for the LCAs :)

Wow you upgraded the handling of your levin i thought they were great to begin with lol. Thanks for the info you think that would help the rear? some time it feels as if the rear isnt following the front of the car :P it might because it uses a trailing arm (i think that's what its called). how much are brushings ... there quite cheap arnt they ...

[2zz corolla]

Springs and rear sway would be where I would start. If you need a price on stuff let me know. Happy to help out....

If you could get a quote on rear sway bar and include install price ( if possible if not just price for product) that would be great thanks. at the moment i am just piecing it together deciding if i want the handling or the exhaust system.

Thanks

dave

[DreadAngel]

Wow you upgraded the handling of your levin i thought they were great to begin with lol. Thanks for the info you think that would help the rear? some time it feels as if the rear isnt following the front of the car :P it might because it uses a trailing arm (i think that's what its called). how much are brushings ... there quite cheap arnt they ...

They're nice from factory, close to the DC2Rs (this comes from an ex-Honda owner lol and Honda owner friends) so you can imagine what its like now ;)

I can't seem the find bushing for the trailing arms, only found bushing for front LCA bushing and front/rear swaybar links :(

The bushing for my car came to ~$230 that's for my LCAs and the Trailing arm, then my friend put it in for me :)

[chicaboo]

If that's your budget [and you're still $200-300 short], just get KYB Excel G shocks, as the original front shocks will be rooted by now anyhow. You could get a rear swaybar [not a marked improvement], or lowered springs [hampered by rooted shocks], but the control will come from shocks in the end...

As for exhaust: Budget option is 2 Magnaflow muffs from Greyhound Performance off eBay in the US. You buy a long inline muffler and a rear oval offset muffler, both in 2.25" for around $250 to your door. Go to an exhaust shop and have them replace the stock resonator and muffler with these, and you're laughing. You will have a quiet setup with an awesome note for around $350 all up.

Gav.

[2zz corolla]

If that's your budget [and you're still $200-300 short], just get KYB Excel G shocks, as the original front shocks will be rooted by now anyhow. You could get a rear swaybar [not a marked improvement], or lowered springs [hampered by rooted shocks], but the control will come from shocks in the end...

As for exhaust: Budget option is 2 Magnaflow muffs from Greyhound Performance off eBay in the US. You buy a long inline muffler and a rear oval offset muffler, both in 2.25" for around $250 to your door. Go to an exhaust shop and have them replace the stock resonator and muffler with these, and you're laughing. You will have a quiet setup with an awesome note for around $350 all up.

Gav.

Thanks. i never thought about the shock and yea after 4 years of use they would have to be screwed haha.

does 2 inch restrict the air flow at all. Is it true that the standard sportivo comes with a 2.25inch exhaust . i think i would like to do a popper job on the exhaust but $350 is damn tempting hehe.

dave

[chicaboo]

If that's your budget [and you're still $200-300 short], just get KYB Excel G shocks, as the original front shocks will be rooted by now anyhow. You could get a rear swaybar [not a marked improvement], or lowered springs [hampered by rooted shocks], but the control will come from shocks in the end...

As for exhaust: Budget option is 2 Magnaflow muffs from Greyhound Performance off eBay in the US. You buy a long inline muffler and a rear oval offset muffler, both in 2.25" for around $250 to your door. Go to an exhaust shop and have them replace the stock resonator and muffler with these, and you're laughing. You will have a quiet setup with an awesome note for around $350 all up.

Gav.

Thanks. i never thought about the shock and yea after 4 years of use they would have to be screwed haha.

does 2 inch restrict the air flow at all. Is it true that the standard sportivo comes with a 2.25inch exhaust . i think i would like to do a popper job on the exhaust but $350 is damn tempting hehe.

dave

For the most part the exhaust is 2.125~2.25" OD, and then the pipe is pinched down to about 2" ahead of the resonator and muffler. The Magnaflow muffler I recommend for best results is just called the XL. A lot of ppl won't like that muffler cause you can't spit through one side and out the other, but the other choices are louder and more expensive at the same time... That $350 will give you a great note and liberate a few ponies and you still have change to look at springs and or shocks if you should desire. Oh, I haven't dyno tested this combo on a Sportivo, so I got no idea if it's going to make as much power as the Remus axle-back or CES cat-back, but compare the costs and draw your own conclusion.

Gav.