'Nother new kid

[Nublet]

Hey everyone. Been searching around for a good celica forum. Decided to give this one a try. ;) I own a 2001 Black Celica GT-S. Unfortunately it's manumatic. Mom wouldn't let me get a manual even though I've been driving one for years....silly parents.

I'm definitely going to do some mods to it. Probably not too many performance mods, I'm not a race freak, but I do want it to look nice.

[MartinGouda]

sounds cool.. other than the fact that you listen to your parents decitions on your transmission...

welcome

[Nublet]

Lol, I had the money but they have the house. I do need a place to stay for my last year of high school.

[Burrcold]

welcome

[RN2NVS]

welcome
wow celica gts while in highschool
not bad at all

[racergirl]

welcome nublet :) have fun with the mods

[jlitman]

Hiya Nublet!

Some humble suggestions regarding appearance mods ...

(1) Wheels - really big wheels may look nice, but you will go slower if they're too big. Ask how much they weigh before you buy 'em. Try to find 15" - 16" wheels under 15 lbs that will fit and also look nice (suggestion: Rotas) If you go with anything bigger than 17" they will be really heavy. Heavy wheels mean slower off the line accelleration and more $ for gas.

(2) Paint - Toyota stock paint kinda sucks, chips reeeeal easily. A decent paint job can turn that already pretty car into a real show car. Don't even bother with body kits unless you are prepared to paint the car too ... the multitone "work in progress" look is seriously fugly.

(3) Wings, hood scoops, etc - The Celica stock spolier ranges from modest (early 2000) to excessive (TRD action package) ... anything higher profile than that gets kinda silly looking and may even slow the car down. Some people do away with them entirely, but IMHO, a small spoiler still looks best.

A bigger hood scoop might look okay (not too big, just a little) and keep the engine bay a bit cooler. A CF hood is an option too -- a decent one might look nice (depending on the color of your car), and will weigh about 10 lbs less than the stock hood (OEM hood weighs > 25 lbs).

(4) Ride and ride height - if you want to lower it, do it right! Get a decent set of lowering springs, get the struts too, while you're at it. If you want better handling, a lower stance, and not sacrifice ride comfort, I'd suggest sticking with the TRD strut and spring package. You can probably find it fairly cheap as Toyota won't be making any more stuff for the Celica (bastards). Shop around. Don't let a friend of yours just cut them -- you'll screw up the suspension.

(5) Lastly, here's some examples of what NOT to do with the appearance of your GT-S
http://www.laughatrice.com/

Oh, and at the very least, wash it and wax it regularly, keep up with the routine maintenance (oil changes, etc.) -- I agree; a new GT-S while still in HS is pretty sweet! Take care of it and she'll last you for a very long time! The new Celicas are bit quirky in some respects, but Toyotas in general are highly reliable cars and the Celica is one of the best -- pity they won't be sold in the U.S. after 2005 :(

-jl-

[CONTROL ONE]

^ most informative post by a newb i've ever seen on here

good job jit

nublet, i wouldn't bother with anything performance wise unless you just do it for the sound. the auto gt-s is the slowest in the celica family and not very mod friendly at all

[jlitman]

....

Nublet, if you find that the GT-S is a bit hesitant off the line, try the GReddy cat-back exhaust. Doesn't kill your bottom end power, and completely eliminated the lag in acceleration from the stock exhaust. Sounds good too -- deeper but not louder! Worth every penny! :D

[CONTROL ONE]

having driven all 4(+1) trims and owning a GT, GT-T and 5MT GT-S, this has been my experience

1. 6MT GT-S
2. 5MT GT-S
3. AT GT-S in tiptronic manual
4. AT GT
5. AT GT-S in full auto mode

reason being:

before 6K, the GT IS more powerful
unless you are in WOT the AT GT-S shifts very very early compared to what one would consider riding a gear out to get the max performance

i believe peak power on a GT-S comes at 7600 rpm. i don't know about you but you REALLY have to make an effort to get the car up to that RPM range in full automatic mode

[jlitman]

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[CONTROL ONE]

Originally Posted by jlitman

5 speed GT-S? Do you mean 5-speed GT?

Before the GReddy exhaust, the celica bogged badly off the line -- totally stock, and without using the sportshift/tiptronic, the two a/t trims might be more even -- but even so, I can get it into lift very easily just flooring it. Have you got any graphs of the Tq curves handy? From what I recall, the two cars are more even at lower RPMs -- but I don't think the GT has an actual advantage.

In my experiences racing from a stand still, I've yet to get overtaken by a GT. Did the cars you've driven have equivalent weights, wear and tear, etc? Test them on the same day, same ambient temp?

An Eclipse handed me my ass tho' , but he had a turbo -- I heard the BOV.

-jl-

nope, i do mean 5MT GT-S

had a GT
turbo'd it (GT-T)
blew it up
bought a 2ZZ engine
stuffed it in but kept my GT tranny

[jlitman]

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[CONTROL ONE]

ya, almost too fast. the torque steer sucked

my 5 spd 2zz is pretty damn quick as well. TPR CAI, blitz nur spec exhaust and tuned apexi power fc

[jlitman]

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