Turbo Charging My 1zzfe 2000 Corolla

I was considering turbocharging my engine a while back, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth the gains. The 1ZZ-FE engines are fairly well optimized. Most turbocharged 8th gen Corollas I've seen usually put out only 20-25 more HP (about 140-145 HP overall). To get some serious road power, you need at least 170 HP. The turbo will certainly make a difference in your performance and you will beat your brother, but you got to ask youself if its worth it for $1000+ dollars. Also, a turbocharger can really hurt your MPG on these cars. A friend of mine lost about 5 MPG on average by turbocharging his Civic. Another thing to consider is that a turbocharger on an engine not designed for it will wear down the engine faster.

The only other cheap option is weight reductions (what I've done). Here's a list of things you can do:

Lightweight wheels = about 40-44 lbs drop (going from 20lbs steel OEMs to 9-10 lightweights)

Lightweight Battery = about 40 lbs drop (going from a 50lbs battery to a 10lbs one)

Remove jack+spare (use descretion on this one!) = about 35 lbs drop

Remove windshield wash fluid (advise not doing in winter) = about 14 lbs drop

Drive on 1/4 gas = about 50 lbs drop

In all, these options can drop your weight by almost 150 lbs.

I was considering turbocharging my engine a while back, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth the gains. The 1ZZ-FE engines are fairly well optimized. Most turbocharged 8th gen Corollas I've seen usually put out only 20-25 more HP (about 140-145 HP overall). To get some serious road power, you need at least 170 HP. The turbo will certainly make a difference in your performance and you will beat your brother, but you got to ask youself if its worth it for $1000+ dollars. Also, a turbocharger can really hurt your MPG on these cars. A friend of mine lost about 5 MPG on average by turbocharging his Civic. Another thing to consider is that a turbocharger on an engine not designed for it will wear down the engine faster.

The only other cheap option is weight reductions (what I've done). Here's a list of things you can do:

Lightweight wheels = about 40-44 lbs drop (going from 20lbs steel OEMs to 9-10 lightweights)

Lightweight Battery = about 40 lbs drop (going from a 50lbs battery to a 10lbs one)

Remove jack+spare (use descretion on this one!) = about 35 lbs drop

Remove windshield wash fluid (advise not doing in winter) = about 14 lbs drop

Drive on 1/4 gas = about 50 lbs drop

In all, these options can drop your weight by almost 150 lbs.

Does 150 pounds less weight make that much of a difference?

 

 

Sorry, I meant to say 183 lbs. I think I forgot to add the jack+spare when calculating. So far I've performed all of these weight reduction techniques, except for the battery. I'm looking around for a good one that's the right size and will fit under my hood.

Bikeman: We've already discussed this many times. Yes it does. Are you telling me you don't feel a difference in acceleration when you have a passenger in the car? Just with my sister in the car (she is 130 lbs), I can feel a fairly significant difference. On slow accelerations you don't notice it, but on hard accelerations you do. Performance wise, I would say the weight reductions can lower your 0-60 time by about 1 second or more. 180 lbs is actually more like a passenger plus a small child or a pet. Once I put the lightweight battery in, I'm hoping to drop my 0-60 time down to 9.5 seconds or maybe less.

Sorry, I meant to say 183 lbs. I think I forgot to add the jack+spare when calculating. So far I've performed all of these weight reduction techniques, except for the battery. I'm looking around for a good one that's the right size and will fit under my hood.

Bikeman: We've already discussed this many times. Yes it does. Are you telling me you don't feel a difference in acceleration when you have a passenger in the car? Just with my sister in the car (she is 130 lbs), I can feel a fairly significant difference. On slow accelerations you don't notice it, but on hard accelerations you do. Performance wise, I would say the weight reductions can lower your 0-60 time by about 1 second or more. 180 lbs is actually more like a passenger plus a small child or a pet.

I very seldom have passengers in my car and when I do I drive slower so they don't get scared.

 

I don't race my car so a few seconds of time off the quarter mile doesn't make much difference to me.

I was considering turbocharging my engine a while back, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth the gains. The 1ZZ-FE engines are fairly well optimized. Most turbocharged 8th gen Corollas I've seen usually put out only 20-25 more HP (about 140-145 HP overall). To get some serious road power, you need at least 170 HP. The turbo will certainly make a difference in your performance and you will beat your brother, but you got to ask youself if its worth it for $1000+ dollars. Also, a turbocharger can really hurt your MPG on these cars. A friend of mine lost about 5 MPG on average by turbocharging his Civic. Another thing to consider is that a turbocharger on an engine not designed for it will wear down the engine faster.

The only other cheap option is weight reductions (what I've done). Here's a list of things you can do:

Lightweight wheels = about 40-44 lbs drop (going from 20lbs steel OEMs to 9-10 lightweights)

Lightweight Battery = about 40 lbs drop (going from a 50lbs battery to a 10lbs one)

Remove jack+spare (use descretion on this one!) = about 35 lbs drop

Remove windshield wash fluid (advise not doing in winter) = about 14 lbs drop

Drive on 1/4 gas = about 50 lbs drop

In all, these options can drop your weight by almost 150 lbs.

That must have been tunned pretty badly because the TRD SCer got near 175BHP. 140HP is the Celica's rating from the factory.

well in my case i am hoping adding about 50 to 70 hp so thats what i am shooting for its not unheard of i mean the mr-s puts down about 175 - 200 hp mildly tuned with a turbo about 8 psi and as far as the durability well as long as i get about 50k out of it before i build the block and heads it was well worth it the car has about 185k on it now so i am not going to complain if it only get 25k i wil be happy gas mileage well as long as i get atleast 20 to 25 mpg we are ok still happy just not 10 mpg (explorer eewww) lol

well in my case i am hoping adding about 50 to 70 hp so thats what i am shooting for its not unheard of i mean the mr-s puts down about 175 - 200 hp mildly tuned with a turbo about 8 psi and as far as the durability well as long as i get about 50k out of it before i build the block and heads it was well worth it the car has about 185k on it now so i am not going to complain if it only get 25k i wil be happy gas mileage well as long as i get atleast 20 to 25 mpg we are ok still happy just not 10 mpg (explorer eewww) lol

 

That should be doable. Before you start though, I'd find out how much air the stock air meter can read, then find out what injectors fit that are a upgrade, and then talk with other turbo Corolla guys and ask what they did. In the end, you will need a SAFC or other piggy back computer to lie to the ECU about air intakes. You will need a wide band o2 sensor to tune your are fuel ratios, a ungraded fuel pump, and a APFR that works works with boost. I'm sure I'm forgetting a laundry list of stuff. Oh ya, a boost gage, boost controller, and obviously the custom turbo install.

I personally wouldn't want to take on this task, but if your car is already paid for and it's what you have to work with, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Or at least what you want to do. If you do this and tune it will, you will find your clutch useless, your brakes weak, and probably the suspension not up to the task. I have and had fast cars that started out way faster then the Corolla, and even with them, I was always chasing down weak points in the car to deal with the extra power.

Good luck. Your going to need it.

I was considering turbocharging my engine a while back, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth the gains. The 1ZZ-FE engines are fairly well optimized. Most turbocharged 8th gen Corollas I've seen usually put out only 20-25 more HP (about 140-145 HP overall). To get some serious road power, you need at least 170 HP. The turbo will certainly make a difference in your performance and you will beat your brother, but you got to ask youself if its worth it for $1000+ dollars. Also, a turbocharger can really hurt your MPG on these cars. A friend of mine lost about 5 MPG on average by turbocharging his Civic. Another thing to consider is that a turbocharger on an engine not designed for it will wear down the engine faster.

The only other cheap option is weight reductions (what I've done). Here's a list of things you can do:

Lightweight wheels = about 40-44 lbs drop (going from 20lbs steel OEMs to 9-10 lightweights)

Lightweight Battery = about 40 lbs drop (going from a 50lbs battery to a 10lbs one)

Remove jack+spare (use descretion on this one!) = about 35 lbs drop

Remove windshield wash fluid (advise not doing in winter) = about 14 lbs drop

Drive on 1/4 gas = about 50 lbs drop

In all, these options can drop your weight by almost 150 lbs.

I have a problem with your numbers. For the windshield fluid to weigh 14 lbs you would have to have almost 2 gallons on board. Last I checked Prizms / Corollas only have a washer tank capacity of a little over a gallon.

well as for the suspension i have that covered i have fully adjustable coil overs and sport shocks and a camber kit on the way oh and i have a strut bar also the car has some modification turbo is the last thing i want to do as long as i get about athe 13 to 15 sec range in the 1/4 mile i am happy i am just not sure of the parts that i need to turbo my car i mean i have done civics but needless to say i think everyone else has too.... here is a good ? how many turbo corollas do you see? right

I removed my windshield wash fluid during the summer. I figured it was about 2 gallons since I filled a 5 gallon bucket about 2/5 of the way up.

By the way, what year Corolla is this?

its a 2000 corolla ve 3 spd auto and i think i am going to use a log style manifold it will fit better under the hood for a cleaner look

Wouldn't it be faster, cheaper, and cleaner, just to trade your rolla in for a faster car?

Unless there are kits out there, sounds like a lot of fab work (= lots of $$).

2bits

tdk

https://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?...hl=supercharged

Lol, this is your exact same topic from last summer jbooqs. I just found that out when I was doing searching for old topics on "supercharger".

https://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?...hl=superchargedLol, this is your exact same topic from last summer jbooqs. I just found that out when I was doing searching for old topics on "supercharger".

 

I sometimes wonder why people would want to add a turbo when a SCer kit was made by TRD. As far as the engine being able to handle the extra power, TRD has tested it. It can hold a little boost.

I would personally do the SCer option because a turbo with a MBC can over boost when it gets too cold out. It would be too easy to ruin the engine with a turbo and it's too tempting to turn the boost up.

If someone really has money for a full turbo kit, then why not keep the rolla stock and buy a Mustang for going fast? I got a good fox body 5.0 for 4800. By good I mean, hardly any rust, tons of mods, fast, and low original miles.

well lol your right but the only difference is the rolla this one is a different one lol

https://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?...hl=superchargedLol, this is your exact same topic from last summer jbooqs. I just found that out when I was doing searching for old topics on "supercharger".

 

I sometimes wonder why people would want to add a turbo when a SCer kit was made by TRD. As far as the engine being able to handle the extra power, TRD has tested it. It can hold a little boost.

I would personally do the SCer option because a turbo with a MBC can over boost when it gets too cold out. It would be too easy to ruin the engine with a turbo and it's too tempting to turn the boost up.

If someone really has money for a full turbo kit, then why not keep the rolla stock and buy a Mustang for going fast? I got a good fox body 5.0 for 4800. By good I mean, hardly any rust, tons of mods, fast, and low original miles.

That is my recommendation as well.

 

Use the Corolla as it was intended. If you want to go really fast or race, get a performance car.

TRD makes a SC for the 03 and 04 corolla. Both of which uses the 1zzfe vvt-i engine. I thought the same goes for the 00-02 corollas as well. So why is it that TRD only makes a SC for 03-04 and no other corolla that uses the same exact engine (ie. 00-02, 05-07)?

I sometimes wonder why people would want to add a turbo when a SCer kit was made by TRD. As far as the engine being able to handle the extra power, TRD has tested it. It can hold a little boost.

I would personally do the SCer option because a turbo with a MBC can over boost when it gets too cold out. It would be too easy to ruin the engine with a turbo and it's too tempting to turn the boost up.

If someone really has money for a full turbo kit, then why not keep the rolla stock and buy a Mustang for going fast? I got a good fox body 5.0 for 4800. By good I mean, hardly any rust, tons of mods, fast, and low original miles.

A Mustang? Maybe if I want a headache every 3,000 miles. That's why the resale values on Fords are hilarious. I could sell my 98' Corolla with 64k miles and probably pick up an 02' or an 03' Mustang with half the mileage for the same price. Ford = junk

 

As for turbochargers, I'm ususally against them and prefer superchargers. It's just my bias; most of the best performance cars like the Corolla Compressor, Lotus Exige S, or the Mercedes SLR use superchargers. Superchargers are generally less hostile towards fuel economy, wear-and-tear, turbo-lag, and other problems associated with turbochargers.

Yea, mustang is crap! and nothing else but

I've driven an 06 mustang and its 0-60 is gigglingly, and must not forget embarrassingly, slow. For a 4L producing ONLY 210hp is crap. 4L = more fuel. 210hp to a 3500lb car = slow accel. O yea, all body and no interior room.

Yea, mustang is crap! and nothing else butI've driven an 06 mustang and its 0-60 is gigglingly, and must not forget embarrassingly, slow. For a 4L producing ONLY 210hp is crap. 4L = more fuel. 210hp to a 3500lb car = slow accel. O yea, all body and no interior room.

 

No room?!?!? It's the biggest mustang ever. What do you want, a boat? It might only have 210HP, but it has 240 torque at 3500RPMs.

As for the Mustang being crap, it isn't. If it's a good year, they also hold gobs of value. It comes down to the popularity of the year. A clean fox body can hold well over 5K in street value, and some of the collectible fox bodys go for over 20K.

My 9 year old Lexus SC400 makes 80 more HP, 60 more torque, accelerates over a second faster, gets better MPG, and its style is a hell of alot better. I would challenge it to a brand new Mustang anyday. The Mustang is bulky and pathetic looking. Muscle cars are so ugly, I don't understand how anyone could actually care for them. They are all looks and nothing to back it up except an overexhaggerated, inefficient engine.

My 9 year old Lexus SC400 makes 80 more HP, 60 more torque, accelerates over a second faster, gets better MPG, and its style is a hell of alot better. I would challenge it to a brand new Mustang anyday. The Mustang is bulky and pathetic looking. Muscle cars are so ugly, I don't understand how anyone could actually care for them. They are all looks and nothing to back it up except an overexhaggerated, inefficient engine.

 

And how much did the Lexus cost new compared to a Mustang. I really doubt that it could take on a new GT. Hell, I'd take you on in my POS Mustang.

I was also suggesting buying a mustang instead of a turbo kit for a corolla. I guess if you want to talk about better cars, I guess you can't take your unlimited funds and buy a twin turbo supra, cause that would be better too.