Corollas2019-23ToyotasTech

Search Corolland!

7A-Fe Performance Options

By fanatic26, March 5, 2010



I have looked through the forums and done some searches but have not had much luck on this site. I think I might be better off on an MR2 site or whatnot, so if anyone knows of any more performance oriented sites for these engines/cars I would appreciate a personal message pointing me in the right direction. Please do not post links to another forum in here as I feel it is a conflict of interest to advertise another forum on this one default_smile

I am looking for information on possibly building up a 4A/7A hybrid motor with the factory supercharger or even a simple turbo kit. I have owned 8 cars in my lifetime and 6 of them have been either factory turbo or I added on one myself, I have extensive DIY experience. From what I understand there are 2 popular options for something like this, either a 4A with 7A rods/pistons or a 7A block with custom pistons and the 4A head. I am curious if anyone knows about these kinds of motors. Any alternative suggestions would also be welcome. I am looking to continue the love affair with my 7A Prizm, I learned how to drive in the car nearly 15 years ago and I cant see myself getting rid of it. As the car has 440k miles on the original motor I know it will need a fair bit of work to complete this but thats nothing new to me. Basically I am looking for about 200-220 crank hp so that I can get out of my own way on the freeway and/or surprise a few punk kids if they try to pass me. My goal is to overbuild the motor for reliability as I drive 120 mi round trip to work and back every day.

Have you considered other engien options - 4AGZE, 4AGE, 3SGTE, etc. - from the Toyota line (assuming you were looking at the 4AGZE as you mentioned factory blower above)? Sticking with the 4A/7A family makes the most sense - as the mount will be the same, keeping fabrication to minimum. Transaxle choice might also influence which direction this goes toward. The stock A-series C50/C52 5-speed is tough, but at those powerlevels, can tend to pop out of gear. C52 being the "stronger" of the two. Also have the E-series transaxle from the supercharged AW11 MR2 that also known to be quite stout. Will need to do some extensive fabrication to make everything fit together - but gives you a reason to invest in the hard to find Toyota "green" service manuals (sometimes referred to the "Big Green Book" - everything you need to know to rebuild a Toyota transaxle).

Another option is to jump on a C60 6-speed transaxle. They are actually almost identical to the 5-speed c50/C52 - transaxle case wise, just a C50/C52 with an extra gear. Also know to take quite a bit of abuse, most common complate is weak syncros or being trashed by the previous owner. If you have a C50/C52 on had and a good donor C60 - you can make it work. Build of the engine will ultimately depend on your budget and availability of components. The 7AFE block and rods are actually pretty decent themselves and can hold up to decent boost levels. As with all forced induction builds, they can turn out awesome or go belly up, depending on the tune. This shouldn't really be any different than the previous builds that you have done, but some engines and builds are a little more forgiving than others.

If 200-220 reliable crank HP is your goal in a daily driver - IMO, better to not "Frankenstein" a motor together and instead, pump that money into a complete 4AGZE (lower compression, stronger rods and bottom end, piston oil squirters, oil cooler, blower, etc.) sourced from an AE92 Corolla (less headache to install than the one pulled from an AW11 MR2) for 160-170HP crank from the factory and known to take well to bolton mods. Or go all out and toss in a 3SGTE - which depending on version - 180-260HP crank from the factory. Also well know to take to bolts-ons well. Going this route instead of building up your old motor gives you some options - one, the higher flowing heads from the G-series engines, better cooling (piston oil squirters, stronger oil pump), plethora of aftermarket support - as these are popular engines, there is more support for them in the aftermarket, plus the biggie - they are already designed with boost in mind - so all the little bits are already in place, saving you time and money trying to source parts to make a boosted 7AFE not blow itself to bits down the road.

If you have the time - you can try and source a TOM turbocharger kit for a 7AFE. That was a fairly limited production run on JDM Corollas - would make a fitting tribute to such a longlived car - if you could locate them. Some made their way down to Australia / New Zealand market as well. Also PM'd you a link to a site that would cater to the 4A/7A builds, atleast some information that might point you in a right direction or refine some of your searches.



Topic List