Celica tuning performance mods

Everything You Need To Know About "Toyota Celica Tuning"

The Toyota Celica was a sporty car and the best that Toyota could offer after the stunning supra.

The Best model to have from a tuning point of view is without a doubt the 2.0 Turbo Carlos Saints version with a 4 wheel drive system. This has lots of power and great handling.

All Celicas are quite nimble and handle really well but there is a lot you can do to improve them.

Celica tuning tips.

Remaps are very difficult due to the way that Toyota lock their ECU's. The best option is to fit an aftermarket ECU to handle fuel and timing and this will effectively dispense with the standard cars ECU. Power gains from this alone are not phenomenal unless you have a turbo model. On a NASP engine a remap is likely to give you around 10-20% more power.

Popular modifications for the Celica include induction kits and panel filters and sports exhausts. Car tuning tips recommend fitting a sports catalyst to free up a bit more power from the engine and we would prefer to see a panel filter fitter than an induction kit unless you really want the induction roar.

When it comes to engine mods you really need to go in deep to make a difference. Get the head ported, polished and gas flowed. A fast road cam will raise the power by a noticeable amount and give a much more zippy top end.

Suspension mods will greatly improve the handling. Lower the car by 20-30mm and fit some decent quality coilovers. You will certainly get what you pay for when it comes to suspension and car tuning tips would recommend that you buy a fully adjustable suspension kit as this allows you to setup the handling of the car to suit your driving style.

When making your celica go faster you should not ignore the need to stop it faster. Car tuning tips recommend that you uprate your brakes. Get some larger vented and grooved disks, a bigger set of calipers and larger brake pads.

We would really like to see a Supra engine installed in the Celica but this doesn't seem to have happened yet. Please feel free to let us know if you have seen one.

We have however seen some impressive superchargers and turbo conversions done on the Celica. The supercharger is easier to fit than a turbo if you are willing to sacrifice your air conditioning pump.

Tuning tips and articles Engine tuning Transmission tuning Care care Intake & exhaust mods Improve handling Forums

If you have a smaller engined Celica or an older model you could do an engine swap to one of the newer models and get a massive power gain. 

If you are serious about power gains on your Celica then other modifications you should consider are fast road cams, air intake mods and sports exhaust & port matching.

For some you can never have too much power so another option you may consider is adding nitrous injection kits, this alone can add 50bhp more power to your engine.

What other modifications?
Brake upgrades should be at the top of your list. A big brake disk and 6 pot calipers with fast road pads will greatly improve your braking and be less prone to brake fade than the standard setup.

Handling mods are also worth considering for your Celica, we would recommend that you get fully adjustable suspension kits (coilovers are a good choice) so you can set this up to suit your driving style. If you are lowering the car then stick with a drop of 20-35mm as the Celica is already relatively low. You will find that the GTfour models have a 15mm drop already on them over the standard model.

Further reading.
We suggest that if you want a bit more information on Celica Tuning and modifications you should also consult the following sources. TorqueCars have a comprehensive  Celica tuning article and also a very active, friendly and helpful Toyota forum.

If you have any tips to pass on please use our comments box below and we will update this article, after all we are all here to share knowledge. Please also let us know if we've missed out an engine or performance mod that you feel should be included in here.

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