Article by Evan Griffey Decompression Chamber Turbo & High Tech Performance 12.2000 http://www.turbomagazine.com You've been lectured by your girlfriend, abused by your boss, pushed around by customers and you spilled your daily iced, blended mocha on your favroite pants... All that before lunch! But you have made it. Its 5 PM - you hit the door and are greeted by a setting sun and the promise of sanctuary. If you are Jesse Hsiao, you can still easily save the day on your ride home. You see, Hasio's ride is the first burbocharged 2000 Toyota Celica GTS. Thats right GTS! This pressurized decompression chamber provides the adrenaline overload needed to wash away the bad taste of a long day.
	We decided to try our taste buds on the Celica and wrestled the keys away from Hsiao for a few days. When it comes to taste, the ALT Celica is a Sour Bomb lolipop that zaps the taste buds so hard your face almost craves in as you involuntarily pucker and squint. The turbo spools eagerly and seems to deliver thrust quite low in the rev range - and it keeps on giving the higer the rpm. The Celica accelerates enthusiastically with just the slightest hint of torque steer. At speed, right foot stomps bring about a surge of speed. When boost hits, the Celica was not as savage as some other turbo'd street cars weve driven - most notably Project Serious Sentra. But one must remember this car was rolling on 19s, which are considerably taller than the stockers and therefore harder to break loose. The power delivery of the Celica was more linear and the car was smuch more controllable when the power came on. We throttled the car pretty hard, but refrained from high -rpm launches. We are very curious what kind of number the Toyota would turn at the strip. One of the cool things about a quickly spooling turbo is Pressure Flexing-spooling up the turbo and jumping off the throttle to sound the blow-off-valve- in the presence of, say, an early 90s Camaro. It was fun; the Camaro lost. The car did everything well, the suspension was communicative, but not overbearingly rough, and the gearbox was a gem. The B&M short throw shifter and ACT clutch made a dynamic duo, The clutch provided proper clamping pressure and the shifter delivered quick access to all six forward gears.
The car's only shortcoming was stock brakes. They stopped fine, but the taller tires could easily cause quick pad wear. We would look for osme more stopping power if the red rocket belonged to us. This nitpicking. The car and the turbo kit got a big thumbs up. The heroes of this saga were the technicians at XS Engineering. The XS crew handled the R&D effort that went into this strictly bolt-on boost proposition. The Celica's 2ZZ powerplant was left internally stock and the head was untouched. A tubular manifold was fashioned to position the turbo, which was a tedious task, considering the lack of room between the engine and firewall. The manifold is home to the big power adder - an IHI AX-1 balll -bearing turbo. Prior to entering the engine, the turbo pushes air through a custom XS Engineering air-to air intercooler. The chiller features a big 24x11-ince XS Engineering GTR core and the end tanks have been polished to a high luster finish.
When it came to meeting fueling requirements, XS faced a real challenge. The Toyota runs a single line fuel system, which means that enrichment is more intrusive and does not keep with the bolt-on personality of the kit. The pump and regulator approach of the kit met the demands, but XS wanted something friendlier. The use of an additional injrector setup is the leading candidate to cure this problem . As it sits now the ECU is unmolested and the 2ZZ retains its stock injectors and fuel lines. An MSD fuel pump increases fuel volume, while an SX standard fuel regulator teamed with a Vortech boost-sensitive unit bumps the pressure as the engine comes up on boost. This set-up is more than adequate, which says a lot, considering the engines lofty 11.5:1 compression ratio and the kits 7.5 psi peak boost. On the spark side, the OE ignition has been ehnached with a B&M New Volt ignition amplifier. On the dyno, numbers dont lie and the XS Engineering turbo kit rewards the enthusiast by generating an additional 94.1 HP at the wheels. The car baslined at 157.1 and after bolting on the boost it spun the rollers to the tune of 251.2 HP. If you are concerned about flywheel numbers figure a 15 percent driveline reduction into the equation, and the ALT Celica makes an estimated 288 HP. Turbos are great for low-end torque and the Celica illustrated this point vividly. At 2800RPM an additional 30 lbs-ft were being generated, 40 lbs-ft at 3000RPM, 51 lbs-ft at 3200 rpm and 55 lbs-ft at 3500. This was quite good, considering the 2ZZ's 7600 RPM redline and 7250 RPM peak power point. The numbers were run without a cat and when we drove the car, it was set up in 50 state legal trim, making 233HP at the wheels. When it came to looks Jesse went for maximum effect with a minimum of parts. A Wings West aero kit provided the most dramatic impact on one's retinas. The W-Typ kit was joined by an aggressive Wings West wing. We espcially liked the front fascia, which added a more muscle-bound look to the leading edge of the car while nicely framing the intercooler.
Since the Toyota is an ALT Wheels project car, the company was quick to bolt on a set of ALT X-Phile wheels. The X-Philes sported a smooth, sulpted, six spoke design, which made them look like 20 inchers. The 19x8 XPhiles are shod with 235/35ZR-19 Toyo Proxes FZ4 rubber. Additional tunk was provided by a set of Eiback lowering coils, which also enhanced sterring response by lowering the sleek coup's center of gravity. Energy suspension urethane bushings wereon call to soldify the suspension components, further increasesing driver feedback. Energy suspension has the Celica well figured out; it supplied suspension components for the Toyota Celebrity Race Celicas at the 2000 Long Beach Grand Prix. If the ideas is to decompress, it only makes sense that the car had a comfortable and convenient interior. Hsiao covered the bases with red Sparco buckets and stitich work by Carcraft. The interior was immaculately tied together with red seat material being used on the shifter boot, door panels, rear seats, custom headliner and visors.
The Celica also flexed a radical Fiberglass center console constructed by Kustom Workz of Whittier, Calif. The console, which was painted by Body Pros, is home to a pair of A'PEXi gauges that monitor boost and exhaust gas temperature and a Panasonic DF600U head unit. The console's design retains the OE clock set-up and does not affect the ventilation controls. However, the key to the commute has to be tunes. Jesses can crank up the volume until his cerebral cortex oozes out of his ears. The mind altering system is dominated by MA Audio components. From the aforementioned Panasonic head unit, sound signals are amplified by MA Audio amps and then pulsed to an array of MA Audio speakers. The Celica sports two sets of 5.25-ince MA Audio component speakers and a trio of hard hitting 12 inch MA Audio subs. Kustom Workz's handiwork with the subwoofers and amps should exicte the most obsessive if audiophiles. Pop the rear hatch and the 1000 watt woofers with their beefy polished steel cages made for an instant double take. Some have likened the setup to Mr. Fusion of BACK TO THE FUTURE fame. The intsall was super sano and the system can bump big time. The ALT Wheels Celica made a lasting impression with us. The best thing about the turbo kit is that it is real. AS it sits, the kit can be installed by XS for $$$5,999. Current plans call for revising the fuel system (possibly with secondary injectors) to make the kit easier to install. This is the FIRST 2000 Celica Kit we have seen, and the Celica, more than most of the new generation of imports, begs for boost. We hope that once word about this kit goes out, we will start seeing some Quick Class Celicas at the strip because Toyota's chiseled silhouette and stout engine are truly bred for speed.
	FAST BRAKE After our test drive, Hsiao took our advice about the stock braking system and contacted Advanced Engine Management (AEM). The company just happened to be in the final prototype stages of development with its Celica GTS set-up. The Celica kit is a Stage 1 package that adds big rotors while retaining the OE caliper. Other AEM kits provide a choice of hi-po calipers. The Stage 1 front Big Rotor set-up consists of 12.8-inch cross- drilled and slotted front rotors, billet aluminum adaptor hats, billet aluminum caliper relocation brackets and all necessary hardware. The rear braking sytem was updated in a similar manner with 12.5 inch rotors. Braking performance is a key (and sometimes over looked) aspect of the handling equation. Good brakes allow a deeper, faster entrance into a corner and can help get you out of trouble when you courage out duels the capability of the car. Furthermore, the muscular drilled and slotted AEM rotors look tight behind the ALT aluminum.
Contacts ADVANCED ENGINE MANAGEMENT (AEM) Dept. THP, 2205 W. 126th St. Hawthorne, CA 90250 (310) 484-2322 ADVANCED CLUTCH TECHNOLOGY (ACT) Dept. THP, 1747 E. Ave. Q, Suite E-7 Palmdale, CA 93590-3425 (661) 947-7791 http://www.advancedclutch.com ALT WHEELS Dept. THP, 11805 E. Smith Ave. Santa Fe Springs, CA 90607 (562) 942-9597 http://www.altwheels.com A'PEXI INTEGRATION Dept. THP, 330 W. Taft Orange, CA 92865 http://www.apexi-usa.com B&M RACING & PERFORMANCE Dept. THP, 9142 Independence Ave. Chatsworth, CA 91311 (818) 882-6422 BODY PROS Dept. THP 12794 Nutwood Garden Grove, CA 92840 (714) 539-7104 CARCRAFT Dept. THP 22111 S. Vermont Ave. Torrance, CA 90502 (310) 782-1910 EIBACH SPRINGS Dept. THP 17817 Gillette Ave. Irvine, CA 92714 (949) 752-6700 ENERGY SUSPENSION Dept. THP, 1131 Via Callejon San Clemente, CA 92673 (714) 361-3935 KUSTOM WORKZ Dept. THP, 12630 E. Whittier Blvd. Whittier CA 90602 (562) 693-3755 MA AUDIO Dept. THP, 3116 Via Mondo Rancho Dominguez CA 90221 (310) 223-0400 MODERN IMAGE SIGNWORKS Dept. THP 16582 Gothard, Ste B Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 375-0591 MSD AUTOTRONIC CONTROLS Dept THP 1490 Henry Brennan Dr. El Paso, TX 79936 (915) 857-5200 SPARCO Dept. THP, 130 McCormick Ave. STE 105 Costa Mesa CA 92626 (714) 444-4874 TOYO TIRES Dept. THP 6415 Katella Ave., 2nd Fl. Cypress, CA 90630 (714) 236-2080 http://www.toyo.com WINGS WEST Dept. THP, 847 W. 16th ST. Newport Beach, CA 92663 (949) 722-9995 XS ENGINEERING Dept. THP, 4050 Palm St. Ste 302 Fullerton CA 92835 (714) 992-4133 http://www.xs-engineering.com
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*TYPED BY EUGENE (EuGeNiLe)*