How do I get more HP??? (1 Viewer)

[Philip_G]

This is the smart way.. fun? no
You can get a holden mon... er I mean pontiac GTO for about 25-26 right now...

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I'd definitely go the trade-in for a GTO or one of the new Mustang GTs. The Solara is a nice quiet midlevel boulevard cruiser, was never meant to be a high performance car and isn't really suited to become one via modification at any reasonable cost or without significant potential loss of reliability. As previously stated by others, aftermarket mods are a lot easier if there is already a great deal of stuff available for the particular model car. The Solara just isn't one of those cars that appeals to the crowd that's into this sorta thing so you're not going to find much for it.

I work in a Toyota dealership service dept and the only thing I've ever seen on a Solara as far as aftermarket mods is a cold air induction system and it was in the shop because the check engine light was on as a result of that system and/or the butchered exhaust system. The car was no faster than stock, just noisier.

One of my co-workers bought himself a Subaru WRX STI about 3 weeks ago and has had no problem whatsoever finding enough add-on stuff to boost his hp from 300 to 400. That's the kind of car you find this kind of stuff for.

 

[Scott L]

Just wait for the Summer to come before you start doing anything. Working on cars is a pain in cold weather, unless it stays cold all the time where you are.

...then buy a Nissan

 

[Jason GT]

I can't resist so...


Stickers. Lots of 'em. TRD is probably the best bang for your buck.

Big spoiler helps too

 

[Philip_G]

nissan only sells the boring crap in the US

Sure is a lot of bang for the buck in the discounted GTOs. I'd drive one

 

[Andrew W]

I was speaking mostly in the context of a computer controlled newer cars. The engineers have usually done a darn good job of matching exhaust and intake to the programmed capabilities of stock engines.

You can try and suck in more air, but in most cases, the computer just doesn't care and ignores your efforts. So that's why the intake and exhaust don't really help much without other stuff too.

But you're right, once you figure out how to get the engine to step up, the intake and exhaust need to be upgraded.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Make it yellow! With spinners!



If the GTO wasn't dog-ass ugly they probably wouldn't have a problem selling them. Ford seems to have no problem moving a Mustang GT with far fewer HP for the same price (with GTO rebates).

 

[Seth_L]

Too bad the Mustang GT is slower than the GTO, considerably so once your rolling.

 

[Seth_L]

Well, didn't your car catch fire in your garage despite your running a forum for turbo miatas?

The scenario you describe is great if he wants to grenade the engine, or have a very unreliable car that he constantly works on. I you want a reliable turbo you really have to do it right and build up the motor and tranny to take the extra power, unless you have one of the rare cars where a turbo version was available and the NA version has forged internals and the same tranny making it ready for boost.

 

[Shane Martin]

All of this talk seems to further back up the idea of going with a TRD based supercharger if one is offered.

I believe and I could be wrong that these are factory installed and if they are installed by the factory then the warranties and such all apply.

Then again you might reconsider just selling the car and going with something that has more power to begin with. Then again there are tradeoffs to that.

 

[Philip_G]

if you can think of another realistic way to get a true 75hp out of an already pretty well tuned engine, feel free to add your input. I'm anxiously awaiting your input.

 

[JeremySt]

If your planning on modding a compact to get more HP, you should start with a car that already has forced induction. As Im sure everyone has gathered from all the above posts, trying to squeeze more HP from a Solara is problematic. Go trade it in for a car that has a turbo. Then get exhaust upgrades, fuel MAP alterations.... all for relatively low dollars can make fast car into an insanely fast car.

 

[AjayM]

It's the smart way, as to being fun? Trying to make a "luxury" car into a sports car will not be fun. It's still going to handle like a wet noodle, it's not going to stop with any authority, the costs associated with that 75hp power boost is going to VERY high, you're taking your brand new $25-26k car, dumping around $5k into it and losing $5k worth of value, and unless you get TRD parts probably installed at the "bend-over" dealership you're going to screw yourself on any powertrain related warranty if you have problems, etc. Then comes driving enjoyment, driving a FWD platform with 300hp really isn't all that exciting, especially since it wasn't designed for that power levels.

The GTO is a great suggestion, 400hp for $25-26k is such a good price, hell if I didn't just buy a car I'd be tempted to buy one (and it's an American car!!). Even the Mustang isn't a bad deal and in the real world on real streets with real speed limits it's not that much slower.

 

[Philip_G]

Erm, not even close.

 

[AjayM]

Sorry, an Aussie built car by an American car company being sold by Pontiac.

 

[Philip_G]

Something like that.
If only they had left it looking a little more holden, the body cladding hurts it.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Shane,

The TRD superchargers are engineered by Toyota, sold in kit form which includes absolutely all necessary hardware and such for installation but they are not a factory installed option. If installed by an authorized dealer your warranty is not affected.

The only TRD supercharger kits I've seen installed are a few on the no-longer available 3.4 V6 in the tacomas and T-100s, and a Tundra kit grafted into an 04 4Runner, the latter was not done at a dealer and was not warrantable as it was a Tundra kit in a 4Runner, the serpentine belt had shredded due to being stretched too tight because the accessory mounts and pulleys are different between the 2 models.

I've driven a number of 3.3 V6 Camrys and Solaras, and find that the hp is pretty suitable for the overall setup and intent of the car--it's fast enough for a softly sprung boulevard cruiser as is. The one Toyota model I think would most benefit from a trd supercharger would be the Scion XB, which comes with a much firmer suspension tune and really begs for a bit more power, but even in that car an increase from the stock 105hp to about 150 or so would be as much as it could handle.

 

[Scott L]

xB meh, that thing just doesn't seem like it's meant for speed. But here's a 533hp tC: http://www.jotechracing.com/html/pro...ctVehicleID=55
All he did I think was add an intake. ;>

As for the Camry just go with the supercharger. Maxima guys have been doing it since the 90s and our cars are still as reliable with the stock motor and tranny. Toyota makes some nice bullet-proof engines.

 

[Dave*B]

Man, that tC is sick....

I would add the TRD supercharger to it or wait until next year when for the Mazdaspeed6. I know I'm going to take a look at it since I need something to compete with my wife's car, Forester XT!!!

 

[Matt Souza]

Sorry, like I said, I play with engines that have custom *headers* on them, not stock cast manifolds.