Heya! I bought a Cordia recently, my second car (first being a '92 Toyota Trueno, which I have to sell...). 1984 GSL N/A version, auto. Owned by a string of old ladies before me, and one backpacker (whom I bought it from).

I have big plans for this car....but I need advice and guidance on this, since I'm new to cars and car modding in general.

Is it possible, firstly, to get a full 4-speaker+subwoofer+amp system put into the Cordia? And what kind of engine does it have? Is replacing the engine a good idea, or should I forgo that expense and just have the current one cleaned up?

I want to keep it as a daily driver, but I also want to use it for drifting. Thoughts, suggestions?

hey night kid

like all cars its definatly possible to to get a full 4-speaker+subwoofer+amp system put into the Cordia, its a fairly simple process if you wanto save some bucks read up on how to d.i.y, because expert installation is pretty expensive.

As for your gsl, possiblitys are endless it all comes down to your budget!

if you want to go all out performance and everyday drivability i'd opt for the vr4 turbo engine conversion, Its a pricy process but ultimatly as they quote, "you get what you pay for" and vr4's are reliable as they come.

with the vr4 engine conversions make sure the car it comes from is the vr 4 sedan and not the estate , the difference between the two is the estate has a slightly de-tuned motor running a td04 turbo instead of the larger td05 in the sedan

But if your into tinkering and have the time to get your hands dirty you could go for a 4g62bt(sohc1.8 litre) or 4g63bt (sohc 2.0 litre) which offer great performance for the price. Turbo wise the better choice for performance is the aa-ab cordia gsr series engines with the larger tc06 compared with the tc05 on the ac cordia's, but the aa and ab cordia's are designed for leaded fuel but the ac will take unleaded, like the jap spec 2.0 litre sohc, and then there's the 12v dash
(it all sounds confusing with some investegation and research you'll wrap your head around it in no time!
also the cordia auto's arnt really made to handle to much power, I suggest along with the conversion you switch to a 5 speed manual.

as i said for modifications the possibilitys are endless. Just do what you want to do, dont let people tell you what to do..in the end its your car
not theirs!

best of luck

Tom

Welcome to the cordia forums!
you're about to go a rollercoaster ride of enjoyment, breakdowns, learning, heartbreak and memories of sitting on the side of the road in the middle of the night. enjoy your stay.


as for wanting to use your car for drifiting, the very best upgrade you can make to the old cordia is an RX7 conversion. that being, replace the whole car with somethin rear wheel drive, very powerful, and you're done.
Seriously, if you're thinking of getting into drift firstly, learn what drift is and how it's done, then buy yourself the weapon of your choosing. A cordia GSL is not going to tech you anything about drift other than that fwd carbie hatchback's aren't terribly useful for it.

as for upgrading you motor, mad_rx2's prety well got it covered. the real question is wether it's worth it when you can just buy a GSR and all the nice bits that come with one for much less money.

you can have your engine cleaned professionally, but it won't make it run any better, it will make it shiny though, which is always a good thing.

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Gallo 24 all the way

While I'd love to convert her to a manual, I don't know if that's worth the expense, and I've never driven a manual.....

For insurance reasons I'd prefer to keep the engine n/a....turbo makes insurance at least twice as expensive. We'll see though, depends on how my budget works out!

And as for DIY ICE install....er....no clue where to look for info on that. Is there a website or something....?

lol, yeh... what system do u want though? a simple cd player ($200-250), some 6" 2 ways? splits? 6*9s? and what sub/amp do u want? speakers run from head unit, amp for the sub only? 2 amps (a 4-channel, and a sub amp), or a 5-channel amp?. many different combos......
ive done my whole system myself.... juz keep upgrading slowly..

cyas

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ex MAD.48U Cordia

Really, just a basic system....cheap cd/mp3 head unit, 4 speakers...not sure about the rest. Right now all the Cordia's got is a tape deck and 2 speakers! *shudder*

There is a range of 2L engines that are NA and fuel injected which would be better than a carby engine.

Gearboxes should be easy to change over. The better option is a box with a cable clutch as apposed to a hydrolic clutch, which would be easier to install.

I think the best advice is to take your time and do your researh. Check up on the 4G62 and 4G63 series engines.

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POLTAC

**********************
Once had a 84 Galant 8V Turbo
now...

1989 Eterna ZR4
2L 16V Turbo
and a

1991 Toyota Soarer
2.5L Twin Turbo 1JZ-GTE

2 cars 3 turbos Yay!

neehop is selling a 160Kw N/A motor, I think it's still 4 sale.

It had 115Kw at the wheels, most than the turbo engines around here

You'll need the microtech to run it all but well worth it.

He wanted $600 for the engine and mpi set-up, maybe $1000 including the Microtech if he's still got it.

Here's the link http://www.cordiapower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1713

Click on PM to send him a private message

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Spares galore, PM me on what your after.....

Damn wish i had the money to buy that right now.

Stupid money, always a problem lol.

Ok, first comment: Dude, learn to drive a manual.
You are not going to be drifting in an auto. Besides that, its just sad. Autos are for all those grannies that owned the car b4 u.

If you keep the auto... dont even think about performance... autos are not performance cars. (Yeh yeh, so mercedies keeps trying to prove ppl wrong about that... they havn't succeeded yet imo).

If u want performance then get a manual gbox and take in wot mad_rx2 said.

As for sound systems, i got myself a JVC mp3 cd head unit for about $250 and 2 alpine 6x9"s to start off with. I almost didn't get alpines but after listening to the 2 cheapo $89 6x9"s i was *going* to get, then the alpines, the difference was clear.
An mp3 cd unit is better than just a cd or mp3 unit imo cos u can fit almost 600 mins of music on a cd full of mp3s and the unit i got can play re-writeables so its easy to change wots on the cds. It also has the coolest little remote, but enuf of that lol.
If you really want ur head unit to do mp3s (and you probably do lol) then i think about $200 is the cheapest u can go for a head unit, tho u'll be looking more at 300-500. Sales are good - mine was on sale.

I hav my 2 6x9"s up the back in a parcel shelf made from 12mm(i think) thick MDF. If u put speakers in the parcel shelf make sure its thick and sturdy enuf not to viabrate.
When i have the money i'd like to get a couple of speakers for up the front of the car(maybe in the doors), and also two 10" subs-in-a-box, which will go in the boot.

All up my 6x9s and the head unit cost about $400, and its pretty cool, im happy.

I did all the wiring up and stuff myself... its a bit of a bitch, especially since the bracket sizing and stuff is all wrong, but if u wanna save some cash and are prepared to ask questions and do a lil research u should be able to do it.
It would definately be much easier and quicker just to pay someone else to do it.

Just remember its all up 2 u, sound systems tend to sound different in different cars, with different speaker arrangements and for diff types of music. Just listen to music and not sales hype and get wot sounds best.

Hmm... ten thousand word essay there, sorry about that lol.

-Loss

P.S. Remember! Auto = No performance for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Think of the average person. Half the people in the world are below that.

A bit biased there aren't you

99% of 10 second and under 1/4 mile cars use auto g/b's with a custom Hi-stall torque convertor attached. Now explain how autos aren't performance cars.........and ask them why they didn't use a manual....................

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Spares galore, PM me on what your after.....

lol. I'd like to see what times they ran if they did use a manual, or at least an electronic clutch.

Torque convertors are the biggest power suckers under the sun. Or even perhaps a bonnet

Electronic clutch manuals can shift faster than any auto and if shifted right manuals are just as fast as almost any auto anyway.
U dont even need to use the clutch with a manual... clutches are just there to give u a margin for error.

But... for drifting purposes you wanna be in perfect control of ur revs and power - and the only option for that is a manual.

*Gets out the no nukes sign and paints over 'nukes' with 'autos'*

No Autos! No Autos! No Autos! hehe

Yeh i am biased, but with fairly good reason

-Loss

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Think of the average person. Half the people in the world are below that.

drag car does not = performance car, simple. autos can be fast when all you need to do is put power down in a rather uncontroled manner. hence why i keep beign beaten to 60 by stock V6 commos.

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Gallo 24 all the way

yeah, most of the old school big v8s are 3 speed autos. E.g. Ford Mustangs, Dodge Chargers.

Learning a Manual isn't hard, it's a lot easier once you already know how to drive coz you are used to paying attention to the road so when you start you can also pay attention to gears. After an hour or two u wont have to think about the gears. Just get someone to explain how the clutch works properly (pressure points etc.) before you start.

After driving an auto for most of my driving career and now driving a manual cordia i have to say manuals are heaps more fun - plus u can do burnouts

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now a certified cordia owner....

2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG
Engine
Type: Supercharged V8
Displacement: 5439 cc
Horsepower: 582 bhp @ 6100 rpm
Torque: 590 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
Redline: 7000 rpm

Performance
0-60 mph: 3.8 sec
0-124 mph: 10.9 sec
400m: 11.9 sec



That is all

think about how fast it'd be with a manual!

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Gallo 24 all the way

Exactly. And i'd like to see that thing beat a manual version of itself on a race track.

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Think of the average person. Half the people in the world are below that.

When you get up to big grunty engined cars, the amount of power the auto wastes might not be significant compared to its benefits. There's not much shift delay, the power is constant and not on-off as you change gears. Plus if you're an AMG Mercedes owner, you get a free hand to make cellphone calls, drink coffee and comb your hair with while you're driving. Mercedes make 6-speed autos or something so there's no problem keeping the engine in the power band. Plus now with lockup torque converters you waste less fuel and power..

The problem is that a Cordia GSL has an old low-tech 3-speed auto. 3 gears is not enough to get the best out of the motor. And when the motor only makes about 90hp anyway, it matters more that the automatic wastes some power and weighs more than a manual gearbox. The Cordia automatic comes way before Mitsubishi's current INVECS ("Intelligent and Innovative Vehicles Electronic Control System" ) adaptive transmission trickery. It comes even before "fuzzy logic" autos, it's more like a NO logic auto. It's purely mechanical and just works on some valves to decide when to change gear. Mine used to change from first into second at about 4750rpm, then it wouldn't be revving high enough to get full power in second gear. There's no sport mode or power mode or overdrive, just 3500rpm-at-100kph fuel waste mode.
It was good for cruising and perfect for a gravel motorkhana I entered in, though, and it never broke or graunched or needed new clutches and synchros or had the lever bang on the car body or fall though the floor.

And yes, an old grandpa and a disabled lady owned the car before me. They needed something else so it wasn't so hard to get their walking frame in the boot.