94 EP 82 TURBO STARLET    by: Lloyd Moore

WAD UP? Toyota fi get big up and Honda fi get bag up. Well come to the pages of Inside Scoop once again. Before I start let me ask you a question. How many Yota heads out there wishes the turbo Starlet came to the shores of the US? I wish, Like R. Kelly because if they did I would own two. Why two? Because one would be used as a daily driver and the other would be fully worked just to kick some ass. There are a lot of people out there thinks a 1.3 liter motor can’t be competitive. Remember when imports just started getting a little prop? The big Detroit boys use to say “ our little rice burners could never beat them”, because our motor weren’t good enough or couldn’t make enough power to put up a challenge. Look what’s happening now. The same guys are now catering to our rice burners, because they had no choice but to. Technology has come a long way for people to be talking the crap all over again about the Starlet’s 1.3liter motor. In Jamaica this little motor is being dogged out by the owners of the Type R’s ,  Sonny Super Saloons, and the Pulsar GTI-R. They all feel the little Starlet don’t have what it takes to compete or to kick their ass. Some of you may laugh but ignorance can leave you blind and in the dark which is very dangerous. Education on the other hand gain you knowledge and knowledge is power, but some people still wouldn’t get the point if you force fed them with a spoon so just remember these two things 1-power to weight ratio, and 2- gearing. Lets say your Type-R is 2700lbs, a Pulsar is 2900lbs and the Starlet is 1900lbs and they all produces 200hp, no traction problems, which car you think would win? Let me know when you figured it out.

      

In the mean time let me introduce you to this 1994 EP82 TURBO STARLET owned by Ryan Henriks in Jamaica. This was imported to Jamaica from Japan with the nimble little 1.3 liter turbo charged 4E-FTE pumping out 130hp and 116ft lbs of torque@ the fly wheel. The air is   fed by a very small CT9 turbocharger, the air is being chilled by a less than efficient intercooler with boots set at 8psi. In it’s stock form this car is capable of 15.1 sec or lower in the ¼ mile, not bad for a 1.3 uh? With less power it’s already running in the class of the Type-R’s 15.2et, yet the Type-R came with 195to 203 hp. Go figure. Where did I get my figures? I got them from reliable sources that tested these cars and came up with the #’s. Keep in mind both cars are bone stock from factory. Ryan’s car however is a little above stock and from these pix it’s evident. What gave it away? I don’t know, you think it could be the cluster of gauges, or the huge 4inch stainless steel Greedy tip out the rare? Nah. It must be that smashing looking front grill with the double round lights, nope those are stock, ah!, it was Ryan’s smile that gave it all away. While I was taking pix and interviewing Ryan he didn’t want to tell much, there wasn’t much to tell because there wasn’t much done to the car to start with. With constant pestering I finally got some answers. The first upgrade was the obvious Greedy muffler as you can see. This system is a 2 ¼ inch pipe connected to a gutted cat. A R-Active cone type filter was used to increase the air intake, a set of Bosch platinum plugs for extra sparks, some colored silicone hoses, some TRD motor and transmission mounts to keep things in place. The gear box came limited slip but Ryan decided he needed more assurance that the power is reaching the pavement, so he installed a dual friction clutch and pressure plate set up from Center force. To lower the stance of the car a set of Jap spec KEONIC springs coupled with a set of KYB Gr2 struts. The result is a soft 40mm drop, and at the end of the suspension a set of Jap spec LISD rims rapped with some Eagle F1 195/50/15 tires to stick to the winding roads in Jamaica. On the inside lies a cluster of Auto meter gauges to monitor the engine bay. There is a boots gauge, that speaks for it’s self, an oil pressure gauge, a water temp, a rich lean meter, to protect the turbo a Greedy turbo timer was installed, for Ryan’s heal & toe maneuvers a set of niken foot pedals were installed. Last but not least a set of Greedy shoulder pads are used to dull those sharp edges of those wicked seat belts. A few TRD stickers were strategically placed to show loyalty to Toyota and its products. All the upgrades that were done, the boots never changed it remain at 8psi, and ran pretty well against a more modified Starlet.

      

Ryan don’t know if he want to sell it or keep it because he drives around with a for sale sign on it and yet he has future plans for it which include a Greedy Profec, a fuel cut defense unit in order to raise the boots from the stock setting to 13-14psi, a TRD short shift kit, and a upper rear strut bar. What ever Ryan decides to do I hope he does the right thing and keep it because it’s a fun car that could sneak up on a lot of people out there and have them second guessing. The price of the Starlet is much less, and it’s more fun to drive.

      

OH WHAT A RUSH from Lloyd@ inside scoop, saying so long until next time.

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