Recommended Upgrades For Ae71

[Joffrey]

I just recently bought an AE71 with a 4A-GE conversion. Wanting to put in coil overs, front strut brace, sway bar. Just wondering what people would recommend and what to steer clear from.

Thanks

[rian]

Would recommend BASE height adjustable coilovers over height adjustable coilovers. BC are decent, Shockworks are meant to be best bang for buck.

Would NOT recommend S13 coilovers without other mods.

Would recommend using AE86 power steering arms.

Would recommend front strut brace.

Would recommend REAR sway bar.

Would strongly recommend fixed back bucket seat.

[Joffrey]

Thanks a heap Rian :)

Are there any bucket seats you would recommend using that either bolt straight on or that don't require much rail moding?

Edited June 16, 2015 by Joffrey

[B.L.Z.BUB]

Autotecnica seats bolt straight to ke rails but you won't get that jdm street cred

[kickn5k]

Autotecnica seats bolt straight to ke rails but you won't get that jdm street cred

I had a set around 10yr ago so might be different now.

Pretty good bang for buck seat. Be fine for a race car, not the most comfortable for a long trip though.

[Joffrey]

The Auto's look like my sort of thing, I don't have a tonne of cash to splash at the moment. Thanks guys

[altezzaclub]

Got photos of the engine bay? I'm interested in what makes a good or bad conversion....

 

The rear sway will make a larger difference than the front strut brace, so if you're making up a priority list fit the rear sway first.

 

Have you checked the condition of the rubber bushes front & rear?? They rarely break up but its no use doing up the rest of it if the bushes are flogged.

[Joffrey]

Having trouble uploading pictures, sorry mate

 

That's definitely good to know, would rather spend the money on something that will make most difference

 

I believe there is a Nolathane bush kit installed in the front but not yet in the rear, but I will be investing some of those soon

[ke70dave]

Recaro sears are soooo comfy compared to autotechnica ones.

 

look out for an older sr3 or sr2 reclinable seat. i had a seat from a jdm honda integra dc2 (recaro sr3), best seat i have ever sat in, shouldnt have sold that seat...

 

I agree with Ryans comments above.

 

Also rememeber that an ae71 is a light car, so you do not need to go balistic with spring rates. you are better off spending more money on good shock absorbers than anything else.

 

even adjustable coilovers are not a required item, nothing wrong with a good spring and shock combo, but you do need to make sure that you go with a short stroke shock with suitable bump and rebound travel, which usually involves shortening the shock tube, and thus most people go with coilover conversions so the height can be adjusted. if i was to have my time again with a ke70 i would probably go with just a shock and spring combo and shorten the strut tube to suit and reweld the spring base on. Would just take some experimentation to get the spring base in the right spot for desired ride height. realistically once you set the height on a coilover you don't ever touch it again, unless you are the kind to run different wheels all the time that are really close to the body.

Edited June 16, 2015 by ke70dave

[oldeskewltoy]

I have a 4AGE powered AE71 too... Springs I'm running are custom...5.3kg/mm front and 3.5 kg/mm rear, fronts are in stock strut housings, I'm running full stroke HTS model 112s.

 

I'm running Recaros... they are very nice seats.

 

Are you still running the AE71 strut? The AE71 uses solid rotor disc brakes... fine for 50-75hp, but a bit lacking with over 100hp. One solution is to run AE86 struts, but the AE86 has a steeper strut angle then the AE71, so although the AE86 struts may bolt in... you will automatically get positive camber from the swap. One way is ajustable upper top mounts, the other is adjustable lower control arms.....

 

OR...

 

using the stock AE71 strut - fabricate a new caliper mounting bracket and mount what you want........

[Joffrey]

Recaro seats would be a nice luxury but I don't think I can afford them any time soon, I'm still in school working part time. (I don't earn much)

 

My plan at the moment is saving every cent to put towards a set of coil overs, but I do have some parts spare. I'm not 100% sure what's in the car at the moment as I only just recently bought it. But it did come with some Pedders shocks, RT132 front struts with calipers and steering arms, and some standard heights springs. Would any of this be usable?

[altezzaclub]

Take a strut apart and see what is inside the tube. If its an insert you just have the choice of whatever inserts you can buy for them. If its an original wet strut you can modify the valving yourself to whatever ride you want. Do a bit of internet research and you'll find its straight-forward to alter the shock's feeling both over bumps and rolling in corners.

 

We've done the "cut the spring base & reweld lower" as well, and the next cheapest is the threaded tube welded onto the stock strut. Its all a matter of how much money you want to spend.

 

Somewhere along the way you will realise a limited slip diff is the biggest improvement, but also the most expensive. That's the one thing you just can't get around on the cheap.