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New poster to the board, and some Loyale questions


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Hey folks,

 

I'm kinda new here, so, hey, I'm Decimal Cat. I drive a 1991 Loyale Wagon 4WD AT (soon to hit 130K). It's a very solid car and I plan on keeping it for as long as I can keep it in one piece. (no pics yet, sorry. ) Live in central ME, so the 4WD is nice for getting around in the winter. :cool:

 

I've got a few questions, though. First off, it's a very good car and gets fair mileage (been averaging ~27 mi/usgal lately), and fair cargo room. But the 90 HP engine. . . it's killing me.

 

Are there any easy and cheap performance upgrades that can be fit to the EA82 engine? Cold air intake, maybe? ECU reflash? I have found a couple websites that tell me they sell turbo kits and nitrous systems that will fit, but I don't have that kind of money, and that engine's probably a little long in the tooth to take that kind of pressure. I know it was designed as a utility car but the lack of power can be scary sometimes. :eek: One thing I've never really liked about the car is the AT, I wish I had the 5MT. . but I'll worry about that if the AT ever fails.

 

Anyway, thanks in advance for all your help. Love this board so far!

 

--Decimal Cat

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I strongly recomend against changing from a FI setup to a carb.. .. bad idea IMO..I would however be interested to know where you found turbo kits and such for your car. I have yet to really se ANY aftermarket performance stuff for GL/Loyales...other than ythe standard generic cone filters and such.

 

For getting more power.. you're pretty limitied on what can be done easily.. Freeing up the airflow for the intake and exhaust is about the first thing.. then a hotter coil and better wires..you will notice a little more pep. If you are trying to have a 200hp soob, you have the wrong car ;)

 

Oh yeah.. and ditch the auto and put a 5 speed in there.. those slush boxes rob all sorts of power.

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Biggest performance mod you can do is dump the automatic. They rob somewhere around 75% of your power durring acceleration. It will feel like a new car with a 5 speed, and a tune-up. My Brat only has 80 HP and a 4 speed, but now that I have it in good tune it will smoke tires on demand, chirp em into 2nd, and do 90 on the freeway flat out (3.9 gears and the 4 speed suck for high end). Short of rebuilding your engine with different cams and decked heads, etc, I think your just SOL for much over 100 HP. Open up the intake, open the exhaust, make sure the SPFI is all in top form.....

 

GD

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I think I read average power loss through an automatic is somewhere around 30%. Your Loyale should have a locking torque converter (I am not sure if it is the self-locking type found in the older ones, or if it is a computer-controlled T/C (Probably the latter if it is a 4EAT but I am not sure if it is or not I forget when (if ever) the non-turbos got the 4EAT. Easiest way to tell is lack of a "1" or "L" position on the manual lever, and a "MANUAL" button that is pushed to hold the transmission in 1st gear. But yeah, ditch that and go with a manual and it'll be a lot better. Plus, if you do it before the slushbox bites the dust, you can sell it off to someone with a blown automatic and reclaim some of your money.

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Hey again! Wow, I wasn't expecting so much response. .

 

Anyway, yeah, the AT is pretty bad in terms of robbing power, and I plan to replace it with the 5MT when it dies, or when I have the money to sink into such a project, whichever comes first. It's the 3-speed computer controlled AT. I don't know much about driving an MT but I've done it a few times and can pick it up fairly quickly, especially with a car I know the other characteristics of. (Handling, where to shift, etc. )

 

As for the turbo kit, I found one that *supposedly* will fit a Loyale by going to http://www.accessoriesgiant.com and putting in the make, model and year of my car and scrolling down to 'turbo system'. I can't guarantee it'll fit the EA82 engine, but the site claims it will. . so it's anyone's guess! :rolleyes: I don't remember where I found the Nitrous kit, but if I run across it again I'll post the link.

 

Thanks again, and take care all! I'll post up some pictures of the beast soon if anyone's interested.

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