The Sprinter is a great choice of car to modify. Weighing in at under a tonne, with rear wheel drive, good aerodynamics, sporty looks and a multitude of 4A engines ready to bolt in, they're a great proposition. Ben from Adelaide (Australia) has come from a background of modified V8 Toranas and the like, but says he's taken the right approach with the Sprinter. Ahhh, once you've seen the light...
Initially the carby fed 4A engine was sent down the river in favour of a normally aspirated injected 4A-GE engine with a few mods. This combination went quite well but the calling for more power to rival those previous Toranas was always there. At the end of its development the naturally aspirated injected motor had a 100kW-spec throttle body, mild cams, Finer Filter, hi-flow rear muffler and a set of 4>2>1 RS-R extractors.
The next stage saw Ben purchase a supercharged 4A-GZE engine from Japanese Motorsport, along with a computer which was unknowingly from another version of the supercharged engine. Apparently there were 5 different looms and computers available for the single type of engine! Nothing like a challenge! The mechanical aspect of the conversion was quite straightforward however. The engine bolted to the factory Sprinter gearbox with out hassle, the only mods being a relocated alternator, modified driver's side engine mount and some re-routing of the cooling system hoses. So the hurdle was getting a wiring diagram to fire the 145hp
factory rated motor into life. But eventually a wiring diagram was tracked down and Leon Vincenzi of Awesome Automotive was able to put the right wires together. Then it went vrrrm.
The car then made its way onto a Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno for a check up. What was found was the engine was running bulk-rich (like 10.5:1) in the top end, and was only making 125hp at the wheels. So rather than splurging out on a custom chip or aftermarket injection, the signal output from the airflow meter was manipulated using a different spring in the vane airflow meter and modifying the air by-pass system. Leon was then able to trim mixtures at full load, and whamo! power output soared from 125hp to 156 - a massive improvement for such a simple mod! And considering the blower is only pumping in the standard 8psi boost, that's quite an achievement from a 1.6 litre four with stock internals!
Of course, the engine's ancillaries aren't completely standard though. It uses the RS-R extractors previously fitted to the normally aspirated mill, 2-inch high-flow exhaust system, a lightened flywheel, and an HKS air filter and blow-off valve. Ben says he'll he taking the blow-off valve off though, as it can't hold boost without cracking open.
A twin-turbo Supra fuel pump with its massive 20mm fittings pushes fuel to the standard 4A-GZE injectors, while a return line completes the circular fuel journey. No swirl pot is fitted at the moment, but we get the feeling one will be going in fairly soon. One time the motor starved of fuel under the loud pedal, "but that won't be happening again" certified an obviously wary Ben!
The poor standard Sprinter clutch had to go, as it started to slip with only 83 horses passing through it! So a heavy-duty full faced clutch has been fitted up to work with the standard pressure plate. At the other end of the driveline is a 4.3:1 ratio open-centre diff which really help the car to launch. So long as it's a really grippy road... Changing from the previous 3.9:1 LSD also showed a major difference in the car's handling characteristics. Ben says the car is now much easier to drive, and is less likely to bring the back end around unexpectedly. However, the car is pedaled very gently in wet weather still!
To keep an eye on the hard-working motor, the interior is equipped with Autometer boost, oil pressure, water temp and voltmeter gauges just to safe. And who could overlook the Autometer Monster tacho and shift light perched at the base of the A pillar? An APEXi rev/speed meter is mounted on the centre console and also controls the shift light via its own intelligent circuitry.
A remote Pioneer 6-stack CD takes it to twin 10-inch Pioneer subs in the boot, Pioneer 6x9s, Pioneer 2 ways in the front and a pair of Jaycar tweeters. Bigger wattage comes from Alpine 2-channel and Bose 4-channel amplifiers. Otherwise the interior is pretty much stock other than RA60 Celica front seats (with later model headrests) and a Nova steering wheel.
But not only does the Sprinter go in a straight line, it goes around corners like a racecar. Still a popular choice in Japan for the so-called sport of drifting, the compact RWD car has had a heap of Japanese spec goodies thrown under the wheel arches. At the front the amount of camber is pretty major - in fact it's massive! The Cusco camber kit is pushed as far over as it will go and Ben and his friends all have a bit of a giggle when they see how long the front tyres (don't) last...
The front struts are out of an AE86 Levin but are modified with up-spec KYB dampers and lowered King springs. And like the front, the rear also gets lowered King springs but these are combined with adjustable Potenza shocks for some added chassis tuning flexibility. Completing the suspension package is a fatter-than-standard Whiteline sway bar at the front of the car and the standard rear 'bar. The Whiteline bar really helps the car to sit flat through high g-force corners, and prevent overloading the outside tyres at the same time.
Fourteen inch five spoke Cheviot rims are bolted to the hubs, wearing 185/60 Yokohama M5s at the rear and (now bald!) Bridgestone V-Grids on the heavily cambered front end. The same Levin Sprinter from Japan has donated its vented rear brake organs to Ben's car. There are now discs under all four corners which Ben says made a huge difference. Together with Quest Racing pads, the car can pull up powerfully and without fade. Not at all like the standard brakes that used to "smoke after rapidly slowing the car down from 180km/h"...
And during those high-speed runs, the big TRD boot spoiler really pushes the car down onto the road. And to evenly distribute the downforce, an imported lip has been fitted to the front bumper to reduce the amount of air that passes under the floor plan. For the sake of cosmetics, the front bumper has also been cut back, and fitted with yellow mesh grilles to really lift the colour scheme.
Down the side run factory Levin side-skirts making the car look lower, and a bonnet scoop from the same particular AE101. This scoop feeds air to the standard air-to-air intercooler, but there's also a water spray system plumbed into the bonnet to fire cooling H2O onto the core. Powder coating and plenty of detailing under the body has also lifted the overall quality of the car - its just too bad it's hard to see!
One intriguing feature of the car is the rear "drift light". It's a blue light that apparently pulses to vibration of the muffler - so when the 156 horses are running there's a spectacular light show to add to the act!
Contacts:
Awesome Automotive
+61 8 8277 3927
awesome@adam.com.au
Japanese Motorsport
+61 8 8260 6919
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