ST165 pics just in

[jackett]

Only managed to take 3 pics before a harbour police-man told me it was illegal to take photo's on Dublin port!
Looked pretty good though....even in yellow.

[paul_gt4]

Looking good lad, have fond memories of being down there

[Gary ST165]

sweet. jdm 165 . the lightest GT-Four

[jackett]

Thanks lads

2 questions:
Do they all have a diff lock.
What "good" lowering springs are out there.

[Gary ST165]

only early 86-87 have the electronic diff lock actuator.

http://www.alltrac.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20104

Manufacture of the ST165 started for the Japanese home market in October 1986. Only 2274 were produced before the mid-life update for the ST165 Celica model occurred in August 1987.

All of these early production models had a different gearbox (the E50F1) which has a pneumatic centre differential lock instead of the viscous centre diff fitted to all subsequent GT-Fours. There is a rotational switch beside the handbrake and the dash has an extremely obnoxious bright orange light instead of the boost gauge. The gearbox uses a sliding collar within the transfer to lock the front and rear diffs together. As a result the front and rear ends are effectively locked together, allowing no slip. When turned off the centre diff acts a normal open diff, hence allowing copious amounts of wheelspin at the front in wet weather.

This feature is useful if you are a ski bunny but not much use on the road. However the main advantage of these early gearboxes is the 4.285 final drive ratio (same as the MR2 Supercharger and Turbo) as opposed to the later 3.933 ratio (for US models).

[jackett]

Thanks Gary, interesting read. The more I know the more I realise I don't know.

Any views on the springs??

[rhino]

Looking good

Re springs I got some from Fensport circa £130... Progressive Wound Coil Springs ideal for Fast Road use - Excellent ride quality - A complete set of 4, approx 35mm reduction in ride height http://www.fensport.co.uk/parts.htm

Ended up getting new shocks within 4 weeks of doing the springs...wished I had done it all in one go

[jackett]

Thanks Rhino.

Whats the ride quality like with those springs.
The roads over here leave a lot to be desired.

[Gary ST165]

ditto replace springs and shocks on a 19 year old car.

i first used AVO chasis dynamics lowering springs. what a load of lowering rubbish. undersprung coil bound crap.

i bit the bullet and went DMS coil overs. one of the best off the shelf options. Another alternative is to do a DIY kgb agx coilover coversion. choice of spring rating is key. i would recommended at least 450 lbs inch on the front and similar rear set up. superb supple ride. great for B-road blasting, but too much body roll for serious track work.

the 2 options side by side:





note the difference in size, piston / ram diameter


further 165 suspension info can be found here: http://www.alltrac.net/tuning/suspension.html



hope that helps. a well researched suspension upgarde on an old car is one of the best mods you can do 

[jackett]

Thanks a million Gary. Super helpful as always.

[madgaz]

Lookin Good Jackett

[matty99dun]

 :)cool a yellow jap 165, mine was grey didnt know they done yellow as well, but well done finding a good one.

[matty99dun]

HEY GARY aim currently doing a coil over conversion on my 165 the fronts and was also concerned about springs, i have coil overs from a 205 including spring with a modified strut to fit in the rear of my 165 but don't know the spring rate the guy used when they were done, is it possable to get the spring rate checked buy someone so i get get something to suit for the fronts as they are really good, i was thinking around the 500 to 550 lbs in the front if i have 350lbs in the rear, as i would like to do track work and drag.
cheers Matt

[Gary ST165]

datajon uses 650 front  and 550 rears with his kyb agx coil overs. that should be sorted for the track. its bloody marvelous for very fast road use. just a fraction of body roll as the weaker twin assister spring compresses:

i paid £15 GBP per spring so they are cheap to replace for a stronger or weaker spring as desired.

possible to do the maths to calculate the spring rating required based on front rear weight distribution and amount of travel required.