hardcoreep
Member +
Background
The GT Turbo is a dying breed in Jamaica. Unlike Europe where there is a constant flow of Starlets here there is a three year import restriction. This means the last legal EP82 to enter our shores was in 1999 and the last EP91 would be 2003. Back in the mid-2000s Starlet tuning hit its peak in terms of power output, tuning development and popularity. Right now its a known quantity allowing for anyone with a budget to buy and make a high horsepower Starlet. Over the past year or two there has been a resurgence in demand for the GT Turbo due to its low cost and high levels of performance potential. With basic modifications the average Starlet can generate 200whp. Hardcore owners have been able to exploit the 5E combination to make impressive horsepower numbers and quarter-mile times.
The Starlet community is a small one in Jamaica. As I've said on my own personal site, hardcore.ep91.com, it became a very factionalized situation with tuners hiding information from each other on grounds of ego and profit. However, in more recent times as their popularity has dropped, the information flow has been more relaxed. Most Starlets have fallen into the hands of performance faithfuls and this is where my story sort of began. I've been associated with this car from its previous owners.
On this site EPs are new entity, in Jamaica, Starlet tuning has evolved without a lot of the niceties you UK guys enjoy. Back then there were no off the shelf pistons and rods. Power had to be made with what was available. To give you one example, the common turbocharger was the Garrett as these were cheap from any junkyard, but as the Impreza moved stateside and secondhand Mitsubishi turbochargers off eBay are now more common.
The car
The car was initially owned by my friend Colin Morris, who brought in the car from Japan. It was converted to a high compression 5E-FHTE when his original engine died. It went on to win our local 14-second drag class. Full details here. As the owner upgraded to an Evolution the car was sold to another friend, who eventually began to scrap it for a Motorsports project. It was eventually rescued by the current owner sans engine, gearbox, and in pieces. Left with no choice, it had to be rebuilt, at which point I was drafted into the project.
The goal is simple, 300whp, a feat easily achievable on the stock engine internals. Recently there have been questions about the ability of the stock motor to achieve such figures on this site. The truth of the matter is that 300whp from a stock 5E in Jamaica is so simple most people don't bother to even document it. As I did over on my home site wheelsjamaica with the AE111 Levin/Trueno I will document the build up to make it a definitive 5E thread. I'll try to answer all the relevant questions I can while providing insight into Jamaican tuning.
The 5E
I was initially one of the first people in Jamaica to go 5E. This was about '99-'00. I went to the 5E when I lost my EP91 4E-FTE. Since I couldn't find a Glanza engine I opted for a 5E bottom half. My experience with the 5E was not initially a great one, as I went through several motors learning how it worked because there was not a lot of knowledge outside of Japan. However I recognized the potential something I passed on to Noel Rhone, our local Starlet Guru. All I have on the 5E is again on hardcore.ep91.com, but I'll give you a quick rundown.
There are two 5Es, a FE, and a later FHE, and even within those are several variants, ranging from ACIS equipped models, to coil-pack engine. The 5E is a combination of the older 3E and the 4E. 5E-FEs have the thinner connecting rods. The deck height is taller than the 4E to give the 5E its extra displacement, and the ACIS heads have slightly more aggressive camshafts. Much like i discovered the 5E has a bad reputation here in Jamaica. Its known to be an unreliable engine that easily destroys con-rod bearings and pistons. Over my experience I've come to understand the engine and just like anything new or different you have to know what you're doing. Its not just a matter of throwing stuff together. The bottom-line though is that if you want to make more than 300whp the increase in displacement can support it. There is more than enough evidence that if pushed a properly built 5E can make 400whp+. I might even dare say the 500 range.
From my experience there are three reasons why you'd use the 5E; 1)You want over 300whp, 2)You already have a 5E, and 3)You have no engine and that's what is available to you.
Juice (left)My first 300whp was my friend Juice. He was actually the one that connected me to this site. Juice damaged his 4E and was convinced to go 5E. His car runs stock internals using 4E-FTE pistons and two headgaskets. It uses a rather small IHI/Garrett combination. Using an eManage Blue it was programmed to 298whp before my eyes by my tuner and friend David Diedrick. His engine has since been rebuilt allowing me to confirm its contents hadn't changed since then. He had posted his 'controversial figures' and eManage file on the old GTTurbo site a while back.
What 300whp looks like, Jamaican style.
The GT Turbo is a dying breed in Jamaica. Unlike Europe where there is a constant flow of Starlets here there is a three year import restriction. This means the last legal EP82 to enter our shores was in 1999 and the last EP91 would be 2003. Back in the mid-2000s Starlet tuning hit its peak in terms of power output, tuning development and popularity. Right now its a known quantity allowing for anyone with a budget to buy and make a high horsepower Starlet. Over the past year or two there has been a resurgence in demand for the GT Turbo due to its low cost and high levels of performance potential. With basic modifications the average Starlet can generate 200whp. Hardcore owners have been able to exploit the 5E combination to make impressive horsepower numbers and quarter-mile times.
The Starlet community is a small one in Jamaica. As I've said on my own personal site, hardcore.ep91.com, it became a very factionalized situation with tuners hiding information from each other on grounds of ego and profit. However, in more recent times as their popularity has dropped, the information flow has been more relaxed. Most Starlets have fallen into the hands of performance faithfuls and this is where my story sort of began. I've been associated with this car from its previous owners.
On this site EPs are new entity, in Jamaica, Starlet tuning has evolved without a lot of the niceties you UK guys enjoy. Back then there were no off the shelf pistons and rods. Power had to be made with what was available. To give you one example, the common turbocharger was the Garrett as these were cheap from any junkyard, but as the Impreza moved stateside and secondhand Mitsubishi turbochargers off eBay are now more common.
The car was initially owned by my friend Colin Morris, who brought in the car from Japan. It was converted to a high compression 5E-FHTE when his original engine died. It went on to win our local 14-second drag class. Full details here. As the owner upgraded to an Evolution the car was sold to another friend, who eventually began to scrap it for a Motorsports project. It was eventually rescued by the current owner sans engine, gearbox, and in pieces. Left with no choice, it had to be rebuilt, at which point I was drafted into the project.
The goal is simple, 300whp, a feat easily achievable on the stock engine internals. Recently there have been questions about the ability of the stock motor to achieve such figures on this site. The truth of the matter is that 300whp from a stock 5E in Jamaica is so simple most people don't bother to even document it. As I did over on my home site wheelsjamaica with the AE111 Levin/Trueno I will document the build up to make it a definitive 5E thread. I'll try to answer all the relevant questions I can while providing insight into Jamaican tuning.
The 5E
I was initially one of the first people in Jamaica to go 5E. This was about '99-'00. I went to the 5E when I lost my EP91 4E-FTE. Since I couldn't find a Glanza engine I opted for a 5E bottom half. My experience with the 5E was not initially a great one, as I went through several motors learning how it worked because there was not a lot of knowledge outside of Japan. However I recognized the potential something I passed on to Noel Rhone, our local Starlet Guru. All I have on the 5E is again on hardcore.ep91.com, but I'll give you a quick rundown.
There are two 5Es, a FE, and a later FHE, and even within those are several variants, ranging from ACIS equipped models, to coil-pack engine. The 5E is a combination of the older 3E and the 4E. 5E-FEs have the thinner connecting rods. The deck height is taller than the 4E to give the 5E its extra displacement, and the ACIS heads have slightly more aggressive camshafts. Much like i discovered the 5E has a bad reputation here in Jamaica. Its known to be an unreliable engine that easily destroys con-rod bearings and pistons. Over my experience I've come to understand the engine and just like anything new or different you have to know what you're doing. Its not just a matter of throwing stuff together. The bottom-line though is that if you want to make more than 300whp the increase in displacement can support it. There is more than enough evidence that if pushed a properly built 5E can make 400whp+. I might even dare say the 500 range.
From my experience there are three reasons why you'd use the 5E; 1)You want over 300whp, 2)You already have a 5E, and 3)You have no engine and that's what is available to you.
Juice (left)
What 300whp looks like, Jamaican style.
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