Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition)
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About this issue
180 available scans from Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition), in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 150 — English draft translation
Captions and page details
Front-wheel-drive Showa cars…
…are a bargain!
AE92
Levin / Trueno.
Lively naturally aspirated engine tuning with a six-speed manual conversion!
Still charging hard with the 4A-GE soundtrack in this century!
Infini Development AE92 tuning!
The early and late AE92 are so different inside that they could almost be different cars. The later version also gained a supercharged engine… [continues].
The tuning possibilities are hard to explain briefly, so here is a tuned late-model AE92, among the highest-potential 4A-G engines. This car was built by Infini Development and includes its three-step upgrade menu (see photo for details). The result is a satisfying pull from 3,000 to 7,500 rpm.
Infini’s three-step menu includes a TRD 0.8 mm gasket, head resurfacing, combustion-chamber work, and port polishing. Compression is raised by 0.7 over stock. HKS camshafts are fitted (264 degrees intake / 256 degrees exhaust). The computer is by Infini.
…so the AE92 overall is highly recommended… [fragment].
TOYOTA
-
No. 92… [caption fragment].
The suspension is quite conventional: struts with TRD shocks and Secret Sport Slalom 1 springs, slightly firmer than stock. An adjustable Artifine stabilizer is also fitted.
This car has also been converted to an AE111 six-speed manual. Third and fourth gears are closer together, reducing the rpm drop on shifts and improving acceleration. The suspension combines TRD shocks with Secret Sport Slalom 1 springs, carefully chosen to bring out its responsive handling.
What is the AE92 like?
Car…
To install an AE111 six-speed, two custom jobs are needed: modifying the transmission-mount bracket and fabricating an adapter to secure the shift-lever base to the floor.
The AE92 was born in 1987 as the fifth-generation Levin/Trueno after a full model change. It became a two-door coupe. Alongside the familiar 4A-GE engine, the lineup added a supercharged 4A-GZE with an air-cooled supercharger… [continues].
Performance increased further in the 1989 facelift… [fragment].
…was added.
…became compatible with premium gasoline.
Output (net): 4A… 1.6-liter, 120 PS .
Engine specifications: early AE92 4A-GE and 4A-GZE (1.6-liter supercharged, 145 PS); late AE92 4A-GE (1.6-liter, 140 PS) and 4A-GZE (1.6-liter, 165 PS). .
148
Photos: Michiji Sumiyoshi / Koji Nakano.
Cooperation: Infini Development, 472 Nishi-Tatsuno, Kawaguchi, Saitama 333-0813; 048-294-6161.