Paskaitymui: Four Celicas, Five Tests, Two New Scc Handling Records

Saltinis: sportcompactcar.automotive.com



With its high-revving 1.8-liter, variable valve timing powerplant, capable chassis and powerful brakes, the Toyota Celica GT-S is among the best performance coupes around. Since its introduction in late 1999, the seventh-generation Celica has successfully taken sales from the H-badge camp, while proving itself on the street and on the track.

For this test, we gathered four Celicas, three of them modified. The idea was to assemble Celicas in several stages of tune, from bone stock to a non-street-legal road racecar. We would then hit the drag strip, the handling course and the racetrack to see just what Toyota's little hot rod is capable of.

The group consists of a car from Hotchkis Performance, one from Toyota Motorsports, which prepares the Pro/Celebrity cars for an annual charity race held in conjunction with the Long Beach Grand Prix (see sidebar), our Project Celica, which is making its final appearance, and a stock Celica GT-S for baseline comparison.

This is what happened.

Project CelicaWe've enjoyed the current Celica since day one and have even managed a multi-part buildup on our own project car. With only mild bolt-ons, it has become one the quickest and most entertaining cars in our long-term fleet. And, it proved itself again in this test, backing up our impressions with hard numbers and durability.

The list of mods on our car is relatively short, proving their effectiveness without question. Starting under the hood, there's a Rod Millen Motorsport intake and exiting under the rear bumper is the company's exhaust. Simple stuff, nothing major.

Because engine mods were kept to a minimum, we spent most of our time making Project Celica a respectable corner carver. Helping the cause are Truechoice coil-overs, which use shortened Koni dampers to regain the travel lost from lowering. Out back is a Progress Technology anti-roll bar. Lately, Project Celica has used 17-inch Toyo Proxes RA1 rubber to satisfy our insatiable need for lateral grip. In all, a simple and effective combination, which has absorbed many miles of street and track thrashing.

HotchkisPerformance CelicaJohn Hotchkis has been in the suspension biz for a number of years and it shows in the cars he builds-especially this one. Hotchkis has taken virtually every piece of stock Toyota suspension and tossed it in favor of parts he either builds himself or has built to his specs. His Celica uses Hotchkis springs, anti-roll bars, camber plates and adjustable rear camber links in unison with Bilstein dampers to maintain racecar-like composure. Race rubber and light wheels are also present. Hotchkis uses exotic goods: Japanese-spec 225/45R-17 Yokohama A048 tires and Advan Model 6 wheels.

With the exception of a TRD exhaust, the engine in Hotchkis' car is stock. The drivetrain benefits from a TRD clutch-type limited-slip differential and a Centerforce clutch.

Inside, there's a Simpson racing harness and a chrome-moly roll bar incorporated into the car's unibody for increased rigidity.

Toyota MotorsportsPro/Celebrity racecarToyota Motorsports' Pro/Celebrity car is the full racecar of the group-at least when it comes to safety equipment. The Celebrity car has a partially gutted interior, a full roll cage, racing seat and a five-point harness. Falling into the cover-your-ass-lest-you-be-sued-by-an-overpaid-actor category are an on-board fire system and a window net. The net ensures any heavily insured limbs attached to actors with potentially huge liability suits won't be crushed in a collision. Smart ideas, every last one.

Most mods on the Celebrity car are either safety or suspension related. The stock suspension bits are replaced with KYB dampers and fitted with height-adjustable Eibach springs. The stock anti-roll bars remain. Shaved Bridgestone Potenza 225/45R-17 tires replace the stock rubber on BBS RX wheels. Hawk Performance brake pads are the only brake upgrade.

Under the hood, the Celebrity car is stock down to the factory airbox. The engine does benefit from a custom TRD exhaust, which we suspect makes more noise than power. With the exception of a Centerforce clutch, the rest of this car's drivetrain remains unchanged.

AccelerationNone of these cars will overwhelm you with brain-punishing launches or massive speed through the quarter mile. Still they are all quicker than the stock car. Interestingly, both the Celebrity Celica and our Project Celica posted the quickest numbers, both running 14.8-second e.t.s-0.6 seconds quicker than the stock car. The Hotchkis car was 0.3 seconds quicker than stock (15.1 seconds vs. 15.4 seconds). Zero to 60 was a near wash with the Celebrity car .10 sec. quicker than Project Celica (6.7 sec. vs. 6.8 sec.), while the Hotchkis Celica made the sprint in 7.0 seconds even.

Why the difference? Our project car and the Pro/Celebrity racecar would rev to 8200 rpm, but the Hotchkis car and the unmodified example had the new recalibrated ECU with lower rpm fuel cutoff. This, of course, hurts acceleration.

BrakingMost Toyotas post impressive braking numbers. In fact, both the Celica and MR2 have held the record for the shortest stopping distance we've recorded from unmodified cars. Until now, the braking record for modified cars was held by the M2 WRX we tested in the October 2001 issue at 105 feet. That mark has been lowered again, and by a significant margin.

Little did we know it, but right under our nose was a car capable of setting a new stopping distance record-our own Project Celica. Dropping the anchor on this project car hauled it from 60 to 0 in only 97 feet. Amazing stuff for a simple AEM big rotor upgrade. Having not performed this test on the car since installing Toyo's sticky RA1 tires, we had no idea what it was capable of.

The Hotchkis car immediately equaled this performance, right down to the foot. However, with 12.9-inch Stoptech rotors and calipers, and the gumball Yokohama A048 tires, we weren't as surprised. It's worth noting the Hotchkis car would repeat this performance until our eyes bled, while our project car would experience fade after its third braking run.

The Celebrity Celica stopped in 110 feet, which is three feet longer than the stock car. This is likely due to its lack of ABS, which all the other cars had. It's understandable that Toyota Motorsports would remove ABS on a racecar. However, we've preached the benefits of ABS on these pages before, and this is a perfect example.

SkidpadThe ultimate test of cornering prowess happens on the skidpad. It's where balance, grip and roll stiffness matter most, but doing well here usually means making compromises in other areas like through the slalom and on the track. Unfortunately, due to several screw-ups at our test facility, we weren't able test the Celebrity car on the skidpad.

We did manage to get numbers on the other modified cars. Hotchkis' Celica led the pack rounding the skidpad at a very balanced 1.03g-within .01g of the highest number we've ever recorded on a front-drive car. Project Celica was a distant second at 0.96g, which isn't bad for a daily-driven street car with virtually no preparation. The last stock Celica we tested pulled 0.85g on its set of 205/50R-16 Yokohama Advan A-680.

SlalomWe knew these cars would be fast in the slalom, but the numbers they produced blew us away. The Hotchkis Celica bested our former slalom record by more than 3 mph and did so with remarkable consistency. The previous record stood at 73.8 mph and was held by Axis Sport Tuning's turbocharged MR2, which had a significant power advantage-a significant benefit in the slalom. The Hotchkis car destroyed that precedent by twisting its way through the cones at 76.9 mph-a record we think will stand for quite a while.

Project Celica was up next and trounced the MR2's old record as well, although, not quite as substantially. Posting a 75.2 mph average through our 700 feet of twisties would have been impressive, amazing even, on any other day. This number still put it well ahead of any car we've tested except John Hotchkis' outrageous Celica.

Toyota Motorsports' Celebrity Celica managed a respectable 72.6 mph through the cones-a number that represents its relatively conservative tuning. Driving this car, we noticed its builders made every effort to make it stable and relatively easy to drive quickly, which it was. Still, at 2.5 mph quicker than the stock Celica through the cones, it's no slouch.

Road CourseHere's where the bench racing stops. No sissy cones to drive around, no radar gun to collect data-just a car, a driver and a clock. Quickest car wins.

We knew after the slalom test that there was little hope of either Project Celica or the Celebrity car beating Hotchkis' car on the track. And we were right. On our 1.0 mile, 13-turn road course, Hotchkis' car was hands-down the quickest. At 56.47 seconds, it pounded Project Celica by nearly 1.5 seconds/lap. As striking as its outright speed on the racetrack was, this car is docile at five-tenths. We didn't drive it on the street, but it's not so stiff or heavily damped as to be an unlivable street car.

Of the cars in this test, Hotchkis' Celica has seen the most chassis refinement. Aggressive alignment settings, adjustable parts everywhere and super sticky tires make it among the most fun cars we've ever driven on a racetrack. With superb balance and instant communication between the driver and the road, the Hotchkis Celica can easily put the hurt on far more powerful machinery.

In fact, Hotchkis tells tales of dicing toe-to-toe with a current-model BMW M3 at the same track we performed this test. To verify, we dug up the lap times produced by the Mitsubishi EVO VII we tested last month at the same track. Turns out, Hotchkis' Celica is damned fast, cranking out lap times nearly a second quicker than Mitsubishi's supercar (56.47 sec. vs. 57.44 sec). We're believers.

Project Celica made a respectable showing. Considering we didn't make any special adjustments prior to this test (like track-ready alignment settings), we can be satisfied with the results. At 1.45 seconds/lap behind Hotchkis' purple and white cornering machine, Project Celica was still loads of fun to drive.

After this test we're convinced Toyota's 2ZZ-GE is the best sounding four-cylinder engine in production. Banging off downshifts in this car couldn't be more rewarding. Its brakes held up on the track and its combination of balance and grip was substantial.

The Celebrity car was only .36 seconds slower than Project Celica on the road course. This is impressive, considering it performed every test on Bridgestone Potenza RE71 street tires, which aren't nearly as sticky as the race tires on Project Celica or the Hotchkis car.

On the track, it again became more evident that Toyota Motorsports prepares these cars to be durable and safe, not for uncompromised speed. We found the Celebrity car to be relatively neutral in balance but more easily upset under braking and through small elevation changes. This is probably due to its very low ride height, plus it seemed to have less suspension travel than the other modified cars in this test. We also noticed it was unwilling to rotate as quickly as the others. This is likely a product of suspension tuning designed to keep novice drivers pointed the right way on the Long Beach Grand Prix road course.

The improvement from stock in the Celebrity car is still considerable at 3.08 seconds/lap. Despite its relatively benign suspension tuning, it understeers far less than the stock Celica and generates much greater grip. And, if we were going to hit a concrete wall in any of these cars, this would be the one.
Toyota Motorsports seems to have built a practical, safe and reliable racecar-which is exactly what it set out to do.

SundownCombined, these Celicas broke two of three records in our established handling tests and came within spitting distance of the third. The numbers are staggering-certainly more than we expect from cars with stock power. What makes them cool? Screamin' engines, bitchin' chassis. Who could ask for anything more?

SCC PROJECT CELICA GT-S
ENGINE

Engine Code : 2ZZ-GE
Type : Inline four cylinder,
aluminum block and head
Internal Modifications : None
External Modifications : Rod Millen Motorsport
Intake and Exhaust
Engine Management Mods : APEX'i Super AFC

DRIVETRAIN
Layout : Transverse front engine,
front-wheel drive
Drivetrain Modifications : None

SUSPENSION
Front : Truechoice coil-overs,
short-body Koni dampers,
stock anti-roll bar
Rear : Truechoice coil-overs,
short-body Koni dampers,
Progress Technology
anti-roll bar

BRAKES
Front : 12.8-in. AEM rotors,
stock calipers
Rear : 12.5-in. AEM rotors,
stock calipers

EXTERNAL
Wheels : 17x7-in. Enkei LMF1
Tires : 215/40R-17 Toyo Proxes RA1

PERFORMANCE
SCC Project Stock
Celica Celica

ACCELERATION
Quarter Mile : 14.8 sec. 15.4 sec.
@ 95.5 mph @ 89.3 mph
0-30 mph : 2.7 sec. 2.8 sec.
0-60 mph : 6.8 sec. 7.4 sec.
30-50 mph : 2.5 sec. 2.8 sec.
50-70 mph : 3.4 sec. 4.1 sec.

HANDLING
Slalom Speed (700 ft slalom) : 75.2 mph 70.1 mph
Skidpad (200 ft.) : .96g .82g

BRAKING
60-0 stopping distance : 97 ft. 107 ft.

LAP TIME
1.0-mile Road Course : 57.92 sec. 1:01.4 sec.

‘02 HOTCHKIS PERFORMANCE TOYOTA CELICA
ENGINE
Engine Code : 2ZZ-GE
Type : Inline four,
aluminum block and head
Internal Modifications : None
External Modifications : TRD exhaust system
Engine Management Mods : None

DRIVETRAIN
Layout : Transverse front engine,
front-wheel drive
Drivetrain Modifications : TRD clutch-type, limited-
slip diffferential,
Centerforce clutch

SUSPENSION
Front : Hotchkis height-adjustable
progressive-rate springs,
Hotchkis strut housing with
Bilstein struts, Hotchkis
adjustable camber plates
with integrated strut
tower brace, Hotchkis
hollow anti-roll bar
Rear : Hotchkis height-adjustable
progressive-rate springs,
Hotchkis-spec Bilstein shocks,
adjustable aluminum
camber links, Hotchkis
hollow anti-roll bar

BRAKES
Front : Stoptech 12.9-inch
rotor, Stoptech four-piston
calipers, Porterfield R4S pads,
stainless steel lines
Rear : Stock rotor and caliper,
Porterfield R4S pads

EXTERNAL
Wheels : Advan Model 6, 17x8-inch
Tires : Yokohama AO48 225/45R-17

PERFORMANCE
Hotchkis Stock
Celica Celica

ACCELERATION
Quarter Mile : 15. 1 sec. 15.4 sec.
@ 92.7 mph @ 89.3 mph
0-30 mph : 2.8 sec. 2.8 sec.
0-60 mph : 7.0 sec. 7.4 sec.
30-50 mph : 2.8 sec. 2.8 sec.
50-70 mph : 3.6 sec. 4.1 sec.

HANDLING
Slalom Speed (700 ft. slalom) : 76.9 mph 70.1 mph
Skidpad (200 ft. dimater) : 1.03g .82g

BRAKING
60-0 stopping distance : 97 ft 107 ft.

LAP TIME
1.0-mile Road Course : 56.47 sec. 1:01.4 sec.

02 TOYOTA CELICA GT-S PRO/CELEBRITY RACE CAR
ENGINE
Engine Code : 2ZZ-GE
Type : Inline four cylinder,
aluminum block and head
Internal Modifications : None
External Modifications : Custom TRD exhaust
with cat and straight pipe
Engine Management Mods : None

DRIVETRAIN
Layout : Front engine,front-wheel drive
Drivetrain Modifications : Centerforce clutch

SUSPENSION
Front : Height-adjustable Eibach
springs, KYB dampers,
stock anti-roll bar
Rear : Height-adjustable Eibach
springs, KYB dampers,
stock anti-roll bar

BRAKES
Front : Stock with Hawk
Performance Brake pads
Rear : Stock with Hawk
Performance Brake pads

EXTERNAL
Wheels : 17x7-in. BBS RX
Tires : Shaved 225/45-17
Bridgestone Potenza RE71

PERFORMANCE
Pro/Celebrity Stock
Celica Celica

ACCELERATION
Quarter Mile : 14.8 sec. 15.4 sec.
@ 95.0 mph @ 89.3 mph
0-30 mph : 2.8 sec. 2.8 sec.
0-60 mph : 6.7 sec. 7.4 sec.
30-50 mph : 2.5 sec. 2.8 sec.
50-70 mph : 3.4 sec. 4.1 sec.

HANDLING
Slalom Speed (700 ft slalom) : 72.6 mph 70.1 mph
Skidpad (200 ft. diameter) : N/A .82g

BRAKING
60-0 stopping distance : 110 ft. 107 ft.

LAP TIME
1.0-mile Road Course : 56.47 sec. 1:01.4 sec.

Pro/Celebrity:The Cars and the StarsFor 26 years, Toyota has annually sacrificed a few Celicas in the name of fun and philanthropy. It's called the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race, and it began in 1977 as a grudge match between female drivers and male motorsports writers.

Still run in conjunction with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Pro/Celebrity race has now generated more than one million dollars for charity and has become a staple of the Grand Prix experience for all who attend the event.

The race's success is due in part to the popularity of the stars who appear to shamelessly flog Celicas around the Grand Prix circuit. Film stars ranging from Clint Eastwood to Cameron Diaz have appeared, as have professional drivers like Dan Gurney and Bobby Unser.

Perhaps the biggest draw of the event are the accidents, which are sure to happen when 12 cars are handed to novice drivers with nothing to lose. Mix in four professionals and things get interesting in a hurry-like in 1999 when Donnie Osmond found himself hanging from the harnesses of his Celica.

The real stars are the folks who prepare the cars; without the constant building and rebuilding performed by Toyota Motorsports, there wouldn't be a Pro/Celebrity race. Marty Schwerter, Pro/Celebrity administrator, explains the approach Motorports takes in preparing the Celicas.

"We place emphasis on making the cars safe, reliable and equal," Schwerter says. "We want to give the cars the feel of a racecar with the forgiveness of a street car."

Pro/Celebrity Celicas have traditionally been prepared to the equivalent of showroom stock standards. Safety equipment gets first priority. After that, the upgrades are fairly basic. Suspension, wheels, tires and friction materials are all improved; drivetrains remain essentially stock.

Six generations of Celica have been beaten into submission by pros and novices alike around the unforgiving Long Beach circuit. Toyota Motorsports has been in charge of building and maintaining them for almost 10 years. New cars are built for every model cycle and old cars are refreshed every year. -Josh Jacquot

2002 TOYOTA CELICA GT-S
Estimated Price : $22,040
ENGINE
Engine Code : 2ZZ-GE
Type : Inline four,
aluminum block and head
Valvetrain : DOHC, four valves per
cylinder, VVTL-i variable
valve timing and lift
Displacement : 1796cc
Bore x Stroke : 82mm x 85mm
Compression Ratio : 11.5:1
Claimed Crank Hp : 180 hp @ 7600 rpm
Claimed Crank Torque : 130 lb-ft @ 6800 rpm
Redline : 7800 rpm

DRIVETRAIN
Layout : Transverse front engine,
front-wheel drive

TRANSMISSION
Gear Ratios
1 : 3.166:1
2 : 2.050:1
3 : 1.481:1
4 : 1.166:1
5 : 0.916:1
6 : 0.725:1
Final drive : 4.529:1
Differential : Open

CHASSIS
Chassis Code : ZZT-231

EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS
Curb Weight : 2500 lb.
Weight Distribution F/R : 63/37
Overall Length : 170.5 in.
Wheelbase : 102.4 in.
Overall Width : 68.3 in.
Track F/R : 58.6 in./58.2 in.
Height : 51.4 in.

SUSPENSION
Front : MacPherson Strut
Rear : Double wishbone with
semi-trailing lower control
arm and lateral upper
control arm

BRAKES
Front : 11.0-inch vented discs,
single-piston sliding calipers
Rear : 10.5-inch solid discs,
single-piston sliding calipers

WHEELS AND TIRES
Wheels : 16 x 6.5-inch aluminum
Tires : 205/50R16 Yokohama
Advan A-680

ACCELERATION
Quarter Mile : 15.4 sec. @ 89.3 mph
0-30 mph : 2.8 sec
0-60 mph : 7.4 sec
30-50 mph : 2.8 sec
50-70 mph : 4.1 sec

HANDLING
Slalom Speed (700 ft slalom) : 70.1 mph
Skidpad (200 ft. diameter) : .82g

BRAKING
60-0 stopping distance : 107 ft

LAP TIME
1.0-mile Road Course : 1:01.4 sec

zycha, tingiu skaityt viska
reziume keliais sakiniais galima?


p.s. see you in Kedainiai, galesi gerint rekordus

apibendrinant Cia zurnalas pastoviai testuoja masinas toje pacioje trasoje (nu kaip TopGear )
kadangi straipsnis 2001 metu tai turekite omenyje.
Geriausias stabdymo atstumo rekordas nemodifikuoto car'o.
Slalomo rekordas- aplenke MR2 Turbo ir net EVO VII.
Idomus laikai 0-100 per 6.7s su maza modifikacija

Kad slalome aplenke MR layout'o ir AWD masinas tai nieko keisto, jos tikrai nera labai tinkamos slalomams.

na na, mes dar paziuresim, kaip FWD GT-S'as pasirodys pries ADW greitam slalome, ane zyrka?

paziuresim paziuresim... tik kad svaru butu trasoje.