Go to your local racetrack on any given weekend and you won't find many Japanese imports showing their worth. Instead, you'll more than likely find a multitude of 'old school' Alfas, Fiats, Toranas and more - we'll ignore those lucky bastards in their thundering Porsche GT3s...
So why is the racetrack so frequently Japanese import-free? Well, that's a question David Tye and we have often pondered.
David owns no less than three racecars - a Kestrel (see "Pole Sitter"), a Cortina (stay tuned for a feature soon) and the vehicle you see here. In case you couldn't guess, we're talking about a 1992 AE92 Japanese market Toyota Levin GT-X.
"Without a doubt, a car like this - one that's imported for race or rally - would have to be the cheapest way to get onto the racetrack in something moderately quick," David says.
Truth be known, though, David only stumbled across the realisation that racing could be this cheap.
"I was actually looking for a twin-charger system for my Kestral," he says.
"My brother-in-law tracked down a complete Toyota Levin in Western Australia with a twin-charger kit fitted and I ended up buying that with the intention of swapping all the good bits into the Kestrel. When it arrived, though, the whole car was so good I didn't want to ruin it - it had already been fitted with adjustable HKS suspension, aftermarket wheels and track tyres."
It was a ready-to-run racer for just AUD$6500!
"Anyway, I've since tracked down another twin-charger kit for my Kestrel and I now lend out the Levin to my friends and workmates to have some fun around the Mallala circuit. Everyone has a great time," David says.
But let's take a closer look at the hardware under the lid.
The platform is the factory supercharged DOHC, 16-valve, 1.6-litre 4A-GZE, which is officially rated at 165 horsepower. The twin-charger kit, though, adds a turbocharger into the equation - the standard positive displacement blower is there to give low-down boost and the turbocharger delivers an extra top-end whack.
The kit - which reputedly cost around US$10,000 when new! - is a typical HKS product, comprising absolutely everything needed to make the conversion. As seen here, the kit includes an HKS pod-style air filter, revised induction piping, a new front section of exhaust, a cast iron turbo manifold, a relatively large Garrett turbocharger, blow-off valve, 'change-over' valve and two separate electronic modules - an HKS supercharger controller and PFC F-CON (mixture modifier). Turbo boost pressure is also adjustable via an in-cabin HKS boost regulator.
So how does the twin-charger system work?
Well, as far as we can determine, the turbocharger is inserted in the intake path between the air filter and the supercharger. That means in normal driving induction air enters the filter, flows through the (non-boosting) turbo compressor, though the supercharger, the intercooler and (finally!) the engine. Under high load, however, a change-over valve that connects the turbo-to-supercharging pipe to the intercooler-to-engine pipe opens to allow extra turbo boost to enter directly into the engine. The reason for not simply driving the supercharger faster relates to charge-air temperature and the tendency for the Teflon rotor strips to peel away.
While it's impossible to trace the car's history in Japan, it does seem that the car also sports a couple of extra bits in addition to the 'basic' twin-charger kit. While the standard twin-charger kit employs just the standard top-mount air-to-air intercooler, David's Levin has a custom front-mount intercooler that can be found in the induction path between the turbo compressor and supercharger. (Yep, two intercoolers!) This serves to keep a lid on the otherwise marginal top-end charge-air temps. Maximum boost pressure is currently set to around 15 psi.
Power output is said to be more than 220 horsepower - especially given the fitment of the additional turbo intercooler.
With this level of grunt channelled only through the front wheels, you might expect the Levin to be a bit of a handful through the turns. Not so. With its factory-fitted front LSD, torque is put to the tarmac with a minimum of fuss. You do need to keep a firm hand on the wheel when power-exiting a corner, though.
Footwork is kept tidy thanks to a set of four HKS struts boasting adjustable height and damping. HKS adjustable front top hats also give the Levin a big dose of negative camber. David suggests that the Levin behaves a bit like a Mini on the track. "If you take your foot off the throttle through a corner it can spin pretty easily," he says. If you're smooth with the throttle, though, the car is apparently very well mannered and balanced.
Braking, meanwhile, is left to the standard four-wheel-disc system with Bendix Ultimate pads, brake cooling ducts and aadjustable brake bias bar making the car more suitable for track duties. According to David, the reason for the brake bias adjustment is to channel more braking forces at the rears. "The rear brakes weren't doing anything," he says.
Inside, everything is pretty much ex-Japan. The standard Levin GT-X trim (with good-enough-to-race standard seats) has been augmented with a GReddy boost gauge, EGT meter and oil pressure light on the steering column, aluminium shift knob and the aforesaid HKS supercharger controller, HKS PFC F-CON, HKS boost regulator, BES turbo timer and brake bias adjustment knob.
"We haven't had to do bugger-all to the car to get it on the track," says David. All that needed doing was the fitment of brake cooling ducts, the brake bias adjuster, a fire extinguisher between the front seats and the oil pressure light and BES turbo timer. The boost and EGT gauges were also moved from the glovebox to the steering column.
A couple of the tyres that came fitted on the car were also pretty stuffed, so these were replaced with 195/55 15s Toyo semi-slicks - according to David, the same tyre as used in the Mitsubishi Mirage Cup. "We also had to raise the ride height from when it arrived; the suspension wasn't really working when it was sitting right down."
There has also been a bit of maintenance required.
When the second gear synchros got tired, David swapped to a later model 4A-GZE transverse gearbox.
"The gearbox that came out of the car had an oil rail that cooled and lubricated the gears. As it turns out, the later model 'box had beefed up gears and bearings but no oil rail, so I swapped it over as a precaution."
A relined brass button clutch was also chucked in with the extra strong new 'box.
The motor was next to receive attention. After recognising "signs of surge damage" David opted to put in a new set of bottom-end bearings and inserted a complex array of baffles inside the sump - no problems since.
And now for some really good news.
David has recently decided two racecars are enough, so the Levin is currently for sale. It will, however, be sold minus its twin-charger system (including electronics), adjustable brake bias and turbo timer. What you will get is the car with its factory supercharged engine (with recent new bearings), upgrade gearbox, HKS suspension, aftermarket wheels and track tyres. David will also throw in an engine-less half cut (giving a new set of front panels and brakes etc) and you can keep the HKS turbo manifold in case you decide to jump that way.
The cost? Just $5500.
Drop us an email at
michael@autospeed.com to get in first!
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