1984–87 Toyota Corolla AE86 (GT-S & SR5) chassis
This car is a unibody, so there's no separate frame to replace. The way to modernize it is to upgrade the original suspension, stiffen the body shell and fix the known weak spots.
Upgrade the original chassis
- How it's built
- Steel unibody
- Front suspension
- MacPherson struts with lower control arms, tension rods and coil springs. Rack-and-pinion steering.
- Rear suspension
- Solid rear axle located by four trailing links and a Panhard rod, on coil springs. The GT-S uses a 6.7-inch ring-gear axle with rear disc brakes and an optional limited-slip differential; the SR5 has a smaller 6.38-inch axle with drums and no limited-slip.
- Weak spots
- Rust appears in the rear wheel arches, rocker panels, floor pans, around the strut towers and at the hatch or trunk lip. Lowering ruins front roll center and bump steer, rubber link and arm bushings are usually tired, and the small rear axle is weak behind more power.
Stiffening the body or frame? We list 4 kits for this car, such as frame rails, subframe connectors and braces, on its Chassis stiffening page.
Suspension and steering kits for the original chassis
| Area | Kit | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete kit | Techno Toy Tuning Budget Complete Handling Package (AE86 - Corolla / Levin / Trueno) | Front coilover kit, rear springs, AGX adjustable dampers, Prothane bushing kit and roll center adjusters. | $1,425 Source |
| Coilovers | Techno Toy Tuning Front Coilovers (AE86 - Corolla / Levin / Trueno) | Front strut coilover conversion. | $1,395 Source |
| Coilovers | Techno Toy Tuning T3 Rear Coilovers | Rear coilover setup for the AE86 live axle. | $995 Source |
| Coilovers | BC Racing 84-87 Toyota Corolla AE86 (W/O Front Spindle - Weld In) coilovers | BC Racing vehicle page; price is the lowest listed option. | $1,215 from Source |
| Front suspension | Techno Toy Tuning GTX2 Front Lower Control Arms and TC Rods (AE86 - Corolla / Levin / Trueno) | Adjustable front lower arms with tension rods. | $795 Source |
| Rear suspension | Techno Toy Tuning Equal Length 4 Link Kit (AE86 - Corolla / Levin / Trueno) | Rear four-link arms for the solid axle. | $395 Source |
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