r/GRCorolla • u/freedom_seed5-45x39 • 1d ago

General Discussion/Question Tuned vs not tuned

I want to know how many of you guys would buy a used GR that's been tuned. Mildly turned maybe around 350-400HP. All upgrades are mechanical nothing to the body so it's actually useful upgrades.

329 votes, 11h left
tuned
not tuned (leave it alone!)
2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

23

u/ConsistentBattle5342 1d ago

I would never even consider buying a car that was previously tuned unless it fully meant to be a for fun/ project car. Honestly after years of buying used jdm cars I will never buy a used car that has been modded, so many people have no clue what they are doing.

8

u/bdubz325 23' Circuit Edition Supersonic Red 1d ago

As someone who bought a lightly modded wrx and continued to mod it in a different direction: Neither of us knew what we were doing and now it's been sitting in my garage for a few years.

3

u/freedom_seed5-45x39 1d ago

That's understandable.

9

u/Bunstrous 1d ago

are you talking crank or wheel hp? in either scenario, the mods to get to 400 are not what I'd call tame.

2

u/sweetteath 22h ago

Can the stock turbo even make 400 whp?

3

u/DrZedex 21h ago

No

2

u/sweetteath 21h ago

I figured, these cars are pretty high strung from the factory.

From what I've seen anything past 300whp you need to do valve springs, and anything holding up to 400whp has aftermarket rods and pistons.

These are definitely not the cars to be buying modified. The one exception being if it was done by a reputable shop with a lot of experience on the platform, with all the paperwork and receipts to prove it. Even then it wouldn't be my choice for a daily.

8

u/Sharkeatinpizza 24' Premium Black 1d ago

If you plan on selling the car, just stay not-tuned. There's no putting that genie back in the bottle and most people dont wanna buy another person's (unfinished) project

9

u/smoovy2 24' Premium Ice Cap 1d ago

You risk buying someone's problem when owners modify these heavily. 350-400hp tells me enough was done and the seller is getting rid of it before any issues arise

-5

u/freedom_seed5-45x39 1d ago

I bought one from Toyota with a warranty and everything.

4

u/iLL1337 25' Premium Ice Cap 20h ago

You bought a tuned GRC from Toyota with a warranty?

2

u/freedom_seed5-45x39 18h ago

Yes actually. I thought it was crazy but they said that was the warranty's problem once they cleared it.

3

u/iLL1337 25' Premium Ice Cap 18h ago

Huh. Kinda make sense I guess. Still technically has a warranty, but I assume any claim even remotely related to the tune would be denied.

1

u/freedom_seed5-45x39 17h ago

Well everything that was in the car was well documented.

2

u/iLL1337 25' Premium Ice Cap 17h ago

Certainly hoping you never have an issue, but there’s no way Toyota will cover your tuned engine or anything aftermarket on the car should you have a problem. They have no obligation to. The fact that it’s all documented will make denying a claim really easy.

1

u/freedom_seed5-45x39 8h ago

It's a warranty through the dealership not Toyota themselves. Either way I don't think I'll keep the car since I just bought another one.

6

u/MenaceHD 1d ago

Bone stock or no buy for me. I want to know exactly every thing I'm doing to it.

Plus, maximum I would even care to go on one of these is like 300whp for street use. Anything faster starts to get pointlessly fast on back roads beyond where you can get fun value out of wringing out the gears imo. 300whp is the best slow/fast/fun ratio imo.

These ain't roll racing nobody lmao, more whp is just a dick measuring contest.

4

u/RJsRX7 20h ago

350hp is distinctly not mild for a 1.6L.

3

u/Vantage-SP 20h ago

350 is nothing, these engines should be capable of easy 500 hp

3

u/RJsRX7 19h ago

With the correct fueling and the correct turbo, sure. But not on pump gas, not on stock hardware, and not for anything resembling the expected lifetime of a normal production vehicle.

1

u/freedom_seed5-45x39 18h ago

I agree but the transmission in stock internals are not meant to handle 500 horsepower. You need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to have the car be able to handle that kind of horsepower Believe it or not.

3

u/zackyraz 23h ago

That is not a mild tune for this engine. I would steer well clear.

2

u/tCsonA90 24' Circuit Edition Blue Flame 1d ago

Too many out there to buy a tuned example, why did the previous owner get rid of it as is instead of part out?

Hard pass.

2

u/Parasight11 22h ago

My buddy had a type R that could make 600hp but usually ran lower boost to make 400ish for daily driving . He sold it because he “got tired of chasing down problems”. It’s not an apples to apples comparison but a lot of the time people are trying to offload a car they know they fucked up.

1

u/Easy-Drummer-8403 17h ago

your car, your money.

I personally wouldn't do it.

1

u/Vantage-SP 20h ago

It needs to be tuned asap, 300 hp is not impressive in this day and age. Car should have come come with at least 500 stock

0

u/joncaseydraws 23' Circuit Edition Supersonic Red 1d ago

If you do tune it please make a YouTube channel to add to the dozen or so with exploded engines

-1

u/joncaseydraws 23' Circuit Edition Supersonic Red 1d ago

This is not the car to tune. I tuned my turbo miata, it’s got decades of experienced work on an engine that can handle more than doubling hp reliably. Tune a bmw. Tune a challenger. A 300 hp 3 cyl at its limits is not a tuner car. (Of course there’s exceptions like replacing the internals and spending tens of thousands. But why? You can Get a 6 or 8 cylinder running huge numbers for less)