Abbreviations and local talk
An AE86 is also known as the Sprinter, Hachi Roku, Levin and Trueno (more about this below).
16v means the engine has 16 valves.
20v means the engine has 20 valves, 2 exhaust valves and 3 inlet valves per cylinder.
4A-G technically means it has a carburetter but people get lazy and just say 4AG instead of 4A-GE.
4A-GE is the standard 1.6 litre twin cam 16 v engine we go in Australia
4A-GEU: The U in 4A-GEU means it has Japanese pollution gear, which means this is the standard Japanese 4A-GE engine. See A Note on Engine codes down further for more info on this.
Aus spec and Jap spec mean the factory specifications (or what engine, suspension, trim etc.) the car came with from that particular country.
LSD stands for Limited Slip Differential. This is opposed to an open diff, which is what Aus spec Sprinters come with. Do your own search to find out exactly how they work but basically you need one to drift.
a Noob is someone who is new to sprinters or cars or whatever. Basically someone with little knowledge who will probably ask stupid questions. This site contains a lot of sarcasm and if you ask a stupid question you can expect it.
Flaming, flamage or being flamed basically means people calling you a stupid head.
To save anyone looking apparently Trueno is Spanish for thunder and Levin comes from Middle English meaning lightning
The AE86
The AE86 came out in 1983. The Australian version was sold as the Sprinter. In Japan the 86 was sold as a Trueno (Spanish for thunder) and Levin (coming from Middle English meaning lightning). Levin is also a town in New Zealand where the Corolla first tasted motorsport success, in production car racing - with the KE10 Sprinter. The main difference between the two is that the Trueno came with pop-up headlights while the Levin came with fixed headlights (like the Aussie Sprinter). In Japan 86s also came as a coupe or a hatch. The only coupes you'll find in Australia have been imported. There were also a few different trim levels available to all 86s. The AE86 is also known as the Hachi-Roku (はちろく) which means "86" in Japanese (eight = hachi or はち, six = roku or ろく).
These 86's came with a 4AGE putting out between 112 hp (84 kW) and 138 hp (103 kW). They also had better suspension and trim levels.
To read more about Japanese and American 86's go to . For more info on A series engines again visit .
Aussie sprinters
Aussie sprinters are very different to Japanese, American, and Takumi Fujiwaras sprinter. We only got the 4AC, soft suspension and lower trim levels than other 86's. The 4AC engine the came from our factorys has a massive 90 hp (67 kW). These cars are rare and objectively speaking, very over priced. The 4AC will live forever but is a waste of time to tune and is about as exciting as a candle lit dinner with your mother. If you can't find a rust free sprinter don't worry, noone can.
KE70/AE71
These cars have basically the same bits as Sprinters but are 4 door sedans.
KE70s came with 3KC and 4KC engines, 1.3 8 valve, push rod engines and 4 and 5 speed gearboxes. These have so little power its not worth mentioning. Do a wikipedia search if you really want to know. Early models had a more up and down nose (the more sexy model), while later models had a slantly nose (the not so sexy model). Do a search for info about swapping an A series engine in.
AE71s came with a 4AC the same as the Sprinter, 5 speed and the unsexy slopey nose. These are easier to swap a 4AG into but are possibly rarer than a Sprinter, although a lot cheaper. Good luck finding one in decent condition.
Reasons you might choose one of these over a sprinter are that they're a lot cheaper, panels are a lot easier to find and they have 4 doors. Down sides are that they aren't as cool or sexy (although that can be argued) and putting a 4AG into a KE70 isn't as straight a swap as the other 2 cars.
Engine Swaps
All other A series engines will pretty much bolt straight into a sprinter. A series engines include:
The original 4A-GE 16 valve twin cam engine. These were produced from 1983 to 1992 and had 2 generations:
First generation 16 valve engine with 112 hp (84 kW) in the AE82 Corolla. This engine is sometimes called a Big Port because the inlet ports are bigger than the second generation 4AG, a Blue Top because from the factory it had blue writing on the rocker covers and a 5 rib because the block has 5 ribs on it, although later models also came with a 7 rib block.
These engines are cheap ($200-$1500), relatively easy to find and install and there are a lot of parts for them. Down sides are that they're getting old and they have less power than the second generation 4AG.
Second generation engine with 138 hp (103 kW) came in the AE92 Corolla. This engine is sometimes called a Small Port because the inlet ports are smaller than the first generation 4A-GE, a Red Top because from the factory it had red writing on the rocker covers and a 7 rib block because the block has 7 ribs on it.
These engines are also cheap ($200-$1500), relatively easy to find and install and there are a lot of parts for them. They come with more power than the first generation 4A-GE and are newer and probably less tired. Down sides are that they're a bit more expensive than the first generation and are getting a little old and they have less power than the 20valve or supercharged engines.
The Silver and Black top 20 valves replaced the 16 valve 4A-GE and were produced from 1991 through 1998. They were based on the original 4A-GE engine but came with 20 valves instead of the original 16. They also came with higher compression and higher red line (9000rpm). These engines had Toyota VVT and they created 160–165 hp (123–127 kW).
They have more power and torque than the 16 valve engines and are newer, therefore probably running better. Down sides are that they're harder to install and make most of their power in the high revs, which apparently makes them harder to drift with. Also these engines didn't come out in Australia and are newer than their 16v brethren and so are more expensive and less common. They also sound cooler.
The 4A-GZE produced from 1986 to 1995 and wasn't available in Australia. This was based on the 4A-GE with an added supercharger. It came with slightly lower compression and forged pistons. This was used in the supercharged AW11 Toyota MR2, with 165 hp (124 kW) and in the AE92 and AE101 corolla and had 170 hp (127 kW).
These are harder to install, cost more to buy and need an inter-cooler. They also have a reputation for destroying drive lines so, depending on how powerful the motor is and how you drive, a gearbox and diff upgrade might be needed. Up sides are that they make more power throughout the rev range, make more power in general and can be turbo'd (which is then known as a 4A-GTE, T meaning Turbo replacing the Z meaning Supercharger) for even more power.
People also install Nissan CA18-DET and SR20-DET engines from Silvias. You can find info on these elsewhere.
They have more power than 4A-G engines but need more custom work to install, cost more and are often less reliable. Their non turbo brothers are not worth the effort.
The 3SGE and 3SGTE come from the SW20 MR2 and Toyota Altezza. They are more powerful and have more potential. Downsides are they're fairly expensive to buy, take more custom work to install and being 2 litres, weigh more which puts the balance of the car out. has done a good write up of installing on into a Sprinter.
Other less common and less popular A series engines include the 4AFC and 4AFE, which was an economy version of the 4AG and had less power and the 7A-FE which is a 1.8 litre economy 4AG variant.
A Note on Toyota Engine Codes
The first bit 4A-GE:
The letters indicate the engine family, for example in 4A-GE the engine family is G, in 3S-GTE the family is S.
The number(s) at the beginning is the number of the are for a certain bottom end version (block, bore, stroke). The larger the number, the newer the bottom end version.
The second bit 4A-GE:
G = twin cam (wide angle, 45 degrees or more between the intake and exhaust valves)
F = "economical" twin cam (narrow angle, around 22 degrees)
T = turbocharged
Z = supercharged
E = fuel injection
i = single point fuel injection
L = transverse mounted engine (seems to be an obsolete code)
B = twin carbs (only used on non-twin cam engines, obsolete code)
R = air injection
S = swirl intake ports (only a few made in mid '80s)
S = direct injection & swirl pot pistons (starting from '97/98)
U = emission package (Japan)
C = emission package (California)
LPG = LPG fuel
I took this information from .
Installation costs
This will be the cost of your engine plus labour plus other parts.
This could be anywhere between $1000 and $7000 depending how cheap you can get parts, how much you're paying for labour and how much you can do yourself etc. Basically you have to figure this all out for yourself.
Diffs
The Aus spec Sprinter comes with an S series diff and drum brakes. There is no LSD available for this diff so to use an LSD you will need to swap to a T series diff. T series diffs came out in the Toyota T18 and Jap spec 86's.
The T18 also comes with drum brakes and it's only real advantage is the option of the LSD. These diffs generally sell for $200 - $300.
The Japanese T series diff came with disk breaks, which are a bonus, as well as having the option of the LSD. These sell for around $900-$1300.
The actual LSD diff costs around $1000-$1500 new. A second hand example could probably be had as cheaply as your contacts could supply one.
The other option, which is illegal and potentially dangerous to use on the road, is to weld the diff. Different people have different opinions about welded diffs but generally, a welded diff is will cause your car to under steer, be harder to maneuver at slow speeds, be noisy and illegal on the road. Positives are that both wheels will spin together allowing you to drift. A few also claim that you can learn to drive with one and improve your cornering.
Another option is a Hilux diff. These have bigger drums and an LSD option but don't bolt straight up and are heavier than the other options. They're only really necessary for a high power turbo engine so most people won't even need to consider one.
Theres a good diff info page by Gilly
Gearboxes
The standard gearbox that comes with all 86's is the T50 and will bolt straight up to any A series engine. These are fine for perhaps 95% of people. For the lucky people who have enough power to shred a T50 the W58 from the late 80s/early 90s Supra and a model of Hilux I don't know is an option. These will need a new bellhousing and some custom work but should be able to cope with as much power as you can give them.
Car
An Aus spec sprinter can usually cost anywhere between $1000 - $5000 depending on condition and what you're willing to pay for it (anyone remember Kawaii?).
A Sprinter with a 4AG usually starts around $3000 for a dirt cheap example up to $12,000 or so.
Jap imports start from around $7000 landed and probably go as expensive as you're willing to pay.
For the AE71/KE70 equivalents expect to pay for a carton of beer up to maybe $3000 for a stock example or $2000 up $10,000 for a done up example.
Common Misconceptions
The Aus spec Sprinter is NOT called a hachi, Levin or Trueno. Hatchi does not mean that it has a hatch and is not an abbreviation for 86. Hachi means "8" in Japanese. You're not driving an "8" you're driving an "86" (hachi roku) or Sprinter. A Levin is a Jap spec 86 with fixed headlights. This is very different from the Aus spec Sprinter so no you do not have a Levin (unless you do). Truenos have pop up headlights. If you're car has them you can call it a Trueno, if not then don't.
Initial D (It had to be mentioned)
Australian spec sprinters are nothing like Japan spec / Takumi spec 86s. Buying an 86 will not make you drive like Takumi and making a car just like his will not make you cool (probably the opposite).
Tak's original engine is a Jap spec 16v 4AG. His second engine is a "race breed variation of the standard Toyota 4A-GE 20 valve twin cam engine, which is used for Group A Division 2 Touring Class races in the Japanese Touring Car Championship". This is an engine thats been heavily modified for racing and might set you back around $15,000, if you can find one.
Itsuki (Iggys) car is an AE85, a car that didnt come out in Australia but is pretty similar to out Sprinter. It came with a 3AU engine, similar to a 4AC.
Akiyama Wataru's (Aki) ae86 was a 4age with a turbo bolted on whilst maintaining stock compression. In 4th stage he swapped to a 4agze.
For more info check out .
Further reading
has some good tech articles but I can't be stuffed finding them right now.
This site has some good info but is run by wankers. You need to be a member to look at it and apparently thats not so easy anymore.
also has some good info but its mostly for American and Japanese models.
has a some good info and an article about his sprinter build up and even (if I remember right cause his page won't load on my computer) a 7AFE race engine.
has some good links about engine conversions.
or use the function of this website for more info.
I know I'm not going to have some mistakes and theres probably lots more I can add so tell me whats wrong and I'll edit it or mods can edit or whatever. Also other people have contributed their knowledge to this so it's not all me. But mostly is.
Hope it helps.
(clicky)
Originally Posted by destroyer
im pretty sure his mx83 is the coolest.