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jdm gvr4 vs us gvr4

tintoy

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philippines
just want to have some idea. What are the difference between JDM and USA gvr4 in terms of intake, i/c, rear deff(LSD), tranny(LSD), turbo, etc. And also HP? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

fuel

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you should probably do a search, there's lots of information about this topic already, although it's probably spread out over various threads.

To summarise, I'll start by going over the JDM VR-4s - I wouldn't really have much of a clue what the USDM/AU VR-4 has or what it doesn't have.



The JDM VR-4 was first released in September 1987 with two models, the VR-4 and the VR-4 RS.

5.jpg
.

Both had the 205PS engine with 450cc injectors, TD05H-14b turbo, 3 bolt rear end with the RS having a plate type LSD. These had the KM225 gearbox of which some or all of them had the 2WD bolt which would convert it to FWD if the rear driveline was damaged for some reason (probably just used for rallying). Both ran 3.545 diff ratios. Inlet manifolds were the dual runner type with 'CYCLONE' and 'TURBO INTERCOOLER' writing. Brakes were the smaller 265mm front and rear (front vented). Interior had the twist knob HVAC controls and the dash cluster had the dual colour illumination. Exterior wise the front bumper had the fog lamps with indicators built into them, and dual lamp corner markers.

The standard VR-4 weighed 1340kgs while the RS was 1300kgs.



October 1989 saw the release of the facelift VR-4, of which a new VR-4 called the 'Super VR-4' joined the existing VR-4 and VR-4 RS line up.

11.jpg


Among the facelift changes visually were revised front and rear end with new tail lamps and tail/brake lamps now running across the bootlid, the high stop lamp on the bootlid mounted spoiler was longer and thinner, the front now had dual lamp spotlamps and the indicators were moved to the corner lamps and the park lamps moved to the headlamp housings. New '8 spoke' alloy wheels replaced the original wheels.

Mechanically the engine was still the same with the 450cc injectors and TD05H-14b turbo but the engine was now producing 220PS thanks to an updated ECU (single board as opposed to dual board of the pre-facelift). The facelifted model now used the W5M33 5speed manual transmission, but new was the four speed automatic transmission, of which the automatic models used a TD04H turbo and made 210PS. 3.545 ratio remained for the manual, while 3.307 was used for the automatic. 3 bolt rear end was still in place. The brakes were upgraded to twin piston calipers with 276mm rotors up front.

Interior wise the seats and trim remained the same except for the steering wheel changed to the four spoke design, and the twist knob HVAC controls were replaced with digital push button climate control (of which the RS still uses the twist knob setup). One addition to the interior on the facelift model is the dashboard pop-up box in place of the usual recess where the Active suspension control would be on the 2WD models. Gone was the dual colour gauge cluster illumination, replaced with the standard green across the board.
The 'Super VR-4' had full leather interior above the usual cloth VR-4 interior, and colour coded wheels. As far as I know, the Super VR-4 was only offered in 'Carbon' Black.

The standard VR-4 remained at 1340kgs (1300kgs for the RS), automatic being 1370kgs. The Super VR-4 was 1380kgs with the automatic being 1410kgs.



August 1990 saw new models being released, the VR-4 'Evolution' along with a special limited release 'Monte Carlo' edition to celebrate the VR-4's win in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Evolution was available in 5 speed manual only while the Monte Carlo came both 5 speed manual or four speed automatic.

18.jpg


All 5 speed manual models (including the Monte Carlo and the RS) effectively from now on were 'Evolution' models, while the automatics remained the same as the October 1989 facelift specification.

New with the Evolution spec was the switch to 3.909 ratios, which is the only true way to distinguish an Evolution apart from a non-Evolution model. The notable changes were a switch to 510cc injectors, TD05H-16G turbo, a longer length FMIC with larger diameter intercooler piping, 'ECI-MULTI' and 'TURBO INTERCOOLER' writing on the manifold. This bumped the power up to 240PS while the automatics remained at 210PS.
Manual (Evolution) models received the 4 bolt rear diff while autos retained the 3 bolt diff. The main visual differences for the Evolution models were the addition of bonnet vents and front bumper with extra vents below the main grille. The interior seat stitching pattern changed slightly on the cloth interior models, while the Monte Carlo gained the leather interior from the outgoing Super VR-4.

The now 'standard' VR-4 Evolution 5 speed manual weighed 1350kgs (with RS at 1310kgs), with the automatic at 1380kgs. The Monte Carlo is 1410kgs for the manual and 1430kgs for the automatic, making it the heaviest production JDM VR-4 built.
 
Last edited:

fuel

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Oh yes and I forgot about the Eterna ZR-4 which is essentially a five door hatchback/liftback version of the Galant VR-4. Other than the obvious rear end differences, the Eterna sports a slower roof line (so the doors, front windscreen and interior pillar trims are different) as well as a front grille unique to the Eterna.

The Eterna more or less follows the VR-4 in terms of specs for its year, except it's not available in RS, Super or Monte Carlo. They weigh approx 60kgs heavier than their VR-4 counterpart.

Pre-facelift

zenkifront.jpg
zennkiZR4.jpg


Facelift

chuukifront.jpg
chuukirire.jpg


Evolution

koukifront.jpg
koukirear.jpg
 
Last edited:

misterfixit

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Kummusta pare,

As fuel said search.

Other JDM items of note are 87.10->89.09 all had dual board ecus. 89.10->90.09 single board ecu (non eeprom), 90.10-> single board eeprom ecu (md165808) HPs, fitted in with these model changes too.
87.10->89.09 205ps, 89.10->90.09 220ps 90.10-> 240ps.

As fuel said 205ps and 220ps used same 14b turbo, 450cc injectors, exhaust, i/c and i/c piping setup. (50mm dia ic side). 240ps used a larger 55mm dia setup and 510cc injectors. (single outlet over the evo 1&2 figure 8 shaped outlet 51cc ones), small 16g turbo, bigger i/c bigger exhaust.

Coil packs and ignition power transitor are setup differently either side of the 89.10 model change, also the newer side went to a 2 wire o2 sensor while pre 89.10 had a single wire.

Pre 90.10 has "cyclone" cast into the manifold, post has "eci multi" but all the turbo cars had the same style of active 8 runner manifolds (only difference being the lettering). also the cas plug moved onto the cas sensor body.

Shift linkages, cables and the gear lever assy are different pre 89.10 and post 89.10. and the 90.10 cars got a whole different set of pedals to bring them closer together.

Bodywise most is covered above. but the vr4 rs in its first incarnation appeared in 88.02 not 87.10 but 90.10 saw new shocks and side impact bars. remote central locking was an option, and vacuum operated cruise.

There are lots of other subtle changes. but these and above are the biggies you'll need when searching for cars and parts.

The usdm was only ever 205ps from the factory. basically a rhd 89.10 model. miniature i/c (the same as the middle east got) large zero damage at 7mph bumpers. no climate control, no rear wiper, no arial built into the rear glass, 4 wire o2 sensor. and the newer ignition wiring and cas setup.

The aussies the same as the us, but rhd, rear wiper and climate control.

middle east got the us model but without oxygen sensor.

All the export vr4's were only available from 91-92.

For more brochures and references look in the how to section at a post i put up indexing a whole bunch of useful information.

The galant family was 3 bodies under the e3xA code. they were the galant (as you see all over phils), eterna (hatch with lower roof) and eterna sava (saloon version of hatch with a lower roof).

Ingat kayo!

Rich
 

fuel

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thanks Rich for adding things I had missed. I didn't even realise the pedals had changed, but would make sense as I was thinking the other day the pedals felt closer together than I had remembered in my old '89 GLX.

I think the USDM and AU models are 195hp rather than 205PS (which works out to be about 202HP). It must be due to the smaller FMIC and lower octane they were designed to run on.
 

H05TYL

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misterfixit said:
Coil packs and ignition power transitor are setup differently either side of the 89.10 model change, also the newer side went to a 2 wire o2 sensor while pre 89.10 had a single wire.



yup, TPS is different also and the fuel rail flange at that end is angled differently to accommodate it.

also my pre 89.10 j-spec had push button climate control rather than dials.

only early km255's have the lockable centre diff/t-case (I've had 3 that didn't).

it may be that pre 89.10's (aside from RS's) had open rear diff's and post 89.10 viscous lsd's, but this is speculation.

RS's had 3 bolt mech 2-way lsd's until 90.10 after which they had 4-bolt mech lsd's (unsure whether they are 1way or 2way).

Oh, and 240hp versions had Big16G (68mm exducer) turbo's.
 

tintoy

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as you mention 87.10->89.09 205ps and 89.10-> 90.09 220ps had dual board ecu and same set up but had different hp or ps. is the increase of the hp or ps had to do with the ecu config thats why they have different hp or ps?
 

tintoy

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sorry misread the post, both had different ecu dual and single thats why had different hp. my car is 87.10 205ps, can i use the 89.10->90.09 ecu to met the 220ps without any conflict?
 

H05TYL

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I've got a 220ps ecu in my 205ps vr4, no issues.

Just remembered on my pre 89.10 when you pop the boot (trunk) the lid springs completely open, on my post 89.10 it just pops slightly open.

There's other small differences in the interior - pre 89.10 has textured plastic trims inside the a/b/c pillars, post 89.10 has a fake suede texture on these trims.
 

fuel

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yes, you should be able to.
 

fuel

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Quoting Scientist:
Most Jspecs ive come across had digital climate control



Depends on the model really. All the RS models regardless which year will have the turn knob controls and most will not have A/C fitted. The early 87-89 models must have had the climate control as an option, as not all of them have it like the 89.10 onwards models do.
 

tintoy

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what is the part number of the 89.10->90.09 ecu? and how about using the 90.10 ecu would that work to?
 

fuel

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MD150427 for 89.10 - 90.09 single board 5speed manual ECU

MD165808 for 90.09 'Evolution' single board 5 speed manual ECU
 

tintoy

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philippines
one thing more, I don't know the model of my car if its an 87.10, etc. the car a jdm, how can i know the model of the car? are there any spot of the car to look to see or to know the model?
 

fuel

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did you read the above? look at the pictures of the front end of each model - that alone will tell you whether it's a pre-facelift or facelift.

'87-'88 is pre-facelift (zenki)
 

misterfixit

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pm one of us the vin (the original one, not the one on the LHD firewall welded in...) do you have any japanese paperwork with it? will be E39a-xxxxxxx and we'll look it up in caps and tell you exactly what it is. If you have the original firewall there will also be a plate with the model code stamped in (snpf or the like.. but this can be up to 6 or 7 digits depending on model).

You can run a 220hp single board ecu no issues, just have to swap over two wires for the ignition. And you can also run the 240hp single board ecu but at the very least you'll need to swap the injectors for 510cc ones and the two inition wires.

Where are you in the philippines? Oh yeah and the earlier pre 89.10 engines i believe had nitrided cranks (much harder/stronger main bearings).

Rich
 
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