FuzzyDunlops Toyota MR2 MK1.5 build thread.

[FuzzyDunlop]

THere is a guy selling a A2W intercooler from a ST205 Celica, with the pump $350.

After that I need a heat exchanger - $50 Ebay Ford Cobra seems to be common choice.

After that its just 3/4 heater hose for less than a buck a yard $20 max

I could have an Air to Water set up for about $450 bucks... should I?

 

[Black2na]

A2W is perfect on a MK1.5 solves alot of the heat soak issues and for 450 its cheap money and run it without a BOV or BPV proven to not really be needed on a MR2 and helps throttle response!

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

A2W is perfect on a MK1.5 solves alot of the heat soak issues and for 450 its cheap money and run it without a BOV or BPV proven to not really be needed on a MR2 and helps throttle response!

Ya, thats the rumour. I just took out my Blow off Valve tonight and did a run. Oh my, it makes a HUGE difference in throttle response. I wish I would have learned about this before I went and cut up my brand new mandrel bend. I think I can fix it though.
I had to get rid of my blow off valve because there is a little Vacuum Valve on it that was broken, and therefore wasnt working properly anyways. According to MR2OC, I dont need it: so byebye.

 

[jlee]

Ya, thats the rumour. I just took out my Blow off Valve tonight and did a run. Oh my, it makes a HUGE difference in throttle response. I wish I would have learned about this before I went and cut up my brand new mandrel bend. I think I can fix it though.
I had to get rid of my blow off valve because there is a little Vacuum Valve on it that was broken, and therefore wasnt working properly anyways. According to MR2OC, I dont need it: so byebye.

I could send you mine, but I'm happier without it so I'd recommend the same.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

I could send you mine, but I'm happier without it so I'd recommend the same.

So haave you driven without yours yet? Notice the difference?
I guess the only reason it was ever installed on the car was to control noise and vibrations - which I dont care about. Its gonzo.

I made my own make shift Boost Leak Tester out of some plumping pieces bought at my local harware store. My air compressor has a regulator built into it. And I used a fitting that came with the compressor.
so total cost: $3.85

Worked like a dream. I set the regulator to 15 PSI and plugged it in. Found a MAJOR problem. At some point during my swap I managed to squish my intercooler a little at one of the corners. I thought there was almost no damage but it looks like it was enough to create a leak. Tried to JB weld it, but no dice. its farked. Therefore, I need a new intercooler - how convenient! I needed the extra incentive to go A2W anyways.

Another benefit of going A2W would be that I wont need to cut up my engine lid! Maintaining a stock appearance. The only downfall to A2w is that I have to deal with sub 32*F weather six months out of the year.

 

[jlee]

You could run an antifreeze mixture to avoid freezing- I'd double check to make sure there's no reason not to, though.

 

[Ketchup]

Air there any disadvantages to using antifreeze?

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

I read somewhere that it wont cool as well as pure water. But in reality, it should cool better with antifreeze in a A2W, than with just A2A, lol. ya, your right, shouldnt be a problem to run A2W with antifreeze.

For now Im trying a temporary fix. I poured a bunch of seam sealer into the inside bottom of the intercooler where the hole is. Just gotta let it cure for a day. I highly doubt that it would make it thru the fins of the intercooler and into the engine, right? I thought it was better than JBweld, because JB weld has the potential to crack and crumb - sending pieces/dust into the engine (althought it takes a good amount of energy to crack JB weld). Where as Seam sealer will just stretch and still withstand a fair bit of heat.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Seam sealer on the inside of the intercooler worked perfectly. After 24 hours of cure there is zero leak (at least that I can hear) at 15PSI now.

My girlfriend decided after 7 months she was ready to move on. Being a little angry I decided to take it out on my car.
Turned out to be a good idea. Now I can devote more time towards ladies that don’t talk back, lol! JK.

I reinstalled the Manual Boost Controller that I had removed before installing the engine, and also installed a Fuel Cut Defender.

Fuel cut defender wired in just below the ECU

Below is the Manual Boost Controller. This little knob allows me to target the PSI level I want. This devise has a little hole in it that allows a small portion of boosted air to escape that would normally go to the wastegate. I can control the level of air that escapes by turning the knob. This boosted air is measured by a diaphragm in the wastegate and once it reaches certain level (factory setting is 7-12PSI before it opens depending on the temperature of the engine) it opens, releasing air before it gets to the turbo and limiting boost levels. By releasing a little air with this manual valve it tricks the diaphragm into thinking there is 7 PSI when really there is 14 or 15 PSI. Its genius.

Here you can kinda see where I plugged into the wastegate and turbo. I also had to deactivate the factory Turbo-Vacuum Switch Valve (T-VSV) which used to limit boost to 7PSI while the engine was cold. Easy, just unplug it from the wastegate and plug the vacuum tubes. This just means I need to watch that I dont boost until the car is warm.

Went out for a rip on a deserted highway to tune it in. Holy wow. The car just comes alive after 10 PSI. Soon, I will mount the camera for a video.

 

[jlee]

Heheh, now find E85, 800cc injectors, and an AEM FIC and run 20psi.

 

[jlee]

Er, scratch that, for some reason I was thinking you had a Gen3.

When you want more power, a CT27 or CT20B is a nice bolt-on upgrade and will hold boost to redline. What do you have for fuel- 91, 93?

 

[JCH13]

A2W with antifreeze sounds like a win to me. 50% antifreeze will lose 14-22% heat capacity vs pure water, but corrosion inhibition and not freezing up entirely in cold is worth it.

Nice boost leak tester!

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Er, scratch that, for some reason I was thinking you had a Gen3.

When you want more power, a CT27 or CT20B is a nice bolt-on upgrade and will hold boost to redline. What do you have for fuel- 91, 93?

I found a place selling 94 with 10% Ethanol... had never seen it before -does that sound like a good mix to be using, or should I just stick with 91?

A2W with antifreeze sounds like a win to me. 50% antifreeze will lose 14-22% heat capacity vs pure water, but corrosion inhibition and not freezing up entirely in cold is worth it.

Nice boost leak tester!

ok, so its not a big deal to run antifreeze. If I were tracking my car I may want to switch over to pure, but antifreeze should work for my application.

 

[JCH13]

ok, so its not a big deal to run antifreeze. If I were tracking my car I may want to switch over to pure, but antifreeze should work for my application.

If it was a dedicated track car you'd run straight water with a little water wetter. If you're doing HDPEs or other more casual events, even Auto-X, you don't need to be pushing it to the point where you care about the extra 1-5% hp cooler IATs would yield. So, in other words, yes! It should be fine.

 

[jlee]

I found a place selling 94 with 10% Ethanol... had never seen it before -does that sound like a good mix to be using, or should I just stick with 91?

Oh 94 by far! 17psi FTW. :awe:

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

FINALLY!!

A mechanical speedometer gear that works has finally arrived. I should have been on the road three weeks ago but I was sent the wrong part by a guy that didn’t bother to completely read my "Want to Buy" thread at MR2OC.com He sent me one from a MR2 without the Turbo - it has a completely different engine and transmission and of course, a different speedo gear.

Tuesday, finally, the mail brought in the actual part I needed. Yesterday I had the car inspected and it passed with flying colors. Now fully registered, insured, and driving my MK1.5 legally.

Goal Complete.

Im trying to figure out a way to mount my camera for a driving video.


Some funny news though. My car has an aftermarket sunroof - I don’t like, it is added weight. Anyways, I was tightening the screws on it because it was squeaking horribly. Then I went for a drive and it was still squeaking. I reached up to adjust the latch and "WHOOOSH!" gone! it flew right off the roof at 40mph! lol. smashed all over the road. Luckily, the people behind me were a ways back. I forgot to reclip the front latches. oops.

So long story short. Rather than find replacement glass I am going to take out the sunroof and weld in a patch to make this car a hard top once again. That will be next weeks project once I buy more gas for my welder.

Here is some photos.

I plasti-dipped all the plastics that were painted black - so front bumper, side door bumpers and rear bumper. Then I also Plastidiped the entire roof and trim. It came out ok, but is a little waivy - I may have rushed it a little. It will need to be redone after the hardtop install.

For now I have a piece of sheet metal filling the hole where the glass was. I just put seam sealer around the edge and it holds out the water better than the aftermarket sunroof (which leaked a little)

A shot from inside - partially disassembled sunroof. I was able to rescue the latches off the highway.

Interior is pretty much all put together now

I tucked a fire extinguisher immediately in front of the drivers seat - easily access.

Here’s the current engine bay set up. I almost had acquired an A2W setup, but it was missing some vital pieces and would have need a bit of fabrication to make it work. I'd rather just put on a plug and play system. May end up going with my original idea of buying from www.Frozenboost.com even though some people claim they sell Chinese stuff (but they get good reviews -haven’t heard anyone say don’t buy from them.

I also shipped off the organ donor. I stripped it down of anything that wasn’t broken and may be of some value (including the rear window), then called a guy that advertised in the paper that he takes away old cars for free. Guess he crushes them and sells the scrap

So ya, today the road was a little wet after a rain. I did a hard pull and in second my back end swung out a little. Gah, its so crazy. Gotta get a video for you guys.

 

[jlee]

Hehehe...just a little faster than the 4AGE, isn't it. :awe:

 

[Zargon]

If it was a dedicated track car you'd run straight water with a little water wetter. If you're doing HDPEs or other more casual events, even Auto-X, you don't need to be pushing it to the point where you care about the extra 1-5% hp cooler IATs would yield. So, in other words, yes! It should be fine.

some tracks will not let vehicles run with antifreeze

I had to do a change out for a trackday before to water and wetter

atleast in the non noob groups

 

[Harrod]

I've always liked these cars, my uncle had a 86 that he rebuilt after a tree fell on it. It was silver, with a flat black spoiler and quarter panel scoop.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

I've always liked these cars, my uncle had a 86 that he rebuilt after a tree fell on it. It was silver, with a flat black spoiler and quarter panel scoop.

holy cow, deja vu! hehe

Hehehe...just a little faster than the 4AGE, isn't it. :awe:

ok. I am blown away to tell truth. The 4AGE has about 112hp. The 3SGTE has 220hp and my engine being a little older and maybe abused probably puts down 195hp. There is only an 80hp difference between these cars and it is a phenominal difference. It just boggles my mind to think what it would be like to drive one of these cars with 400+ hp.

 

[JCH13]

Looks awesome!

You're also a few hundred pounds lighter than a MK2, so that's worth a bit!

You definitely need some more/better rubber if you're go all slidey in 2nd gear at ~200hp levels.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Looks awesome!

You're also a few hundred pounds lighter than a MK2, so that's worth a bit!

You definitely need some more/better rubber if you're go all slidy in 2nd gear at ~200hp levels.

yup. Im being convinced to.

Heres my current options. I want 15" to allow for more sidewall, which will hopefully mean a softer ride. And the cars look better with a smaller rim. 16" is almost too big IMO. So Im buying a rim to match the rubber I want 225/50/15

TRMotorsport C1 15x8 +20 Would require a little camber to make fit
I have to trick the system to get the right specs I want by pretending Im a 1990BMW or Miata. heres a photo of 15x8 +20 with 225/50 all around..

949 Racing 15x8 +36 Shouldn’t require camber to make fit but Im worried about backspacing. I think these are great looking and would probably match the red paint better. Downside is I’d have to wait till august to get them.

or Enkie RPF01 15x7 +35 The lightest but most expensive and also has a high offset and would require spacers to look right. Heres a photo with 15x7 +35 and 1/2" spacers.


I am currently running 16x7 +38 which fit ok, but I wish they poked out a bit more.
I will need to get some sooner than later. Ill burn off these DZ101s first

 

[jlee]

Galdalf @ MR2OC is selling his Mk1.5 a2w IC: http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?p=5009704

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Galdalf @ MR2OC is selling his Mk1.5 a2w IC: http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?p=5009704

That thing is massive. like huge. Like a foot wide and 20 inches long. I dont think I can fit it in my bay the way that I have it set up now. I would have to relocate my afm and air filter.
He lives 45 minutes away from me. I might run up to see his car sometime.

 

[JCH13]

I'd be a fan of the C1s of those options. How much camber will you need to make them fit?

225/50-15 doesn't have many tire options, but 225/45-15 has the tasty RS3s, which are just an insane amount of dry grip.