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The dedicated magazine for the MR2 enthusiast & community Issue 3 - Feb/March ‘07 - £3.75

We drive the SP240 Roadster re-invented...

Silverstone Performances stage II Roadster Turbo ...plus the MR2ROC’s Dyno Extravaganza Day

Sweeter than chocolate...

Two very special Mk 1 MR2s Martin Badaszek from Toronto’s ST205 255bhp Mk1.5 & the UK’s most powerful Mk1 SC, with a staggering 252bhp owned by Pete Mason

Mk2 Suspension Upgrade • Modifying on a budget • Jap Mk1 Meet • Cannonball Run • A day with KO racing

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We drive the SP240

Roadster Extravaganza...

This issue we go Roadster crazy,

We are invited back to Silverstone Performance to drive the SP240 stage II turbocharged roadster, and take some photos, what can we say, its awesome, read the full report on pages 70 - 73

we have coverage of the MR2ROC’s Dyno day back in November, where we were taken for a lap of Silverstone in the SP240 by SP director and racing driver Phil .

See pages 38-41

Contents...

New Readers Rides & Club Scene 2

Mark Thorpes modded mk2 on a budget... P6

White Lightening - Rikki Bruce’s Mk2 Tubby... P26

Phoenix attends a special MK1 meet in Tokyo ... P10

Bob Baird’s extensive Mk2 suspension upgrade.. P32

Anthony & Maggies Cannon Ball experience... P20

Pete Masons crazy 250bhp Mk1 Supercharger... P44

For issue three we are introducing a new feature called readers rides, this is a good place to show off your pride and joy, standard or modded, concourse or extreme, simply send us a couple of your best photos, and a few paragraphs about yourself and the car, and we will feature several readers rides each issue.

Send yours to mr2only@ mr2westmidlands.com Write or email into us with your views, news, or reviews contact steveb@ mr2only.com Also new is Club Scene2, where you can be updated on whats going on in MR2 Owner club land.

N8’s fond farewell to his stunning red Tubby... P50

Topgun’s widebody kitted TRD... P58 contacts...

Martin Badaszeks amazing ST205 powered Mk1.5... P64

SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SUPPORT:PamB - mr2only.subscriptions@ntlworld.com

FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES AND BOOKINGS mr2only.advertising@ntlworld.com Tel: 01782 544854 FEATURES, ADMIN, PHOTO ORDERS OR GENERAL QUERIES steveb@mr2only.com or andyb@mr2only.com EDITORIAL: martin@mr2only.com or Matttheeditor@mr2only.com PRODUCTION, ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Bishop, Matt Harris, Rich Lee, Luke Reynolds, GENERAL POSTAL ADDRESS: MR2 Only Magazine,1810 Leek Road, Milton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST2 7AF, UK Contact telephone no. 01782 544854 Partners: Steve Bishop - Partner/Co-ordinator - Andy Bishop - Partner/IT Admin Printed by:- Buxton Press Ltd, Palace Rd, Buxton Derbyshire, SK17 6AE, UK www.buxtonpress.co.uk

MR2 Only Back issues While stocks last, we still have some copies of the 1st 2 issues of MR2 Only Mag, just in case you missed it.

To get your hands on a copy email:-mr2only.subscriptions or visit www.mr2only.com

Thanks go to... all who have helped and supported us, our distributors, all our contributors, technical guys, all who have subscribed and advertised, and sponsored our project car, Luke Reynolds for the excellent cover car photography, Martin Weaver for his great feature writing, newcomers to the team Nick and Mark, Rich Lee for layouts and last but not least Pam B for subscriptions, advertising and customer services.

Thanks also go to Chris Rees, editor of Jap Performance and photographer Martin Vincent for letting us use the stunning photos they took of Pete Masons Mk1 Supercharger MR2 Only Magazine is an independent publication, and has no bias to any one company or organisation.

Although every care is taken in compiling MR2 Only, we cannot be held responsbible for any errors, omissions or any technical advice given, and any views expressed are that of the contributor, unless written solely by MR2 Only.

Happy 2007 to MR2 community around the world!

As we well know winter generally disagrees with the MR2’s mid-engine, if we are not experiencing tail twitching moments, we are suffering leaking T-tops and bailing out puddles of water.

So no doubt some owners have there cars tucked away in garages, carrying out those all important modifications to be that little different for this years show season, while many hardcore owners have braved the elements in their MR2s and driven through the winter.

It’s sad to see quite a few on the forums sadly meeting an untimely demise.

So think on folks, drive carefully!

We begain issue three wondering what to put in it, with no events or shows, but it turned into another cram packed issue, we attended the wicked MR2ROC dyno day back in November, and went back earlier this month to drive Silverstone Performance’s SP240, what more can I say, I want that one! read on to see the full review.

In this issue we have excellent feature cars of all Mks yet again, more technical articles and ongoing projects, keep them coming they make excellent reading, and give inspiration to others.

We are also pleased to say there is a bit of movement on our MR2 Only project track Mk1, we’ve kindly received replacement sill skins kindly sponsored by Craig at CM Fabrications, and a GT4 ST185 big brake upgrade from Trevor at TCB Parts, and not to mention Kirsty who kindly donated her old Mk1 T-bar to the cause for some much needed spare parts. We’ve acquired a unit short-term to house the two cars while we swap parts over, and start the preparation, so keep reading, the first part of the project will hopefully be in issue four.

We also give a big welcome to a couple of newcomers to our team, Nick Turner who will be handling MR2 styling features, and Mark Thorpe helping out on layout.

There are lots of great plans for MR2 Only this coming year, one or two new sections have been added into this issue, we are always on the look out for cars, projects and stories to include, so please do get in touch.

Steve Bishop Partner/Co-ordinator MR2 Only Magazine

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Turbo Cup Having established the Toyota MR2 Challenge budget race series over the past couple of years Steve Vince of Dragon Autosports promoter of the series has for some time been looking for a plot to get the Turbo models out to play and has come up with the concept of the TURBO CUP .Endurance racing. As it implies it will be for turbo mr2 limited to 300bhp to keep them reliable running over periods from 2 to 24 hours on slick tyres with 2 or more drivers which not only helps with the driving but also the costs.

Following the concept on which the current challenge was established ie running initially with another series until numbers reached a level to support its own races the TURBO Cup will run within the EERC Britcar championship for 2007 and with Sky Sports coverage and the opportunity to race in front of thousands of people this is clearly going to appeal to many. Two race teams KPM and Rogue have committed to building cars for an arrive and drive hire , can build turbo race cars for you to compete and can offer advice and help on all aspects of mr2 racing be it for the current Challenge Series or the new for 2007 Turbo Cup. Contact details Patrick Rogue Motorsport 01676 530222 Kevin KPM 07886 503784 Steve Dragon Autosports 01646 6012908 stephenzebra@aol.com

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Do you have a problem or MR2 related question?

Maybe our reader can help, to be included in write2 please email steveb@mr2only.com

Write Browned-Off! I am the proud owner of an MR2 Turbo, painted in Astral Black, colour code 202.

About a year ago a bird left a large deposit on the bonnet. Although I removed this within the day, the deposit left a mark on the paintwork which was thought to have corroded the lacquer.

I approached a spray shop in Brinkworth who claimed that they were able to polish out the corrosion. When I got the car back the corrosion had gone but so had quite a lot of the lacquer!

I tried another spray shop in Caine who used the right colour code number but in base coat and lacquer (otherwise known as twin pack, as I understand it). The colour came up a dark brown. This garage kindly refunded my money.

I then approached another spray shop in Corsham. Despite the fact that we noted that PPG had two types of Astral Black 202, this garage then went and sprayed the car, again with base coat and lacquer, when it had already been established that direct gloss and lacquer were the better choice. This was confirmed by a meeting with the Technical Representative of PPG. I then went to a one-man business in Melksham where the car was sprayed with what purported to be Astral Black 202. In this case also a base coat and lacquer was used.

Toyota in Bath examined the car with what I think is called an electrometer, measuring the depth of paint on the car. The doors and rear wings were identified as having between 90 and 100 microns of paint. The bonnet ranged from

by Ian Gray

240 to 360 microns of paint. It was decided that the only way forward was to strip the bonnet and start again.

Correspondence with Spies Heckers indicated that the best way forward might be etch primer, surface primer, base coat and lacquer. A spray shop in Westbury subsequently proceeded to pain the car in this way, only to get the same result as the three previous spray shops, i.e. the black looked brown. After a visit from me, they claim to have buffed the base coat lacquer back and applied direct gloss and lacquer in its place.

They used Spies Heckers 202 Astral Black.

I am a member of the MR2 Drivers’ Club. Last autumn I posted on the website of the MR2 Owners’ Club one query which was answered within 24 hours. If there is anyone in the Drivers’ Club who can offer a solution here, then please would you reply by email or telephone. If you ring me I will ring you back immediately, thereby saving your costs. At the rate I have been spending over the past year, it would be cheaper for me to travel almost anywhere in the UK to stay in a hotel while a competent spray shop completed the work on the bonnet!

Toyota in Warminster think this car was made in 1992. It was imported on to a J plate. The chassis number is SW200066155. Does anyone know the make/brand of paint which the Japanese would have used?

My telephone number is 01249 750204 and the email is diane@grayandassociates.co.uk

MASSIVE STOCKS OF PARTS AND TYRES AT OUTSTANDING PRICES...

Keeping your MR2 where it should be ON THE ROAD! ORDERS, HELP & ADVICE

01946-518201 - PARTS 01946-518202 - TYRES Secure Online Ordering:

Email:

www.camskill.co.uk sales@camskill.co.uk

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Whats new for your 2?

6 piston calliper big brake kit for the MR2 Japtuningshop.com is exclusive supplier for the world’s first 6 piston calliper big brake kit for the MR2.

This kit was first developed for race purposes only, and now after several years it has become ready for the street.

The first MR2 kit ever is installed on

Japtuningshop’s show car and after a period of testing the kit now is ready for sale.

This big brake kit comes with a 2-pc 330mm rotor disk and for better cooling and dust transport the disks are vented and grooved.

The centre of the brake disk is made out of a very high quality

Each issue we will be featuring MR2 bits and pieces available from the specialists.

If you have products you would like featured here email steveb@mr2only.com Don’t forget to check out our specialists section on www.mr2only.com

aluminium which is anodized and available in 6 standard colours.

It’s also possible to have them anodized in a custom colour.

The callipers are also made out of a high quality aluminium and are anodized the same colour as the brake disk. Customisation is also possible.

The 6 pistons guarantee the best breaking power ever.

There are 5 different brake pads available for these kits. The pads vary from 100% circuit use to an upgraded street version.

The circuit version easily holds

temperatures till 1000 degrees C.

The total kit consist out of:

For street use a sport version is recommended. These brake pads produce very low dust levels and have a friction coefficient of 0,38 – 0,48 (FG grade)

• 2 330mm 2-pc rotor disks

• 2 6 piston callipers • 2 Steel brake lines • 2 brackets • 1 brake pad set in sport version For more information pls. contact JP at info@japtuningshop.com

STOCKING PERFORMANCE TUNING PRODUCTS FOR YOUR MR2 Coming soon...

V Band Downpipe and a Gated T3 Manifold for the 3SGTE with help from RE:WORX

Te l : 0 1 3 41 24157 3 Mob: 07920 519111

w w w . x s - p o w e r. c o . u k www.roguemotorsport.com

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Photos and article by Phoenix n November 12th, 2006, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with a club meeting in the city of Sagamihara, which is in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Tokyo. The 2 clubs, Midship Heart and Midship Response, are both Tokyo based clubs which their members are the proud owners of MK1 MR2's.

O

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ha2 a, of eir

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The day started off early with an hour drive for myself to Sagamihara. Since MK2's were not allowed at the event, I dropped my car off in a parking lot and was picked up by my good friend Nekomata-san in his pristine 1989 limited edition 2, MK1. We met up at a local McDonald's with a few fellow owners who I've met before at previous events. We ate some breakfast and then caravanned for about 10 minutes to a large parking lot. We were the first big group to show up, and at that time, about 20 MK1's were there. By now, the event coordinators were setting up a tent to put tables and chairs under. We stood around and chatted while

we watched many MK1's slowly drive in and park.

Show ‘n shine Around 10am, the event coordinators got everyone together for a few words. From what I understood, this event was basically a get together and a show 'n shine for people to show off their cars and hopefully get one of the coveted awards which were to be passed out at the end of the day. The morning went on with people checking out each others rides and showing off rare and customized parts for each of their MK1's.

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A few cars stood out to me when I walked the long line of MK1's that I would like to share with you. The first is Ano-Sans 1987 MK1 with a 3rd Gen 3S-GTE swapped into it. Aside from the swap, he added some interesting Body pieces that are hard to find even in the homeland of the MK1. He graced his car with a Carbon Fiber Front Bumper, CF Hood, CF Doors, and a CF Rear

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Bumper. I can't say I've ever seen a MK1 with so much carbon fiber on it which is why this car was one of the first to catch my eye. The car is sitting on some Work Rims with Yokohama Tires wrapped around them. Cusco Comp Coilovers complete his wheel and suspension setup to give it a nice ride height and comfortable drivability for this beautiful ride.

Kashi Exhaust system, custom made and definitely one of a kind! I told him that people in America and the U.K. would go nuts over this and would be calling me to get them one, but he said he has to be a little selfish with this, because no one else has it, and makes his car one of a kind.

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The second car to catch my eye wasn't really the car because I barely noticed it except it was really shining in the sunlight at the right angles.

I had to see what he had under his car so I walked over to this original MK1 to find a beautiful Custom built, by the owner, Titanium Exhaust.

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That thing was beautiful! I had to ask who built it and what to call it when I talked to the person, and he said that he had built it, and to call it the Kashi Exhaust system. So here it is, the Kashi Exhaust system, custom made and definitely one of a kind! I told him that people in America and the U.K. would go nuts over this and would be calling me to get them one, but he said he has to be a little selfish with this, because no one else has it, and makes his car one of a kind. Although disappointed, I had to agree with him.

The day went on with lots of conversation and lots of picture taking opportunities. I can't say the meet was really exciting due to the fact that it was put on for everyone to get together and talk, and since I suck at Japanese, it wasn't too thrilling for me.

The best part of the meet was simply walking around and

checking out what the Japanese are doing to their MK1's and I gotta tell you, they are doing some really nice and original things.

The day ended around 4pm with the awards ceremony. Each of the club presidents judged the cars and came out with awards, which were a plethora of parts for MK1's and TRD shirts and Jackets. The closing speech was quick and within a minute, everyone was getting in their cars for the drive home. This meet was impressive. One of the big reasons was because of the cars and the knowledge that I learned about Japanese MK1's, but I think the biggest reason that this meet was neat to attend is the fact that 90 MK1's showed up which is impressive by any standards!

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Written by Steve Bishop steveb@mr2only.com photos by Davy

f we were to mention car graphics you might recall back in the late 80’s tiger stripes were all the rage on Cossies and RS Turbos, looking back a tad extreme. This roadster owner wanted to stand out from the crowd and with a little help from Likwidart he certainly has, and you have to agree has once again made the use of graphics cool.

I

Davy lives in Central Scotland, 38-years-old married with 3 kids (all boys) and has owned the stunning black MR2 Roadster since June 2005 bought brand new.

Davy’s passion for the MR2 is a familiar story, having never owned an MR2 before, he recalled “the 1st time I saw one was when I passed a MK1 as the owner was washing it, both doors open, bonnet open, boot lid and

engine cover open...WOW!! look at that.. I thought (remember, I would have been about 10 years old) I want one of those, even though I had absolutely no idea what kind of car it was.”

As the years went by the MK2 made it's appearance, and the T-Bar version was something he liked, again i thought WOW!.. nice car (I was a little older by this time) I might get myself one of those.

Then came the Roadster, again I loved the styling, and promised myself that one day I would definately buy one, then came the news that Toyota were to stop making them.. so it was now or never, luckily my wife had started working again after 15 years of bringing up our kids and we were in the fortunate position where it was possible.. so off to the dealership we went, 2 weeks later I was a very proud owner of a Toyota MR2 Roadster.

It was in Western Toyota in Edinburgh that pen was finally put to paper and of course the car had to be black with red seats, and the only "extra" was a set of floor mats.

The day I picked the car up it was gorgeous sunshine and after going over the car the salesman asked a rather silly question before I drove it home.. " Do you want the top up or down?".. with a hint of sarcasm I told him I would rather the top was up... So with the top DOWN off I went, smiling from ear to ear.

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Then came the dreaded modding bug Davy wasn’t planning on doing anything to the car.. “I told friends and fellow club members that the car was perfect as it was”, then the modding bug took over and a set of 17" Tenzo RS5 alloys wrapped in Yokohama Parada Spec 2 tyres were ordered, which compliment the sleek lines of the roadster well.

To pep up the performance a little, a Unichip was fitted which boosted the Roadster up to 150BHP and a Magnex twin exit cat back exhaust.

On the inside for a little in car entertainment an in dash DVD player was installed.

Having fitted the wheels it soon became apparent that something didn't look quite right, the car was sitting way too high. It was time to contact Envy Performance for a set of lowering springs, and after looking at a few options Tien S Tech were chosen and not only did it look a lot better, the handling improved considerably too... by this time the modding bug had well and truly set in and the next item on the shopping list was the TTE rear spoiler, aka the Banana.

To stand out from the crowd Now Davy wanted to make the car look a little different from the other Roadsters but didn't really want to go down the all out graphics route, so after trawling good old Ebay, a TRD Sunstrip was found and a friend suggested taking a look at Likwid Art, a new concept in 3D graphic design. So after

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talking to Rob (owner of Likwid Art) graphics were decided upon and sorted out.

This gave an excellent opportunity to take the car for a run, as Likwid Art was some 300 miles away.. “so after a round trip of just over 600 miles I had some graphics that I think look stunning on my car” added Davy.

Graphics by Likwidart The material used is very similar to the resin that is used in the making of the Centre Badges of some alloy wheels. They are 3D, about the thickness of a £1 coin, hand made, and come on a sheet of grease proof card. The lettering Davy chose is Shadow Lettering.. imagine 3d letters placed on the car, shine a bright light on them, they cast a shadow.. it is this shadow that is on the car., the letters aren't there at all, but you get the illusion that they are. Also, depending on what angle you look at it from, it looks like it has actually been stamped into the panel (rear picture shows this better) The fitting process is very interesting, yet very simple, the graphic is put in position while still attached to the backing card using masking tape, more masking tape is used to mark the position of the graphic on the bodywork,to get a straight edge etc. On more detailed graphics more tape is used to mark a rough outline of the graphic design on the car.

leaving behind the tape outline.. tape is then stuck onto the face of the graphic and the graphic is removed from it's backing card, then it is carefully positioned onto the car and pressed firmly.. The tape is removed leaving the graphic in all its glory.

They are very sticky and won't come off when using a power washer, in fact, they stick on better than the standard chrome badges that were taken off.

Future modifications As far as the future goes... a set of Konig Sports Seats (red and black) are on order from Envy Performance and maybe a Style Bar in Chrome Red, some engine dress.

Will you be going down the ever popular route with the roadster of turbo conversion? “probably not, but then when I got the car, I said I wasn't planning to do anything to it.. so anything is possible as long as it is financially possible too”.

Further details of Likwidarts graphics which are completely weather resistant and UV stable and come with quality and craftsmenship that is second to none guaranteed can be found on their website www.likwidart.com or email rob@likwidart.fsnet.co.uk.

Next the graphic is removed from the car

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Renew your drop links

JPR Mo tor Par ts is of feri of MKI ng a fu dro MR2 On p links at £49.9 ll set ly maga zine rea 5 to ders.

Replace those rattly drop links and say goodbye to unnerving knocking from your MR2’s suspension. Rob Hawkins shows what’s involved.

The MKI MR2 has gained a reputation for having worn drop links, which up until a few years ago were very expensive to replace (they were a dealer only part at £145 for a front pair). Luckily, there are now a few non-Toyota suppliers of MR2 drop links. We’re using a set of replacement drop links from JPR Motor Parts in this feature (see Parts and Prices for details) and fitting them to a MKI MR2.

The job of the drop links is to secure the anti-rollbar between it and the suspension strut. The MR2 has anti-rollbars fitted at the front and rear, with drop links at each corner (four in total). All the ends of

1.

The front drop links usually wear more than the rears, so we’ll start with these. Slacken the road wheel nuts, raise the front of the car with a trolley jack positioned under the spare wheel carrier and secure with axle stands under the front tie-bar mounts or front cross member. Remove the front road wheels.

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the drop links are fitted with ball joints, which when worn, will start to rattle and reduce the effectiveness of the anti-rollbar under cornering.

If the 14mm securing nuts for the drop links are not loose, then replacing the drop links is the solution.

Problems can arise when replacing the drop links on the MR2. What should be a simple nut and bolt job can turn into a battle with an angle grinder. The following six steps show how to do the job properly and what dilemmas can hit you.

2.

Spray brake cleaner over the brakes and surrounding suspension. This helps to dampen any brake dust, which may be harmful if inhaled. Next, spray penetrating fluid over the top and bottom mounts for the drop links. Also spray into the ends of the threads on the drop links to remove any dirt from the allen key hole.

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3.

Secure a 5mm allen key in the end of the thread for the top mount on the drop link. Make sure there’s no dirt in the allen key hole (clean it out with an old sewing needle). Grip the allen key and slacken the 14mm nut with a spanner. Once undone, do the same for the bottom mount.

4.

If one of the 14mm nuts refused to slacken and the allen key hole rounded off, try gripping the thread of the drop link with mole grips. Also, try filing a couple of flats on the thread and gripping it with a spanner or mole grips. If all else fails, grind off the nut with an angle grinder.

5.

Once the old drop links have been removed, clean up the end of the antirollbar and the mount on the suspension strut. Fit the new drop links. The new drop links shown here have 17mm nuts and a 17mm flat to grip when tightening it.

Make sure the nuts are fully tightened and smear copper grease on the threads to preserve them.

Parts and Prices JPR Motor Parts Tel 0113 225 6161 eBay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/JPR-MOTORPARTS Toyota MR2 MKI front drop links £16.95 each Toyota MR2 MKI rear drop links £16.95 each Toyota MR2 MKII front drop links £19.95 each Toyota MR2 MKII rear drop links £21.50 each Postage for the above is £2.95 for one item or £4.95 for two, recorded delivery

6.

The rear drop links are similar to the fronts. Raise the rear of the car on the lower engine mount and secure with axle stands. Use a 5mm allen key to secure the thread of the drop link and slacken the 14mm nut. The new drop links we are fitting are also secured with a 5mm allen key.

Tools used 14mm and two 17mm spanners 17mm socket 5mm allen key Old sewing needle Steel wire brush Trolley jack and axle stands Wheel brace

MR2 Only magazine reader offer for a set of four for the MKI MR2 £49.95 or £59.95 for MKII (£5.95 UK recorded postage) – please quote MR2 Only magazine when ordering Comma Oils 01474 564311 www.commaoil.com Copper grease from £2.49 Release Oil £3.99 Brake Clean £4.99

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Cannon Ball Run Have you ever wanted to test your driving skills? Have you ever wondered how your car would react if you were to push it to the limit? Ever wanted to test your levels of endurance? Well we did...

1st Part of Anthony & Maggies Cannon Ball Run experience.

I am Anthony, the driver. I have always wanted to take part in a motor sports event or speed/time trial. My navigator, Maggie is my Mum, who always wanted to navigate in a car rally. She would be the first to say she has no sense of direction. We wanted a challenge. This is our story...

It was a Saturday afternoon in late February.

Mum had not long returned from living in America. The subject of holidays had cropped up a couple of times over the winter, maybe a driving holiday in the summer, a trip around Europe to visit France or Spain. I had been surfing the web to see what was on offer and had been watching the Cannonball Run Europe website for quite a while, so I presented Mum with the information on the run. It looked to be just the thing for us. We decided if we were to do such an event it would have to be the following year, 2005. There were a number of modifications I had planned to do on my car over the summer months, involving shipping parts from Japan and America, as well as a very busy social schedule for us both. We talked it over at length and decided to do a projected budget for taking part in the event.

This had to include entry fees, car preparation to include the planned modifications, petrol and other running costs, potential fines, (unknown), plus many other smaller necessary items (for me, a supply of Red Bull and Pro-Plus).

Accommodation was included in the entry fee.

As we discussed the possibilities we realised the thrill of taking part in this adventure was awesome. I went out for the evening and when I came back Mum was still going through the papers. We thought maybe we shouldn't wait

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another year. Mum didn't need much persuading! We obtained the 2004 entry form as soon as we could, completed it, wrote the cheque for the deposit, then full of trepidation and anticipation we mailed it all to the organisers, hoping we were not too late to enter the event which was due to take place mid September. We’d been bitten by the bug... we had Cannonball Fever!!!

Departure day It had been a hectic summer. It was now Saturday, September 11, the day we were due to leave and start our adventure. Our entry had been accepted, the fees paid and the event stickers received and lovingly put on the car.

What a thrill it was to see the final result. I had added a few of my own sponsors’ stickers too.

The car really looked the part now. Full of excitement, we had packed our luggage and a good map of the whole of Europe, filled the car with everything we could think of, plus the mandatory list of things the organisers of the event insisted all participants carry with them.

We had no idea where we were going; the information would not be available to us until the day of each event. How exciting! We were laughing and joking about the potential possibilities. We had requested single beds in a shared room, so the prospect of not only sharing the car all day, but sharing the bedroom and bathroom would be a trial in itself.

We got into the car and set off to meet likeminded friends at Pease Pottage Services. The game was on!! After warm hearted introductions our convoy snaked up the motorway. Two more planned stops later and

the convoy had grown considerably.

Everyone was excited and full of enthusiasm for the forthcoming adventure. None of us had any idea where we might be going in Europe although there was plenty of speculation. We knew only that we would be given our mission packs at the start of each day, telling us where we had to be by the end of that mission.

Little bit to enthusiastic The start of the run was the next day, Sunday.

The first car was scheduled to leave at around 2.00 p.m. On our way to the venue the anticipation and excitement proved to be too much for some of the drivers. Having left the motorway and headed along a dual carriageway, there was a slight collision which resulted in a Porsche Boxter being written off. We hadn’t even reached the starting line and already the first casualty. We checked to see if there was anything we could do for the driver. He said he was fine and to leave in case there was trouble with the police, so we were on our way again.

Wacky Races After some naff navigating, wrong turns and travelling around roundabouts a few times very much along the lines of a scene from the Wacky-Races - we arrived at the start venue, The Sunborne Yacht floating hotel on the Thames. We had arrived unscathed and in good time for the evening celebrations. After checking in, we checked out our accommodation, cleaned up and went down to meet our fellow Cannonballers.

We met people from all over Europe, and of all

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We were filmed by the event camera crew as we were interviewed by the 2 attractive lady presenters. There had never been a Mother and Son team enter the event before. They thought it an unusual combination. I told them I was in it for the driving, Mum told them she was only along for the ride and to do some sight-seeing!! She had her stash of Baileys at the ready. She told them we didn’t have Sat-Nav. We had Naff-Nav, and she was it!!! ages. Some had done the event before, some, like us, absolute beginners. The organisers introduced the support groups, the presenters, the camera crews, the checkpoint girls. What a party that was. Everyone was in high spirits, eager for the next day and the start of the event. No one went to bed early. We were in great spirits, safe knowing our cars were being guarded in the huge outdoor car park whilst we partied the night away. Great organisation.

Mission 1 – Sun Run To The

ce Calais, Fran Start Point: rgeles, t: Plage d’A Finish Poin France 727.5 Mileage: Sunday 12th Date/Time: 0hrs approx. 23:0

Although the mission didn't start until Calais,

The organisers gave out extra cannonball stickers. The DJ was blasting music over one end of the car park. People were polishing their cars, mentally preparing for the days and nights ahead. The public were enjoying the atmosphere as much as the drivers, their navigators and passengers.

People were doing anything they could to pass the time whilst preparing to hear the words….“Get ready to rock and roll!” We were filmed by the event camera crew as we were interviewed by the 2 attractive lady

our day began around 7 am in London.

We were so excited. After we had showered, we joined the queue and helped ourselves to a hearty buffet style breakfast. You could feel the excitement in the air. We knew it would be a long day, just how long would prove to be more than we could ever have imagined.

We went back to our room and packed our belongings. After checking out of the hotel, we went down the stairs and out to join our fellow Cannonballers gathered in the large adjoining car park. What a sight met our eyes when we walked out of the doors.

presenters. There had never been a Mother and Son team enter the event before. They thought it an unusual combination. I told them I was in it for the driving, Mum told them she was only along for the ride and to do some sight-seeing!!

She had her stash of Baileys at the ready. She told them we didn’t have Sat-Nav. We had NaffNav, and she was it! We laughed, we were in high spirits. Eventually the organisers called the teams together, and after more introductions we were told the rules of the event – “there are no rules”…. immortal words which received a rapturous applause.

It was brilliantly sunny and before us was a fantastic array of wonderful cars, and people decked out in some very funny fancy dress.

There were some mini moto’s and riders performing stunts on bikes. The onlookers applauded their skills. It was certainly going to be a day to be remembered and enjoyed to the full. Enthusiasts were “ooing” and “aahing” with a passion at the engines and various modifications on show.

And we’re off!

Cameras were clicking, camcorders recording, interviews being taped. Even the presence of a small number of police officers didn’t dampen the spirit. They were enjoying themselves as much as we were. The hot dog and hot drinks stand did a roaring trade. We took some photographs, had some taken of us with our car, and sitting in other prestigious cars too.

There was a Noble, a Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus Esprit, a wonderful selection of cars to choose from. Everyone was very friendly. We watched as the presenters went around doing interviews.

Finally the time came for us to say farewell to family and friends who had come to see us set off on our escapade. The nerves had been replaced by excitement and anticipation. We were finally doing it!! Months of preparing the car, compiling the required bits and bobs and papers to take along, practice sessions for the navigator - we had taken a trial ride to Stonehenge one Sunday morning 2 months earlier. Mum had used the maps to navigate. It took us 5 hours to get there under her direction and 2 to get back by mine. What was I letting myself in for? Only time would tell. We felt it had taken an eternity, but now…. it was here, the time had come. The sun was shining and the sun roof was out. As the convoy lined up ready to cruise to the chequered flags at the starting post, we took our place. As we rolled nearer to the start we were given instructions regarding collecting the first mission pack from the marshals on the start line.

Each car was given 1 minute to clear the

starting grid. When our turn came we rolled up to the start, Mum climbed out and strolled around the car to collect our pack. She was sporting a white wide brimmed hat, sunglasses and a red feather boa – her trademark for the event. Well, you know what women are like. As Mum climbed into the car and with chequered flags flying I floored it. She fell into her seat laughing as she had not had time to settle before I hit the pedal. The crowd passed in a blur. It was foot down and away as we started what would turn out to be the event of a lifetime. We were off to a great start. My navigator had no idea which way we were meant to be going, we were just delighted to be on our way heading for the great unknown.

Our plans of taking our time and making a nice

steady start had gone out of the window. The adrenalin had kicked in. We were flying. The traffic was light at this point so we really enjoyed the thrill of knowing we were on our way. Which way, we didn’t really care. We just had to be careful we didn’t end up in the “Wacky-Races” scenario again.

Eventually I slowed down and we began to move along the motorways quite merrily, watching other teams flying past at high speed. I later heard of one instance where a Ferrari 360 had backed off from a Cossie doing a reported 185mph on the M20!! I wouldn’t be doing that. I was running the Japanese speed limiter. I would be happy if the car performed well enough for me to sit at 118mph all day. I didn’t want to wreck our chances with one stupid moment of trying to play with the big boys at speeds of 150mph upwards. There were plenty of cars in the event with the capacity for sustaining these high speeds.

What an atmosphere When we arrived at Dover we headed for the ferry port. The rain had set in. We cleared passport control and joined our comrades in arms. We had noticed the topless AC Cobra team members were getting soaked. We felt for them. This didn’t dampen spirits though, and amidst the honking of horns and the cheering of the car crews we were eventually allowed to board the ferry. What an atmosphere! Everyone was delighted to finally be on their way. The event wouldn’t officially start until we landed in Calais at around midnight, but the atmosphere was great and we knew we were going to enjoy ourselves come what may.

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As Mum climbed into the car and with chequered flags flying I floored it. She fell into her seat laughing as she had not had time to settle before I hit the pedal. The crowd passed in a blur. It was foot down and away as we started what would turn out to be the event of a lifetime. My navigator had no idea which way we were meant to be going, we were just delighted to be on our way heading for the great unknown.

Once the car was secure we climbed the stairs, following in the footsteps of our fellow Cannonballers. We headed straight to the bar in the lounge and ordered a refreshing celebratory glass of champagne. It certainly hit the spot and gave me a chance to relax while Mum set out on her challenge of navigating our route to Plage d’Argeles. Some hope!!! Mum with alcohol and a map!!! Dream on.

She did however offer her assistance to a team that had arrived late, a point she made to me when she saw it on the official Cannonball DVD. Their car had broken down on the starting line. A disaster for them, but with ingenuity they had fixed it en-route and made it to the port. They hadn’t had time to look at their mission pack before getting on the ferry.

It was a smooth crossing, and in no time at all the ferry was pulling into Calais. We

descended the stairs and located our car.

As we sat back in the car, the sound of over 100 drivers blasting their horns, revving their engines, getting ready for the off was phenomenal. Other passengers had formed lines at the exit of the boat to see what all the commotion was about. Many of them stayed to watch the cars disembark, waving and wishing everyone good luck. I can’t imagine what they must have really thought, I know I would have been so jealous…. but I was actually doing it!!

It felt great. We set off into the night knowing there was at least 727 miles to go until we hit the first check point. It was after midnight. On the motorway cars were passing us at alarming speeds. This was our first event and I wanted to play this leg safe. We knew there was a long slog ahead, and the car would have to work very hard. It was pulling a full load and it was now on the longest journey I had driven in it since I had purchased it.

We passed some cars and trucks and it was clear to us they were bemused by what they were seeing, as some honked their horns in support, flashed their lights and waved us on into the darkness. It must have been obvious from the multitude of stickers and the cars that they were witnessing the Cannonball Run Europe.

Another casualty After about an hour we arrived on the outskirt

22 MR2 Only

of Paris. Already there had been casualties. In the darkness we had passed the open topped AC Cobra on the side of the road. We both felt very sorry for them. However, this passed very quickly as feeling a bit smug we arrived at the conclusion that even if it all went wrong for us, we were now ahead of them in the ranking! We chuckled. Paris was a bit of a nightmare as our map did not show masses of detail. We began to realise the maps we had been given were not the most explicit, in fact they were quite misleading at times. We were to learn that this was all part of the plan. We had packed our own map of Europe, but that too was difficult to read travelling at speed in the dark, and I wasn’t going to stop.

Luckily a few other teams had grouped in a convoy. As we entered the inner city there was a 400+bhp Mines kitted R34 Skyline leading

the group so we tucked in behind and followed. We had already spotted teams getting off and going in the wrong direction.

Travelling at quite a pace, there was no time for sight seeing. Eventually the faster cars took off again.

We were zipping along on a stretch of road that was straight and pretty much clear of traffic. A few hours out of Paris I took a quick look out of my rear view mirror and saw a set of blue strobes. Shit!! My immediate thoughts are that I’m about to be busted. I took another look. It is probably a bit sad but I know a set of Evo7 lights when I see them and I wasn’t that easily fooled. The car pulled out and sped past us, the occupants waving as they went by.

Spirit of Cannonball The spirit of the Cannonball. Anything goes.

We saw one real police car, only one mind, and it had pulled one of the Cannonball cars! The miles rolled by. On the horizon we could see the blackness of night had started to give way to the faint signs of dawn. The road along this part of the route was excellent. Under the wheels it felt like fresh tarmac, so smooth, it was greatly appreciated as the car was running on coilovers I had bought from Japan and fitted myself.

I kept my foot down. We rapidly approached a range of mountains, and once we started to climb we hit some really bad fog, so dense at

one point we had to slow to 20mph. We could not see our way ahead, even with the windows open and fog lights on. We persevered, knowing others had to drive through it too.

Pretty soon we left the fog behind. We were clear and there were many very fast sweeping turns, nice and wide too.

Racing line all the way baby As we started our descent down the mountain, we built up great speed, and as there was no one else around…. racing line all the way baby! There was nothing to stop us, so we raced on and on through the long narrow tunnel, and as we came out of the other side, “flash” the camera recorded our passing just like on the roller coaster rides in the amusement park. We were both smiling into the speed camera as we flew past. Ah well,

onwards and upwards as they say, or in this instance it was onwards and downwards. Out of the mountains we witnessed the most amazing sunrise I had ever seen. It was just typical that our cameras were packed in the boot of the car!

After 10 hours of driving we finally made it to the mission check point. Our only stopovers had been for petrol. By the end of mission 1, the engine had been running for over 10 hours. There had not even been a fluctuation in the oil and water temperatures, which I personally thought was quite something.

Stage 1 complete We arrived in brilliant sunshine to find that a number of the high speed drivers had arrived there at least 3 to 4 hours earlier. Donuts were evident in the sand. We knew they must have been flying. As we were not the last to arrive, we were happy. Stage 1 was now complete and we had no problems to show for it, other than a possible speeding ticket. Not bad for beginners.

26th out of 70 We came 26th out of around 70 cars that actually completed the run, but there are no losers in an event like this. Over 100 cars had started out from London, some broke down and never finished; some dropped out; some broke down so the drivers rented other cars; some used airplanes and taxi’s to get from

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point A to B in order to rent another car to ensure they completed their missions. Most, like us, were fortunate enough to keep going until we crossed the finish line. All in all, a great time was had by everyone who took part.

Why did we do it?

We both agree that it had seemed a good idea at the time. I did it for the driving, and Mum did it for her “no sense of direction” navigation.

Would we do it all again?

In a heart beat!

It was a wonderful experience and we enjoyed every minute of it.

We both recommend this type of event to anyone with a passion for cars and driving. Some things just have to be done. This event is one of them. If you plan to do it, don’t, just do it otherwise you just might talk yourself out of it and miss the greatest driving adventure ever.

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The Great Escape We made it onto the Cannonball Run Europe DVD, “The Great Escape” … you will see us on there quite a few times, along with some lovely people who shared some wonderful experiences, and like us, take pride in calling ourselves “Cannonballers”. We really did roll with the Cannonball.

When I have finished project13 we will be looking to do another one of these events. I hope it will be with a group of people who are just as mad and up for it as these guys were, and with the camaraderie and spirit we shared, which will stay with me and my Mum forever.

We hope you enjoyed our story so far, to be continued in the next issue of MR2 Only Magazine.

Anthony & Maggie - Team of Car13

Mapping at Rogue Motorsport ogue Motorsport are pleased to announce the addition of engine mapping to the range of services we offer for Toyota MR2s. Our engine tuning specialist, Lyndon Sharp, has a number of years experience mapping Japanese cars in general and Toyota MR2s in particular.

R

We can map Apexi PowerFC, Link Electromotive, Haltec and AEM (Omex, GEMS) ECU's and are willing to look at other systems such as Megasquirt, Autronic, DTA and MBE on an individual basis. We’re also in the process of adding Motec to the range of supported ECUs. Initially we'll offer two services: Road Map - £249.99+vat Drive your own car on the road while your ECU is mapped to suit your own driving style. Advantages to this style of mapping include configuring your engine under actual real world conditions with unrestricted airflow rather than in a simulated environment. The only drawback is that some load cells may be unattainable, as the car must be driven within the confines of the legal speed limits! Private facilities such as the Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground may be hired at extra cost.

Power runs are available at Thor Racing for £59.99+vat.

Road Map + Dyno Map £349.99+vat The best of both worlds! Your car is mapped to your driving style on the road while travelling to the dyno facility (again, within the confines of the law). Once there the car is weighed and installed on a start-of-the-art Mustang dyno where our mapper is able to configure those load cells that couldn t be reached on public roads. Upon completion, dyno plots are produced and during the journey back to Rogue HQ the map is tweaked for cruise and economy.

Driving Roads This editions driving road is Kirkstone Pass sitting on the A592 between Ullswater and Windermere/Ambleside and is the highest road pass in the Lake District with stunning views and an exhilarating drive.

Setting off to attack the Kirkstone Pass in December probably deserves a little more respect than it would in the middle of the summer months.

However, with the air being that much colder the engine seems to respond with more urgency. It's as if the car is looking forward to this just as much as you are.

The faster you drive, the more the playstation effect begins to take hold.

The narrow road lined with dry stone walls demands complete and total attention.

You can feel yourself concentrating... your senses that much more tuned in to what your car is doing. I found subconsciously that I was leaning forward almost in my seat...!

Once the summit has been reached, I lit a cigarette and breathed in the clean fresh air 1500ft above sea level and smiled at myself at the absurd contradiction of healthy clean air and the fag in my hand...!

Back in the car, I headed onwards downhill towards Ullswater. This is an easier run as you can see the road ahead as it twists and turns down into the valley. Once you know there is no traffic heading your way, it's just you... the car... and quite frankly how much bottle you've got.

It's a heart in mouth ride from bottom to top and bottom again.

I am happy to say that yeah, I had the minerals to push my car far harder than I ever normally would.

And that I have never been so scared/exhilarated/excited in all my life...!

Written by VC (mr2oc.co.uk) VC is organising a weekend run through the lakes in September 2007. http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/ index.php\?name= Forums&file=viewtopic&t= 54135&start=0

We also offer ECU installation as well as other specialist electronic installation service and customer wiring looms.

Please call us for more details.

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A day with...

In the second of our spotlight on MR2 Specialist features we visit Kris and Lilly of KO Racing Inc, in Tualatin... KO Racing is known for it’s engineered performance parts designed and manufactured in-house by Mechanical Engineer Kris Osheim (Loki) would first like to introduce myself. My name is Kris Osheim, and I’m what one might call a car enthusiast. Ok, I might be a bit more than your average car enthusiast given the international success that the parts and products I’ve designed and produced have garnered, but I started just like every other car enthusiast where the automobile was just another hobby.

I

welding, machining, programming, strength of materials, and insight into many manufacturing processes.

Cat-back exhaust It was with these tools that I attempted and successfully created my first part – a cat-back exhaust using 4 stock turbo exhaust tips, a Camaro/Firebird style muffler, and several pieces of mandrel bent pipe. It was a little rough, but functional, and looked very good.

Sure, I always played with matchbox cars, radio controlled vehicles, and scale plastic models, etc. while growing up, but it was still somewhat surreal in 1992 when my father came home with a 1 year old, slightly used MR2 turbo as his vehicle of choice to relive his younger days again.

Loki (the Norse mythology god of mischief) He wanted a red one, but this black one was too good a deal to pass up. Given the nature of the vehicle and as its purchase was to have some fun, that car was named Loki (the Norse mythology god of mischief). Each of me, my brother, and my sister got taken for rides in it up to and beyond the posted speed limits by my mother and father so we could all appreciate the new addition to the family.

I was fairly amazed at its performance, yet I don’t know that it really turned me to MR2’s at that time; rather as the years progressed it was a constant presence in my life.

A couple of years after that, I got my first car: a 1967 Ford Galaxie convertible, which I still own. The upside of owning an old American car was that the parts were cheap (here in the US) and the systems

KO Racing was born...

readily available, sporty, and turbocharged, what else could a college student ask for?

simple enough for a 17 year old to work on with a little guidance. It was upon the purchase of this vehicle that my fate was sealed. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life in so much as I wanted cars to be a part of it.

Over the next several years I worked at several full time jobs in the high tech industry, modified my Galaxie for more power, and put myself through college on a part time schedule. After completing the necessary courses, it was time to commute to a far off college campus and attend school fulltime. I needed to drive something a little more economical than my Ford for the 90 miles to Oregon State University on a regular basis.

It just so happened that my father had recently moved up to an Mclass Mercedes and was thinking of selling the reliable MR2 (still stock, with 75,000 miles). It was

Loki

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Even at this time, I was dedicated to improving my Galaxie and simply using the MR2 as a utilitarian commuter. That was short lived, however, once I started reading more and more on www.mr2.com about the cheap and free modifications that could be done.

Turning point... MR2 enthusiast and future tuner So I installed a manual boost controller I made from Home Depot parts and a boost gauge and started dialing it up. I couldn’t believe the instant gratification that came from increasing the boost level with such a simple device.

It was a turning point and secured me as an MR2 enthusiast and future tuner. As the proceeding years progressed and my desire for more power grew, I researched the available products and was unhappy to find the cost of many of them to be well out of my reach; perhaps not so hard to believe on a student’s budget.

I had learned many useful skills during the course of my hot-rodding days and as a part of my engineering education including

After that I made an air intake, a downpipe and things really started to progress. I found that there were many others also involved with the MR2 that were in search of many of the same products I was making, thus KO Racing was born.

While still in college I was making downpipes on the weekends and attending school and doing my school work during the week.

In 2002, I graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, incorporated KO Racing, and continued to modify Loki. I worked for over 4 years out of college as a design engineer at Freightliner, LLC (North America’s largest truck manufacturer and a part of Daimler Chrysler) and worked evenings and weekends out of my garage turned fabrication shop on exhaust systems, downpipes, and later turbo kits.

Uncompromising quality and a commitment to customer satisfaction As always with the production of our parts we followed the tenants of uncompromising quality and a commitment to customer satisfaction that is unsurpassed in the industry. I’ve designed several parts in my engineering work that were assembled on heavy trucks as well as installing many parts on hot rods and imports, thus having a

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very keen understanding of what is required for a part to fit well and have appropriate tool access. I had a chance to also do some freelance fabrication work at a local tuner shop (Torque Freaks www.torquefreaks.com) on a few project cars that gave me a little wider exposure to the sport compact market in general.

I could see and examine many of the products produced by the major manufacturers and came to the conclusion that we were doing something right at KO Racing, as many of them weren’t up to the quality standards I put on my own parts. The work I did at Torque Freaks allowed me to establish a good working relationship with them to gain access to use their Dynojet dynamometer when I required its use.

Since starting KO Racing, I’ve added Hydra Nemesis engine management and a larger fuel system to Loki tuning it to 375rwhp on race gas with a stock 2nd gen cylinder head, intake manifold, exhaust manifold and throttle body.

I’ve been down the road that many other MR2 enthusiasts would like to travel in my search for power, and have encountered many of the obstacles others will also encounter. I utilize this knowledge to try to best help my customers to achieve their own goals with their cars.

My largest support and partner making it possible...my wife Lilly

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phone calls as well as having taken the steps necessary to learn to weld and makes most of the TKO dual exhausts and downpipes we ship out today.

2006, a monumental year for KO Racing...

2006 has been a monumental year for KO Racing. We moved out of the garage and into a 7500 square foot facility located in Tualatin, OR and I quit working at Freightliner and dedicated myself full time to KO Racing. This opened up a lot of opportunities that were not feasible in my suburban home location.

We have 2 lifts to allow for long term and short term projects to be worked on simultaneously, we added a CNC milling machine to our tool repertoire as well as more welders, a machine lathe, and dedicated work stations for both MIG and TIG welding.

We’ve already conducted several NA to turbo conversions on the MKII MR2 since moving in last March. I’ve installed and tuned the Hydra Nemesis on several vehicles including MR2’s and Celica Alltracs.

KO Racing Services:

• Powder coating of small parts

• Engine swaps (MK2 NA to Turbo, MK1 to MK1.5 3SGTE)

• Custom Fabrication (steel, stainless, aluminum, titanium)

We also have dabbled in diesel performance and offer a range of products for US domestic light duty truck applications.

Regardless of what other applications our product line may stretch to encompass, our hearts will always be with the MR2 and we will continue to make and invent parts to improve these wonderful automobiles.

Kris Osheim, KO Racing www.koracing.net

Our website has been under a major overhaul since late 2005 and

• MIG and TIG welding

• Suspension work

• Custom Turbocharging

• Brake upgrades

• CNC Machining

• Exhaust fabrication

• CAD services (AutoCAD, Rhino3D)

• Clutch installation

• Tuning services (Hydra Nemesis and AEM)

• Polishing SS or Aluminum parts

• Dyno testing

• Painting of parts with urethane catalyzed paints

New and innovative products in 2007 We will be introducing several new and innovative products in 2007 for the MR2, but the details of which are still not ready for release.

We hope to expand our products and product line further as 2007 rolls on to include other Toyotas including the 2JZ powered turbo Supras (we have a couple ofprototype turbo kits done so far) and the Tacoma Pickups.

New products

We have an unprecedented and unparalleled ability to be dynamic and flexible in producing whatever part necessary for a given project for the MR2.

• Routine Maintenance

KO Racing is also fully equipped to perform any service work from routine maintenance, to clutch installations, to complete engine rebuilds. Our ability to detail parts extends to show quality polishing, painting, and custom fiberglass work when necessary.

is just about ready for release, so be sure to check www.koracing.net for details regarding new products as they come out.

We also introduced new products in 2006 adding versions of our Street Brawler turbo kits using the GT30R and GT35R turbos ($2750) and a GT28RS turbo kit ($1900). We’ve brought the manufacture of our turbo kit adapters and several other small parts in house with our CNC capability.

KO Racing is largely me and my influence, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the largest supporter and partner that make it possible: my wife Lilly. She responds to many emails and

• Engine rebuilding including performance rebuilding

Mk1.5 project We are currently working on our first MK1.5 project utilizing a Gen3 engine and are of course doing our own take on this time honored conversion and will apply the same ingenuity, and commitment to quality that we have applied to all our ventures in solving the issues that arise.

• Complete restoration services • Auto transport services in our fully enclosed 26' car hauler.

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very keen understanding of what is required for a part to fit well and have appropriate tool access. I had a chance to also do some freelance fabrication work at a local tuner shop (Torque Freaks www.torquefreaks.com) on a few project cars that gave me a little wider exposure to the sport compact market in general.

I could see and examine many of the products produced by the major manufacturers and came to the conclusion that we were doing something right at KO Racing, as many of them weren’t up to the quality standards I put on my own parts. The work I did at Torque Freaks allowed me to establish a good working relationship with them to gain access to use their Dynojet dynamometer when I required its use.

Since starting KO Racing, I’ve added Hydra Nemesis engine management and a larger fuel system to Loki tuning it to 375rwhp on race gas with a stock 2nd gen cylinder head, intake manifold, exhaust manifold and throttle body.

I’ve been down the road that many other MR2 enthusiasts would like to travel in my search for power, and have encountered many of the obstacles others will also encounter. I utilize this knowledge to try to best help my customers to achieve their own goals with their cars.

My largest support and partner making it possible...my wife Lilly

23/1/07

09:04

Page 25

phone calls as well as having taken the steps necessary to learn to weld and makes most of the TKO dual exhausts and downpipes we ship out today.

2006, a monumental year for KO Racing...

2006 has been a monumental year for KO Racing. We moved out of the garage and into a 7500 square foot facility located in Tualatin, OR and I quit working at Freightliner and dedicated myself full time to KO Racing. This opened up a lot of opportunities that were not feasible in my suburban home location.

We have 2 lifts to allow for long term and short term projects to be worked on simultaneously, we added a CNC milling machine to our tool repertoire as well as more welders, a machine lathe, and dedicated work stations for both MIG and TIG welding.

We’ve already conducted several NA to turbo conversions on the MKII MR2 since moving in last March. I’ve installed and tuned the Hydra Nemesis on several vehicles including MR2’s and Celica Alltracs.

KO Racing Services:

• Powder coating of small parts

• Engine swaps (MK2 NA to Turbo, MK1 to MK1.5 3SGTE)

• Custom Fabrication (steel, stainless, aluminum, titanium)

We also have dabbled in diesel performance and offer a range of products for US domestic light duty truck applications.

Regardless of what other applications our product line may stretch to encompass, our hearts will always be with the MR2 and we will continue to make and invent parts to improve these wonderful automobiles.

Kris Osheim, KO Racing www.koracing.net

Our website has been under a major overhaul since late 2005 and

• MIG and TIG welding

• Suspension work

• Custom Turbocharging

• Brake upgrades

• CNC Machining

• Exhaust fabrication

• CAD services (AutoCAD, Rhino3D)

• Clutch installation

• Tuning services (Hydra Nemesis and AEM)

• Polishing SS or Aluminum parts

• Dyno testing

• Painting of parts with urethane catalyzed paints

New and innovative products in 2007 We will be introducing several new and innovative products in 2007 for the MR2, but the details of which are still not ready for release.

We hope to expand our products and product line further as 2007 rolls on to include other Toyotas including the 2JZ powered turbo Supras (we have a couple ofprototype turbo kits done so far) and the Tacoma Pickups.

New products

We have an unprecedented and unparalleled ability to be dynamic and flexible in producing whatever part necessary for a given project for the MR2.

• Routine Maintenance

KO Racing is also fully equipped to perform any service work from routine maintenance, to clutch installations, to complete engine rebuilds. Our ability to detail parts extends to show quality polishing, painting, and custom fiberglass work when necessary.

is just about ready for release, so be sure to check www.koracing.net for details regarding new products as they come out.

We also introduced new products in 2006 adding versions of our Street Brawler turbo kits using the GT30R and GT35R turbos ($2750) and a GT28RS turbo kit ($1900). We’ve brought the manufacture of our turbo kit adapters and several other small parts in house with our CNC capability.

KO Racing is largely me and my influence, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the largest supporter and partner that make it possible: my wife Lilly. She responds to many emails and

• Engine rebuilding including performance rebuilding

Mk1.5 project We are currently working on our first MK1.5 project utilizing a Gen3 engine and are of course doing our own take on this time honored conversion and will apply the same ingenuity, and commitment to quality that we have applied to all our ventures in solving the issues that arise.

• Complete restoration services • Auto transport services in our fully enclosed 26' car hauler.

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Feature written by Martin Weaver - martin@mr2only.com photography by quantum-capture.co.uk and Rikki Bruce ave you ever seen such a gleaming example of a Mk2? Nor me! When the photos of this car first landed in the Mr2only office we all thought that Rikki Bruce, the meticulous owner had photoshopped them – it’s that clean!! Turns out the pictures are genuine and Rikki is actually a photographer by trade with a mega eye for detail and style.

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Back in 2003 he was driving Rovers (bear with me, it gets better) but due to their, how shall we put this, reliability issues he knew it was time for a change.

As an avid cruise attendee and all round car fanatic, Rikki launched his own website & forum. The now massive strathycruise.com was born and now all he needed was a car.

Rikki had always loved the Mk2 tubby and knew exactly what he wanted when looking to buy one. “I'd never been in an Mr2, let alone driven any but wanted one because they looked so good and on paper the spec was outstanding”, Rikki recalls.

And so in early 2004 this GT-S 1994 Revision 3 3S-GTE Turbo got a new owner, and plans were already afoot for it. The test drive was slightly disappointing as the car did not live up to expectations, however this quickly changed once monies had been exchanged. I’ll let Rikki tell you in his own words. “I returned to cough up the rest of the cash and went to

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drive home with the girlfriend in the passenger seat. It must have been sitting for a while in the showroom and gone into some kind of fail safe mode because after driving for about 20 minutes it spluttered, coughed and went super-nova. Coming off a roundabout heading back to Glasgow it just went into warp speed. The girlfriend nearly soiled my new purchase and the grin I got that day took months to subside” So keen was Rikki that before the car was even home, he had stopped off to purchase and fit a dump valve, unfortunately the store did not have the correct part in stock, damn!

To make himself feel better a set of Boss XTR 18in alloys were mated to the car the very next day! As the car was already lowered when Rikki took ownership, it was looking great and only 2 days in. Next to come were a set of Lexus/Altezza lights to spruce up the rear end. Remember this is 2004 we are talking about, the lights were new on the market and complemented the white paintwork perfectly and still do.

Now, about those graphics, Rikki explains their origins. “I was going to a

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“after driving for about 20 minutes it spluttered, coughed and went super-nova. Coming off a roundabout heading back to Glasgow it just went into warp speed.

The girlfriend nearly soiled my new purchase and the grin I got that day took months to subside” big show and wanted to promote my website, so a friend who runs a graphics company took some photos of the car and produced the saltire graphics you see on it now. They were only going to be on the car for the weekend but everyone thought they looked so good I've had them on for over 2 years now!” We would have to agree, the colour & design looks great and is still fresh as the day they were applied.

Next came a suspension overhaul, the shocks the car came with had grown tired and a replacement kit was sourced. A set of KYB AGX struts along with various Whiteline goodies care of Job Gevers now take care of road-holding duties.

Lets move inside shall we, as you can see from the photos, the interior is just as stunning as the exterior. A full Leather Re-trim including Seats, Door Cards & Gear Gaitor bring the cabin bang up to date. An AutoGauge EL Boost Gauge, Forrest Pod, Type-VR Gearknob, Mountney Steering Wheel and SpeedHut Indiglow Dial Kit all work in unison to further enhance the unique look. Of course, a show car like this would not be complete without a top notch ICE system, Rikki has enlisted a JVC EXAD DVD/ Multimedia TV Screen headunit, SoundStream Amplifiers, components and a pair of 10in Subwoofers to take care of the sounds with a Playstation installed just for fun.

The appearance, chassis and interior were all now sorted, so onto the engine we go. One of the big reasons Rikki bought the car was its tuning potential. With an ideal figure of 300 bhp in his head, there weren’t many cars that could reliably deliver. A visit to Gerry Gaffney who runs Dastek UK in Fife started the ball rolling. He modified the cars ECU and installed one of their own boost control units. These 2 simple mods returned 305 bhp at the flywheel, a real testament to Gerry’s brilliant products and know-how. A NOS kit has recently been installed but is not plumbed in yet, so expect that figure to hike upwards yet again. To further aid performance, Rikki has had one of the maddest exhausts I have seen installed,

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Toyota MR2 GT-S (1994 Revision 3 - 2.0l 16v 3S-GTE Turbo) Engine Powertec 8” SL1x Stainless Steel Mesh Air Filter Samco Coolant Hose Kit Samco Turbo Hose Kit Samco Anciliary Hose Kit HKS SSQV Blow Off Valve (Colour Coded Blue) NGK Type R Plugs (2 Grades Colder For Higher Boost & NOS) Holey NOS Wet Fogger Kit (50bhp) Meercat Snakehead Downpipe (3") Meercat De-Cat Section (3") Meercat Silencer Free Stainless Duplex Exhaust (3") Dastek Unichip Piggyback Computer Dastek Electronic Boost Controller Dastek Nitrous Driver Module Berk Technologies Intercooler (Polished Alloy) Heatshielded Alloy Intercooler Pipes 8" ZIGRO Intercooler Fan Cool-It ThermoTec Exhaust Wrap On Downpipe & Exhaust Pipercross Blue Anodised Crankcase Breather Colour Coded Toyota X Strut Brace Apiro Blue Oil Cap Apiro Anodised Blue Quick Release Clamps Apiro Anodised Blue 3” Alloy Air Filter Pipework VenAIR Silicone Vacuum, Coolant, Vapour Tubing TRD 1.5kgs Radiator Cap Colour Coded Toyota Oil Catch Tank HKS Recirculating Attachment Fitted to SSQV Polished Plenum & Throttle Body Gold Plated Engine Bay Grounding Kit Pivot Raizin Voltage Stabilizer Silicone HT Insulators, Cable Sleeves & NOS Line Shields Magnetic Sump Plug Copper Contact Distributer Cap SPEC Stage3 6 Puck Paddle Clutch Suspension KYB AGX Fully Adjustable Dampers

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Whiteline Control Lowered & Stiffened Springs Whiteline Adjustable ARB Links Whiteline Adjustable Front Anti Roll Bar Whiteline Adjustable Rear Anti Roll Bar Toyota OE Front Stut Brace Toyota OE Rear X Strut Brace PowerFlex Bump Stops & Gaitors TB Developments Front & Rear Polished Alloy Braces Brakes Black Diamond Drilled & Grooved Rotors (Front & Rear) Black Diamond Predator Pads (Front & Rear) Calipers Colour Coded TopSpeed Master Cylinder Brace Wheels Boss XTR 18" x 7.5” Alloys Powder Coated White Tyres Toyo T1R 225/40/18 On Rear Federal 535 215/35/18 On Front

Windows Tinted Blue Evo Graphics Custom Saltire Decal Kit & Sponsor Banks Rear Lexus Light Clusters Meshed Front Grille PIAA High Performance Headlamp Bulbs PIAA High Performance Side Light Bulbs LED Clear Side Repeaters Interior Full Leather Retrim Including Seats, Door Cards & Gear Gaitor AutoGauge EL Boost Gauge A.Forrest Gauge Pod Type-VR Gearknob Mounteny Steering Wheel SpeedHut Indiglow Dial Kit Alloy Tax Disc Holder NOS Bottle (Anodised Blue) Fire Extingwihser Plasma Website Sticker LED Lighting Kit Twin Pre-IC / Post-IC Temperature Displays

SpecFile

Audio JVC EXAD KD-AVX2 DVD/DivX/MP3/CD Player With 3.6” Screen SoundStream 720.4 Amplifier SoundStream XSC6 Components 2x SoundStream 10" Subwoofers Components Custom Fitted To Doors With Blue Lighting Dynamat Xtreme Sound Deadening On Floor & Doors Audio Installtion by MF2K (Glasgow) Exterior Bomex Customised Front Bumper (Hole Filled) Bomex Side Skirts Erubini Rear Bumper T-Bar Panels Triple Tinted Blue Metalic

Security TOAD Ai606 Cat.1 Alarm & Immobiliser Tracker Retrieve Satelite Tracking System Hu-Sun Pager System

Thanks To: XS Motorsport, Evolution Car Security Evo Graphics, Dastek UK, WhiteLine Automotive UK KR Tuning The Bodyworx Enigma Bodytech Trim Workshops SpeedHut DCDezign AATC MF2K Meercat GTSChris, TB Developments

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a bespoke Meercat Custom system manufactured in 316 grade stainless steel, hand built with NO silencer boxes at all, just a 3" pipe from the back of the turbo out to the rear of the car now lives underneath the Mk2.

With the down pipe based on a Subaru Prodrive WRC item nicknamed the "snakehead" due to its Adder head shape and a wastegate screamer pipe it really delivers and is of supreme quality. A Berk Tech intercooler and whole host of Samco plumbing finish the engine compartment off nicely.

“I'd always wanted a car that ticked all the right boxes. It had to look good, sound good and go well. I think I've managed that by being careful about the mods I've chosen and who I've had work on the car”, Rikki tells me. Sounds like a recipe that makes a lot of sense. Lots of admirers are clearly thinking the same as our man is constantly being asked when the car will be up for sale and what is coming next. Rikki’s response is one of an obvious fanatic – “nearly 3 years in, I'm still as happy as ever with it. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have spent my Xmas holidays in the garage cleaning, polishing and waxing the engine bay and colour coding all the pipes and braces!”

Hopefully this car will be sitting pretty with Rikki for some years yet!

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Part 3 of our regular MR2 turbo tuning guide by Tim at TB Developments

Removing Restrictions ow that we’ve talked about preparing the mr2 for future power and the basics of increasing the boost pressure provided from the turbocharger we move to increasing the efficiency at which the standard equipment works, with upgrades such as performance air filters, Downpipe/Decats and Exhaust systems.

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The basic principle behind these upgrades is to remove restrictions in the intake and exhaust of gases through the engine. All engines run with restrictions from the factory, mainly for emission control restraints in the case of catalytic converters, smaller bore exhaust systems which provide improved ground clearance of the vehicle and noise suppression, restrictive baffle system silencers to lower engine noise. On the intake side of the engine resonator boxes are used to reduce the induction noise created by the engine and the sucking of the turbocharger.

Performance Filters Performance air filters usually come in 2 common types, the panel type filter and the cone type filter. The Panel filter is a direct replacement for the paper type used in OEM Toyota installations, although they use a much less restrictive filtration element to give a greater flow. With this type of filter the standard air box and intake track are retained and ideal if wanting to retain the “standard” look. With the standard layout and components retained in the intake track, the resonating chambers are still present so the loud rawing and sucking often associated with performance filters and turbocharged cars is still silenced making this the ideal upgrade for people not wanting the sounds of a performance car while still having an increase in performance.

The other type is a Cone Filter. This type is more for the performance end of the market although they are usually more expensive than the panel filter as they replace the whole intake track of the car, removing resonating boxes, air boxes and plastic ducting. Because a lot of the restrictions have been removed they offer a greater flow than the panel filter but also create more noise, so the droning induction noise is now present in the case of Naturally Aspirated MR2s and a loud sucking in the case of the turbocharged cars. With the differences

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between the revision 1/2 and 3+ turbocharged mr2’s, mainly the air volume calculation equipment affects the volume at which the turbocharger sucking can be heard. With the revision 1/2 cars the ECU uses a device called an AFM to calculate the amount of air being consumed; this is a large door that’s pulled backwards with the amount of air entering the engine, and the more air the further the door moves. This device although effective at its job is a restriction to the air being drawn into the engine but being vital equipment it can’t be removed and this large door silences the noise generated by the turbo. Because of this the sucking heard from the turbocharger is louder on the revision 3+ cars as they don’t use this AFM device and don’t suffer from the restriction or silencing effect it creates.

There are also a lot of mixed minds with owners and tuners regarding which is best for performance between the 2 types of filters, both have there pro’s and cons. The panel filter retains the standard car’s feel and sound, it’s also contained inside the OEM air box which is shielded from the heat created from the engine in the bay. Although

Now with the cone type filters you have removed the OEM intake track so this maze of pipe work is no longer present to cause a restriction, but the ducting from the side intake vent is also no longer present to ensure a cold flow of air to the engine.

Meaning some of the air being consumed by the engine will be heated air from the bay which is less dense.

Because of this you’re drawn into a catch 22 situation where the panel filter means less volume of air but more oxygen in the air than cone filter and the Cone filter means more volume but less oxygen in the air than panel. I know it chemically doesn’t work out this way but good enough for this article) My personal recommendations here are to fit a cone type filter, Apexi, HKS, Blitz or other well known brand is recommended with the use of a cold air duct from the side vent to provide a cold air feed. This enables the best of both worlds, a free flowing filter element and a cold air supply.

This is mainly advised on N/A mr2’s as with the case of turbocharged cars once the air enters the turbocharger its superheated way above the level of the air in the engine bay, so the cooling of this air is taken care of via an intercooler, although we’ll discuss this in future instalments of tune 2.

Removing restrictions The next step is to remove restrictions in the exhaust side of the engine. Removing restrictions here involves replacing the standard exhaust system for something with a larger bore, freer flowing silencers/mufflers and removal of the catalytic converter.

Decat and downpipe

because it’s inside the air box its more restrictive for the engine/turbocharger to pull air through this filter as it also has to pull the air through a maze of pipe work, although this pipe work ensures air is drawn from close to the side intake vent so minimising the amount of heat soaked air entering the engine. As I’m sure many of our readers know that cold air means more oxygen molecules per mass (denser air) equalling more power, so colder the better.

The Decat/Downpipe is the part of the exhaust system which connects the turbocharger to the rest of the exhaust system which runs under the oil pan, on the turbo mr2 as the exhaust pipe runs down the back of the engine this is where Toyota have housed the catalytic converter. In the case of the N/A mr2’s the catalytic converter is housed in the main exhaust section before the main silencer just after the exhaust passes over the chassis cross member.

The purpose of this device is to turn exhaust emissions that are harmful to the environment into less pollutant gases.

Although great for saving the planet they do little for the efficiency of a performance engine. Certain legislations allow the catalytic converter to be removed on our cars, with turbocharged mr2’s because there is a non-UK equivalent car a loop hole

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RUN BY MR2 ENTHUSIASTS FOR MR2 ENTHUSIASTS

has formed where if the car was registered pre July 1995 the cats can be removed with no problems come MOT time.

Decat pipes for the N/A MR2s are fairly straight forward, there a small length of pipe around 12” in length with 2 matching flanges at either end to replace the section of exhaust the catalytic converter previously occupied, installation is easy and not very time consuming.

In the case of the turbocharged cars there it’s a little different; because of the location of the catalytic converter it makes replacement a few hour job. Decatting a turbo can be done in 2 ways, A full downpipe replacement or a process of modification of the standard item often referred to as “gutting” the cat.

The 2 main restrictions in the turbo downpipe section are the catalytic converter and the 90 degree elbow at the top of the downpipe which connects to the turbocharger. When gutting the cat the catalytic converter is removed from there car and separated. This allows you to remove the catalytic element from its housing. This can then be reassembled and refitted to the car. The restrictive element has now been removed but the other restrictive concerns, like the elbow for example are still in place. Also because the catalytic element has a far larger diameter than the standard exhaust diameter this leaves a large expanse in the downpipe, the gases will leave the turbo through a restrictive elbow, massively expand when they reach the expanse where the cat used to occupy and then be forced back into a 2.5” diameter exhaust pipe to travel the rest of the journey out the exhaust. The other problem with having a constantly expanding and contracting exhaust diameter is it causes the exhaust gases to “tumble” and ”hurricane” through the pipe which again causes even further restrictions to its flow.

Gutting the cat will give an improvement in power and turbocharger response but is far from ideal, but this modification is free Performance downpipe The other option is a performance downpipe, these are the ideal solution to the problem. A well designed downpipe will have a subtle transition from the housing where it connects to the turbocharger to promote flow, the elbow will now be a constant diameter and a progressive curve and the whole downpipes construction will be made using the same diameter material, 3” being ideal. Before Rushing out and purchasing any downpipe that takes your fancy I recommend you do your home work into the product, there are many different companies all over the world making these items. Some excellent others not worth the

www.tbdevelopments.com

metal they’re constructed from. Ideal qualities to look for are; materials the downpipe is constructed from, mild steel and stainless steel are common favourites but also the grade of stainless steel that’s used. The design of the pipe in general whether it fits perfectly or interferes with factory items like aircon. The other design to look for is; wastegate clearances as some downpipes on the market are known for restricting wastegate operation causing overboost and poor boost control. These types should be avoided despite their often cheaper price.

Free flowing exhaust systems The last section here is free flowing exhaust systems. In the case of the standard item they were designed for acceptable flow while also conforming to tight manufacturer’s noise restraints, Because of this you have an exhaust which is acceptable in standard form but less that ideal for performance applications.

Upgrades in these systems can see increases in boost pressure and a great responsive feel from the engine. Many aftermarket exhaust systems come with an

are involved with excessively noisy exhausts.

With the increase in efficiency at which the engine can breathe boost pressure can again be increased to take advantage of this.

Rev 1/2 Turbo 1.0 Bar increased pipe diameter to create less restrictive gas flow resulting in less back pressure on the engine, with the main improvement of free flowing silencers.

These operate very similarly to those found on a gun. A long perforated tube surrounded by sound absorbing materials; as the gases flow through the silencer along the perforated tube the sound radiates outwards which passes through the perforations in the tube and absorbed by the surrounding material. This allows the gases to travel through the silencer with little restriction while still removing a huge amount of sound created by the engine.

Performance exhaust systems come in all different sizes and styles with different manufactures exhaust creating a different engine tone, selection should be made on quality just like with the downpipes but also your own personal taste. Remember not all performance exhausts produce the same noise volume so certain exhausts will attract more attention than others. This can either be a benefit when seeking that race car sound or a nuisance when authorities

Rev 3+ Turbo

1.2 Bar

Next months instalment we’ll talk about the effects of performance intercoolers/chargecoolers and water injection.

Tim - TB Developments www.tbdevelopments.com

To advertise your MR2 specialist parts or services please email: mr2only.advertising@ntlworld.com to enquire about our current special offers and advertising rates If you have an interesting MR2 or an event or story to feature email:andyb@mr2only.com MR2 Only

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30 plus Roadsters, wheel alignments checks, noise tests, Dyno power runs, SP wheel fitments, laps around Silv

hen we were kindly invited by Mark Jones of the MR2-ROC Roadster Owners Club after reading the days itinerary we accepted with much excitement

cram in four original wheels in their cars for the journey home.

With the added attraction of a lap of Silverstone race circuit in Silverstone Performances latest creation, their SP240 that was now a little more than a TTET and infact a Stage II 240bhp beast, how could we say no?

We were treated to a very wet lap of Silverstone circuit by director and racing driver Phil of Silverstone Performance, sitting in the passenger seat I must admit that I wasnt relishing the thought of fast lap of the circuit in the wet, but after a couple of corners I felt at ease with the remarkable grip of the SP240, its incredible torque and the skill of the driver, at one point we even embarrassed a Noble. For a more detailed review of the stage II SP240 read on its towards the back of this issue.

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Forum Name: Leggy Real Name: Alex Dove Approx mileage: 38k Power Mods: Custom twin exhaust, Che Manifold, Panel Filter, Markiii Inlet Expected power: 140bhp Flywheel Expected torque: unknown Power on the day: 146bhp Torque on the day: 130

Forum Name: FGRob Real Name: Rob Stanyer Approx mileage: 6900 Power Mods: Che Manifold, Blue Flame Exhaust, K&N Power Filter Expected power: unknown Expected torque: unknown Power on the day: 147bhp Torque on the day: 128

Arriving early doors in Northampton based Silverstone Performance, within the complex of Silverstone Circuit we were eagerly greeted by Mark and introduced to some of the other guys, some 30 plus MR2-ROC members who were by now already taking advantage of wheel alignment checks, SPs group buy deal on their alloy wheels, quite amusing to see some of the guys having their wheels fitted and trying to

Forum Name: Heathstimpson Real Name: Heath Stimpson Approx mileage: 31.5k Power Mods: Unichip, TRD Panel Filter, H&S Inlet, H&S Twin Exhaust Expected power: 150bhp Expected torque: 135 Power on the day: 144bhp Torque on the day: 144

It was good to see so many different variants of the Roadster from bone stock, mildy inducted to some very impressive 260+bhp turbo conversions from C2 Power, PE, Hass and TTE.

We would like to thank the MR2ROC for inviting us along to this event and look forward to more of the same this year.

Forum Name: Loadsawine Real Name: Nigel Eccles Approx mileage: 17k Power Mods: PE Turbo, MWR Charge Cooler, Top Secret De-cat Pipe, TTE Exhaust Expected power: 180bhp Expected torque: 170 Power on the day: 199bhp Torque on the day: 185

Forum Name: Chris Real Name: Chris Roy Approx mileage: 36k Power Mods: Remus Dual Exhaust and Unichip Expected power: 140bhp Expected torque: 130 Power on the day: 144bhp Torque on the day: 130

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Silverstone in Silverstone Performances latest Stage II 240bhp TTET and most importantly bacon butties! its...

Photography by Luke Reynolds, Rich Lee, Andy Bishop & Steve Bishop

Forum Name: Philster_D Real Name: Phil Dittum Approx mileage: 30k Power Mods: C2 Power Turbo Kit Expected power: 220bhp Expected torque: 210 Power on the day: 269bhp Torque on the day: 246

Forum Name: Gazz Real Name: Gary Bacon Approx mileage: 37k Power Mods: TTE Turbo, TTE Exhaust, Markiii Inlet Pipe Expected power: 180bhp at wheels Expected torque: unknown Power on the day: 200bhp Torque on the day: 211

Forum Name: Spit Real Name: Ste Pitney Approx mileage: Unknown Power Mods: C2 Power Turbo Kit, Exeddy Clutch Expected power: Unknown Expected torque: Unknown Power on the day: 267bhp Torque on the day: 230

Forum Name: Bossman23780 Real Name: Chris Dargavel Approx mileage: 43k Power Mods: TTE Turbo, TRD Lightweight Flywheel, TRD LSD, C-One Drive Train Pulley Expected power: 175bhp Expected torque: 160 Power on the day: 184bhp Torque on the day: 216

Forum Name: markiii Real Name: Mark Jones Approx mileage: 40k Power Mods: Hass Stage II Turbo Conversion (GT28R), Custom Exhaust, Apexi Intake, RPS Streetmax Clutch and Flywheel Exp. power: 200bhp wheels 10psi Expected torque: Unknown Power on the day: 264bhp Torque on the day: 252

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i Guys, MR2 Only kindly asked me to sum up the day as it was my baby to organise. My name is Mark Jones and I’m one of the current 5 lucky Committee members who have both the privilege and the pain of running MR2ROC at this moment in time.

Speaking personally I’ve been a member of the club since 2001 and the Committee since early 2003.

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MR2ROC have been in close discussions with TTE about the TTE Roadster Turbo conversion since 2003 when we were invited to be their guests at the Essen Motorshow for the prototypes public

Forum Name: SimonP Real Name: Simon Prowse Approx mileage: 25k Power Mods: Markiii, TTE Exhaust, TRD Filter, No Pre-cats, Unichip (Millways) Expected power: 145/150bhp Expected torque: unknown Power on the day: 145bhp Torque on the day: 129

Forum Name: Turbosteve Real Name: Steve Aland Approx mileage: 32k Power Mods: Hass Turbo Expected power: 220bhp Expected torque: unknown Power on the day: 214bhp Torque on the day: 214

debut. So it was only natural that when TMC decided against offering the kit through Toyota main dealers and Silverstone Performance were appointed as an official importer for the UK that they become one of our affiliates.

The idea for this event started from a conversation between Matt at SP and myself, principally about the fact that most people are hesitant to spend serious money on wheel upgrades without knowing both how it will affect their cars handling and looks. Seeing as how the SP wheel upgrade package is one of the few for the Roadster which provides not only staggered tyre widths but staggered rim widths, without going to the expense of some of the big Japanese manufacturers, I suggested we organise a day where we could get everyone together to drive the SP demonstrator and see for themselves.

The obvious added benefit being

Forum Name: Evileye Real Name: Phil Martin Approx mileage: 9k Power Mods: Blitz SUS Induction Kit Expected power: Unknown Expected torque: Unknown Power on the day: 138bhp Torque on the day: 125

that they also got to try the TTE Turbo.

Simple enough, however one good idea gave birth to several more and we soon had a plan to combine this with several others. SP have recently moved premises and are now next door to WRC at Silverstone who hosted our previous Dyno day last year, so it seemed logical to combine the two events. All set for a good event SP went one better and suggested free alignment checks on the day, food, and the icing on the cake that we arrange passenger laps around Silverstone with Phil, SPs “almost tame” Racing Driver in the SP demonstrator, who could resist? The MR2ROC Dyno Extravaganza was born!

Not just the standard TTE Turbo mind, but one with SPs upgrade package as well. I’m sure there will be more on that either in this edition or if not soon. Unsurprisingly Steve and the guys at MR2 Only didn’t take much persuading to cover the event.

With details finalised the date was set for the Saturday November and 25t by the Monday of that week we had a sensational 40 members and at least 26 Roadsters with their names down to attend.

At this point I should probably thank those people from ROC who spent the day with minimal personal benefit organising everyone, Dan Morgan, Stu Evans, Liz Myers, Ste Pitney, Heath Stimpson, and Sean Lacey. Torrential rain was our enemy on the day and with several spills on the circuit, caused havoc with my schedule. Without these guys things

Forum Name: Real Name: Bill Lang Approx mileage: 25k Power Mods: TTE TURBO Expected power: 180bhp Expected torque: 188 Power on the day: 178bhp Torque on the day: 215

would not have gone smoothly.

But smoothly it did with 13 Alignment checks performed, 18 exhaust noise levels monitored, 16 people getting out in the SP TTET demonstrator and 18 Dyno runs completed. The latter even including a Porsche Boxster S, Vauxhall VXR220 and TVR Grifith. That’s one of the things I love about ROC once you’re a part of it many of our members still stay around even when they change their cars!

So what else? I had a couple of personal goals for the day, to get as many different modified roadsters as possible there for the day, and I think we managed that pretty well.

In this article you’ll have seen all but 3 of the forced induction kits for the roadster that are available and a number of people with modified exhausts and unichips etc, complete with noise levels, so that should give food for thought to those that see the Roadster as underpowered from the factory. (And Yes I agree it is). I also wanted to show people just how much fun they can have on track, historically our members haven’t been as enthusiastic about track days as the MK1 and MK2 crowd; however a number of people expressed the desire to do so following their laps of Silverstone, another objective met. And lastly to persuade people just how good the Roadster is when you stick a dirty great turbo on it, I met that one as well, with at least 3 more people now contemplating how to raise the funds.

And finally another round of thank yous are in order.

Forum Name: Muffdan Real Name: Jason Fielder Approx mileage: 79k Power Mods: CHE Header Expected power: 138bhp Expected torque: Unknown Power on the day: 106bhp Torque on the day: 114 (sickly car)

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To all of our members for turning out in weather that that was frankly nuts, even from as far a field as Cardiff and Newcastle, you made it worth the effort, to WRC for the use of their workshop and Dyno Facilities on the Day, to MR2 Only for covering the event, and to Matt, Chris, and Phil at SP for hosting and feeding us. And of course to my other half Chris, if she’s reading for allowing me out for the entire weekend bar 3 hours to go play at one petrolhead event after another.

Thanks for reading and feel free to come see us at www.mr2roc.org Mark.

We noise tested 18 cars of which 16 were Roadsters and 1 TVR Griff and 1 VXR220 Results as follows RT Biscuit Spit SimonP Leggy FGRob Roger TommyD Heathstimpson Loadsawine Chris Gazz Bossman Markiii Kanujunkie Philster D Turbo Steve Dan VXR220 Sean TVR Griff

H&S Catback Exhaust C2 Turbo kit including exhaust TTE Catback exhaust Custom Twin Catback Blue Flame Catback, Che Header No Precats. H&S Catback Stock no Precats, H&S Catback PE Turbo, decat pipe, TTE Catback Remus Catback, TTE Turbo, TTE Catback TTE Turbo, stock exhaust Hass Stage 2 Turbo, custom twin full exhaust C2 Turbo Kit (Rev2) including exhaust, modified side exit C2 Turbo Kit (Rev2) including exhaust Hass Stage 2 Turbo with Hass exhaust stock stock, sleeved silencers

90db 93db 91db 92db 91db 91db 91db 90db 93db 89db 92db 91db 92db 91db 94db 97db 86db 108db

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Rusty Mk1 MR2 Sills?

MK1 MR2 SKIN SILLS 50 inch for 1984/89 £50.00 each side, plus £12 UK delivery.

ver Can deli e, anywher es s pric oversea le. negotiab

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42 MR2 Only

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MR2 Challenge 2007 aving had its best season yet last year in terms of both number of drivers [40 plus] and competitiveness, and possibly its most talented winner ever in Sam MaherLoughnan this year looks all set to be another bumper one for mr2 racing.

H

With only invitation class status in 2005 and now having had their first year with a class of their own the mk2 contingent seems destined to grow significantly in 2007 All be it with new competitors still being attracted to the mk1 its this model that will still dominate in the coming season. Due to the point system benefiting the larger class its likely the overall champion will again , possibly for the last time, be pedalling a mk1.

Also of interest for this season is an influx of college entries competing for the “Students Trophy” where colleges and universities who run motorsport or motor engineering courses compete not just overall in the championship but against each other for the kudos of top college.

This is an initiative that was tried last term without attracting interest but has now we understand five teams are coming out to play and is a great opportunity for students to put into practice what they learn in the classroom.

A number of technical changes are also afoot for the coming season.

The mk2 cars will have their minimum weight increased [set

TOYOTA MR2 CHALLENGE 2007 Snetterton Cadwell Park Donnington Mallory Brands Hatch Silverstone Int Snetterton Mallory

April 6 &/or 7 May 6 &/or 7 June 2 June 24 July 28 or 29 Aug 25 or 26 Sept 28 &/or 29 October 14

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750mc 750mc CSCC CSCC 750MC CSCC 750MC 750MC

All rounds to count. last year on a suck it and see principle] to make the differential in weight between the two models closer to their production specs. In addition a change of tyre from Yokohama to Falken has been put in place partially forced on the series by lack of available Yoko rubber but also to negate the extra benefit the mk2 has using stickier more expensive tyres than the mk1’s. Both moves should ensure the close competition that makes mr2 racing so watchable and enjoyable for both spectators and drivers alike.

If you’re interested in joining in the fun then be quick the season kicks off in April though you can join in at any time you choose. For as

Contact Information.

KPR.Racing Contact: Kevin Poole 07886 503784 or 0800 4584912 • Race equipment/car parts for DIY Prep plus Race Clothing • Race Hire one off races or full season • Race Preparation MK1 & 2 Cars for Sale.

• Can offer track side support your own car • also A.R.D.S. Instructor Race tuition

Rogue Motorsport

little as £2250 you can pick up a used car ready to race, build one yourself or hire one on a race by race or full season basis from one of the two race teams. The teams also offer race tuition and cars for track days if you just want to have a go with your friends.

Steve Vince Contact 01646 601908 or email stephenzebra@aol.com see www.mr2racing.com

Contact: Patrick Mortel 01676 530222 • MK2 Race Cars for Sale & plus Race Hire • Ran this years class winning Mk2

Dragon Autosports UK Ltd Contact: Steve Vince 01646 601908 • Series co-ordinator for regulations/ entry forms • Falken Tyre supplier [ tyres must be bought from here] • Roll Cages MK1 & MK2 £495 [ must be bought through here]

Race License RAC/MSA: 01753 765000 CHECK OUT THE WEB SITE WWW.MR2racing.com FOR MORE DETAILS

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Pete Mason’s 252bhp Supercharger Photos by Martin Vincent and reprinted by kind permission of Japanese Performance magazine

his beautiful supercharged Mk1 first landed on English soil back in June 2004. Its new owner had eagerly awaited its arrival for 7 months –

T

but boy was it worth the wait!

That owner is Pete Mason, a 24-year-old electrical engineer.

He’s always loved cars and the MR2 in particular, “this is my 4th mr2, my 1st was a MK1 N/A in white, followed by a Mk2 N/A but this wasn’t for me, I preferred the drive of the MK1” he tells.

on it today. Pete had a work colleague make up a de-cat pipe for the Mk1 which transformed the sound of the exhaust but didn’t satisfy his growing greed for more power!

Turning point Then came the turning point. Pete was invited to the NEC Classic car show by the Mk1 owners club and while there he was offered a crazy amount of cash for his car. He declined of course but on reflection realises this would have saved him a bloody fortune if he had let it go back then! It was a comment made by an onlooker that raised the bar for Pete though, “you won’t

The car was ordered by Pete through Julian at Japanese direct imports originally and arrived looking brilliant for its age but did have a few niggling problems. One of which was a coolant problem where the car kept using water but the leak was impossible to find and just needed a regular top up. The OZ wheels it landed with were awful too, a quick negotiate with one of the guys on the MR2 racing scene and they were switched with the Fox Evo 5’s you see

“you won’t see a Supercharged Mk1 break 200bhp” his reaction was simple “That was the start, I vowed to break it” Written by Martin Weaver martin@mr2only.com 44 MR2 Only

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see a Supercharged Mk1 break 200bhp” his reaction was simple “That was the start, I vowed to break it” he remembers.

Christmas came and went. Unfortunately the coolant problem started to get increasingly worse and eventually got to the point where the car started to cut out.

Bad news It was limped up to Japanese car tuner Trac-Art in Ashford for investigation. The news was not good, the head gasket had gone and the engine was in need of some TLC. Balanced and blueprinted Pete had the intention of simply

getting the car repaired and back on the road as soon as possible, but as ever this plan took a slightly different route.

Forged pistons were suggested as an option and it spiralled from there on into the monster you see today. Zeca from Tracart spent a lot of time investigating the engine and any faults such as the air intake route going all the way round the bay before going into the filter, a simple area for improvement that has significant effect. A large crank pulley was added to up the boost, 3.5mm oversized valves come from the MR2 turbo and the exhaust valves are now the same size as the inlet giving maximum flow.

Oversize boost piping, a pulsar GTI-R top mounted intercooler and full custom power speed exhaust combine with the extra boost, low comp pistons & larger inlet valves to massively increase the engines breathing capacity and as a result its power output.

The whole lot is balanced and blueprinted to boot!

“I got it back just a few days before Christmas in 2005 and it was not running right but this was because I did not have the money to fit a nice ecu. It was going to have to go on the rollers in the new year to make sure it was safe to run but Zeca said even if it was safe the engine was so strangled by the ecu it would not run right and never perform to its full potential” Pete recalls Time for a rolling road session After the longest month ever of running the car in with its new powerplant, 1000 miles eventually clocked up on the dash, and with that it was promptly booked in for a rolling road session.

With just one run planned to preserve the engine it did give some detonation under load at low revs, but it

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still recorded 167.5hp at the wheels and 223hp at the flywheel – very impressive with the detonation problem and no mappable ecu.

Cross between motorbike and pure race engine With another bout of frantic saving complete, at last the time came to add that all important ecu to the Mk1. An Omex 600 unit was chosen for the job allowing the removal of the fragile air mass meter and replacement of the antique distributor with a more modern coil pack. Once fitted and set up the car was successfully mapped on the road and the engine has since been described as a cross between a motorbike engine because of how freely it revs and a pure race engine! Now you can’t get much better than that really can you? Oh yes you can, it’s in a mid engined car too!

Pete remembers the day he finally took the reigns, “As soon as I drove it I was amazed the power a little car could give and noise!

I just love the noise!”

The car is now expected to easily record 200hp + at the wheels at its next power run and Pete has had some interesting tussles out on the road with the little Mk1, “my favourite was with a new M3, as I pulled away from it the look on the blokes face was priceless, the engine builder has a 480hp Supra and even that struggles to keep up with the MR2 right up to 130mph, fantastic” So when you are next sat at the traffic lights and you see a little white sports car pull up next to you, just make sure its not Pete in the UK’s most powerful supercharged Mk1 won’t you!!

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“As soon as I drove it I was amazed the power a little car could give and noise! I just love the noise!�

Photos by Martin Vincent and reprinted by kind permission of Japanese Performance magazine

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JAPANESE & EUROPEAN PERFORMANCE CAR SPECIALISTS

UK's Fastest 1.6 SpecFile supercharged MK1 MR2

HKS • BLITZ • JUN • TRUST • GREDDY • APEXi • NOS • MOTEX • PIPER CAMS K.A.D. • CUSCO • AP RACING • GOODRIDGE • AEM • HELIX

• ENGINE TUNING • ECU MAPPING • SERVICING • SUSPENSION TUNING • BRAKE SYSTEMS • ENGINE CONVERSIONS • METAL FABRICATION • CUSTOM EXHAUST SYSTEMS • MAIL ORDER SERVICE • WINDOW TINTING • I.C.E INSTALLATIONS • NITROUS SYSTEMS

HOME OF THE 252 BHP SUPERCHARGER

Email: sales@trac-art.com

Tel: 01233 63 63 93 Fax: 01233 645964 Unit 3 • Bridge Road Business Centre • Ashford • Kent • TN23 1BB

NEW MAIL ORDER SERVICE

48 MR2 Only

ENGINE Omex 600 ECU Custom Samco Hoses And Clips CM Clutch CM Billet Aluminum Flywheel Forged Pistons Cranshaft Pulley Kit 0.8mm Cometic Head Gasket ARP Uprated Cylinder Head Stud Kit ARP Uprated Conrod Bolt Kit ARP Uprated Main Bearing Bolt Kit Magnecor Ignition Lead Kit Piper Cams Vernier Cam Gears HKS Valve Spring Set Trac-Art Race Spec Head with 4mm oversize valves Trac-Art lightened and balanced crank Trac-Art Custom full Stainless Steel Manifold + System Trac-Art Custom Intercooler Trac-Art Custom Intercooler Pipework Various Trac-Art Polished Engine Components Blitz Sus Power Air Filter Modified By Trac-Art Uprated Con Rods Uprated Injectors

Mocal Oil Catch Tank Trac-Art Battery Relocation FSE Fuel Pressure Regulator 90% of Brackets and Mounts Custom Built By Trac-Art And Lots More Secrets...

EXTERIOR Koin Dampers Eibach Springs Black Diamond Disks And Pads Goodridge Braided Lines TRD Top Mounts INTERIOR Electric Supra Seats Defi Gauges And Pods Momo Steering Wheel Momo Foot Pedals Momo Gear Knob Petes MR2 was also snapped up for a 5 Page centre page article in Jap Performance (May 2006).

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see a Supercharged Mk1 break 200bhp” his reaction was simple “That was the start, I vowed to break it” he remembers.

Christmas came and went. Unfortunately the coolant problem started to get increasingly worse and eventually got to the point where the car started to cut out.

Bad news It was limped up to Japanese car tuner Trac-Art in Ashford for investigation. The news was not good, the head gasket had gone and the engine was in need of some TLC. Balanced and blueprinted Pete had the intention of simply

getting the car repaired and back on the road as soon as possible, but as ever this plan took a slightly different route.

Forged pistons were suggested as an option and it spiralled from there on into the monster you see today. Zeca from Tracart spent a lot of time investigating the engine and any faults such as the air intake route going all the way round the bay before going into the filter, a simple area for improvement that has significant effect. A large crank pulley was added to up the boost, 3.5mm oversized valves come from the MR2 turbo and the exhaust valves are now the same size as the inlet giving maximum flow.

Oversize boost piping, a pulsar GTI-R top mounted intercooler and full custom power speed exhaust combine with the extra boost, low comp pistons & larger inlet valves to massively increase the engines breathing capacity and as a result its power output.

The whole lot is balanced and blueprinted to boot!

“I got it back just a few days before Christmas in 2005 and it was not running right but this was because I did not have the money to fit a nice ecu. It was going to have to go on the rollers in the new year to make sure it was safe to run but Zeca said even if it was safe the engine was so strangled by the ecu it would not run right and never perform to its full potential” Pete recalls Time for a rolling road session After the longest month ever of running the car in with its new powerplant, 1000 miles eventually clocked up on the dash, and with that it was promptly booked in for a rolling road session.

With just one run planned to preserve the engine it did give some detonation under load at low revs, but it

MR2 Only 45

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Page 46

still recorded 167.5hp at the wheels and 223hp at the flywheel – very impressive with the detonation problem and no mappable ecu.

Cross between motorbike and pure race engine With another bout of frantic saving complete, at last the time came to add that all important ecu to the Mk1. An Omex 600 unit was chosen for the job allowing the removal of the fragile air mass meter and replacement of the antique distributor with a more modern coil pack. Once fitted and set up the car was successfully mapped on the road and the engine has since been described as a cross between a motorbike engine because of how freely it revs and a pure race engine! Now you can’t get much better than that really can you? Oh yes you can, it’s in a mid engined car too!

Pete remembers the day he finally took the reigns, “As soon as I drove it I was amazed the power a little car could give and noise!

I just love the noise!”

The car is now expected to easily record 200hp + at the wheels at its next power run and Pete has had some interesting tussles out on the road with the little Mk1, “my favourite was with a new M3, as I pulled away from it the look on the blokes face was priceless, the engine builder has a 480hp Supra and even that struggles to keep up with the MR2 right up to 130mph, fantastic” So when you are next sat at the traffic lights and you see a little white sports car pull up next to you, just make sure its not Pete in the UK’s most powerful supercharged Mk1 won’t you!!

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“As soon as I drove it I was amazed the power a little car could give and noise! I just love the noise!�

Photos by Martin Vincent and reprinted by kind permission of Japanese Performance magazine

MR2 Only

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JAPANESE & EUROPEAN PERFORMANCE CAR SPECIALISTS

UK's Fastest 1.6 SpecFile supercharged MK1 MR2

HKS • BLITZ • JUN • TRUST • GREDDY • APEXi • NOS • MOTEX • PIPER CAMS K.A.D. • CUSCO • AP RACING • GOODRIDGE • AEM • HELIX

• ENGINE TUNING • ECU MAPPING • SERVICING • SUSPENSION TUNING • BRAKE SYSTEMS • ENGINE CONVERSIONS • METAL FABRICATION • CUSTOM EXHAUST SYSTEMS • MAIL ORDER SERVICE • WINDOW TINTING • I.C.E INSTALLATIONS • NITROUS SYSTEMS

HOME OF THE 252 BHP SUPERCHARGER

Email: sales@trac-art.com

Tel: 01233 63 63 93 Fax: 01233 645964 Unit 3 • Bridge Road Business Centre • Ashford • Kent • TN23 1BB

NEW MAIL ORDER SERVICE

48 MR2 Only

ENGINE Omex 600 ECU Custom Samco Hoses And Clips CM Clutch CM Billet Aluminum Flywheel Forged Pistons Cranshaft Pulley Kit 0.8mm Cometic Head Gasket ARP Uprated Cylinder Head Stud Kit ARP Uprated Conrod Bolt Kit ARP Uprated Main Bearing Bolt Kit Magnecor Ignition Lead Kit Piper Cams Vernier Cam Gears HKS Valve Spring Set Trac-Art Race Spec Head with 4mm oversize valves Trac-Art lightened and balanced crank Trac-Art Custom full Stainless Steel Manifold + System Trac-Art Custom Intercooler Trac-Art Custom Intercooler Pipework Various Trac-Art Polished Engine Components Blitz Sus Power Air Filter Modified By Trac-Art Uprated Con Rods Uprated Injectors

Mocal Oil Catch Tank Trac-Art Battery Relocation FSE Fuel Pressure Regulator 90% of Brackets and Mounts Custom Built By Trac-Art And Lots More Secrets...

EXTERIOR Koin Dampers Eibach Springs Black Diamond Disks And Pads Goodridge Braided Lines TRD Top Mounts INTERIOR Electric Supra Seats Defi Gauges And Pods Momo Steering Wheel Momo Foot Pedals Momo Gear Knob Petes MR2 was also snapped up for a 5 Page centre page article in Jap Performance (May 2006).

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Kay pictured with the first of her ‘little red sports cars’ a Fiat X1/9

A memory lives on...

Written by Steve Bishop - steveb@mr2only.com In January 2006 Kay Gaffney tragically died in a house fire, an extremely lively lady who had recently retired as Head of Great Tew primary School in Oxfordshire.

Brian entrusted the project with Mark and Lawrence at MV Classic Cars in Droxford near Southampton, who specialise in restoration projects. http://www.mveclassiccars.co.uk

Kay was very much a glamourous granny who was very proud of her “little red sports car” which she had owned for over 16 years, a 1987 Mk1 MR2 T/bar which she used to drive the 12 mile return journey from Banbury to Great Tew every school day, which was parked pride of place outside the school.

As you can see from the photos this is a very extensive restoration of this family heirloom, with rust taking over and eating away at the usual areas of the 19 year old car and with wear and tear taking its toll, the car has been fully stripped with new replacement panels expertly fitted including new complete rear quarter panels as pictured.

“Maria and her mum Kay were very close and she played a massive part in our family and the local community with so many people being touched by her grace and understanding. She will be terribly missed by all who new her” said Brian, Marias husband.

As you will agree restoring her much loved “little red sports car” is just a small way of keeping the memory of Kay alive.

For a while the car was kept at a relative’s house, until her daughter Maria and husband Brian decided it would be a fitting tribute to restore the MR2, which was now in quite a bad way, to its former glory and after much research

It is intended to keep the car as original as possible, with the outcome being a car that is better than show condition. Maria has already shown an interest in joining an MR2 owners club and together they are planning to attend some meets in the summer of next year.

We will be featuring this wonderful restoration project as it progresses in a forthcoming issue of MR2 Only and we look forward to speaking to Mark and Lawrence at MV Classics for more details about the extent of the work carried out, this is certainly one MR2 we will be keeping a look out for at this years meets and shows.

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AlterN8ive Ending...

Written by Andy Bishop - andyb@mr2only.com

adly 23-year-yold Nate Hartsock from Maryland, USA’s love affair with this stunning 252rwp MR2 Turbo is coming to and end, the car is for sale and it looks like a buyer has been found, We’ve spotted this awesome subtle styled street racer on the boards for some time, and felt we must feature it before Nate parts company with it... Let’s go back almost 3 years to beginning of this story.

S

Whilst at basic training for the United States Air Force and at the time owning a 96 VW GTi Nate spotted an MR2 owned by a buddy and it got him interested in the Toyota midship runabout. Four months later Nate brought a standard car apart from a turbo timer with 67k miles on the clock and in beautiful condition.

“When I first bought the car I kept telling myself that I wasn’t going to mess with it” Say’s Nate “But a month later I installed a subwoofer and

50 MR2 Only

amp” This was the start of things to come. The first big thing to change on the car was the suspension and wheels, Bilstein Struts and Tein S Tech springs lower the car nicely and a set of 17” ADR Fuel Wheels compliment the MR2 perfectly. Things stayed this way for around 6 months but the bug bit Nate hard and the modifications escalated into what you see gracing these pages today.

Subtle styling Changes to the bodywork were not planned either, Nate wanted to keep

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ATS Racings CT27 turbo teamed up with a Greddy side mount intercooler and Berk full 3in stainless steel exhaust boost the standard power to an impressive 252 rwhp of t he

the exterior looking stock, but that idea was short lived. After fitting a Greddy front lip he soon realised it looked out of place with no side skirts.

Nate tells us “I picked up a set of Toms side skirts and Aeroware rear add on’s to finish off the look” “Since the pictures I have swapped out the toms sides for Border sides with Aeroware sidevents pictured on the next page.”

Impressive 252rwp

p

With the car looking so good, it needed some serious engine modifications to match. An ATS Racings CT27 turbo teamed up with a Greddy side mount intercooler and Berk full 3 in stainless steel exhaust boost the standard power to an impressive 252 rwhp, a JDM LSD put this power down on the road nicely. The engine is kept cool by a host of Spal

cooling fans with one mounted to the intercooler and one on the engine lid.

Moving inside a Lotek pillar replacement pod hosts a set Defi gauges which help Nate to keep an eye on what’s going on with the engine, including an impressive heads up display. To brighten things up a bit Nate covered the original door inserts with red velvet and fitted a red Redline gear gaiter.

And for the future?

So what does the future hold for Nate and his MR2? Unfortunately there are no future plans right now, the car is for sale and Nate believes a buyer has been found. He plans on staying active on mr2board.com, and if the opportunity arises he will possibly build a V6 MR2. Nate reveals “I had

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loads of fun building the car and MR2 owners are the greatest, I’d like to thank John "hybrid10" and Eric G. "emale888" for answering my many questions and spending long days and even longer nights helping me install intake manifolds and turbo kits. Also i'd like to thank the great sites msmr2.com, mr2board.com and mr2trader.com.

Lastly the great staff at mr2only who have been doing an awesome job packing these magazines from cover to cover with tons of cool cars and useful info, and lastly and most importantly I’d like to thank my wife Heather. I owe her the biggest thanks for putting up with my obsession.

So until the sale is complete we may well still see Nate thundering up that highway between Mississippi and Maryland!

SpecFile Exterior Greddy front lip 94+ Taillights w/shaved key hole Tom's Sideskirts Aeroware Rears Smoked turn signals Yellow JDM headlights Yellow JDM Foglights with rockblocker Interior Sparco 4pt harnesses B&M short shifter TRD shift knob Redline shift boot Lotek Triple Gauge Pod Defi EGT gauge Defi A/F gauge Defi Boost gauge Defi Heads up Display White face gauges Carbon Fiber door panels Engine ATS CT27 Turbo Berk Full 3in SS Catback Dual Exhaust JDM LSD Transmission ACT Street Clutch SS Clutch Line Speed source shift bushings

Speed source shifter base bushings Greddy IC w/SPAL fan w Berk Red Hump Hose kit Treuleo 3 inch Downpipe ATS Bored Fuel Rail ATS 50psi FPR Tanabe B-Pipe - FOR SALE SPAL engine lid fan HKS SSQV bov 93 JDM Ceramic Coated intake plenum with gutted TVIS EGR Blockoff plates Greddy turbo timer Apexi Power Intake Spal intercooler fan NGK plugs twosrus valve cover bolts Greddy Oil Cap

Nate Hartsock

Suspension 17in ADR Fuel Rims Falken Azenis Tein S. Tech springs Front strut bar ICE Alpine 9851 CD/MP3 2 JL Audio W3V2 subs in shawnm enclosures Viper 500w amp w/custom amp rack Panasonic 6.5in door Alpine Tweeters w/ crossovers JL 3.5in TR350-CX

Recently fitted Border Racing sideskirtsand Aeroware vents fitted and painted by John "hybrid10" from mr2board.com

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Power & Torque – What’s Really Important (Neither Actually)

Email your technical queries and questions to:- skinthespin@mr2only.com and where possible we will publish them in each issue

There is much talk of what power and torque are, and what is really important in a road car, “power doesn’t matter, torque is important”, the truth is (as is usual) much more complicated than that, and of course power and torque are related, via engine speed and a constant number.

If we use standard engineering units of torque (Nm) and power (Ps) then it is shown as: Power = Engine Speed (RPM) x Torque (Nm) x 2 x Pi

x 1.36

60000 From that we can see that if we ignore all the constant numbers then power is a direct function of Torque x Revs, a good analogy is a comparison of a 1000cc sports bike compared to a 2000cc NA MR2, both produce around 170bhp, the bike at perhaps twice the revs of the MR2, which would suggest half the torque at maximum power (and more than likely considerably less on the way up!).

What is often overlooked when quoting power/torque figures is the fact this power is useless if its not being transmitted to the ground and propelling the car forward. This is where we introduce the most important figure in all of this, Tractive Effort. This is the force (Newtons) that is available at the cars contact patch at the driven wheels, it is parallel with the road surface and tangent to the driven wheel contact patch (Diagram 1). This force translates into real word acceleration, taking into account the things that are happening between the tyre contact patch and the flywheel, including gear ratios, wheel diameter and final drive ratio.

Diagram 2 While the tractive effort (and hence acceleration) curve takes into account all the variables mentioned, it is still ultimately generated from the torque curve, and as such the shape of the torque curve will dictate the shape of the tractive effort and acceleration curves.

You can see from Diagram 2 that at 100kph the maximum possible acceleration is available in 2nd gear, even though the acceleration curve (and hence the power curve) is tailing off, so if you were in 4th gear at 100kph changing to second would yield better acceleration, although in reality you would choose 3rd as you could only hold on to 2nd for a few revs before needing to change up, although it does tell you it is worth hanging on to gears until the rev limiter, despite the tailing off of the power curve, as even though it is tailing off the available acceleration is still greater in the lower gear.

It is also possible to overlay 2 other curves on this graph, ultimate theoretical acceleration and resistance (Diagram 3).

You can take points off an engine power curve and turn these into a tractive effort curve, which can then be used to construct an acceleration curve (which is what matters most after all!). To construct the acceleration curve you take points from the power curve (every 250 rpm for example) and apply the following formula, for this example lets assume a modified MR2 Rev 3 Turbo with standard gearing and 225/46x16 rear tyres, at max revs in first (which would then be repeated for each point). It should be noted for these equations to work you need to use the specified units for power (Kw), Vehicle speed (Kph), torque (Nm) and weight (Kg), of course you can convert other units such as Lbft for torque or bhp into these units, I find www.onlineconversion.com particularly useful!

Diagram 3 Tractive Effort (N) = (Power (kw) x 3600) x Gearbox Efficiency x Final Drive Efficiency Vehicle speed (KPH) (Lets assume Gearbox Efficiency is 90% (so use 0.9) and Final Drive Efficiency is also 90%) Where

KPH = (Engine speed x 2 x PI x 60 x Tyre Radius (m)) (1000 x Gear ratio x final drive ratio)

Therefore - Acceleration = Tractive Effort Vehicle Weight Taking all this information into account we can see the car has an acceleration, at 7500 rpm, with 350 PS, in first, of 9.761 Ms², as mentioned this formula can be repeated for all points in the power curve and in all gears to produce an acceleration Vs road speed graph (Diagram 2).

The ultimate theoretical acceleration is the maximum acceleration possible with the power you have with a certain vehicle mass, regardless of gearing, from this you can determine what maximum acceleration is available at a certain speed, and then change your gearing to suit the speed range in which you’re most interested.

The resistance curve is a combination of rolling resistance and aerodynamic resistance, the only realistic way of plotting this curve is to measure a coastdown, get the car up to a decent speed (160+kph) then measure the time it takes the car to slow down of its own accord, even if you only coast down to 40 or 50 kph you can extrapolate this information out both up and down the graph. Rolling resistance is usually dominant up to around 60 kph where aerodynamic resistances take over as the dominant force, by the time you get to 160 kph aerodynamic resistance is so much greater than rolling resistance then rolling resistance can largely be ignored. If at any point the resistance curve crosses an acceleration curve then this is the maximum speed available in that gear, and in the case where the resistance curve crosses the maximum theoretical acceleration curve this is the maximum possible speed of the car,

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i.e. acceleration has stopped (see note on Diagram 3). To increase the maximum speed you have to either increase power or reduce the resistance (which will be aerodynamic drag at that speed), as at that point we have not considered gearing this can be ignored.

Its also worth noting the total acceleration is calculated by the area under the curve, or better still the lost acceleration is the area between the theoretical maximum acceleration and the actual acceleration. Using the bike analogy again you can see that even though the bike and car have the same ultimate power and hence the same ultimate acceleration the car would accelerate much quicker because of the shape of the acceleration curve (and hence the power curve) means you lose a lot of acceleration (Diagram 4). You can clearly see that in that gear, in the speed range specified, the car engine with its greater torque will accelerate much better than a bike engined car with the same power but less torque.

This example is of course assuming the gearing etc means the same road speed is reached at max engine power.

It must be remembered also that now you accelerate quicker your top speed will be higher than before (because you have accelerated more), so for example if you use this theory to work out how you can improve ¼ mile times you must be aware that your terminal speed will now be higher, so if you crossed the line at 100mph before you must take this into account when calculating gearing, as an extreme, gearing the car for 100mph will mean you hit that speed much sooner but will then be stuck on the rev limiter in top half way down the drag strip! It would also be likely in this case you would encounter traction problems.

As you can see from this, although acceleration is improved with the simple adjustment of the final drive ratio but it could be improved much more by changing gear ratios, as with the standard ratios 1st and 2nd gears are virtually redundant in this speed range, if we could bring them into play we could further enhance the acceleration by increasing the area under the graph. diagrams 6a and 6b show the potential with a close ratio gearbox, using all 5 gears to maximise acceleration between 80 and 220 kph, this would result in a very lively car compared to one with standard gearing. This has all been achieved by increasing the tractive effort by altering what happens between the engine and the wheels, not by how much power the engine has.

In diagram 6a and 6b the black curves are standard gearing, the red curves the close ratio box, it can clearly be seen how much acceleration is ‘lost’, it must also be remembered that this particular 3S-GTE was a modified car with excellent midrange power, a car with a ‘peaky power delivery such as a Honda Vtec would benefit from a close ratio gearbox much more, as the acceleration curve would look much more like that of the bike curve shown in Diagram 4.

Diagram 4 The areas of ‘lost’ acceleration can of course be filled in with other gears, more of which we can come on to later.

Once you have plotted an acceleration graph you can start to adjust some figures to see the effect. If we are using the car predominantly on trackdays and we want the best acceleration between 80 and 220 kph we can adjust simple things to see what difference it makes. Keeping the same gear ratios but changing the final drive slightly we can see how the acceleration has shifted (Diagram 5), if we again take the maximum acceleration available at 100kph we see it is actually less than before (because we have to use 3rd instead of 2nd), but, the total acceleration between 80 and 200kph is greater.

The reality again may be somewhat different, although acceleration between 80 and 220kph is much better you may now be running out of a gear half way through a corner, or indeed where you used to run out of a gear through a corner you can now enter a gear higher, as the tractive effort is now enough to accelerate the car adequately due to the lower gearing. The maximum speed of the car with this final drive would be 233kph, as opposed to 275kph with standard gearing.

The yellow curves represent the modified final drive ratio, significantly changing the character of the car with the change of one component, all actual gear ratios stay the same.

You could also increase acceleration of course by reducing the resistance curves, rolling resistance and aerodynamic resistance and of course, weight (which would include referred inertia as mentioned in last months lightweight wheel article).

In summary, power isn’t everything!

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ClubScene

Bi-monthly round up of whats going on in your owners clubs, to get send us your club news email: steveb@mr2only.com

The MR2OC owners club and how it all began… t’s something that never even crossed my mind until I was chatting to “Debs” at a meet last year and she briefly described how the OC was born.

I

Then Steve Bishop (mr2only) kindly offered us some space on a page for each issue to keep readers abreast of what events we have running and other bits and pieces from the club that I thought it would be worth mentioning how this club actually came to be.

I found it highly fascinating and thought I would share…

In June 2002, Jeff Keeling was waiting for his MR2 to be imported. (A Beams engined Rev 5).

He had identified what he saw as a need in the MR2DC on line owners club for a photo gallery so that members could upload pictures of their car for all to see.

He had some web space he had acquired and went about creating a simple html page and asked people to send him some photos and specs which Jeff added to his site.

It proved quite popular and so Jeff contacted the DC to see if they could integrate it on their site. Eventually, they said yes but it never got implemented.

Graham Day found Jeff’s website whilst surfing one day and thought at the time that it looked a little like an unofficial MR2DC gallery as all it really displayed was a picture of some MR2’s and their specs.

Jeff then introduced Graham to an IRC chat room where they spent many hours chatting about what they would do if they owned the MR2DC and IMOC…! They also met Adrian Saddler and Colin Mason and found they all shared similar views.

Another chap who also used the IRC chat room was someone called Carl who was also thinking of setting up an MR2 owners club and owned the URL www.mr2oc.co.uk However, despite making a start with his plans, his new job meant he could not develop it further.

By vanilla.cof fe e

By November 2002 however, Jeff’s own site had started to gather pace and with new features such as a forum, things were starting to take shape. Especially once the phpnuke software package was implemented.

attracting more and more MR2 owners.

The meets also became more frequent and more owners were attending.

After about 8 weeks and many hours of hard work they launched the latest version of the site. Shortly after, Carl lent Jeff the domain name and thus became the OC.

It was around this time that an option for members to pay a small token fee of £5.00 was introduced to help make the club more secure.

6 months later Carl transferred the domain name over to Jeff. While Jeff and Adrian were busy developing the site, Colin and Graham went about getting the word around to other MR2 owners to come and join up.

Having personally spoken to all involved it becomes evident that one of their most proudest moments was at JAE-2003 when they borrowed a small corner of the Toyota Owners Club pitch to place their mr2oc club stand after Jeff was approached by someone from TOC who offered 20 spaces for Jeff to buy which were naturally filled by MR2’s.

Although they had all been to MR2 meets with other clubs before, the first official mr2oc meet was arranged and on the 30th March 2003 an impressive 15 MR2’s arrived at Warwick Services (chosen for its central location) and they convoyed up the M40 to a nearby local pub where the response from the recently recruited new members was very supportive.

After a short period the site became too popular for its current web server so a new one had to be found that could handle the steadily increasing traffic.

However, this would now require funds so Jeff, Graham, Adrian and Colin all shared the cost of the new server on a monthly basis.

Some useful people began to donate their own time and resources to help fund the clubs activities including "Stef" who had access to a vinyl cutter and started making stickers for the club to sell which really got the financial side of the club rolling. Debs started selling the stickers at meets and organised the national meets (Japshow at Santa Pod and Japfest at Castle Combe.

Fairly soon after Stef became a moderator and then an admin and his wife Tracie in addition took on the role of looking after the traders. Including managing their accounts and so on which was a big help towards the finances of the club.

Pete Jones was recruited by Graham at Bolney in April 2003 who soon became a Moderator and set about developing the expansive “Know your 2” section that has become probably one of the most invaluable free sources of information about all things MR2 on the net…!

Small changes to the website were making very big improvements and the site was

Since those early days, the mr2oc has grown significantly with over 12300 registered users, some from all corners of the world.

Some web site stats...

Number of page views in 2003 - 790,624 Number of page views in 2006 - 15,657,707 JAE-2006 is testament to the very hard work put in by the dedicated Admins, Mods, Regional Reps, Steering Committee and all members that attended.

The OC had one of the biggest pitches at the show ground with over 80 MR2’s attending.

The Administrators of the MR2 Owners Club would like to say a huge thank you to all those members who have helped. Past, present and future…

VC (mr2oc.co.uk)

February Calender.

3rd: South East area. Go Karting at Buckmore.

4th: Falkirk Go Kart meet.

6th: Ace Café Japanese meet.

24th: South Central Rolling Road meet.

March Calender.

3rd: West Midlands Rolling road day.

6th: Ace Café Japanese meet.

21st Midlands monthly meet.

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IMOC-UK – Past, Present and Future

By : Ben Formesyn

around the twisty and scenic roads of North Wales.

The Club arranged the hire of a number of cottages allowing us to arrange a party on Saturday night where the stories from a good days driving were told. We woke the following morning to an unexpectedly late fall of snow – those returning to England early in the morning found the A5 only just passable through Snowdonia!

A Brief History of IMOC-UK he International MR2 Owners Club - UK (IMOC-UK) originally started back in 1996, as a free, Internet based MR2 Club allowing MR2 enthusiasts to meet and discuss anything and everything MR2 – whether it was the Mk1 with its futuristic looks and nippy handling, the curvaceous Mk2 with powerful Turbo through to today’s convertible Roadster.

T

The Club grew steadily, with members arranging local meets as well as the first events, which were Skid pan sessions and Airfield trackdays.

The Club was originally based around an email discussion list, but with the launch of the Club website in 1998 the online forum became increasingly popular and today is the main hub of Club activity. The site has MR2 specific forums as well as a general area of discussion, with ‘Off Topic’ being a popular place to meet and discuss things as varied as buying a cat for a Mk2 to buying a cat as a pet!

Not only are we an online Club but there are regular

local meets all over the UK, as well as larger national events which the Club runs; handling days, track day weekends, rolling road sessions, arranging stands at car shows, the Japanese Auto Extravaganza. The Club also has negotiated a number of discounts for members to take advantage of – the insurance scheme being particularly popular.

Today, the Club has 6,800 members on the website who read over 30,000 pages a day. The Club is non profit making – all our income comes through an optional premium membership scheme and businesses who can become IMOC affiliates. This in turn covers the website hosting and other Club events though the year. The Club is run by a group of volunteers who form the committee and moderation teams – they donate their time and effort for free.

Highlights of 2006 The Anglesey track day weekend in March proved to be an excellent event for novices and experienced drivers alike – even getting there is an experience

ClubScene MR2 Drivers Club meets The MR2 Drivers’ Club meets every first Sunday of the month in various locations around the country. To find out where your nearest meeting is, please visit www.mr2dc.com and either check the region section for details of the regional coordinators or the social event section for details on forthcoming meets.

MR2 Drivers Club at the London International Classic Car Show This year, the MR2 Drivers’ Club is attending the London International Classic Car Show at the Alexandra Palace on 24th & 25th of February. Visit us on stand C33 and see Joy and Barrie Cowland’s multi award concours d’elegance Mk1 – the start of the show! Admission for the show on the day is: Adults £12, OAP £10, children 5-14 years old £5. Adults/OAP discount of £2, call the Credit Card Hotline on 01484 452006 (by 18th February, 5pm) to purchase your tickets.

The MR2 Drivers Club is also organizing a Track Day for MR2s in association with BookaTrack.com.

We hope to see you there!.

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Japanese Auto Extravaganza (JAE) in July saw for the first time the MR2 MK1 Club, MR2 Roadster Owners Club and IMOC-UK combining together to produce the MR2 Village which included a designated camping area for the members as well. It was a great weekend, complete with IMOC members joining us from Holland with their immaculate Mk1 and Mk2s. Although we were warned of a summer thunderstorm on Saturday we didn’t expect the high winds and pelting rain we received. I won’t forget the image of everyone holding onto the gazebos to stop the wind blowing them away, whilst dodging the rain streaming down from the roofs and watching the less secured tents being chased by their owners as they were blown across the site. Once the storm was over it was back to business as usual with the BBQ running throughout the day. After the show closed to the public on Saturday, the evening’s entertainment included a film show, PS2 GT4 competitions and a bouncy castle boxing ring - who said camping couldn’t be fun?

July brought us Ten of the Best V (TOTB V) just outside York. In the summer heat Team IMOC and their

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e ll

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seven cars were up against a tough field of tuner demonstration cars. There were solid ¼ mile runs from all, with some low 12 second times from the 500bhp cars, but our hopes were on a good result at the handling course with its technical and narrow layout. Just before 1pm Neil Johnson put in a storming time to end up top placed RWD car - only to be beaten late in the day by a rapid Dax Rush.

Later in the year a number of other events should get honourable mentions: The North Wield car handing day (for £40), Llandow South Wales trackday in September, The Essex rolling road day IV, and popular meets in Guildford, Milkton Keynes and Norwich.

Looking ahead to 2007 Currently planned events are listed on the Website’s

Calendar as well as the events forum. In February there is a local meet on the 11th as well as a few people going to a Trackday at Cadwell park, with the first Guildford meet of 2007 at the end of the month.

Looking further ahead we are arranging some trackdays – one suitable for novices and possibly one at a more challenging circuit for the more experienced driver, if there is sufficient interest. Dates, venues and costs are currently under discussion and will be confirmed on the website.

Ideas and suggestions for events and meets by our members are welcome.

JAE 2007 as ever will be the main Club event for the year. This year it will be held on July 20-22nd so get

The MR2 MK1 Club at the Chateau Du Chanteloup Le Mans 2005

ir

the dates in your diaries now. We will be looking to further develop the MR2 Village that proved a success last year.

TOTB VI will be the following weekend, Saturday 29th July – cars entered this year will be further refined. We have confirmed 11 second ¼ mile MR2s and talk of a possible 10 second ¼ mile MR2 being part of the Team – come along and see these impressive ‘2s perform yourself!

Ben The Club website can be found at www.imoc.co.uk – it is free to join.

For further links to details of the stories above, go to www.imoc.co.uk/news/Feb07

MR2 MK1 on the famous Le Mans circuit

MR2 enthusiast trip to Le Mans June 2007 Hi all MR2 Enthusiasts, my name is Michael Sheavills and I represent the MR2 MK1 Club as North East regional Club manager.

I have organised and attended the past 6 Le Mans trips and I wanted to bring to your attention proposed plans for next years trip. Originally I organised this trip for the MR2 MK1 Club only, but now due to so much interest I have decided to invite all MR2 Clubs and MR2 enthusiasts, so basically if you have an MR2 your'e in....

We can accommodate just about everyone and the good thing is that you can personalise the trip to suit yourself, you don't have to come for

the whole duration. The trip will officially run from: Monday 11th June 2007 - Tuesday 19th June 2007 Le Mans 24h race event 16th 17th June You can now book your ferry crossing with the company we have decided to use www.speedferries.com On Monday 11th June we will be gathering at a hotel in Maidstone

where the trip officially begins. We are sailing from Dover - Bolougne @ 8.00am on Tuesday 12th June and returning on Tuesday 19th June @ 3.00pm.

Once in France we will drive down to Le Mans in convoy via Rouen and down the new motorway. We will be camping at the fantastic Chateau du Chanteloup 15 minutes drive from Le Mans circuit. The Chateau has superb facilities including a swimming pool, bar and restaurant, we have stayed here 6 times now and the atmosphere is superb. We will be camping in an MR2 Village style layout next to the Chateau, I've got to say everyone who attends are so friendly and get on so well. Expect the odd drink or two around a camp fire well into the early hours.

Feel free to explore Le Mans city, the excellent Chateaus and vineyards and of course the worlds most famous racing circuit. We will be attending evening qualifying on the Wednesday, Thursday will be free time, Friday is MAD FRIDAY with a full day planned including pit lane walk, during the evening the Chateau puts on a car show where

we will be able to enter our MR2's into the competition. Saturday and Sunday is the big race with Monday planned for rest.

Le Mans is the most prestigious and famous motor race in the world, it really does have to be experienced at least once. If you like your MR2, love motorsport, like the odd drink or two, like to meet fellow enthusiasts, love the sun, love French smooth and twisty roads and just like having fun, then this is the trip for you. Plus get to drive your MR2 around the famous 14kms circuit.

For more information and to book your place please contact me via email mistertwo@jopaluke.freeserve.co.u k I look forward to hearing from you.

Michael Sheavills 2007 Le Mans MR2 Event Manager

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MR2 PERFORMANCE SHOP We perform everything from clutch and turbo swaps to full blown performance rebuilds and motor swaps. Our expert staff know the MR2 inside and out and you can feel comfortable turning to us for parts, work or advice.

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ChicoRaceWorks is your distributor for high quality SPEC Clutch kits. High quality clutch kits are available for a wide range of manufacturer make and models. SPEC Clutch features light pedal pressure with different stages to suit your needs. From street/strip clutch of a stage 1, to full drag racing of a stage 5, we have you covered! Making power is one thing, finding the right clutch to hold it is another.

SPEC Clutch gives you high quality, high torque capacity clutch with great variety for your vehicle All kits include clutch disk, throwout bearing, pressure plate, alignment tool and a pilot bearing(pilot bearing is NOT to be used in an mr2 application!).

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Tokyo Auto Salon A selection of interesting MR2s photographed by Phoenix our man in Japan at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon, including a rather special Honda VTec powered MRS, bizarre MR2 stretch limo, and an awesome Ferarri inspired styled SW20...

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World record attempt in April It was decided by myself to promote this world record attempt after a fellow OC member posted about the TVR club trying to set a new world record for the most vehicles of a single Marque in a single place.

I tried to do a similar thing last year with very little interest so to get the ball rolling again i said i wouldn't mind organising it,so taking the bull by the horns so to speak I posted a thread on the MR2OC site" WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT GET YOUR NAMES DOWN HERE" As it happens a fellow member of the oc Steve Cope is the manager of the British Racing & Sportscar Club and said he could sort this to be held at Rockingham race track in Northampton.

Autosports, NEC Above, Mike Commons and his Rogue engineered turbo attracting much interest, and below Patrick from Rogue and Roland representing the MR2 Challenge, pictured with one of the Rogue Mk Challenge cars.

After liaising with Steve we set a date for the 29th April 2007 and the event now has been posted on all MR2 OCs. To break the record currently held by the MR2OC in the Nederlands we need 193 MR2s and to date we have over 300 names down and are set to shatter ther record.

If you want to be part of this please email me topgunjones@ntlworld.com,this in no doubt will be the event of 2007.

MR2 Only will be attending this event with all of their team and MR2s for a photographic extravaganza, visit your owners club forum now and get your name added to the list.

Mick Jones - aka TOPGUN

RUN BY MR2 ENTHUSIASTS FOR MR2 ENTHUSIASTS

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The TB Developments name was established around 9 years ago back in 1996. Although we’ve been in the business of providing mr2 - tuning products for the last 3 years started back in the summer of 2002.

In that time it has grown from a simple parts supply business working from home to an international MR2 Specialist tuning company that supplies MR2 only parts, soon to be obtaining a premises where we can not only sell high quality tuning parts but also offer a full fitting and tuning service.

We aim to provide the highest level of service possible with excellent customer service and being able to offer a line up of tuning products I would be happy fitting to my own car, not just what makes me the most money.

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Tuning Packages Promotional Items Air filters and Intakes Blow Off Valves Body Kit and Exterior Boost Controllers Brakes Components Clutches and Flywheels Cooling Components

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Nitrous • Oils and Lubrication • Suspension • Traction and Launch Control • Turbo Fittings and Accessories • Turbo Timers and Accessories • Turbochargers • Wastegates

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The second installment from TWOBRUTAL.CO.UK with tales of swapping and technical information to the masses from the experts... veryone who has driven a Mk1 in earnest will have to admit that the stock brakes are, after moderate anger, about as useful as a condom machine in the Vatican. Simply put, a flaw in Toyota’s master plan. They did give us bigger disks in the later revision Mk1 but even those are woefully inadequate for serious road and especially track use. Once the temperatures go up the pedal just goes down and down, and no matter how hard you press, braking performance is simply not good enough. I give Toyota a big fat ‘F’. What were they thinking?

Maybe they didn’t expect the Mk1 to be used for anything more than a trip to the hairdressers; they certainly didn’t expect those little brakes to be at the receiving end of 250+bhp 20 years down the road.

E

ST205 set-up fitted to MK1

Stopping Power...

So, what are your options?

You could re-mortgage the garden shed, sell a kidney (if they’re not buggered already) or remain single and consequently minted in order to buy a nice shiny new ‘badged’ set-up, but this is TWOBRUTAL ‘Clever Bodging’. So why bother when excellent improvements can be had for next to nothing using genuine Toyota parts? Personally I’m all for performance mods on a budget. Toyota has been very kind to us over the years with interchangeable parts and this is certainly true when it comes to brake components. I mean, why change a good thing? They have over the years made some superb equipment; however, they have never stuck it all on the same car.

The sooner you can stop, the sooner you can go.

Stopping, it’s rather important in my humble opinion particularly if you’re planning on shoving a 3S-GTE or v6 in the back. One thing to consider though is size. Bigger is better within reason. If you’re still rolling around on 14’s, forget it. You’re going to need at least a 15” rim to give enough internal wheel space for some meatier disks and clappers. Even a 15” rim may foul certain common set-ups, so checking clearance for a specific rim prior to the upgrade is highly recommended. I drove my Mk1.5 on stock brakes for a short while and she was terrifying, the brakes went away incredibly. Which leads me on to saying you should increase your brake specs prior to, or as part of any engine swap. I would even go so far as to recommend it for a stock Mk1. You can never have enough stopping power whether its initial braking force or braking longevity over a period.

So just what did Toyota give us?

Well, poke your nose at the table shown opposite. It shows the standard Mk1a/b specifications alongside those of the Celica ST165/185/205 GT4.

The GT4 calipers are a ‘bolt on’ upgrade, meaning you can chuck them on the Mk1 without any modification to the carriers or calipers and is by far the most common flavour used, the only alteration is to the Celica discs themselves.

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The following is a brief explanation of the upgrade procedure written by one of our Moderators on TWOBRUTAL ‘adamh’.

Celica ST185 front brake, single piston upgrade.

You can complete this upgrade with only one minor modification, its most effective when complete and about the simplest bolt on upgrade available for the Mk1 front brakes without forking out lots of money.

I found my Celica front brake set up from a Celica owner,

ST185 set-up

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Thanks go to TWOBRUTAL members grsymons, adamh, jaffa and megatronuk for kindly supplying the images for this article

ST185 single pot fitted to MK1

Necessary modification to Celica disc to fit MK1 ST205 disc in comparison to standard mk1 disc thick, vented. The stock Mk1 disc is 258mm diameter and 22mm thick, and the stock Mk1 MR2 single piston caliper is 51mm in diameter. Already we have a 12% increase in stopping power from the piston area increase, let alone the larger and thicker disc which as the piston sits marginally further out on the diameter, increases braking torque, a good bolt on upgrade.

although they can be picked up easily at the breakers yard for anything from £50-£125, in this case, you’re looking for 1992-1994 UK Celica ST185 front calipers and front discs: The calipers are 57mm diameter single piston, and the discs are 277mm diameter and 28mm

ST185 Twin pot fitted to MK1

The only mounting difference between the two different brake set ups is the bolt hole pcd pattern on the Mk1 and ST185 GT4 discs. The Celica has a 5 x100mm pattern, and the mk1 has a 4 x 100mm pattern. To modify do as follows; take one Celica front brake disc, and one MR2 Mk1 front disk, put them ‘small hub’ to ‘small hub’ and put a 14mm bolt and nut through one set of bolt holes so they line up and do them up, ensure the disc hubs are lined up concentrically together. Then take a 14mm drill, and drill out the other 3 Mk1 MR2 disc mounting holes into the Celica disc. You need only to drill 3 extra 14mm holes into each Celica disc as you can use one of the existing disc mount holes, and the job is done. Fit calipers and discs, and bleed as necessary.

This works for Mk1 MR2 all years.

Adam Hutchison.

Adam is currently in the middle of his Mk1.5 3S-GTE swap and his machining skills are called upon continuously on TWOBRUTAL, particularly with parts relating to brake upgrades. Never short of a spigot ring or four.

There are of course many other options dependant on your fabrication skills, finances and parts availability. For now I would definitely recommend either the single or double piston GT4 caliper setup (see table for model and year info). I have the twin pots on my Mk1.5 and I am very pleased with the results. Both however will give much improved braking performance for very little effort and expense when compared to stock Mk1 brakes. You can blow a stack on new Mk1 spec discs and fast pads but you’re always going to be limited by size, exactly the same rationale that sees nutters pulling out the 4AGE. Or if you’re really after some serious power, try the ST205 brakes on for size, another ‘bolt on’ caliper with massive 254mm2 piston area from 4 x 40.4mm diameter pistons, though there are issues with the stock disk size and wheel size becomes much more critical. They are very sought after and consequently comparatively expensive.

That’s the front brakes taken care of, the rears are a little trickier but all the info is on the website. For further details and other simple and highly effective brutal upgrades, see the 'wheels and brakes' section of our website: http://forums.twobrutal.com So that’s that, we’ve boosted the market for Celica parts, emptied breakers yards of calipers and discs and are a step closer to creating the ultimate Mk1.

Nik Farmer (TWOBRUTAL Admin) TWOBRUTAL disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material given. TWOBRUTAL disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from any information given. All vehicle modifications need to be reported to the DVLA and insurance companies by law.

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Written by Simon Skinner - aka Skinthespin • Photography by Luke Reynolds

SP240 - Roadster re-invented uning cars is easy, we all do it, we all know what’s best. More power Sir? NA, bolt on a turbo, easy. Already has a turbo, no problem, bolt on a bigger one, then just turn up the boost until something breaks, then make that bit stronger.

T

The fuelling will be all over the place, you will compromise driveability and reliability, but that’s the price you pay for performance, right? Chassis tuning is just as easy, you have a bit more power, so fit bigger wheels, 2 inch bigger and an inch wider, with the fattest rubber you can fit, put on some nice stiff springs and lower it a little, it will corner like its on rails then eh? It will ride like something from the Flintstones, bump steer and tramline like a pig, have weird steering and snap into oversteer at the very sight of a wet manhole cover, but that’s the price you pay for a chassis that can handle the power, right?

There are plenty of ‘tuning’ companies out there willing to take your hard earned in exchange for this approach, based on no engineering knowledge or experience its unlikely to make your car any quicker on the

70 MR2 Only

road (or track for that matter) but will look great parked outside McDonalds.

Introducing the SP240 Myself and Steve were invited to drive the new stage 2 turbo instillation from Silverstone Performance called the SP240, (yes, that stands for 240bhp and 240lb/ft of torque), and talking to Phil and Matt (who developed the car) prior to our drive its quite clear that they have a very different attitude. Trying to improve something like a Roadster was always going to be a tough task, not necessarily the power, 148bhp is a relatively low target to start with, but to make something that has such finely balanced handling and superb steering feel capable of handling twice the torque and nearly twice the power without destroying that car as a whole is, lets face it, not easy.

What Silverstone Performance have done is develop the car over time, without losing

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sight of the qualities they started with in the Roadster. If something didn’t work they didn’t use it, even if customers wanted it, weight was always a factor in achieving this, as was reliability and usability.

Lightweight

ds

d

A relatively modest size of turbo was used, boosting at 0.5 bar, this meant quick spool up, and is more than capable of giving the car the required performance, whilst helping to keep the weight down, an air to air intercooler is mounted low to help keep the charged air cool, a charge cooler was deemed unnecessarily complicated, heavy and costly for a road application. A lightweight silencer and de-cat (the pre-cat remains, which is good enough come MoT time) was used to gain back some of the weight added by the turbocharger and intercooler, over all the car is the same weight as a standard car, under 1000kg.

The fuel system was also tweaked to allow the turbo to spool more boost without running lean, all being controlled by a piggy back ECU.

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Page 71

torsional rigidity), 30mm lower Eibach springs to SP’s own specification and most importantly 17 inch wheels shod with 245 section rear tyres and 205’s up front. The wheels are lightweight items to keep unsprung mass and rotational inertia to a minimum. It’s for this reason that SP did not use larger brake discs, which are unnecessary for road use anyway.

The car is then set-up using SP’s own geometry settings, something which is often overlooked by other ‘tuning’ companies, instead of opting for standard settings which simply wouldn’t work as well with larger wheels and shorter springs.

Out on the road Behind the wheel at last and I nearly stall the thing pulling out of SP’s garage. Phil forgot to mention the cera-metallic clutch fitted, not because of the extra power but because of the abuse this press/development car has, a more user friendly clutch would be fitted to customers car and be more than good enough for the job in hand.

MR2 TTET = MR2 Roadster plus TTE turbo (182bhp-ish)

Finely balanced To help keep this extra grunt in check the chassis has also had some SP attention.

This is the area where something as finely balanced as the Roadster could be severely upset. The lads at SP are on top of things with the use of an underbrace (to help

“Initial feel is impressive, the car telling me exactly what’s going on at the road surface without that nasty feel of an overtired, badly set-up car getting confused during the transition from grip to slip.”

Once aware of the clutch the engine is tractable and pulls cleanly, without any hesitation, dips or snatchiness from the modified fuel map, a good start! Pulling up almost immediately a traffic island for some cornering shots and without time to get a feel for the car at all I circumnavigated the island, building up speed gradually, in the rain, for the camera you understand, dump valve chirping away behind my ear as I feather the throttle, not intrusively, just enough to remind you you’re in something a little special. Initial feel is impressive, the car telling me exactly what’s going on at the road surface without that nasty feel of an overtired, badly set-up car getting confused during the

MR2 SP Turbo = TTET + SP exhaust (197bhp/210lb ft) MR2 SP240 = TTET + SP Exhaust + SP induction/fuel/ECU (240bhp/240lb ft)

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transition from grip to slip. Getting a little more confident after a couple of ‘laps’ and feeding in the power a bit more aggressively to test the limits and the rear tyres let go, overwhelmed easily by the torque in this flyweight car, catching me a little by surprise and almost reaching the lockstops on opposite lock its still easily controlled due to the reflexes of the chassis. The next lap I was expecting a telling off from Phil for these antics, instead I was greeted by him on one knee and a camera in his hand! A couple more laps of the island show how easy it is to tickle the limit with this car, find the grip available from the tyres and play in that zone between grip and slip, it seems in this sense the SP240 has lost little (if anything) over the standard car.

Driving out onto the roads around Silverstone we can push the car a lot harder, working the engine in all 6 gears and using all the revs. While you can tell there is a turbo under the rear bonnet there is no turbo

10:22

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“I feather the throttle, not intrusively, just enough to remind you you’re in something a little special” lag worth talking about, instead there is a smooth delivery of torque pushing you along, the close gears, impressive midrange and lightweight ensure there is always enough of a shove to see off all but the quickest traffic. Flexing the engine along the dual carriage way in an attempt to keep up with Phil in his Mercedes the SP240 gathers speed in an undramatic but rapid manner, no fuss just a relentless rise in speed that suggests a well sorted engine, snicking into 6th and glancing at the speedo you realise that getting caught during this quick blast could land you in jail, forget points and fines, do not pass go, do not collect £200, it really is that quick. To get an idea of the outright speed this car has been timed with a VBox with a time of 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, where was that Boxster again?

And its on to the B-roads the Roadster natural habitat Leaving the high speed temptation that is the dual carriageway we head for the Broads, the standard cars natural habitat, I however have my reservations as we head at speed along some soaking wet, twisty, bumpy B-roads barely wide enough for 2 cars and with standing water in a car this light with this much power, its in these situations that you find most modified cars, even well done ones significantly slower than their standard siblings. I needn’t have worried, as while you cannot use the full power like you could on the faster roads what SP have managed to do is maintain the standard cars reflexes and increase grip without the expense of stability. The bump steer and tramlining that ruin most modified cars chassis in these conditions simply isn’t present. You still know exactly what’s going on underneath you but SP have kept the chassis on the entertaining side of stable, which to me is a sign of their capability as a tuning company.

Experience through Motorsport...

TVR Sagaris

Phil on track

Bespoke Boss Cerbera in action

Matt and Phil from SP have a lot of experience in the auto industry with vehicle manufacturers which is why there is a strong "OE" feel to their tuning projects. Phil raced in the TVR Tuscan Challenge from 1997 to 2004. He recently came 3rd at Spa Francorchamps in a 700bhp Cobra in Oct 06. Phil also briefly worked for TVR (head of marketing) - and launched the Sagaris back in 2005. And just for fun, I've attached a photo of the bespoke Boss Cerbera in action. Their motorsport background is very much evident in the development of the SP240

72 MR2 Only

MR2 Only issue 3 Master 41-76:Layout 1

Swapping seats with Steve to gather my thoughts and make sure I’m not getting carried away he finds exactly the same things as me, superb power and power delivery, more grip and the same superb agility and stability. Almost without noticing on the cruise back to SP at more normal speeds we find ourselves chatting in as much comfort as any Roadster.

23/1/07

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Page 73

Summary This more than anything manages to sum up this car, it has enough outright speed to trouble virtually any road car cross country, yet manages to remain entertaining (in a good way!) and moreover simply does not feel like a tuned car. The SP240 conversion isn’t a low budget option at nearly £10k with the suspension, underbrace and wheels (which are vital with this much power) but what you have is a car that feels like it was

MR2 SP Turbo The “Full SP” for the Toyota MR2 SP Turbo comprises: - TTE turbocharger & intercooler £4299.00 - SP sports exhaust system - from £538.00 to £846.00 - SP sports clutch £649.00 - SP12 17" wheel and tyre upgrade from £599.00 - SP sports air filter £56.95 - Braided brake hose and fluid upgrade from £160.75 - TTE floorpan reinforcement brace £299.00 - SP front strut brace £176.25 - TTE anti-roll bars £293.00 - TTE lowering springs £302.00 - SP Quickshift £208.75 - SP geometry settings £59.00 The sum of these upgrades is an MR2 Roadster with 197bhp and 210lb/ft and significantly greater grip …yet it retains the low weight and legendary balance of the original car. The MR2’s capabilities have all been raised, in harmony, to a higher plane. Compare the power/torque outputs and 980kg weight with other sports cars and you may be surprised to see how the MR2 SP Turbo compares... How about greater torque-to-weight than the current V8-engined Audi RS4?

All this in a car with Toyota’s legendary reliability and affordable running costs. With all this performance wrapped up in the discreet, pretty MR2 body there is plenty of fun to be had with an SP Turbo.

And if you’d like to go further still, take a look at Stage Two: the SP 240...

put together by Toyota, not an aftermarket company. It will be bought by the more discerning Roadster owner, someone who wants a bit more (well, a lot more!) than Toyota were prepared to offer without losing the qualities that they were.

As we were leaving Phil asked us if we ‘got it’, oh yes, we got it.

For more details or to contact Silverstone Performance visit http://www.silverstoneperformance.biz

MR2 SP240 (Stage two) SP TURBO STAGE ONE The SP240 is based on the Toyota SP Turbo. The following upgrades are needed to execute Stage Two, the remainder are strongly recommended due to the considerable performance increase of the engine: - TTE turbocharger & intercooler - REQUIRED - SP sports exhaust system - REQUIRED - SP sports clutch - REQUIRED - SP12 17" wheel and tyre upgrade - SP sports air filter - REPLACED - Braided brake hose and fluid upgrade The SP240 upgrade - TTE floorpan reinforcement brace - SP front strut brace comprises: - TTE anti-roll bars - SP high-flow fuel injectors - TTE lowering springs - SP ECU - SP Quickshift - SP fuel pressure regulator - SP geometry settings - SP induction kit - SP bespoke engine mapping - SP decals The SP240 generates 240bhp and 240lb/ft - 100bhp more than the original MR2 and almost double the torque.

The induction and exhaust notes are more aggressive and the engine pulls strongly and cleanly to its limiter. The SP240 remains docile around town so loses none of the MR2’s usability in day to day driving ...but find an open road or a race circuit to fully appreciate just how fast the SP240 is!

MR2 Only

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sight of the qualities they started with in the Roadster. If something didn’t work they didn’t use it, even if customers wanted it, weight was always a factor in achieving this, as was reliability and usability.

Lightweight

ds

d

A relatively modest size of turbo was used, boosting at 0.5 bar, this meant quick spool up, and is more than capable of giving the car the required performance, whilst helping to keep the weight down, an air to air intercooler is mounted low to help keep the charged air cool, a charge cooler was deemed unnecessarily complicated, heavy and costly for a road application. A lightweight silencer and de-cat (the pre-cat remains, which is good enough come MoT time) was used to gain back some of the weight added by the turbocharger and intercooler, over all the car is the same weight as a standard car, under 1000kg.

The fuel system was also tweaked to allow the turbo to spool more boost without running lean, all being controlled by a piggy back ECU.

10:22

Page 71

torsional rigidity), 30mm lower Eibach springs to SP’s own specification and most importantly 17 inch wheels shod with 245 section rear tyres and 205’s up front. The wheels are lightweight items to keep unsprung mass and rotational inertia to a minimum. It’s for this reason that SP did not use larger brake discs, which are unnecessary for road use anyway.

The car is then set-up using SP’s own geometry settings, something which is often overlooked by other ‘tuning’ companies, instead of opting for standard settings which simply wouldn’t work as well with larger wheels and shorter springs.

Out on the road Behind the wheel at last and I nearly stall the thing pulling out of SP’s garage. Phil forgot to mention the cera-metallic clutch fitted, not because of the extra power but because of the abuse this press/development car has, a more user friendly clutch would be fitted to customers car and be more than good enough for the job in hand.

MR2 TTET = MR2 Roadster plus TTE turbo (182bhp-ish)

Finely balanced To help keep this extra grunt in check the chassis has also had some SP attention.

This is the area where something as finely balanced as the Roadster could be severely upset. The lads at SP are on top of things with the use of an underbrace (to help

“Initial feel is impressive, the car telling me exactly what’s going on at the road surface without that nasty feel of an overtired, badly set-up car getting confused during the transition from grip to slip.”

Once aware of the clutch the engine is tractable and pulls cleanly, without any hesitation, dips or snatchiness from the modified fuel map, a good start! Pulling up almost immediately a traffic island for some cornering shots and without time to get a feel for the car at all I circumnavigated the island, building up speed gradually, in the rain, for the camera you understand, dump valve chirping away behind my ear as I feather the throttle, not intrusively, just enough to remind you you’re in something a little special. Initial feel is impressive, the car telling me exactly what’s going on at the road surface without that nasty feel of an overtired, badly set-up car getting confused during the

MR2 SP Turbo = TTET + SP exhaust (197bhp/210lb ft) MR2 SP240 = TTET + SP Exhaust + SP induction/fuel/ECU (240bhp/240lb ft)

MR2 Only

71

MR2 Only issue 3 Master 41-76:Layout 1

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transition from grip to slip. Getting a little more confident after a couple of ‘laps’ and feeding in the power a bit more aggressively to test the limits and the rear tyres let go, overwhelmed easily by the torque in this flyweight car, catching me a little by surprise and almost reaching the lockstops on opposite lock its still easily controlled due to the reflexes of the chassis. The next lap I was expecting a telling off from Phil for these antics, instead I was greeted by him on one knee and a camera in his hand! A couple more laps of the island show how easy it is to tickle the limit with this car, find the grip available from the tyres and play in that zone between grip and slip, it seems in this sense the SP240 has lost little (if anything) over the standard car.

Driving out onto the roads around Silverstone we can push the car a lot harder, working the engine in all 6 gears and using all the revs. While you can tell there is a turbo under the rear bonnet there is no turbo

10:22

Page 72

“I feather the throttle, not intrusively, just enough to remind you you’re in something a little special” lag worth talking about, instead there is a smooth delivery of torque pushing you along, the close gears, impressive midrange and lightweight ensure there is always enough of a shove to see off all but the quickest traffic. Flexing the engine along the dual carriage way in an attempt to keep up with Phil in his Mercedes the SP240 gathers speed in an undramatic but rapid manner, no fuss just a relentless rise in speed that suggests a well sorted engine, snicking into 6th and glancing at the speedo you realise that getting caught during this quick blast could land you in jail, forget points and fines, do not pass go, do not collect £200, it really is that quick. To get an idea of the outright speed this car has been timed with a VBox with a time of 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, where was that Boxster again?

And its on to the B-roads the Roadster natural habitat Leaving the high speed temptation that is the dual carriageway we head for the Broads, the standard cars natural habitat, I however have my reservations as we head at speed along some soaking wet, twisty, bumpy B-roads barely wide enough for 2 cars and with standing water in a car this light with this much power, its in these situations that you find most modified cars, even well done ones significantly slower than their standard siblings. I needn’t have worried, as while you cannot use the full power like you could on the faster roads what SP have managed to do is maintain the standard cars reflexes and increase grip without the expense of stability. The bump steer and tramlining that ruin most modified cars chassis in these conditions simply isn’t present. You still know exactly what’s going on underneath you but SP have kept the chassis on the entertaining side of stable, which to me is a sign of their capability as a tuning company.

Experience through Motorsport...

TVR Sagaris

Phil on track

Bespoke Boss Cerbera in action

Matt and Phil from SP have a lot of experience in the auto industry with vehicle manufacturers which is why there is a strong "OE" feel to their tuning projects. Phil raced in the TVR Tuscan Challenge from 1997 to 2004. He recently came 3rd at Spa Francorchamps in a 700bhp Cobra in Oct 06. Phil also briefly worked for TVR (head of marketing) - and launched the Sagaris back in 2005. And just for fun, I've attached a photo of the bespoke Boss Cerbera in action. Their motorsport background is very much evident in the development of the SP240

72 MR2 Only

MR2 Only issue 3 Master 41-76:Layout 1

Swapping seats with Steve to gather my thoughts and make sure I’m not getting carried away he finds exactly the same things as me, superb power and power delivery, more grip and the same superb agility and stability. Almost without noticing on the cruise back to SP at more normal speeds we find ourselves chatting in as much comfort as any Roadster.

23/1/07

10:22

Page 73

Summary This more than anything manages to sum up this car, it has enough outright speed to trouble virtually any road car cross country, yet manages to remain entertaining (in a good way!) and moreover simply does not feel like a tuned car. The SP240 conversion isn’t a low budget option at nearly £10k with the suspension, underbrace and wheels (which are vital with this much power) but what you have is a car that feels like it was

MR2 SP Turbo The “Full SP” for the Toyota MR2 SP Turbo comprises: - TTE turbocharger & intercooler £4299.00 - SP sports exhaust system - from £538.00 to £846.00 - SP sports clutch £649.00 - SP12 17" wheel and tyre upgrade from £599.00 - SP sports air filter £56.95 - Braided brake hose and fluid upgrade from £160.75 - TTE floorpan reinforcement brace £299.00 - SP front strut brace £176.25 - TTE anti-roll bars £293.00 - TTE lowering springs £302.00 - SP Quickshift £208.75 - SP geometry settings £59.00 The sum of these upgrades is an MR2 Roadster with 197bhp and 210lb/ft and significantly greater grip …yet it retains the low weight and legendary balance of the original car. The MR2’s capabilities have all been raised, in harmony, to a higher plane. Compare the power/torque outputs and 980kg weight with other sports cars and you may be surprised to see how the MR2 SP Turbo compares... How about greater torque-to-weight than the current V8-engined Audi RS4?

All this in a car with Toyota’s legendary reliability and affordable running costs. With all this performance wrapped up in the discreet, pretty MR2 body there is plenty of fun to be had with an SP Turbo.

And if you’d like to go further still, take a look at Stage Two: the SP 240...

put together by Toyota, not an aftermarket company. It will be bought by the more discerning Roadster owner, someone who wants a bit more (well, a lot more!) than Toyota were prepared to offer without losing the qualities that they were.

As we were leaving Phil asked us if we ‘got it’, oh yes, we got it.

For more details or to contact Silverstone Performance visit http://www.silverstoneperformance.biz

MR2 SP240 (Stage two) SP TURBO STAGE ONE The SP240 is based on the Toyota SP Turbo. The following upgrades are needed to execute Stage Two, the remainder are strongly recommended due to the considerable performance increase of the engine: - TTE turbocharger & intercooler - REQUIRED - SP sports exhaust system - REQUIRED - SP sports clutch - REQUIRED - SP12 17" wheel and tyre upgrade - SP sports air filter - REPLACED - Braided brake hose and fluid upgrade The SP240 upgrade - TTE floorpan reinforcement brace - SP front strut brace comprises: - TTE anti-roll bars - SP high-flow fuel injectors - TTE lowering springs - SP ECU - SP Quickshift - SP fuel pressure regulator - SP geometry settings - SP induction kit - SP bespoke engine mapping - SP decals The SP240 generates 240bhp and 240lb/ft - 100bhp more than the original MR2 and almost double the torque.

The induction and exhaust notes are more aggressive and the engine pulls strongly and cleanly to its limiter. The SP240 remains docile around town so loses none of the MR2’s usability in day to day driving ...but find an open road or a race circuit to fully appreciate just how fast the SP240 is!

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MR2s & Parts For Sale...

MR2 2.0GTS TURBO T/BAR FOR SALE

TOYOTA MR2 2.0 GTS TURBO T-BAR, 94/L Imported in 2004 - Rev-3 FaceLift Model, 1 UK Owner, Tax and MOT, 245 BHP, Standard Engine, TOAD Cat-1 Alarm, HKS Boost Gauge, TRD Style Steering Wheel, Rear Tinted Glass, Looks and Drives Superb - £3,850 Tel: 07817 402778 (W. Yorkshire) "

MR2 10th Anniversary Edition (1996) Number 159 of 250 made.

Toyota MR2 10th anniversary eddition. Only 250 made, this is number 159, and it is in the nicest colour this model comes in, carribean blue.

Full leather and a Ltd Edition momo steering wheel. PAS, graphite alloys, ABS, chrome sill plates, CD radio cassette player, leather seats, alarm with remote central locking, electric windows and mirrors.

Less than 60,000 miles on the clock. Full Toyota service history, and a new radiator just been fitted last week.

This is a T-bar, if you have never had a T-Bar before, it has to be done!

Everything has been left standard, you cant mess with limited editions...

This is an awesome car, very sorry to see it go, but needs to due to buying a house. Any further Questions dont hesitate.

See photos at http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/120299.htm Price: £ 6,200.00 GBP Location: England » Derbyshire Phone: 07877330905

Show winning 1989 Mk1 MR2 coupe

Owners Clubs www.mr2oc.co.uk www.imoc.co.uk www.mr2dc.com www.mr2mk1club.com www.mr2roc.co.uk www.mr2westmidlands.com www.sw-20.co.uk www. toyotaownersclub.com www.ontariomr2club.com www.clubmr2.com www.mr2oc.com www.mr2board.com www.mr2.nl www.mr2.it www.mr2.fr - French Owners' Club www.mr2.be - Belgian Owners' Club www.girl-torque.co.uk

www.tbdevelopments.com www.gtschris.com www.bokmotorsport.co.uk www.camskill.co.uk www.xs-power.co.uk www.mr2trader.com www.replikit.co.uk www.koracing.net www.chicoraceworks.com www.tcbparts.co.uk MR2 Racing www.mr2racing.com www.mr2challenge.com MR2 Specialist car sales and importer www.gtschris.com Vehicle custom graphics www.graphix-sw.co.uk

Enthusiasts MR2 informative sites and forums www.mr2tuning.ch www.twobrutal.co.uk www.beams-redtop.com - BEAMS engine informational site

Photographers www.sure-shot.co.uk www.lifetime-images.co.uk Photo large format and canvas prints www.largephotoprints.co.uk

MR2 service, repair and part specialists www.roguesystems.co.uk www.japtuningshop.com

Please email us if you wish to be added to our MR2 classified listings, to steveb@mr2only.com

Official MR2 Only Magazine distributors and Re-sellers North America & Canada www.mr2trader.com Switzerland www.mr2tuning.ch Holland, Germany, Belgium www.japtuningshop.com

Unfortunately my beloved Mk1 has to go!

Red 1989 Mk1 coupe which has won many shows, with 78,000 miles, I have had it serviced every year by my Toyota dealer, even if I do only cover a couple of hundred miles a year in it now.

Obviously it has every MOT from new, and a fully stamped up FTSH. It hasn't been wet through rain for years and years, and always turns heads. There is no expense ever spared on this car. In fact to make it perfect I bought brand new MR2 Teardrop alloys from Toyota a couple of years ago at approx £1200.00, then put the propper Continental tyres onto the new alloys, so as to make perfect for the car shows. It has a highly polished engine bay, which always draws attention. By the way the number plate will be transferred to one of the other cars. The only paint I have had done to it, is to have the side skirts refinished by Toyota, due to them having a few minor scratches from getting in and out and clumsily catching them on the way in. I am looking for a good home for my Red Mk1, as it has been nursed from new, and don't want it to get into the wrong hands of someone who won't look after it. Am looking for offers in the £4,000 bracket. email ian@iphowe.fsnet.co.uk or call 07775 940755

WANTED I'm looking for a set of clear taillights for our SW20 Rev1 (1989 - 1993) made by a company called "Active" Please email info@japtuningshop.com

RAYBRIG MULTI REFLECTIVE HEADLIGHTS RAYBRIG up-graded headlight, street legal, used by competition race teams in Japan.

We know once installed you will be excited with the difference in evening vision. (12v 60/55w) gives up to 135/125w conversion.

Price each £39.99 (pair required)

TCB PERFORMANCE PARTS LTD Tel 01579 383897 www.tcbparts.co.uk

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO The simplest and fastest way to subscribe to MR2 Only Magazine and receive the 6 issues per year (bi-monthly) direct through your door is to visit our website

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Standard UK subscription is £22.50, if you are an owners club member, we offer a discounted subscription of £19.50 for the 6 issue per year, for this option please click on the discounted subscription panel to the right hand side of the page. For all overseas subscriptions please follow the email link on

the subscriptions page.

Alternatively you can fill out the slip below and post a cheque with your payment for either £22.50 standard subs or £19.50 owners club discounted to: MR2 Only Subscriptions, 1810 Leek Road, Milton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST2 7AF. For queries please call (01782) 544854

Full Name Date Owners club if applicable

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MR2 Only issue 3 Master 41-76:Layout 1

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MR2 Only issue 3 Master 41-76:Layout 1

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