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Inissue1... Our leading cover cars are Nathan Freke’s 900bhp Drag Strip Slayer, currently the World’s Fastest MR2, crossing the famous Santa Pod gantry in a missile speed 8.71s @162mph. We also feature the late Luke Bliss’s stunning 2GRFE 3.5l. After Luke sadly passed away, his brother and friends completed the build of Luke’s car to his exacting requirements found in his notebook, a car he never had the chance to build as he was so busy with customer’s MR2s. A fantastic story. John Toh’s Marlboro Retro Racer, Inspired to build a track/race car? the level of attention to detail on this HKS 2.2L Stroker widebody is an inspiration. TOYONDA - K-Swap Lover? - Armandito Racing III Armando Morales shares the story go his 400hp Honda powered MR2 Dream Project - 2ZZ Turbo. Jason Bonoan’s turbo charged 2ZZ. Simply stunning. 10 years on we return to Russ Turnbull, and feature his amazing Supercharged 3.5L 2GR. Stanced 2 Perfection, Patrick Langenkamp’s wide body needs no introduction the images speak for themselves. Just awesome.
Double Trouble - Kenny and Simon Williams show off their 2 4th gen 3SGTE swapped AW11 Mk1.5’s. Close Enough Racing - Justin Gaujenieks track monster turbocharged 2ZZ, and his plans for the next Time Attack Series Once in a lifetime MR2 - Georgia and Matt Gresham’s AW11, an MR2 that’s part of the family. THE GULF... Dave Purdue’s turbo charged 1ZZ with rare Damd kit and distinctive Gulf livery. An MR2 Story... IMOC and MR2DC Director Scott Barton tells his story of long MR2 ownership, and friendships. Blast from the past... We catch up with Vix and Phil Cutler and Humphrey, with the trial and tribulations of a Toyota Sprint Series competitor. History repeating itself.. the story of my very own Revision 3 Turbo, and its 4 year restoration story. A love for restoring lost causes... Graeme Notley extensive Mk1 Supercharger restoration. The Zircon Evolution - 12 Years on - Rob Butcher shares his story of the ups and downs of MR2 ownership
PLUS,allofyourfavouriteMR2specialistsandtheparts andservicestheyoffer.
MR2ONLYISBACKINPRINT! Following the launch of our first ‘COME BACK’ digital version in May 2020 by popular demand we also launched a printed limited edition. MR2 Only is The Magazine for all MR2 enthusiasts, whether you’re passionate about the AW11, SW20, or ZZW30, issue 1 has 112 pages featuring some of the finest examples from around the world!
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CONTENTS:
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ISSUE 6 - ITS OUR BIRTHDAY!! Firstly let me begin by apologising for issue 6 being a little late but as you will see whilst reading through this latest issue we have been busy preparing for shows, events and travelling around. It’s our birthday! Yes it’s a year since we launched the first edition of MR2 Only Magazine. Oh how time flies and I take this opportunity to thank all those involved with making the magazine a success all around the world, our contributors, our feature car owners and most importantly you, our readers. In this edition you will notice our focus is as much on the motorsport side of MR2 ownership as it is on show cars and technical articles. We are receiving a growing number emails from owners participating in all forms of motorsport whether it be quarter mile sprints, the ever growing MR2 Challenge and even hill climbing. This edition also includes extensive coverage of the largest meeting of Japanese car owners on the UK calendar, JAE where we had a stand which went down an absolute storm and was a great chance for us to meet you guys and vice versa enticing many new readers and subscribers and finding many new and interesting feature cars. The highlight of this year for me was being invited by Neil to accompany him along to Tom Solan at NVI when he picked up his freshly imported TRD2000GT. We had been meaning to get along to visit Tom and this was the perfect opportunity. Neil is a lucky guy as his genuine TRD is absolutely flawless and Neil left NVI that day a very happy man. You will be reading more about this piece of motoring history in issue 7. As if this day could not get better, picture this. We are in open countryside, the suns blazing down on us and Tom owns one of the rare SW20 TRD 2000 Spiders and is keen to take me for a spin but this is no ordinary Spider as this is the only one believed to have come from TRD fitted with the Turbo engine What’s more, he let me drive it and OH MY GOD I was buzzing. The car was unreal and again this car and our days experience will be in issue 7.
out of hand, as at my recent annual birthday bash my best mate Mark bought me a Chocolate MR2 from Thornton’s in the shape of a Roadster and had MR2 Only written down the sides. How cool is that! Of course with the highs come the lows and it couldn’t have got any lower because on the way to JAE the engine let go on my Turbo, diagnosed as a damaged piston which wasn’t down to my driving like a loon I might add. After much deliberation and heartache, deciding whether to strip and sell or repair, not to mention almost having to sell my ass to fund it, the car is going for a forged bottom end engine rebuild which will be the foundation for some serious power in the future when funds permit.
Kyle Meyers Rocky Mountain Roadster
24 Dave Timmins Mk2 Turbo
This was certainly not how I had envisaged Turbo ownership especially having only owned the car for three months, and having planned to enjoy the car for the summer, having no immediate intention to modify. We also have a couple of newcomers to Team MR2 Only, the first being Maurice Stoner, father of MR2 Challenge driver Ross Stoner. Mo is going to be reporting from the paddocks for us in each issue and letting us have the run down on each meet, as well as getting driver interviews and driver profiles.
29 Jinxy’s concourse Mk1
Our second newcomer is Flossy, our latest MR2 project car that joins our Mk1 project car in the stable. This car has been in my circle of friends for around 8 years and I couldn’t bear to see it sold or scrapped, so we have taken her on as another project track ca., It’s a Rev 1 N/A coupe looking a bit rough around the edges but with a little TLC will ultimately be either our MR2 Challenge car for 2008 or a V6 swap. Either way all of the projects along the way, fixing her up will be documented in the magazine and our website. Anyway, enough of my babbling. All that is left to say is thanks for reading the first 6 issues, I really hope you enjoy them as much as we do putting them together and hope you will continue to read the next 6 issues and as always if you have anything to contribute please do get in touch. Drive safe folks! Steve Bishop MR2 Only Magazine Editor
My obsession with MR2s must be getting
20 TMCJ Japanese MR2 Meet 2007
34 Highs & lows of JAE 2007
CONTACTS:
THANKS GO TO...
SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SUPPORT:PamB - mr2only.subscriptions@ntlworld.com
Tony Gilroy again for the JAE cover photo. All who have helped and supported us, distributors, club contributors, Maurice, Rich, Karen, Sarah, Tim and Kif for MR2 Challenge coverage and technical guys Rob, Tim, Simon and Garrick. All who have subscribed and advertised. Martin, Nick and Andy for their great feature writing, Rich for help with layouts and last but not least Pam B for her ongoing commitment to subscriptions, advertising and customer services.
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 FEATURE CARS: martin@mr2only.com steveb@mr2only.com nick@mr2only.com READERS RIDES: mr2only@mr2westmidlands.com PRODUCTION, LAYOUT ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Bishop, Matt Harris, Rich Lee, Mark Thorpe and Luke Reynolds, GENERAL POSTAL ADDRESS: MR2 Only Magazine, 40 Malstone Avenue, Baddeley Green, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST2 7NN Contact telephone no. 01782 544854
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 responsible for any errors, omissions or any technical advice given, and any views expressed are that of the contributor, unless written solely by MR2 Only.
Partners: Steve Bishop - Partner/Co-ordinator - Andy Bishop - Partner/IT Admin
MR2 Only Mk1 at the Nürburgring
62 MR2 Challenge
Printed by:- Buxton Press Ltd, Palace Rd, Buxton Derbyshire, SK17 6AE, UK www.buxtonpress.co.uk
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Murray
by Caz www.myspace.com/Miss_AW11
MR2 Gallery Are you a budding artist? a dab hand with a paintbrush? a Photoshop Wizard or maybe even your kids have drawn a picture of your MR2 that you’re proud of and its hanging on your the fridge door? Come on let’s get artistic... We’d like to see them, so please email them over to steveb@mr2only.com a free MR2 Only T shirt will be sent out to you if we choose to print yours. I have been a big Toyota fan ever since I was lucky enough to have been driven ‘round Silverstone by Will Hoy in his MKIV Supra. Dreaming of having my own Supra one day, it wasn’t until I tried driving one did I realise it just didn’t suit me - sure it had plenty of power, but something was lacking in the drive. So, on to plan B - already owning a Toyota Yaris, I was ready to take on something nippy that would bring back the fun of driving and what better than a MK1 MR2? It took nearly a year, scouring Auto Trader (viewing some dreadful examples) and eBay before I finally found what I was looking for. A 1988 AW11 that was exactly as described with relatively low mileage! I rang the owner and struck up a deal. The following Saturday, I was ready to pick it up. Not only was the car in great condition, but when I looked in the boot, the owner had included an entire collection of MR2 Driver’s Club newsletters, magazines and sheets of practical ‘how-tos’ in there. Bargain! So I haven’t looked back and ‘Murray’ is the sole inspiration for this illustration. I created it from scratch using Adobe Illustrator and added the extra elements and effects in Adobe Photoshop. Although I’m a Web & Graphic Designer by trade, this is my first car illustration and I have to say I’m quite proud of it. If you’re on MySpace, feel free to add me and say hello - I’d love to know what fellow MR2 owners think! Caz. www.myspace.com/Miss_AW11
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A new name but the same commitment to quality and customer service... Since 2001 we have been using the name Funky to promote products to retail customers. With the ever changing Performance and Tuning market we have seen that our current name, Funky Styling has reached the end of its useful life. We have therefore taken the decision to create a new brand name and web shop using the name JDM Performance. We are very excited about this new name and chance to re-brand in the market place, please visit our website www.jdmperformance.co.uk to see what we have in store.
Toyota Rear Strut Top Mount Continuing their commitment to providing genuine parts for Japanese cars at unbeatable prices JDM Performance have just added this new Rear shock top mount from Toyota. Fitting all SW20 MR2 models from 89-99 this standard replacement part will help MR2s suffering from sloppy rear suspension. This is available now from JDM Performance at a price significantly lower than UK Toyota dealers. Why pay more going to the main dealer when you can buy from JDM Performance?
Available now from www.jdmperformance.co.uk Priced at £54. JDM Performance is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of specialist Japanese car products.
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Hello from IGMR2
Hello MR2 friends all over the world! We are a German MR2 Club called Interessengemeinschaft MR2 or IGMR2. Our members are located all over Germany and our aim is to make friends with other MR2 owners and to protect our beloved MR2 ‘s. So we would like to say “Hello” to the MR2 world with the help of this wonderful magazine. We would be happy to get more in contact with MR2 Clubs and owners from all over the world. Our German community exists since the early 1990’s to organize MR2 meetings and nowadays the internet becomes more and more powerful for car enthusisasts, so we are happy to power the MR2 Forum germany too. So please feel free to get in contact with us by email if you or your club has interest in exchanging information about meetings, events about the MR2. You are all welcome to attend to our meetings and we are also happy to hear about every international meeting information we get. Happy driving and keep the MR2 alive. Falco Zeidler IGMR2 www.igmr2.de www.mr2forum.de f.zeidler@igmr2.de
Do run an MR2 Owners club or region? Whether you have 2 members or 300,000 members we’d love to hear from you, please email your news and meet photos to steveb@mr2only.com 10
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MR2’s On Track At Anglesey –
The New Coastal Circuit 16,17 & 18 June 2007
Martin Goldsack in the middle section of the Corkscrew
Words - Garrick Abrahamson
Tom gets it seriously sideways:
Photos – Robert King, Anna & Alex Speed and Jo Walker
After a mad rush getting our supercharged MK1 ready to go on track after a head gasket change, we finally made it to Anglesey with the Supercharger not missing a beat and the N/A track car (The N/Ail) sounding a little poorly thanks to a blowing exhaust. We met up with other MK1 Club, IMOC & ROC members in the cottages we were all sharing and dug into delicious SpagBol & much needed refreshments. The evening entertainment began to get quite serious with much playing of a Wii Console. Tennis and 10 pin bowling seemed the order of the evening. On Saturday a few of us convoyed to the track following instruction from my SatNav. We arrive at a leafy countryside estate with no track in sight! It turned out we were following directions to the track’s registered postal address and office! Once we were re-directed and arrived at the track, we ‘set up camp’ with the other MR2s, signed in and received a fairly comprehensive briefing considering it was pretty much the 1st public track day on the circuit and no one there had driven it before. A good, thorough briefing is always to be expected from a decent track day organiser, in this case Book-a-Track.
The Fosters also had a Red MKII N/A there in which they seemed to be having just as much fun.
We each piled into our own cars for the sighting laps, Jo in the SC and myself in the N/Ail. The sighting laps revealed a really well laid out track with nice wide, smooth tarmac with plenty of run-off everywhere. There were a few very technical bits to it making the circuit a real challenge. Our excitement grew immensely. Returning to the paddocks, we both jumped into the N/Ail to do the morning sessions. The plan was to do the afternoon in the SC once we had put track pads on it during the lunch break. 1st outing, 1st corner in the N/Ail - loud pop (bang) followed by what sounded like a V12 on wide open throttle! The heat-wrap burned through and the front pipe had dropped to the ground with part of the manifold still attached. We limped the N/Ail back to the paddock at about 10mph all the way around the circuit notifying other drivers to continue and overtake. Once back in the paddock, we discovered the manifold had a clean break where the 4 branches join into the two pipes. After realising the N/Ail would not be up to the job, we then jumped into the SC, still with the road pads fitted and did a good 15 minute session. Surprisingly the pads held up relatively well initially and we decided to continue for the rest of the day on the road pads.
A couple of Roadsters in the paddock area with a VX220 pretending to be a Roadster for the day: Dave (IMOC member, ‘Flat Pack’) brought his 20V 4A-GE powered Striker. Awesome car which was pretty quick around the circuit. Dave still owes us passenger laps…
The new track was absolutely terrifying at first with rather steep up-hills (going into the Rocket Complex) and very steep downhill gradient (going into Corkscrew Complex). Along the back straight (gentle curve) we were doing just on a ton and we still have Nobles and Caterhams passing like we were standing still! By the afternoon, our confidence and knowledge of the layout had built so we weren’t being passed all the time. We also landed up having one or two clear laps and even passing other cars for a change! By late afternoon the brake pads had pretty much given up. We were nearly having to stand on the pedal before the car started to slow down! It was good seeing Peter Foster using a Challenge MKII as his own car was still being worked on by Rogue Motorsport mr2onlyiss6sec1.indd 11
The 20V 4A-GE lump with throttle bodies
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The track activities ended at around 5pm. We packed up our tools, track day support gear and returned to the cottages. Later that evening we all walked to a local pub for some dinner and a few drinks before going back to the cottage for Wii, X-Box360 and more refreshments. On Sunday a few members were driving the International GP circuit which eliminates Corkscrew and sends them up the long straight to Hairpin and back down again. They woke up fairly early and headed out to the track while the rest of us lay in for a couple of hours before rising for a nice fried up English breakfast in honour of Anna’s Birthday. We later descended upon the track to blag some passenger rides and repair broken bits on the cars or change brake pads. Many of us wandered off later in the afternoon to catch up on sight seeing and touristy things
On Sunday evening we all met up back at the cottages and got Indian takeouts and refreshments with more Wii and Xbox action. Most of us retired early as the events of the previous two days proved too much. Monday morning, refreshed, we headed back to the track to have another go at the coastal circuit. This time it had been organised as a Staff & Friends Invite Only event by Book-A-Track. So this meant far fewer cars on track. As a result most of our time on track was unspoilt by having to move over for faster traffic. We managed to get much quicker and consistent times throughout each section until the afternoon when the heavens opened with a torrential downpour. The track marshals considered closing the track early but were persuaded otherwise. After all wet = More Fun! We initially took it fairly easy in the wet conditions as the supercharger is a daily drive and we couldn’t afford to have to sort out bodywork. To our surprise there was a shed load of grip available and you had to seriously provoke the car to get it sideways without spinning it. Although Tom Dyke found it fairly easy with little to no tread left on his tyres!
The Row of MK1’s being worked on
The day on track ended at 5pm. We packed all the tools and stuff up before heading home. I had the pleasure of enduring the 3.5 hour journey home in a MK1 with no exhaust… I can swear I still have buzzing in my ears…
A summary of the circuit from a Supercharged AW11 point of view: Sunday Crew: It was around this point we realised that we had a record gathering 7 Supercharged MK1 MR2s at a track, which also included a Super Edition – quite rare – not the “Ebay Rare” we have come to know all too well!
Out of the pitlane/blend-line into a fairly tight right-hander called Banking, it’s slightly banked and needs a bit of feathering on the throttle in 3rd to get you through to full throttle on the exit drifting out to the outer edge of the track. Slip it into fourth and at the end of the straight, continue flat-out through the right hander of Church Corner into the back straight and continue on full throttle (shift into 5th if you feel the need but not really necessary) expecting to get to around 100mph. Continue full throttle as you turn in to go uphill
4 of the SC’s (Super Edition on the Left):
Kirsty identifies her broken/burned speedo cable which seemed to have got snagged on the exhaust manifold and burned right through. 12
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Fast but enjoyable in lower power vehicles. Very wide (12m) with loads of run-off everywhere – little chance of being able to hit scenery if you get it wrong. Rumble strips/kerbing was not in place at time of writing. A circuit that will suit most cars and varied power. The Corkscrew Complex makes the Coastal Circuit favourable. The new surface offers plenty of grip (even in the wet) and encourages plenty of tyre squeal but minimal wear.
Me doing the brake pads
And the other side
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towards the Rocket Complex. Hard on the brakes, heel-toeing into 3rd and again into 2nd for the sharp lefthander of Rocket. Floor the loud pedal on exit and enjoy the back-end step-out a tad, setting up the car nicely for the sharp-ish right-hander of Rocket. Lift off a little (if needed to encourage a bit of over-steer) and floor it through the right-hander – another chance to get the rear out a bit. Full throttle into 3rd as you head towards the right-hander known as Peel (named after the late, great John Peel). Dab the brakes a little to help turn in and feather the throttle through Peel, drift outwards towards the outer edge of the track (plenty of room). Hard on the gas again as you exit and head over the brow and down to the lefthander of Corkscrew. (This can be daunting at first!) Onto the brakes and turn in aiming almost as if you’re going to go up towards the Hairpin (on the GP Circuit). Dab the brakes and hard on the steering over to the right for the sharp, steep downhill and negative camber of Corkscrew keeping it fairly wide and enjoy negative camber drift/slide! Straighten up and aim the car as if you are going to continue right onto the Club Circuit. Lift off before going into the 1st left hander before the pits and accelerate through the corner – another good spot to get the rear out! Shift into 4th just before going into the left hander known only at this time as “Pants” and keep it flat-out all the way around until needing to downshift into 3rd for Banking again. I think anyone who has driven the new circuit at Anglesey would recommend it and definitely drive it again. Truly awesome!
Thank you’s:
Kirsty – for organising the accommodation and the Spag-Bol. Book-a-Track (www.bookatrack.com) – for organising the event and inviting us to their special staff & friends day. Mark Nias, Tom Dyke, Anna & Alex Speed – for helping getting the Supercharger ready in time. Terry – for the strappings to hold the N/Ails exhaust off the ground to get us home. Dave - for the use of his Wii Alex Goldsack - for the use of his 360 All who attended – for making it a brilliant weekend!
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GREEN
Written by MARTIN WEAVER - martin@mr2only.com - Photos by Mario Massiti www.MarioMasitti.com and Nick Kyle www.Nicklk.com
Crazy, crisp, spotless, bright – no I’m not naming DJ’s, these are just some of the words we have heard used to describe Kyle Meyers spanking (there’s another!) MR-S Roadster. Almost every aspect of this car makes it pop and stand out from the rest. Let’s have a look around shall we? Kyle resides in Denver, Colorado in the USA where he works as a CAD draughtsperson although this serves only as a way to fund his habit – cars.
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This is definitely the most unusual yet eye-catching aspect of the car, the first thing you see when looking at the MR-S is a set of green wheels with a car attached. Back in 2001 Kyle had just finished high school and was quickly getting hooked on the modifying scene, reading magazines and attending shows whenever possible. Using his new found enthusiasm and ideas from many sources he went to work on his 1995 Chrysler Sebring, transforming it into a show stopper. An unusual choice for such lavished attention I hear you say, but this was of course just the start, the practice run if you will. Kyle is strictly in the game to be unique and hates following trends, “I’ve always thrived on doing something different” he tells us. A couple of years later and a couple closer to paying off the Sebring, Kyle’s mind started to wander – what could he work his magic on next? A few cars made the brain based shortlist, a Mazda Miata, Honda S2000 and of course the Toyota MR-S. With the first 2 deemed too common place in the modding world our man went for the natural choice and became one of us!
Next came the difficult choice of wheels. I bet you can count the number of cars you have seen with green rims on one hand, if you can even think of one other example that is. This is definitely the most unusual yet eye-catching aspect of the car, the first thing you see when looking at the MR-S is a set of green wheels with a car attached. They do look great and some how work really well and totally set the car apart from the rest without the need for extravagant accessories. Green was not Kyle’s first choice though; the car nearly wore gold and blue rollers at one point! Needless to say Kyle is over the moon with the look, explaining, “A lot of people were skeptical at first but then changed their mind shortly after seeing them on the car, realising that I had somehow pulled off the green with great balance”. Supporting the car over the new rims is a top notch set of TEIN SS-P coilovers, making a great handling car even better. Aiding the suspension kit are 4 Yokohama Spec 2 Parada tyres. Rumour has
MR-S
As ever with new car purchase time, the exact car Kyle wanted in the right colour turned up a bit too soon and he had to move fast, paying off the Sebring going into a weekend and owning his new MR-S on the way out. The original plan for the car was (wait for it, you have definitely heard this one before!) for it to remain a daily driver and resist the pull of concourse (told you!). So anyhow, around three minutes later the modifications began.
The first part of the car to receive attention was the roof believe it or not, with many of his friends describing the roadster as “Cute”, Kyle was on the hunt for an import only hard top. As you could never buy the hardtop in the U.S. due to stringent crash regulations, JDM helpfully supplied Kyle with the part in question, “It does a great job of changing the overall look of the car and makes it look a bit more aggressive rather then “cute” he says.
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At the moment Kyle is running the standard engine as it is more than adequate for his needs; however it has received some attention. PPE air intake, inlet manifold and high flow CAT look after getting the air in and out nice and quickly. An Apexi air filter and full stainless exhaust helping this process along too. With a TRD carbon rocker cover and oil cap the unit also looks the part.
MR-S
it Kyle’s local roads have been reinforced due to the sheer amount of lateral grip the MR-S generates as it tears up the tarmac!
Inside things get just as tasty, check out those stunning Bride Brix II buckets and colour coded Takata harnesses. Also from Takata are some nifty green door inserts that tie the colour theme into the cockpit too. With the carbon dash trim and Razo gear knob the interior is well and truly a nice place to be.
well with the shape of the roadster as does the Australian MS Design tail wing, completing the look. It is really great to feature a car that doesn’t revolve around how much power it is producing. The stunning example you see here loses no marks at all for not having 300bhp in the back. With a dyno recorded output of 114bhp / 107ft.lbs at the wheels it is easily great fun to drive, especially when you consider its relatively modest weight and that fantastic chassis setup. Kyle has modified his car evenly and to a fantastic standard front to back and it really shows, even with those green wheels! Finally you may be shocked to hear that the MR-S is still driven daily, so he kept his promise after all – so there!
Lastly we move back outside to investigate the MR-S’s bodywork. Carbon fibre has been a common theme throughout the car which continues here with the lovely Seibon bonnet, front lip and BRS engine cover. TRD sideskirts work
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MR-S
MODS LIST: Interior:
BRIDE BRIX II SEATS TAKATA MPH 341WR HARNESSES TAKATA HARNESS PADS TAKATA GREEN DOOR PANEL INSERTS CARBON FIBER DASH TRIM RAZO BALL SHIFT KNOB BROADWAY MIRROR JDM STEERING WHEEL BADGE
Exterior:
JDM MIDSHIP RUNABOUT BADGE JDM MR-S BADGE JDM HARDTOP TRD SIDESKIRTS SEIBON CARBON FIBER HOOD
SEIBON CARBON FIBER FRONT LIP BRS CARBON FIBER DECK LID MS DESIGN TAIL WING (FROM AUSTRIA) MODIFIED SHORT ANTENNA CELICA CLEAR SIDE MARKERS
Engine:
PPE INTAKE PPE HEADER PPE HIGH FLOW CAT APEX’i INTAKE FILTER APEX’i N1 CATBACK EXHAUST TRD CARBON FIBER VALVE COVER (COVER) TRD OIL CAP ALUMINUM COOLING PANEL
Suspension:
CUSTOM ROTA GRIDS 16X7 (ROYAL ABSOLUTE GREEN) 205/45/16 YOKOHAMA PARADA SPEC II TEIN SS-P COILOVERS TRD FRONT UPPER STRUT BAR TRD REAR UPPER STRUT BAR FRONT MEMBER BRACE ANTI-FLEX BREASTPLATE ROTORA SLOTTED ROTORS
THANKS:
Team UNDRGND. www.RMMOC.com www.SpyderChat.com www.MR2BOARD.com MARIO MASITTI www.MARIOMASITTI.com NICK KYLE www.NICKLK.com
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T.M.C.J. Lake Shirakaba MR2 09 June – 10 June 2007 - Photos & Words by Phoenix Finally Reporting in! It’s been a few months due to the winter season to report to you guys on the current happenings in Japan with the MR2 scene. I had the opportunity to attend another Japanese MR2 Meet and would like to share it with you all. I’m going to give you guys the whole story of the weekend, some of it is relevant and some isn’t. Lake Shirakaba, Japan, is home to some of the most beautiful scenery of trees, mountains and lakes in Japan. Located in the Nagano Prefecture, Lake Shirakaba is a man-made lake surrounded by mountains with only small, traditional towns surrounding it. On June 9th and June 10th, the Toyota MR2 Club Japan invaded the popular recreational area to enjoy some great driving, good food, technical conversations and most importantly…….the MR2s. Lake Shirakaba is about a 4 hour drive from where I live in Tokyo, so I decided that it would be best to get a head start and drive up the night before and get a hotel room at the local city. I arrived much earlier than I thought Friday night and decided a few beers wouldn’t hurt since it was roughly 8:00pm and I found a hotel rather quickly. So I headed off to the local pub to tip a few beers back. Being an American in Japan can be hard at times, due to the fact that I speak about 1% of the entire Japanese language. I can get around, ask how much something is (but not understand the answer), order a beer, or ask where the bathroom is. So finding a bar that will allow me to sit and tip a few beers back can be hard since a lot of local pubs outside the major cites simply don’t like foreigners. After getting the big X at a few bars, I found one that didn’t mind, or they were too scared to ask me to leave since I am a pretty big guy compared to them. I sat down, ordered a beer and what do ya know, they had a formula racing special on the television, so I sat and enjoyed my beer. I’m sure most of you have been in the situation of, “time flies when you’re having fun”. Well, not keeping track of the time or the amount of beer that I had consumed, I sat there and watched formula racing till 3:00am in the morning. Not realizing I was piss drunk till I stood up from my stool, I paid my bar tab ($160 dollars!) and staggered back to my hotel room for some sleep and an early wake-up at 7:00am so I could get my things together, shower and get to the meeting spot 20 kilometers away by 9:00am.
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DAY 1 A little tired, and a little hungover, the day started off Saturday, June 9th with everyone meeting up at a local rest stop off the highway near the city of Chino in the Nagano prefecture of Japan. It was early, roughly 9:00am and a little cold out since we were in much higher elevation than the area I am from. I arrived to find everyone hanging out and talking and I shook hands with the people I knew and proceeded to the nearest vending machine and bought out its supply of water and Gatorade to make myself feel a little better. At 9:30am everyone had arrived and introductions began. Again, my Japanese language skills are poor so I just stood there and smiled. Basically, from what I understood, they said their names, where they are from and a little bit about their car and showed off some of the more major modifications that you don’t see every day. After the introductions we jumped in line for registrations and ID Badge pickup. The ID Badges are simply a way for us to remember everyone’s name and where they are from. Course, the ID badges are in Japanese so I have no idea what they say officially as far as peoples names. After the ID Badge pickup, we had a little bit of free time. During this time, I had the chance to set up my video camera in my MR2 so I could record the drive and make you guys a video (check out the MR2only area on the www.mr2.com and MR2Board Forums). Finally! We took off from the parking lot in groups of 5 around 10:30am, each one containing a “group leader”. Luckily, the group I was with had a little bit of English skills so in our own way (lots of hand motions), they could tell me where we were going and what’s going on next. We drove on a highway for about 20 minutes north towards the Lake Shirakaba area. Our destination in this part of the trip was the top of a mountain with an open air museum. Roughly an hour and half of driving through some of the best mountain roads in Japan (quite fast too), arriving at the museum, we parked and went inside for some lunch and souvenir shopping. Lunch was spectacular; on top of this mountain in the middle of nowhere in Japan is this great restaurant specializing in curry dishes. Curry is a sauce which is complimented by some white rice and your choice of meet. Keeping it on the safe side, I went with the chicken and it was wonderful. If you ever visit Japan, you have to eat at a curry house, its some of the best dishes in Japan. No worries on finding a curry place either in Japan, there is one on every street corner. After lunch there was a little bit of free time to check out the area and do some shopping if you so wished to do so. I
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R2 Meet 2007 A few members brought some of their toys with them. These guys have some little remote control MR2s! These things are amazing! They are by far the neatest grown up toys I have seen. They actually modified and painted their MR2s to look like their own cars. looked around the shop a little bit and looked at the local cuisine that they were selling. In Tokyo most of the souvenir shops that sell dried food, sell dried and seasoned fish because it is close to the water. In the mountains they sell a lot of dried and seasoned meat which I learned that most of the local community in the mountains make a living off of meat in one way or another. After I left the shop, I noticed a few people crowding around an area by the MR2s. Striking my curiosity, I went over to see what was going on and found that a few members brought some of their toys with them. These guys have some little remote control MR2s! These things are amazing! They are by far the neatest grown up toys I have seen. They actually modified and painted their MR2s to look like their own cars. They drove them around a little bit and I was surprised how fast they were. Now I don’t know the company name but I think I can find it, so when I do check out the MR2only forums and I’ll post where you can get one of these from. After lunch we took off back down the mountain to our next spot which was a rest area/souvenir shopping center. Leaving around 1:30pm, it took about an hour to arrive at our next destination in our tour of the mountain area. At this point it did start to rain a little bit so we took it easy on the way down the mountain. Arriving at the Rest Stop, we all went into the building for some Ice Cream, Souvenir shopping and Corn. Yes, Corn. There was this little stand outside of the main building that sold a seasoned, steaming corn on the cob and it was excellent! So good I ate 2 before leaving the rest area. I find that in my travels in Japan there are always small things that I find or do that I will never forget for the rest of my life and that corn, was one of them. About 30 minutes of resting at the ol rest stop, we took off for the meet parking lot right next to Lake Shirakaba. It was about a 20 minute drive
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and it was still raining, so we took it easy down the hill. Course, that didn’t stop me from having a little bit of fun. Driving in the large city of Tokyo, I very rarely have enough space or time to legally take my car to the point of being able to shift into third gear. So taking advantage of this open space was extremely relaxing and actually felt like I was finally driving my MR2. Getting to the large parking lot that we park in to take group pictures, it started to clear up a little bit on the rain. So we were able to park all of the cars at the meeting area by color and generation of MR2. Finally noticing one thing that seemed odd to me about the whole meet, there were no MK3 spiders. What the hell! This needed to be investigated. I asked a friend of mine who spoke some English and he just shrugged and said he had no idea why. Going back on memory, the last meet there was only 1 MK3 (now sold and replaced with a 99 turbo MK2). I believe that there really are not that many MR-S owners who enjoy their cars as much as MK1 and MK2 owners do in Japan, or they segregate themselves from the real MR2 owners (kidding). Anyway, all cars lined, we got some great group pictures for the day. After a few hours or so of browsing over everyone’s MR2s and taking tons of pictures we had our final announcement and then goodbyes for the day. A few people had to leave and go home while the rest of us waited around to caravan to the hotel. We all headed off to the hotel to check in and finally get some rest from the long day (and much needed sleep for me). In Japan the hotels are not hotels as you would think. Most hotels outside of the city are usually renovated houses. The hotel we stayed at is great, mainly because it is a western style hotel, so I had a real bed and a real shower and not on the floor with a straw mat which is what happened last time I went to one of these. After some interesting parking procedures, we checked in to the hotel and had about an hour before dinner. What’s great about Japanese hotels is when you purchase a nights stay, you get dinner and breakfast included. The hotel price was about $80.00 for one nights stay but well worth it since the dinner was amazing. Dinner time rolled around. We all crammed into a dinner area (about 30 of us) and sat down for a full 7 course meal. Although in small proportions it definitely filled you up. An impression that I got out of the whole thing that actually kind of stuck with me, they eat everything. We had a steak as the main course and although it was an excellent steak it was a little fatty. I was surprised to see my Japanese friends cut the fat off the steak and eat it while I simply put it to the side. Biggest reason I was surprised is you don’t see obese Japanese people everyday as Japanese people in general are in great physical condition where as the western cultures have problems with obesity. As skinny as those guys were, I actually couldn’t finish the full meal and they had no
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So out came all the MR2 publications, manuals, magazine articles and most importantly my collection of MR2 Only Magazines. problem doing it. Just an interesting observation that I had about it. Last year, after dinner, we had 2 groups, one going to the local Onsen (a spa) and one group going up the mountain for a “spirited” drive to the top where a member breaks out his industrial sized telescope and we checked out planets. Unfortunately, that night, the weather turned for the worse and we had to cancel the drive because it was way too wet to drive at a healthy pace, so for safety the drive was cancelled. At this time though, most of the members decided to go to the Onsen. I have never been to an Onsen in Japan, for the same reason I decided it was not a good idea to go on this night also. In Japan, men do not have tattoos and if they do it’s usually a sign that they are Yakuza, the Japanese equivalent of the American Mafia. Most Onsens do not allow people with tattoos to use their facilities. So rather than go and get denied access because I do have a few tattoos, I stayed and conversed with a few members who stayed behind. So out came all the MR2 publications, manuals, magazine articles and most importantly my collection of MR2 Only Magazines. We browsed each others publications, not really knowing what they say on both sides but either way we were all interested and asked many questions. During this, someone broke out their very own Original MR2 Promotional Dealership DVD. Now, I was able to snag a copy of the DVD while I was there, so if you’re interested and want to watch it, check out the MR2only Forums via the MR2only website and I will be sure it’s posted by the time this goes to print. At that point in the night, after a few beers and only going on 4 hours of sleep from the night before, I decided it was time to go to bed and get rested for the next day. DAY 2 After a great nights sleep we all started getting up around 7:00am to meet up for breakfast. A few of them looked a little drained from the night before, I guess they stayed up and broke out the Saki and other liquors. We sat down for breakfast, which was small but really good. Some sort of weird eggs were served and till this day I have no idea what it was but it was good. After breakfast we had a little bit of time to get packed up and get ourselves composed for the day (shower and shave).
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After loading up my MR2 with all my gear we all got together for a morning picture outside of the hotel. The day looked a little promising as far as weather goes but unfortunately it wasn’t as nice as I hoped it would be. We started off back in our groups towards the meeting area that we were at the day before. Arriving, a few more MR2s showed up for the days activities. This day wasn’t the most exciting of days. Like the other meets in the past, the second day was mostly conversation and checking out each others MR2s. The second day officially started with a speech from the event organizer, Nekomata-san. As usual, I was lost in translation but he made me feel included by throwing a few jokes in English. During this morning we got all the cars lined up again and started taking pictures. A few of the members broke out some of their air soft guns and started tinkering with them. I never had a chance to see one and man, they look real. Japan apparently doesn’t have the law like the States where the muzzles have to be painted orange. Honestly, if I was a police officer I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a real gun and an air soft gun unless I had it in my hand. Neat toys though. After a few hours of talking and whatnot, we all formed up back into our groups and caravanned over to eat lunch. The trip only took maybe 15 minutes at the most to arrive and we all parked together. At this point in the day it was pouring rain on us so it was a quick park and run to the door of the building we were about to eat in. I don’t remember the name of this place, but it’s in the middle of nowhere and it’s a farm and to be specific, a dairy farm. They had a restaurant and a souvenir section and sold lots of different kinds of meat and poultry products. The restaurant is where we all headed to eat the best pizza I have ever had in my life. They hand toss and custom make your pizza using a stone oven built right in the middle of the restaurant so you could watch your food being made. I ordered a 4 cheese pizza which I found out later the cheese was made right there on location and it was good. After lunch we browsed around the souvenir shop and ate ice cream which was also made on location from the cows that they keep in the buildings and on the land. Japan, without a doubt has the best ice cream in the world and I have been all over the world. It was so good I ate two. Once we were done browsing, a small group of us went and hung out around the cars and talked about the difference between the American club and Japanese club and the difference in cars and what everyone wants in the States that you can only get in Japan. The conversation turned into one big joke and I had a really fun time talking to them. We got off the topic of MR2s and simply went into the language of Japanese and the English. So
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we all stood there in the rain and they taught me a few swear words in Japanese and I in turn taught them the words in English. Definitely the funniest conversation of the weekend and it was a riot, all of us just laughing and picking on each other with their new found words. I think learning other country’s swear words is smart, mainly because for one reason you will know when someone isn’t too happy with you and the second reason, you actually learn more about the culture. For example, if I was to call a friend in the States a “pimp”, 9 out of 10 times, that’s actually a good thing (if you’re single) but in Japan, it’s one of the worst things you can say to someone. Basically, it’s fighting words if you call someone that. I personally find it interesting because you actually get a sense of the difference in culture just by one word or phrase. Another thing I learned in Japan, it’s socially acceptable to use umbrellas no matter what sex you are. Where I come from, on the coast of Oregon, it really isn’t common to see a guy with an umbrella, since it rains so much guys just don’t use them and deal with being wet. The look on their faces though was priceless when I told them this after being soaking wet because I didn’t use an umbrella. The only way I could explain it was where I come from, it’s not manly for guys to do it. Once they understood what I was saying, all ten of the guys I was talking to slowly lowered their umbrellas and put them down. It was hilarious, just a classic response I wasn’t expecting, especially when they all bulged their chests out like they were big men. I kindly explained to them though, that it was their culture and its okay for them to use umbrellas. I wish I had a picture of it though but it was raining and didn’t want to risk getting my camera wet.
so he asked someone else to give the closing remarks for the meet. Again, not understanding what he said, I kindly stood there and listened in. After the closing remarks were given, slowly people started to say goodbye to each other and take off. After about 15 minutes of saying good bye, I decided it was my turn and said good bye to the remaining group and took off for the long drive back to Tokyo. The drive went by quickly as there was no traffic and I arrived home in record time, which is rare because usually traffic is backed up for miles on the highway if you’re trying to get into the city on a Sunday evening. Being at these meets are one of the best experiences of my life. Being an MR2 owner and enthusiast for almost 4 years now and owning 3 different MR2s, it’s great to be able to visit and check out MR2s from another country and see what they do to them. I want to thank the MR2 Club Japan for making me feel apart of the MR2 community here in Japan, even though I am a foreigner they treated me like a member of their own family. After 4 meets I think they all have warmed up to me and are used to me being around. Everyone there helped me out in one way or another and big thanks to all the people who helped me understand what was going on with either hand movements, or their English. Until the next meet……… More information of TMCJ owners and their cars will be in issue 7 of MR2 Only Magazine and to see all of the photos taken at this meet visit www.mr2only.com or visit the MR2 Only section of www.mr2.com to chat about the meet.
After some good laughs, the rest of the group came out and we all got together for the final words. The event organizer had to leave early
We got off the topic of MR2s and simply went into the language of Japanese and the English. So we all stood there in the rain and they taught me a few swear words in Japanese and I in turn taught them the words in English. Definitely the funniest conversation of the weekend and it was a riot, all of us just laughing and picking on each other with their new found words.
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Engine before the intercooler was fitted
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Dream come true... DAVE TIMMINS
M
y interest in MK1’s came literally out of the blue. I hadn’t seen one for a very long time and certainly hadn’t read about one and had never really hankered after one either but back in September 2002 I had a very vivid dream one night about owning a red Mk1!
necessary bits to improve its condition. After a short while I started to have one small problem after another and knowing nothing about these cars or where to source advice I scoured the net and found Paul Woods of Woodsport.
After a few weeks searching I found a red 1987 coupe, one owner Mk1 in Surrey for £850 and I contacted the owner to make arrangements to view the car. It was in lovely condition with only slight paint fading which would T-cut out and a few small areas of rust. Now they say you should never buy the first car you see but boy did I fall in love with that car !!.... and yes you’ve guessed it, I bought it there and then.
Paul was so helpful over the phone, talking me through fixing all manner of faults virtually every day, which is where my nickname of Jinxy came from.... Thanks Paul !!! The car behaved itself for a while, then tragedy struck. The head gasket blew leaving me without a car to use or the confidence to repair it, so I decided to find a replacement engine. This is when I struck a friendship with Kev (Crazylegs) Crane who had an engine which he had bought as a replacement from a breakers and had never fitted it. Even though the 3 month warranty was just out of date, I bought it anyway as I was desperate to get my Mk1 back on the road and again Paul talked me through the process of dropping out the old engine and fitting the replacement. After a couple of day’s hard work it was time to fire her up again..... but to my horror yep you’ve guessed it, the head gasket had gone on this one too!!! At this time I was so fed up I was wondering why I had ever bothered to buy the car, but Kevin being the true gent he is refunded all of my money that I had paid for the engine.
I looked after that car like it was a baby, polishing it, buying it new bits from Toyota and generally cleaning it up and doing the
Yet another call was made to Paul with the news of what had happened and after picking himself off of the floor in disbelief he
So curiosity got the better of me and I wondered how much these cars were selling for and bet they were going to be well out of my price range but this dream was so vivid I just had to find out. I spent ages on the net and looking through lots of car mags and found to my surprise that they were well within my price range and for the next few weeks I drove my girlfriend Nicola absolutely mad with the only topic of conversation being about a red Mk1.
was convinced I was jinxed as he had never heard of anyone having so many problems with a Mk1. So concerned was he, that he said he would drop all his work if I could get the car to Durham and he would get it back on the road for me. So off to Paul’s workshop it went on the back of a low loader and at that time I decided on Paul fitting a replacement low mileage API engine to save any more hassle. After a week or so I got the car back and I was “Jinx” free for a good while and I was at last able to enjoy the car and then tragedy struck again! A dead short in the wiring loom fried my electrics from front to back rendering the car a write-off. I duly bought the car back from the insurance company and stripped it of all the new parts I had bought for it and then Kev and I cut the car in pieces for the shear hell of it…. Bye are these cars put together well!! (The film Christine springs to mind!!). At this point any sane person would have walked away, never to return to Mk1 ownership again but I had been bitten by the Mk1 bug and had encountered so many Mk1 friends, so I started searching for a replacement Mk1. In 2004 with the help of Paul I found a low mileage 1989 T-bar in Mica blue and got Paul to check it thoroughly for me before taking ownership. He confirmed that it was a beauty and in very good condition, so I bought it and when I got it home one of the first jobs I did was to swap the engine for
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At this point any sane person would have walked away, never to return to Mk1 ownership again but I had been bitten by the Mk1 bug the damage. It was bad!! To’ing and fro’ing with the insurance companies didn’t help matters either and it was a long drawn out process. the low mileage engine that was in my old Mk1 and detail it whilst it was out and fitted all the brand new Toyota suspension I had bought. I was now confident enough to do these tasks after learning a lot about them and taking in all the information I had read from the forums. This car was totally different from my last one and instead of spending money on repairs I could spend it on replacing old items for new ones. Kevin became a great friend and helped at weekends when we would work on each others cars. Nigel (Russd1) a local Mk1 owner joined us and we ended up buying and selling Mk1’s to fund our hobby and it’s gone from strength to strength, so much so that we now have our own web site www.tandk-mr2-mk1spares.piczo.com However it wasn’t long before the jinx factor was back. Whilst working on a car we were selling, my neighbour backed her car out of her drive straight into the rear wing of my car. I couldn’t believe it!! and for at least 10 minutes I just couldn’t face looking at 30
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Once it was sorted and they paid out, Paul Woods came to the rescue again and put a brand new rear quarter panel on for me and apart from a noisy gearbox or five, I’ve been jinx free for nearly two years (Touches wood, lucky heather, rabbit’s foot and horseshoes!!). In that time I’ve had the headlining leathered in black, both seats re-leathered in black with Mica blue piping to match the colour of the car by a superb, family run local auto trimming company HRS of Broxbourne Herts 01992 451622.
I’ve also fitted new T-bar seals, new door hinges, a Superflex polybush kit, Fidanza lightweight flywheel and a Dastek Uni chip, a Jimi accelerator bracket, brand new rear light units from Toyota, Paul Woods manual choke conversion kit, EBC greenstuff pads both front and rear, with Black Diamond Grooved only disks both front and rear, Lotus Elise S2 twin exit Exhaust, short shift gear lever, leather spare wheel cover with blue piping to match the seats designed by us, Blaupunkt active subwoofer and amp mounted under the driver’s seat combined with alpine head unit and 6x9” speakers mounted behind the seats which I think works well on a car this size. Plus a huge host of other brand new parts, I’ve also recently had most of the under floor and
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My car lives outside all year round and is used as everyday transport to work which involves a 60 mile round trip. “Now I’m four years into Mk1 ownership I really can’t see myself driving anything else” boot floor cut out and replaced along with both ‘A’ and ‘B’ posts both sides. I’ve also had both rear wings and both doors resprayed and a lower rear quarter panel put in. I’ve also fitted some original 1989 aftermarket basket weave alloys which I refurbished myself due to the astronomical price I was quoted to get them done at alloy wheel centres. I even designed the Mk1 eagle centre caps and then hunted down companies that would make them for me which adds that finishing touch and then I fitted 195/50/15 Goodyear Eagle F1’s all round. My car lives outside all year round and is used as everyday transport to work which involves a 60 mile round trip. I’m now very happy with the car and have been to many shows especially with the S.E branch of the MR2 Mk1 club where I’ve helped out with some of the organising. I’m also now
the technical advisor for the Mk1 MR2 club. Well who better to do the job than someone who’s dismantled most of his own car due to problems than me J!! I also won Best Mk1 T-bar at JAE 2006 which was a real honour and have met some really good friends, many of whom turn up at my house at weekends just to work on each others cars and have a chat.
Thanks go to:Nicola xx Paul Woods (Woodsport) Kev (Crazylegs) Nigel (Russd1) HRS Autotrim Ennis (Ensmr2) Chris (Limeymk1) Steve + Zube (Hills Toyota at Woodford Essex) And everyone else up and down the country who I’ve met since ownership.
Now I’m four years into Mk1 ownership I really can’t see myself driving anything else. The Mk1 community is second to none, always willing to help each other out in times of need. Ok I had a bad start to Mk1 ownership but to be honest looking back it has really helped me to understand how these cars work. So some good has come out of it after all and for me, dreams do come true.... even though there were a few nightmares along the way!
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In the 3rd part of our ongoing story Anthony & Maggie of Car 13 share the ups and downs of what must be the mo
The Cannonball Run -
window into Mum’s face so she gave a brief interview. They thought she looked rich in her sunglasses, hat and red boa.
Start Point: Benidorm, Spain Finish Point: Soldeu, Andorra Mileage:
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Date/Time: Wednesday 15th - 10:00hrs
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y the time we got up, cleaned up, had breakfast and woke up – in that order - the plans for the convoy had fallen through, people had decided to find their own way. The alarm had gone off after what seemed like just 5 minutes sleep. After breakfast, with our luggage packed, we went down to check out. We then went over to the other side of the lobby to collect our next mission pack. As we waited to take the lift down to the underground garage, we looked out of the window and saw a whole load of people outside the hotel waiting to wish us luck and wave us on our way. We packed the car and with maps at the ready we headed for the exit. I drove up the ramp and had to stop behind a couple of event cars which were being photographed. People applauded and waved as they left the hotel front and got onto the road. When we reached the top of the ramp we were also greeted by some well wishers and a Spanish TV Camera Crew. We had heard that when the “Bust” had been plastered all over the British newspapers we had all been branded as “Millionaire Toffs” taking part in the Cannonball Run Europe. A microphone was thrust through the open
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Mission 3 - Mountain M
Wheels spinning, we legged it out onto the road and experienced some difficulty finding our way out of the town seeing parts of Benidorm none of the other Cannonballers saw. It was funny to see people pointing at us, watching and waving as we drove by. Little did they know, as we were smiling and waving back at them we were wondering where the hell we were heading and how the hell to get out of the town. We didn’t even know which direction we were headed. We must have clocked up loads of penalty points for sure, however Mum did get the opportunity to do some “sightseeing”. By some stroke of luck we found the right road for the motorway, easy driving was the order of the day from now on. Cruising along enjoying the countryside we arrived at the second set of tolls. This is where the journey started to liven up. Once again a number of us got pulled over, nothing serious, a pain in the arse more than anything. When asked, we couldn’t lay our hands on some of our documents; the inside of our car was not very tidy by this stage of the event. Some of the police were busy having their pictures taken next to the more prestigious cars while other officers pretended to be checking documents. They weren’t too bothered about us and after about 15 minutes they let us continue
on our way. Throughout the journey up to the Andorra border we saw a lot of police activity. It was never 1 or 2 police cars; it was masses, 10 maybe 12 in each group. The further north we travelled the heavier the police activity got. One car would be hidden behind a set of boxes, with an officer pointing a laser speed gun at the traffic and about a mile further down the road there would be a road block. We even got tracked by another helicopter, only this time we could see from the markings that it definitely was a police helicopter!! We managed to keep well within the law for the rest of the journey to Andorra. As we approached the border we got our passports ready for what we hoped would be a quick exit where the border guards checked our passports then flagged us through. At last we were free from the grasp and the hassle of the Spanish authorities; they could no longer spoil our fun and take our money. That was my thoughts anyway. We were coming into a town in Andorra and I had noticed a Mondeo behind us which had been following us for quite some time and it had been very close on our heels. I noticed a guy with a camera hanging out the window!! What the….!! Now I was a little more than concerned. I couldn’t think what I had done to warrant this kind of attention. As they started to overtake us Mum told me it was the guys from the AC Cobra, the car that had broken down just North of Paris.
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Simple 2 mods
e the most exciting road trip there is ...
n Mania They were in a hire car with one of the event crew on board. We laughed and I stopped sweating. It is a nerve wrecking experience to think you are being followed and filmed by the authorities. We laughed about the prank we thought they had played on us. Soon we approached the mountains and the wonderful hotel where we were to rest for the night. We had made it to the Andorra check point in good time and with no extra tickets or fines. For this we were very grateful and I was more than thankful that tonight I would get some sleep. The drop in the temperature was very obvious as we had left brilliant blue skies and sunshine to arrive in the very beautiful but very cold mountain region. After checking-in and doing a short interview with the event camera crew we went to our room to clean up and prepare for the evening. We ate a delicious meal followed by a visit to the bar where this is where the disco was being held. The organisers had planned it for our enjoyment, time to relax and enjoy a couple of beers. After a beer, Mum decided she needed to return to our room to collect whatever it was she was after at that time. Mum, “The Navigator”, had trouble finding her way back to the disco and ended up in the underground garage - so typical. Apparently she came across lots of local people being shown around the Cannonball cars. Clearly the members of staff from the hotel were very proud of the fact that they were hosting the group for the overnight stay. Judging by the “ooh’s” and “aah’s” and the flashing of camera lights Mum guessed there were cars garaged that these people had only seen in magazines. No damage was done to the cars by these visitors. Mum left them to their enjoyment and all I can say is that we both had a very good night’s sleep.
Removing the dreaded Toblerones... You either love em or hate em, Toblerones, personally I’m not a fan, and the first thing I did after giving my Turbo its first wash and polish was to get on the web and order some replacement panels. For those of you who are new to MR2 or not from the UK, Toblerones are the front side repeater strip located between bumper and wing, aptly named after the triangular shaped Swiss chocolate bar Toblerone that they resemble. These side repeaters were fitted to all imported MR2s whether G-Limited or Turbo from the motherland Japan, some people choose to tint them, my choice was to order the replacement trim panels as on the UK MR2s. There are many UK suppliers that stock these but I ordered mine from http://www.themr2store.com/ jdmexterior.htm priced at $105 around £52 shipped, painted and ready to fit in either black, white or red. I was lucky enough to already have side repeater indicators on the front wings in the same location as the UK MR2, this is an MR2 requirement, so if yours hasn’t, you need to fit some. Fitting is very easy and will only take anyone that can use a screwdriver about half an hour. Firstly gently prise the indicator and sidelight apart and detach the front indicator unit, this will give you access to the front fixing for the Toblerone. To gain access the fitting to the rear of the panel you need to remove the bottom two nuts that fasten the wheel arch lining, gently prise it back and using a socket and ratchet undo the nut, once this is unfastened there is one more nut to unfasten in the middle of the unit, with this undone you can pull the unit away and detach the wiring connector, I simply taped this up with insulating tape and tucked it out of the way, as I already had side repeaters fitted, but I’m sure this could be extended to feed your new side repeaters towards the rear of the wing. The replacement trim panel simply slots in using the same holes, simply fasten the nuts and replace the wheel arch liner and front indicators in reverse order, I’m sure you will agree the result is a much smoother sleeker look to the front of your MR2. If you have a simple 2 mod that you have recently done and have some photos and a simple fitting guide please email them to steveb@mr2only.com MR2 Only Magazine
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17/8/07 18:33:06
MR2 Only stand at JAE
JAE 2007
Written by Steve Bishop steveb@mr2only.com Photos by Steve Bishop, Andy Bishop, Pam Bishop and Anna Ruddock
It’s Friday 21st July the day we’ve been looking forward to for so long, the 16th Japanese Auto Extravaganza, my first show since returning to MR2 ownership and my first as MR2 Only Magazine editor so I’m excited to have arranged a trade stand area so that we can exhibit some of our featured MR2s and more importantly meet you guys our readers. As luck would have it the previous night we took delivery of our 2nd MR2 project car a 1990 revision 1 N/A in need of a little TLC. Friday morning I treat both the new N/A and my own Turbo to a clean and fit them with some MR2 Only logos so as to be instantly distinguishable. The plan is for Anna and myself to head off today in the two Mk2s with my brother Andy and partner Lisa bringing along the MR2 only project Mk1 and my mum and dad bringing along their Roadster. If you’ve bought, subscribed and paid for your MR2 Only Magazine you will have come across my mum Pam, who takes your money and posts out your magazines. Later than planned we leave for Peterborough with both Mk2 MR2s uncomfortably full of back issues of the magazine, a marquee and our kit for staying over, unfortunately no room for a tent! Down the M6 I have a moment of insanity or just being tight I don’t take the toll road, and just around the corner the traffic has stopped in an almighty queue. Bollocks springs to mind! Thoughts of doing a Police, Camera, Action style reversing trick down the hard shoulder go through my mind but no, we are stuck in it. Can it get any worse? Oh yes it starts to rain, in fact it starts to pour and my Turbo being of the fair weathered nature begins to misfire and splutter. By now I’m furious, not helped by an impromptu text from Anna following behind asking why we didn’t take the toll. 3 long hours we sat in that traffic jam and as we get to the other side of the cause and get on some clear road, all is not well with my Turbo as it’s misfiring, detonating and I can see blue smoke coming from the engine vents every time the BOV sounds. Keeping the speed down and
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Team MR2 Only at JAE not using any boost we manage to get to the show ground and have a look around. Feeling a bit down trodden we give up trying to find our reserved MR2 Only pitch and decide to dump the two MR2s at the first MR2 club stand we come across which happened to be the MR2 Village occupied by IMOC, MR2Mk1Club and the MR2ROC and we instantly see some familiar faces. It seems setting up the club stand areas had been quite eventful in the bad weather with much of the East Of England showground under water. Wandering between The MR2 Village and the MR2OC we catch up with yet more familiar faces skanking a few beers along the way! Cheers! By now we are pretty shattered from the travelling and with the problems of my car in the back of my mind I’m not really feeling like partying and head off to bed. Saturday morning I pick up the Turbo which really isn’t sounding healthy at all and we eventually find our allotted plot, just in time for the rest of the team to join us to set up the marquee, you guessed it in the rain!
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Throughout the morning me and the team are overwhelmed by the amount of interest in the stand and magazine and it’s finally good to put many names to faces
With the marquee erected we affix our banners and unpack the back issues of the magazine we are selling and arrange our 4 MR2s across the front of the pitch so that people can’t mistake who we are. We also have two special guest cars on the pitch in the afternoon, our first ever feature car owned by now staff writer Nick Turner and Pete Mason’s old awesome powered supercharger now owned by Zeca of Trac-art. Throughout the morning me and the team are overwhelmed by the amount of interest in the stand and magazine and it’s finally good to put many names to faces but unfortunately for me I get a second and third opinion on my Turbo and it seems I have heavy crank pressure pinpointing possible piston or ring damage, so an unscheduled rebuild is on the cards just when I can do without it. Still no point in putting a damper on the weekend with the rain already doing that for us, I decide to chin up and put on a brave face. In the afternoon we head over to the MR2OC to check out their impressive show area, spotting one or two familiar faces and as ever some awesome MR2s. 2pm with camera in hand and brother Andy with notebook, it was time to do the photo shoot for the MR2OC charity calendar organised by Bevs, which we had offered to help with and oh what fun it was, with many of the guys not taking much persuasion to remove their clothes much to our displeasure and not
by my demand I will have you know! You can see the photos and the MR2OC write up further on. Satisfying Pures photographic demands was difficult and harder to please than J-Lo I think we had hair up, hair down, hair parted, moody and then a change of location I think Luke was the first to whip off his top, quickly followed by the others but the one guy who did alarm us was Danny when he started unbuckling his belt, noooo!! Got to hand it to the guys, they were all good sports and I hope the ladies appreciate their efforts and get and buy this calendar which is all for a good cause. More details will of course be on www.mr2oc.co.uk and www.mr2only.com in due course. After all of this male semi-nudity we needed to find something a little less risqué to photograph and headed over to see the guys at Rogue, Europe’s leading MR2s specialists, who I’d heard a rumour from the night before of a huge transporter dropping off a plethora of MR2s. It wasn’t wrong, Rogue had a fine selection of their own cars, customer cars and of course their MR2 Challenge race prepped MR2s. Having a very very brief chat with Matt and Patrick it seems the weekend had been a success for them with lots of interest. Rogue’s area was right next to the arena where Russ Swift was performing some creative parking with a Mini and an Evo, so with much tyre squealing and burning rubber it was rude not to take a look. The show entailed his legendary parallel parking, some figure of 8’s and driving a Mini on two wheels, with a bit of audience participation all in the name of charity. Our next port of call was the impressive MR2 village, made up of the guys and girls from IMOC, MR2Mk1Club and the MR2ROC. Again as ever, an impressive line up with owners travelling from as far away as Holland. It always amazes me to see such fine examples of the original MR2 Mk1 on the club stand with all of the owners willing to share tips and solutions to some of the problems we have with our own Mk1 project. Also in the afternoon we had arranged to meet Perry’s wife, to take photos of his awesome wide body Roadster. Perry, being a life long car enthusiast, sadly passed away in April 2007. The bonnet of Perry’s bright orange Roadster was an absolute credit to him and wore a commemorative tribute to him. A tribute to Perry and a feature on his awesome creation will be in issue 7 of MR2 Only Magazine in October. MR2 Only Magazine
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17/8/07 18:34:28
JAE 2007 The owner of the V6 Supercharged powered Mk1 was all too happy to demonstrate and gave the beast a rev for us and it was orchestral, absolutely nuts! workmanship of the conversion is unreal...
Only just managing to finish the photo shoot with the hood down before the rain came along we headed back to Camp MR2 Only where the stand was pleasingly full of people interested in the cars on our stand, particularly Nick’s powder blue Celica eyed MR2 and Zeca’s 252bhp white Supercharger and Pam was dragging poor unsuspecting passers by into the marquee to get them to look at the magazine and subscribe, some of them probably not even MR2 owners, bless her! We’d been invited across to the MR2 Village for their hog roast and so decided to dispatch Anna and Lisa off to the supermarket in the Mk1 in search of alcohol to fuel tonight’s proceedings but unfortunately this took an age for them to get back with the Mk1 having a dodgy ignition barrel and sadly we watched from our stand the hog being delivered, cooked and eaten! By the time our alcohol arrived it had been packed away and the heavens had opened for what was the heaviest lashing of rain of the weekend.
When the showers lifted, Paul Woods of Woodsport fame came by, the creator of most of the legendary engine swaps, Mk1 Turbos, and V6 power plants and fortunately one of his creations was just a stride away from us and Paul dragged us over to show us a track prepped Mk1 supercharged V6 aptly wearing the name ‘monster’ on the windscreen. The owner was all too happy to demonstrate and gave the beast a rev for us and it was orchestral, absolutely nuts! And the workmanship of the conversion unreal. We decided to stay put and I cracked open a bottle of JD using the engine lid of my turbo as a bar and began to drown my sorrows. A much earned meal was ordered from the catering van across from our stand, which they even delivered across to us with sauces, the biggest Yorkshire Pud we had ever seen filled with Beef, Veg and Roasties. Our stand attracted attention until it went dark which didn’t really leave us as much time for socialising as we would have liked but by around eleven after another wander around we were absolutely whacked and headed for bed. Having rested, Sunday morning after breakfast we returned to the stand with renewed enthusiasm and the weather was actually giving us some sunshine. Again the stand was buzzing with enthusiastic readers and a lot of people who hadn’t heard of the magazine. Lunchtime we headed over to watch the MR2OC battle it out amongst other Jap Owners clubs on the tug o war field I thankfully turned down the offer of joining a team, as it all looked too much like hard work and instead opted to cheer and clap the guys on from the audience whilst Andy took some photos. After another wander around the club stands and a good look around the impressive creations on the TWOBRUTAL area we headed back to camp MR2 Only to chill out and chat to our many visitors.
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JAE 2007
Zeca returned to head off in his Supercharger and offered me a quick blast down the road in it, which of course I accepted and out of the showground and onto a bit of dual carriageway I was absolutely blown over by the amount of power this Mk1 had, and how smooth the delivery was. On a stretch of dual carriage way we gave a Civic Type R a run for its money and as we approached the roundabout the guys in the car looked at the little white Mk1 with much surprise and gave a respectful wave and nod. Back at the showground its late afternoon and sadly all too soon it’s time to shoehorn our kit back into the car and with a lot less boxes of magazines than we arrived with, it was actually a little easier and so the time of the weekend I’d been dreading had come. Time to phone the RAC and get my broken Turbo back to Stoke on Trent, so we limped the car out of the showground and onto the nearby Harvester car park and within minutes the van arrived. No need for diagnosis we knew the problem, and coincidentally the RAC man was a roadster owner himself so left with a set of back issues.
Paul dragged us over to show us a track prepped Mk1 supercharged V6 aptly wearing the name ‘monster’ on the windscreen. The owner was all too happy to demonstrate and gave the beast a rev for us and it was orchestral
Within an hour I watched nervously as my MR2, my pride and joy was sadly winched onto the back of a truck with the aid of lots of wood to get the lowered beast up the ramps only just clearing the Nurspec. Not exactly how I’d planned JAE to end for me but nevertheless I had time sit as passenger in the truck and reflect on what was an excellent weekend not even spoiled by my disaster or the rain. I would like to thank all of the MR2 Only team, Mum, Dad, Andy, Anna, Lisa, Nick Turner and Zeca for the loan of the car and the MR2 Only team would like to shout out a big thanks to the organisers of JAE for organising our excellent pitch for the stand and all those who visited us to chat or buy and subscribe to the mag and for all of those on club stands that made us feel welcome throughout the weekend. Here’s to next year!! See all of the photos we took during the JAE weekend in our events section of www.mr2only.com
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17/8/07 18:36:27
JAE 2007
People came, they looked, they gawped and they admired the fine collection of Japanese sports car. JAE was in full swing!
The TWOBRUTAL crew enjoying JAE, more from Nick and the guys soon...
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17/8/07 18:38:56
An enjoyable JAE weekend at the MR2 Village Written by Scott Barton
IMOC • MR2Mk1Club • MR2ROC ‘MR2 Village’ consisting of IMOC, MR2 Mk1 club and the Roadsters Owner Club (ROC) all attended this years highly enjoyable but rather damp Japanese Auto Extravaganza. The club stand, with a network of gazebos in the centre was divided into 3 sections for the different Mk’s and approx 100 cars graced the soggy ground over the weekend. Ranging from standard to modified, owners from all over the UK, and even members from abroad, braved the great British summer. During the course of a damp Saturday, and of course between showers, the 3 best cars from each club was entered into the ‘Show n Shine’ Competition, an interclub 5 a side football match took place (Which the Mk1 club won!), a bouncy castle was inflated for the kids (and for the big kids amongst us), and also a treasure hunt was organised, with Haribo sweets as the prize! And so the rain continued to fall. Every now and then it would slow to a drizzle and then stop, followed by an army of chamois leathers frantically mopping up water on polished paintwork!
The ROC ‘Show and Shine’ award was won by Peter Wright. The main highlight for the ROC was that they launched the ‘Perry Byrnes Memorial Trophy’ in memory of Perry ‘Dremel’ Byrnes who died suddenly in April 2007. His wife Carol, daughters, friends and family attended and brought the centrepiece of the ROC stands display. Perry’s Lamborghini Orange Veilside PE Turbo Roadster. Car of show 1st place Trophy was presented on the Saturday posthumously to Perry and was accepted on his behalf by his wife, with 2nd place going to Mark Jones. The ‘Perry Byrnes Memorial Trophy’ was presented to Ste Pitney who was best deemed to embody the Perry Byrnes spirit for both his selfless approach to helping anyone who may need it, and the ‘do anything himself’ approach to his Roadster. Additionally Perry’s father presented Ste with Perry’s own Dremel, in an inlaid presentation case. The Mk1 club had its annual club show (8 trophies to be won) and it was decided that John Upsall’s White Mk1 Supercharger should have the honour of ‘Best Mk1 in show’ People came, they looked, they gawped and they admired the fine collection of Japanese sports car. JAE was in full swing!
It failed to dampen everyone’s spirits though as everybody got into party mood for the Saturday ‘Hawaiian Theme’ party! Prizes were given out in the way of Haribo sweets to the ‘best dressed’! Food was generously laid on by the clubs and the hog roast was one of many highlights through the evening which was washed down with copious amounts of beer!
Various activities were organised by the JAE team throughout the day and MR2 village was represented in the Club Tug of War competition. Although placed a respectable 3rd in the competition we did triumph in the Tug of MR2 War between the MR2 Owners Club and MR2 Village, bragging rights for the next year no less.
Revellers partied into the early hours of Sunday morning oblivious of the monsoon like summer that had descended onto the East of England showground in Peterborough.
And so to the aftermath, members stayed behind and helped dismantle the village, different parts being placed in various car boots, the camping area dismantled and the site cleared of rubbish. Farewells were given to old friends who meet once a year, and also to new friends that were made.
Sunday, however was a different day, we all woke up to lovely blue sky and white fluffy clouds, if only the ground was a little firmer! People emerged from their tents; some a bit more worse for wear than others, and before long people were busy wiping the water and mud off of their cars and giving them a good polish!
All in all a very enjoyable show albeit a damp one...roll on JAE 2008!
Various awards and competitions were held throughout the day by the 3 clubs and awards were given out for 1st and 2nd place in the Show n Shine to ‘Chri5py’ and his Mk2 Turbo and ‘Kark_T’ with his Mk1 n/a who were presented with £20 and £10 Halfords vouchers respectively.
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17/8/07 18:45:59
JAE 2007
CHARITY CALENDER PHOTOSHO0T
On JAE Saturday the sun just about broke through to give just enough time for the MR2OC guys to get their kit off for the MR2OC charity calender for 2008 organised by MR2OC member Bevs. This motley crew is the chosen finalist for the calender, all great sports, well done guys! More about the calender will be on www.mr2oc.co.uk and www.mr2only.com
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Smitty (Justin)
Stevieskydive (Stevie) Howlin Mad (Keiran)
Lukieboy (Luke) Rev Jim (Jim)
Paul Nowark
Pooh Bear (Bob) Pure (Nik)
Whitworthmike (Mike)
Gaz Dannyh Olly
Olly & Gaz
Rev1turbomonster (Matt) Sifu ( Chris)
17/8/07 18:48:46
JAE 2007
Rain. And more rain… Photos and words by Tony Gilroy aka Vanilla Coffee of MR2OC.
Arriving on Friday morning to begin setting up our pitch could not have been more depressing. After so much planning and organising we could not have been more disappointed to have been greeted by the persistent rain that greeted us when we arrived at the showground. We drove up to our allocated plot to find our marquee company all ready on site and setting up our marquee for the weekend. We instantly agreed that before the weather got any worse we should make for the camping area and set up our tents.
Rain. Now heavy. With blustery winds to make setting up camp a real chore. But with everyone helping each other out we soon had the tents raised and so back to our stand we went where we started to set up our pitch and we could not have looked a more sorry sight as several drowned rats attempted to erect gazebo’s that promptly got wiped out by the ever increasing stormy winds and relentless rain. With morale at an all time low Nik (Pure) and Lee (Jinja) decided that a quick wrestling match was in order and we looked on as two rather large men resembled two hippo’s in a mud bath. One black eye and one bruised ego later, the pair of now muddy JAE planning committee members brushed themselves down and should thank their lucky stars that it was raining and that I did not have my camera out…!!! We were quickly joined by Jimi who had driven down from Scotland. He donned his orange waterproof overalls and immediately mucked in despite his marathon drive (many thanks Jimi, you’re a top fella and I don’t think we really thanked you at the time so here in public is my thanks to you for a top effort all day as you became the point of contact for new arrivals and directed the traffic into the right area’s of our site)
Rain. All day Friday it rained until just before dark. By which time we had the OC sail flags up, illuminated thanks to Lee and Nik. At least 50 people were on the pitch now, music was playing from within the marquee… the hired fridge was stocked with beer and soon everyone had forgotten just how cold and wet it was.
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By Saturday afternoon we had over 80 cars on site and JAE was now in full swing. Steve from MR2ONLY popped by and took pictures for the charity calendar organised by Bevs and even this dog had to stop as dannyh looked set to disrobe completely…!!!
Thankfully, trousers were kept on and we all breathed a sigh of relief as dannyh got dressed…!
Rain. Big style….! Torrential in fact. A whole months worth in 10 minutes. This was enough for me to bug out of a second night in my tent and I booked a hotel room nearby. I probably missed out on some of the best banter that night as I slept snugly in my fluffy warm duvet, but would have loved to have seen Gaz appear in the camping area asking “if anyone has seen my wife?” …! Gaz and his team were the biggest heroes on Sunday however as after a brilliant effort, they won the JAE 2007 tug of war competition. What a way to end a fantastic weekend. A weekend full of fantastic people who attended despite the weather and made the event yet another one to remember. To the planning committee… Nik, Lee, Paul, JJ, Bob + Maggie, Danny and Dan, Colin and behind the scenes… Jeff and PeteJ. Without you guys this would never have happened. And to everyone that attended, thanks for making JAE 2007, the best one yet. VC
17/8/07 18:50:52
TUNE 2 - ECU’S
Our regular guide to turbo tuning from Tim @ TB Developments In the 5 previous issues of Tune 2 we’ve looked at the Basic Power Upgrade modifications that are generally simple bolt on’s and the tweaking of existing items for better performance and increases in boost pressure. Power increase beyond this point the additions start getting more serious with larger turbochargers, fuelling supply upgrades. Strengthened engine internals and ECU’s or Electronic Control Unit which will be the subject of this month’s instalment. The ECU is the brain of the engine, it controls the systems such as ignition and fuelling that are needed to run the engine, using a multitude of sensors connected to the engine and accessory systems it can correlate this information against its spread sheet like files called Maps to then control either the ignition or fuel injectors to get the engine running at its best.
So why the need for an aftermarket ECU? The standard ECU does a very good job in controlling the engine in standard form and correcting for atmospheric changes such as weather or cold starts or when such systems as air-conditioning is activated where increases in idle speeds need to be accommodated. Although when the engine is taken from a standard form its abilities become limited and has a diminished ability to compensate for increases in boost pressures and air flow that can sometimes be outside its resolution of vision. The standard ECU has the ability to compensate for such changes so don’t worry about the ECU not being able to compensate for that new exhaust system you’ve added or a few extra PSI boost pressure because the STD ECU ignition and fuelling maps do extend a little higher than that of the standard configuration, but this has a limit. Although very reliable it doesn’t offer peak performance and is set up from Toyota to be very conservative in its maps and it’s often found that the fuelling side of things the cars run very rich. Although with aftermarket modifications it’s usually found a lot of fuel can be removed to lean out the mixture or a more performance friendly ratio, this not only generates more power but is better for economy without any concern for reliability. With the ignition side of things the map can be made more aggressive to give better throttle response and again more power. Now this sounds very simple. Just go into the Toyota ECU and change those spreadsheet settings which is often referred to as a re-map by many tuners and is done on a rolling road or dynamometer (Dyno) but the standard Toyota ECU isn’t re-mappable which means it’s a locked ECU and you’re stuck with the settings Toyota intended. Because of this we need to replace the standard ECU for an item that is re-mappable so you can tweak and change the maps as you please. Another problem with the Standard Toyota ECU being locked and unable to be re-mapped it means you’re stuck with the standard fuel injectors, because they’re controlled by the ECU the ECU needs to know accurately their flow capacity so that it knows on a 440cc injector and at 50% duty cycles you will get 220cc worth of fuel (bit more complicated than this but I’ll explain when we do the fuelling upgrades in further month issues). Now 42
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if you get to a point where the standard injectors will be at their flow limits (very close already if you’ve been following the tune 2 modifications) and you need to upgrade there is no way to tell the ECU you’ve upgraded them to a larger size; for example you fit 880cc injectors and don’t tell the ECU when the fuelling map requires 220cc worth of fuelling the ECU will run 50% injector duties, but because the flow capacity of the injectors has doubled at 50% duty instead of getting 220cc you’ll get 440cc, twice the necessary amount, this will cause a very rich air/fuel mixture, resulting in poor running or even cutting out. With an aftermarket re-mappable ECU you can enter the fuelling maps and injector correction values and input that you’ve upgraded the injectors and then tweak the fuelling map so that the same amount of fuel is injected as pre upgrade, but if the 440cc injectors were upgraded for 880cc and the 440cc injectors were maxing out at 85% then the maximum duty cycle will now only be 42.5% giving another 42.5% worth of fuelling duty cycles to be used to match even further increased boost pressures and air flow equalling in again more power. In conclusion the standard ECU at this level of modification is preventing changes to the air/fuel and ignition maps that are needed to be altered for optimum performance also the inability to upgrade the fuel injectors to allow the correct amount of fuel to be matched with air. No more fuel means no more air can be force fed into the engine and more air means more power. So for increases in power this inability to add more fuel needs to be overcome and this is replacing the standard ECU for one that’s more modification friendly. Before we get started there are a few terminologies that often come up tuning a car and the way things work which I’ll go over shortly. These are Air/Fuel mixtures Rich, Lean and Lambda also the terms, Pinking, Knock and Pre-ignition. When it comes to the terms Rich/Lambda/Lean we’re referring to the amount of fuel that’s present in the mixture in the engine, this is called the air/fuel ratio which is a comparison of the amount of fuel present compared to air. For example a ratio of 10:1 means there is 10 parts air to 1 part fuel. Fairly simple. Now rich and lean refers to this mixture whether there is too much fuel or not enough for the desired ratio. So if the desired ratio was 10:1A/F and the engine was only seeing 9:1A/F we would say the engine is running rich as it’s a fuel heavy mixture. This is often seen in black carbon build up on the spark plugs, or sooty puffs of carbon out the exhaust. Despite not being ideal for performance it’s often considered a safe tune. The excess of fuel will act as a cooling agent for the air intake also give greater detonation and knock protection. The other side of the spectrum is Lean, This is where there isn’t enough fuel for the desired air/fuel mixture. So again if the desired mixture was 10:1A/F and we were getting a 11:1A/F we would say it’s a lean air/fuel mixture. Now Lean is the more dangerous of the two as a lean mixture burns hotter and less fuel is present for detonation and knock prevention.
Lambda is the name given to a chemically correct burn of air/fuel mixture. Petrol is a string of hydrocarbons in varying structures not a single predictable molecule that burns in a reliable fashion, but given an unlimited amount of time the perfect mixture is 14.6-14.7 lbs of air to 1 lbs of fuel to produce a 100% water and carbon dioxide exhaust. So a 14.7:1 A/F is the chemically or Stoichiometric ratio often abbreviated by the Greek letter Lambda, as in lambda of 1. You’ve probably heard of a few terms from tuners, Pinking, Knock and Pre-Ignition, without going into excessive detail I’ll describe a brief overview of each term.
Pinking
This is the most common noise of all you’re likely to hear when tuning an engine, it’s often described as a light metallic clinking noise, Pinking is actually caused by the ignition being too far advanced. This happens when the pressure rise in the cylinders occurs to early and the piston rattles against the bore as it goes over TDC (Top Dead Centre). This is a mechanical engine rattle and nothing to do with the combustion process. Under light and low speeds this won’t cause damage to the engine as long as it’s not allowed to continue but since you will gain reliability and more power from retarding the ignition from this point there is no reason for leaving the ignition advanced that far.
Knock
When the air/fuel mixture is ignited by the spark plug in the usual manner the flame front created spreads out from the ignition point (spark plug) but a reaction is taking place in the gases at the edge of the flame front, these are called “end gases” and under certain conditions these gases can ignite instead of the normal smooth burn to the edges of the cylinders. Now with the normal flame front spreading outwards from the ignition source and these new ignited end gases you get a collision of flame front shock waves which produces a knocking noise. This noise is a lot heavier than the light pinking previously described. The conditions that cause knock can vary from incorrect air/fuel mixtures, ignition Timing, Engine Compression Ratio, and the shape of the combustion chamber to name a few. The main suppressant of knock it the petrol and its ability to suppress knock. This is where fuel Ron or Octane value comes into the situation, the higher the Ron or Octane the better knock protection is has. This is why you should always run the MR2 turbo on the 97 or higher unleaded fuels as it’s as close as we can get to the Japanese 101 rated fuels. Running the cars on normal 95 can causes a lot of problems and potential damage, first signs feel like the car’s holding back as the ECU pulls the ignition timing to try and protect itself or even an error code from the knock sensor. These fuel figures are UK based for our American readers.
Pre-Ignition
This is also commonly called Detonation and is the turbo tuners worst enemy; you won’t hear this for very long as it can kill an engine in seconds. It basically means that the air/fuel mixture will ignite before the controlled ignition by the spark plug. This is caused by a lot of things mainly something in the combustion chamber is getting too hot and causing the ignition. There were lots of talk about carbon deposits but the common cause for a race engine is overheating
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spark plugs that causes the pre-ignition. This is also why it’s advised to fit a colder grade spark plug when increasing the boost, less heat is retained in the spark plug and less chances of pre-ignition. Although an incorrectly graded spark plug can cause det it’s often down to overly advanced ignition or a weak air/fuel mixture which overheats the plug which then causes the pre-ignition. The plug will always be the source even if it isn’t always the cause. An engine that’s detonating even for a short time can destroy pistons, rings, valves and spark plugs. When inspecting a piston that’s encountered det it looks like lots of tiny holes have been blown out of the crown or a common failure for the MR2 is the piston ringland where the material between the crown of the piston and the top ring or the material between the 1st and 2nd compression rings are damaged and cracks away causing poor compression and excessive oil consumption.
Now we’ve talked about the basic reasons behind upgrading the ECU over the factory item and some of the technical terms that are talked about by tuners we can move onto the kinds of upgrades available for purchase that do these jobs. You often hear about 3 main areas of upgrade, 1, the Rom/Chip 2, the interceptor or piggyback ECU 3. full standalone ECU. These 3 options vary very differently from each other in the way they operate, how successful they are, their abilities and last of all price. The Chip or Rom upgrade is the simplest, you commonly hear of people talking about their car has been chipped etc. This term gets thrown around a lot in automotive discussions but few people realise how crude it really is. All engines are different and a factory mass produced ECU map has to be made taking into consideration the “average” engine, this is why their maps although reliable and up to the job are far from cutting edge performance aimed. This is because all engines are different and an on the edge tune for one engine aimed for performance might be over the edge on another leading to failure, so factory maps have to take this into consideration. Chipping is very much the same, instead of getting a map custom set up to your individual car and its modifications the chips are mass produced with tweaks to their maps for added performance and certain restraints removed like speed limit and fuel cut. These maps are created by running an average car with a set number of modifications, say decat, exhaust, filter and boost increase. The car is then mapped to those modifications, once a good map has been created it’s copied and produced into a locked chip that sets the factory ECU to run on these new parameters. This will often see an increase but is far from ideal. Certain Japanese and overseas chips and rom’s should be avoided in my opinion, despite not being
tuned for individual cars you also don’t know the bolt on modification it was tuned for, and lastly they are set up on that country’s fuelling. Japanese Rom chips such as the blitz access, mines etc feature aggressive ignition maps to gain their extra power taking into account the higher octane fuel they receive and when fitted to UK cars this often causes problems and sometimes engine failure as we don’t have the fuel to support these increases which leans to knock. The other type is an interceptor or piggyback ECU, this type is massively superior to the type listed above as it can be tuned to the individual’s car with their current modifications. The way this system works is to piggyback off the standard ECU, it allows the standard ECU to do its normal operations controlling the engine but if corrections need to be made to say the ignition map the piggyback ECU will intercept the signal and adapt it to make the end sensor or injector etc do its job. For example if the ECU ignition timing said 5 degrees and you wanted to ideally run 7 degrees you would have a 2 degree correction set into the piggyback ECU at that load and RPM point, so when the car reached that location on the map the ECU would send out a signal for 5 degree’s the piggyback would correct 2 degrees and the result would be the 7 degrees you needed. You can do this for the ignition and also fuelling to adopt these maps for the perfect operations for peak power in your vehicle with your modifications. Now the downside of this, although not impossible is to run larger injectors which we said is needed to run larger amounts of air volume and more power. The problem comes with running larger injectors is that to get the correct amount of fuel injected the piggyback ECU will have to intercept every single site on that map. Most ECU maps are 16x16 with the better ones being 32x32 so if you went from 440cc injectors to 880cc injectors the injector duty cycle duration would have to be halved for the larger injectors to flow the same as their factory counterparts. So that’s 256 sites that need to be changed in the case 16x16 or 1024 in the 32x32 so a lot of load sites to tweak to run larger injectors and its not as simple as inputting 50% in all those sites you have to run them all on a dyno to make sure the correct amount of fuel is being injected. Time consuming to say the least. Now the biggest problem comes when a lot of piggyback ECU’s are only 8x8 or sometimes 16x16 on a 32x32 factory ECU, as you can see the problem here is the resolution on some piggyback ECU’s isn’t good enough to correct all those factory map sites even if you wanted to. It is possible but it’s very time consuming and you’ll never get the car to run as smooth as it did in factory trim. My personal opinion is if you want to upgrade the injectors fit a standalone ECU which I’ll talk about next. The ideal situation for this type of ECU is with owners who don’t want to go beyond the restraints of the standard fuelling, owners who have got to a point with tuning and just want to tune the ECU to work well with what modifications they have, this is ideal. Or N/A owners who have done the basic bolt on modifications and just want to pull everything together very much the same as the turbo owner described above but with no forced induction there is little point upgrading the injectors.
The top of the ECU family is the Standalone, such called because it stands alone controlling the engine and cars facilities, it doesn’t rely upon the standard ECU for certain features. Yet even so there are many different versions of this upgrade varying from the cheaply “does what it says on the tin” Apexi Power FC which concentrates on controlling the engines ignition and fuelling systems, to top of the range systems like the Motec that while also doing the same job as the Apexi can control systems such as Anti-Lag, Launch Control, Water/Nitrous injection etc. The benefits of this system is it doesn’t limit your options regarding modifications and more importantly is in my opinion the only correct way of installing larger fuel injectors. With the previous system the car would over fuel if larger fuel injectors were fitted or be a lot of work to make it run in the case of the piggy back ECU, with the standalone ECU you basically input the specifications of the injectors you wish to use, like size and pulse/lag times and the ECU will use this as a self correction in the case of the power fc to run the car to its programmed map but taking into account for the larger injectors or at least give you the ability to directly alter the base map for the larger fuelling. No tricking of the standard equipment to make it do the job you want to do. In the instant of Fuel Cut, this is installed on the factory ECU as a safety margin and is also present on the power fc which we’ll use as an example. To raise the fuel cut on the standard car you need to trick the factory ECU into thinking the boost pressure weren’t as high as they really were to prevent the fuel cut from activating. In the case of the power fc you go into the fuel cut section of the ECU and just enter the boost pressure you wish the fuel cut to activate. Simple. The standalone ECU regardless of make should be very seriously considered for your car if you’re at this level of modifications, it will give room to grow in the future and often has a greater resolution and ability to control the engine over a chip or piggyback setup.
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Dave’s modifications up to this point were as follows; 1994 Revision 3 Turbo Apexi Filter Kit NGK Cold Grade Spark Plugs TB Developments Downpipe Blitz Nur Spec Exhaust System Apexi AVCR Boost Controller 1.2bar boost Greddy Intercooler Upgrade Aquamist 1s Water Injection System. The first Dyno reading produced a very reasonable 278bhp and 259ft/lbs torque, this is pretty text book for a revision 3 with these modifications and boost pressures. As high-lighted by the dyno operator the car has a boost fluctuation and a slight misfire around the mid range. This was found out to be brought on by the activation of the water injection system. The 1s Aquamist system is very basic and like 90% of the kits on the market the water starts spraying
To finish this section of tune 2 I thought I would use a customer’s recent mapping session to demonstrate the benefits of a good ECU and MAP. I must add a thank you to Dave Timmins for allowing me to use his information for this section. Both maps were done with the same modifications but just the addition of a Apexi Power FC mapped by another good friend of mine Pip Gardner, The beauty of Dave’s example is it highlights the step by step guide and what can be accomplished.
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at full pressure when the boost threshold is reached, (usually around 10psi) With such basic modifications this was found to cause a slight misfire, clearing up at higher revs. This could be resolved by fitting a mapped system or the 2D system that brings the system on progressively. The misfire was also affecting the boost control. For the 2nd dyno print out the water injection was disabled for now until future modifications were added. The dyno above was after a session on the rollers at WGT mapping the newly installed Apexi Power FC Standalone ECU. There was a huge improvement from the start, without tuning the ignition from the base map Apexi added to their ECU the car made 288bhp at 0.8bar boost compared to 278bhp at 1.2bar. After the full mapping session was over the car now produced 313.2bhp and 296.5 ft/lbs torque. There was also a great improvement in mid-range torque, fuel economy on both flat out and motorway cruising.
17/8/07 18:55:54
AN INTRODUCTION TO SPRINTING & HILLCLIMBING YOUR MR2
Having owned my MR2 for about 4 years it occurred to me that the car was capable of much more than everyday road use offered. I never really had the opportunity to push the car to its design limits and let’s face it the public road is no place to start to try. One day about a year ago a friend invited me to a hillclimb. For me this immediately conjured up images of thin tyred low powered cars grappling up muddy banks, with the passenger frantically bouncing up and down to aid traction. I could not have been further from the truth. The venue was Gurston Down Speed Hillclimb in the village of Broad Chalke just outside Salisbury on the Wiltshire border. On arriving we made our way to the start line and were surprised to be standing just feet away from an ex Formula 1 single seater racing car about to sprint the hill. The noise was awesome as it tore from the start line and ran the almost 1/4 mile course in around 30 seconds, bends and all. It crossed the finish line at around 134 mph and that was going up hill. Man this was one cool place to be. Hillclimb is effectively sprinting up hill. The course is sealed tarmac and usually has a series of straights and bends that the drivers have to negotiate at speed. The idea is to get from a standing start, negotiate the course and cross the finish line as fast as possible. Unusually Gurston Down has a downhill start! When the car pulls away, an electronic beam is broken by a special timing strut fitted to the front of the car. This starts the timing clock and when the car passes over the finish line another beam is broken which stops the clock, logging the competitors’ time. Gurston also has strategically placed speed traps and split time markers. The drivers can use these to help work out where they are faster, or need to be faster. On
www.mr2-sprinting.com completion of your run you can obtain an unofficial time from a printed ticket in the upper paddock timing hut. Later on in the day I noticed that there were some road going cars running the hill, a BMW Mini, a Mark 3 Escort 1600 along with other road legal cars. The idea then struck me, I wonder how well the MR2 would run at Gurston Down? MR2-sprinting was born! On returning home I did some research on the Internet and was surprised to see that the MR2 Mk2 was not really used in competition at all. The Mk1 had been used in rallying and sprinting and of course there was the MR2 challenge. But the choice always seemed to be the Mk1 MR2. It would appear the Mk1 being a lighter car was considered to be the better MR2 for motor sport, so was I simply wasting my time? On further research I found Ian Rodgers site www. mr2-racing.co.uk Ian had been sprinting a Mk2 MR2 for quite a while and was proving to be pretty successful even though his car was only basically modified and produced standard BHP. I contacted Ian and he agreed to meet with me at Gurston Down to show me his car and explain the Rules and Regulations. Ian was great and after our meeting I was sure that the MR2 Mk2 could be successful in its class. The next 10 months was spent preparing the MR2 and purchasing the necessary personal safety equipment etc ready to compete on the hill. Before competing, the first thing that I did was book a day at the Gurston Down Speed Hillclimb school. It was totally excellent. We were briefed and then taught the correct lines on the hill by expert champion speed hillclimb instructors. Next we got to walk the hill, sounds daft but it is an essential part of the learning process. This is followed by two convoy runs at a sedate
pace which allows you to get a feel for the hill and practice your lines. Then it is the real thing, solo runs as fast as you like! The instructors place themselves at all of the turns in the course and they brief you on personal performance after every two runs. This is the only way to learn hillclimb quickly. You could be driving wrong lines and getting in a mess for months or even years before you finally learn to get it right, here you get corrected right away. After a break for the included fantastic lunch, we were back driving the hill again. A brilliant day, best £150.00 I have spent in a long time. I fitted a video camera in the car which allowed me to check my performance and check my times at various sections of the hill. Best time of the day for me was 46 seconds, a very reasonable time for a novice in a road going sports car. I was that impressed with the school that I opted to re-visit for another session. Here I shaved 3 seconds off my previous time, though this is unofficial set by video as no timing takes place on school days. I felt that I was now ready for my first competition so I entered Gurston for the 16th and 17th June. I was pretty excited as I knew that I would be running against a Mk1 MR2 and was keen to see how the Mk2 would fare against it. Myself and my son Ross packed all the kit into the car and we headed to Gurston, leaving at around 6.00am in order to arrive in plenty of time for signing on and scrutineering which started at 7.30am.
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Scrutineering is the process of an official scrutineer checking the car to make sure that it passes Motor Sports Association (MSA) safety and technical regulations. The MR2 passed no problems and it was not long before I was donning my safety kit and queuing at the start line for my first practice run. It is pretty standard in sprinting and hillclimb to run two practice runs followed by two timed runs. Your fastest timed run is the one that counts for your place in the competition for that event. I spun up the rear tyres in the designated area to warm and soften the rubber for extra grip. The Marshalls lined up the car on the start line, a short wait for safety clearance and the lights turned to green indicating that I could start when I was ready. I brought the revs up and dropped the clutch, the wheels spinning for a few seconds which is what we aim for and the car was off. Max revs first, second, third, up comes Hollow, place the car tight to the right apex marker. We are doing about 80 mph now so no room for error, a quick flick and we’re through Hollow, allowing the car to drift to the right, feather the throttle and then brake hard for
Karousel. Round Karousel, change from third to first power on hard over Deer’s Leap, on the rev limiter, back off for the late apex bend into Ashes, power through the gearbox up to about 80 mph over Burkes Rise, through the S bend and over the finish line. Helmet and harness off, then a quick trip to the timing hut. How did we do? 42.79 secs A personal best. Back at the paddock after a brief celebration for the PB run I decided to try stiffening the rear shocks by one click to try and smooth out a bit of lifting through Hollow. On the second practice run I made very fast time through Hollow but made my first mistake. I had learnt an awful lot very quickly and had become over confident. I left the braking way too late for Karousel and in turning in, slid the car off the track hitting the hay bails causing extensive damage to the near side of the MR2. I had finally found the limits of this great little car. I was gutted - a hard lesson had been learnt! Due to the accident the car had to be re scrutineered, but I was allowed to continue the competition and had
some great runs over the weekend, even managed to stay on the black stuff too. The MR2 Mk1 I was competing against was an ex-group ‘N’ rally car and we also had another MR2 Mk1 join us for the competition on Sunday. The car that won the class was a lightened highly tuned Lotus Elise but I beat the other MR2s and made 2nd in my class on each day. This was not strictly true, as there was a 550BHP Mazda RX7 running which beat me. (I was like soooo surprised, not), but it turned out that it had been entered into the wrong class and should have been in the next class up, so technically I had run 2nd in my class on each day. It was a great weekend. I saw some great cars, met some cool people and got to trash my MR2 L but hey that’s the risk that you take. If you drive well under your limits you should be fine, I was just getting a bit carried away J but the car is on the mend and will be ready for the July meeting.
I’M SOLD, SO WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO COMPETE? (A guide only, errors & omissions accepted. Refer to your clubs regulations and the MSA Blue book.)
To compete in sprint or hillclimb you and your car must comply with section L & Q of the MSA Year book (The Blue Book).You must also hold the minimum of an MSA NON RACE NATIONAL B Motorsport license. When you apply for your licence you will receive the MSA Year book. You can apply for the licence electronically on the MSA web site. (see links page www.mr2-sprinting,com) You must also be a member of the club where you wish to run or a member of an invited club to the event. In the case of Gurston Down this will be the BARC SW region. Again see links page of www.mr2-sprinting.com In short, you can compete in your road legal car with just a lap belt and no roll bar (I seriously do NOT recommend this). Consider fitting at least a four point harness and a basic roll bar even if your class does not require them. You must cover your negative battery cable in yellow heat shrink (or tape). You must clearly mark your ignition switch showing On and Off positions. You should clearly mark the tow eyes of the car with the word “Tow” and an arrow pointing to the tow eye. The car must hold a current MOT to run in the road going legal class. PERSONAL SAFETY EQUIPMENT Section Q in the MSA Blue Book You must wear clean approved fire resistant overalls made of either Nome or Protean. These do not need to be FIA approved but must be approved for use in hillclimb and sprint. These will cost about £80-£100 new. You must have an approved crash helmet for motorsport use, there are various standards that apply but make sure the one you purchase complies with sprint and hillclimb. I cannot stress enough the importance of a good crash helmet and I would seriously consider spending in excess of £200 in this
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area. You have a choice of open or full face. I was pleased to have full face when I crashed and was showered with broken glass from the N/S window! Always run with the visor closed. Nomex (fire resistant) gloves are recommended £35.00. I say just get them as they offer protection against scuffs and broken glass but also offer steering wheel comfort and grip too. Motorsport boots are important for feel and control. Get fire resistant if you can but leather uppers are fine. £35.00 - £95.00. Never drive in trainers or anything nylon that can melt in a fire. It is important to remember not to wear anything nylon under your overalls too. Nomex socks offer further protection £15.00. A neck brace worn below the crash helmet can help prevent whip lash, this should be Nomex too if possible £40.00 and a Nomex balaclava offers further protection in the unlikely event of fire. Remember that only the crash helmet and fire resistant overalls are mandatory but I highly recommend that you consider the other safety equipment. SAFETY EQUIPMENT FOR THE CAR As mentioned above, to run in the road going legal class you only need to make some small changes to the car, yellow battery lead, tow signs, mark the ignition. I think that a driver would be taking a big risk to sprint in a lap belt with no roll over protection. Another consideration is that the road going class is not always available in some events. Here you may consider preparing your MR2 to run in the modified production Sports car class. Some events organisers consider the MR2 to be a Modified Production Marque Sports car (this is true of Gurston Down) and would expect the car to run in that class, or may even insist that it does. For this class, under MSA rules you will require a roll bar and a 4
point harness as the bare minimum. Roll bars are not available for the MR2 Mk2 in the UK. They have to be custom made to order and are very expensive. MR2sprinting.com can supply the excellent Autopower roll imported from the USA. These bars fit beautifully and can include a diagonal strut and harness tube. The harness tube is quite important as the Firewall is not really strong enough to fit harness shoulder straps to. With the Autopower roll bar the whole installation becomes quite straight forward. The MSA also recommend a kill switch that the driver can reach in an emergency, which should at least kill the engine and shut off the fuel pump. An external pull cable that cuts off the engine and disconnects the battery is also highly recommended. I also opted to up rate my braking system choosing grooved and slotted discs, ceramic pads, and Goodridge brake lines. The system was flushed and filled with DOT 5.1 fluid. The difference that all of this made to the braking system is amazing. As you can gather, I am very safety conscious. You should be too! The truth is motorsport can be dangerous and anything that can be done to create a safety margin is always well worthwhile. The other consideration is that motorsport is not cheap and although Sprint Hillclimb is one of the cheapest forms of speed competitive motorsport expect to pay around £1000 for all of the equipment that you need, there can be no compromise. Having prepared your car you may now compete in Speed Hillclimb, flat sprinting, and of course use the car for the odd track day. It’s a lot of fun, not too much expense and is a great introduction to motorsport which could be your first move towards circuit racing such as the MR2 Challenge. FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM MR2s corner great but all cars have their limits. The pedal in the middle has a purpose too L Wet hay bails are harder than they look ;-) Have fun but stay safe. Follow my events at: http://www.mr2-sprinting.com
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A WET WEEKEND AT THE
Nürburgring By Steve Bishop
Think of all your favourite driving roads and combine them all together in one journey and you have the Nürburgring, name your ten most favourite cars in the world and you will find them there. This is a playground for the wealthy and heaven for petrol heads and this being my 3rd visit of what has become our annual trip we decide to take our MR2 Only project Mk1 to see how she fairs.
Photo taken at the viewing point at Brünnchen
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Letting the Porches go by on the fast section
Team MR2 Only head out for another lap
Beware of the “Ring” it can bite
Wednesday night arrives and as I’m carefully loading the car with spare fluids, tools and my kit for the trip and I keep looking at the turbo sitting on the drive and thinking why the hell am I not making the trip in that, should I? 6.30pm I’m on the A50 heading towards the M1, Ipod on as there is no stereo in the Mk1 and even 45 mins into the journey I’m finding the Cobra buckets to be uncomfortable with not enough back side padding. Good job I had packed a couple of cushions.
The build up to our annual trip to the Nürburgring was somewhat fraught this year, with battling to finish issue 5 of MR2 Only magazine, buying myself an MR2 Turbo and returning back from a weeks holiday thinking we had two weeks until the ‘Ring’ trip when we in fact only had a week! The plan for the last few months had been for me to make the trip in the MR2 Only Mk1 project on my own heading out early on Thursday, meeting up with the MR2OC trip gang on the Friday, and my partner Anna, brother Andy, Lisa and Karl and Greg to fly out on the Friday evening. Is this a good idea? The Mk1’s reliability is an unknown and there was a distinct lack of preparation but thanks to Simon, aka SkintheSpin and our good friend Rob Delicata, we did manage to at least get the Cobra Monaco buckets and the TRS 4 point harnesses fitted into the car. So at the very least we are going to be strapped in securely at the Ring. What about our previous overheating woes and handling? Literally a couple of days before the trip me and Andy embarked on replacing the radiator and removing the old one found it to be in a poor state and very brittle also noticing the towing eye and one indicator to be virtually hanging off. Closer inspection found that the inner metal bumper was completely corroded away and broken into several pieces; whichh wouldn’t bode well in the unfortunate event of a road or ringside recovery. Fortunately we did have a new metal inner bumper to fit but unfortunately due to every pin and fitting snapping that could have done, this took up almost all of our weekend. So sadly all we achieved was fitting a now solid bumper, new radiator and a coolant flush, new fluids and bleed up. We never did get chance to fit the track springs and KYB damper inserts.
Woo hoo I’m nearly there!
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Phew another safe return!
After a slow start on the A50 due to abnormally wide loads travelling to the M1, M1 was free moving and before long I was heading onto the M25, Tom Tom actually guiding me the correct way for once, cruising at a steady 70mph with the occasional little spurt to overtake. The car was feeling fine, although since our previous over-heating issues, I have developed a tendency to constantly check the temperature gauge. 10.30 pm I arrive at Dover and decide to refuel, getting a reasonable 250 miles from the first tank, I check in at the Norfolkline ferry gate and join the queue in my allocated lane 52, where within 15 mins we are boarding the ferry. With the car safely parked I head upstairs to seek out some food and get my head down for a few hours kip in preparation for the rest of my journey through Europe. Waking as the ferry docks in Dunquerque I head downstairs to find the Mk1 and disembarking the ferry I quickly adjust to continental right hand side driving, not really helped by a couple of confusing Tom Tom errors which are not so good when you are on your own, my aim being to get the other side of the Brussels ring road and then take a nap safe in the knowledge I won’t get stuck in the rush hour traffic in the morning, a mistake we have made before. Before long, day light is breaking through as the Mk1 effortlessly laps up the KM’s but tiredness and discomfort is getting to me, so I find a rest area for an unscheduled nap, only to wake after a couple of hours much to my embarrassment to find a little group formed around the car admiring it. I continue on, this time the motorway is busier and requires a little more concentration at times when there are only two lanes. Vehicles entering from the slip road force vehicles to come in front of you sometimes quite unexpectedly. After stopping for yet another shorter power nap, I begin to pick up familiar signs for Germany and as I head off the Autobahn and on to the twisty A roads which take me through Adenau the weather takes a turn for the worse with a lashing of torrential rain. I make it to Adenau, a small town close to the Nürburgring and decide to refuel, this time squeezing 285 miles out the Mk1s little tank and decide to see treat it to some Super Super unleaded as it’s a lot cheaper
M5 Ring Taxi setting it up for a slide
Yes he meant to do tha
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Nürburgring 2007
ite
The MR2OC guys heading for a pit stop
With the wet handling not feeling so clever and Hmmm Ford GT40 outside the Ring Restaurant the fact I’m very tired from travelling I chose and end up driving like Miss Daisy! Just heading into the Karussell, the not to risk spinning it into the Armco this tightest corner of the “Ring” that doubles back on it a Polo passes me, evening and end up driving like Miss Daisy! yes a Polo, I’m really going that slow. He chooses the outside so I drop here. I pass through Adenau glimpsing at all of our favourite bars and restaurants making sure they are all there and open. Following my directions to the guest house which our friend Karl has booked which I haven’t stayed at before, I arrive to find nobody at the inn, so I head down to see Marc at TTE garage where Karl’s ‘Ring’ Golf GTi is stored. Marc is busy preparing customer’s cars for the Ring but kindly takes the time to call the guest house and leave a message, so I make my way back down to the town for a wander around to kill some time. On the way down to Adenau I bump into Chris in his Focus ST who had posted on the MR2OC forum saying he would be around, as he would be catching a few days at the Ring now his work contract had finished in Germany before he headed home to the UK. After a quick chat I get the call to say that my room is ready at the guest house and I arrange to meet Chris at the track at 5.45 pm to see whether it would open with the weather being unpleasant. After unloading my belongings from the car, there is just enough time for a quick wash and then I head down to the Ring Start/finish to meet Chris and see if the Ring will be open. This is the quietest I’ve ever seen it here with a few cars waiting and the amber lights flashing and after around 10 mins the decision comes over the tanoy that the track is open for the public. With the track being very quiet but still very wet I choose to get a 4 lap ticket and just take advantage of one or two slow and steady laps to see how the car feels and to look out for the blobs, positioning and braking points, turning points and apex’s etc, something which isn’t so easy to do on a fast lap. I put my ticket in and the barrier comes up, and I’m off and as always I get pre-lap jitters as I head out cautiously on the first few bends and build up a little speed. It’s now that I really wish we’d had the time to fit the track suspension. After a couple of unnerving loss of grip moments on the wet corners alarm bells start to ring. Again a lack of preparation, we’d thrown on a set of wheels with legal tyres on the car for MOT but overlooked the fact that they were all different brands, doh! With the wet handling not feeling so clever and the fact I’m very tired from travelling I chose not to risk spinning it into the Armco this evening
ant to do that
The chariots await
into the tight concrete banked inside line, like being in a big roulette wheel. This was actually my favourite moment of the track this evening, we actually had good grip.
I head back down the finish straight and back on to the car park, thankful that I’m not responsible for stuffing the MR2 Only track car on the first lap of the Ring. Chris arrives back in his Focus ST having done two laps and offers me a passenger lap for his final lap of the evening. Chris has done over 100 laps of the ring this year in his ST, which shows in his confidence on the track and I begin to feel safe immediately. Chris again pointed out to me on the lap the positioning markers, giving me a running commentary throughout the lap, I must admit to not taking much notice of the Focus until now but was really impressed with the power delivery and the amount of traction and grip the Focus offered. When the track came to a close for the evening I decided after missing out on the best part of a whole nights sleep travelling, my best option would be to get a couple of bottles of Warsteiner from the supermarket and head to my room for an early night. Halfway down my first bottle I was fast asleep. The following morning feeling refreshed everything felt a little better except for the weather which seemed to be raining intermittently. The track wasn’t open until after lunchtime, so after a rather large breakfast I decided to have a drive around the outside areas of the track and find some new viewing points. There didn’t seem to be a lot going on at the track this morning only a private session with nothing too exciting to write about. With the weather improving I decided to head down to the track and head out on what was to be my only dry and fastest lap of the weekend. Through the twists where the Nordscheife joins the Südschleife I began to feel more confident of the grip the car had in the dry and down the straights we made good speed and having a few laps the evening before at a more sedate speed learning the lines was paying off. My lap seemed to flow smoothly. Even braking hard at times the Celica ST185 front brakes never showed signs of fade feeling very assuring throughout the lap, the handling in general of the Mk1 even with its worn out standard suspension set up really didn’t feel bad at all. My only complaint at all was the car lacked legs in the long uphill section out of Breidscheid, having to slow right
A lot more money than sense
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Neil with that I’m going for another lap grin!
Chris takes yet another lap
MR2 Only mk1 wears the Ring sticker with pride
Even braking hard at times the Celica ST185 front brakes never showed signs of fade feeling very assuring throughout the lap, the handling in general of the Mk1 even with its worn out standard suspension set up really didn’t feel bad at all. down for the bridge and hard right; it was slow progress picking up speed again but still reaching a respectable 80mph uphill. Again the car hugged the inside line of the Karrussell as I threw it in like a dirty great gokart. One thing that was more pronounced being a little heavy handed with the car than on the road was the gearbox crunching between 4th and 3rd which I aided with a little heel and toe, blipping the accelerator between gearchanges to keep the engine revs up. My only unnerving moment throughout the whole lap was when I must have let off the throttle a bit quickly through Wippermann heading towards the viewing point at Brünnchen, luckily remembering to accelerate rather than panic and brake, steadily it pulled me through the few unsteady yards of tarmac. Again it illustrated to me how the Clio Cup had ended up on its roof the night before on this section. Just as I was heading down the final straight and back into the parking area I noticed the temperature gauge had risen and closer inspection on the car park showed us to be losing a bit of coolant through the expansion tank again. Dammit replacing the radiator hadn’t cured our overheating problem, although I must admit I had cooked it a bit on this lap. Unfortunately for the rest of the afternoon the rain came and went so I took advantage of Chris’s kind offer of a few more passenger laps which I closely observed absorbing the correct lines. During the afternoon I took the Mk1 out for another couple of relatively slow laps just for experience and learning the lines. I wasn’t confident pushing too hard as the track was quite wet in places and in the back of my mind I was very conscious that the car has still got to get me back home. During the afternoon the car park steadily fills up for the weekend with wealthy boys with their toys, mainly wearing Porsche badges, at least half a dozen GT3’s and even a Ford GT40. Having had enough track action for the day Chris suggests we head over to the MR2OC guys hotel to see if they had arrived, as soon as the hotels in sight we see a line of MR2s on the front and aha!! a fellow Mk1 driver Steve (Spudgun). The guys and girls are still pretty shattered from their long journey but we end up having a meal, a good chat and a few Weisbeers before I head back to the guest house to wait for the rest of our party to arrive, unfortunately the best part of three hours late due to delays at the airport. Saturday morning we all rise early for breakfast with the intention of a full day either on the track or trackside getting photographs from the many
Some of the more unusual stuff you might see on track
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viewing areas around the 13 mile circuit, first stopping to pick up Karls and Gregs “Ring” dedicated Golf GTi from the local garage TTE where Marc stores and prepares it between each visit. Down at the track me and Andy go halves on another multi-ticket and having already a few laps in the Mk1 under my belt, Andy sets off for a lap but the weather is mixed so the track is still wet again in many places. Andy agrees about the lack of grip in the wet and decides to take it steady. Throughout the day we keep swapping turns to drive and get in a bit more lap time, unfortunately the track never really drying out enough for a faster lap. Unfortunately we see one rev 5 MR2 that comes back and has obviously come a cropper, with the damage looking like a spin, the car was driveable and the guys were unhurt and were not a part of the OC group. One particular lap we won’t forget in a hurry, Andy is at the wheel letting faster traffic pass us on the Adenauer Forst and section, as we are in a tight right hand bend named Kallenhard we are met with a fully liveried up Celica GT4 that has spun and is facing us right in our line. Andy reacts quickly, braking which obviously causes the rear of the Mk1 to slide towards the Armco which the track cambers away to, narrowly avoiding impact we are now still heading sideways towards the Celica that is now weaving backwards in an attempt to avoid us. Fortunately with quite a lot of luck and quick thinking we regain control and sedately head down to the halfway exit at Breidschied, hearts in mouth and boxers soiled, checking in the rear view mirror we notice that the Celica decides enough is enough and exits. We decide we’ve had enough track action for now, particularly after that brown trouser moment, maybe its good to have a close shave like that to just bring it home how dangerous a place it can be. With Karl’s Golf blowing an oil seal and having to go back to Marc’s garage for some urgent attention we take the time to wander around to get some lunch and photos. Some of the most bizarre things we catch on the track this afternoon are a quad bike, a black London cab and a coach, which you wouldn’t want to come up behind heading around a bend at 80mph. Also entertaining as ever were the two Ring taxis which I must get a ride next year, one of them was unsettling the BMW M5 just before the bridge at Breidscheid and taking the whole section completely sideways using the cars power, obviously had that “M” button switched on! In the evening we had booked a meal at the Pistenklaus owned by one of
Which lane for the M25 guv?
The beer is mighty fine
& the steak even b
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Nürburgring 2007
th pride
Karl and the Ring Golf
the Ring Taxi drivers Sabine, famed for her 10 minute lap in a Transit van on Top Gear and if you ever head to the Nürburgring its a must to dine here for at least one of your nights. We don’t even look at the menu now, we order steak on a hot stone, which is as it says a raw steak which you can slice and cook on your own hot stone to your liking, and it’s the best steak I’ve ever tasted. After the meal we head down into Adeneau town where it is unusually a lot more lively than normal due to some sort of German Festival, which made the night a little more interesting and we had a look around and ended up in a late bar called the Brauhaus, another of our familiar haunts. All too soon our trip was coming to an end. Sunday morning after breakfast we packed our gear back into the Mk1, an art that I am now getting pretty good at, we say our goodbyes and head off back down the Autobahn in the direction of the ports. Yet again an uncomfortable trip made even worse by queues on the M20 back in the UK and some of the worst rain we have ever driven in. By now it was Anna’s turn to drive and I was struggling to keep awake. All in all the weekend didn’t quite go to plan, mainly spoiled by the weather, and our lack of preparation. We didn’t get as much time with the MR2OC trip crowd as we’d have liked and to top it off our camera card corrupted losing lots of our best photos. Would we do it again? yes and no. The Mk1 itself never skipped a beat in nearly 1000 miles of motoring and as ever was a joy to drive. I wouldn’t be in a rush to travel that distance again in bucket seats but I would like to take the car over to the Nürburgring again maybe by trailer now it has a decent suspension set up fitted and some better tyres. I’m sure we’d have a lot more fun but it is a good idea to do a few UK organised track days before heading out to the Nürburgring so you can get used to driving the car at speed, have proper safety preparation and learn correct braking, turning and lines. One thing to remember about the Nürburgring is in many areas of the track there is very little or no run off, so in the unfortunate event of an off its going to cost you a lot of money or even worse still, hurt yourself.
More Nürburgring fun to follow in issue 7, with Ians MR2OC trip report and a guide to the Nürburgring by Ring Veteran Karl Rowntree
Nurburgring 2007 A few minutes into my 10th lap of 2007 and having set my own personal best lap time just the day before I wanted to make this circuit of the Nordschleife count. At over 140 mph and with Carla as co-pilot I was fast approaching a UK car as we headed up to the crest at Schwedenkreux. For those who don’t know the circuit Schwedenkreux is a high speed left kink before you drop down a very sharp left hander known as Aremberg. Schwedenkreux is also the corner with the famous video clip of the MR2 stepping out and hitting the barrier on the right of the track. After the sight of the right indicator of the up coming car I tucked in left and overtook through the corner holding the throttle open for a few seconds longer, before bringing my carbotech brake pads bang up to temperature as I approached the turn in spot to the left of the track, there were deep gouges still clearly evident in the grass from the M5 that spun and the motorcyclist that went down behind us just a couple of days before. Holding a controlled throttle I aim for the apex as smoothly as possible, then let the car run out from the apex to the exit of the corner, dialling the throttle on full song and on towards one of what I think is the most uplifting sections, down the steep hill to and through Fuchsrohre. At this point I aim for the white sign to the right of the track as I return back up the hill from Fuchsrohre to what is known as Adenaur Forst and change into 3rd. Although I love the first left right of this section I really don’t get on well with the second left right whip of Adenaur Forst. On this occasion it was a satisfying effort which is great as it provides the momentum to head you on down the hill to the left sweep of Metzgesfeld. We took it at a very satisfying pace although Carla was getting rather edgy with the screeching of the tires which had reached an all time high. After the left sweep I head straight over to the white turn in dot at the right of the track as smoothly as possible. After shaving off some mph I turn in left over the crest and hold the throttle open down to Kallenhard where I stay left before sweeping into this challenging right hander. It’s safe to say we were making serious progress and on target for my best ever lap. As we turn into Kallenhard the tires begin to screech which soon became a howl, I say to myself maybe I’m making too much progress. The howling gets louder as the back of my beloved Rev 4 turbo steps out to the left and breaks away. We head backwards down the hill in the direction we were heading after our spectacular 180 degree spin before the speed settles and I turn the tail out to the left to J turn the car off the track. I come to a smoke filled silence as the car cuts out up on the rather high apex kerb sitting on my 5 day old Berk Exhaust cans.
03:00am Friday 22nd June 2007 Beep, beep, beep went the sound of my alarm as it marks the begging of our epic 2007 Nurburgring tour. I could hear the hammering of the rain outside, hmmm 500 miles to the ring in the rain. Nice! …continues next issue Words by Ian Crocker steak even better - Pistenklause
Shoe horning everything back in the lil fella
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GARRICK ABRAHAMSONS
MK1 SUPERCHARGER HEAD GASKET DIARY- PART 1 After having to re-fill/bleed the cooling system on our Supercharger for a couple of months, a number of small overheating issues and finally pressure building up in the system and not releasing once cooled; we finally accepted the most likely cause was a faulty head gasket.
am not new to using tools and having done a number of self service, braking, hydraulic works and complete engine swaps on the various MK1’s we own; this was going to be the first time at pulling an engine apart, putting it back together and hoping it works!
Budget was non-existent as we had recently booked a doubleheader track day (Two days on track) and we were hoping to use both the red N/Ail and the SC.
We ordered the parts required. I had a full 4A-GE engine seal kit in the loft (spare for the track N/Ail), fortunately some GZE parts/seals are the same. We only ordered new head bolts, head gasket, cam belt and tensioner spring from Toyota. We were to use all other original bolts and bits.
So I bit the bullet and decided to do the work myself. Although I
Leak area again:
Day 1
12:00 I began stripping the engine and managed to achieve the following: • Exhaust manifold off. Had to remove the alternator (or let it swing down to access the last bolt) . • SC off (took about 2 hours!!!) - I got ahead of myself and when it seemed the only way it was going to budge was if I took the bracket on the underside off. I accidentally knocked the SC and it just dropped off. • Intake manifold off - nearly rounded a bolt, but not quite • All tensioner/idler pulleys off. • Crankshaft pulley off (PITA, but perseverance paid off). • Cam belt off.
Closer – also notice carbon build-up on the valves:
Day 2
11:00 I went to pick up some more supplies like white spirits to clean everything and some instant gasket, steel rule and feeler gauges (to measure head/block for flatness). In the afternoon I managed to get the cam covers off and to my horror I found large quantities of black sludge (we think it was very old burned oil, possibly still from when the car was being used in Japan as previous UK owners really looked after the car)
Continued on nonetheless and removed • Cams • Cam pulleys • Cam belt back plate • Loosened the head and removed it • Removed knackered head gasket Knackered HG:
The Block. Leakage occurred top left (near #4 cylinder):
Head removed, before cleaning notice leak area: I began cleaning the head later in the afternoon and did basic measurement for flatness and to my relief it looked like the head was flat, bar a few highpoints of gasket material I couldn’t shift.
Day 3
10:30 - Popped to B&Q for a few more supplies namely an oil stone to smoothly rub the head and block faces to ultra smooth & perfectly flat surfaces. 52
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The rest of Friday was spent cleaning loads of bits. Tom Dyke popped over to look at the damage and demonstrated the use of the oilstone on the head.
Cleaned a few choice parts with our new ‘Dremel’: (Due to the rush to get the HG changed we couldn’t clean everything to a shiny-new spec as we would have liked)
Cleaning Block - Photo courtesy of Tom Dyke
Photo courtesy of Tom Dyke
We then conducted the leak test on the block with metholated spirits, and again over ten minutes we had no loss of liquid.
New water pump fitted, as we had this knocking around spare:
Head Cleaned and showing perfectly level (no warpage):
Head Gasket goes on: Photo courtesy of Tom Dyke
Unfortunately when I first turned the head over all the shims and buckets fell out and I lost what order they were meant to be in. Mate Tom measured up our shims with his digital vernier and emailed a spreadsheet he created that contained formula to ensure one gets the correct shim under the correct cam tooth.
With the tubular exhaust manifold off the car, we took the opportunity to re-wrap it as the original wrapping had pretty much disappeared. Before:
Day 5 Day 4
12:00 - After cleaning some of the carbon off the valve faces we tested the head for a good seal using Metholated spirits any loss of the spirits within a minute would mean stripping the head completely and re-sealing it. We lost no meths through the valves over a period of ten minutes – so all good again!
After:
12:00 The first big step towards completion – The Head gets torqued on correctly as we hadn’t used the torque wrench correctly the night before. Least the head bolts weren’t too stretched and tightened up a treat. Fingers crossed all will still be OK.
Assembling parts ready for fitting (but ended up looking like a car boot sale!):
Cams go on:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/ v240/System-G/MKI/SC/HG/sml-26.jpg[/img] I then cleaned up the block face to the same degree as the head and measured it for flatness. Also again perfect! Toyota recommend a head/block skim if there are any gaps of 0.05mm or more. MR2 Only Magazine
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Testing the clearances for fitting shims: (due to the ‘shims and buckets randomly falling out’ incident earlier on in the week)
RIDING SOLO
Photos and article written by Jeffery A. Farkas
Cam belt goes on:
Cam covers and dizzy goes on:
I purchased my MR2 about 6 years ago, it was stock with no modifications. Prior to owning my MR2 I had a 1983 Rx7 that I used for Solo II events and lapping, in my second lapping event, it was raining and very slick. I was following a Type R Integra and as I exited the very last hairpin corner and accelerated onto the straight, my car hit a puddle and spun around. As it spun around my car hit a concrete barrier as there was not enough room to make it all the way around. Needless to say I totalled my car.
THIS IS HOW MY MR2 STORY BEGINS...
After a long search for a replacement car
for solo, I came across my current sc, the owner claimed that he stored it through the winter and it seemed that he probably was not lying due to the lack of rust. I purchased the car after my first drive. I loved the way that it handled and accelerated. It felt like I was driving an oversized go-cart. A few weeks passed and I knew that keeping the car stock would not last long. I felt that the car first needed some good rubber and wheels to improve the handling. I purchased a set of Enkie 15°®x7°® wheels and new tires 205/50/15. What a difference! My purchase was in late March so as the spring approached my urge to improve the
2 eyes on xs power Raiden: “I wonder why this connectors unplugged?”:
Only the other day I was sat having a poo and suddenly it came to me, why don’t we run a feature that gives readers an insight into companies that can offer their services to the MR2 community? (Honestly I did think of that whilst pooing). After that fateful trip to the porcelain throne “2 eyes open” was born and my toilet will never be the same again! A company that’s often discussed on forums, Jason from XS-Power comes to my toilet for a chat and to give us a better insight into the company. Nick MR2only: Hi Jason, thanks for taking time out to chat to us about your company and products, excuse the smell it’s the best I could get at such short notice.
Following advice: next time we suspect HG failure, we’ll get a ‘sniff test’ done
Thanks to: Farmer & Carlisle Toyota (Leicester) Mark Nias, Tom Dyke, Anna & Alex Speed, and Jo Walker
Part II follows in the next issue of MR2 Only Magazine 54
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So starting from the beginning what is XS-Power all about and how did it come about? XS-Power: Well XS Power UK started because I was fed up with being ripped off from everyone else. I couldn’t afford to buy all the branded stuff for my cars. I bought a few things from our sister company in America and we started from there. That was about 5 or6 years ago Nick MR2only: So you approached them about bringing their products to the UK then? XS-Power: Yeah but as you can imagine they get many emails the same every day as I do, so it took a while for them to trust me. Nick MR2only: How did you swing the deal and offer them what the others couldn’t? XS-Power: They had been stung by many UK traders who promised the same and as I was/am an Aircraft engineer by trade I worked with them on many projects and I got to know them very well. I was working for Airbus at the time on a new Military project and I made a decision to go for it and left the aircraft industry to follow my passion and hobby. Nick MR2only: what separates XS from the more expensive branded items other than the price? XS-Power: Nothing, the dual exhaust system we sell for the MR2 along with many others is made by the same company that makes them for TRD. A lot of these
items you buy are made in one factory and labelled up depending on who’s buying them. Nick MR2only: People love their big brand name badges and as in the case of most products it’s cool to let people know you’re wearing the latest pair of Nike trainers. Do you think it’s the same with performance parts and that people are very much paying for the name? XS-Power: Yes, it’s what we call customer perception. Look at all the gear other companies put on their drag cars, big money. One guy went up to Steve who owns the big power supra that we supplied parts for and said “hey I am looking for a Charge Cooler for our drag car, been quoted £1700 what did you pay?” Steve said, “Oh I think they’re around £150 – 200” and the guy didn’t believe him. Many people take our badges off or ask if they can buy it without a badge as they don’t want people to know that they paid a small amount for their parts. A lot of people want to go to the pub and brag that they spent £1700 on a Charge Cooler just like baked beans in different tins, Tesco...or Heinz. We used to sell dipsticks in America, chrome dipsticks for hotrods. We sold one to a guy and it still had the “made in Taiwan badge” on it. He brought it back and threw it on the floor and said he didn’t want this crap so my mate went back to the store room, picked up another one, took the label off and gave it to the guy and said “sorry sir, this one is made in America”. He was over the moon. Nick MR2only: It must be pretty satisfying to see big power cars running products you supply, what’s your biggest achievement to date with regards to XS-powers products?
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b
as
r
After competing in over 15 solo II events, my need for speed increased, a fellow competitor told me about Solo I time trials. The Solo I is sort of a time attack event with 1 warm up lack and 3 hot laps. Each car is placed into classes sorted by horsepower and modification.
cars handling grew. My next challenge was to lower the car and improve the braking. If I was to compete in Solo II, these changes would be a necessity. I changed the springs to apex and the shocks to Tokico. I still have the same springs but the rear shocks have been changed to adjustable 5 way Tokico’s. As my experience in Solo I and II increased, I felt that the softer front shocks allowed for a better weight transfer to the front during my corner approaches. I entered my first Solo II event and was placed 3rd in my class a position that seemed to follow me throughout my Solo career. The problem that I encountered was a lack of grip in my street tires. I noticed that most of my competitors were using R1 dot tires. I picked up a set of Kuhmo Victoracer tires and on the next race, I picked up another spot beating out a civic for second. I was very happy about my progress.
I remember my first Solo II event vividly; I remember being very excited and a little scared not knowing the track that I was going on to and watching the speeds of my competitors. My first thought was to find an experienced competitor driver and have them come along with me and teach me the ropes. I decided to pick a particular competitor that seemed to know his stuff. Ironically, he ended up winning his class for the year. He accompanied me around the track in my car and gave me a rude awakening on driving at high speeds. The car reacts very different and braking, hitting the apex, exit and enter speeds, braking point and accelerating become an integral part of being successful on the track.
After a while, I gave up my Solo II career for kids and other things. My car was a not to be driven as hard as the other cars in my class. I still wanted to keep it in good shape and use it for show and go. What can I say other than I love my MR2. There are not a lot of Mk1s around that are in good shape. Most have rusted to the ground and are no longer on the road. As for using the MR2 Mk1 for solo I would suggest not to worry about competing for 1st place but to take your time be smooth and improve your driving skills. Once you master your skills, the sky will be the limit. I am off to the Kingston, Ontario Canada MR2 event on July 20th-21st, I look forward to seeing all of the MR2’s, and some mean Mk1s. I will never sell my Mk1 so do not even think about it, its the greatest thing since sliced apple pie.
I learned a great deal from my Solo I experience and as I continued to enter more events, my confidence grew and my skills improved. I never seemed to reach the top of the podium it was always 3rd or 4th position. I felt that this was not too bad considering that my competitors in my class were emptied out civics and crx’s that had drivers who drove as if they stole them.
by Nick Turner - nick@mr2only.com
XS-Power: Yes it is. We worked along side Steve Whittaker with his MKIV Supra. He was running all HKS parts and had done a personal best of 10.4 on the quarter muke but his turbo setup was maxed out. We worked together and placed our GT45 turbo on his car and it ran over 1000 hp last year and did a 10.1. To date we have the quickest UK manual Supra in the UK...”FACT” We have many many cars which people probably wouldn’t think had our parts. We have along with Gareth @ ATF Power Engineering built a 880hp RB26 skyline with Dyno Proof and we also helped develop a set of manifolds for a 700 hp Twin turbo’d Ferrari 360, a 900hp RB25 Skyline which is due to be ready later this year running XS power parts and also the new Drag Supra 1300hp Mk3 which is our main car for this year. Our own Evo 7 is running 600hp, which goes up for sale later this month to make room for a new project. Nick MR2only: There’s no doubt that you occasionally come under fire on internet forums. As is always the case people love to moan more than they like to praise.
Tell us about the two downpipes that you stock for the MR2? XS-Power: There is no NEW down pipe. We have sold the so called new downpipe longer than anyone on this planet. Motoria made the first batch many years ago and we were the first to sell them we just never advertised them. We try to open the market to everyone but not everyone can afford even the Motoria downpipe. As an alternative we sell probably the cheapest downpipe in the UK. We offer the best downpipe on the market and as an alternative to people who cannot afford it the latter cheaper pipe will work just as good but may not last as long. We give our customers the choice. Despite what people think, we are trying to get rid of our forum reputation. We don’t hit the forums so much, as we believe that the proof is in the pudding thus the Supra’s and getting cars out there with all our parts, let those do the talking. Forum arguments get out of hand but people are slowly but surely coming round. There will always be the HKS lover and always the XS-Power lover. We have come a long way in such a short time Nick MR2only: We have spoken about other lesser cars, any cool new goodies or projects on the drawing board for us MR2 owners? XS-Power: Well yes but I can’t talk about it. However I can let you know that ATF Power are working very close with us regarding some big power cars and we are looking forward to doing more projects with Gareth at ATF. Also re-works have helped us to develop a V band turbo setup for the 3sgte. It’s not in production yet and is in early stages but as soon as it is you will be the first to know. Nick MR2only: What should a customer do if they have an issue with one of your parts? XS-Power: We, as yet, are an internet based company and only have a handful of people who work for us.
We are trying to deal with all aspects of the business and have recently started up a 0870 number (08700429706) to deal with all sales but we are finding people phone for advice etc. This isn’t a tech line. Any tech advice should be emailed to us at sales@xs-power. co.uk Nick MR2only: Where do you see xs-power going in the future? XS-Power: We may aim to get a time attack car next year but it’s all time and money. That’s our next plan anyway. We are teaming up with ATF power engineering who are amazing engine builders and have done many touring cars. Our Evo is with them as we speak. Nick MR2only: What toys have you got in stock for the MR2 then? XS-Power: Our 3 most popular sellers are the Motoria Down pipe and the Dual Exit exhaust system and our intercoolers have gone down well. Best thing for readers to do is to log on to www.xs-power.co.uk and take a look around. The site has pictures of all the products and pricing. We also sell through E-Bay. Well there we have it; Jason flushes away his mess and leaves me a floater. We defiantly live in a world where big name companies are cool and I’m as guilty of it as anyone but when it comes down to it, is it cool to be down the pub telling all your mates about how much you have just spent on a second hand big name exhaust system or is it cooler to be telling them how you just picked up a quality brand new Motoria system from XS-Power for half the price and can afford to buy the next round? XS-Power Contacts: Website: www.xs-Power.co.uk Email: sales@xs-power.co.uk Tel: 08700429706
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Useful Contacts Piper – 01303 245300 www.pipercams.co.uk Raw Striker – 01432 371169 www. rawstriker.com
Parts and Fitting costs Pair of BP270 fast road camshafts from Piper - £470 Fitting charge by Raw Striker £293.75
Camshaft upgrade
Rob Hawkins finds out from Toyota twin cam experts Raw Striker, how to fit a pair of Piper fast road camshafts to the Mk1 MR2.
Haynes Workshop Manual The Haynes workshop manual on the Mk1 MR2 covers the camshafts in chapter 2, part A (starts on page 60).
Torque settings Camshaft caps – 13Nm Camshaft pulleys – 47Nm Spark plugs – 18Nm
T
he MK1 MR2’s 4AGE engine can benefit from fitting a pair of fast road camshafts, especially if you intend to fit further modifications (e.g. exhaust and induction upgrades). We’ve shown how to replace a standard pair of camshafts for a set of Piper fast road cams. In most cases, Piper has found the camshafts are a straight swap and do not require the fitting of Vernier pulleys to fine tune the engine. However, just in case you’re not so lucky, we’ll be showing how to fit Vernier pulleys in the next issue of MR2 Only. One of the most critical points when changing the camshafts is to make sure the timing of the engine is correct. Fortunately, there are plenty of markings to help determine whether the engine is timed up properly. As with most engines, the timing marks relate to cylinder number one being at top dead centre (TDC) and about to fire. The crankshaft pulley has three markings on it. The third marking needs to line up with a pointer on the front of the engine to signify
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Set aside a day to replace your camshafts. The following 15 steps were completed at Toyota twin cam experts and Striker kit car manufacturer Raw Striker.
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Disconnect the battery. Remove the distributor cap, fitted with two 8mm bolts and detach the HT leads (label the order of fitting). Remove the throttle linkage, fitted with two 10mm and one 12mm bolt and lever off the linkage to the throttle body. Remove the spark plug cover, fitted with four remaining 10mm bolts.
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TDC. If you remove the oil filler cap, look for a dimple on a standard camshaft, which should line up with a straight edge on the filler neck. Each camshaft pulley has a dot mark on the front, which should line up with a rib mark on the rear timing belt cover at 12 o’clock. Once the pulleys have been removed, there are dowels on the front of the cams to locate them. The inlet dowel should be at 12 o’clock and the exhaust at 5 o’clock. Other methods of checking TDC include carefully positioning a screwdriver down the spark plug hole of piston number one to find when the piston is at the top of its stroke. Finally, when number one is at TDC, remove the distributor cap (two 8mm bolts) and the rotor arm should be pointing to the contact for cylinder number one’s HT lead.
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Detach the electrical connectors for the distributor and fan and disconnect the connector to the oil pressure switch (on the engine, near the exhaust manifold). Suspend this part of the wiring loom away from the front of the engine. Disconnect the servo pipe and suspend away. Remove the top timing belt cover, fitted with five 10mm bolts (two top, three bottom).
3 Carefully remove the camshaft covers, fitted with four 10mm dome nuts. Disconnect the breather pipe from the left cover. Don’t lose the rubber/ steel washers. The covers are a tight fit, but avoid damaging the rubber gaskets when levering them off. Clean the insides of the covers thoroughly.
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4
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Grip each camshaft with a 15/16 or 1-inch spanner (look for the flats), then slacken the 14mm camshaft pulley bolts using a six-sided socket to avoid rounding off. Gently retighten these bolts after slackening them. This will make it easier to remove them later.
Remove the lower engine cover, fitted with an assortment of 10mm bolts. Remove the spark plugs to make it easier to turn the engine. Fit a 17mm or 19mm socket over the crankshaft pulley bolt and turn in a clockwise direction to line up the timing marks on the crank pulley and cam pulleys.
With the engine timed up, look for the 10mm timing belt tensioner adjuster bolt. It has a long pin on the end of it and a rubber grommet (remove this). Use a long 10mm 12-sided socket to slacken this bolt, release the tension on the belt and retighten, then slide the belt off the camshaft pulleys.
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Add paint marks to the side of the distributor and the rotor arm to note its position. Remove the distributor by undoing its two 12mm bolts. The distributor’s drive will turn as the distributor is removed, but the paint marks will help to refit it correctly later.
Fully undo the 14mm crankshaft pulley bolts that were slackened in step 4. You may need to grip the camshaft with the 15/16 or 1-inch spanner. Remove each camshaft pulley, noting which one is exhaust and inlet. Store safely for refitting later.
Undo six 10mm bolts for the top timing belt rear cover (metal). You won’t be able to remove the cover or the 10mm bolt near the engine mount. Instead, the cover will need to pulled back later to remove the camshafts.
10 Crack from the outside in, the 10mm camshaft cap bolts and nuts. Use a six-sided socket to avoid rounding off the heads. Once slackened, fully undo all the nuts and bolts, then remove them. The front caps include an oil seal and may need carefully levering off.
13 Refit the camshaft caps and the studs/bolts. Make sure the studs are refitted in the correct position to enable the camshaft covers to be refitted. Tighten the camshaft cap bolts/nuts from the middle outwards and torque down to 13Nm.
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11 The camshaft caps are all numbered and denoted with I for inlet and E for exhaust and an arrow pointing to the front of the engine. Clean these up along with the bolt/stud threads. Remove the camshafts. Pull the top metal timing cover forward to create some room. Carefully lever the camshaft upwards with a screwdriver to release it.
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Fit a new or existing oil seal onto the end of each camshaft. Check the correct position of each camshaft according to the pulleys and timing marks. Lower each camshaft into position (exhaust has the drive for the distributor), ensuring the oil seal sits flush with the front face of the cylinder head.
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Turn the camshaft until a pair of lobes is pointing upwards. Position a feeler gauge between the bottom of the cam and the follower. There should be between 8-10-thou of a gap. Check all the lobes and ensure the camshafts are returned to their correct positions.
After checking the clearances, refit all remaining parts. When refitting the camshaft covers, apply some sealant to the front sections as shown here. Refit the distributor using the markings made in step 7. Recheck all timing marks before test running the engine.
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17/8/07 19:07:06
Team MR2 Only Mk1 & Mk2 Projects It’s been 6 months since MR2 Only bought its first project car after being a little over enthusiastic on Ebay, the car was a bargain, just in need of a little TLC, but structurally sound, and flew through its MOT with only a couple of minor jobs to be done. From the outset we intended this MR2 to be a track car project, as quite frankly it was never going to win any concourse awards. First task we undertook was to tidy up the superficial rust to the wheel arches, and put a little lustre back into the faded paintwork, a couple of weekends hard but satisfying work saw a complete transformation, and with the addition of some livery and a vinyl printed union jack to disguise the faded paint work on the roof it began to look the part. Our first major upgrade was to the brakes which we covered back in issue 4 where the MR2MK1Club guys helped us fit larger Celica ST185 discs, calipers and pads sourced from TCB Performance Parts and fitted live at the Stoneleigh Restoration show. This one modification amazes us each time we take the car on track. The car was also treated to an engine service with parts courtesy of BOK Motorsport, we then set about removing the interior carpets and some of the trim to allow us to fit Cobra Monaco bucket seats and TRS 4 point harnesses for added safety, the seats were mounted to the floor using the existing fittings and runners with a little inginuity, grinding and welding from Simon Skinner and Rob Delicata a more in depth article will follow. After our maiden voyage at Donington circuit we soon realised our priority was to uprate the by now soggy worn out suspension, and opted for a KYB gas damper insert kit from the U.S, possibly the most adventurous project I’ve undertaken on an MR2 which involved stripping each strut from the car, removing the hub and
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The Mk1 has taken some serious abuse on two Donington track days, and earned the nickname Russell as in Russell Hobbs because each time we’ve ended up back in the pits with the tail steaming. The Mk1 also took us all the way to the Nürburgring and has been up and down the country to various shows and events, it truly is a pleasure to drive and really does have the grin factor, we did have plans to enter the MR2 challenge in it but have grown a little too attached to the MK1 to risk losing it in battle, instead a 4AGE turbo engine is in the making, so with the MR2 Challenge in mind another project was born...
Project Mk2
Meet Flossy, this 1990 Rev 1 Mk2 N/A MR2 coupe had been previously owned by two of my friends and was pretty much coming to the end of its useful road life, looking a little sorry for itself we’ve so far treated it to a good polish and a cheap set of 16” Sparco lightweight wheels we happened upon, the car has a list of minor mechanical jobs that need attending to which we will cover as articles in the magazine. We intend this car to be our MR2 Challenge entry, finances permitting or maybe a V6 project, for the challenge we have to adhere to the strict regulations keeping the car stock, but obviously fitting all of the safety requirements. We may have to opt for the more powerful rev 3 engine to compete in the challenge but for now we are sticking with the 158bhp rev 1 engine for a few outings for testing and a shakedown where it will join our Mk1 on track during the build. Again you will read more about the Mk2 and our Mk1 track projects both in the magazine and on www.mr2only.com
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brakes, taking out the old damper, and fitting the new one, the struts were built back up with some track uprated sprints, of unknown make. Again more details of this project will follow soon and our build diary will be on www.mr2only.com
We now have a limited amount of MR2 Only clothing, with the MR2 Only logo on the front, and URL on the back,
Black collared polo shirt with embroidered logos, Sizes M, L, XL £ 12.99 plus £2 P&P
Black plain T-shirt with embroidered logo on front and URL on back, sizes: Large £ 10.99 plus £2 P&P
All MR2 Only shirts are made to order, turn around time is estimated at 14/21 days
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Black baseball cap with embroidered logo to front £ 7.50 plus £2 P&P
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17/8/07 19:16:10
BACK 2 BASICS In the last couple of issues of MR2only we have been looking at suspension theory and going into a little bit of detail and in this issue of Back to Basics we will be going right back to simple terms, looking at simple terminology and components with a brief description. I have generated the list from frequenting various MR2 forums and looking at typical queries and threads and I hope you find it useful!
ECU
The Engine Control Unit is the brain of the engine and beyond. It is essentially a processor that decides how much fuel and ignition advance the car needs for a given set of circumstances. The ECU on the MR2 is a ‘closed loop’ system, which means it monitors various engine parameters which are a product of its own inputs, such as knock and Lambda, then uses these to help decide how to control engine inputs such as fuel and ignition. The other conditions the ECU monitors are such things as throttle position, engine load on forced induction engines (manifold pressure), inputs from the AFM (if it has one), air temperature, water temperature, engine speed and potentially gear position and road speed. The ECU will also record any sensor inputs that are outside that of a pre-programmed range. It will then flag up an error code which can be read, or in the worse case permanently illuminate the engine warning light. The ECU can also output signals to other devices such as power steering, instrument clusters and ABS units. As a note, most aftermarket ECU’s are ‘open loop’ which means they rely purely on the fuel and ignition maps to administer fuel and ignition and do not have inputs for lambda or knock. The 3S-GTE ECU, not especially exciting to look at but very clever!
OXYGEN/LAMBDA SENSOR
The Oxygen sensor is an essential part of a closed loop engine control system. This sensor sits in the exhaust system and generates a voltage proportional to the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas. This signal is then sent to the engine control unit, which uses this information to determine the air/fuel ratio. It can then adjust fuelling according to a number of pre-set parameters in the engine map, some of which include engine temperature, engine speed and load and throttle position. It is the use of inputs such as this that make the system ‘closed loop’ The standard O2 sensor is a narrow band type. For mapping work a wideband lambda sensor is needed and this simply means it will operate over a wider range!
By Simon “Skinthespin” Skinner
KNOCK SENSOR
These are found predominantly on forced induction engines. A simple piezometric device, it detects detonation and sends a signal to the ECU, the ECU then decides the course of action, usually reducing boost, increasing fuel or retarding the ignition.
DETONATION
Detonation is the creation within the cylinder of a pressure wave travelling at such high velocity that, through its impact with the combustion chamber walls it excites them into vibrating. The shockwaves in the gas are repeatedly reflected from the walls of the cylinders, causing a ringing or metallic sound. This high pitched ‘ping’ noise is often referred to as pinking. Another by product of this is the interruption of the flame front which can then spontaneously ignite, causing the combustion chamber walls to vibrate further. The initial damage caused by detonation is usually around the gudgeon pin area and thus destroying the little end. The factors which contribute to detonation are: • • • •
High compression ratios Low octane fuel Over advanced ignition An inadequately cooled combustion chamber
MAP SENSOR
The Manifold Air Pressure sensor is simply a device which detects the pressure in the plenum chamber and is used predominantly on forced induction cars. A signal is then sent to the ECU which uses this amongst many other parameters to decide fuelling and ignition. The MAP sensor is a more robust method of calculating the amount of air in the plenum, especially when modifying the car and increasing boost pressure.
CARBON CANISTER
It is the job of the carbon canister to collect fuel vapour that has evaporated from the surface of the fuel in the tank. Without this fuel vapour would simply escape to the atmosphere. The vehicle manufacturer must pass a pre set Hydrocarbons emission limit in order to homologate the vehicle for sale. Without the carbon canister it is almost certain it would fail. The fuel vapour collects in the canister and is then fed back into the engine at the appropriate moment in the fuel map as not to disrupt the fuel cycle. If the canister becomes saturated at any point then fuel vapour will still escape to atmosphere. The carbon canister can be removed and the car will not fail any MOT type testing but hydrocarbon emissions will be increased.
AIRFLOW METER (AFM)
Toyota Lambda sensor
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The AFM on the MR2 is a simple flap attached to a potentiometer, with a temperature sensor near the entry to the AFM. The flap is on a wound spring (like a clock spring) which resists opening. The more the door opens the more air is being forced in. The signals from both the temperature sensor and potentiometer (and hence flap position) are sent to the ECU which then decides on fuelling and ignition parameters. Cars generally have either an AFM or MAP sensor.
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An Airflow Meter with the top removed, the simple potentiometer can clearly be seen.
INTERCOOLER (IC)
The intercooler is essential in a modern forced induction engine. It is a simple device for removing heat that is produced by the act of compressing the inlet air in the engine. The charged (and at this point very warm) air is forced through what is essentially a wide radiator with many fins. The flow of cool ambient air over these fins cool the air being forced through the intercooler. The drawback of an IC is the need for a laminar flow of cool air which is especially difficult in a mid-engined car like the MR2. Another drawback is that they are not especially efficient at removing heat, as it is an air-air device. Air has a particularly good specific heat capacity, which is bad in this application as it means it is difficult for heat to pass from air into air (air is an excellent insulator). The IC, particularly on an MR2 also requires complex pipe runs to get from turbo to plenum. Each bend is a restriction and a loss of efficiency. The main advantages of an IC are it is a simple, cost effective and robust device, with little to go wrong.
Intercooler, to work effectively they need a big surface area and ideally mounted at the front where they get a cool laminar flow of air.
CHARGECOOLER (CC)
The chargecooler is simply a water cooled IC. Water is much better at transferring heat, so will remove it from the charged air much more effectively than the air-air IC. The CC can sit on top of the engine and produce a very short run between turbo and plenum (and as such less lag and fewer losses). To accompany the CC is a pump and a pre-rad. The pre-rad is a simple water-air radiator mounted usually at the front of the car, the water being carried there by pipes running the length of the car. Fitting the CC from a Celica GT4 is a common modification on MR2 Turbos and Superchargers. With the CC sat on top of the engine (see pic) there is still very little of the mythical heat soak. Although the water will absorb heat from the engine it will also be carried away and dispersed with the cool flow of air at the front of the car. So even if the CC eventually heats up it also cools down much quicker than an IC. The downsides to the CC method are cost, complexity and weight.
The black box is the CC, not as ‘bling’ as an IC but very effective in an MR2.
SPIGOT RINGS
The spigot rings job is simply to centre the wheel on the hub. It is essentially nothing more than a spacer to fill the gap between the hub and the centre bore of the wheel. It does not, contrary to popular belief, support the wheel in any way and as long as the wheel nuts/studs are correctly tightened it is perfectly safe to run without them. It is the clamping force between the wheel face and the discs that stops the wheel slipping onto the studs. The only problem that may occur is the wheel may not be centred (especially if you have universal wheel PCD and shouldered nuts) and there may be potentially severe wheel vibration, even with correctly balanced wheels.
FORGED AND CAST PISTONS
There are 2 main manufacturing processes for pistons, casting and forging. Casting is much cheaper and easier than forging and involves pouring molten material into a mould and the item is then machined where necessary. Forging simply involves shaping the material from a billet by forming it with a large tool under extreme pressure. Casting, while cheaper does introduce impurities and porosity into the component meaning additional material needs to be added (compared to a forging) in the form of thicker wall sections etc to compensate for these impurities. What this means to us in terms of pistons is that a forged piston is either lighter for the same strength or stronger for the same size, the latter being the most common. This enables the piston to cope with much higher combustion chamber pressures and engine speeds, essential with forced induction cars that are stressed above factory limits. The forged piston, much stronger than a comparable mass cast piston
These items are just a few that crop up regularly on owners forums. If you would like anything explained briefly or in detail please e-mail me, skinthespin@mr2only.com and I will do my best to explain.
If you have any MR2 related technical issues or topics you would like us to write about in BACK 2 BASICS please email skinthespin@mr2only.com
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17/8/07 19:17:22
MR2 CHALLENGE - Mallory Park 24th June
Written and contributed by Richard and Karen, photos by James Merrett & Derren Phillips Mallory Park in Leicestershire was the venue for the 3rd meeting in the MR2 Challenge calendar. Dark heavy clouds were hanging ominously overhead as Karen’s entourage arrived at the circuit. The race car was unloaded from the trailer and immediately given its first wash since having the new front body panels fitted after the damage received at Cadwell in the previous meeting. Shortly afterwards it was straight into scrutineering where Karen was asked to demonstrate the electrical cut-out, and luckily Richard had spent a fair few hours the previous weekend getting it to work correctly after some recent difficulties. The car passed with flying colours. The qualifying session was due not long after, by which time the rain was coming down fairly steadily. There was a growing patch of standing water towards the exit of Gerrards and the surface on the exit of the Shaws hairpin was rather slick under power but otherwise the grip levels seemed fine. Karen felt her performance was pretty good considering the conditions and the fact that she kept in touch with Rob Howes #7, who’s usually a strong performer. Richard and his friends were busy taking rough lap times and were impressed with her pace, as she’d already improved upon her previous times in the wet at the circuit. Unfortunately for Karen, it seems everyone else’s times had also improved. That and the re-merging of the MK1 and faster MK2 fields saw her qualify in 25th place overall, 14th out of the MK1 cars. However, a group of 6 other cars failed to make the final 30 places and were relegated into running in a separate race organised by the CSCC. Race 1 was due to begin at 1pm and by that time the weather had improved dramatically with no more rain and the track drying rapidly. There was some confusion as the marshals attempted to assemble the large grid of 30 cars
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in the assembly area. Seemingly still not right, it led to cars sitting high up the Devil’s Elbow as positions were sorted out. At this point, the field were waved off under a green flag. Jason Jesse #37 immediately overtook Karen and John Wilson #17, before realising his mistake much later on and falling back behind them when they reached the Devil’s Elbow! Karen assumes that when the grid re-formed, numerous cars were still not in the correct positions so another green flag was waved. Jason overtook Karen again, this time almost running straight into the back of John! Once more he realised his mistake, and returned to his position as the cars drove slowly around. Meanwhile, at the pointy end of the grid Andrew Hutchinson #21 and Sarah Wherry #23 were coming to blows as they fought for the lead of a race that wasn’t even in progress! The end result of this saw them both removed from the grid and sent to the Clerk of the Course. The actual start of Race 1 began using the red lights, with Karen’s progress hampered by the sheer weight of number of cars trying to go around Gerrards. Things began to thin out slightly as the cars powered along Stebbe Straight, but as the front runners entered the Lake Esses all hell broke loose! Karen was blessed with luck and skill in equal measure and managed to zip through a narrowing gap in the melee, losing only the passenger door mirror in the process! For obvious reasons the race was immediately red flagged. Due to the previous amount of time wasted the officials abandoned the re-start, preferring to attempt it at the end of the day. Race 2 began at about 4.30pm, but of course it was now effectively Race 1! The grid positions remained the same and the start of the race saw Karen managing to keep Jason at bay. Things were still tight the first time through
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Gerrards though. Karen snuck inside the MK2 of Andy Winterton #8 at the Lake Esses but lost the place again as he powered past out of the Devil’s Elbow. Karen was in a struggle with Jason for a fair while and at one point they were neck and neck along the Stebbe Straight. Bradley Philpot #50 had possibly re-joined the circuit after an incident and was seemingly cruising down the middle of the straight. As Karen and Jason approached him they seemed set to shoot past on either side until Bradley moved across – right in front of Karen! Jason flew by and Karen was left caught behind Bradley for another half a lap until Bradley seemed to clear whatever problem he was having and accelerated away, leaving a rather disgruntled Karen to begin chasing Jason down all over again. After a few laps of continually closing the gap to him, their battle was disrupted by the front running MK2 cars lapping the field and Jason was gone again. With a couple of laps to go, Hugh Gilmore #98 was now beginning to pressurise Karen. In the penultimate lap, whilst braking down for the hairpin, Hugh gave Karen a hefty tap from behind sending her straight onto the grass rather than turning into the corner! Karen recovered well enough to chase Hugh down the Kirkby straight where she spotted the last lap board. Thinking she was now in last place, Karen made sure to dispatch Hugh by beating him into the Lake Esses and she actually finished in 21st overall from 24. 10th place in Class A. (Production MK1). A slightly disappointing finish, with the MK2’s seeming to distort the results and the racing itself thanks to having to make way for the lapping cars. There still seems to be an issue with Karen’s front suspension making itself evident through the left hander of Devil’s Elbow, which certainly lost her at least one place during the course of the race. The re-run of Race 1 was cancelled at the end of the day due to a lack of time before the racing curfew at 6pm. For up to date information on Karens progress visit www.karenphillips.co.uk
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Mr2 Challenge Snetterton 15th July
Written by Richard and Karen - photos by Matthew Holland and Sarah Wherry Just for once the MR2 Challenge cars weren’t required for scrutineering at the crack of dawn. This gave Karen and her crew a chance to actually enjoy their full English breakfast for once! Having arrived at Snetterton circuit, the car was unloaded and given a bit of a wash just in time for a heavy rain shower to wash all the soap off. As the car was presented for scrutineering the sky began to brighten and the rain stopped. After inspection the car was given a ticket to race and there was only a short time to chat with the other racers before the qualifying session began at 9.50am. Thanks to the increasing amount of sun and a decent breeze the track had dried nicely with only some dampness remaining at Riches and Sear corners. Karen’s husband Richard and their friend Darren watched her progress from the Esses. Karen seemed to have found a decent amount of free track around her most of the time and Darren’s unofficial timings seemed to show she was doing well despite being out on brand new shaved Falken tyres. When the timing sheets were published it was obvious that there were performance improvements amongst the other racers in the MR2 Challenge and thus Karen had qualified 27th for Race 1 and 30th for Race 2 from a field of 38 cars. It should be remembered that 14 of the cars ahead of Karen were MK2 models with their power, grip and braking advantages. Race 1 began in bright, dry conditions. Karen had a great start that saw her gain at least one place before the first corner of Riches, and she even managed to overhaul the #18 MK2 of David Henderson at the following Sear Corner. Unsurprisingly, however, he then proceeded to use his power advantage to make a break from a good deal of the MK1’s along the Revett Straight. On the third lap Karen was being harried by Chris Dunnett #31. She spotted a waved yellow flag as she entered Sear and began to lift off the throttle in anticipation, causing the rear of the car to break
away and she span off. As Karen struggled to recover onto the track several cars drove by losing her all her hard fought places. She was now trying to claw back places and Arron Pullan #26 was first on the list, followed by Chris Dunnett #31. Karen passed Ivan Thomas #59 and was then chasing down Steve Woolfe #88 on the penultimate lap. By the time Karen reached the Esses on the final lap, she had indeed overtaken Steve. At the very final corner of the race at Russell Chicane, Karen accelerated out only to lose traction on the soil and plastic corner markers strewn across the track during previous incidents. She couldn’t hold the car and the resulting spin lost her the four places she had just recovered. It’s a good job we didn’t have an in-car camera running as the audio may not have been for the feint of heart… Karen finished 16th in class A for production MK1 cars. Having watched the events unfold from the Esses, Richard and Darren believed that Karen had done pretty well during the race and waved at her as she drove past on the cool down lap. Karen was giving the thumbs down sign and Richard assumed there was some problem with the car. The guys quickly made their way back to the paddock to meet her. Strangely, she was nowhere to be found and it turned out the cars were being weighed in the scrutineering building. The guys were also dismayed to hear that Karen had spun on the exit of Russell Chicane just before the chequered flag and dropped four places! Sure enough, upon her return Karen was furious – Both with herself, and the fact that the MSA official had decreed the car underweight by 3kg at 1047kg. Karen was left assuming she would now be excluded from the results entirely! The guys were left reeling. The car had previously been weighed on the same scales at Easter and found to be 1059kg in exactly the same specification and with the same low fuel load. It turns out a number of other cars had suffered a
similar fate. Many cars that were either under or over the 1050kg limit all seemed to be about 10 to 12kg lighter than expected! Luckily, the decision was taken by the MSA official not to exclude anyone at that point, but warned that cars would be weighed after Race 2 and those underweight at that time would definitely be excluded from the results. Richard was left with no option but to play safe and to add more fuel than usual to the car for Race 2 to act as ballast and ensure a post race weight above 1050kg. (At least, against their scales, anyway…) Race 2 was another dry race. Karen started 30th and thanks to a couple of vacated grid slots ahead of her and some brilliant overtaking she was 25th by the time she’d reached Revett Straight, claiming places from Hugh Gilmore #98, David Cross #13 and David Block #40. In the second lap, Karen caught and passed Chris Dunnett #31 to start chasing Rob Howes #7. This was until Rob and Karen came across a Rogue MK2 car recovering from a spin at Russell Chicane. This managed to intervene and allowed Rob to pull away. Karen was left leading a pack of cars that had now caught her up, headed by the bright orange car of Ross Stoner #22. Both of them were overtaken by the MK2 of David Bryant #38 along Revett. As they went under the bridge and approached the Esses poor Ross had a massive moment and span out in a massive cloud of dust. This now released Hugh Gilmore #98 to begin his attack on Karen. As Hugh closed on Karen they both overtook David’s MK2 on lap 8. By the final lap Hugh was worrying Karen, but at the end of Revett his brakes deserted him and he was farced to overshoot down an escape road instead of making the Esses. Karen managed to hold off the advances of David’s MK2 until the chequered flag to claim 25th place in an enjoyable and closely fought race. This meant Karen finished 11th in the production MK1 class A. A great days racing and a triumph for the MR2 Challenge coming after the previous debacle at Mallory Park. The spectacle of a grid of 38 MR2’s streaming through the Esses and Russell was awesome. Karen completed both races, when she had been facing disqualification. Her result from Race 1 could have been fantastic, but for some unfortunate mistakes. Solace must be taken from the determination to recover positions that saw her produce some great racing. Karen knows there’s still obviously much room for improvement. Once again the race results seem skewed thanks to the weight of MK2 cars at the head of the field. It seems the 2008 season will hopefully resolve that issue by having split grids for MK1 and MK2 cars at each meeting, to keep everyone happy…
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17/8/07 19:18:54
The MR2 Challenge a drivers perspective
By Tim “Calamity” Cartledge I decided that in order to obtain the best reliability after 2 races and 3 engines this year a full rebuild was required over any other available engines hoping that a completely fresh engine would be able to withstand my abuse. My MR2 is a late mk1a and has had a miss-match of engines in over its time, so ideally we wanted to return a 1a engine into it, in order to resynchronize the car and engine. I happened to have 3 1a blocks in my graveyard, stripping them all down I took the best block to the engine builders for checking and rehoning. When I picked the block up I wasn’t happy, the builder/machinist hadn’t checked it and the cylinder bores were worn past tolerances, evident where the hone hadn’t taken and on top of that the honing was at the wrong angle too! I managed to get a partial refund for the work carried out incorrectly but needless to say I wont be going back there again! The quest now was trying to find a 1a engine block that was within limits. BOK Motorsport only had 1b engines in at the time, so I went on a search of the scrap yards and unfortunately due to the age of the engines, almost all the blocks I found had wear in one or more of the cylinders for different reasons, some just scraping within tolerance, but most outside of tolerance and as I was undertaking a full rebuild, there was no point building the engine when it is scraping through limits.
as the challenge rules state that no engine must exceed 122bhp and the overbore, could theoretically produce an extra bhp or two. So we decided that I can’t risk the overbore in the event that I do produce 123bhp for example and end up being disqualified. This dilemma meant that my car wasn’t ready for the Mallory race but I’m glad it wasn’t! I went along as a spectator and in support of Karen Philips (although their car is always reliable). With the grids swelling due to the popularity of the series and the challenge not given separate races for the mk1’s and mk’2 yet there wasn’t enough
The option of the overbore was still there. Toyota sell 0.5mm overbore pistons and rings and a 0.5mm overbore is within Toyota’s standard limits/clearances and tolerances with the 4age therefore the blocks can be bored out to 81.5mm and still comply with the MR2 challenge rules. I discussed the possibilities with my Motorsport engineering boffins and another problem arose
grid space for all the MR2’s and not all of them qualified with the non qualifiers being placed in an all comers race, in which Rolland Woolley and Rob Alman showed some great pace which sadly wasn’t there in qualifying and had a great race. The MR2 challenge race had one or two small incidents though. There was a mix up with a green flag lap and the pole sitter Sarah Wherry and the second place driver racing off, the reds came out and with the cars re-grided, the front two cars were excluded. The race was re-started and the cars all got round Gerrards but there was a coming together at the Esses and because of the number of cars, the track was blocked and the small incident cascaded into a massive incident with a large number of cars involved, some of which ending up in the scrap yard in the sky. Due to the incident the second race was cancelled and the first re-scheduled for later in the day. The race itself was a good spectacle and I enjoyed watching it with the usual suspects up the front and good racing throughout the field. Still hunting for a 1a block we managed to source a sub 40,000 mile engine that was checked and guaranteed. So I missed the Snetterton race to fit the engine the same weekend and hopefully be ready for JAE. Borrowing an engine crane from Ant (cantfindausername) and stocking up on service parts from BOK Motorsport, we checked the engine over and the bearing tolerances using plastigauge acquired from Tom Dyke and the engine was fitted in the weekend. However the engine had some teething problems and wasn’t running as it should. I had a track day booked for shakedown at Brands Hatch on the Thursday after the Snetterton race and the car still wasn’t running, so the towing barge took to the track instead so I didn’t miss out. The MR2 ended up being towed to JAE to make its appearance. More details on the challenge can be found at www.mr2racing.com
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MR2 CHALLENGE RACE RESULTS ROUND UP Courtesy of Kif Hopkins - MRR Racer
MALLORY PARK CSCC 24/6/07
SNETTERTON
BRANDS HATCH 750MC 28/7/07
750MC 15/7/07
P
Class
Race Number and Driver
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
B B B B B B B B A B B A A A A A A A B A A A A B
11 73 21 12 10 58 4 15 33 1 66 99 34 50 24 22 17 88 8 37 14 98 3 6
David LITCHFIELD Mark JESSOP (F/L B) Andy HUTCHINSON Gordon MILNER Alan HENDERSON Steve LUMLEY Nick JONES Andy RACE Neil GLYNN (F/L A) Patrick MORTELL Anthony DAY Arthur GILMOUR Nigel BUTTFIELD Bradley PHILPOT Jorge CALADO Ross STONER John WILSON Steve WOOLFE Andy WINTERTON Jason JESSE Karen PHILLIPS Hugh GILMOUR George STODDART Clive MORPHETT
62 7 51 64 19 27 13 26 36 33 23
Sam HARE Robert HOWES Adam LOCKWOOD Liam O’TOOLE Jonathan GRIMES Jamie FIRTH Roger PULLAN Arron PULLAN Rob ALMAN Rowland WOOLLEY Sarah WHERRY
Not Classified DNF A DNF A DNS A DNS A DNS A DNQ A DNQ A DNQ A DNQ B DNQ B EXC A
Green Flag
Original start aborted twice due to Green Flag infringements and Lap 1 accident. Race 2 abandoned due to time limitations.
TOYOTA MR2 CHALLENGE
2007 Snetterton April 6 Cadwell Park May 7 Mallory June 24 Snetterton July 15 Brands July 28 Mallory August 19 Silverstone Sept 22 Snetterton Sept 29 Mallory October 14
Double Header Double Header Double Header Double header One Race One Race One Race Double Header One Race
750mc 750mc CSCC 750mc 750MC CSCC CSCC 750MC 750MC
Race 1 P
Class
Race Number and Driver
P
Class
Race Number and Driver
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
B B B B B B B B A A B A A B A A A B B B A A A A A A A A A A A A
11 12 58 81 21 66 33 1 33 17 6 50 99 18 24 34 51 4 19 38 7 62 23 40 88 31 59 26 14 13 35 3
David LITCHFIELD Gordon MILNER Steve LUMLEY Adam LITCHFIELD Andy HUTCHINSON Anthony DAY Rowland WOOLLEY Patrick MORTELL Neil GLYNN John WILSON Clive MORPHETT Bradley PHILPOT Arthur GILMOUR (F/L A) David HENDERSON Jorge CALADO Nigel BUTTFIELD Adam LOCKWOOD Nick JONES Jonathan GRIMES David BRYANT Robert HOWES Sam HARE Sarah WHERRY David BLOCK Steve WOOLFE Chris DUNNETT Ivan THOMAS Arron PULLAN Karen PHILLIPS David CROSS Rob JEFFRIES George STODDART
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
B B B A A B B B A B B A B A B A A A A B A A A B A A A A A
73 58 12 33 99 21 9 10 50 6 66 62 33 51 4 40 42 34 13 81 79 88 22 65 39 31 35 26 14
Mark JESSOP (F/L B) Steve LUMLEY Gordon MILNER Neil GLYNN Arthur GILMOUR (F/L A) Andy HUTCHINSON Rob HORSFIELD Andrew HENDERSON Bradley PHILPOT Clive MORPHETT Anthony DAY Sam HARE Rowland WOOLLEY Adam LOCKWOOD Nick JONES David BLOCK Tim CARTLEDGE Nigel BUTTFIELD Roger PULLAN Adam LITCHFIELD [RSV] Jonathan GRIMES Steve WOOLFE Ross STONER Daniel PARKER Paul RADFORD Chris DUNNETT Rob JEFFRIES Arron PULLAN [RSV] Karen PHILLIPS
Not Classified DNF B DNF A DNF B DNF A DNF A DNF A
9 16 73 98 22 37
Rob HORSFIELD Paul BARKER Mark JESSOP (F/L B) Hugh GILMOUR Ross STONER Jason JESSE
23 11 1 98 37 24
Sarah WHERRY David LITCHFIELD Patrick MORTELL Hugh GILMOUR Jason JESSE Jorge CALADO
Race 2 P
Race Number and Driver
Class
1 B 2 B 3 B 4 B 5 B 6 B 7 B 8 B 9 B 10 A 11 B 12 A 13 A 14 A 15 A 16 B 17 B 18 A 19 A 20 B 21 B 22 A 23 A 24 A 25 A 26 B 27 A 28 A 29 A 30 A 31 A 32 A 33 A 34 A 35 A Not Classified DNF A DNS A DNS A
Not Classified DNF A DNF B DNF B DNS A DNQ A RSV A
11 73 58 12 81 1 33 21 19 99 66 50 33 17 34 9 4 24 51 6 18 23 7 62 14 38 31 98 88 22 59 35 13 40 26
David LITCHFIELD (F/L B) Mark JESSOP Steve LUMLEY Gordon MILNER Adam LITCHFIELD Patrick MORTELL Rowland WOOLLEY Andy HUTCHINSON Jonathan GRIMES Arthur GILMOUR (F/L A) Anthony DAY Bradley PHILPOT Neil GLYNN John WILSON Nigel BUTTFIELD Rob HORSFIELD Nick JONES Jorge CALADO Adam LOCKWOOD Clive MORPHETT David HENDERSON Sarah WHERRY Robert HOWES Sam HARE Karen PHILLIPS David BRYANT Chris DUNNETT Hugh GILMOUR Steve WOOLFE Ross STONER Ivan THOMAS Rob JEFFRIES David CROSS David BLOCK Arron PULLAN
3 16 37
George STODDART Paul BARKER Jason JESSE
Notes: 1. Reserve cars entered qualifying, but not eligible to race by right. 2. Car 37 insufficient qualifying laps. Replaced by Reserve Car 26. Started 22nd (qualified 24th o/a). 3. First start aborted Lap 1. Car 98 (qualified 15th o/a) did not restart. Replaced by Reserve Car 81 (qualified 4th o/a). Started 33rd. 15th left vacant.
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
Contact: Patrick Mortell 01676 530222 • MK2 Race Cars for Sale & 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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17/8/07 19:20:33
From the Paddock - Written by Maurice Stoner
DRIVER PROFILE
ADAM LOCKWOOD Adam was introduced to racing from a very early age. Whilst still in a carrycot in 1981, he was dragged around noisy UK circuits while his dad, Dick was racing 250cc Karts. At 10 years of age he won a competition to drive at an indoor track in London – that started him off! A few years later he got his own Kart and his first time out at Camberley Kart Club was enjoyable but he only managed half a lap all day! After a bit more training and lots of practice he took part in races with Ross Stoner at Matchams Raceway. He went on to race in Junior TKM at Forest Edge Kart Club but only achieved one win all season. In Senior TKM he achieved several wins. He then gained further success in 100cc with a 2nd in the Championship, progressing to Rotax Max with several more wins. In 125cc gearbox, it all came together when he had gears to play with! The first year was not bad with 2nd and 3rd places but in his second year he was awarded 2nd in the Championship. The third year brought him more success with a 1st in the Championship and 2nd in the Southern Championships. Year four resulted in a 1st in the Championship once again. Inevitably, cars called and he decided, with help from his dad, to buy a road car and convert it into a racer for the MR2 Challenge. It took them 6 months of hard graft evenings and weekends but gave them a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment seeing it transform, only to be disappointed when at Mallory it was written off completely. Not one to be discouraged easily, the next day he found another MR2 just waiting to be transformed into “Mark II”. The colour’s the same but both the driver and the car have a renewed determination to succeed. Adam is very philosophical about racing and obviously enjoys his time both on the circuit and in the paddock. Adam’s progression in the MR2 Challenge Series has seen him run consistently in the top ten at Snetterton, Cadwell Park and Mallory Park. Next year he hopes to pick up some points. His season in the MR2 Challenge has spurred him on to thoughts of a possible future in touring cars (with the help of sponsorship). So if anyone is out there give him a call! 66
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KPM MOTORSPORT Kevin Poole’s Letchworth based KPM Motorsport has a 3000sqft modern workshop with all the facilities needed to run his team of 3 cars driven by Bradley Philpot, car 50, Ross Stoner, car 22 and Sam Hare, car 62. With 26 years of experience in motor sport ranging from Karts, Formula Ford, Formula Renault, GP6 Sports cars, MR2 Challenge and Saker GT to name but a few, he is more than equipped to be a team owner. Kevin built and raced in the first ever MR2 Challenge in 2003, winning races which succeeded in KPM finishing first in the MR2 Mk1 and overall Champions in the 2006 season with driver Sam Mayer Loughnan and Kevin himself coming third overall. Introducing Kevin’s team, we start with Bradley Philpot, car 50. He began outdoor Karting at Camberley, Forest Edge and Matchams in 1996. After several wins he progressed to TKM Karts and in 2004 tested a Formula Renault at Thruxton. Getting a taste for cars he tried Formula Ford and came fourth in the Scholarship at Three Sisters in 2005. 2006 brought more glory with joint 2nd at Buckmore Park Winter Championship. He then began a career as a racing instructor at Bedford Autodrome for Palmer Sport and Drivers Dream Days. At Snetterton in 2006, he was voted the quickest driver in Formula Palmer Audi testing and in 2007 he was awarded the accolade of Instructor of the Year with Palmer Sport Racing. Moving on to Ross Stoner, car 22, who from the age of 4 years accompanied his father to race circuits around the country. Watching his father racing with legends like Nigel Mansell and John Watson, he soon wanted to be a part of it and at the age of 8 he got his own Kart and started competing in Cadets in 1986. After winning the Cadet, Junior and Senior Championships racing alongside Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Dan Wheldon, he decided to try Cars and achieved wins in Autocross driving a modified Vauxhall and tested in Formula Renault, modified Toyota MR2 and a Ferrari 355GT. Ross’s aspirations are to progress through to the more prestigious saloon formulas such as the highly popular and very competitive DTM series in Europe. And finally Sam Hare, car 62 who is the youngest member of the team at just 17 years old. He also started off racing Karts as a novice of 14 at Clay Pigeon Kart Club. He moved to Forest Edge circuit in 2005 and was consistently in the top 5, winning the rainsoaked final. In 2006 he moved teams and with their support developed his racecraft further, joining the International racing driver and 2002 Formula Renault Champion Danny Watts. This year Sam has made the jump from Karts to Cars finishing 3rd at Snetterton and even a 2nd placing at Cadwell Park in the MR2 Mk1. Sam loves the competitive racing in a professional yet friendly atmosphere of the paddock in MR2 but if money were no object would be delighted to participate in tin-top racing in perhaps the BTCC – supporting Seat Leon Championship. The future looks good for KPM with Mk1 and Mk2 in the MR2 Challenge and Britsports together with the exciting New Saker GT Sport car. Kevin’s hopes for KPM Motorsport is to progress through the ranks whilst keeping in touch with club level racing. Kevin feels that with his driver line up for the 2007 season, will enable him to defend his 2006 driver and team status as winners of the MR2 Challenge. The lessons learnt over the past 4 years will provide him with all the knowledge he needs to launch KPM into the new challenge of the 2008 series. Anybody wishing to contact Kevin can do so on 0800 4584912.
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17/8/07 19:21:14
DRIVER: ROSS STONER:
“Starting this year for the first time in car racing has proven to be an interesting challenge in a number of respects. Since coming from a karting background where I competed in most of the junior and senior kart classes. Having started at the age of 8 years old and having travelled with my father for a number of years, when he used to race, has meant I have been involved in motorsport and racing for around 20 years.”
“ We are pleased to be sponsors of car 22 Ross Stoner in the 2007 season of The MR2 Challenge “ LAVASOFT
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Tel: 01256 355855 Contact: Gary/Sean
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Official stockists of the full range of Castrol Oils & Lubricants. RGR are totally involved in motorsport by way of their sponsorship schemes. Visit their website for more info www.rgracing.co.uk Tel: 01256 351217 Contact: Rob Willshire Mobile: 07770 280375 email: rob.willshire@rgracing.co.uk
Contact: Dave Drabble Email: sales@rs-refrigeration.co.uk
HSS
Tel: 01256 763362 Contact: Alan email:sales@hookservicestation.co.uk
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CONTEC LIMITED
Tel: 01252 821932 Contact: Martin Ralf Mobile: 07767 463831 Email: Aldershot@signarama.co.uk
Tel: 01252 316156 Contact: Andy Watts Email: enquiries@contecltd.co.uk
Custom sign making services, digital, indoor and outdoor signs, vehicle and race car graphics. Visit website for more information www.signarama.co.uk
MPS
Suppliers of motor products to the trade from valeting materials to top of the range motor oils.
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Tel: 01252 316156 Contact: Frank Reid mobile: 07836 687098 Email: motorproducts@btinternet.com
IT support and specialist printer requirements. Visit website for more information www.contecltd.co.uk
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17/8/07 19:22:06
INSTALL & REVIEW
- By Simon (Skinthespin) Skinner
TURBO ECU - DICKATOR The tuning potential of the MR2 turbo has been mentioned many times in this magazine and is pretty obvious to anyone who frequents one of the many MR2 or tuning forums. It is accepted that a decent amount of power can be extracted from the turbo with simple bolt on modifications, before having to start spending serious amounts of money, I myself am at that stage with exhaust, downpipe, suction kit, chargecooler and boost controller. With the boost turned up to the fuel cut limit
of the standard ECU my car recently made an entirely respectable 308bhp. While this was a pleasant surprise it was also clear that the car was running extremely rich and not designed to run at those boost levels, the standard ECU assuming there is a problem and piling fuel in at a rate of knots. The car also flames excessively when driven hard, while looking cool it is contributing to the 7.5mpg I regularly see on trackdays!
The next stage for me was to fit an ECU and as an exercise I will fit an ECU and do another power run on the same dyno with the same boost level to see how much of a direct improvement we have. The ECU is a Dicktator, a new entry to the UK market this ECU has plenty of functionality, with datalogging, 3 bar Map sensor and launch control. It is a full stand alone system so fuel cut is user definable and is an open loop design with no Lambda input. However there are 2 5V throttle position inputs, so one of these can be used for a wideband Lambda sensor and is also one of the parameters that is logged, making mapping a touch easier. This ECU retails at ÂŁ395, which means it represents excellent value for money.
The Dicktator is offered up to the standard ECU
The Dicktator with full wiring harness attached, the clear pipe from the ECU connects to an internal MAP sensor.
Helping me install the ECU is a friend call Phil Barrett, who was at the recent DSA RR day, and has worked as a calibration and engine map guru for Mitsubishi WRC, Williams Cosworth F1, Ilmor Moto GP and currently Mclaren Mercedes F1, so has a rough idea what he is doing. The map he will produce will most likely be available through MR2only and Bok Motorsport.
Splicing the harness into the original is quite an effort and a good half a day should be set aside for this and while a plug in loom would be great you must remember this in a very good value ECU, the plug and play harness alone for a HKS ECU is nearly half the cost of this entire system. A magnetic converter is also supplied to help convert the signal from the distributor to something recognisable by the ECU. All wiring diagrams for the Dicktator are supplied, although there is excellent support available through the Dicktator website, having a download section with all wiring diagrams available and a rapid response help section. It is essential that you obtain the correct pin out diagram for the standard ECU as there are differences between the revisions and I learned the hard way you cannot wire up a Rev 3 with a Rev 2 pin out diagram! Fortunately these pin outs are easy to come by via the internet. When wiring in the Dicktator it is a good idea initially to splice the new wiring into the old, rather than removing the standard connectors. Once again this way it is completely backwards compatible, which is important until you get the ECU fully mapped.
Firstly the ECU location was considered but the standard ECU is in a cool dry place, so it makes sense not to re-invent the wheel and leave the Dicktator in the same place. This way we can also use the short harness and splice it into the standard one (the ECU is supplied with a short loom to splice into the standard loom close to the standard ECU location, also with a full loom for a full custom install). This will also enable us to have full backwards compatibility and enable us to revert to the standard ECU should the need arise. It was at this point we decided to remove completely both the boot lid and engine lid, as it’s an easy job to do on the MR2 and opens things up nicely for the days work!
The Dicktator is spliced into the standard harness - keeping the standard ECU in place to maintain backwards compatibility
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The distributor needs modifying as the ECU only accepts an input from a 4 trigger wheel which is a bit of an oversight in terms of ECU software. Fortunately the modification is reasonably easy, accomplished in 40 minutes with the aid of a Dremel. The standard dizzy has 24 teeth, so 20 of the teeth need to be removed, leaving 4 equispaced teeth.
The modified downpipe
With the downpipe re-installed, the distributor fitted and the wiring completed it is time to connect the laptop to the ECU and check everything is functional. The modified distributor with 20 teeth removed – this was later cleaned with an airline to remove the metal filings
When re-installing the dizzy the engine must be at TDC, the dizzy is then slotted in place as per Toyota manual. A tip that’s not in the manual is be aware that while the crank can be at TDC the cam may be 180 degrees out, as the camshaft rotates at half engine speed. The dizzy however only fits in one way as the 2 prongs that sit in the camshaft are slightly offset from cam centreline, so if the dizzy does not slide straight in do not force it, either rotate the engine one full turn or rotate the rotor arm 180 degrees. It may be a good idea to modify a spare dizzy from a scrap vehicle, as you can then quickly put the car back to its standard condition should the need arise. It is also worth marking the original dizzy before you remove it, so if you decide to put it all back together you won’t need to re-time the car.
The ECU has a standard 9 pin serial port, however few modern laptops have such a device, so a USB to serial cable needs to be sourced. I managed to track one down at a local PC shop. The software is also supplied with the Dicktator, most of which is inaccessible unless the ECU is connected and powered up. The full software suite can be downloaded from the Dicktator website also. With the laptop connected to the ECU a dry run of some of the sensors can be done which entails a sweep of the throttle to test the TPS (throttle position sensor) and gently heating the air temp sensor. A quick puff into the MAP sensor tubing shows this is also connected. With all the sensors functioning the TPS can be calibrated using the internal software.
To be able to map the ECU a wideband lambda sensor will need fitting which will monitor the air/fuel ratio over a broader spectrum than a standard O2 sensor, also more accurately. Once mapped the O2 sensor is not used. This is typical of most aftermarket ECU’s and should not be viewed as an omission from the Dicktator. If the ECU used information from the O2 sensor to control fuelling this is what’s referred to as a ‘closed loop’ system, aftermarket ECU’s being ‘open loop’. This air/fuel information is used by the standard ECU along with many other parameters to determine what fuel should be supplied to the engine. The standard ECU also uses the O2 sensor as it has to cope with many unknowns, such as poor fuels, variations in altitude and would need to cope should a sensor fail. When fitting an aftermarket ECU hopefully the owner will always use quality fuel and run the car over much less varied conditions. The downpipe was removed in order to fit a boss for the wideband lambda sensor and at the same time a thermocouple boss was fitted so exhaust temperatures could be measured. This was fitted as close to the turbo as possible and ideally this should not see temperatures above around 900 degrees C. The downpipe was modified with bosses then re-fitted to the car. Shown below is the modified downpipe, the boss on the far left being the standard O2 sensor boss. While this will not be used by the Dicktator it is left in place for backwards compatibility. The large nut in the middle is simply a bung for the wideband O2 sensor and the boss on the right with the green wire is the thermocouple.
If you have any products for our install and review sections please email: steveb@mr2only,.com
Phil checking all the inputs to the ECU are functioning
The MAP sensor tubing was run through the bulkhead into the plenum chamber. The Dicktator is supplied with a base map from a 2.0 litre Mazda which will be seriously modified in order to get the 3S-GTE running well but is a start point. With a few parameters modified the car fires up and idles, albeit roughly. In the next issue of MR2 only we will see how the car was mapped, with some more feedback on the software. Also we will hopefully do a power run at the same boost on the same rolling road as the 308bhp was achieved to see how significant any improvements are.
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Doeboy’s Dyno day 14th July 2007 @
Have to confess a little confusion surrounded this event mainly down to me mis-reading the forum thread, Doeboy kindly invited us down to cover it for the mag I thought the location was Milton Keynes, it’s not until I’m tapping the postcode into Tom Tom that I realise the venue is Potters Bar, North London!
Owner >Steve Bishop (MR2 Only Mag) Model > Rev 3 MR2 Turbo GT Mods > HKS Induction kit, Blitz Access ECU, HKS SSQV BOV, Blitz Nurspec R Exhaust, Apexi ACVR Boost Controller Power > 260hp (fly) 219hp (wheels) Comment > About what I expected so happy about that, might of reached a bit more if the dipstick casing had not of snapped! Doh!
Still it’s an excuse to stretch the Turbo’s legs, and get her on the dyno to see what she is made of, I’m running late having agreed to meet Rich Lee at Watford Gap services. The car’s feeling mighty fine this morning as we count down the junctions’ on the M1. She’s been covered up for two weeks so it’s nice to be in the driving seat. Me and Rich leave Watford Gap and head to our venue for the day Crazy Horses Racing, Potters Bar. Arriving well ahead of schedule vanity gets the better of us. As our cars are filthy we decide to treat them to a hand car wash, what a mistake this turns out to be. Round at Crazy Horse the guys there introduce themselves, show us around and make us feel welcome, even making us a spot on brew. Right on cue we hear the thundering of MR2s winding their way along the narrow industrial estate led by Steve (Doeboy) After a few introductions and a chat it’s great to see such a fine mixed array of MR2’s, Mk1, Mk2 N/A’s and a few turbos.
Owner >Richard Lee (MR2 Only Mag) Model > 1993 UK N/A MR2 Mods > Toms Hyper Induction carbon box with Apexi Air Filter & carbon Tom;s scoop, Fujitsubo super ex manifold (4-2-1), Blitz Nurspec (modified for N/A) NGK Iridium plugs & Magnecor KV85 leads Power > 156.3hp (fly) 128.6hp (wheels) Comment > Not bad, was expecting more with manifold and Nurspec, engine really healthy, air/ fuel perfect with spot on acceleration/power curve.
Owner >Daniel Godfrey Model > MR2 Turbo Mods > Too much to list Power > 369.3.3hp (fly) 305hp (wheels) Comment > Kept pushing the boost pipe off, then last run, intake temperatures were high. Happy with the report.
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My names first on the list so I get called to bring my car in first, funny how I always get the pre-dyno jitters everytime. The guys at Crazy Horse are very assuring and by all accounts are the finest Noble tuners there is. My car has the oil level checked, the car is then driven onto the rollers, secured with safety straps, the tyre pressures are increased, cold air feeds
Owner > Jason (MR2 Ninja) Model > Rev 5 N/A Mods > Apexi Induction kit with custom intake pipe Power > 159hp (fly) 130.9hp (wheels) Comment > Project just started but more to come!
attached to front and side vents, and various wires and probes are attached to engine and exhaust. The first run up immediately shows something to be seriously amiss, and Im beckoned to come over and take a look at the computer screen, at 4K RPM all hell is breaking loose with the air and fuel, and its struggling to reach 140 bhp, immediately I know what it is, the car wash, water had got through the engine lid onto the ignition, and I have a fault in the ignition. The guys kindly let me take the car for a run to clear the misfire and let me put it on again later in the day. Throughout the day the cars go in and out one by one, the outcome results are discussed with the owner and all but a few most owners are pleased with the results. Im excited to see Dan’s Turbo go on the rollers as he had been telling us that he had been busy mapping the car the night before. This was going to be a monster, and seemed to attract attention for a couple of Noble owners that were waiting for tuning later in the afternoon. With Dans car safely restrained, it was soon apparent that we were not going to be disappointed. After a few runs and tweaks the dyno was showing a monstrous 369hp. Dan sat in the car while it was on the rollers, and later told me that the speedo reached an incredible 165mph. Also great to see one of the best looking Mk1 MR2s I’ve seen in a long while sporting antracite Roadster wheels, a combo I’d never thought of, the car reaching 117.7hp, just under stock, so not bad for a car nearly 20 years old. David Purdue ran his car with the Blitz Accees ECU the same as fitted to my car, getting 186hp. This unit was mapped in Japan and is not remappable here in the UK, later refitting the stock ECU for another
Owner >Mark Bensley (AH-MR2) Model > MR2 Rev 5 N/A Mods > Mods > Apexi Induction kit with custom intake pipe Power > 162.9hp (fly) 134.2hp (wheels) Comment > First time, didn’t know what to expect, looking forward to a good day
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run but only gaining a couple of horse power, a little disappointing but more mods in the pipeline for this car. Another smiling face was David Cole (Breakz) with his Azure blue GTS, having run here previously he was keen to see the difference the addition of a Blueflame exhaust had made, and being up an extra 14hp at the fly he wasn’t disappointed. Richard Lee was expecting a little more power from his modified N/A after recently adding the manifold and Nurspec, but with the operator giving his engine a clean bill of health with the air/fuel spot on and smooth power delivery he went away smiling. Both Rev 5 N/As, Jason and Mark both achieved pretty much text book power with the only mods being induction kits with very little difference between the two cars. Mark Beaton with his GTS Turbo was a little disappointed at 231hp considering his mods but the car was running rich, and Mark said it needs an ECU. Daniel Sheerin with his rev 2 Turbo was really impressed with 253.4hp which was a surprise, good power for a rev 2 Turbo.
This had sprayed oil up onto the manifold, and all over the back of the engine, hence the smoke, a temporary bung with some pipe made the car driveable for the journey home. For most it was another great day, excellent facility at Crazy Horse, the guys were spot on, explaining everything to you that you needed to know, friendly bunch of guys as ever, plus we had the added bonus of a guy from Dyno Dynamics the actual dyno equipment supplier. I had quite a chat with him and said that so far all of the days we had attended had Dyno Dynamics rollers. Also great to chat to the Noble guys who were patiently waiting for us to clear off to get their tuning work done on their Nobles, think the guys were quite impressed with the MR2s, a couple of them having runs out in Dans 369hp monster. My journey back was tiresome, when on boost the oil pressure was too much and sent oil onto the manifold causing smoke through the engine lid. So I tried to coast it back without boost, praying that the engine oil light didnt come on. Lots more photos we took on the day are available to look at in our events section on www.mr2only.com
My time had come again, and the nerves returned would it be okay this time? Onto the rollers she goes again, tyre pressures increased, tightly secured down, initial run up is sounding healthier, Im getting the thumbs up from the operator.
Owner > Marc Beaton Model > GTS Turbo Mods > Greddy Profec 2 EBC, Nur Spec Exhaust, Decat pipe, XS Power, HKS FC, HKS Induction Kit Power > 231hp (fly) Comment > Running rich, not happy. Needs an ECU
First run a healthier 260hp with the operator nodding, it’s noticed that a vacuum pipe has popped of the BOV, and smoke from the engine has caught everyone’s attention, my heart sinks and I get that sickly feeling, first thought is turbo or even worse, after a firkle around a piece of metal tube is handed to me, here is your problem a broken dipstick casing, which had sheered off right at the bottom near the block.
Owner > Carl Schooley Model > Mk1B MR2 Mods > Jimi bracket and plug cover, stainless steel induction kit, performance exhaust Power > 117.7hp (fly) Comment > Just under stock, very happy considering its age
Owner >David Cole (Breakz) Model > Mk2 GTS Mods > Blitz SUS Power Induction, HKS SSQV, Blueflame Exhaust, HKS plate clutch Power > 262.2hp (fly) 220.9hp (wheels) Comment > After just an exhaust change and increase of 14bhp at the fly, very happy with that!
Owner >David Purdue (Oddshoes) Model > MR2 Turbo GT Mods > Mods > Apexi induction, Mongoose cat back exhaust, Bailey dump valve, Magnecor KV85HT leads, Blitz Access ECU Power > 186.3hp (Blitz ECU) 188hp (stock) Comment > Running very very rich and got a few things to do to get it sorted so I am a bit disappointed.
Owner >Daniel Sheering Model > MR2 Rev 2 Turbo Mods > Blitz Filter, Extreeme Boost Downpipe, XS Power departure 2 exhaust Power > 253.4hp (fly) 213.6hp (wheels) Comment > Really impressed, was expecting in or around 230bhp, very happy chappy!
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Photos by: Steve Bishop Simon Ward Simon Skinner
IMOC and MR2Mk1Club members meet for a BAT evenin After the recent spell of poor weather it was nice to find Donington with clear skies and even better to find Donington with the full GP circuit open, which is quite a rarity and makes ‘playing’ a little more interesting! It is especially hard on brakes however; having 3 heavy braking points one after the other. I was joining Steve and his pal Simon to see how the MR2only mk1 would fare considering the recent changes, namely the KYB gas dampers shipped from the U.S., track springs and new tyres, Marangoni Zetas purchased from Camskill. Hopefully the overheating problem that had plagued the little Mk1 will finally be solved with the recent addition of a thermostat and new radiator (the old one was particularly poor). Some new Cobra bucket seats and TRS 4 point harnesses have also been added to keep us safe and comfortable at speed. It was great to see a significant turnout of MR2s at this impromptu track evening organised by IMOC through Book-a-Trac, with there being plentiful Mks, a mix of NA and Supercharged steeds, a single Mk3 and 2 Mk2s, an NA and my Turbo, which I brought along as back-up should the MR2 Only Mk1 expire! As always it was great to put faces to names (why is it that people never look like you imagine!) and I’m always pleasantly surprised what a nice bunch of people MR2 owners are! After signing on Steve took to the track with Simon in the passenger seat and I took charge of the camera! Initial impressions from Steve were good, good grip from the tyres and seems a lot better than the last time the car hit the track, also it didn’t overheat, which was nice! From the sidelines by the Melbourne loop the car looked to roll a lot but gripped very well, plenty of tyre squeal from where I was sat too. Simon then went out and reported much the same thing, so I was keen to try the Mk1, as it impressed me with its handling last time out on a soaking wet track, that time with soggy suspension and mix and match tyres. After strapping myself in I noticed the seat was slightly higher than the last time I drove it, which meant my head was tilted to one side, the smaller steering wheel however was a great bonus. After a couple of laps it was apparent what Steve and Simon said was correct, the tyres giving excellent grip considering they’re new (hence high tread blocks) and considering the cost, impressive. The suspension still felt a little on the soft side but more than that there seemed to be quite a bit of understeer. After a couple more laps I was trying quite hard to get any sort of oversteer, even being really quite aggressive on the throttle around the 2nd gear Melbourne loop and 72
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vening session at Donnington - 10th July
By Simon (Skinthespin) Skinner
Goddards. The speed in the car overall however was a significant improvement over last time. On the 5th lap a cursory glance at the temperature gauge showed the ominous first signs of overheating, the needle sitting just above the half way point. Rounding Coppice at some speed the temp gauge shot up, cruising in 5th down the back straight the gauge now well into the red, I thought it best to cruise rather than stop and keep some air going over the car. Rounding the Loop steam started pouring from the engine bay, ‘oh great’ I thought ‘Steve’s going to batter me!’. After a cool down period in the pits and much discussion from the bearded Mk1 owners it was pretty much decided that the next step is the water pump and maybe the head gasket. One of the MR2Mk1Club guys, Garrick proceeded to bleed the system and we could try it later. A check over the car also showed much graining of the front tyres on the outside, the insides barely touched, which suggests the front camber is way off, which would go hand in hand with the pronounced understeer, something to check at a later date for sure. Rather than waste track time we decided to take the Mk2 Turbo out for a few laps and try out my new wheels and tyres, 8.5 inch fronts and 9.5 inch rears with 265’s. The first couple of laps were quite cautious, checking for wheel to body contact and getting a feel for the tyres, the turn in on the 225/35 fronts was super sharp and very edgy after the sublime Mk1. Building up speed for a few laps it became apparent that the hard and old rear tyres, despite being 265’s, had very little grip, the Michelins on the front were simply awesome mind. What this meant was an oversteery car that could be drifted pretty easily. I am sure that anyone standing at the loop can testify to that, smoking rear tyres and leaving black lines was pretty much the norm, not the quickest way round but one of the most fun! I gave a couple of people passenger rides and nothing came passed, one very tricked up S2000 with hardcore track tyres was a similar speed to me, a little quicker in places as I was too busy having fun (on every corner by now!), once again the Mk2 proved its worth as a road car based track machine. Back in the pits Steve was eager to get back out in the Mk1, with the cooling system suitably bled and a few tweaks to the tyre pressures to quell the understeer he sets off for the final half hour or so of the evening. The tyre pressures had made a little difference but I think the overheating had taken the shine off the day for him. Don’t worry Steve, the Mk1 will be right soon and come back fitter than ever!
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