Recap of Summer 2009

Their won't be many pics this time, just a recap.  I never got the car professionally tuned, all the tuning thus far has been done solely by myself, on the street.  I did quite a bit of racing, some on the track.  Two of the events stand out over the rest.

First event:  I had only tuned it to 14psi, no methanol injection, and the track was shut down to only 1/8th mile.  I ran a best of 8.7 at low 90 MPH.  The set-up seemed to be on track for an 11 second pass at higher boost levels.

Last event:  I had tuned the car to 26psi, injecting 11gph of methanol at this time. I started making passes at 17psi, no meth, just to get the feel of it.  I was running 245/45/R16 Hankook Ventus R-S2 street tires on the rears. Sadly, even at low boost, I was experience MAJOR problems with my clutch.  The clutch was slipping during launches and while shifting.  I *think* my pressure plate is the cause, however I'll determine the main cause during the upcoming winter (don't buy Unorthodox Clutches!!!).  My best 60 ft of the night was a 1.906, with a best quarter mile of 12.870 at 108.29 MPH.  By the end of the night, I turned the boost up to 22psi and was running methanol injection.  With the clutch slipping even more, I was running in the high 13's at a best of 116MPH.

Quick Video - Me vs. a good friend of mine   

Apparently I was scurred.... lol.

Great times at Muncie Dragway!!!

More upgrades, coming soon!

Winter 2008/ Spring 2009

The necessity for larger injectors was clear.  I bought some -6AN line, a Sard FPR, Wolfkatz top feed fuel rail and Denso 84lb injectors.  I already had a walbro 255 in tank so dropping the gas tank wasn't necessary.  This was a perfect time to address another known issue with the 3sgte, the intake manifold's uneven distribution of air and the root cause of the first rebuilt engine in this car.  ATS had just came out with their larger plenum, stock runner design so I snatched one up at a discounted price with a 75mm TB.  With everything out of the way and "tuck the engine harness fever" in full swing on mr2oc, I decided I would do so as well.  I upgraded to T-bolt clamps as well, polished a few more things, made some brackets to place the FPR and MSD coil, and tucked a few other engine parts.

 75mm TB  Freshly Polished

These two (Above and Below) show the trunk with all the wiring.  It still needs to be tidied up.  I welded a mount for the stock fuse box shown below.  Tucking the wire harness is easy, however I decided to re-wire all shielded wires (knock sensor, distributor signals, etc), all grounds, and cut any extra wires off.  This took at least 50 hours.  I will be surprised if I EVER do that again :D.  Worth the extra effort though, good clean sensor signals!

And finally an engine bay to be proud of:

Goals for summer 2009:  Hit the strip for the first time and get a profession tune!

Fall 2008

Problems with my current setup, and the main reason it did not stay running for long:
-Running out of fuel at 22psi even with 5gph of methanol being injected
-Couldn't advance timing to take full advantage of the increased octane from meth
-This was NOT going to get me into the 10's, or even low 11's

Around August, I found a killer deal on an AEM standalone EMS.  I snatched it up, and my car was back down for some overhaulin'!

 

Due to the fact I was no longer using the factory ECU, I could now get rid of the narrow band o2 sensor and exclusively run a wideband.  I cut off the o2 flange on my downpipe and welded a more appropriate bung on.

 

I added a polished 3" intake and 7" filter since the ugly AFM was gone.

I ended up doing a full brake job while the car was down: I painted the calipers and brackets, upgraded to porterfield RS4 pads all around, slapped on some new rear rotors, turned the front rotors and added some stainless brake lines.

I finished these upgrades around October and was able to drive the car around for a month before snow hit.  Still rocking 550cc injectors, I tuned the car to 22psi.... injector duty cycle was peaking at 98%.

Next modification: FUEL!

2008 Winter and Spring

Lets see how much I can remember, I'll keep typing down :D.  Naturally the first winter I tore the car apart.

I knife edged my stock twin scroll exhaust mani.  I no longer was running a twin scroll turbo so I figured I could only benefit from this free modification.

I bought a MSD Digital 6 Plus to help with spark, as well as a coolingmist meth injection system so I could safely run more boost and eventually make a lot more power.

I also found a killer deal on some GSC 268 duration, 9.7mm peak lift cams and a set of Fidanza adjustable cam gears.  So I set about installing them, while in there I replaced the T-belt, idler pulleys, and tensioner with brand new OEM parts.  Cams were degreed to spec with a degree wheel, a dial indicator, and a lot of time.

I also bought a catch can, had the valve cover powder coated red, hand polished the intercooler piping, removed the EGR system, charcoal canister, and numerous related hoses.  The engine bay began to look half way respectable!

 

The car was all buttoned up and I was able to drive the red beast.  Sadly, it didn't stay running for long...

History

In October of 2007 I bought my first car, a 1993 Toyota MR2 from Kansas City, Kansas.  The next 10 hours of driving will never be forgotten. I loved the acceleration this mid-engine sports car produced; on and off ramps were my playground!

  

This is how I received the car.  Stock in appearance with the exception of rims, which are no longer on the car anyway.  The previous owner modifications were focused around the engine.  The car was producing roughly 300rwhp on 93 pump gas and 330rwhp on 50/50 93/110 race gas mix.  Power came from an ATS TD06 turbocharger, a rebuilt bottom end sporting Wiseco Pistons, all being controlled by an ATS 550cc dual map rom-tune.  All other BPU were addressed, including a Berk intercooler, Apexi intake, and Berk's True 3" Dual exhaust.

What a cluttered ugly engine bay!