Olaf's 91 sw20 mr2

[ClanFever]

Hey guys, new to the forum here. I've always been into cars, ever since I was in the womb. Could really ever play them on video games, but always loved go karting when the rents would folk out. Now that I'm 18, and I've got my full license and a proper job, I have the money and the go to get into track days and all that. My mr2 is my 7th car, and my first rwd.

When I first got it about 3 months ago, it had on hold rego, no wof and looked a little something like this:


The clutch was also slipping, so I got it a wof (got it lowering springs, new sway bar links among some other thins too), as well as a new clutch and heavy duty plate. Got my 3rd party insurence at nac.

Currently, it looks a little something like this:



Don't hate me guys if you love MR2 spoilers, but they're not for me, so off it went! I have a few plans for my mr2. First of all, later this year I'm doing a track day at manfield. I'm also going to blast it over the rimutaka hill road a couple times to see how it feels. Then I'm putting the rego on hold and parking it up for a few months, to do said plans on it! There are a few major and few minor things, I'll just list the major:
Paint it blue (just like WRX Blue or r34 skyline blue, that nice medium blue)
I'm going to get braided brake lines, machine the brakes and put in some sport pads, maybe see about getting some trd ones. I'll put some high boil brake fluid in and paint the calipers to match the car while I'm at it.
I'm stripping the car down. I need to get rid of all the sound deadning, and sort out the wires to get rid of as many as I can. Carpets and un needed interior stuff is already out. Going to get a smaller battery, bucket seats and take out the aircon pump while I'm at it to reduce even more weight. If I can be bothered, I'll paint the inside.
Mulitple spoke 17 inch wheels on asymetric tyres. Looking for 17x9 at the back and 17x8 at the front.
I know a pod filter doesn't add performance, but I bought it with one, so I'm just gonna shove on a good one, maybe with a longer pipe so it's closer to the left vent. I'm also going to put in some fusion spark plugs and sport leads.
Need to do some general maintence to fix it up, I need a whole new drivers door as the current one has a huge dent in it and alas the window is on bent rails, so goes down then doesn't come back up. Then just other minor things to fix too.
And then the rest is simple maintence stuff like oil and cleaning the whole car so it's like new.

Any advice on any of the work I'm doing, or anything you think I should/shouldn't do? Voice your opinions! Cheers

[Benckj]

You certainly have your work cut out for you but like most of us this is a hobby and we are proud of what we transform the cars into. Before you start spending loads of time and $$ I'd put together a want list along with a budget. Complete the maintenance items first before you start the modifications.

[Alsw20]

Woah gas only $2.05!

[nightz]

Woah gas only $2.05!

Mobil 91!!!
Hope he wasnt putting that in his car

[mickeyduck]

Good on ya. Nice colour too. (almost like my old Holden) It'll be nice to see it come together.

Be sure to invest in good rubber - Potenzas are always a good bet, they stick well and last well too. Best investment you can make in my opinion. Good rubber makes up for a lot whereas good brakes with 2nd rate rubber means lock-ups and slides rather than good safe stopping. If your car can't keep a grip on the ground then it doesn't matter what you've done to it, it can all turn to nix in an instant eh. Hint - the old front bumper...

I run track-day type pads and Motul race brake fluid, works great (with good tyres!) so yeah good thinking re the brakes.

I took my aircon out too - pipes etc as well, all of it. But whatever you do with your car, if you can, hang onto and stash away the bits removed so if you ever sell it you can offer the stuff required to put it back to original too. Might get you more coin for it later eh if you ever do sell it... Just a thought.

Think about fitting tyres that are wider on the rear than on the front to help prevent you spinning... about 10% wider. Eg I like 185 front and 205 rear on my AW - an SW needs wider tyres as it's a bit heavier. Maybe 205 front and 225 rear? (Jim...???)

I've seen an SW with same size tyres front and rear, spin under hard braking in a straight line. Majestic it was. Perfect accidental 360 and parked at the road side. Wicked.

And never freak out and hit the brakes in a corner if at all possible unless you like going backwards. Even if you think you're going too fast through a corner, if you add a wee bit more throttle you'll go around the corner. I don't know if you've ever ridden a motorcycle but an MR2 tends to handle a lot like a bike. If you've only ever driven front wheel drive cars where adding power in a corner helps you get around the corner you'll probably be sweet.

As long as you have good tyres...

Welcome to the forum, and we look forward to seeing your MR2 take shape. Be nice to see you out there on runs and track days with the rest of the lower north island crew too...

[Benckj]

It's a NA so best to work on suspension and handling which as Charlie pointed out tyres are a critical component. They run a staggered set-up so generlly you want the rears 20mm wider in the back. This gives optimum grip and life expentancy of rubber. Can fiddle around with various widths as well as aspect ratio but for 14" & 15" wheels there is a limited selection. Most people run with the 205-225 combo as listed avbove.

If you move onto an aftermarket wheel such as 16" or 17" there are more tyrs choices. Search around on TM for a wheel tyre package which suits your needs. There are a number of sets brought in from Japan but often the tyres don't perform well due to sub standard rubber compounds even though they have plenty of tread.

[ClanFever]

Woah gas only $2.05!

Mobil 91!!!
Hope he wasnt putting that in his car

What, what is wrong with the gas that I sell at my place of employment? Is it the fact it's watered down with ethanol? Is it the fact you don't get any fuel savings easily enough? Is it because Caltex is much better? Well I'll have you know, I don't put that in my car!

[nightz]

Most here would run their cars on 98

[ClanFever]

Most here would run their cars on 98

Mines a none turbo, would you recommend premium? I filled it up with premium once and I don't know if it was just my mind, but it really didn't feel like it was performing as well as 91. Premium isn't neccesarally a better fuel, it just has a higher combustable point, so for higher compression engines/those with turbos need it, correct? When mine is off the road for the few months, I will be putting fusion plugs and blue thick leads on it, and after that I will be running premium, as if you're running it on the track, getting and holding the revs alot higher, and with the new ignitions, the engine is alot hotter, so the premium will prevent pinging and it'll be more responsive.

That's how I see it anyway, feel free to discount anything I said as I'm still learning. Someone want to explain it differently?

[ClanFever]

I've finished my write up of what I want to do to it. Still stuff to add most likely, and most of it is just a note to myself, so it may or may not make sense (read at your peril) - but any help on any of the items or ideas to do are welcome!

Key: Do 1s first, 2s second, 3s third, 4s anytime, symbols match to do at same time, and count as 4s, 5s are when car is out of storage
Tools needed:
3. Belt sander
3. Heat gun
Start:
1. Put rego on hold
1. Cancel insurance
1. Buy car cover
Maintenance:
3. Oil: Engine flush, Filter (Z386), Sump plug, Oil
3. Power steering: Flush, Fluid
!. Replace dash lights
2. Replace drivers door
3. New pod filter, possibly in a cold box/stream it to the vent
2. Fit front indicators
3. Bolt down bonnet release, same for boot/fuel cap release
4. Wheel balance
5. Wheel alignment
3. Remove rattle
3. Blaaaaaack
3. Fuel filter (ZMF4)
3. Hot plugs, hot leads (B4639i)
3. Octane booster with Caltex 95
Improvement:
3. Brakes: Braided lines, 5. TRD brake pads, high boil brake fluid, 5. machine brakes, paint callipers blue
!. Small steering wheel
4. Bucket seats
4. Strip car: Wires, Sound deadening, any none needed dash crap like glove box, drivers door, paint interior
4. Gear knob
2. Defilm windows
5. Smaller, lightweight battery
1. Disconnect alarm
4. Fire extinguisher
@. 17 inch wheels, F 17x8 – R 17x9, F 215 40 R17 – R 235/245 35/40 R17, both offset 35, F 32psi – R 35psi (Potenza asymmetric's)
3. Roll guards
@. Light weight wheel nuts
4. Custom plate
3. Paint:
Sand down
Wash with alcohol
Newspaper and cover up
Wash with alcohol
Primer
Sand Down
Warm up panels and spray can
Base coat blue in light layers, repeat above step and then this step again
Let dry
Clear Coat
Clean:
1. Wheels
1. Engine Bay

[JasonFriday13]

Most here would run their cars on 98

Mines a none turbo, would you recommend premium? I filled it up with premium once and I don't know if it was just my mind, but it really didn't feel like it was performing as well as 91.

Basically the number means the octane rating. The octane rating is how well the fuel resists detonation/knock. Detonation is when the air/fuel mixture ignites before the spark plug does. The higher the octane rating, the better it resists detonation/knock. Generally turbo engines and high compression engines are more vulnerable to det, so using a high octane fuel helps prevent it ie 95 or 98 instead of 91. Race fuels have an even higher rating, some are around 115.

Even though my current engine is non turbo, I still use 98 in it (I have an aftermarket engine control unit) because I can get a little bit more power from it with the same level of det protection.

[Benckj]

For a 91 NA you don't need high octane fuel. Runing 95 or even 91RON is fine for your comprerssion ratio. Look after your ignition system including plugs, dist cap and rotor. Using non-OEM ignition leads will not offer any improvement. Read your plugs and possibly adjust heat range to suit your engine. Turbos generally run a colder plug but I found on my old 91 NA I required a degree hotter. Concentrate on some basic mainatenance items before anything else. Fluids and filters are important. I don't see replacing of brake or tranny fluid on your list which is far more important than messing with the PS.

There is a helpful link floating around which describes what you should do with your first MR2. I'll see if I can locate it for you.

[Benckj]

This is the link but not sure if you can get into without joining US forums.

http://www.mr2.com/forums/non-turbo-eng ... r2-na.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is another one on FAQ worth reading for your goals.

http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=176124" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GDII]

From my research any engine with 10:1 compression ratio (which your engine is) should be run on 95 or higher. They were not really designed to use low octane fuel. Japan has 100octane and a lot of imports like the Caldina GTT were factory tuned for it. 98 is the best readily available pump gas. Anything lower in that car damages the engine because knock occurs. I am just using that car as an example, I know it's turbo and your car is not.

[ClanFever]

Haha glad this has made a bit of a discussion.

For a 91 NA you don't need high octane fuel. Runing 95 or even 91RON is fine for your comprerssion ratio. Look after your ignition system including plugs, dist cap and rotor. Using non-OEM ignition leads will not offer any improvement. Read your plugs and possibly adjust heat range to suit your engine. Turbos generally run a colder plug but I found on my old 91 NA I required a degree hotter. Concentrate on some basic mainatenance items before anything else. Fluids and filters are important. I don't see replacing of brake or tranny fluid on your list which is far more important than messing with the PS.

There is a helpful link floating around which describes what you should do with your first MR2. I'll see if I can locate it for you.

Tranny fluid doesn't need doing as that was done when the clutch was done about 1000km ago, and brake fluid is in the list! Mind you at the moment, I'm still new to the world of cars and motorsport, gone through a few sh*tbox fwds and blown half of them up, only now am I really getting into working on them and getting into the idea of track days or race days etc. My mr2 is my first rwd, and the mr2/toyota as a car has really taken my heart in. I'm only doing stuff on it to make it feel better on track days or going over sweet roads like the Rimitakas or windy NZ rural roads, I may consider taking it off the road for a second time after all this work to do an even better and more expensive job in certain areas, if I feel I still love the mr2 (most likely, I'm not into drifting, I'm into glued onto the tarmac twisty stuff).