JLee's 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo build thread

[monkeydelmagico]

I'm getting shipping quotes - planning on sending the car to ATS for a flexfuel tune, and then out to NJ so I can drive it.

meet you at Atco for shakedown runs. Would love to see what she can do. If your numbers are correct for HP I'd guess 12 sec at around 115 mph on corn juice.

 

[jlee]

Exdeath is prepping the MR2 for shipment to ATS and the shipper is scheduling!

I'm going to have them install GSC 268 cams, reroute the wastegate dump to the downpipe, and do a dyno tune for flex fuel, probable target of 17psi on pump/E10 and 24psi on E85.

Once it gets out to me in NJ, plans are:

Pioneer AVH-4100NEX head unit
Backup camera
Camry windshield washer nozzles (fan vs stream)
OEM fog lights with LED bulb replacements
Auto-dimming rearview mirror
Seats (to be determined)
Clean up wiring / carpet the trunk

 

[jlee]

 

[jlee]

Cams are installed and the wastegate dump has been routed into the downpipe instead of externally. The tune should happen this week and I am picking the car up on the 15th.

Final driveline specs:

JDM 3S-GTE 2.0l engine (rebuilt by yours truly)
86.5mm Wiseco forged pistons
OEM rods
OEM rod/crank bearings
OEM gasket set
ARP head studs
Cometic MLS head gasket
Poly motor mount inserts
GSC 268 camshafts
ATS Racing adjustable cam gears
JLee-DIY intake
Mishimoto catch can
Garrett GT3071 ball bearing turbo
KO Racing one piece hot pipe w/heat shield
XS Power sidemount intercooler with ATS Racing fan and shroud
Berk Technology aluminum cold pipe
Tial 38mm wastegate
ATS Racing 3" downpipe
Berk Technology 3" exhaust
ATS Racing top feed fuel rail
ATS Racing 1200cc injectors
Walbro 255lph fuel pump
GM flex fuel sensor
ECU Masters EMU with boost control solenoid, tune by Scott McClendon at ATS Racing
CRW spherical shifter bushings
CRW solid shifter base bushings
CRW aluminum clutch pedal clevice
OEM E153 LSD transmission
TCS Motorsports CV axle cages
Clutchmasters FX400 clutch


First dyno - 2011:

Second dyno - 2014:

Third dyno - 2016:
TBD!

 

[Ns1]

I love that you've kept this 6 year thread active - truly a project.

:thumbsup:

 

[jlee]

It begins :awe:

 

[jlee]

424rwhp @ 25psi, ran out of fuel. The fuel pump is seeing 11.3v and we have 14.5v at the fuse panel -- they're running a relay to power the fuel pump directly (stock harness woes) and we'll try again.

 

[lsd]

Sounds like a rookie mistake.
J/k
On Nissans either the ecu varies the fp voltage or there is a separate fp controller. So it's a common mod to replace or rewire the stock relay.
I recall a while back you mentioned the tuner saying you were running out of fuel pump at only 360whp. Is this a new tuner?

 

[jlee]

Sounds like a rookie mistake.
J/k
On Nissans either the ecu varies the fp voltage or there is a separate fp controller. So it's a common mod to replace or rewire the stock relay.
I recall a while back you mentioned the tuner saying you were running out of fuel pump at only 360whp. Is this a new tuner?

lol. I was planning on installing a Walbro 400, which would've had new wiring - but then I found out that my pump wasn't bad...it just wasn't set up properly in the ECU.

This is a different tuner - the previous shop wasn't all that familiar with MR2s and had never tuned my type of ECU before (and he didn't change the fuel pump output in the ECU to high voltage, so the pump was running in low voltage mode). They ran out of fuel and we landed at 21psi/363whp.

It's now at ATS Racing in Denton, TX. They almost exclusively build MR2s and have a lot of experience with this ECU. The only limitations we have now are block strength and fuel supply - I don't really want to push past 450whp for longevity concerns, so he's going to go for another 2-3psi and leave it there. I'm estimating that I would run out of turbo and fuel around 500whp, but that would be pushing the stock block farther than I'd like.

My intercooler is crying. 30c gain from 3500rpm to 7000rpm and the ECU is pulling boost due to high intake temps. That'll get fixed at some point as well with a larger top mount (replacing the small side mount I have now).

 

[XavierMace]

Are you going to make them clean it? I know for a fact it was clean when it was loaded on the truck. lol.

 

[jlee]

Oh man....I want to put one of these in an MR2. Unfortunately that auction doesn't appear to include the supercharger..

 

[jlee]

Made it to NJ - we put approximately 2000 miles on the car since Friday. It runs incredibly well and feels almost like a different car. It does have intermittent hot start problems -- I have to datalog it and reproduce the problem, then Scott will tweak the tune and that should take care of it.

 

[jlee]

That was short-lived. The car died when I went to drive home from work today.

We should have 24 primary triggers for every one secondary trigger. Either my distributor or distributor wiring has decided it's not going to play anymore.

Scott at ATS helped me diagnose it in the parking lot after business hours. I can't say enough for how awesome the crew over at ATS is. He's express-shipping a new distributor harness tomorrow and a remanufactured distributor is on the way. I'm going over to Twos R Us to swap an engine in a race car this weekend, but hopefully I'll have my car back up and running by Sunday night.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

That sucks.
Dave oughta have the parts needed to make it go again.

Problem with heavily modified cars isnt it... hard to keep em reliable.

 

[jlee]

That sucks.
Dave oughta have the parts needed to make it go again.

Problem with heavily modified cars isnt it... hard to keep em reliable.

I'm not sure if it's that, or if it's simply age (25 years, 260k+ miles). The last time it died, it was a blown fuse. It looked melty, like it had gotten way too hot at some point (the replacement still looks fine, thousands of miles later). This time it's not a function of power...it's just distributor signal or wiring (again, age).

I have been chasing weird ignition problems for years, so it would make sense that a high-end ECU would be able to filter out noisy signals until the signal just falls apart entirely. I really hope this is it for a while...but, well, you never know.

I'm glad it's been diagnosed, though. I was about ready to push it off a cliff and buy a Corvette.

 

[jlee]

Fixed. This is the old distributor wiring...

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Fixed. This is the old distributor wiring...

Ah yes, the distributor wire plug. A very common source of torment. From what Ive read these fail very often due to their exposure to oil (distributor leaks) and awkward bend of the wires to reach the plug.

Dont buy a corvette. You should be the one pushed off the cliff for saying that.

EDIT: THis is another reason why gen4 is the tits.

 

[jlee]

Ah yes, the distributor wire plug. A very common source of torment. From what Ive read these fail very often due to their exposure to oil (distributor leaks) and awkward bend of the wires to reach the plug.

Dont buy a corvette. You should be the one pushed off the cliff for saying that.

EDIT: THis is another reason why gen4 is the tits.

Gen4s are nice but I'd need new rods (well, or use my gen2 rods, I suppose).

 

[jlee]

I installed a backup camera today. The car has been behaving properly since the distributor wiring was replaced.

 

[jlee]

The debate for seats has begun.

Corbeau A4 - ~$1100 in microsuede with the seat cushion shaved by 1" (they sit higher than stock)
OEM Subaru BRZ Limited - probably $500-800
Interior Innovations black leather with suede inserts and orange stitching, MR2 emblem optional - ~$400 for leather, unknown on suede pricing.

 

[XavierMace]

I think you liked my BRZ seats, didn't you?

 

[jlee]

I think you liked my BRZ seats, didn't you?

Yeah..it's been a while, though. If they had orange stitching, I'd be all over it - but I have no red in my interior at all.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

This car is nutty.

/firsthandexperience

 

[jlee]

I haven't had an AC belt installed in a while, so I installed one last night. Come to find out, somehow the spacer behind the pulley is gone. If I tighten the pulley, it binds against the tensioner assembly and won't rotate freely.

I ordered a new pulley and now have to source the rest of the parts for the tensioner. I also ordered a new receiver/drier, orings, and valve core set plus refrigerant. I'm skeptical that the system still has pressure in it, but maybe I'll get lucky.

Any recommendations for a manifold gauge set?

 

[NutBucket]

Horrible Freight is perfectly adequate.