JoeCools 2ZZ Project: Fast Fun!

[JoeCool]

Looks really good, we're bring cars back from a similar situation, as mine has only 55k miles on it but was stood for 2 years... I am going to order a lower UJ from TCB tomorrow, hoping it fixes my handling woes as nicely as it did yours!

I'm sure it will do, it's night and day. Be sure to follow the tips above for fitment.. in fact hang on...

When you get down to the UJ, turn your wheel so it's pointing upwards like in this image:



Fully remove the bolt, then use a large flat bladed screWdriver to pry the notch open. This breaks the rust seal. Then ensure the inner UJ, inside the car, and bulkhead boot is un done, then tap the UJ upwards from below hitting the strike point shown, on the upper bit of the shaft. This pulls the lower bit of the UJ off the steering rack shaft. I tried hitting that bit upwards, but even with  a chisel, you can't get a good angle on the swing and I was worried about damaging the steering rack. With a relatively small hammer and light taps, it just works it's way off hitting the point shown above. Or did in my case anyway.

If you've used the steering lock to hold the steering wheel, and line the flat on the new UJ up with the open notch as shown, your steering wheel will be perfect when you re-fit it all as nothing will move.

Just realised I have another drive vid:
[youtube:36qpbys7]JgJgSxCFv1A[/youtube:36qpbys7]

(the scraping at 1:50 is the arch liner NOT the gearbox!!!)

[jonty]

Awesome, thanks for the guide Joe! Will call TCB as soon as I get a break from the 4 month old...

[J03]

Rolling radius. It's spot on equal (well as close as you'll get for staggered tyres) in that fitment. I know it can upset ABS if you have too much differential front to rear. I debated long and hard about sizes, took expert advice from my tame test driver, and pmd various people on here to get a handle on what to go for. I'll have to hope I got it right!

Ahh good point, I didn't take that into consideration!   s:? :? s:?  

I was hoping to run 205 45 16 & 225 45 NS2R's on 16x7J / 16x8J. That's just over 3% difference, best go do some research   s:D s:D

[jonty]

There is 4.6% difference on FL sizes already; Jo3, your proposed sizes have less difference (3.0%) so will be fine

[JoeCool]

So, off to Blackboots/Wheels in motion for what I like to call 'Operation Farrier'. That is, A wheel swap onto my OZ Ultraleggeras, Stuffing 4 AD08R's in the car (who needs 1st and 2nd gear anyway...) and getting them all swapped out so that as far as my wife is concerned, there's still a stack of wheels in the shed and no-one is any the wiser.   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

I also went for a Geo Check and a slight tweak to the front and rear toe as that was all that was out since it's on stock suspension.

On arrival:




Feeling distinctly under-dressed for the party.

However, I got chatting to the owners of both the Ferraris and they were exceptionally nice blokes. We ended up talking more about the MR2!

The end Result:



Currently very happy with the fitment. They sit nice and flush to the Wheel arches, and don't appear to rub at all (though I am missing my front arch liners at the moment). Obviously, it needs to drop a bit but until I can affford coilovers, that's not happening. It's too rainy and the tyres are too new to give any assessment of handling other than 'it feels much better'.

This is:
OZ Ultraleggera 16" 7J ET38 rims all round
Front Tyres: Yokohama ADO08R's 205/50 R16 84V
Rear Tyres: Yokohama AD08R's 225/45 R16 86V

[J03]

Very nice, did you take any pics from a more acute angle?

Little P'shop teaser to motivate your coilover fund  s;) s;)

[jonty]

UJ was delivered yesterday so time permitting I will fit out later today, fingers crossed that it is fairly easy and not corroded together into one lump!

[JoeCool]

Time for an update!

Took the car to carlimits on Friday 8th April and had an absolutely fantastic day:







So, with that done, it was time to move on to Nurburgring Prep!

I've got a jobs list as long as my arm, but today in 8 hours I managed to:

1) Replace all the front end coolant pipes with Silicone ones and Mikalor clamps (40-43mm does the trick)
2) Roll my arches out a spot, and, to my shame but sadly necessary, angle ground the 'tabs' off the inside of the arches to allow more clearance. An ugly solution but needs must. Not taht impressed with the arch roller, managed to crack my paint. I'm sure it was user error, but it's clearly an art/skill!
3) Repolished and laquered my headlights as I really don't fancy a road trip with sub-par headlights. They came out ok but still not 'perfect'.
4) Fitted EBC greenstuff front pads.

So a good day really!

[suj]

Good read this, lovely car even with all the annoyances and drawbacks.

I would love to shove a 2ZZ in one at a later stage.
Hope 'Ring prep goes well, I cannot wait to get back out there!

[skidmark]

Cracking job done there, and really like the wheels.  s:) s:)

[Swan_Connery]

Top stuff, I echo the points about the wheels, what are they?

[JoeCool]

Top stuff, I echo the points about the wheels, what are they?

Cheers chaps.

Wheels are OZ Ultraleggeras,  16x7 ET38. £250 the lot off of eBay and they're genuine!

Good read this, lovely car even with all the annoyances and drawbacks.

Honestly, this car has never felt much like that. I knew it would elbe a project and I'd have to get my hands dirty, that was kind of the point. It's nice to have a car that you don't have to sweat over every little detail of. Mainly, I just enjoy it.

[skidmark]

£250 seems like a bargain, where they advertised as MR2 wheels or just Toyota fitment wheels. I keep looking and don't find much.

[JoeCool]

Neither, just advertised by fitment. They came off some guys punto? Turbo show car but it only rolled 500 miles on them before its engine blew up. My mate with a keen eye spotted them with no bidders, realised they are Toyota fitment, and knew I was in the market for a project MR2. So he bought them for me.

[frootloops]

A good buy with those Ultraleggeras, I think they're lighter than standard which makes them a good choice

[1979scotte]

They are awesome wheels no doubt.
Probably a step up from team dynamics pro race 1.2 and a step down from eneki rpf1.
For me anyways.

[JoeCool]

They are awesome wheels no doubt.
Probably a step up from team dynamics pro race 1.2 and a step down from eneki rpf1.
For me anyways.

I think I prefer the look of RPF1's, but hey, I can't argue with the price.

[1979scotte]

They are awesome wheels no doubt.
Probably a step up from team dynamics pro race 1.2 and a step down from eneki rpf1.
For me anyways.

I think I prefer the look of RPF1's, but hey, I can't argue with the price.

Bargainous for sure.
Brand new the eneki are hugely expensive suppose the OZ are too.

[Anonymous]

Nice cars indeed

[mr cool]

Hi, it's great to see your car shaping up and the involvement and enjoyment your getting from it. My car's a far bit behind yours and this week hopefully a friend will be putting the LSD in the gearbox and changing the rear subframe for a rust free one. While the gearbox is off I'd to change the clutch and put in a lightened  Flywheel. What model excedy clutch did you put in and where did you purchase the clutch and flywheel. When my car is up and running i'd love to meet up with you and your car again, maybe at a track daY or the dyno day that has been suggested? kEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

[JoeCool]

Another busy day of Nurburgring Prep today:

Got the wheels re-balanced at wheels in motion as there was a slight vibration at 70ish Mph. 30g's out so hopefully that's now sorted. Felt buttery on my drive home anyway.

Adjusted tyre pressures to 28 Front, 31 rear.

Changed Oil for the first time to Castrol 5W30 Fully synthetic Magnatec, with a Bosch oil filter. Nice to See Andy at Bonsai had written the date he'd fitted my old filter to the car on the filter itself! Can't argue for £25 the lot from ECP.

Coolant has been rock solid ever since swapping out the coolant hoses. Famous last words....

And finally completed my soft-top removal! I weighed everything that came off and it's 20Kg dead on pretty much, having lost the mechanism down to the pivot points, the wind deflector and the parcel shelf. I couldn't believe that it was necessary to actually cut the roof mechanism bars off, but sadly it is.





Very happy with the results. Got rid of a worthless soft top, saved some weight, made some space.

While the gearbox is off I'd to change the clutch and put in a lightened  Flywheel. What model excedy clutch did you put in and where did you purchase the clutch and flywheel.

Hey mate, glad to hear yours is taking shape.

My clutch, I got this one:  m http://r.ebay.com/q0DE1E m   From ebay. It's the Celica T-Sport Clutch. I eyeballed specs and they're the same diameter but I've herad there may be some subtle difference in the release bearing.

If you're using a Corolla T-Sport engine, Those exedy clutches are £110-£140 on Ebay.   m http://r.ebay.com/iixSzg m   That's the 'safe' bet as the exedy part number is different, but Iculd find no difference in Specification.

The Flywheel I got from Fensport - And  honestly don't remember paying £360 for it!! I think it was on discount and about £250 when I bought it.

[mr cool]

Thanks for the info, I've looked about and at 250 you got a bargain, my mate suggests getting it lightened by a local man he knows, I may go that route as 360 seems a little heavy right now. looks like I'll be watching your every post and copying your every move. I'm lead to believe imitation is a high form of flattery!

[suj]

Good work on the roof, I always wondered how much the whole thing weighed, a fair amount.

Have fun at the 'Ring, I miss the place like mad, go down the Comfy Corner in Adenau for some food, best place around there in my opinion.

[JoeCool]

May 2016 - The Run to the 'Ring!

I had a jobs list as long as my arm to prepare for this trip. Obviously you don't want to take on the Green Hell without adequate preparation. So my prep (on top of the stuff in the posts above) included:

• Had the front wheels rebalanced at wheels in motion to cure a slight high speed vibration. They did so free of charge as they'd only fitted the tyres last month. Apparently one wheel was 30g out.
• Soft top removed and a Hard top fitted (I needed the Packing space).
• Changed oil for Castrol Magnatec Fully Synthetic 5W30 and a Bosch filter.
• Wired the car for my Cheapo-rip off Go-Pro alike.
• Bought said camera - the hilariously titled 'Git-Up Git2'
• Reconfigured my Music on the SD card I use.
• Packed tools etc.
• Washed it.

Come the day of departure it was a 4am get up, Dover - Calais Ferry, a drive across 3 countries and then 3 laps in the evening on Day 1.

Day two was more relaxed. We went to watch the circuit, drove some local roads, had a good buffet lunch and then prepped the cars for the Evening.

I ended up doing 8 laps total. I had an absolute blast and the car performed flawlessly. Everyone there loved it and apparently I was going harder through the bends than anyone else in our party - well I had to, I wasn't keeping up with M3's in the straights! Not that there really are any straights at the 'Ring.

The car covered the 1,000 miles and 8 laps with absolutely no problem or complaint. I'm honestly in awe of the little thing. Didn't use a drop of oil or coolant, got 30+mpg everywhere, LOVED the 'ring...

Here are some pictures and videos. I have a load of footage still to go through and I intend on making a little Memento video of the trip.





Please watch in HD where possible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3RCAssoT08

[Ardent]

Respect.
And the only person to park correctly in pic 7 above.