Alex's 2ZZ Swapped MR2 Roadster

Started by Alex Knight, September 1, 2013, 08:26

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Alex Knight

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this thread!

The 2ZZ swap is now done, and I've undertaken my first roadtrip in it to test the new engine.

Went from Bristol to the Lake District, a round trip of some 600 ish miles.

The car didn't miss a beat, and even returned 38MPG, which isn't bad for a 2ZZ. We were sat at about 4,000RPM most of the way, which equates to 75MPH in 6th, so pretty pleased with that.

Who says MR2s are impractical? Managed to fit a suitcase, two pairs of walking boots and two coats in the frunk!

Alex Knight

#1
Also, small update.

Fitted a new shape Yaris 6-Speed gearknob. Much nicer to hold than the original, and shorter too, which has the effect of reducing the throw.


Alex Knight

#2
So, a little while since my last update.

Since then, I have done the following:

  * Fitted solid shifter bushes
  * Fitted solid cage mount bushes
  * Fitted TTE springs and low mileage dampers
  * Removed rear spoiler
  * Fitted new front brake discs and EBC Yellowstuff pads

I've also booked a trackday at Bedford Autodrome on 21st December, looking forwards to it

Alex Knight

#3
Had my MR2 on the Dyno this morning @ Interpro Automotive.

Very pleased. It made 188BHP @ 8,200RPM and 148Lbs/FT torque @ 6,900RPM.

Fuelling and emissions were perfect.  s:D :D s:D

Anonymous

#4
Nice Alex good power too. What exhaust system do you use?

s12vea

#5
Bet your happy with that performance! Bet she is fun on the road.
Another one won't hurt  .....

Alex Knight

#6
Quote from: "Meeerrrk"Nice Alex good power too. What exhaust system do you use?

Thanks chap. Torque was slightly higher than I expected too.

I'm using a CHE 2ZZ swap manifold, stock CAT/Downpipe with new (and enlarged) flexis, and a Megan Racing exhaust (very quiet if I'm honest).

The RR operator commented that he didn't think the manifold was impeding flow in any way. Food for thought...

Alex Knight

#7
Quote from: "s12vea"Bet your happy with that performance! Bet she is fun on the road.

Very much so.

To be honest, performance up to 6,200RPM is fairly similar to the 1ZZ, if a little more torquey.

Then it just goes mental from 6,200RPM to 8,500RPM.   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:   It sounds fabulous as well.

I maintain that this engine should have been a factory option, and I simply can't believe there aren't more 2ZZ swaps in the UK currently.

It's a piece of cake, super-reliable and so cheap to do.

PS: TOTAL Oil consumption in the last 4,500 miles: 200ml. That includes circa 230 miles on track.   s:D :D s:D

Anonymous

#8
Very interesting actually, I've been looking at all ideas of exhaust options, makes me think (at least to get me going) that I don't need to spend quite so much. Can always upgrade later on.

Nice car dude, bet your pleased, especially for what you paid!!

Alex Knight

#9
Quick update:

All my cars have had Recaro seats in them, and the Roadster should be no exception. However I didn't want to go faffing around cutting the standard seats about to make them fit the underside of the recaros. I wanted a plug and play solution, so I figured I would need some genuine ZZW30 Recaro subframes and some Recaros seats.

Finding the seats would be the easy bit, however the Recaro subframes were a little trickier to find. I don't believe you can buy them new any more, and even Demon Tweeks didn't list anything for the car. Bugger.

So my thoughts turned to the Land of the Rising Sun. Tuning is BIG in Japan, so I thought that it was more likely to find a pair of subframes there.

From many an hour wasted on the internet, and from Best Motoring DVDs, I came to know of a company called UpGarage! in Japan, which specialises in retailing used tuning parts ( https://www.upgarage.com/en ). The problem is that their website is all in Japanese!

Since I can't read Japanese, I thought I'd use the Google Translated webpage. After some assumed interpretation, I couldn't believe my luck when I came across a used pair for ZZW30 Genuine Recaro subframes! I knew this was rare, even in Japan, so I had to buy them. I knew of an Australian guy who now resides in Japan and specialises in finding and sending Japanese Tuning parts all around the world. He's called Jesse Streeter:  m http://jessestreeter.com/ m

I sent him the link, and a deposit payment via PayPal and Jesse secured the subframes for me, and sent them on the boat across to me via EMS Japanese tracked mail. This was in October, and they took 13 weeks(!) to arrive, but arrive they did. Total cost was circa £170.00 for the pair including shipping and duty. Expensive I know, but still about half the price of a new pair (if you could even find them!).

I then went and found a pair of Evo 5 Recaros (these were my second choice) for £200.00 on eBay! Bargain! My first choice were Honda Integra DC2 black Recaros, but finding a set in very good condition for less than £400.00 proved impossible.

So last night I unbolted the Evo 5 subframes from the seats, offered up the MR2 subframes and everything lined up! I bolted it all together, and plopped the seats into the car and bolted them up tight. Everything fitted with no dramas.

The driving experience is even better. You feel even more connected to the car, as you are braced tight in the car, I swear it gives you more feeling. The seats are especially snug around the shoulders and really keep you held in place. No more bracing myself with my left knee against the centre console when cornering hard to the right!

I need a set of black cloth doorcards to complete the interior, as the red leather ones seem out of place now.

I only got a quick pic in the garage last night, as it was late and dark. I will get some better pics in the daylight soon:



So that's the story of my plan to fit Recaros in my Roadster, which set into action in October 2013 and finally ended in March 2014!

Anonymous

#10
Wow you lucky bugger! I have been thinking about getting a set of bride subframes from japan. They are about £90 each but shipping is £200!! Like you, found it impossible to find runners for these cars. My journey continues,

Your seats look great in the roadster, good work that man!

jonone

#11
hi on your trip to the lake district 75 mph @ 4000 rpm equates to gearing of 18.75 mph per 1000 rpm which seems very low to me
and even more so when you got 38 mpg
like those seats a lot ( meeerrrk have you looked at prolux on this website in the affilates section they do bride seats )
30,000 miles 56 Reg 1E7 crystal silver TF 300 / 089     Yokohamas AD 08 Tyres Re-furbed Alloys in Satin Black, debadged rear Hard Top ON "turbocharged by Matt Performance "

Anonymous

#12
Quote from: "jonone"hi on your trip to the lake district 75 mph @ 4000 rpm equates to gearing of 18.75 mph per 1000 rpm which seems very low to me
and even more so when you got 38 mpg
like those seats a lot ( meeerrrk have you looked at prolux on this website in the affilates section they do bride seats )

Thanks for the info, I've now ordered some mounts from Rouge Motorsport  s:) :) s:)

Alex Knight

#13
Quote from: "jonone"hi on your trip to the lake district 75 mph @ 4000 rpm equates to gearing of 18.75 mph per 1000 rpm which seems very low to me
and even more so when you got 38 mpg
like those seats a lot ( meeerrrk have you looked at prolux on this website in the affilates section they do bride seats )

Correct.

I'm using a C60 from a Corolla T-Sport, which has a very short 6th gear, and quite a short FD:

 m http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_C ... ission#C60 m

Wabbitkilla

#14
[MOD]With agreement from the op the performance segment of this has been split off here where it is more at home [/MOD]
Cute & fluffy animals were definitely hurt during the production of this post, there're plenty more where they came from
Aztec Bronze S2 Elise 111S
Campovolo Grey Abarth 595 Competizione

steve b

#15
Quote from: "Alex Knight"To be honest, performance up to 6,200RPM is fairly similar to the 1ZZ, if a little more torquey.

Then it just goes mental from 6,200RPM to 8,500RPM.   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:   It sounds fabulous as well.


Exactly my thoughts when I picked up my car instant 1st impression was it was noticeably more grunty when in the 1ZZ rev range, more like a 2litre.  Why people say the 2zz lacks torque or claim the 1ZZ has better torque is a mystery to me as it blatantly isn't the case.  It's like an all round more powerful 1ZZ below 6200rpm then like a totally different much more powerful engine above 6200.  Think when I 1st looked at my dyno my 2ZZ made more bhp before the lift point than a 1ZZ made at peak power.
2002 Face lifted 6 Speed UK 2ZZGE MR2 track car & 2.7T A6 Avant. CBR1000RR & CBR600F.

gazza-blackpool

#16
Impressive mate. I'm doing same build atm. Hopefully engine will be in by end next month:) you done any quarter mile strips??? Times etc???

Alex Knight

#17
Thanks. Not been near a 1/4 Mile strip yet, but plan on headed to Shakespeare County Raceway at some point this year.

Suspect it should run about 13.5 Sec @ around 100-105MPH.

pistol pete

#18
awesome thread.. how easy/cheap is the conversion?

Alex Knight

#19
Swap parts come to circa £800.00 inc VAT and Duty from Monkey Wrench Racing.

Labour is free if you can swing a spanner competently. It's really not that difficult a swap, seeing as 3 out of the 4 engine mounts are identical to the 1ZZ!

I picked up a donor Corolla T-Sport for £1,400 with circa 80K miles on the clock, stripped out the engine and gearbox and sold it on for £510.00.

Add around £100 for consumables (Oil, Oil Filter, new Accessory Belt, Coolant) and the swap cost me around £1,800.00.

That's also not factoring in selling the old 1ZZ engine and box, which I donated to a friend with a sick roadster.

If I sold the engine and box for say, £300.00, the swap would have cost me circa £1,500.00.

Not bad eh?

Anonymous

#20
Quote from: "pistol pete"awesome thread.. how easy/cheap is the conversion?

Slippery slope dude!

Check out the thread called "all things 2zz" there is all the info needed. I'm collecting all the parts I need to do this swap and plan to do it toward the end of this year  s:) :) s:)

Alex Knight

#21
Had a slight overheating problem under load a little while ago, which was cured with a full bleed of the coolant system, as there was an air pocket trapped.

It's been fine ever since (and was fine for the 6 months prior to that as well), but I decided to uprate the radiator anyway with a MishiMoto aluminium radiator, which is about twice the thickness of the stock item:

Best thing is, it was only £65 delivered! Bargain!




Anonymous

#22
Have you seen SteveB's info on this very subject? He has fitted a different expansion tank higher up, which totally cured his problem; he was still getting it even with a bigger rad.

steve b

#23
Yep, standard expansion bottle is the problem not the rad (I also have a high volume alloy rad).  Flow into it it under too much pressure post 2ZZ swap bubbles get dragged into the system and collect at the top right of the rad.  On track it's very noticeable you'll get air in the rad within 10 mins hard driving.  Spoke to another 2ZZ owner at a track day and he modified the standard tank fixing it, I decided top be sure high mount Motorsport swirl pot replacement and it's fixed the issue.

2002 Face lifted 6 Speed UK 2ZZGE MR2 track car & 2.7T A6 Avant. CBR1000RR & CBR600F.

Alex Knight

#24
That's interesting Steve.

I did a trackday @ Bedford before I had any overheating issues and it was fine for what it's worth. I was flat-chat all day, and covered around 70 laps of the 3.3 mile circuit.

Does your swirl pot simply replace the stock header completely?

Have you got a link to the tank you bought?

Out of curiosity, how does air actually get into the system?

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