Manifold, ECU

[Andys-N20]

I have done miner modifications to MR2, I have afew questions as I am not an expert on tuning.
I have gutted my pre-cats which will remove restriction, however does anyone know how much BHP I would gain if I swapped my gutted manifold for a performance one?
Are there any manifolds that allow you to install the MR2 manifold heat shield (to hide the modification).

[dj2k21]

You would gain more from a good service to be honest, plus if you buy a in e new manifold why would you want to hide it?

[mrzwei]

Most go for the 'Che' manifold which is a TTE knock off. TTE claimed a few BHP increase and an improvement in mid range torque iirc.
It's lighter, looks better and will take the original heat shields.
There are other manifolds about but they probably don't take the original heat shields.

[Andys-N20]

I am aiming for a little more power as the standard MR2 feels a little slow when you have been driving them for around four years. At first I thought it was brilliant but you get bored of the performance. I don't want the car looking like it has been modified so that my insurance company don't bend me over for the sake of afew BHP. I'm was just curious if it would be worth spending £200 ish on replacing my manifold that has been gutted already. I may only gain 1 or 2 BHP?
I have seen in the performance section loads of people who have hit around 155 - 160BHP with only a ECU mod and upgraded intake and exhaust system mods.
The car has been serviced recently. I do it myself so I know its been done properly and use only the best quality goods I can find.

[Wabbitkilla]

"Only" ecu mod, intake and exhaust may be stretching it a little  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Fitting an after market manifold might get you a couple of bhp, but would you really feel it?

How many miles has your car done?
You can achieve much by replacing suspension and adding bracing. It doesn't add bhp but it makes driving a better experience.

sent from a planet somewhere nearby

[dj2k21]

Losing weight will increase power to weight, (the car I mean not you haha)

[stargazer30]

Op, you won't feel any difference in performance from just a manifold.  The ECU on its own won't do much either.  To get anything noticable you'd need manifold, sports cat, exhaust and then a chip mapped to those mods.  Also for your insurance you'd be better off waiting till you renew and going with flux, sky or another specialised as they won't load the premium that much for simple mods.

For real performance gain on the cheap as has been said your better off loosing weight.  Spare wheel out and battery relocated to the front to keep the weight over the wheels would cost you maybe £150-200 and would have the same power to weight gain of a full exhaust/chip/sports cat costing maybe £1000 to do new.

[carlclarke]

You can achieve much by replacing suspension and adding bracing. It doesn't add bhp but it makes driving a better experience.

It's true and is my chosen route, my car has 121k now (engine is fine but the day will come...). Since changing to coilovers and lowering a little it is a completely different car. Before it felt a little vague over anything but a smooth road surface and I used to feel the need to grip the steering wheel with two hands - now it feels rock solid. Sure the ride is a little harder (with dampers set to 1 or 2 clicks above soft) but the car feels fast and stable. I am getting the underbody brace fitted from the current Group Buy and have front and rear strut braces now too. The times when I could need faster acceleration are few and far between but the new suspension and bracing serves me well for every mile that I travel.

I am also concentrating on subtle appearance and 'comfort' mods plus just trying to tackle any small blemishes and replacing worn parts. If I ever do it the last thing would be significant engine power mods because I feel that any real benefit would be underused for everyday driving and I have no track ambitions.