Alex's 2ZZ Swapped MR2 Roadster

[tpivette]

cheers.   likewise.  cant decide if removing the screen wash bottle cos you need two oil coolers is as cool as it sounds - IN REAL LIFE!

[jonty]

Man I wish I got that consumption Alex,mine does about 250 to the tank, with plenty of dual carriageway at 60-65! New wheels and tyres look great, I'll consider dropping down from 17s in the future when I want better track performance, those pics make me envious!

[justinread72]

big thanks for taking me for a spin and helping me with all my questions I have learnt so much  


This car is mental and together with a highly skilled driver like Alex this car is a weapon of mass destruction and on 15s and coilovers it looks so epic.

I drove down the same roads in my 1zz after the 2zz it is a no brainer for a daily driver or weekend toy the 2zz is mental and for sure I will be doing one  !

don't tell the wife !

[Alex Knight]

Had a wonderful day at Llandow circuit today, along with Paul1087.

Circuit stayed dry all day (for a change!), and Paul and I managed to get some decent laps in.

I didn't get much footage (battery and camera securing issues!), but what I did manage to get is below. First lap was just a warm up lap.

I have to say, the car was absolutely faultless all day (again), with zero oil consumption.

Fastest lap for me today was a 0:49.1. Think I could have snuck into the 48s range if I had ridden the kerbs hard, but mechanical sympathy took over, and I stayed away.

[tpivette]

Hi Alex
Have you driven that track before, and if so did the MeisterR's and underbrace help the times at all?

[Alex Knight]

Hi matey,

Sorry for the late reply! I have driven the track before, but only in Spoon Sports Europe's DC2 Integra, not in the MR2.

I can confirm however, that the coilovers have taken a lot of roll out of the initial turn-in phase. There is a much more direct feel mid corner also. Everything feels more 'immediate' if you know what I mean?

I had the dampers wound to about 24/F & 28/R. I found that I felt I could still go a bit stiffer, especially at the rear. I was going to wind the rears up to 32(max), and the fronts to 28, but I ran out of time!

[Alex Knight]

So, not much to update really.

Car is running like absolute clockwork. I've fitted some facelift rear bumper inserts, and took it out for a spin yesterday with the roof down.

Missed that after driving the company car for a few weeks.

Booked a trackday at Anglesey on Monday 2nd May, looking forward to that.   s:D s:D

[Alex Knight]

Found this picture the other day too!

It is obligatory to take this photo when you remove an engine!

[inside]

Nice shot   s:D s:D  

Must remember to get one when the time comes...   s:) s:)

[JoeCool]

Where's the beard?!

[Alex Knight]

Where's the beard?!

That photo is from 2014!

[Alex Knight]

Report from Angelsey:

What a circuit! We did the full layout, as opposed to the coastal circuit which I did before a few years ago in my old DC2 Integra. Really stunning setting for what I would describe as an intermediate to advanced circuit.



The day started off wet. Very wet. I was a little disappointed, as I had done Silverstone GP Circuit previously on the old Bridgestone RE002s, and they weren't very good at generating ANY heat in the wet, which resulted in very low grip levels. This time, I was using Yokohama AD08R tyres, and the difference really is night and day. I can see why a lot of production based race cars use them as a dedicated wet tyre. So much more grip and therefore confidence.

I didn't have chance to fill the tank before I got to the circuit as it's such an early sign on, and driver's briefing, so I went out onto the wet circuit with half a tank (it used half a tank to get from Bristol to Anglesey). This only lasted 45 minutes on track, before I started to get fuel starvation coming out of the banking, despite the gauge showing between a quarter and empty.

I was told that the weather would improve by 11AM, so I headed off to fill up with a tank of super unleaded. When I returned, the track was starting to dry. At least it looked dry. It turned out to be the period between wet and dry, and the conditions were very, very greasy. I was nearly caught out coming through Peel, and was rewarded with a HUGE dose of turn in oversteer, then a tank slapper on the way out. Luckily, I managed to ride out the slides.

I had the coilovers set to fully soft all round, to try and promote some grip. The steady state cornering balance was really quite rear biased in these conditions, you could always feel the rear itching to break into a slide.

I decided to come in and wait for some fully dry running. In the meantime I adjusted the dampers to 20F/20R and then headed out to enjoy some dry laps. The balance was again fairly oversteery, which was fun, but ultimately not as quick as it could be. I also felt there was quite a lot of roll across the front axle, so I came in again and set the dampers to 32F(Full)/26R.

My oh my, what a difference! You could immediately feel there was much less pliancy to the ride, the nose was bobbing quite a lot as I exited the pit lane. Grip levels however, were *immense*. It was actually difficult to hold on going around the banking, due to how much lateral grip was being generated. It then became a slight lift into Church, and then fully flat all the way up to the braking point for rocket. It was clipping the limiter in 4th here, so I decided to take a couple of seconds of 5th too, instead of sitting on the limiter. Around 115MPH. Braking is super late going into Rocket, as it's quite a steep uphill. It still amazed me how late you can brake in these cars. I was taking 10s of metres out of most other stuff there.

I noticed that the fuel was getting low again (98 miles to a whole tank  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  ), and as it had just passed 4PM, I decided to call it a day.

I was taking it easy headed back, cruising along at 60MPH on the A55, when the engine decided to cut out. I shifted down through the gears, but there was nothing at all there. We were left stranded on the side of the road, in the pouring rain! I thought that it may have been the ECU wiring to the immobiliser, as we had quite a lot of luggage in the storage bins, but everything was fine. Couldn't figure it out, so had the call out the AA (thanks Lloyds Bank!), and get recovered the 230 miles home  s:x :x s:x 



Upon further investigation when I got it home, and information from topdownman, I discovered that it had blown the 15A EFI1 fuse, and the ECU was getting no power. Replaced it, and it fired straight up!  s:D s:D 

I'm a happy bunny again. I think that the (very) wet conditions may have contributed to the blown fuse, but I am yet to find the cause. It'll probably never happen again.

So all in all, a fantastic weekend, wonderful circuit, and only a slight hiccup at the end. Highly recommended to anyone who is thinking of doing a trackday there.

[justinread72]

Next time you go let me know I would like to have a go

Did the AA not look for the fault ?  A fuse how frustrating.

[Paulus1066]

im back at anglesey on the 3rd of june... you should come up again  s:P s:P  i manage 125mph coming up the hill to rocket! never had any issues with grip in the wet on my R888s either :S

i will be fitting my 2zz before the track day too

[Alex Knight]

i manage 125mph coming up the hill to rocket!

What's powering this beast?!

It's a 10 hour round trip for me, and I like to experience different circuits too.

Got my eye on Pembrey and Spa Francorchamps this summer.

[Paulus1066]

166bhp 1zz... but its totally stripped out! i will be fitting my 2zz in a couple of weeks hopefully!

To be fair, it is my local track. i am yet to visit anywhere else! i want to try oulton and cadwell.

[Alex Knight]

Oulton is mega, highly recommended.

[1979scotte]

166bhp 1zz... but its totally stripped out! i will be fitting my 2zz in a couple of weeks hopefully!

To be fair, it is my local track. i am yet to visit anywhere else! i want to try oulton and cadwell.

If you have a 1zz running 166 why are you doing a 2zz swap?
It would have cost serious money to get that power.
Dont forget 2zz in an elise makes 189 but they make a bit less in an MR2 depending on how you do the exhaust.

[Paulus1066]

2zz mapped on a power fc should make around 205bhp+ depending on how far you are willing to push it and the fuel you are running.  

I also have the bits to build a turbo kit, have ordered a link G4+ xtreme and will be running E85 - should be safe on standard internals up to 400bhp but i will aim for 350bhp.

I wont be doing the turbo build for a while as decent mappers are impossible to book at short notice, but i should be able to get someone who can map a power fc in a day for the NA

And i am going for the Link G4+ Xtreme because it will run an electronic throttle and manage sequential shifting for then i get a Quaife sequential and pro-shift system next year.

[1979scotte]

Good luck.

[MartinC]

Good to meet you earlier to day Alex.  One very smart MR2 you've got there.    s:D s:D  

Martin.

[Alex Knight]

You too chap.

Thanks for the picture!  s:D s:D

[Anonymous]

Very nice 2 buddy, also thanks for the post with your total cost of the swap.

[loadswine]

MOD. moved to RR as requested

[Alex Knight]

Nice day today, so took the time to give it a quick polish, which was long overdue. Also fitted a Top Secret exhaust (thanks Dave) and a new OEM length gear cage (sooo much better!).