Introducing the “Dark Fury” project – 400rwhp ATS 2.3L 5SFE GTX3076

[Rixx]

Introducing the “Dark Fury” project – 400rwhp ATS 2.3L 5SFE GTX3076

I have been working on this project for some time and it's finally approaching completion..





It dyno'd at 395.6rwhp on an ATS 2.3L 5SFE, Rev3 head, Greddy IC (stock location) running a GTX 3076 Turbocharger @ 1.8bar – My cooling appears to be the bottleneck. Previously, I didn’t want to go down the chargecooling or boot IC route but I'm re-considering.. See my full specs below.





Full credit goes to Nathan at Century Motorsport for doing a fine job working on this - with great support from Scott/Aaron at ATS Racing and Ryan at 2bartuning. I had some issues working with SBITS/Peter Giddens on my previous MR2 (rev1 TD06 tubby running 300rwhp; “having some issues” is a f'in understatement!) and Nathan helped to get my MR2 goals right back on track - installing a brand new ATS2.3L 5SFE bottom end on a rev3 head in a new 1999 chassis. He communicated regularly - providing updates every step of the way, went over and beyond his standard call of duty to answer my questions, check things out which I suspected may need further work and he proved his work rock solid, reliable and timely.

Ryan at 2bar tuning was central to getting the most power out of my current build - spending a significant amount of time mapping my Apexi ECU given my cooling challenges and retarding the HKS cams as needed for maximum power output. Scott/Aaron at ATS did a fine job building the engine and shipping it to the UK. They provided excellent customer support and went out of their way to discuss my dyno charts whilst working closely with Nathan, Ryan and I to get the most out of the 5SFE and GTX3076.

James at 3S identified the issues with my previous MR2 and was instrumental in providing advice and guidance and helping me transition some of the mechanical parts to my new 1999 MR2. Luke at Pacific Works also helped a little, was a pleasure to work with and is worth mentioning.

All in all, I’m happy with the result so far, the car is extremely reliable and has power on tap – very rapid and responsive whilst maintaining a comfortable ride for normal road use! I did however expect more power..I'm tempted to get better cooling as a first next step!

Thoughts?



Specs
ATS 2.3L 5sfe shortblock
Wiseco 88mm Forged Pistons
Eagle rods
ITM Engine bearings
ATS Custom 1.2mm Headgasket
Revision 3 head
ARP Head studs
HKS 264 cams intake and exhaust
ATS Adjustable cam gears
ATS Throttlebody inlet
GTX3076 Turbocharger
Tial External waste gate
HKS SSQV BOV
GReddy Side mount IC / Berk Fan
ATS IC Block off plate
TRD Sports Thermostat
Spec stage 3 clutch
Lightened flywheel
4" intake with K&N filter
Blitz Nur Spec R exhaust
GT 4 bolt Downpipe
Sard 800cc injectors
ATS Bored Fuel Rail
Walbro 255lb fuel pump
Copper distributor cap
BC Racing coilovers
Blitz SBC-IDIII Boost controller
Apexi Power FC ECU
TRD High Pressure radiator cap











RS

[Al-sw20]

Looks awesome mate.

Only suggestion is get your rear rims out more. Either a wider rim, or some bolt on spacers.

[Rixx]

Having another look at the pics - I think you could be right! Cheers

[danwarwick]

Stunning looking car! What sort of power are you expecting with the cooling sorted out?

[Rixx]

Cheers bud! I chose to build on the original MR2 style as I like the natural lines of the car..

I'm not sure how much power I'm going to get tbh. ATS said that they expected more power on current specs and Ryan noted that it was just too hot - significantly affecting the ignition timing.. Would like to get another 100hp out of it..

[DAN_REV1_TURBO]

Very nice.

[danwarwick]

Cheers bud! I chose to build on the original MR2 style as I like the natural lines of the car..

Couldn't agree more, the standard lines are a classic design. You've complemented them well with the bits you've done!

Another 100bhp? That's going to be one quick car then! What do you expect for 0-60 and 0-100 times?

[danwarwick]

Cheers bud! I chose to build on the original MR2 style as I like the natural lines of the car..

Couldn't agree more, the standard lines are a classic design. You've complemented them well with the bits you've done!

Another 100bhp? That's going to be one quick car then! What do you expect for 0-60 and 0-100 times?

[greeny]

Nice build.

Why not go with the late 5s block though?

[Kongaroo]

Nice car and a 2.3L ATS stroker too! How much was postage for the engine?

Did they tell you how many of these have been imported into the UK? Yours seems to be the first reported one on IMOC anyway

[Rixx]

Nice build.

Why not go with the late 5s block though?

Thanks for the feedback. After speaking with ATS, we decided that I wasn't going to see any benefit going with the late 5S for the power goals / usage I had in mind. $400 was better spent toward the turbo!

Nice car and a 2.3L ATS stroker too! How much was postage for the engine?

Did they tell you how many of these have been imported into the UK? Yours seems to be the first reported one on IMOC anyway

Thanks! I can't recall how much the postage was as it has been over a year since I made the purchase. It was a fair bit though.. I will try and dig out the receipt and report back.. ATS confirmed that this was the first 2.3L Stroker they had shipped to the UK as at November 2011. I will give them a call to check whether that is still the case!

With all being said and done though, I expected more power. I'm hoping that the cooling is a significant bottleneck and there is a big surprise hidden in the current build ready to be unleashed!..

[Rixx]

Cheers bud! I chose to build on the original MR2 style as I like the natural lines of the car..

What do you expect for 0-60 and 0-100 times?

Have no idea!

[danwarwick]

I'm going to guess pretty damn quick whatever they are!

[danwarwick]

I'm going to guess pretty damn quick whatever they are!

[greeny]

Nice build.

Why not go with the late 5s block though?

Thanks for the feedback. After speaking with ATS, we decided that I wasn't going to see any benefit going with the late 5S for the power goals / usage I had in mind. $400 was better spent toward the turbo!

Nice car and a 2.3L ATS stroker too! How much was postage for the engine?

Did they tell you how many of these have been imported into the UK? Yours seems to be the first reported one on IMOC anyway

Thanks! I can't recall how much the postage was as it has been over a year since I made the purchase. It was a fair bit though.. I will try and dig out the receipt and report back.. ATS confirmed that this was the first 2.3L Stroker they had shipped to the UK as at November 2011. I will give them a call to check whether that is still the case!

With all being said and done though, I expected more power. I'm hoping that the cooling is a significant bottleneck and there is a big surprise hidden in the current build ready to be unleashed!..

Yeah fair enough, don't think I've heard of a early 5s block cracking yet either.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the power figures as they tend use a dynojet stateside. There wheel figures tend to relate to our flywheel figures on the dynamics.

I may be wrong, but iirc Ryan had a car on Surrey dynamics and then straight onto a dynojet and there wasn't much in it, circa 5hp, between wheels to flywheel.

[Rixx]

Are there any thoughts on the extent to which cooling limits power figures? I'm not sure whether I should upgrade to a Rogue Chargecooler or similar. Don't really want to hack into my boot..

[Steve-O 2007]

Nice, I would stick a Phoenix Power IC on and see what happens if you dont want to go the CC / Boot mount option

[MrKrazie]

I have a Phoenix power intercooler for sale if your interested Also very nice number Im going with the 2.3 from them aswell

[Rixx]

I have a Phoenix power intercooler for sale if your interested Also very nice number Im going with the 2.3 from them aswell

Cheers bud. If I were to upgrade I think it would certainly be the chargecooler root.

Any thoughts on the Rogue CC setup?

[wilki]

Looks really well that bud
And probably goes just aswell by the looks of things