TOTAL NEWB CONSIDERING MR2 turbo

[Quigonjay]

I just want to post times on the quarter mile around the 13 second mark

shouldnt have much problem doing that mate - standard rev 3 can do it in 13.7, check out the 1/4 mile tab at the top
Jay

[sweep121]

yeah, i do have more of a budget really but i just thought it would be good if i could get a faster car and save money. I don't want to spend too much on it as I know that many people don't touch turbos because they can't due to insurance.

I bought my coop for 4400 last year and I spent about 2k on it. I had bottom end trouble and sold it for a shade over a grand very recently. There was a bad repair job on the bonnet also, manifold needed renewed and a few other things.

So I've lost a few bob, so I figured if I bought one of these little rockets I could go faster and have some sort of jap reliability. not so sure now.

Steve

[jimGTS]

So I've lost a few bob, so I figured if I bought one of these little rockets I could go faster and have some sort of jap reliability. not so sure now.

Steve

they are, if kept in good condition. lots of the USA peeps have ran there turbos into 150k miles, and still running fine.
but for that sort of money mate, what are you to expect, a mint rev3 turbo?? if only. you need to spend a reasonable amount to buy a mint one, i spend 4.5k on mine 1 year ago.
68k miles now, and still runs like a dream (1992 car).

[blueorb]

Think about it Steve, You are talking about a highly tuned car that is about 13 years old (REV2). How many 13 year old cars do you see on the road? Therefore it is very important to find one that has been meticulously looked after. Fresh imports tend to be better due to strict Jap motoring laws, so cars have to be maintained to a high standard.

A lot of these motors (Even the bad ones) will polish up beautifully, but you really have to look beyond that shiney paint work.

A mint rev 2 will set you back aprox £4,000, but you should get a fantastic motor. If you risk the sub £3,000 E bay crap, you may be lucky, but chances are it will be a costly experience in the long run.

Its up to you mate!

[sweep121]

Thanks a lot for all your help guys, i've posted my needs in the wanted section so hopefully one of you guys will have something decent for me before long.

Say I buy a decent standard rev 2. If i decat it and put decent chip in it. What would you estimate my output would be?

steve

[Driftlimits Performance]

Forget the chip for now mate.

You'll need a zorst, air filter, and a boost controller. Upping the boost really makes it a different animal.

Then IC, then it if you didn't want to go further, a chip. But not before IMO.

[blueorb]

Have you thought about a Rover 220/420 turbo. They have fairly strong engines, are really cheap to buy, easy to work on and pretty quick too?

Just an idea?

If you are wanting 300bhp, you need to spend money!!

power comes at a premium unfortunately
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You aint going to get a deal for £2,000!!!!

[sweep121]

do you think i'd be able to get 300bhp for 4k in 2-3 months time?

i really don't want a rover btw.

I like the styling of the fiat coop and also the mr2.

[jimGTS]

do you think i'd be able to get 300bhp for 4k in 2-3 months time?

i really don't want a rover btw.

I like the styling of the fiat coop and also the mr2.

do you mean an already done up 300bhp mr2 for 4k??
or 4k on mods to get to 300bhp??

if first one, im sure you can, although, its better to get standard and do it yourself.
if the second option, i think 1/3-1/2 of that would get you to 300bhp.

[sweep121]

i understand that standard is normally better but then not always true, some peeps remove their go faster bits before sale.

I know that if it already has go faster bits then it's probably definately been hammered though not definate.

I just find it difficult freeing up time to take the car to different places to get fast bits like.......... custom exhaust, re map, intercooler fitting etc etc etc.

I'd just love to buy my ideal fully suited and booted.

[jimGTS]

i understand that standard is normally better but then not always true, some peeps remove their go faster bits before sale.

I know that if it already has go faster bits then it's probably definately been hammered though not definate.

I just find it difficult freeing up time to take the car to different places to get fast bits like.......... custom exhaust, re map, intercooler fitting etc etc etc.

I'd just love to buy my ideal fully suited and booted.

im sure you can mate.
youd save yourself time and money if already done.
just need to keep a look out.

[GeoffC320]

Hi, I bought my Rev3 turbo a couple of years back. You don't need a lot of mods to reach 300 bhp on a Rev3 - mine reached 293 with just exhaust/induction & a Unichip @ 1.2 bar boost. My next step would be a better IC as I think that's causing the bottleneck in performance. Sure you don't *need* an ECU upgrade but personally I think decent mapping makes a world of difference to the power delivery and I still average 23 mpg with very little of my mileage spent on the motorway.

Many, many of these cars are modded when they come in from Japan - mine certainly was! It had some stuff taken off before I got it by the importer and I ended up changing the exhaust & induction myself a little later. Difficult to find a standard one and clean ones tend to command a good price.

If I were you I'd try to source something with the mods you're interested in & some proof of power output (recent dyno chart or timing slip?) from a known enthusiast. Sounds like you're heading in that direction anyway!

So far I've had no mechanical failures in 20k miles, car is now on 79k and still going well. I think you will also find a timing belt for example will cost at least £800 less to change than on the Fiat!

Only you can decide if 2 seats are enough - personally I love the excuse not to ferry my drunken mates about

Let us know how you get on!

[Lauren]

I just want to post times on the quarter mile around the 13 second mark. I will try and fish out a good one. I'd quite like to buy one which already has 280 bhp.

many claim it but i don't know if it's true.

Surely nothing will touch an mr2 with 280 bhp? (apart from mr2 with 290)

Can anyone tell me how much these babies weigh??

quite heavy aparently, around 1200-1250kg.
but combine, RWD, mid engined, 2 seater, equals VERY quick car.

You mean 1250kg + depending on model ranging up to 1350kg!

[sweep121]

I'm going to wait a month or two and go for a rev3. I'll get a custom exhaust. What bore is best all the way through? In my fiat I had 3 inch pipe running all the way from turbo to rear bumper. i can get a new one made up similar.

When remapping is mentioned, what is the actual process? Is it something like daztek where you buy the chip and they program it?

Am I best with a digi controller?

Basically lads.....

rev 3 mr2
custom exhaust, no miaow miaows
and 1.2 ish bar and I'll romp everyone?

what kind of quarter miles does that get? and what kind of power is at the wheels?

[GeoffC320]

Mine was knocking out 267bhp at the rear wheels last time I had it dyno'd - see my profile for the spec (similar to what you have in mind). Never run it down the strip but should be good for a mid/high 12 in the right hands (not necessarily mine!).

Geoff

[sweep121]

Geoff mate, that's what i'm looking for. That's a fair whack at the wheels for those basic mods.

Surely nothing on the road can touch that?

[Rory]

custom exhaust

I wouldnt bother with a custom exhuast if you after power gains. You would be better off buying an off the shelf exhaust made specifically for and tested for your car.

Rory

[sweep121]

What exhaust gives the best power gain and what kind of price should I budget? Have in mind i don't want some one off hks jobbie at 800 quid.

[screech]

blitz nur spec or apexi gt spec are best for power in my opinion. get a 2nd hand one for 300ish or 500-600 for brand new

[GeoffC320]

Geoff mate, that's what i'm looking for. That's a fair whack at the wheels for those basic mods.

Surely nothing on the road can touch that?

One or two clarifying points: - First time I had the car dyno'd was with most of the mods but with the original flywheel & 60k mile clutch. It was running 244bhp at the wheels - don't know how they calculated it back but was 293 at the flywheel. Shortly after I had the Helix clutch & alloy flywheel fitted which I could tell was definitely getting the power down better.

After a while my exhaust (think it was a Tanabe) started giving up the ghost & I had the new one made up by Stealth Systems in Southampton. The system was £425 + VAT and the Decat pipe was £110 + VAT. This was the fitted price including 5hrs labour taking the turbo off and redrilling all the sheared-off studs!! I reckon this weighs at least 10kgs less than the old single-exit system and god knows how much less than an original twin-exit system!

Next dyno session: only 6bhp extra at the flywheel - now seemingly limited by the stock intercooler but power transmission greatly improved with another 23bhp at the wheels (same dyno & operator as before).

As to the performance, yes it's good but currently I'm feeling a bit limited by the suspension which is now getting a bit tired after nearly 80k miles. Of course there are a few '2s on here with much more power than this, so yeah, there are quicker cars around. But if you've only got £6-8k to spend I reckon you'd have a hard time doing any better!