Track car Attempt 2

mr bognor · Aug 29, 2017

So after my Ring trip this month and the track car I had built ( see below ) I just about managed to bring the Saxo VTS home but after going through a few bits and weighing up all options i have had a change of plans and now the Saxo is up for sale .

http://www.cliosport.net/threads/saxo-vts-as-a-track-car.803723/

So here we go again

On Saturday I picked up the Saxo VTS replacement .

It’s a MK3 MR2 facelift that had the 6 speed gear box and does not suffer the engine problems like the first ones pre 2003 .

The car is in great condition with no to very little rust under the car and divers very well indeed .

I was looking at an MX5 but the problems with rust have just put me off and I like the MR2 better ( I did run a MR2 REV 3 Turbo )

WP_20170826_15_09_30_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20170828_19_26_42_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20170828_19_27_13_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr]

WP_20170828_19_29_36_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

The plan is to build it up ready for next year where we will be going to the Ring again but will look to take in some UK track days as well .

Plans are Suspension coilovers , ARB , tyres , brakes , exhaust , induction , bracing and any other things .

The T sport 190 BHP engine swap is said to be easy so I might look in to that later .

The car is 975 KG in stock form so I plan to get this down to around 930 KG

The car is now sat in the garage and will be until the new year but first thing done is a Mat performance chassis brace .

V__DA93[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Christopher · Aug 29, 2017

Decent. Helped one of my mates with parts of the 2ZZ swap a few months ago.

Akay · Aug 29, 2017

Love these. Common for rust?

mr bognor · Aug 29, 2017

Christopher said:
Decent. Helped one of my mates with parts of the 2ZZ swap a few months ago.

Is it as easy as they say ?

Akay said:
Love these. Common for rust?

No I was looking at MX5 but they rust a lot .

Detail Chris · Aug 29, 2017

Ooh interesting, especially with the 190 engine! Subscribed

mr bognor · Aug 30, 2017

I will look to run the 140 engine first to see how I get on with that and a low weight but might be tempted to stick the 190 engine in sooner

Detail Chris said:
Ooh interesting, especially with the 190 engine! Subscribed

brohoward71 · Aug 30, 2017

Link to saxo sale thread ?

Christopher · Aug 30, 2017

mr bognor said:
Is it as easy as they say ?

Drops straight in. You'll need the ECU from the new engine, which sits just behind the passenger's head in the cabin.

mr bognor · Aug 31, 2017

brohoward71 said:
Link to saxo sale thread ?

It's sold now

Christopher said:
Drops straight in. You'll need the ECU from the new engine, which sits just behind the passenger's head in the cabin.

Ok sounds easy ish I will have to have a look in to this

mr bognor · Sep 15, 2017

Just a small outlook plan of what will be going on the car in the coming months .

ENGINE

PPE INDUCTION KIT
NGK SPARK PLUGS
DOWN PIPE 100 CELL SPORTS CAT
BG 44K
FORTE ENGINE FLUSH
4-2-1 MANIFOLD
O2 SENSOR SPACER X 3
O2 SENSOR PRE CAT X 2
O2 SENSOR POST CAT
EPSF POWER STEERING FLUID
COBRA EXHAUST SYSTEM

GEARBOX

GEARBOX OIL
BRASS SOLID SHIFT BUSH
SOLID SHIFTER BASE BUSH
CC LIGHTWEIGHT FLY WHEEL 4.5 KG
CLUTCH KIT
QUICK SHIFTER

COOLING

MISHMOTO 3 CORE RADIATOR
MOTUL COOL

SUSPENSION

BC RACING BR ADJ COILOVERS
WHITELINE FARB
WHITELINE RARB
ULTRA RACING REAR ENGINE X BRACE
ULTRA RACING FRONT STRUT BRACE
FRONT FROP LINK
REAR ADJ HD DROP LINKS
NANKANG NS-2R TRACK TYRES
MATT PERFORMANCE CHASSIS BRACE

BRAKES

GOODRIDGE BRAKE LINES
MOTUL RBF 600 RACE BRAKE FLUID
CL RC6+ FRONT BRAKE PADS
CL RC5+ REAR BRAKE PADS

WEIGHT REDUCTION

SPEAR WHEEL 12KG

SPAR WHEEL BIN AND LID 5KG

TOOL KIT 3KG

REAR STORAGE BINS 6KG

FLOOR MATS 2KG

WIND DEFLECTOR 1KG

EXHAUST HEAT SHIELD 1KG

EXHAUST SPLASH BOTTOM SHIELD 1KG

FOG LIGHTS 1KG

OLD EXHAUST MANIFOLD WITH PRE CATS 3KG

MANIFOLD HEAT SHIELD 1KG

OLD STOCK CAT AND DOWN PIPE 4KG

OLD EXHAUST SYSTEM 4KG

REAR STORAGE SOUND COVER 2KG

AREIL 2KG

SOUND TAR 3KG

ECU PLATE 1KG

STUFFING FOOT WELL 1KG

TOTAL WEIGHT REMOVED 53KG

mr bognor · Sep 18, 2017

At the weekend work has started on the MR2 .

Fist things done have been to strip the car of some weight so removed has been the below

Wind deflector

Front storage trunk

Front mats

Sound carpet

Pop up aerial

Fog lights

Mud guards

Storage bins and doors

Sound Tar stuff

Spear wheel

Tool kit

Jack

Exhaust Heat shield

Other plastic / metal bits and bobs

With this little lit removed I make it 35 Kg taken out of the car so with the stock weight at 975 Kg the car is now at around 940 Kg .

And a few photos of the work done .

WP_20170917_13_29_32_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20170916_12_43_59_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20170916_12_44_56_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20170917_13_31_08_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

mr bognor · Sep 25, 2017

Very small update

The car is now up on axel stands and wheels off so I can start removing and fitting parts .

The only thing done other was a change of the old spark plugs .

WP_20170923_14_59_19_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

I have a fair few bits coming this week exhaust , manifold , Mishmoto radiator that I will look to install next weekend .

mr bognor · Oct 2, 2017

At the weekend I cracked on with some more work on the MR2 .

To gain access to the exhaust and other bits I removed the rear bumper to free up some room .

WP_20170930_12_59_40_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Then removed the manifold , cat and exhaust system .

WP_20170930_16_34_13_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Old exhaust and manifold .

WP_20170930_16_35_34_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20170930_16_35_57_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

The problem with the pre cat manifold is that the cat structure can break down and be sucked back in to the engine causing damage so it was good to see they are all in tact .

WP_20170930_16_36_31_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

And to finish off I removed the MAP sensor and gave it a clean .

WP_20171001_16_13_21_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

mr bognor · Oct 9, 2017

Another little update

I installed my PPE induction intake that I got from the USA that sits behind the battery where the side air scoop is .

WP_20171007_12_55_53_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171007_12_56_04_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Then I change the shifter bush to solid brass units .

WP_20171007_13_08_45_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Old OEM rubber and new brass unit

WP_20171007_13_09_56_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171007_13_10_08_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Installed

WP_20171007_13_17_47_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Then I fitted a front Ultra Racing strut brace

WP_20171007_14_34_18_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171007_14_34_26_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Then to finish off I remover the old rear ARB and drop links .

WP_20171007_15_12_46_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171007_15_12_52_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

There is still loads to do but we are off and running .

Goodj · Oct 9, 2017

Buys car
Ploughs effort and money into car to make "track car"
Does 1 track day
SOLD
Starts all over again

Standard CS practice

Dont forget to check the lift bolts on the 190 engine, else you've got a 120 engine

mr bognor · Oct 9, 2017

That is pretty much bang on and also the G/F asking why we now need a new track car

Im going to use the 140 BHP motor for a bit first then look to swap this out for the 2ZZ unit later .

Alan

Goodj said:
Buys car
Ploughs effort and money into car to make "track car"
Does 1 track day
SOLD
Starts all over again

Standard CS practice

Dont forget to check the lift bolts on the 190 engine, else you've got a 120 engine :wink:

Goodj · Oct 9, 2017

You may find these guys useful.

https://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/tech-mr2-s-2zz-swap/

There may be a few more parts to it that you thought, although they can mostly be scavenged from a Celica

Akay · Oct 9, 2017

Goodj said:
Buys car
Ploughs effort and money into car to make "track car"
Does 1 track day
SOLD
Starts all over again

Standard CS practice

Dont forget to check the lift bolts on the 190 engine, else you've got a 120 engine :wink:

So true, Ive spent £££ on mine and now want to get something else that I can use more regularly without feeling like a t**t... one of these is on the list!

Goodj · Oct 9, 2017

Akay said:
So true, Ive spent £££ on mine and now want to get something else that I can use more regularly without feeling like a t**t... one of these is on the list!

Just buy a car and don't pour money into "improvements" :up:

mr bognor · Oct 9, 2017

Yes I had been looking at that and got the shift bush and PPE induction from them .

Goodj said:
You may find these guys useful.

https://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/tech-mr2-s-2zz-swap/

There may be a few more parts to it that you thought, although they can mostly be scavenged from a Celica

mr bognor · Oct 16, 2017

I got some more things done on the MR2 at the weekend .

I rubbed down and sprayed up the rear sub frame in black stone chip .

WP_20171015_16_32_33_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171015_16_32_39_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

The it was on to install the short shifter with solid shifter bush .

Removed the cover and disconnected the shifter .

WP_20171014_14_12_14_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Old and new shifter

WP_20171014_15_01_53_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171014_15_02_05_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Old warn rubber bush and new solid bush

WP_20171014_15_33_21_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Installed and re greased

WP_20171014_15_33_32_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Installed and working very well with a nice solid short shift action

WP_20171014_16_39_29_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

I won a Toyosports manifold on bay so gave it a bit of a clean and will heat wrap it before installing .

WP_20171014_10_55_52_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171014_10_55_46_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171014_10_55_32_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

And to finish up I installed the battery back in the car that sits just in front of the PPE induction .

WP_20171015_16_46_31_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

mr bognor · Oct 30, 2017

A few more updates done at the weekend .

Rear Whiteline ARB installed with new bush .

WP_20171028_12_53_49_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171028_12_54_05_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Thicker new vs old .

WP_20171028_13_05_50_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

HD drop links .

WP_20171028_13_25_05_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

And installed .

WP_20171028_13_30_30_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Manifold all heat wrapped and O2 spacers installed

WP_20171028_12_23_20_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171028_17_30_04_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Cobra exhaust ready to be installed .

WP_20171028_15_16_54_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

And installed .

WP_20171028_17_29_49_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Djw Dave · Oct 31, 2017

Good progress mate.

mr bognor · Nov 2, 2017

Small update

I replaced the O ring on the chain tensioner to stop a small oil leek I have had .

WP_20171021_16_34_18_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171021_16_34_22_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

mr bognor · Nov 6, 2017

At the weekend I finished off all the bits I was planning to do before the end of the year for its stage 1 before I put the car back on the road and do my first track day in it .

Rear bumper back on

WP_20171104_13_49_34_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171104_13_49_28_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Rear strut brace installed

WP_20171104_12_43_43_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171104_13_28_58_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171104_13_29_08_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

New TRD gear knob

WP_20171104_14_13_33_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Oil and fuel system cleaner

WP_20171104_14_13_09_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Front thicker whiteline ARB old vs new

WP_20171104_14_54_22_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171104_14_54_27_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171104_14_54_32_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

New front drop links with Super pro upgraded bush

WP_20171104_15_20_41_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

And installed

WP_20171104_15_33_18_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

This is now it for the stage one of upgrades so I will see how we get on at the track and then look to install stage 2 parts that will really help the car out on track .

Full list of stage 1

Front strut brace
Rear strut brace
Front whiteline ARB
Front upgraded drop links
Rear whiteline ARB
Rear upgraded drop links
Solid shifter bush
Short shifter
Solid shifter bace bush
PPE cold air induction kit
Toyosports 4-2-1 manifold
Cobra quad exhaust
Matt performance under chassis brace
42 Kg weight removed from car
Engine service oil , fuel cleaner new plugs

The car has good tread on its Continental premium contact tyres and the brakes have lots meat on the stock pads and discs .
The suspension looks ok but again is stock and has done a fair few miles .

mr bognor · Nov 13, 2017

At the weekend I did some final bits to put the car on the road .

Oli and filter change .

WP_20171111_14_02_33_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Small key ring even tho there is no TRD stuff on the car ( bar the gear knob )

WP_20171111_17_32_14_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Then a quick wash and clean up .

WP_20171112_12_54_26_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

WP_20171112_12_54_26_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

And one with my road car .

WP_20171112_12_55_06_Pro[1] by Alan Kaveney, on Flickr

Gave the car a drive up the road to check everything and there is good and bad news .

Good the car driver and feels really good and tight and I know will be great fun on track even with only a few upgrades on the car .

Bad the clutch is now slipping and will need changing before I can drive the car again but this does give me a good excuse to fit a light weight flywheel .

mr bognor · Mar 28, 2018

So after the winter I’m now looking to get the car up and running and on the road and ready for its first track day that I have booked for Brands Hatch on the 16/05/18 .

With this in mind and wanting to do 3 / 4 other UK track days like Thruxton before my annual trip to the Nurburgring in August the car is half complete and I’m after what will be better to fit first for the first track day .

I need to get the new clutch and light weight flywheel fitted and then MOT , TAX and insurance but that will leave me short of cash and time to get the other bits done that are the below .

Brake pads , fluid lines discs

Coilovers

Track tyres ADO8R

So out of the three what will be better as I think Im going to struggle to get all of them done before the 16/05/18 .

Thanks

Coops Mk1 · Mar 28, 2018

brake and tyres first imo

JB21 · Mar 28, 2018

Looking good. Currently looking at the Celica 190 as a track project and never thought of one of these. My first mod would be a decent roll bar though.

Ian_182 · Mar 28, 2018

I still think these look good. I remember driving one years ago, a mates mrs had one and he took us out in it and it was a blast.
Handled really well.
Good luck with the upgrades.

Ex-User (19928) · Mar 28, 2018

Honestly wouldn't bother with the 2ZZ based on anecdotes I've heard. It's not worth the money. Far better to buy a car that's already been fixed but broken the owners spirit as a result.

If you like chasing problems then sure, buy a Celica and do it yourself, but if you're doing it as a fit and forget job it becomes more expensive than an entry turbo setup (which would be faster and probably more fun).

I took my MR2 to Brands, it had PS3s on and performed brillianly, not a single issue. Enjoy!

Do a weight saving regime first, you can extract a surprising amount of weight, soft-top is very heavy if you can source a hardtop to use instead. I've seen people get about 160hp from the 1zz with cams and remap FWIW also.

imprezaworks · Mar 28, 2018

Drive spot on as standard.

mr bognor · Mar 29, 2018

Coops Mk1 said:
brake and tyres first imo

This is what im thinking .

JB21 said:
Looking good. Currently looking at the Celica 190 as a track project and never thought of one of these. My first mod would be a decent roll bar though.

Will be on the list but not yet

ian 182 said:
I still think these look good. I remember driving one years ago, a mates mrs had one and he took us out in it and it was a blast.
Handled really well.
Good luck with the upgrades.

They do feel very light and pointy so im excited to see how it gets on .

Jeff simply said:
Honestly wouldn't bother with the 2ZZ based on anecdotes I've heard. It's not worth the money. Far better to buy a car that's already been fixed but broken the owners spirit as a result.

If you like chasing problems then sure, buy a Celica and do it yourself, but if you're doing it as a fit and forget job it becomes more expensive than an entry turbo setup (which would be faster and probably more fun).

I took my MR2 to Brands, it had PS3s on and performed brillianly, not a single issue. Enjoy!

Do a weight saving regime first, you can extract a surprising amount of weight, soft-top is very heavy if you can source a hardtop to use instead. I've seen people get about 160hp from the 1zz with cams and remap FWIW also.

Ok I have read that the engine swap is not to hard but then problem come after that .

I have already removed the below weight so the car should be around the 900 Kg mark .

SPEAR WHEEL 12KG
SPAR WHEEL BIN AND LID 5KG
TOOL KIT 3KG
REAR STORAGE BINS 6KG
FLOOR MATS 2KG
WIND DEFLECTOR 1KG
EXHAUST HEAT SHIELD 1KG
EXHAUST SPLASH BOTTOM SHIELD 1KG
FOG LIGHTS 1KG
OLD EXHAUST MANIFOLD WITH PRE CATS 3KG
MANIFOLD HEAT SHIELD 1KG
OLD STOCK CAT AND DOWN PIPE 4KG
OLD EXHAUST SYSTEM 4KG
REAR STORAGE SOUND COVER 2KG
AREIL 2KG
SOUND TAR 3KG
ECU PLATE 1KG
STUFFING FOOT WELL 1KG
MANIFOLD BRACKET 3KG
STRUT BRACE PLATES F / R 1KG
REAR BUMPER BARS 1KG
DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIR BAG 7KG
LIGHTWEIGHT FLYWHEEL 5KG
SPORTS CAT 4KG

TOTAL WEIGHT REMOVED 74KG

imprezaworks said:
Drive spot on as standard.

Have you had one in the past mate ?

Any tips ?

imprezaworks · Mar 29, 2018

Only driven a couple years ago when they came in part ex mate

mr bognor · Mar 29, 2018

What did you think of them then ?

imprezaworks said:
Only driven a couple years ago when they came in part ex mate

imprezaworks · Mar 29, 2018

Yeah good mate, kind of reminded me of an mr2 which I owned and loved.

Mr2 feels light on your feet, underrated car. No record breakers but fun.

mr bognor · Apr 3, 2018

So after 5 months of the car sitting in the garage under a cover I at the weekend started to crack on again and fit a few bits .

First up was a Mishimoto aluminium radiator that I have had sitting in the shed for months ready to fit .

Old stock rad vs the new Mishimoto unit that is 3 times bigger and will keep the car cool on track not that the stock rad is that bad .

Stock fan attached to the new rad

And installed . I did have to cut the slam panel so the new bigger unit would fit in .

Then some new coolant and bleeding of the system .

I gave the soft top hood a good clean and a new wear proof coating with some Renovo .

Then some flat blade wiper blades to finish off .

mr bognor · Apr 9, 2018

Got a few more bits done over the weekend .

First was to change out the old power electric steering fluid that was looking a bit old and dirty .

Old fluid .

New Ravenol fluid .

Then on to some more weight saving so out came the alarm siren .

Then the charcoal filter came out replaced with some fuel pipe .

Then to just tidy up the rear a bit as I don’t like the big MR2 badge so this got removed .

The clutch started slipping at the end of last year so a new LUK unit will be installed .

As I’m doing the clutch a competition clutch light weight flywheel will be installed and is 4.5 Kg ( stock flywheel is 7.5 Kg )

And then some new MT-90 gearbox oil .

Next up will be getting the car back on the road so MOT tax and insurance before Brands Hatch .

Goodj · Apr 9, 2018

Flywheel will be the best mod you do :up:

mr bognor · Apr 9, 2018

Goodj said:
Flywheel will be the best mod you do :up:

I do read this a lot and with sticking with the 1ZZ engine this year it will help make the best of what its got .

I have never had a light weight flywheel so im I correct in saying that it will make the revs go up and down quicker ( like 3 gear feeling like second with regards to how quick it revs with a light weight flywheel )

Have you had one on a car before ?

Track car Attempt 2

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