The Rebirth

[BigMike]

I'd take a wider torque band for playing in the hills anyday

[Sirdeuce]

Running the 294's intake advanced 6* exhaust retarded 4*, I lost top end, but gained enough on the bottom that the longer inclines didn't require a 2 gear downshift, only one. Still pulls to the rev limiter, but not the same zip as before.

[BigMike]

What do you think about the HKS 272 duration with 8.35mm lift?

HKS - p/n 2202-RT033, Using both intake and exhaust on a stock Supercharged 4AGEZ has less bottom end below 3,000, strong mid to high end power.

[Sirdeuce]

On a USDM GZ I would stay 265* or less. Split the duration between 256* in and 264* ex. Same or lower lift on the intake than exhaust. Pull great through the limiter without going beyond the capabilities of the stock fuel control. Up the boost too. I new a guy that ran WEB cams 294 grind on a JDM GZE, he seemed to like it enough.

[BigMike]

You know...

I just got back from driving to AAA to get an international drivers license, and spending time with the car how it is now, I am really torn: To modify or not. I think I will leave the car completely stock until next spring. Unlike in the past, I've learned a lot about "responsibilities". I need to save money for fall tuition and I also need to have time (and money) to work on the LeMons car. I would be happy keeping my car stock and building the LeMons car and racing that this winter :)

Even though I already have the pulleys, we've got cams and smog legal exhaust header... I know how the modification path goes, even with free parts it won't be free. I'll start pushing the limits of other things that I'll need to address.

So I think I will build the 6 speed and get that installed with a new clutch and call it good. At least for a while.

The car is really fun to drive right now, I really like it this way :) I need to shift my focus to the LeMons car, that is what I should be working on when I get back from Japan :D

[Sirdeuce]

Sounds like a plan to me. But, do you think you could find a little time in there to make an adapter for an M62 S/C? Hmmmmm? I like the way you said ain't nuthin free too.

[BigMike]

Short Update on the car

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Knowing that I need to cool the IC, especially before I up the boost, I installed a cooling fan.

I put a good deal of thought into this and then decided to just do it and if I don't like it, I can easily find a N/A engine lid to start over with

Here is what I did

1st pic: The outline
2nd pic: The cut (used a Plasma cutter)
3rd pic: Centered PERFECTLY above the IC
4th pic: Installed

[BigMike]

So some comments on this...

At first I was this was a bit over the top. When I looked at the car I didn't like the fan exposed there, but since it has greatly grown on me and I now really like it there. It is proof that the car has "something" lurking under the hood

Why did I do this?

I first decided to mount the fan on the underside of the IC and use it as a pusher. But with the fan mounted directly onto the IC, the air would cavitate and actually blow out backwards out of the fan. Also the fan was quite and didn't sound right. The SECOND you move the fan about an inch away from the IC it would suddenly change in sound and REALYL start moving some air. You could feel it well pushing through the IC.

Then I thought, well, I need to cut the hood above the IC anyway, and I wasn't sure what the best way to luver it or make it look nice (since I am not much of a body or bondo guy), and so I positioned the fan to the hood.

Benefits of mounting on the hood:
There is about 2-inch gap between the fan and the IC, so air REALLY moves
I don't have to worry about how to modify the hood since it will be cut just for the fan
The fan is round and the IC is rectangular, so with the fan mounted to the hood I can simply put rubber stripping around the perimeter of the IC that will seal with the hood, and the fan will suck air out from the entire space. This isn't possible is the round fan is mounted directly to the IC. A lot of cooling space would be lost.


So those are the main reasons why I choose to do it this way. I guess I could paint the fan white, but really I don't mind it on the hood at all. Also, I will be installing a car alarm soon, so if someone tampers with it the alarm would go off. I guess someone could take a long screw driver and jack up my IC, or they could cut the fan wires... But seriously, I am not worried about that. Ohh well, if someone does that then I probably I had it coming to me anyway

The fan is a 12" fan that is rated for 1,200 CFM at 12 volts. At 14 volts is spins even faster (logically).

[BigMike]

Update from last night, July 7th

I installed a stock side vent fan to the driver's side vent and wired it up in parallel with the IC hood fan. I provided a dedicated hot source using the factory cooling fan circuit with a larger fuse (30 amp instead of 20 amp) and routed 1 ground wire into the cab where I installed a rheostat to control the speed of both fans.

So when the key is in the ON position, there is power to the fans. The rheostat doubles as a open circuit switch in the "low" position, so there is my "off" switch. As soon as the rheostat is rotated, both fans gradually receive more and more amps and their RPM increase. One problem however is that the rheostat I am using isn't really rated for this much amperage and it gets REALLY hot unless it's in the fully on position. So basically, it's pretty much an on/off switch at the moment. I need to replace it with a higher amperage rheostat

So now I have a side fan blowing cold air beneath the IC and a top fan pulling that cold air through the IC. All I need to do now is install a rubber seal between the IC and the hood and it will be done. :D

[BigMike]

Oh, also if you look closely at the NA hood, there is a rise near each side. So what I did was cut the hood so that the fan sits flush to the lower elevation of the center section of the hood, and as the hood rises, it rises around the perimeter of the fan. So it is a really nice flush mount on about 60% of the fan and a sunken mount for the rest of the perimeter of the fan. It fits really great, I think it looks great, but I do need to repaint the hood where I cut it LOL

The fan cost just over $50 including shipping from race-mart. Here is the product link of the fan I used:
http://www.race-mart.com/items/products/proform/PRF67012-detail.htm

The stock MR2 IC measures about 12-inches by 10-inches when you include the side tanks. So the 12" fan was a good choice. A 14" fan by the same company is like 2" taller and would be absolutely hideous

[BigMike]

Hey, I have a question, does anyone know the Toyota Part Number for the Camber Crash Bolts?

The MKII MR2 Autocross FAQ lists the following:

	Toyota P/N	Size (mm)	Degrees of Change
Big size	90105-15004	13.9	+/- 0.25
Middle	90105-15005	13.3	+/- 0.50
Small	90105-15006	12.8?	+/- 0.75

If these are the right bolts, which length does the MK1 need? Thanks

[BigMike]

Spoke to Bryan earlier today, and I believe those sizes are bolt diameter, not bolt length. I am not sure if the MK2 bolts will fit the MK1, but I ordered 4 bolts and 4 nuts anyway. I'll report back with how that goes-

[BigMike]

The bolts are for a MK2 and NOT for a MK1.

I am not sure what I will do. I've been reading some forums and ppl are using other crash bolts that have a lobe (like a camshaft) but I am not sure what I will do. I am just about ready to just oval the holes on the struts to get more camber adjustment...

[Sirdeuce]

try looking at the AE82 and AE92 Corollas. The rear is adjustable with the described bolts. I had a complete set not too long ago. I believe you would have to use a sleve to downsize your bushing's hole though. You could devise a way to adapt the camber adjusters from an MR2. Or even make an adapter yourself. I believe the lower control arms are forged. Maybe develope a way to mount a Heim joint in place of the bushed end. We DO have spares you coould try cutting and welding. Western Speed and Fuel has a wide variety of Heim joints available. Cut the end off a tie rod manufactured at Marlin's and trim it to slide over the cut end of a control arm, and weld it in place. Voila, 15 degrees of camber adjustment! Might even be able to modify the front arms too.

[BigMike]

Not sure what I am going to do about my alignment yet. Kevin already gave me the go-ahead to bring my car in, but I need to get these parts in before I get it aligned...

So regarding my power problems, it got so bad that I could only do about 45 MPH on the freeway outside of Los Banos. I've driven it three times to San Jose like this and last weekend while over there I went to http://www.toyconnection4x4.com (the premier source for used Toyota 4WD Truck Parts) and I picked up two 3.4-liter V6 Tacoma/4Runner fuel pumps.... FOR FREE :D It's nice having connections

So last night I decided to drop the tank and replace the pump. When I disconnected the fuel filter line, WOW a ton of junk poured out of the filter. So now I needed a new filter. I had Bevin, bless his dear heart, drive ALL OVER TOWN at 7pm looking for a fuel filter and finally found one (he went to like 4 or 5 auto parts stores before he found one). Here is what the tank from the red S/C donor car looked like inside: