Recently dynoed my baby. She put down 200 HP @ 6,950 RPM and 173 TQ @ 4,750 RPM to the wheels. Check it out!

Random picture of my MR2 parked alongside my wife's Yaris SE. March 22, 2016.

Hello Toyota 4A Enthusiasts world-wide! It's been nearly 10 years since I've updated my front page and I'd just like to say that my same MR2 is alive and doing very well, still serving as my Daily Driver even after 15 years of ownership!

Currently she has gone Panda and enjoys a C.A.R.B.-approved smog-legal USDM 4A-GZE Engine Conversion along with a 6-speed hybrid transaxle (C60 internals). I still have my old SC14-powered Stage 2.5 engine (more info) but it spends its days retired indefinitely atop a piece of wood in my garage.

I've since installed a Forum and started a sort-of Revival thread for all-things related to the recent happenings with my MR2. So without further ado, please click here to see what I've been up to, and Happy Boost'n! -BigMike

CCORC's Annual "Buck Naked Ride", Henley Lake, CA, Jan 1, 2014

Hello friends! Alot has happened during my spring break and I've made huge advancements since then. However, I took a wonderful 4 day vacation with my girlfriend to San Francisco and we had a great time together

Well enough with what's being going on, and lets get to what's really been going on! I won't bore everyone with any long details as I will cover everything once I get the engine running.... So without any further adue, let's see some pictures!! Since this page is getting way to long, I'll be using thumbnails. Just click on the pics for a bigger high resolution shot!

This page is really getting to long and I don't like how the navigation is with this layout, so I will redesign this entire site soon.
Specifically using PHP, MySQL, and SSI scripting (hint: integrated bbs). But of course my engine is my #1 priority so you dialup users - like me - will have to suffer with all of these pictures until then.

Click to see more info on White

So here is my plan: Monday night I will shape in the curves and peaks of the two manifolds and gasket designs. Then on Wednesday night I will drill the holes and tap the threads. Then on Thursday night I will begin working on the 4 main ports. This will take the most time and effort. I already have the dimensions for the design of the intake runners, but I am thinking about having Tim from "Kerber Performance Porting" finish it up for me because I want this engine built ASAP and I still have to set up my ported cylinder head and get it on the engine...
Hopefully in 7 days from now (next weekend) I will have everything finished except for the finalized work on the intake runners (porting/polishing). Then I can let Tim have it for a week or so while I start working on the engine. Now once I get the engine finished, I still have to pull the JDM system off my Smog engine and transfer the whole system to White. So I'm sure it will be another month before I actually get this engine running.

** Update [3.7.4] ** Yesterday was the first day that I could rest 100% of my body weight on my left foot through the heel, and today is the first day that I can barley walk slowly. So this is great news. I am hopeing to return to work as soon as Wednesday night!!

   Well it looks like I won't be working on my engine for about a week now...

    On Thursday night, in a winning effort, our Basket Ball team closed regular season play with me going down just before the half. I badly fractured my left foot's fifth metatarsal bone. This bone is the major link between my left pinky toe and my heal (see the chart on the left). An X-Ray taken on Friday shows a transversal fracture that is ALMOST completely broken. I got very lucky.

   So what exactly happened? Well as I was going up to get the rebound, I got pushed laterally and landed at an angle to my left. The only way to touch the ground was on the very side corner of my left foot, and that little bone couldn't take the load.

   The Doc said I will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. So I figure 4 or 5 days before I can start walking again and get back to work on my Manifold. DAMMIT. Well, it's ok because I've got alot of homework right now and I've got a hard Physics test on Tuesday so now my car can't interfere with my school agenda. Good and Bad at the same time I guess...

White is finally under progress. I have extracted both flanges from the 20-valve intake manifold (top) and the red hat small port JDM intake 16-valve manifold (bottom). I have drawn up some rather elaborate spec sheets and I have set dimensions on my Billet Block. I will make the large outter dimensional cuts tomorrow and then work on the smaller dimensions this Sunday. If I can get the entire block ready to be bored (four ports) by the close of this weekend then I will be satisified. Also, since I have decided that I am not going to rebuild my Super Charger for some time now, I might as well use my professional "Kerber Ported" JDM small port cylinder head that I have had in my closet for almost one year now on White. In addition to the professional grade port, polish, and dome modifications, it has already recieved a 3 angle valve job, surfaced, and Ceramic coating on the dome and valve bottoms. So I have decided to aquire a TRD Metal Headgasket (even though I can't stand TuRD of USA) and replace all 10 head bolts with new factory bolts. So with the crank scrapper and new cylinder head, I am expecting this engine to get me some great gas mileage in addition to screaming NA power. I figure if I am going to build my first NA Race engine, then I might as well GO ALL OUT. More to come Sunday Night....

Hello to the 4A-G community. Well I've really been struggling with this manifold / adapter. In the past two months I've bounced my plans around to a hand full of machine shops. Unfortunately, the cost to produce the first and second manifold will be in the magnitude of 1,000 each. The only reasonable quote I received was $1,400 for the first two adapters. So, left with no choice and the fact that I have had White since Dec. 14th of last year, I'VE GOTTA TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS!!

Say Hello to my new Friend!

This 30-pound (13.6 kg) 3" x 5" x 20" chunk of solid Billet Aluminum will soon be transformed into a custom 20-valve manifold to 16-valve intake cylinder head. Doing the dirty work will be a vertical mill press at my work and an end mill. The table is adjustable and I've also got a turn (degree) table, so after 2 months of no progress IT'S FINALLY GO TIME! I figure it will take me about a week to get it cut up -- working in the evenings in between school and studding -- and another week to finish the porting and polishing.
And you can be assured that as in usual BigMike format, I will post many pictures and updates of my project and will be excited to get my car pushing 160 Normally Aspirated Horse Power!

I've added a new descriptive Photo Gallery online that showcase my car on various roads about beautiful California. Please have a look by clicking on the main picture at the top, or by simply clicking here.

Here is my newest Engine. It is a JDM "Red Hat" featuring 10.5:1 compression pistons, oil squirters, and GZE bottom end components on a 7 rib block. This is just the kind of engine my side draft throttle bodies need. I am code naming this engine "White". I hope to have it running before February and will be looking forward to its estimated 150-155 HP output. This should put me in the 1.8L VTEC neighborhood and should take RSX'es up to about 60 MPH. I will be happy considering its a Normally Aspirated engine... This will be the first NA engine I have ever built in attempt to turn over some sort of power output. The main excitement behind White will be the 20 valve intake throttle bodies, JDM MAP harness and ECU, APEX'i Super AFC, TED Exhaust Header, intake web cam 294, Nology Hot core wires, BigMike™ Cam Gears, yadda yadda...

Now I will spend my days fabricating a new manifold that will hold the four individual throttle bodies and mount directly to the small port JDM head...............AND THEN IT'S GO TIME!

It's here, It's here!!

Well it's almost here. I'm sure you know what this is. I've ordered it through a contact in Japan. Well, actually I got it back in summer but I've been unable to get it mailed to me until recent. Of course I couldn't use it anyways with the US AFM system, but now that I've got the MAP going, the time has come! And I'm thinking about getting a Red-hat engine from Watanabe as soon as I can and building a decent NA engine. Maybe 160 HP sounds good to me. 10.5:1 Comp, JAP-spec MAP EFI system, my webcam and those throttle bodies. Hello and Goodbye V-TECs. I can show you how old technology can out do ya!

Well it will be a while though. Probably 3 weeks to get it mailed to me, and I'll need that time to raise money for the new engine anyways.

Here is a short Video that I took of my Smog Engine Idling away. A couple fly-bys of the engine bay and one of the hissing intake.

You know I've always wanted to do this....

When I got my MAP-based Smog Engine up and running I sent some pictures to my friend in Wyoming. He recommended that I remove the god-forsaken throttle linkage or paint it black. Well, Lyu and I have been looking into getting that thing moved for some time now but I just haven't had the time lately. Well this last Saturday I got some time and decided I would take care of it. I got rid of the ugly AFM box so why stop there? Good by throttle linkage!

It was extremely easy to do for two reasons. Reason #1: I removed my cruiser control many years ago, and reason #2: I needed a throttle piece that has a larger diameter than the MR2's and I happened to have one from my HIPSI engine that fits perfectly. At first I just modified the stock throttle piece, cut off the unneeded limbs such as one for a spring that I don't use and another for the throttle linkage rod. I then flipped it upside down, drilled out the hole to fit my MR2's throttle cable end, and installed it. I thought to myself, this is so easy... But when I stepped on the pedal from the cab to test it, it only went down about half way and the throttle was wide open. I compared the throttle moon to the moon on the linkage/bracket and sure enough, it has a much smaller OD which means shorter leverage which means less pull to open the throttle. So I thought for a second and remembered that my Supercharger came with a throttle piece who's moon was just the right size. So I pulled it off of HIPSI Stage 2.5 and put it on my Smog Engine. Perfect fit, works great.

It sure cleaned up my engine bay quite a lot and I am very pleased that I made the change.

Smog Engine Gets a Face Lift and then some!

Sometime after nearly ten months of driving around with a sock US-Spec 4A-GE engine I realized that I have a complete Japanese-Spec MAP-based, Twin Coil, Distrubitorless EFI System sitting in my garage. Yes you may have guessed it, I converted my entire EFI system over to my Supercharged system. Hello Power! I used to Enjoy listening to the TVIS open up and now I can't figure out why Toyota even designed it?! I have more power accross the board than my AFM American-Spec TVIS system could ever dream of having. Even from an idle this system pulls like the TVIS did in its power band, except now I don't have to wait for that band to come. Very borad power band. I've now got it right off the get-go.

I love to see that intake pipe there where the AFM used to be. It makes me feel warm all over. A careful eye should be able to notice that I've got a foreign item probed into my intake system. Water Injection is my best friend. I figure since water-injection and I have become such great friends from HIPSI that I couldn't resist. I've actually been using the Water/Alcohol Injection for about two months now. The intake chills so much that water beeds on the outside as the warm air nearby condenses! It is truely amazing.

It pulls very well. I'm estimating the power to be around 135 HP at the crank. I'm making almost 5 MPG more and it cruises 80 MPH with only 15% throttle (data from Super AFC computer). I should have done this immediately right after I got the dang thing smogged. And I thought it was quick for a stock MR2. HA HAHA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA!! TVIS is crap.

You must be asking your self, so what is up with my Supercharged Engine?
Well it's a long long story.....
After the death of my Stage 1 Engine, I waited one year and then rebuilt it birthing the Powerful Stage 2.0 Engine.
This Engine received a lot of exposure and was quickly sought after from the MR2 community (http://board.mr2faq.com).

Rebirth, 270 HP (16.5 psi) 4A-GZE

I had extremely high hopes and expectations from this engine and it was sure to be my marquee build at number 2.0. It's power output was never dynoed, but I firmly believe it to be around 270 HP at the crank. The only real description and build/installation specs that I put up on the internet were limited to a single thread at the MR2 community. It's a 5 page thread with questions & answers to my first rebuild engine. I have mirrored a copy of it and can be found by clicking through the picture above. Please have a look.

So how's that Engine doing? Well here's where the story begins.. The engine ran beautifully for a total of approx. 6 months when I blew the TRD metal head gasket. After that I redesigned the intercooler system after GREAT success with a single water injection setup. This redesigned intake system would advance my engines potential and it is hence refered to as my new Stage 2.5 Engine.

Stage 2.5: 280 HP @ 17.5PSI

This was the Engine that would end all Engines. I ran a custom two-step water injection system and eliminated the bulky and restrictive intercooler. Boost output went up almost 2 PSI, peaked sooner, and it pulled much harder. I estimate the power output to be somewhere around 280 HP although it was most likely much higher. I had many plans to dyno tune and track test Stage 2.5, but what you are about to read both devastated my engine and my spirit.

The failure of the headgasket can only be linked to me. I only retorqued it one time. But this should be ok, right? Just a simple head gasket, no biggie... So I figure, why not up grade to ARP Head Bolts while I'm at it....and here's where everything went wrong. It turns out that the ARP block studs are a bit taller than the stock head bolts and I did not realize this. The #1 stud on the exhaust side that resides just below the distributor gear was interfering with the dissy. I didn't even notice this and once I got it installed and got the timing set, I just tightened the dissy down and drove home. It lasted for about 2 weeks. A faint knocking noise got louder and louder. I was very confused and I even rechecked my valve clearances a couple days before discovering the problem. The interference was so bad that the dissy gear was forced sideways and the teeth on both the dissy and the exhaust cam were badly worn out. Metal from that and from the dissy contacting the head stud circulated all throughout my engine and that was

the end of her. I pulled HIPSI Stage 2.5 out in January of 2003 and retired it. It currently resides on a block of wood in my shop - complete - waiting to breath fire again. It still runs, idles, and revs, but everything was wasted from the metal and I will not risk futhure damage so I have sidelined it.

I did have to smog my car in February so the timing couldn't have been better. I've been driving my Smog Engine around ever since. It sure as hell ain't no Supercharger, but it gets by. I had plans for Summer of 2003 to start on HIPSI Stage 3, but financial issues have pushed my plans most likely all the way into Summer of 2004.. And in case your wondering, yes I already know how I will build Stage 3 and my goal is very simple: 350 HP at the crank. Far fetched? Just wait. I have been sitting quietly in the shadows for some time. I don't go around bragging about my engine - because its not built yet. This is the only claim I will make until I can prove it with a dyno sheet. Remember, Stage 2 and 2.5 both were knocking on 300 HP with stock cams and never dynoed tuned.

Summer of 2004... Only time will tell, yes, only time.

Welcome to the new index page for my 1987 Toyota MR2. This is the predecessor to the famous "Super Charger Registry Page" I scripted almost 3 years ago back in 2000.

I finally have made for myself a portal to place updates, news, and pictures of my car!
There isn't really much to say right now so I will leave on the note of a new page birth for my MR2. Cheers!