Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 19

Thread: my pocket lotus

  1. #1

    my pocket lotus

    the original plan with this car, was to prep it to SCCA solo2 STR specs ... but the universe and toyota's terrible designs had other plans. at the end of febuary, the stock 1zz-fe engine (137bhp) threw a rod bearing due to pre-cat failure in the first 16k miles of its life (when i bought it, and removed the pre-cats to prevent exactly that from happening).

    the problem with the mr2 spyder was always the anemic 1zz-fe engine, not a sophisticated engine, DOHC, but only varaible valve timing on the intake cam. with STR legal mods, your topping out at maybe 130 rwhp. a common swap into these is the 2zz-ge engine, from the celica GTS, and US-spec lotus Elise. its a slightly shorter stroke motor, but larger bore, which yes, you guessed it ... means its made for reving. however it maintains the 1.8L of the 1zz. it also has a honda style VTEC system toyota (developed by Yamaha) calls VVTL-i. the motor i swapped into this came from a celica GTS, to the tune of 180bhp (~165 rwhp). monkey wrench racing headers and a 6,000 rpm lift engagement and a redline of 8,250 rpm ... its not a bad engine. 180hp in a car with a wet weight of 2,100lbs, is really, quite lively. zero to 60 is just a tenth or two over 5 seconds.

    then i put on an addco 1 inch front anti-roll bar. megan racing street (red) series coilovers (5kf, 7kr), rear anti-roll bar delete, and some 15x8 inch 949 racing 6uls with 225/45/15 hankook RS3s on all four corners ... she is a potent little car. far superior to my porsche in handling, and almost as quick in a straight line.

    really, after all that money i didn't really want to spend on that new engine ... it really is a nice little car.

















    and my support for the local breweries:

    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  2. #2
    last year basically wheels and tires only mods, won STR in met counsel series, and got 3rd in the more competitive MOWOG series:







    and for our Halloween themed autocross, we did a team costume ... zebra MR2s:







    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  3. #3
    thought lots of folks on this forum liked cars ... hum
    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  4. #4
    Insider new ion?'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Victoria, BC
    Posts
    1,296
    I like MR2's, I think that this body is too... manga-inspired.

    Headlights too big, it kind of just has the wrong lines.

    I like that you were able to get the performance gains you did without dumping tons of money into it.

  5. #5
    Insider
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    1,182
    Quote Originally Posted by new ion? View Post
    I like that you were able to get the performance gains you did without dumping tons of money into it.
    lol, you missed the part where it's an engine swap?

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Lurker27 View Post
    lol, you missed the part where it's an engine swap?
    yeah ... dunno what hes talking about money-wise, i spent a fuck-ton more than i wanted to.

    i spent salvage title lotus money on this car ....
    Last edited by cockerpunk; 04-10-2014 at 03:12 PM.
    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  7. #7
    Insider new ion?'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Victoria, BC
    Posts
    1,296
    Yea, apparently the whole reading thing doesn't kick in till AFTER coffee does.

  8. #8
    Insider HipboyScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Montville, CT
    Posts
    134
    That's awesome. Maybe sans the zebra, I can't get into that look, though I do like the MR2 and spyders in general. But that's a cool little car, with that engine it must be a mean bastard.

    I wonder if that motor would work well with a reduction drive and a propeller on the end... might be a good solution for my P40 replica project.

  9. #9
    i did the zebra about 3 days before the event, and drove around with is zebra for about a week after ... people loved it, it was really fun.

    i work at 3M so tape ... yeah, i got that covered ....
    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  10. #10
    I had one of the earlier MR2's (I have a pic somewhere) and I loved it until I span it and barely missed really messing myself up on a wall.

    Always wanted one of the newer ones when I was in England but simply didn't fit.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •