91 MR2 Turbo eh?

Check out back issues of Sport Compact Car for the project MR-2. They did 15 or 16 articles and got over 500 hp (on racing fuel) out of it. great set of articles. And check out MR2.com. Great site.

I got a 93 turbo that I am planning on taking to about 400 HP this winter, so I'll keep you posted on my progress. I still have a lot of decisions to make, but I will bore it out to 2.2 liter, put in a new fuel rail, Supra fuel injectors, and increase the hell out of the boost. This will also require a new ECU unit, metal head gasket, etc...

To get started, forget about a muffler. Just run a pipe out the back. I had the Midas on 17 at Fort Eustis Blvd just cut off the muffler and run a steel pipe to the back. The dual exhaust on the muffler is just for looks, the min back pressure is set by diameter of the exhaust system out of the engine. Any muffler will simply increase the back pressure, reducing performance. (Just leave the catalytic converter alone if you want to stay street legal). And the engine sounds really good without it. I can prove it to you!

Check out the TRD catalog for parts, and see what HKS has to offer. HKS has a lot of bolt on stuff to apply in stages. I have read that HKS mufflers are crap, or at least those for the MR2 were a few years ago.

Now a word of caution from a 10 year MR2 owner and old fart.

91 and 92 MR-2 are quite tail happy. In 93, Toyota redesigned the rear suspension, lowered the car by an inch, and gave it bigger tires. It helped a lot, but I have learned to still respect the hell out of the car with stock 200HP!. Once a mid engined car starts to loose it, it's low polar moment of inertia makes it a handfull to get back under control. So before you become a red splat on a tree somewhere, I would recomend a few things.

1. Get to some autocrosses. See if they have practice days, then you can really concnetratye on just you and your car. Feel out the limits of the car under controlled situations.

2. Get the suspension upgraded with TRD parts (don't forget those steel lined brakes hoses).

3. Once your comfortable with the car, start the serious power upgrades.

Treat the car well, and it will be your best friend.