Fitting 5

I fitted the HKS EVC today, the only thing i didnt do was to remove the T-VIS. so the boost is still running at stock levels. i will do that tomorrow either at the rolling road or before :)

Fitting 4

Using my friends nice new garage, we fitted the Apexi AFC Neo, which was tricky, but simple. even thought i messed up by cutting the wrong wire.

Seems to work, i just need to know how to use it. i guess i need an Air Fuel Mix gauge??

Fitting 3

The bracket went on and it was all good :)

Exhuast sounds great and the car holds boost :)

Fitting 2

Ok, so today we took off the old exhaust and downpipe and fitted the new one and also fitted the piping for the intercooler.

The hardest part was getting all the heat shields off so that we could get the down pipe off. Once done, it was farly easy to remove the very heavy downpipe.

The new stuff went on very easily, and we had to fabricate a bracket to attach the back box... this will be fitted on monday.

Fitting 1

Ok, so today i decided to fit my intercooler, exhaust and catch can... well we started with the exhaust, but needed a socket, so whilst we were waiting for that to turn up we got on with the intercooler. it took about 4 hours to get the old one out and get the other one in place. its not quite done yet :( i had to leave my car in my mates drive. so first thing tomorrow, back on with the job :)

Oil catch can

i bought an oil catch can from ebay.. its red and should do the job of keeping the oil out of the intake. i just need to find a bung.

Deliveries 4

Ok, last night i got a bit annoyed that none of the stuff that i paid next day delivery for and took a week off to make sure i was in for had turned up. so i started emailing people

SBits / TwosRus

• KO R1 Exhaust
• Goodridge Stainless Brake hoses
• Brake fluid
• Piston Windback tool

JDM Trade (ebay)

• Apexi AFC Neo

GTS Chris

• Intercooler shroud
• Intercooler fan
• Downpipe bracket

So i emailed all the sellers, and today my Apexi AFC turned up :) it was just taking its time in Royal Mail. I was called by SBits regarding my order, and they messed up on the website meaning that it said it was in stock, but it wasnt, so i will have to wait until next week. BUT they are giving me upgraded braided brake hoses :)

So im feeling a bit better about it all now. (Although im still wating for my Xbox360 back from Microsoft, but that should turn up today.... i am itching to play Forza2 again)

Just in: my order from GTS-Chris just arrived!

I am tempted to take my car up to CC Styling on Monday, to get the work done, as im not going to be able to do anything on my car until next Thursday anyway.

Now the question is.... do i try and fit my Apexi AFC, its very simple looking, the only problem i have is that the ECU is in the boot and im not convinced that the cable supplied is long enough... ill get on the forums.

Bumper Fix

Today, I went to CC Styling in Peterborough to see what they could do with my cracked bumper. I was quoted £300 to get it completely fixed and painted. The only problem is that the undertray is missing, and the wheel arches are falling down. The guy suggested making an F1 style barge board, but i would prefer a carbon fibre splitter. I found one at Carbon Mods, but its rather expensive.

Deliveries 3

Hmmm nothing turned up today, bit gutted really. im waiting for:

• Apexi SAFC Neo
• Intercooler shroud
• Intercooler fan
• Downpipe bracket
• KO R1 exhaust
• Goodridge braided brake hoses

im guessing they are all going to turn up tomorrow when i am out at MPH in Birmingham... nevermind, ill get them eventually.

Deliveries 2

My XSPower Intercooler came today. It looks like is fairly good quality, hopefully it should do the trick.

The hoses do look a bit pants, so i will head over to fensport next week once i have been paid.

Sayonara

Well, shes gone. The Red UK spec GT T-Bar has gone. (along with my copy of Evo magazine that i left in it).

Got the money i wanted, and as i was driving there stuff started breaking, so all in all, im happy its now gone, its like a weight off my mind.

Picked up Nick's new scooby, damn thats fast. really nice car, i like it a lot, but its no match looks wise for an MR2

A Day with Mr T

Today i had my car booked in with Mr T (Toyota) to have the gearbox oil and Aircon gas changed. They also offered to give me a free visual safety check on the car.

Well the aircon had leaked but is now full and is working really well, nice and frosty, should also help demist the windows faster. The gearbox now feels AMAZING, so much better, much freer and smoother and i can now change gear better in high revs.

All in all a good day.... still no sign of my other goodies, chances are they will all come tomorrow afternoon when i am out. im taking my mate to Birmingham to pick up his Scooby from Salah Imports and hopefully getting rid of my old one.

Deliveries

As planned, stuff is starting to arrive for my car... good timing as i just woke up :D

Ok first to arrive is my Japspeed Downpipe... this removes the catalytic converter and provides 3in diameter from the turbo to the exhaust (which will also be 3in when it comes). I ordered it from Temple Tuning and got £10 off because they could not provide my Intercooler, which was really good of them, and i will be using them again. Anyway the downpipe looks really good, nice and smooth and very sturdy looking with a bung ready for a wide sensor should i require one for an aftermarket ECU and bigger injectors. Although currently my plan is to stick with standard fuel. i figure toyota run very rich, so when my Apexi AFC arrives i have some scope to increase boost and use the controller to use some of the extra fuel for that.


I have decided to put the body kit on hold for now, its more important to me that the car is running well... i do intend to have the car show worthy for JAE next year as i have missed it for the last 2!

Remote boot operation

Ok, today i managed to do something that i have wanted to do for a LONG time. When i got my first Cliford alarm i ordered a boot pop solenoid, this is plugged into the Cliffod unit and basically pulls on the boot release when the button on the remote is pressed. Well i never really knew where to plug it in, so when i got my Clifford alarm fitted this time i asked the guy to leave a wire hanging for me.

So this morning i wired it all in, and traced the wire into the boot and although not a pretty install, it seems to work ok. Its just nice to have things that you have paid for working.

Shiney

This morning I got a missed delivery (why dont they ring the door bell) for my gauge holder, so this afternoon i fitted that, its a 60mm GReddy one, but im using it for my cheepy Swoosh boost gauge. I managed to run the wire and hose quite nicely behind the dash, but it would have been better if i used the black vacuum hose... never mind.

Halfrauds (halfords) had a deal on a tool chest with 235 pieces in today... i couldnt resist. its pretty good, has most things you would need, even if the quality isnt amazing. It will do the job, and for £50 i now have a big red tool chest :)

Last weekend I helped Nigel to clean his car to help him sell it, so he can get a Skyline.. still waiting on that one. But whilst we were doing it he polished his rear strut brace, so today i decided to do the same... came up nice and shiny. a quick going over with wet and dry, then a good rub with Autosol and then a coat of clear lacquer. It was quite good fun, so i had a go with one of my intake pipes, it was a bit more complex so i used a dremmel to clean it up. The only problem is that its not made very well to begin with, so it doesnt look amazing.

Parts Update

Ok, well today i received my HKS EVC Boost controller :D looks awesome, i can not wait to get it fitted.

I got a phone call saying that my intercooler was not in stock so i got refunded and also £10 off my downpipe. Thank you Temple Tuning, great customer service!

So i did some more research on the forum and decided to go with the XSPower intercooler and ordered the inlet shroud to go with it... when it comes i will nip to Fensport and see about getting some new hoses and clamps.

Chatting on the forum about my exhaust, it looks like i could sell my other one once i get it fixed, and i should buy the KO Racing one. as it is cat back and only weighs 7kg! :D

All good fun

Decisions

Ok, I have got some money to spend on my car and as you may have seen from my last post, i have been making a bit of a shopping list. This list is basically an extended BPU (Basic Performance Upgrade), but i need to get realistic about what i actually want to do, its all very well buying nice expensive shiny things, but if they are only going to be able to do 1/3rd of what they can do, why not buy a part 1/3rd the price.

The next big purchases and options are...

1. Bodykit
2. Intercooler
3. Downpipe
4. Exhaust
5. ECU

Bodykit: Since owning an MR2 I have always loved the Border front bumper, and since looking for kits i had settled on a Border front with Toms sides and rear. But from looking around, i have noticed that it is a very commong kit, and the front bumper that is on my car is quite rare, its a Kei-Office, which is cool because it goes with my Kei wheels. So my current plan is to get Toms sides, fix my front and get either Toms rear, or border extensions. I dont want to spend too much money on a bodykit, because its a boring white car, and im more interested in how it drives rather than how it looks, and the chances are im going to spank it into a cone on a track day, or a speed bump on the road.

Intercooler: There are 3 options here really, expensive GReddy (£600) and might not need to upgrade for a long time if pushing my cars power, mid-high Berk Tech (£400) similar to above but not for huge power applications, or low XSPower (£180), should see me to the top of bolt on tuning, provided i get good hoses and clips. Ha Ha as i type this i just found a Japspeed Intercooler for (£200)...sold and sold

Downpipe: This doesnt really need a descicion, i think i will just get whatever looks best made for under £200... oops just bought one (Japspeed £130)

Exhaust: Again, since owning an MR2 and getting into the Jap car scene, i have always wanted a Blitz Nur Spec R exhaust, the only reason i havent bought one is because A it is expensive, and B it looks rather big and heavy. I found a nice exhaust KO R1, so i am waiting to hear more about that from the MR2 OC Forum. Or do i just fix the one i have???

ECU: Ok now this is a really difficult one, the options are

• stupid crazy full AEM or MoTec ECU £1000's.... er no, thats for very high power cars, and i am not planning on upgrading fuel lines and internals just yet.
• Link ECU, similar to above but more like below...
• Apexi Power FC, similar to above more more affordable and comes with a base map for my car, (£600) ish, but will still need a rolling road to get it right
• Piggyback ECU like GReddy Emanage, (£300) this will allow me to tweek some signals to get the best out of my current set up, but will not be good enough for higher power applications
• Simple Air Fuel regulator, just make sure its not lean or rich