[sldnrck]

So thought I would consolidate my build post into one thread.

Current setup:

Suspension
Koni 2817 shocks in front and rear,
Whiteline front bar, No rear bar,
375 lb/in front springs, 400 lb/in rear springs,

Tires
225/45R15 Rival S on front with 245/40R17 on rear

Wheels
15x9 +36mm offset 949 rims
17x9 +45mm offset 949 rims

Alignment
Camber more than -4 degrees front, -3 rear
1/8" toe out in front, and 1/16" Toe in in rear.

Ride Height
Same ride height front and rear when measured from top of wheel arches to ground with the same size tires and rims.

Other stuff
Corbeau FX Pro drivers seat and paassenger seat
EarthX Battery, ETX48E, relocated to cross member
PPE Custom Header
PPE Custom midpipe
CoastFab Muffler
PPE Intake
Greddy Emanage Ultimate - Tuned by Church Automotive
Camcon Ti
Denso Spark Plugs IK16 - 5303
OS-Giken customed tuned by Blackwatch Racing.


Picture with 245 in back.

 

[Sonar]

what bracket, mount and slider you use for the FX pro seat?

 

[sldnrck]

I am using Wedge Engineering bracket, no sliders. Just drilled holes in cross members to match up to seat, and had to cut and grind some of the welded tabs out of the way to get the seat to sit flush. Then I repainted the bracket to keep it from rusting. I did not use sliders, because I did not want to raise the seat up. I guess I could have shaved off the bottom seat legs to make up for the difference in height. The sliders would make the seat weigh more than I wanted though. I did this same type of setup for my previous Celica and the reclining angle of the seat was perfect. The reclining angle of the seat in the MR2 still needs some work. The seating position is OK for competition but there is no lower leg support for long trips, and it makes it kind of tiring to drive 13 hours in a day, as experienced when driving back from Mineral Wells.

Also if you need to move the seat further forward or backwards like I did for the Celica, then I just welded additional metal tabs on the seat rail and drilled new holes. I can post up some pictures when I take the seat back out if you are interested. Sometimes you have to fabricate a part that you need. Out of the box solutions that are fully optimize for STR are hard to find.

 

[rocwandrer]

So right now you are just a little stiffer in the front than the rear? That's where I was for a couple years. I went a little stiffer in the front (from your present setup, that'd be softer in the rear I guess) and it was good. I went event stiffer just a few weeks ago, and it was not better. I'm considering going a little stiffer in the rear to bring back the ability to open the throttle wide open at will.

 

[sldnrck]

My setup for Saturday at the San Diego Tour was 400 front and 500 rear. The car just felt slow to respond, and I was not fast in it as the results showed. The stiffer setup had greater sweeper speeds when looking at comparisons with some S2000 data. I just need to work on slalom response which is all the shocks, and I need to work on power. I was getting crushed on those long straights. I saw S2000 data of 68mph on the straight and heard of 80mph which I am finding hard to believe. I was at 64mph on top speed in third gear. In either case I am losing more than 15mph difference between entry and exit speed on long straights. Gearing was not an issue for me on this straight. Either with the taller or shorter tire setup I still had to shift to third.

Guess the wide band is going into car so I can start tuning. I was waiting on the TRD replica gauge pod but I guess I'll stop waiting.

 

[apex17]

My setup for Saturday at the San Diego Tour was 400 front and 500 rear. The car just felt slow to respond, and I was not fast in it as the results showed. The stiffer setup had greater sweeper speeds when looking at comparisons with some S2000 data. I just need to work on slalom response which is all the shocks, and I need to work on power. I was getting crushed on those long straights. I saw S2000 data of 68mph on the straight and heard of 80mph which I am finding hard to believe. I was at 64mph on top speed in third gear. In either case I am losing more than 15mph difference between entry and exit speed on long straights. Gearing was not an issue for me on this straight. Either with the taller or shorter tire setup I still had to shift to third.

Guess the wide band is going into car so I can start tuning. I was waiting on the TRD replica gauge pod but I guess I'll stop waiting.

Please keep us up to date on the engine tuning. I wonder what kind of power you can find there.

 

[sldnrck]

I'm wondering what kind of power I am making now. Last dyno run was 76 hp with a plugged main cat. Too bad there is not a good dyno place in Tucson or I would know already. It also seems that the place to go for dyno tunes with EMU is UMS up in Phoenix. All the local S2000 guys have gone there to get tuned. They said they have done 1 MR2 before, and that just gives me all kinds of confidence. So four hours round trip and 3 hours on the dyno make for a long day.

 

[sldnrck]

Here is my new Alumna AE-46 trailer for towing behind the Spyder. There is enough room for eight tires plus all my stuff, and I can still see out the back. Trailer weighs 340 pounds empty. I add 1/8 plywood sheet to bottom along with 1/2" thick neoprene mat to keep the vibrations down and prevent dents or holes in the aluminum floor.

 

[silversprint]

Try Church Automotive. They can schedule you in for a saturday or sunday. They have tuned many spyders.

 

[sldnrck]

Stuff I tried but did not like and why;

BC coilovers - On the surface they seem like a good inexpensive setup to try. While they might handle better than stock suspension, they are definitely not designed for competition. Let's be honest a good shock valved for the spring rates you are running should not be bouncy. I only ever ran the 450 lb springs on them and they were supposedly re-valved for those spring rates. No matter what setting I selected on the 30 clicks, it was never comfortable and either underdamped or overdamped. Either the rebound was too stiff causing the front to jump off bumps with the tires losing contact with the group, or the compressions was too stiff causing the front to skate or not let the suspension do anything. Lesson learned, never buy a shock with a single knob that does two things. They don't work.

Spring rates.
450f, 450r: Not a bad setup, but lots of body roll leading to lots of camber and toe changes while competing.
350f, 700r: All I can say is way horrible. Always waiting on the front to catch up with the rear. all maneuvers in the car were just painfully slow.
500f, 700r: This worked well at the Mineral Wells Prosolo. The car had a low speed push mid-corner, but that was probably a front camber setting. Lots of skating over the bumps. Shocks kept the car in control, but it just felt weird.
400f, 500r: Based on the bumpy surface at Mineral Wells I wondered how a softer setup would work. Since everyone says run a softer setup at San Diego I figured it a perfect place to try it out. This was the worst setup I have had to date on the car. The response was just slow on steering inputs. Always waiting on the car to finish what I started. Kind of felt like driving a stock car again.

Mostly Bald RS3 in the rain. Let's just say it was entertaining, and I now know that they are growing cabbage next to the track. Lesson learned have the correct tires for the conditions. Still not sure what those are, but I have an better idea which ones to not use.

 

[sldnrck]

Try Church Automotive. They can schedule you in for a saturday or sunday. They have tuned many spyders.

Thanks, I wonder if I can get in Friday afternoon. More power for the ProSolo.

 

[apex17]

see if the dyno operator can let you know what the mx-5's or s2000 usually produce on that particular dyno, it will give us a better idea of how far behind we are

 

[sldnrck]

Thanks, I wonder if I can get in Friday afternoon. More power for the ProSolo.

Appointment made. Thanks silversprint for the suggestion.

 

[apex17]

Are you going to tune with 87 octane, 93 octane, will it make a difference on our low compression cars?

 

[sldnrck]

Are you going to tune with 87 octane, 93 octane, will it make a difference on our low compression cars?

I currently only run 89 or 91 octane. You can't get 93 in Arizona without making your own brew, i.e. mixing 100 octane. On the 50 or so dyno pulls on the 1ZZ motor in the Celica it seemed to like the 89 octane the best. I tried 85,87,89,91,93 and 100. I think the current car runs best with 90 octane with no EMU changes. This is more based on butt dyno tests and different gas mixtures I get when driving to autocross events. I plan on filling up with 91 to test with tomorrow though. In the summer I definitely get knock with 89 followed with a cloud of black smoke, so I only run 91 in the heat of the summer.

 

[SuperWhiteGT4]

Are you going to tune with 87 octane, 93 octane, will it make a difference on our low compression cars?

With more octane, you're able to safely run more ignition advance and thus more cylinder pressure in the combustion cycle. That means more power.

I would use as high an octane as is available from a pump.

 

[Ferrino]

I am using Wedge Engineering bracket, no sliders. Just drilled holes in cross members to match up to seat, and had to cut and grind some of the welded tabs out of the way to get the seat to sit flush.

How much is the Wedge bracket and did you pick it up from them directly?

Also - are you bolting it directly to the bracket through the bottom or side bolt holes on the seat? I'm guessing the bottom. Thanks!

 

[sldnrck]

How much is the Wedge bracket and did you pick it up from them directly?

Also - are you bolting it directly to the bracket through the bottom or side bolt holes on the seat? I'm guessing the bottom. Thanks!

You would have to ask slowpok3 on where he got it from. I purchased the car from him and it came with the car. I am bolting to the holes on the bottom of the seat. The side mounts would be interesting to have as the reclining angle needs to be adjusted with the way I have it mounted now.

 

[sldnrck]

El Toro Prosolo feedback. Saturday morning I ran the 195 Toyos. The back of the car was way too loose. Not sure if it was the different surface, different temperature or something else. This was the same setup that I ran on Sunday at the San Diego Tour and the car felt great. Switched to RS3 and big tire setup. Car felt 100% different in the afternoon runs. Stable everywhere, no more rev limiter all over the course, but still had to go to third for the walloms. Guess the RS3 could carry more speed around the sweeper allowing me to have more speed through the walloms. Dropped .8 seconds on one side and 1.5 seconds on the other side and lost 2 positions. Sounds like a typical ProSolo to me. <_<
Sunday morning decided to make a few changes in how I was driving the course instead of making changes to the car. Picked up a little time and hung on to 17. Wheel spin was a big issue on Sunday. With the increased grip in the sweepers I just could not apply any more power in sweepers because of the wheel spin. At least I know the installation of the LSD won't go to waste.

 

[apex17]

i take it you did not have time to get the car tuned on the dyno this weekend?

Since you have lots of 1zz experience, what kind of hp and tq gains are you expect from the bolt ons, and also from the tune