mr2-digest Monday, January 5 1998 Volume 02 : Number 062 Re: MR2 MK2 Add just for good laugh Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) Re: MR2 Re: Montana Speed Limits Re: MR2 ECU Fuel Mod Idea/Superchips Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) Re: MR2: New addition to my page MR2 MK1 Leather seat cracked . Re: MR2 Engine for sale... and other things MR2 Lights Out!; mki electrical Re: MR2 MK2 Add just for good laugh Re: MR2 MK2 Add just for good laugh RE: MR2 Re: Montana Speed Limits MR2 MkII Turbo for sale MR2: Mew 88SC! :-) MR2 TDC trick and pulley removal Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) Re: MR2 MK1 Leather seat cracked . Re: MR2 Re: Montana Speed Limits MR2 Re: mr2-digest V1 #1901 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:32:42 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 MK2 Add just for good laugh > > that as well. I also looked at a red automatic turbo that was either a 91 > > or 92, not sure which anymore. I think that the spectrum of options were > > very high for MR2's. > > This one I am absolutely positive about. There was never an automatic for > the MKii. There was an auto for the older supercharged but the only to > have an automatic turbo would be to add it yourself. Clarify that, please. There was a 5S-FE (NA) auto-tranny available. Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:32:41 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) > Also, how do they define "prudent"? Say I get a ticket doing 80 in my mr. > How would I fight it in a court when they just go by this? I've found that when it comes to speeding/moving violations, it's not the person that's doing something wrong that gets ticketed, it's the person that's doing the *most* things wrong. Drivers here in Detroit are so bad, as long as you're not the *worst* driver withing sight, you're pretty much safe. There are so many bad (miserable, aweful, hazardous, deadly) driver's around here, you're rather safe just 'going with traffic'. It's not the guy going 100mph on a stretch of road with 2 mile visibilty and no livestock in sight. It's the guy doing 80mph on twistys that should be watching his butt. Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:32:44 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) > The states highway funds are no longer tied to speed enforcement. This was > changed last fall? I believe. As a result states can choose their own speed > limits and enforce them with whatever force they deem necessary. Montana has > chosen a "Safe and Prudent" daytime speed limit law which basically leaves the > speed limit up to the officer. One of the big car magazines (I'll look for > the article) did an interview with a sheriff in Montana and he said they > definitely take the type of car into consideration when ticketing. Something > like a brand new Porsche at 100 mph would probably not raise his eyebrows but > a wreck of a car at 90 would. 'Car & Driver' did a good story on this. The two interesting parts I remember were people would do the same stupid things (just faster), and the guy who got off after doing 100mph (pro driver/mechanic, was able to prove in court that he was a 'professional' driver). Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:32:39 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 Re: Montana Speed Limits > You don't fight it. If the officer says your speed wasn't prudent, then > you are guilty. Nope. The officer can arrest you for speeding, let you off on your OR to appear in court at a later date, and issue you a speedin ticket as your 'bond'. The officer *does* have the upper hand as that he is an 'officer of the court' and you ar not (unless you are a lawyer?). But he can *not* be judge, jury and executioner. This is one of those few times I wish some lawyer (who's into Solo II!) would get pulled over for doing 100mph in the middle of nowhere, with visibility to the horizoni, and no hazards. :) Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 09:56:49 -0500 From: "David Aucott" Subject: Re: MR2 ECU Fuel Mod Idea/Superchips No, it does not. It only allows for a +20/-20 degree change to the ignition signal from the stock ECU. Thus, it is a global change, not specific to load so it is a true compromise. - ----------- > By now everyone must have seen the posts Dave A. has >been makingabout his possible fuel mos usingthe temp sensor. Whlie talking >about it the Superchips Icon came up. I know that it alters the ignition >curve , but does anyone know if it will remove the rev limiter? I have a >project in mind if it can...thanks. - -- Dave Aucott daucott@ford.com http://members.aol.com/daucott '86 MR2, '93T MR2, '87 Civic Si, '95 Probe GT ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:09:06 -0800 From: Steve N Subject: Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) > On a side note, I knew a guy who installed an HKS Mk I Turbo for a > customer, then took it back out after a few months. The owner would run > around Atlanta's loop at 120mph+ for extended periods of time (just > about at redline), and experienced piston expansion (with the stock > 4A-GE pistons). A couple of months of this, and the cylinder walls had > been damaged beyond repair (from the pistons expanding, and scraping the > crap out of the walls), the engine was blowing smoke like crazy, and the > guy had a new short block installed and had the turbo kit taken out. So > add expansion to the list of problems when running those temps for too > long. Man, this guy quit fooling with the turbo kit at just the wrong time! After the first engine mess up, he should of purchased a new block, forged pistons, lower CR to 8:1, and turn up the boost! He wasn't able to go faster than 120 with the turbo kit? Or was it because of gearing? Speaking of HK$ turbo kits for the mki, I wanted to ask something. I know about a month ago, somebody posted to the list saying that they knew were they could get some turbo manifolds for the mki. Who was this, are how much are they? Are they custom made, or old HKS units? Who else knows more about this? Hey Dave A, Did you look into this before building you current tweaked out NA engine? I think that small displacement turbo engines are really awesome, makes me think of the turbo years in F1. Steve N. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 10:11:54 -0500 (EST) From: Donald DiPaula Subject: Re: MR2: New addition to my page > Just wanted to let everyone know, that I added a classifieds section my web > page. You can't place ads, it is just for me to try to hlp others locate a > mr2. I am just going to post on the page all the mr2 ads that i find in my > local paper or area. Please let me know what you think. Please take a second > to check out the page and sign the guestbook. Thanks. um... what's your area? - -D- Oh, Oh, children of the land, Love is still the answer, take my hand The vision fades, a voice I hear, "Listen to the Madman!" But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the Madman... My 1989 Honda CRX Si is for sale, email me if interested. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 15:24:06 +0000 From: "Thomas O'Neill" Subject: MR2 MK1 Leather seat cracked . Hi all Was at the parents place for the last two weeks for Christmas and since the weather was so bad , continuous rain , I decided to garage my baby for the duration of my stay to keep it warm and dry as the drivers side T-top leaks slightly . Any way I come back a week later to do some work on my car and the leather on the back of the drivers seat has gone and cracked , about a three inch split , needless to say I am mighty pissed of about it . I suppose it is partly my fault but I never thought that would happen . Any way I ring Toyota to find out how much it would cost just to buy the leather for the back of the seat so that I can get it reupholstered and they want 510.00 pounds sterling , are these guys serious . So can anybody out there help me , second hand seat , leather , I reckon the leather from the passanger seat would fit the drivers seat , or any other suggestions . By the way my car is a 1989 MK1 . Hope I did not bore yous too much but I would really appreciate any help on this . Thanks ....... Thomas O'Neill E-Mail: tom@funcom.ie Funcom Dublin Ltd. Phone: +353 1 283-8100 Ireland Fax: +353 1 283-9256 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 10:30:55 -0500 (EST) From: Donald DiPaula Subject: Re: MR2 Engine for sale... and other things > I wonder about the proportion of MR2 drivers on this list that total > their cars. Not a flame, but is the proportion higher? > > Is this related to the high insurance thread? Is this related to the > top-speed thread-swars? Is it a Chrysler thread-swar? What is the top > speed of a thread-swar? 8) > > Or are people who might tend to drive recklessly (not that anyone on > this list has driven recklessly) attracted to the list, as in they are > car nuts? Or does the list contribute to high speed driving? > > NO answers...just questions. The good news is that front end collisions > with the MR2 means the engine may be fine. theory: the mr2 (particularly the mkii turbo model) is especially attractive to reckless drivers. theory: the mr2 is so good, it breeds overconfidence in its drivers. theory: size matters. morons in sport utility vehicles that never get taken off road don't see anything smaller than a volvo or shorter than a 5' roof. any other theories? - -D- Oh, Oh, children of the land, Love is still the answer, take my hand The vision fades, a voice I hear, "Listen to the Madman!" But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the Madman... My 1989 Honda CRX Si is for sale, email me if interested. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:39:54 -0800 From: Steve N Subject: MR2 Lights Out!; mki electrical Well, ater messing around with realys and other electrical stuff, I finally found out why my lights go out all of the sudden for no reason. The No. 3 juction box it cracked and has a nice char mark on it, and apparently two connectors are shorting. First off, I need a new number 3 junction box for a mki. Anyone out there with a parts car that has one of these? Secondly, how in the hell do I get that ribon wire off of the junction box? I can get all the other harnesses off of it, but can't get the ribbon wire off. Finally, what could of hapened to make the box fry like that? A power surge that wasn't caught by the fuse quick enough? Steve N. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 10:44:24 -0500 From: Stephen Gunter Subject: Re: MR2 MK2 Add just for good laugh At 09:32 AM 1/5/98 -0500, Steve Bagdon wrote: >> > that as well. I also looked at a red automatic turbo that was either a 91 >> > or 92, not sure which anymore. I think that the spectrum of options were >> > very high for MR2's. >> >> This one I am absolutely positive about. There was never an automatic for >> the MKii. There was an auto for the older supercharged but the only to >> have an automatic turbo would be to add it yourself. > >Clarify that, please. There was a 5S-FE (NA) auto-tranny available. > >Steve B. > Also there was/is an automatic available for the 3S-GE equipped MR2's. Stephen Gunter,1990 Levin, icq 285675 http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7177 home of the Toyota Mods WebRing ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 10:46:07 -0500 From: Stephen Gunter Subject: Re: MR2 MK2 Add just for good laugh At 09:32 AM 1/5/98 -0500, Steve Bagdon wrote: >> > that as well. I also looked at a red automatic turbo that was either a 91 >> > or 92, not sure which anymore. I think that the spectrum of options were >> > very high for MR2's. >> >> This one I am absolutely positive about. There was never an automatic for >> the MKii. There was an auto for the older supercharged but the only to >> have an automatic turbo would be to add it yourself. > >Clarify that, please. There was a 5S-FE (NA) auto-tranny available. > >Steve B. > Also there was/is an automatic available for the 3S-GE equipped MR2's. Stephen Gunter,1990 Levin, icq 285675 http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7177 home of the Toyota Mods WebRing ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 10:52:48 -0500 From: "Burns, James B." Subject: RE: MR2 Re: Montana Speed Limits >> You don't fight it. If the officer says your speed wasn't prudent, then >> you are guilty. > >Nope. The officer can arrest you for speeding, let you off on your OR to >appear in court at a later date, and issue you a speedin ticket as your >'bond'. The officer *does* have the upper hand as that he is an 'officer >of the court' and you ar not (unless you are a lawyer?). But he can >*not* be judge, jury and executioner. Yeah, I know. But in reality the officer's judgement is usually what stands. I believe their conviction rate is pretty high. I remember this also being the case in CA when I lived there several years ago. The CHP didn't use radar, but they had ways to determine whether you were speeding, and they had greater than a 98% conviction rate. Brad ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 10:56:13 -0500 From: "David J. Kessler" Subject: MR2 MkII Turbo for sale Since anouncing that my '91 MR2 Turbo was for sale, I have received a number of requests for additional information. For those of you who requested details (and for any who might be interested but missed the original post), I now have a web page with details and photos. For complete info, go to: http://www.gate.net/~kopsis/mr2 Thanks. - Dave Kessler Guards Red '88 911 Silver '97 Z3 2.8l White '91 MR2 Turbo (For Sale) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 15:47:12 +0000 From: Mark Nias Subject: MR2: Mew 88SC! :-) Howdy folks! i trust everyone had a good holiday! well i now have my new import MR2, it's slightly newer than my old white SC, mfg'ed in 08/88, done only 38,000 miles, colour is Mica Blue, stock teardrop wheels (though they have been polished) with the same Bridgestone tires as my white one. The bodywork and mechanicals all seem to be in as good condition as my old white SC, NO RUST! YAY!!, there are a few little problems with the interior, the cubby-hole at the back between the seats seems to be black instead of blue, and the striker for the glove box lock is missing (WIERD!!).... It also looks like someone has been messing around with the air-con as i can't seem to get it to blow through the 'face' setting... my guess is that one of the drive motors isn't working (it's the fully automatic air-con BTW) ideas anyone?? The headlights are stuck in the UP position, my dealership recons it's just a relay problem, the garrage where i purchased from are paying for that to be fixed anyway so i'm not too bothered about it. It has some neat spotlights fitted, they are Toyota ones, and have a motorised cover that opens to different positions when you turn them on!! kewl! Apart from that it's great i'll be taking some pictures soon, though the weather isn't right at the moment, it's been chucking it down for the past week here.... oh well i guess thanks to global warming it's not snowing much. anyway.... i'll stop rambling... mark ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 08:01:54 -0800 From: Kurt Krueger Subject: MR2 TDC trick and pulley removal I was changing a timing belt last week end. After I removed the spark plugs, I put the boots back in the wells to keep dust out. As I was turning the engine over to find TDC on #1, the boots would pop out as each cylinder when through its compression stroke. Pretty slick. Actually it helped a lot since the timing marks had lost all their paint and I was having a terrible time finding them. I also got to use my impact wrench for the first time on the crankshaft pulley. But I was surprised. My 1/2" 200 ft-lbs wrench wouldn't budge the bolt. So I brought out the big gun ... a 3/4" 700 ft-lb model. I had to crank the thing up to max to get the bolt out! By the time I was done, I had managed to vibrate all the dirt off the pulley. The most amazing thing was the the crankshaft did not move at all during the procedure. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 11:07:30 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 TOP SPEED (autobahn,highway) > Man, this guy quit fooling with the turbo kit at just the wrong time! > After the first engine mess up, he should of purchased a new block, > forged pistons, lower CR to 8:1, and turn up the boost! He wasn't able > to go faster than 120 with the turbo kit? Or was it because of > gearing? Gearing. The Mk I is limited to about 120-125 (depending on how deep you want to dip into redline). But my take on the situation that the guy had money, tried it out, then probably realized it would be cheaper to go with a Supra turbo (long run). I don't think he was 'hard core' like us... Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 11:07:32 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 MK1 Leather seat cracked . > Any way I ring Toyota to find out how much it would cost just to buy the > leather for the back of the seat so that I can get it reupholstered and they > want 510.00 pounds sterling , are these guys serious . Yes, they are serious. I believe the average price for the seat bottom/back/headrest (3 parts to a seat, minus the frame) is about $375usd. It was cheaper for me to buy a *set* (both seats, plus both head rests) from a local salvage yard and use just the piece I needed, then to buy just one section. The one nice thing about Toyota replacement seat parts is that you get *everything* - leather, padding, rubber 'retaining' bands, etc. When you replace the part, you replace everything but the frame, and it looks just like new. If Ireland uses the same sterling as the UK, it's trading at about .6093ukp/1.000usd. Figure that's about 250 sterling (give or take, not including shipping), plus shipping from the US to you. If you want me to look into getting the part for you, e-mail me directly. Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 11:07:31 -0500 From: Steve Bagdon Subject: Re: MR2 Re: Montana Speed Limits > Yeah, I know. But in reality the officer's judgement is usually what > stands. I believe their conviction rate is pretty high. I remember > this also being the case in CA when I lived there several years ago. > The CHP didn't use radar, but they had ways to determine whether you > were speeding, and they had greater than a 98% conviction rate. Hey, 'legal' and 'right' are necessarily equal. I just pointed out that you *can* fight the ticket, not that you would be able to win. :) Steve B. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 11:01:03 -0600 From: David Greene Subject: MR2 Re: mr2-digest V1 #1901 Hi Pete. Sorry for the delay in getting back with you, I've been off-line for the last week. > Hi, Dave, you mentioned a Kmart EBC?? are you seriously up to something here? I do have an idea, but whether it will work or not remains to be seen. I have to do some testing and thinking, especially with the current VSV thread. My idea was to try and use the stock turbo VSV as a simple electronic boost controller. It would be removed from it's current location and function and put to a new use. I believe that with some relatively cheap circuitry and maybe programming a simple CPU that it could be made to work. I doubt that it would be as nice or variable as the $600 EBC's, but it would be better than a manual controller. I am going to give it a shot, if for nothing but sh#$s and grins. :-) I would welcome ides and suggestions. > the home depot boost control I understand (did you use a regulator or bleed > valve?) I went to Home Depot and purchased: 6 feet of 1/4" inside diameter pressure hose (mine is orange) 1 natural gas ball-valve 2 female screw-on to 1/4" barbed adapters teflon tape hose clamps Total cost of about $30. Email me for more details. BTW, I got this idea from someone in AL. I can't remember his name off the top of my head (email:runt ?), but he deserves the credit for the idea. > the $0.39 FCD is probably gonna piss off greeddy, but if you can pull off an Actually, it only cost $0.27 (25 cents plus tax). :-) I emailed the list about 6 weeks ago. If anyone wants the details, email me. You basically splice the diode into the ouput of the boost pressure sensor, limiting the ECU to seeing a max of about 6 psi. Bye bye fuel cut! > electronic boost-control, count me in! $500-900 is crazy these things could be I will keep the list updated on my findings, revelations, and mistakes. > sold for under $200 if they chose to.Then maybe I could afford one. > Pete '91T (2#7) Believe me, I know the feeling. Student loans and previous use of credit cards has got me strapped for the next year or so! :-/ David Greene Red '91T - $30 15psi MBC, $0.27 FCD, K&N FIPK ------------------------------ End of mr2-digest V2 #62