Back to Featured Racing MR2s
UPDATE 3rd FEBRUARY 2005
Hi Richard, I have had a look at some of your pages and I have to admit to being
envious. Looks great. I
have raced the AW11 for 7 or 8 years. It is currently running a 20 valve
blacktop 4AGE. It did 14.78 down the quarter mile. But mostly I used it for club
circuit meets against allcomers and the local Endurance series - two three hour
races at different circuits. It has won me a lot of trophies over the years. I
attach a photo of it. I also have a SW20 NA which I have used in one three hour
race with good results - 9th overall (field of 29 with 20 finishers) and third
in the 1851 to 3000 cc class behind two ex factory Schnitzer M3s. Cheers, Daryl
Daryl Munro, New Zealand. 84 Blue. A couple of years ago
started back with local motorsport events in my stock AW11. I was told by most
that I was wasting my time, as I could never make it handle. I didn't believe
that. Since then, I have worked on the suspension, lightened it, and have
increased its power by fitting a 20 valve (stock) engine. I have attached a
photo of it from the Southern Festival of Speed Street Sprint, where it finished
9th out of 80 entrants. It was quicker than all 18 single seater competitors,
but was beaten by 5 Mitsubishi Evos, 2 MGB V8 racecars, and one Porsche 911 RSR
racecar. The time-spread over the top 10 finishers was two seconds. I think it
handles not too bad. Now I will work on increasing its power from 160 to (maybe)
240?
Update 20th December 2002.
Are there any fellow AW11 racers out there?
I hail from New Zealand, and have played on the track with my AW11 for about
4 years. It is nothing special - just ongoing development. It has surprised many
locals at it's achievements, specially as it is driven by a grey haired 40
something year old. I enjoy beating them !!
I have struggled with finding people who race AW11s. I am more than happy to
share my experiences. I started by replacing the engine with a silvertop 20v and
an after-market computer. It did a quarter mile in 15.03. After a season of
racing (and quite a few trophies) a big-end let go, so I replaced it with a
Blacktop 20v. It then did a 14.78 quarter mile - an improvement.
I have since installed a silvertop 20v with a T3 turbo as an experiment. It
is too soon to tell what the results are. It would be great to talk with someone
doing the same thing. We could perhaps help each other. From Daryl Munro:
As I understand it, the 20v 4-AGE was a Japanese domestic market only
version. They are reasonably plentiful here as we import a lot of used Japanese
cars (we are still right hand drive), and parts. After the original 16 valve
engine blew its head gasket comprehensively, it was a simple decision - rebuild
it at a cost of over US$1,000, or transplant a 20v at a similar total cost, but
with some horsepower advantages (in stock spec), and incorporating an adjustable
computer. The 20 v engine itself was US$500.00 - the balance made up of the Link
Computer we installed, which is fully adjustable. I paid on the high side for
the engine, because it came from a car which had a guaranteed mileage of less
than 20,000 miles.
I am not sure what you are getting at in respect of the EFI system. The 20v
engine was complete, and we used all of it in that form. The VVTi is controlled
by the adjustable computer. We have lowered the revs at which it comes in to
2,900, and that makes it go real well. But, that is about engine management, not
the EFI system.
The problem you mention about the starter is one we didn't strike. The 16v
had headers, and they fitted straight on to the assembly without problem. We are
about to re-use the factory headers to see whether that gives more torque, and
maybe will strike the problem then. I can't see how it will, though.
Essentially, everything just bolted right up, and after almost a year of racing
and driving it, nothing has rubbed, chaffed, broken or fallen off. You are right
in that the attachment of the headers requires a modification - the outer bolts
are in different positions. But, this takes a competent welder about 5 minutes
to rectify.
Water lines. Yes - they are different, and you are quite right - creative use
of waterlines overcomes. And, it took all of 30 minutes to do it.
Oil cooler. We didn't strike this problem.
Distributor. Yes, the distributor had to be modified. We made up a
"combo" dizzie, which took about an hour, and has worked perfectly
since installation.
Is it all worth it? For me, yes. With a stock engine (apart from headers and
a lightened flywheel - oh, and we removed the aircon pump, etc) I now have 110KW
(145 bhp) at the wheels which translates to something like 170 bhp at the
flywheel. I race against purpose built racecars such as supercharged Corollas,
and regularly beat them. It is usually assumed that my car is turbocharged.
And, even better, I have reliability. For this car, race preparation consists
of checking the oil and water level (I have not yet had to add anything) and
tyre pressures. I was, for example, the only competitor in a recent open class
one hour race who drove the car 120 miles home afterwards - the rest went home
on trailers. I beleive that you are right about the ultimate development power
outputs - the 16v in Formula Atlantic form currently achieves 240 bhp. I don't
know of anyone who has reached that with a 20v. The reason seems to be that the
20v was a Japanese domestic market only engine, and no-one has worked on it.
But, it will produce 170 bhp all day long in stock form. BTW - it has 25 more
ft/lbs of torque, and revs at least 1,000 higher than the 16v. We set the rev
limiter at 8,700 revs in my car. 10,000 revs are possible, but I find that in
practice there is little point in exceeding 8,000. My AW11 will comfortably
exceed 100 mph in third gear (stock original box and diff). I can source 20v
engines for anyone interested. I don't know shipping costs, or import charges,
but the basic complete engine cost would be about US$500.00.
Cheers, Daryl Munro
Southern Festival of Speed Street Sprint
Racing in the Deep South
Sorry I have not been more consistent with reports on motorsport events
entered with the MR2 Mk 1 N/A down here - and am writing to catch up. The July
event was two gravel hillclimbs on different parts of the same forestry road,
and these were the last two events of the 97/98 championship. It was bitterly
cold at scrutineering at 9.30 am, and the pit area (totally sheltered by trees)
was frozen solid with frost and ice everywhere. It is a privately owned forest
access road that winds up the back of Three Mile Hill just west of Dunedin. It
is probably wide enough for two cars to pass, but only with care at a couple of
kmh - and is solidly lined with mature trees all the way up on both sides. I
have not seen the road before, so looked forward to the practice run with some
trepidation. That was fully justified !!! My only comment when exiting the MR2
at the top was BLOODY HELL - That's FAST !!!!! Geeze; call this a hillclimb? It
was more like a Rally Sprint. Even on the practice run I went across the finish
line sideways at 140 kmh. Having said that, it was actually brilliant -
demanding but brilliant. The basic requirements for a good time were power and
balls. The most scary part was a long sweeping flat left hander entered by way
of a tightish right hander over a hump created by an joining road. It was scary
enough keeping it on the road over the hump, but the sweeper was something else
again. I left it in second during the first two timed runs, but it hit the rev
limiter about half way through. For the third run, I went over the hump quite a
bit quicker, and hit the rev limiter about a third of the way along. Then it was
- close eyes - bang it into third and hard up it - chanting “Our Father who art
in heaven .... “ out loud. I figured that if I lost it completely I wouldn’t go
far, and it would be all over so quickly it would not even hurt !! I was very
busy keeping on the road, but it showed well over 160 kph before braking hard
for the next tight right hander. I know that the Rally boys do this sort of
thing all the time, but for me, second time on gravel, and still feeling my way
with the car, 160 k’s sideways through the forest on gravel was a new
experience. Strangely, although I sat quietly in contemplation for a minute or
two after the finish line, I was disappointed that it was the last run! That run
was over 2 seconds quicker, and earned me 6th place in the 2 litre class. The
event was won overall by Bruce Saxton in a Subaru 4WD producing 480 bhp. The
same combination came 6th or 7th in the big hillclimb at Queenstown earlier this
year (with Rod Millen etc), and he is awesome to watch. The second event of the
day was steeper and tighter, therefore slower, but just as much fun. Figuring
that as I had survived the morning event someone was watching over me, I pushed
the little darling a little, and managed to retain 6th in class again.
Daryl with the last car that he raced on a track. It was the
first year Queenstown was a full street race - 10 years ago now!
Having competed in 4 out of 10 events for the year, I was somewhat surprised
to discover that we finished 8th for the year in the 2 litre class! And so on to
the 1998/9 championship. The first event was gravel again, and a terrific piece
of road. Fast, but not scaringly so, and a lot of flowing corner combinations
that allowed a rythym to be established. The worst corner was the first. We took
off downhill, and at about where you would change from first gear to second
there was a right hand elbow with a reverse camber and a bloody great ditch on
the outside. Everyone had problems with it, and try as I might, I could not
avoid stuffing it up on each run. I tried leaving it in first - hard on the
brakes - turn in - drift - hard on the gas again, but there was not enough left
in first to pull out of it cleanly. So, I tried the same, but putting it into
second as I went round. Unfortunately, because I have only two feet, all I did
was screw up the gear change, and had nothing at all to pull me out of it. So,
for the third run, I tried putting it in second before braking - but the revs
were too low to pull me out of it. Maybe I will figure it out next year - but
somehow I doubt it. The MR2 had, between events, been consuming water, and I was
a bit mystified because I could not find any leaks, there was no sign of water
in the oil and the fans were not coming on. During this event, I used about 10
litres of water, and had to stop every 10 k’s on the way home to add another few
litres. More on this in a minute. Anyway, I was very conscious during the event
that I wanted at least another 50 bhp, and was plotting how to do it. I knew by
then something was badly amiss with the engine, and my worst fears were
confirmed when on the last run (and even though my time was almost as fast as
the second run) my 3rd place in class was stolen by a guy in an ex Factory
Corolla rally car by quarter of a second. In the previous events, I was able to
sneak in ahead of him by 1 to 2 seconds. He, of course, was delighted ! So,
first thing Monday it was down to the repair shop to investigate. Pulling the
head off confirmed what we had already assumed to be the problem. A blown head
gasket. I have never seen such a blown head gasket. It was blown between every
cylinder. We checked the compressions first, and they were around 110. We
figured that it would have been struggling to produce 90 bhp. No wonder the
Corolla got me! A bit of “hindsight” sleuthing suggests that the guy that had
the motor rebuilt about 10,000 k’s ago didn’t bother having the head re-torqued.
Then, when it ran itself low on water, I simply filled it at the rear, being
blissfully unaware that without bleeding the radiator at the front I had simply
created a large air pocket. I kick myself when I look back - it didn’t even
occur to me. The explanation for the fans not working is equally simple /
stupid. When I first bought the car, I noticed that the reversing lights were
disconnected. Connecting them made the dash board light up like a christmas tree
when reverse gear was engaged. I dealt with that by disconnecting the lights
again, and made a mental note to take it the auto electrician for repair. Then I
got busy at work, and completely forgot about it. In the meantime, a warrant
fell due. The helpful guys at the testing station (unknown to me) reconnected
the reversing lights. The end result was to short out the radiator fans, and the
ultimate end result was one sick little darling.
Daryl’s car ready for action at Teretonga race track in
Invercargill.
We took the opportunity to clean out the head a little (nothing major) and to
remove the butterflies to allow it to run on 8 ports all the time. The head was
also planed to raise the compression a little. The cost of hot cams is too great
right now, so instead, we fitted drilled tuning plates to the existing cams
which will allow us to play with the cam timing. I understand (and would
appreciate comment from anybody familiar with this) that they are set at 100
degrees in standard tune, and this relates mainly to emission control. I have
been told that different engines may respond best to different settings, but
around 106 degrees will give more power at the upper end. It is basically trial
and error in the meantime. We honed the bore, imported a set of total seal
piston rings from Australia, bought a set of new big ends, and bolted it all
back together. The only other thing we did was check the wheel alignment, and
reset everything. The alignment was all over the place, and it sure helps if the
wheels point forward in a straight line. We found between one and two degrees of
positive camber at the front, and about neutral at the rear. It has now been
reset at 0.7 negative at the front, and 1 degree negative at the rear. With tyre
pressures set at 28 front and 34 rear, the handling and roadholding has been
improved considerably - even more like a go-cart. I managed to get 400 road k’s
on it before event number two for the current year (18 October). And - very
pleased with the way it was running. Definitely better then before, and we have
only mildly played with the cams at this stage, so I hope to extract a little
more power yet. Another piece of road I have never seen before, again forestry,
but with quite a soft surface, and very marblely gravel with the result that it
was super slippery. By the end of the event, the start line tracks had trenches
over 4 inches deep ! The track itself had a long dog leg climb, a delightful
sweeper leading into a series of left then right snakelike bends, followed by
two tighter sweepers and a left hander over the finish line. These three
sections were joined by two tight hairpins with a bloody great bank down the
outside. So - it was basically flat from the start line and well through the rev
range in third gear (around 150 kph) before the first hairpin and into the
sweeper. The “snake” bends were absolutely magic as the road fell away quite
sharply on both sides, and by setting the car up right, it was almost like
skiing moguls. The worst hairpin scared me a little and I showed it a great deal
of respect.
My practice run was, as usual, slow. The worst part of driving quickly on a
road you don’t know is where you encounter “blind” corners, or humps. It is nice
to know what happens around the corner or over the hump! Practice sort of helps,
but not much. I am still finding that by the third (and last) run I am taking
seconds off, and would prefer to be able to do maybe 5 or 6 runs to achieve best
times. Still, achieving that in 3 runs will come with more experience, I hope.
The first timed run was not very good at all. I couldn’t remember most of the
course, and apart from going well on the dogleg straight and the moguls, screwed
every other corner, and was almost down to a standstill at least twice. I was,
however looking forward to the next two runs, confident I could substantially
reduce whatever my time was. But - Disaster !!! By the time I reached the bottom
of the hill to line up for the second run, my little darling was out Bonding
James’ Aston Martin in the smokescreen stakes. It was still running smoothly,
and didn’t seem to have lost any power, but the amount of smoke was
unbelievable. Discretion being the better part of valour, and not being sure
what the hell the problem was, I decided to withdraw. Imagine my surprise when I
checked the board, and discovered that in the first run I was fastest in the
1600 class! I was eventually beaten into third place in the next two runs, by
about two seconds. I may be dreaming (as in “the one that got away”) but I was
sure I would have improved by up to 5 seconds in the second and third runs. That
has been the pattern in the past events. So, the day was a real disappointment
in that sense, but very encouraging in terms of the future. The next few
hillclimbs are, however, on seal, and I am just starting to get used to gravel -
bloody typical !! Interestingly, the guys who beat me (a Starlet and Corolla -
both with modified 4 AGE power) didn’t compete in the first round, and the guys
who beat me in the first round didn’t compete in this event. So, the combination
of a 4th and 3rd means that after two rounds, the MR2 is leading the 1600 class
by 4 points, despite being terminally ill first time round, and having only one
tentative run this time. I limped back home to Dunedin, using almost 2 litres of
oil in 70 kilometres, and laying a smokescreen that would be a major asset to
any army. The head came off this morning to find the problem - which turns out
to be very simple in origin - for some reason the induction sock failed, and it
sucked a heap of dust into the engine. This simply wore the rings, and allowed
oil up past them. The hone marks have vanished. All of this inside 500
kilometres. The remedy is yet another hone, and new rings and big ends, and a
general clean out. I will also fit a K & N filter, and clean it thoroughly
after every event. What a pain! But, these things happen in motorsport, as we
all know, and there is little point in wingeing about it - as I will explain to
my Bank Manager!
Then I have to run it in again in time for the Otago Sports Car Club /
Southland Sports Car Club Challenge race meeting at Teretonga on 1 November. I
think we can get 1.5 degrees of negative camber in the front wheels without
having to replace standard suspension parts. In the meantime, I have bought a
set of very second hand Bridgestone racing tyres, and can’t wait to get them on,
and on to the track. The next problem was how to transport 4 wheels down there
in an MR2 with 2 passengers. That is in the process of being solved by fitting
brackets to the “flying buttresses” with removable poles between them to mount
the tyres on, and tie them down, thus creating an MR2 Ute! I have some photo’s
of hillclimb action coming, and will get more from the Teretonga meeting. I hope
to be able to post these to you in time for the next mag. Events for the MR2 in
the immediate future are listed below.
I am hoping to enter the Southern Festival of Speed in early February (three
events at Levels, Dunedin Street Race and Teretonga), and also the endurance
event (three hours) at Teretonga on 13/14 March. I’d love Jason, Danny et al to
have a go at some of these events too. Come on guys - get your Superchargers out
there and give me something to chase in my innocent little underpowered N/A. I
dare you :-)
More after Teretonga (if car and I survive). In the meantime, keep up the
great work with the Mag.
Cheers, Daryl Munro - 1984 AW11 N/A (with what may be fast becoming the most
expensive motor in the country!)
Daryl Munro, New Zealand. 84 Blue. A couple of years ago started back with
local motorsport events in my stock AW11. I was told by most that I was wasting
my time, as I could never make it handle. I didn't believe that. Since
then, I have worked on the suspension, lightened it, and have increased its
power by fitting a 20 valve (stock) engine. I have attached a photo of it from
the Southern Festival of Speed Street Sprint, where it finished 9th out of 80
entrants. It was quicker than all 18 single seater competitors, but was beaten
by 5 Mitsubishi Evos, 2 MGB V8 racecars, and one Porsche 911 RSR racecar. The
time-spread over the top 10 finishers was two seconds. I think it handles not
too bad. Now I will work on increasing its power from 160 to (maybe) 240?
Update 20th December 2002.
Are there any fellow AW11 racers out there?
I hail from New Zealand, and have played on the track with my AW11 for about
4 years. It is nothing special - just ongoing development. It has surprised many
locals at it's achievements, specially as it is driven by a grey haired 40
something year old. I enjoy beating them !!
I have struggled with finding people who race AW11s. I am more than happy to
share my experiences. I started by replacing the engine with a silvertop 20v and
an after-market computer. It did a quarter mile in 15.03. After a season of
racing (and quite a few trophies) a big-end let go, so I replaced it with a
Blacktop 20v. It then did a 14.78 quarter mile - an improvement.
I have since installed a silvertop 20v with a T3 turbo as an experiment. It
is too soon to tell what the results are. It would be great to talk with someone
doing the same thing. We could perhaps help each other. From Daryl Munro:
As I understand it, the 20v 4-AGE was a Japanese domestic market only
version. They are reasonably plentiful here as we import a lot of used Japanese
cars (we are still right hand drive), and parts. After the original 16 valve
engine blew its head gasket comprehensively, it was a simple decision - rebuild
it at a cost of over US$1,000, or transplant a 20v at a similar total cost, but
with some horsepower advantages (in stock spec), and incorporating an adjustable
computer. The 20 v engine itself was US$500.00 - the balance made up of the Link
Computer we installed, which is fully adjustable. I paid on the high side for
the engine, because it came from a car which had a guaranteed mileage of less
than 20,000 miles.
I am not sure what you are getting at in respect of the EFI system. The 20v
engine was complete, and we used all of it in that form. The VVTi is controlled
by the adjustable computer. We have lowered the revs at which it comes in to
2,900, and that makes it go real well. But, that is about engine management, not
the EFI system.
The problem you mention about the starter is one we didn't strike. The 16v
had headers, and they fitted straight on to the assembly without problem. We are
about to re-use the factory headers to see whether that gives more torque, and
maybe will strike the problem then. I can't see how it will, though.
Essentially, everything just bolted right up, and after almost a year of racing
and driving it, nothing has rubbed, chaffed, broken or fallen off. You are right
in that the attachment of the headers requires a modification - the outer bolts
are in different positions. But, this takes a competent welder about 5 minutes
to rectify.
Water lines. Yes - they are different, and you are quite right - creative use
of waterlines overcomes. And, it took all of 30 minutes to do it.
Oil cooler. We didn't strike this problem.
Distributor. Yes, the distributor had to be modified. We made up a "combo"
dizzie, which took about an hour, and has worked perfectly since installation.
Is it all worth it? For me, yes. With a stock engine (apart from headers and
a lightened flywheel - oh, and we removed the aircon pump, etc) I now have 110KW
(145 bhp) at the wheels which translates to something like 170 bhp at the
flywheel. I race against purpose built racecars such as supercharged Corollas,
and regularly beat them. It is usually assumed that my car is turbocharged.
And, even better, I have reliability. For this car, race preparation consists
of checking the oil and water level (I have not yet had to add anything) and
tyre pressures. I was, for example, the only competitor in a recent open class
one hour race who drove the car 120 miles home afterwards - the rest went home
on trailers. I beleive that you are right about the ultimate development power
outputs - the 16v in Formula Atlantic form currently achieves 240 bhp. I don't
know of anyone who has reached that with a 20v. The reason seems to be that the
20v was a Japanese domestic market only engine, and no-one has worked on it.
But, it will produce 170 bhp all day long in stock form. BTW - it has 25 more
ft/lbs of torque, and revs at least 1,000 higher than the 16v. We set the rev
limiter at 8,700 revs in my car. 10,000 revs are possible, but I find that in
practice there is little point in exceeding 8,000. My AW11 will comfortably
exceed 100 mph in third gear (stock original box and diff). I can source 20v
engines for anyone interested. I don't know shipping costs, or import charges,
but the basic complete engine cost would be about US$500.00.
Cheers, Daryl Munro
Dunedin grasskhana
Cheers, (And Happy Christmas) Daryl Munro. Email me at dcmunro@xtra.co.nz
Cheers, (And Happy
Christmas) Daryl Munro. Email me at dcmunro@xtra.co.nz
