The New Trunk Monkey..MW Racing Turbo Elise

[Lotus F1]

Well it's official. I'm going to have an angry monkey in the trunk soon . We will soon have a new player in the Turbo Elise Arena. I braved the treacherous North East storm yesterday and drove 650 miles to drop my car off at Monkey Wrench Racing in MI. I'm pretty excited about it and can't wait to see what the 2ZZ guru's come up with. I must say I was very concerned about what would take place but Matt of MWR was great and showed me around the shop and talked cars with me and made me feel alot better about the whole project. They have some incredibly fast cars in that shop. It will take about 1.5 to 2 months as an estimate for the completed project. They have some ideas about a few things and need a little extra time to see what going to work best, ECU, intercooler etc.. My setup is going to be a fairly comparable kit to ForceFed's in terms that it will be a low boost 6-7 psi on stock internals w/ upgraded clutch. As this project progresses I will to have pics posted and any other information put into this thread. I think it's really good that we have another expert tuner actually going ahead with a Turbo Elise kit. It's good for comparison and gives another alternative/twist in the force induction evolution of this car.

[NMRJock]

It is especially good that they're just down the road from me...

[OriginalBlackCi]

I wanted to see MW get a try at this when, unfortunately, they could not get a car to work on. Good luck and keep us updated with what you can. Oh, and congrats!

[jac]

What about the high compression ratio and turbos? Didn't Vishnu have issues with the matrix? Your thoughts? Did MW have some different ideas?

[shay2nak]

are they also going to work on NA stuff, too?

[Lotus F1]

Originally Posted by jac

What about the high compression ratio and turbos? Didn't Vishnu have issues with the matrix? Your thoughts? Did MW have some different ideas?

Your question was very much on my mind. The compression ratio and that Matrix example was something Matt and I spoke about. Matt is confident in that the engine can reliably handle a low boost well sorted and tuned turbo. He has done it before and feels it is a reliable solution if done conservative and properly. I had considered doing an engine build because of this very issue but after talking with him i feel for my needs the low boost and reliable Elise did the trick if it can last. The build version that he can do os easily a 400+rwhp monster. He does all the actual work and can make a very attractive monster Elise without it costing something obsurd. I would have done it but I really don't want that much for this car without first seeing what the car is like with 250rwhp. I may down the road consider the built version if I find I want some new excitement. Again, people should know that MWR knows this engine very well. They are only needed to consider the fitment of things but have the tuning etc issue fairly uderhand from other 1zz and 2zz projects they have done.

MWR is also working hard on some of the NA projects. I really didnt get into this to much since I was mostly interested with the FI concerns. Give him a call I'm sure he would be glad to tell you guys what's brewing. MWR has actually engineered some of the 2zz engines upgrade components that they sell. The owner is actually a formaly trained engineer in addition to having automotive experience with a major car company. Which I think is a real plus. Should be interesting to see what they come out with now that they have a car to test with.

[OneFastLotus]

Good luck!!

[Lotus F1]

Originally Posted by OneFastLotus

Good luck!!

Thanks Jenn, just when I thought the Lotus was the cure for having to Turbocharge a Miata lol, he we are again

PS.. in the land of 3K exhaust systems and $500. CAI kits which all provide minimum if any real power increase I felt that the Turbo option makes the most sense.

[Mean TT]

Originally Posted by 1FASTMX5

Thanks Jenn, just when I thought the Lotus was the cure for having to Turbocharge a Miata lol, he we are again

PS.. in the land of 3K exhaust systems and $500. CAI kits which all provide minimum if any real power increase I felt that the Turbo option makes the most sense.

Exactly, especially with their reputation. They have been THE official source for tuning the 2zz and their reputation and prices are excellent. You can buy anything you can imagine for the 2-zz and they do custom work all of the time. I wish you all the best of luck.

Your point about the 3 thousand dollar exhaust couldn't be more right. They amount of companies who are trying to scalp us is humerous. I spoke with Matt a few times, he is a good guy, and very professional, he definatly knows his stuff. When thier kit is developed, I am sure it will be close to the cost of celica kits since it is the same engine. Afterall, a complete custom turbo application isn't that far off from the magical 10,000 cost it currently stands at.

[MikeP]

1FASTMX5 - Being the guinae pig for their turbo project, what sort of discount do you get?

[EdHahn]

Originally Posted by MikeP

1FASTMX5 - Being the guinae pig for their turbo project, what sort of discount do you get?

More importantly, what kind of engine warranty are they giving you?

ed

[SweetDaddyD]

Warranty? Discounts? Yeah right. They are investing thier time too. This isn't going to be a high volume mod. It's more like he gets "bragging rights" to all of us, and our props for having the balls to be one of the first. After it's proven, it's easy to walk in and be the 4th guy to get it done.

I used to run a supercharged V-8 with 10.5:1 compression ratio. Everyone said it was too high a compression ratio to supercharge it, and it would of been if I ran crazy boost and didn't keep the timing under control. Running 8psi and a MSD boost timing control, it showed no signs of detonation upon a later tear down. Then I lowered the CR to 8.5:1, tripled the size of the blower, and sadly- sold it

[Stan]

Hey onefast.... if you ever want to measure your turbo Elise acceleration...let me know. I have the same sort of stuff the magazines and tech folks use.

[jac]

Thanks for the info. I have heard good things about them. I think Stan and I should do a complete test of your car after you get it. If you could just drop it off around Albany NY I will get this taken care of for you asap.

[Lotus F1]

Originally Posted by Stan

Hey onefast.... if you ever want to measure your turbo Elise acceleration...let me know. I have the same sort of stuff the magazines and tech folks use.

Hey Stan, thanks for the offer. That sounds like fun. I will definately get together with you and do some testing. I'm sure the data and its analysis will be interesting. Who knows, It may even change your mind about the whole turbo thing

[ivan1]

Have you read the article in Car and Driver April p 130 on their experience with Vishnu mods to their Evo titled "The Perils of Being Power Crazy" ???

[TTP]

Originally Posted by ivan1

Have you read the article in Car and Driver April p 130 on their experience with Vishnu mods to their Evo titled "The Perils of Being Power Crazy" ???

Can you sum it up for us that haven't read it please. Thanks.

[delliott00]

Trieu,

Basically, they bolted on a exhaust, intake, cams, etc on an evo and got a lot of power out of it, but kept having issues like the o2 sensor backing out of the bung. So, they put it back to stock and were like "this thing is so good stock, why did we ever want more power?" .....

Odd, because Vishnu is a very good Evo tuner. I personally have about 310whp (maybe 360 crank) on my evo with just a full 3" exhaust, boost controller, and ecu mods. My evo is rock solid reliable, and stupid fast. But thats where I'm stopping power wise. Its the perfect daily driver and compliment to the Elise.

IMO, the Evo can easily be tuned to 350whp, reliably. But, any more than that and you'll be upgrading components as they fail. Fortunately, the engine isn't one of them, it can take it easily as long as you have proper tuning, but things like the clutch, transaxle, etc might go out on you. Keep in mind a lot of Evo owners drag race..... I have no interest in that and not sure why people complain when they toast a clutch at the strip in their 400hp Evo....Well DUH!

I'd consider a light pressure FI solution for the Elise, but I think I'll wait a while before I decide.

-Dave

[Lotus F1]

Originally Posted by ivan1

Have you read the article in Car and Driver April p 130 on their experience with Vishnu mods to their Evo titled "The Perils of Being Power Crazy" ???

Ok Ivan, you peaked my interest so while I was waiting for my next flight I walked over to the news stand and picked up the Car & Driver Mag. Although I do agree with the spirit of what the article was trying to impress upon people who mod their cars I have to say there example was rather extreme.

I installed and tuned my Miata with a complete turbo system with a engine management system. It had the works, BOV, intercooler, fuel rails, full exhaust etc. I didn’t have a fraction of the trouble these guys had. My TEC II ECU system was from Vishnu Performance and it worked great. My highly modified Miata is extremely reliable and has had very few problems.

Now I don’t know who was at fault with this EVO example (the Tuner shop or Vishnu) but this is not always to be. Having a car modified for more performance does have some consideration but if the kit is well sorted and properly maintained it does not have to be a nightmare. My Miata is so reliable that I treat it exactly like I did when it was stock even though it has over 100% more power then stock.

Of course I will look around the car more often to make sure things are connected and tight but I would hardly call it a chore. If you look around you can find these kind of horror stories with brand new cars stock from the factory. OF course that doesn’t mean that it is like that for all new cars.

If MonkeyWrench does the job right and with very tight quality controls and tuning, this car should be as easy to maintain as I stock car… I have chosen them because they have the track record and experience and will be installing it. I have a feeling if Shiv had done the job on the Evo there might have been a different story being told. I guess we will see

[ivan1]

not trying to talk you or anyone else out of having the mods done....I have no doubt you did your homework and your car is in good hands...maybe I can get a test-ride once its done