Thanks again folks
my head won’t fit through the door.
There are a number of things still to do (things that I knew about) and a number of new minor issues to solve, so I’ll keep checking in here. I’d like to take it to the drag strip just once and put it against a standard MR2 petrol (NA) I’d like to see how far off it is. And of course, I’ll be doing some lorry chasing, normal driving, and crazy driving, and will report on the MPG figures.
I’ll write a little about the weekend for anyone interested.
I got up early and changed the last wheel stud, no dramas there really, got the rear tracking in spec, (front is already good) and gave it a clean. Then off to the MOT station. By the time I had got to the petrol station it was smoking pretty badly, I was in two minds about turning back, there was no way it would pass! I stuck with it, just in case it was the bio diesel.
It only took about 20L of fuel before it was full? Then I remembered I put load of bio in to see if the fuel gauge worked. I set off up the long hill through Bromyard and it was smoking like mad. Everyone was looking at me for all the wrong reasons it was thick blue smoke! I’d lost hope by this point, I was thinking of new injectors and turbo etc. My thinking was, I’m on the road and legal for now, lets just enjoy it for a few mins. I thrashed the hell out of it for a few more miles and as I approached the MOT station the smoke began to the reduce, so I went on a mile or two. By the time I got back to the garage, there was no visible smoke at all, even under full throttle.
I’m pretty sure now that this was as a result of the “MR2 turbo” exhaust I had bought off ebay, I imagine the previous owner had failed a turbo and put lots of engine oil into the exhaust. I had now finished burning it all off.
Anyway 40 mins later and a few comments from the MOT man, I was good to go. Went back for the missus and the tent and headed for Wales.
We went to the dams at Rhayader, then on to Aberystwyth via the really rather excellent “mountain road” or Elan Valley. Camped in Devils bridge and faffed around in Aber today, then home on the faster road, here are a few pics followed by my thoughts on the car.
This is an MR2 with a diesel engine! I can only take credit for engine transplant, everything else is standard. The handling can only be put down to the genius engineers from Japan. I knew this was the case and this is why I went with this car. I really love the way this thing drives, I would say that it doesn’t have the feedback and truly instant steering feel of the MX5, but it is very close. The most important thing here is the lack of weight at the front. It changes direction so dam quickly.
It “quite nice” at normal traffic speeds and there are no nasty traits what-so-ever, but when you press on a bit and push it through the corners that’s when it really shows its true colours and gives a feeling of confidence as if to say “is that all you’ve got!”. It is very precise and gives the feeling that there is plenty more grip on tap. It’s really very good fun. Having the roof off is fantastic, and once again really good fun, the noise can perhaps get a little tiring after a couple of hours.
Back to the engine. With the windows closed and the roof on, there is more noise than the petrol engine gives but not by a huge amount, its quietest between 1400 and 2500rpm which is spot on for everyday driving. There is plenty of power and torque for overtaking. It remains to be seem how fast it is against the standard car. However for normal everyday driving, the kind that you do on your way to work, I would argue that this is quicker. (unless you are someone who actually red-line’s it all the time).
I have given the “power booster” ebay special a go now and it seems to make a difference although the “35hp” claim might be a little generous. Watch this space for more info on that.
I did manage to hold back and see what MPG it would do this evening. I did 13miles and the destination was at a slightly lower altitude than the start point so its by no means gospel. But the figure of 78 mpg was on the dash when I arrived. The wheels are the correct diameter for the speedo to read correctly so it looks promising. I’ll be doing lots of actual measurements soon to get some real numbers.
You have my respect if you have managed to read this far, I think I would have put most people to sleep by now. I’ll be back, there is at least another couple of months of work to get it just right, but its been a good weekend for Mr Two TDI.
More to come
