I’ve never built my car for a specific race class, just did whatever I thought was cool. With that mantra I’ve stayed lower power and focused on the chassis and myself as a driver. Unfortunately some suspension mods land me in the highest classes for time attack.
I’ve had @globaltimeattack weekend on my calendar all year though, I was hoping I could podium in a somewhat less competitive Unlimited class.
With a ton of effort into prep, I was real excited for the weekend. What followed was a real slog. All day Saturday I faced a bad shift feel issue which made the car difficult to drive. I packed up early and brought the car home to try and repair the broken shift bracket. With a ghetto fix I put her back on the trailer late Saturday night and hoped for the best on Sunday. Then I faced more one-off mechanical issues and missed more sessions. Overall I was driving like an idiot. Just being way too aggressive.
Last session of the event I knew I needed a 1:43 to secure P2. I just tried to drive smooth until the tires gave up. But they didn’t. I put in 8 hot laps in a row progressively improving my driving and on the checker lap hit a 1:43.8. Not a pb, but good enough for P2! That last 15 minutes made the entire weekend worth it. Don’t give up!
Thanks for all the help and support from all the great people that make the PNW time attack scene what it is. Congrats to @kevbot_953 on P1, he drops 2 seconds every time he comes to the track. And congrats to @sectoronedesign on the street class record, I know he’s wanted that for a long time. 🤌🏼
Well, it's been a long time since I have shared any track / autocross videos, and even longer since I have been to this particular venue.
I'm very out of practice, felt like I was relearning how much grip the car has with every run, and I'm sure there's a lot of untapped potential in it. Plus the car has changed a lot over the last few years. The double a-arm rear suspension combined with the MCS 2 ways that I installed last winter make the car so easy to drive and inspire such confidence that it hardly drives like an MR2 any more (in a good way). All of the bad habits you would normally associated with the MR2 are gone. It just grips and grips and when it does let go it's smooth and easy to catch.
End of an era for me. Tomorrow marks my first time trailering my car to an event. Throwback picture of my old tire trailer setup for old times sake (2019)
A few people have asked for a version of my aluminum knuckles to fit the MKI (AW11) MR2. Luckily due to the modular nature of the design, this is relatively easy to do as the biggest requirement is a new toe arm for the front and rear. The rear has existed for a while and has been in use on one car for over a year, it just hasn't been advertised. That car is running the standard SW20 3 piece front design which works but isn't ideal with regards to Ackerman angles.
I now have the fix for that in the form of a new toe arm for the front on the AW11. This of course requires my old 3 piece design, and so I have brought that back as well as an option, both 2 and 3 piece designs are now available for the SW20.
Using these on the AW11 WILL require that you convert to 5 lug wheels and brakes, as there is no 4 lug hub compatible with the base knuckle design.
/shop/Aluminum-Front-Knuckles-p572321954
/shop/Aluminum-Rear-Knuckles-p572332082
Occasionally someone will ask me about the replacement interval for the rubber flaps in my oil pan baffle. Apparently Lotus recommends that the ones THEY use be replaced every two years! Well, today I had the oil pan off of my car to install a new version of the baffle for testing, and I took the opportunity to inspect and take a picture of the flaps. These have been installed since 2018, and they look and feel like the day they were installed. Now, to be fair they haven't seen as much high temp use the last few years as they did the first couple of years, but they have been submerged in oil the entire time. I see no reason they can't go another 7 years or more, given how they look now.
A little something for my personal car that I (almost) finished today. Still needs an attachment for the rear motor mount. ~13lb weight savings vs the stock crossmember! At this point I'm not sure if this will be a new product for me or not, but I imagine someone will talk me into making one for them at some point.
#SW20 #MR2 #tigwelding #fabrication
Rear diffusers have been out of stock for a while now, and I finally ordered another batch! They should be back in stock in about two weeks, and I put a 15% pre-order discount on them through Friday the 17th. /shop/rear-diffuser-p575923239
Motion Control Suspension has announced a price increase coming Jan 1st, 2025. For the MR2 coilovers, the increase ranges from $150-$1270, with the 4W seeing by far the largest increase, followed by the 2WNR and 2W units.
If you have been considering a set of the best MR2 coilovers on the market, order before the end of the year to get them at the current price!
/shop/Motion-Control-Coilovers-p572644525
A few detail shots of the center section of my dual exhaust system for the SW20 MR2 with the 2GRFE V6.
#tigwelding #fabrication #madeinusa #v6mr2 #2gr #sw20 #mr2
Rear Double A-Arm Kits are (coming) back!
Last winter I produced a total of seven of these kits for the SW20 MR2, and sold out by mid summer. I plan to do another batch this winter, and to help gauge the size of the batch I'm offering a $375 pre-order discount, running now through the end of the year.
/shop/rear-double-a-arm-conversion-p594211655
Tired of brake squeal with your big brake kit? I have the solution! These pad tension springs apply inward pressure to the pads, reducing the high frequency vibration that you hear as brake squeal.
In my experience, they took my Stoptech Sport pads (one of my favorite all around pads), from annoyingly loud to virtually silent!
Available now for the Wilwood Superlite and other calipers that take the same pad, and coming soon for the Forged Narrow Dynalite.
/shop/Anti-Squeal-Springs-p676076340
