Tony's MR-S: Keeping the Spirit Alive
Several years back, Tony decided that to go autocrossing and do it well, he needed something small, light, and extremely agile. If it was gutless, that wouldn’t matter so much. The Toyota MR-S fit the bill.
After sharpening the chassis and getting some seat time, Tony became a threat with this lively little roadster. It’s ability to rotate ‘round cones was good enough to put him on the podium numerous times in SCCA Solo events.
Eventually, cone-carving lost its luster and Tony went back to lapping. The MR-S went on to a new owner, and Tony spent his weekends chasing times in his recently acquired FR-S. But as good as the basic FR-S package was, he found himself yearning for the pointiness of the old midship runabout. “It was just playful in a way the FR-S wasn’t—plus, it wanted to turn all the time, unlike the Scion.”
So he rung the guy he sold it to a year earlier and asked if he’d be willing to return it. After a slightly awkward conversation, Tony was on his way to reclaiming the one which nearly got away.
With the MR-S once again taking up its old spot in the garage, he went to the dry-erase board and laid out a long list of changes he’d make to turn this anemic autocrosser into a taut, bewinged time attacker—one with enough power to run with the big dogs. He immediately installed his first iteration of aero—a smallish splitter and a 62” rear wing—as well as a set of coilovers, then went out for a shakedown.
The Will to Power
Still, it was fairly fast around tracks in its autocross trim. “It was the epitome of a momentum car, that’s for sure,” he chuckled. The combination of a 1ZZ motor, a 5-speed gearbox, and additional drag left him wanting a lot more on the straighter sections, so he procured a 2ZZ: the 1.8-liter Toyota engine powerful enough to make Lotuses properly fast around the right circuits.
For a clear demonstration of the difference this engine swap made, check out the before and after footage below.
The 2ZZ came with a six-speed as well, and when the lump was modified with MWR cams, there was an appreciable amount of torque with about 180 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm. More importantly, it had an exhilarating top-end. With a 2-piece OEM Toyota Matrix intake manifold and a custom Link ECU, the little 2ZZ spat out a respectable 200 whp at 8,200 rpm.
The fun of being able to agitate a car on the way in and still and carry great exit speed.
The 2ZZ is known to have some oiling issues, so Tony went ahead and safeguarded himself against future headaches with the aforementioned computer as well as an upgraded oil cooler that dropped temperatures by 70 degrees, and a BOE oil pan with more capacity as well as added trapdoors and baffles.
Changing Lines
Since Tony was already so familiar with the chassis, the added power and aero grip didn’t present a huge hurdle to cover. For a small, snappy car that demands a coordinated driver, it’s almost friendly. There’s enough power, but not so much to change the throttle application too much. If there was one way the added power changed his driving, it was in the shape of his lines.
With no power, the corner-exit understeer wasn’t really a problem. But the upgraded powertrain changed that. A squarer line was necessary. “I realized I had to get more of the mid-corner rotation because it would push a little otherwise.” After the motor and the short adjustment period, Tony was enjoying stronger corner-exit acceleration at the cost of a slightly slower mid-corner phase.
A stiffer set of springs made a world of difference here, even if the change was seemingly minor. “I went from 7K to 8K up front, and this kept me from contacting the bump stops when I was loading the nose and asking for that additional rotation. It also kept the rear on the ground in tight corners, allowing me to power out better.”
He also changed his braking points a bit, and for more than reasons related to horsepower. A larger Birch splitter and a rear wing 71” wide—about 8” wider than the first—provided additional aero grip to complement the great power output. .
It’s a simple package that’s been accepted among quite a few American MR-S racers as the tuning standard.
But the relationship with this rapidly developing MR-S would not last long. Once Tony slapped on a set of slicks, data was recording peak grip north of 2.0 G, so every component started getting stressed far out of their original design range. Eventually, the left rear hub snapped on the entry to Phil Hill at Buttonwillow, probably one of the most inconvenient of places. That sent him into a pretty vicious slide, and the wheel tucked under the car on the downhill.
“Once I hit the dirt, the car popped up into the air and before I knew it, I was rolling. Luckily, all the safety items did their job and I walked away just fine, albeit with a bruised ego and (eventually) a much lighter wallet.”
With the excitement and sense of evolution still fresh in his mind, he picked up another chassis and, with his brother’s help, started replicating the old one, sans wings and things. Most of the parts were readily available, so the brothers were able to turn it around in six months.
This black car may not have the aero grip the silver car had, but it’s already proven itself against other winged mid-engine cars. Clearly, Tony’s special setup works well, even without the wings pressing this little roadster into the pavement.
Final Thoughts
“I’ve built or helped build 5 of these cars now, and have a couple of cars I will be assisting with in the near future. As with any car, a good set of wheels and tires and a front sway bar helps immensely with the base setup of the car. From there it’s about coming up with goals. For an autocross car, you can basically stop there and be competitive. For a little more, a good set of coilovers and more camber will do it. Of course, power is always something people want, and swapping in the 2ZZ or a K-series Honda engine is easier than you might think. Getting one of these cars into competitive shape really isn’t so challenging, because the foundation is already so strong.”
Wheels and Tires
Nankang CR-1 - 225/45/15 front, 245/40/15 rear
Konig Dekagram 15x9 +30 front, 15x10 +20 rear
Suspension
BC Coilovers custom valved, 8k front and 11k rear springs
1" solid front sway bar (custom)
Battle Version front & rear control arms
Drivetrain
2ZZ-GE with MWR S2 Cams, Supertech valve springs, PPE Header
C60 6 Speed with Toyota Helical LSD
Panic Made Link G4X ECU
Aero (Silver Car Only)
3" birch plywood splitter
Custom front fender vents
Verus S550 hood vents
APR GT250 71" airfoil with Ciro Racing pedestals
Lotus Elise diffuser