Raptor13x

Okay, here's the situation

I want my MR2 to have 400rwhp or so, which is attainable with the 3sgte Toyota motor, but reliability is questionable, and I would prefer to have a powerband that isnt quite so peaky, so I've begun looking into larger displacement motors that wouldnt weigh down the back of the car like a boat anchor. This is a handling car, and weight balance is very important.. I love the way the car handles, I just want more POWER. And I've discovered that the nice all aluminum LS1 is not much, if any heavier than the iron block 3sgte with turbo and whatnot on it. Soooo.... here comes the fun stuff... planning how I can fit the 5.7L motor into an engine bay designed for a 2.0L. Because 400rwhp+ with a wide *** torque curve, in a sub-2500lb mid-engine RWD sports car would be freakin awesome And shoot, on the LS6, 405hp is freakin stock if i remember correctly.. i could shoot way higher than 400rwhp. I just want the most power I can have with the car still being somewhat controllable around a twisty racetrack.

I've discovered that width and height are no problem, there is plenty of room those ways in the engine bay, but the length of the motor is a problem. Without cutting into the frame or shoving the transmission further to the left, I have ~22" of room for the motor. The LS1, from back to the tip of the water pump, is 27.5". So, I have to figure out how to come up with 5.5" of extra room, at least according to the size date on this site:

http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/r...ctioninfo.html

Soooo, what can I do to shorten space lenghtwise the engine takes up? I know I can cut into the from rails an inch or two on either side, and I can probobly move the transmission over an inch, but looking at that big freakin water pump and crank pulley... I'm hoping something can be done.

Are there any water pumps and crank pulleys available which take up less room that any of you know of?


As for the transmission, I would prefer to use the stock Toyota transmission with a custom bellhousing to fit the SBC block. The Toyota gearbox has been proven to handle well over 600rwhp, so it should be fine for my needs. If I can leave the trans in stock location, that would be optimal because i could use stock axles and mounts, but i would prefer to move it if it meant I didnt have to attack the frame with the sawzall, lol.

Next issue, powerband. The MR2's motor redlines at 7200rpm or so, which makes the car gear limited to 170mph. 8500rpm is required for 200mph. So, can the LS1 or LS6 be easily modified to handle 8500rpm and make good power up there, without seriously sacrificing reliability? And will the LS1 or LS6 be bitchy about a normal highway cruising RPM of 4000 or so? Would you recommend modding the motor to handle high RPM or somehow figuring out a way to increase the final drive ratio?

Raptor13x

Oh, as for engine accessories, I dont have nor want air conditioning, and I converted the car to manual steering. So A/C and P/S can be deleted for extra room.

The exhaust will, of course, have to be totally custom because this is a transverse mounting, and I'm not yet sure what has to happen with the clutch, but it should be fun.

mmannSS

OH MY GOD!!!! I wish I could help ya. My only suggestion would be to consider a different car. Somebody on here posted a site that had a miata with an LS1 stuffed inside. At least the engine was running th ecorrect direction. Mounting the LS1 in there sideways sounds like a REALLY big job. I know I'm no help but sounds like you've jumped way out into uncharted water. I think youre going to be the first to try this specific setup.

RxNupe

I saw a video clip somewhere of a Porsche 911 with an LS-1 than ran 12's. I'll see if I can find it.

RxNupe

Here's the link

http://www.toy-jet.ls1fun.com/

Greed4Speed

I imagine the GM 3.8L or 4.3L V6 turbo engines would fit a bit better. Good luck though.

mmannSS

here is the site for the miata:

http://www.diamondmotorsport.com/miatas.htm

got_hp?

id go for the LS1 if you can find some way to make it fit.

there is no need to rev to 8500 rpm!!!!! thats just silly. the ls1 will make all the power you want from 2500-6000ish......thats a huge power band, its not peaky like the turbo 4bangers.

just take the stock LS1 motor, throw in a heads/cam package. that should bring you to 420-450 rwhp, and put that little car deep in the 10's.

just check out what these guys are doing!
hinson supercars swaps LS1's into RX7's.

1993 Mazda RX7 Touring Model (Auto)
3.90:1 gear

Total Weight: 2,831lbs (50/50 F/R ratio)
2001 LS1 T56 combination

Stock Heads
Mild cam (221/221 .558/.558 114)
Estimated ~350rwhp

Performance
11.4 @ 120mph

add a larger cam, or ported heads, and youre into the 10's for very little, with a reliable, great sounding, lightweight car.

chpmnsws6

it would be cool but wheres the tranny go then? there is just to much engine for that small of a car IMHO

zoomjrl

def dont need to run an LS1 to 8k RPM, change the gear ratio. As for how to do it, don't have any idea. There are electric waterpumps, I dont know if they would allow you to reposition the waterpump or not. Def lots of custom work, ask the guys with the RX7s. Oh, and as much as we all love the LS1, maybe you should consider one of the V6s mentioned above, Super Charged they can get to 450WRHP I'm sure. Either that or a smaller V8. Good Luck
One last thing, I know how much weight distribution is but, maybe you could figure out a way to extend the frame a bit.

Raptor13x

The only reason to rev that high is to avoid having to mess with gear ratios to raise the gear limited top speed. But it may be easier to try to figure out how to change the final drive after all.



And as for the stuff about finding a bigger car, putting a big engine in a small car is kinda the point And if you can fit a big freakin V8 in a Fiero, I'm sure its possible to fit a V8 in the larger 2nd gen MR2.

Raptor13x

The trans goes in the stock location, or pushed an inch or two to the left if nessesary. The engine has plenty of room width and height-wise for a V8, and it can fit a 2.0L I4 with no problem lengthwise, so I dont think a 5.7L V8 would be *that* impossible, provided I can get a shorter water pump, or relocate the water pump.

Anyways, I love the Toyota quality and the mid-engined handling in a reasonably lightweight sports car, I just want more power without sacrificing lots of reliability, and I want a nice linear powerband which cannot really be achieved effectively with the turbo 4. There are no other cars to my knowledge near the price of the MR2 that have the mid-engine layout, adequate room for an LS1, have good handling, and have the quality. Closest thing would be a Fiero, but they have ****ty handling and terrible build quality, unfortunately. So.... that leaves me with my MR2

Theres also the cool factor with doing something thats never been done This would be an easy 10 sec car, a total sleeper And I wouldnt need 110 octane race fuel to push 10s like everyone else on the MR2 board, lol

Raptor13x

Oh, almost forgot, on the electric water pump topic... I hear those are very inneffective and not a viable option for a daily driven car, am I wrong, or is this true?

chpmnsws6

they can be, just find a good one

Raptor13x

I think I'm gonna head out to the chevy dealer and check out how exactly the LS1 is mounted in the Vette so I can get an idea of how some more stuff fits. Plus I'm bringing a tape measure for some more measurements