MK3 Roadster:- Turbo or supercharger???

[rudds23]

I'm thinking of ways of getting more power out of my Mk3 roadster. I've been told about 2 conversions, turbo or supercharger. Does anyone have any advice on the best options.

[aaronjb]

There is only one supercharger conversion that I know of in the world, and that's over in the states (yes, there's a 'factory' supercharger for the 1ZZ-FE, as used in the Celica, but it doesn't fit the Roadster )..

To fit the supercharger is a lot of work, in short:

You cut a huge great hole in the firewall, and remove the 'parcel shelf'. You then fabricate and weld in a new firewall (since it's a structural area) to allow the supercharger to sit partially in the area that used to be more or less your only luggage space..

Oh, and to get the soft top to close, you have to force it shut with the window sitting on the lump containing the supercharger - no news as yet as to whether, in time, that stresses the window and shatters it (it might - a few people have shattered windows just putting the roof down as it is..)

If you want more info on that, have a look at Spyderchat - there's a big thread in the Performance area (IIRC) about it, some 13 pages long, with pictures, tech info and performance results.


For my money, it's a lot of work, and it's not producing as much power as a decent turbo kit..

So, if it were me..

I'd be going for the C2 Power turbo kit from Hungary - it seems to be the most readily available kit that is complete (inc. bigger injectors etc), at a decent price.

Your other options are Hass from the states - expect to wait 10 months for delivery and then to have the kit turning up minus half the bits.. (just search on either Spyderchat or MR2ROC for more horror stories)
PE from Japan - tried and tested, though not quite so 'complete' a bolt on
Top Secret - stupidly expensive (think £5k or so once you add all the bits it doesn't come with, like an intercooler, engine management etc)
A'pexi - hard to find, and I've not read about anyone who actually has one.

IMHO

An extra edit:

There are other ways, too - MWR in the states have all the bits to stroke the 1ZZ up to 2ltr, which would release a bit more power, especially if you went with, say, a PPE or TRD header, race cat and exhaust plus Unichip - maybe up to 180-190.

Or a 2ZZ swap - not too hard as long as your car is a manual (there was no SMT 2ZZ produced), 190bhp, revs galore..

Or a turbo 2ZZ..

I wonder if you could stroke the 2ZZ up to 2ltr, too..

Lots of options, really

[Rowland]

Hi Tom, nice wheels!

I'm running a Power Enterprise Turbo conversion on my 1.8 vvti lump, and it pulls like a train!
More noticeably where the normally aspirated engine seems to start to flag, i.e license losing speeds the speedo really shoots round!

As Aaron suggests there are several options available for the mk3, plenty of information is available on the interweb to keep you busy researching.
Three options I'd consider.

1. A Turbo conversion such as P/Enterprises or C2 kit, chargecooled, uprated cams etc.
2. A 2ZZ conversion to give 190bhp as stock with maybe the possibility of fabricating a bolt on turbo kit?
3. A 3SGTE conversion. Yum yum.

I'd say price wise you'd be looking to pay £2-3k for a Bolt on Turbo kit and then upwards of £ lots for a 3SGTE conversion.

HTH