TUNING THE TOYOTA 3S-GTE (MR2)

Big Shout out to Izzy, who discovered us via the MR2 Forums, and as a result she took a scenic drive from Wales down to FC Tuning in England with a pretty cool mission: to spruce up her Toyota MR2 Rev 3. Now, this isn’t just any car; it’s powered by the legendary 3S-GTE engine, and we were all about giving it the TLC it deserved.

So, what was on the agenda? We started with installing Izzy’s already purchased classic Apexi PowerFC unit and wiping it back to its factory OEM settings. After a couple hours of set up, Izzy noticed a smoother ride and an overall improvement over the original settings. A new set of gapped spark plugs and a little tweak here and there were all it took to get rid of those annoying misfires at high speeds.

Given the car’s age – yep, it’s a 30-year-old gem – we decided to go easy on it. We gave the turbo a mild boost, enough to spice up the mid-range driving experience without pushing it too hard. It’s all about keeping things balanced, ensuring we can have more fun drives without any worries.

Looking to the future, I’ve got some ideas for Izzy’s MR2. Imagine it with a solid Twin plate clutch, ID1000 injectors, a beefy 450-liter per hour in tank fuel pump with a FPR at 3.5bar, and why not throw in a GTX30 Gen III turbo for good measure on a wrapped log manifold an either a FMIC or Charge Cooler? With these upgrades, we’re talking about serious torque and rear wheel power – enough to have a propa good blast on those Welsh mountain roads and leave everyone in the dust on the motorway.

Izzy, your MR2 is already a fantastic classic, and with a bit of further work, it’s going to be unstoppable. Can’t wait to see where you let me take it next. Keep cherishing this beauty and see you at the next car show in Wales 🙂

Remember to nudge those master techs of yours too about you know what 😉

Steve