ste91

I'm quite impressed with them, I've mostly used Toyo T1R's in the past (and T1S before that) and I'd say the Uniroyal RS3's are just as good in the dry, much much better in the wet, and around the same price. However the sidewalls are quite soft, and as I've got a big heavy diesel engine over them the sidewalls tend to flex a bit, they lack a bit of feeling when turning in to a corner, they just aren't quite responsive enough for my liking. I've just ordered a pair of Goodyear Eagle F1 A2's to put on the front which cost me £25 more per corner than the Uniroyals, they've got some really good reviews though so hopefully they're better than the RS3's, the main reason I bought them was to see if they felt a bit more responsive. The Uniroyals are very good though I'd recommend them over any other tyre for the same money.

The only person worth talking to for engine builds is Tim @ TB Developments (MR2/Toyota specialist) he's a trader on TGTT, he's rebuilt more 3SGTE's than probably anyone and his work is second to none. Speak to him if you need any mechanical work done, just about the only thing he doesn't do himself is mapping.

LOL at all those turbos kits & parts. Is the oil catch can for sale?

Ready to be fitted:

The standard adjustable actuator works fine. It (eventually) makes 19psi and holds it but the wastegate creeps open once it reaches 15psi so the last 4-5 psi are slow to rise. It's a ball and spring type MBC which is literally a ball-bearing behind a spring, when the desired pressure is reached the ball bearing moves and allows boost pressure to reach the wastegate actuator. This prevents wastegate creep as the wastegate actuator doesn't see any boost right up until the desired pressure is reached so it cannot crack open too early. Boost creep is different to wastegate creep - boost creep is not an issue. You can get boost spikes with MBC's but that's not an issue either, the MBC I've got simply wont adjust low enough, it just wants to aim for 25+ psi all the time and stay there (not a spike). 99% of people with this turbo just use the standard actuator but I'm using the MBC mainly to test it out ready for when I upgrade the turbo which I'll be doing very shortly, so I wanted to try it out ready for that so I know if it works. Turns out it doesn't! But it has shown me that it does fix wastegate creep. If only it could be set a little lower so it wasn't over boosting. I'll be running somewhere around 23psi on the bigger turbo so it wont be as much a problem then, but at the moment it's at least 5 psi too high and the standard GT15 wont last very long at that level of boost (it's almost identical in size to a CT9 and I'm upgrading to a small version of a TD04, from a 2.5 diesel engine). I've taken it off the car for the time being, I'll try it again once I've found a slightly weaker spring.

You've both misunderstood the problem - the MBC wont adjust low enough. It's a standard GT1549 turbo with internal wastegate (comes with adjustable actuator as standard), it eventually gets to the 19-20psi that I want but it creeps open at 15psi so the last few psi rise very slowly. To cure this I'm using a boost controller so the wastegate actuator doesn't see any boost until the boost controller "opens" - and it does work, however I can't get the MBC to go low enough, presumably because the spring in it is too strong and is keeping it shut even when it's adjusted to as low as it will go. If I can't fix the MBC by using a different spring then I will just give up on it and go straight for an EBC.

Not for a Starlet but most of you on here have turbos so presumably there are people with good knowledge on boost controllers here. I simply want full boost to come in as fast as possible and it doesn't matter if there's a slight boost spike as long as it settles down to the desired psi and holds there. Currently on the standard turbo I have a little bit of wastegate creep, peak boost is 19psi or there abouts but the wastegate is cracking open at 15psi. To cure this I fitted a manual boost controller (ball and spring type) which gets the boost in just how I want it, no wastegate creep and it comes on boost fast and strong, however there seems to be a problem with it as even with it set to minimum it still wants to boost up to 25+ psi which is too much. So I have two options - mess around with the MBC, fit a different spring inside it, see if I can get it working properly. OR Buy an EBC, however they cost a lot more and most of them have features/settings that I'm simply not interested in, and there's such a wide choice I have no idea what to go for, every search I've done brings up different results. Obviously the first and cheapest thing to do would be try a different spring in the MBC and hopefully it works, but if that doesn't work then I wont mess around I'll be looking to buy an EBC.

Good work, but the amount of metal around these bolt holes is a bit worrying:

I've used T1R's for years but recently switch to Uniroyal RS3's. RS3's are much better on wet roads and just as good in the dry, the only thing I don't like is how soft the sidewalls are, the feedback through the steering wheel on turn-in isn't brilliant but they do grip very well. They seem to get softer once warm so I'm not sure they'd be much good on a track after a few laps, but they're a road tyre and not designed for the track. I can't fault them for the money.

Little update, few pics, more to come: Finished my audio install, components/amp/wiring/sound deadening all done, can't really show you the end result as everything looks completely standard but the sound is in a totally different league to the standard speakers, very clear, plenty of mid bass, I'm happy enough without a sub, and you can turn the volume up so it's uncomfortably loud but it still sounds clear. Well worth the money as I think music is needed in a daily driver/road car especially on long journeys. Uprated clutch and gearbox are fitted, still bedding the clutch in at the moment but as soon as it's in I'll be giving it some abuse, I've not driven a car with a proper diff yet so I'm interested to see how the Torsen diff performs. Boost gauge fitted, I'll get a pic of that soon. Spent a few hours giving the car a proper clean, prepped with tar remover and Meguiars clay bar, and then Autoglym SRP and Meguiars Tech Wax 2.0, the pictures don't really show it but it's made quite a difference, looks great in the sun. Went for a little drive the other day: Had a nice afternoon blast down the lanes, but managed to cook the brakes, fair bit of smoke coming off the pads lol so a few upgrades have been ordered: Rover 620Ti front calipers with 282mm discs ZS180 rears with 260mm discs Ferodo DS2500 pads all round Braided lines RH665 fluid Should have plenty of stopping power once I've got that lot fitted, it works out well that I've just had the clutch fitted as I'll be able to bed in the brakes & clutch all in one go.