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Carsales Staff30 Sept 2013
NEWS

World first: Twin-charged Toyota 86 for Oz

ROH Wheels and MRT Performance join forces to build supercharged and turbocharged Toyota 86

The world’s first twin-charged production 86 has rolled off the hoist in Sydney. Built as a collaborative effort between ROH Wheels and MRT Performance, the supercharged and turbocharged Toyota coupe is set to address criticisms of the model’s straight-line performance issues.

With an emphasis on stepping up torque rather than kilowatts, the 2.0-litre boxer engine pumps out a solid 184kW, along with 310Nm measured at the hubs to give a more accurate reading than a normal at-the-wheel figure.

Interestingly, approximately 165kW (123kW at the wheel, where the standard 86 produces 110kW) was achieved using just the Ecutek chip tune.

MRT Performance spokesperson, Brett Middleton, says that in spite of the additional power the 86 remains an easy everyday driver with immediate power and a linear torque curve.

“We have been building fast modified road cars for a lot of years here at MRT and understand what ROH wanted from 86 Project: a better, faster and improved version of an already dynamic car but still reliable to drive everyday” explained Middleton.

“This is why we recommended the Bullet / Sprintex Supercharger and the AVO Turbo kit to get the best of both worlds. Power comes on immediately and continues with a strong flat torque curve with the combination of the supercharger and turbocharger. The result is a wider power band with increased performance.”

Customisation of the factory ECU, using Ecutek software, allowed MRT to tailor power delivery to suit the characteristics of the engine around the bolt-on twin-charger. This avoided expensive reworking of the engine’s internals, which Middleton admits were never designed to handle the extreme pressures of forced induction.

“Our goal was to deliver a linear power delivery that is instantaneous like the original car in order to retain that same exhilarating feeling, just with a bit more punch.” continued Middleton.

“The goal was also not to increase power to ridiculous levels, as the engine internals were not designed to handle huge forced induction increases, but to achieve a reasonable linear power and torque gain reliably.”

The figures see the specifications of the 86 bolstered to a similar level of those of the acclaimed 2001 Mazda MX-5 SP. Like the 86, the MX-5 was criticised for its lack of straight-line speed, an issue addressed by the turbocharging of the MX-5’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder. The SP offered an output of 157kW/289Nm, an increase of 44kW/108Nm over the donor model.

Just like the MX-5, Middleton says that the ROH 86 is not just about power, saying that extensive work had been carried out to make the 86 handle and stop better too. The ROH 86 features an upgraded AP Racing/DBA rotor brake package, Pedders eXtreme XA adjustable coilovers, adjustable top mounts and Whiteline adjustable sway bars/bushes for what he says is optimal handling and grip.

A new six-button ceramic clutch from Xtreme also helps to deal with the new loads placed on the driveline, which now include launch control and flat-foot shifting. The ECU is also tuned to ‘blip’ the throttle on down-shifts under braking.

An after-market cat-back exhaust system from JunBL gives the ROH 86 the acoustic note Middleton says it “deserves”, while further extracting another 8kW at the flywheel.

The ROH 86 rides on 18 x 8.0-inch ROH Arrow alloy wheels shod with 225/35 Kumho KU39 rubber. The wheels selected feature a 37P offset designed to improve steering gain and increase track (width) without adversely affecting handling.

Middleton says the ROH 86 project aimed to demonstrate the modification potential of MRT’s range of aftermarket partner products. More information on ROH 86 can be found at the ROH Wheels website.

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