Team Snap Oversteer - Test Drive

So, one of the main reasons I initially decided to jump from the 3sgte platform to the 2gr, was because most of the successful track SW20’s out there are also running the 2gr. In no way am I pioneering a new swap in the MR2 world, but it definitely seems to be gaining popularity and aftermarket growth over the last few years.

Last fall I volunteered with a buddy to help out with a Lucky Dog endurance race down in Oregon. Lucky Dog is a west coast version of Champcar. Endurance racing with a budget in mind so that regular joe-schmoes like you or me (with more money) can get into real wheel-to-wheel racing. Lucky Dog classifies their cars based on a “qualification” session, instead of a complicated power to weight ratio and modification points system in Champcar. Before the race there’s a 1 hour qualifying session, where they take your laps times and split the cars up into 3 groupings, A the fastest, B the middle, and C the slowest. If you sandbag during qualifying and start dropping 5 seconds a lap during the race they’ll just bump you up a class. It’s very competitive, but still focused on having fun and getting a ton of seat time in.

When we were volunteering last fall, we saw two teams running MR2s. One a first gen, and one was running a second gen. The SW20 team were affectionately named Team SnapOversteer. They, no surprise, were running a 2gr in their car. They were having real success too, being competitive in the A class. They placed in the top ten for both Saturday and Sundays race despite losing 4th gear on Saturday, and running the entire track in 3rd gear for 4 hours Saturday and all 7 hours Sunday.

Ultimately, an Ecotec Miata was the winner that weekend.

I met the SW20 owner, Gil, and we immediately clicked. Talking all sorts of car stuff. Turns out, their car is well built, with most of the Wilhelm Raceworks catalog thrown at it. Coilovers, BBK, geometry kit, all the good stuff.

Smash cut to a few weeks ago when Gil messaged me asking if I wanted to come down to a practice day before their first race of the year and give the car a go for a session. When someone offers you a free track session…you take it. Always.

I arrived on a beautiful Friday afternoon and got a chance to really go over the car.

The exterior is mostly modest. A Border front bumper, large rear wing, and RPF1s are the only dead giveaways this car means business.

Of course the body work isn’t perfect. After all, this car regularly shares the track with 50+ other cars vying for the top spot. Even though the league is VERY against any intentional contact, rubbin’s racin.

The RPF1s are 17 all around, and the team runs Toyo R1Rs in 275 rear and 235 front sizing. They like the tire wear and especially that it works well in the rain. I’m still on the same size R1Rs and agree that they’ve been great tires for how long they’ve lasted.

As for the rear, the massive wing definitely dominates. For a fast track like The Ridge, they run almost no angle (hey, same here, too!). When you don’t have a license plate, you can tuck the exhaust way up out of the airflow. The trunk is now a skin and is VERY light. The wing supports go through the rear quarters and mount to the rear framerails. No kouki lights here… expensive tail lights are definitely not needed on a racecar. Also, all the rear glass is replaced by lexan. The car was originally a T-top, and they simply welded some sheet metal on the roof to close it in for the cage. Im told the car is pretty damn light for a 2gr SW20… 2400 pounds!

The engine bay is all business. Basically a OEM install 2gr swap with bolt ons. Reliability is key here, not winning shows. The engine is out of a Sienna, but they ditched the water/oil cooler for an external cooler in the passenger side vent. The intake is a copy of a Lotus Evora intake, and they’re running most of the Frankenstein Motorworks and Wilhelm 2gr swap items.

I didn’t get a picture, but for this race they were running a brand spanking new E153…it still had the Toyota stickers on it! They swapped in their Quaife LSD before install.

The interior is again, all business.

The digital dash is fantastic, and Gil has all the data acquisition of a much higher caliber race team. During most races they actually livestream from the car to their pits so they can watch each driver live, along with predictive lap timing, and all the other bells and whistles.

The league requires a full fire suppression system. And of course, there’s no passenger seat for a quick run down on the track with Gil, I was going out as the driver with no guidance. Such a well built car had me nervous, I haven’t been on the track in about 7 months, and this was a different car, but I would soon realize it was close to home.

So, Gil told me to grab my helmet and get ready to go out for a session. He gave me a quick rundown of the switches and any idiot lights to watch for, and before I knew it I was in the hot pit lane waiting for the green flag.

The car, was very good. I took it very easy the first few laps remembering braking points and turn ins and just letting the butterflies settle. This was also an open passing session, so I was trying my best to watch the mirrors and stay out of everyones way. After a few laps I realized how great the 2gr was, I was shifting MUCH less per lap, allowing me to focus on driving.

That being said, I had a few close calls with some of the other racers out there testing. On GoPro they don’t seem that close, but in real life I was pretty cautious to not ruin their car and weekend by having a serious off or contact. The Miata…. I don’t know what he was doing. The Porsche just plain didn’t see me when I thought he did.

Once I got some traffic free laps I really started to get a feel for the car. In short, it’s very similar to mine. The braking, grip level, and ride all feel eerily similar. The powerband though, is completely different. Once on the backside of the track, I only have to shift 4 times compared to 6-8 in the turbo car! This makes focusing on your surroundings and line much easier. The brakes are the same Wilhelm/Wilwood kit as mine, but with full on race pads. The braking force was extraordinary. So much so that finding the threshold took some getting used to. No ABS on this car, while mine has the 93+ 2 channel.

The biggest difference was the lack of power steering. This car was all manual steering. I didn’t think I would miss it, but wow what a difference. Definitely a lot more muscle is required to get this thing around the track. I was wiped after a 20 minute session, I can’t imagine an entire 2 hour stint while really racing other cars out there.

Once I was comfortable and able to really drive the car I laid down 2 laps at 2:00. Wow… that was easy! The lack of shifting really helps you focus on your turn in and braking points. I bet with a few more sessions I could easily be faster than my previous PR of 1:59.3. It was obvious the car had a lot more time in it, I just didn’t want to break anything.

I thanked Gil and we chatted a while longer about the car. Driving his really solidified my choice to go 2gr. They had a huge weekend of racing ahead so I didn’t dare ask for another stint in the car and use up more of their new tires.

Over the weekend I kept close track of their racing. You can follow live timing of the events on the Luck Dog website (https://www.racelucky.com/).

(Photo courtesy of Kirk Myhre/MyhreCreative)

The team and car had a very successful weekend racing. On Saturday they took the overall win! On Sunday they placed second overall and first in their division! No problems from the car all weekend, 14 hours of racing. Congrats guys!

What’s even cooler, is during these crazy 7 hours races (with 80 cars on track… EIGHTY!) Gil and his co drivers were able to put a ton of impressive laps, Saturdays’ best at a 1:56!

(Photo courtesy of Kirk Myhre/MyhreCreative)

On the Sunday race, professional driver Randy Pobst took their car out for a stint. He didn’t disappoint. Here’s his best lap:

Yup, he piloted the car down to a 1:53! Holy crap. That’s a seriously fast time for almost any car around that track, much less a 28 year old “sports” car on Toyo R1Rs. Now I definitely have something to strive for… and now I know just how slow of a driver I am.

Thanks again Gil, this gave me a huge kick on the nuts to get my car ready and on track hopefully sometime in June.

(Photo courtesy of Kirk Myhre/MyhreCreative)