Furunja Japan Car Company

[Ateh]

Furunja (フルンヤ) is an auto manufacturing company founded in 1968 on the shores of Japan by the founder Furunja Myradjyaky (フルンジャ・ミラジャキー).
It began its journey as a manufacturer of washing machines, and in 1972, registered as an automaker, and presented its first car, Forcor, in 1975.

Force was initially not 1 car in 1 configuration, but as many as 3 cars, 3 different bodies, with different engines, and in total there were as many as 5 complete sets…

Later, forcor turned into a whole a series of cars, in multiple generations

[Ateh]

Forcor is the first car from the furunja company, which is even 3 cars, 3 different bodies, in different trim levels, and with different engines…

But still, initially Forcor is a subcompact Hatchback in its canonical form, and concept, in the budget segment of family city cars.

There were 3 bodies in total:

-Wagon

• Hatchback 3 door

-Coupe 3 door(Hatchback)

And 5 configurations:

1.3MT Carb

1.3MT Inject

1.3MT Carb Wagon

1.3MT Injected Wagon

1.5 MT Injected Coupe(R-Spec)

IIf with the first 4, everything is clear, they are budget, small cars, hatchback and wagon, with front-wheel drive, and with a 4-speed manual transmission, on 2x 1-chamber carburetors, or on a mechanical injector, with SOHC engines “M18.4 Carb” and “M18.4 M-Inject”

Both options were understandable, simple, cheap, in demand, especially with carburetors, at the time more people trusted the good old carburetors more than the new mechanical injection.

But what kind of R-Spec Coupe is it? And M20.4 M-Inject?

Forcor R-Spec (Coupe) - A sports modification of the classic Forcor Hatchback, with slightly larger dimensions, weight, a sloping rear door (Coupe type), sports suspension, increased width sports tires, aerodynamic body kit, 2-barrel exhaust, and of course DOHC “M20” .4 M-Inject” under the hood, this is a 1.5 liter sports engine with 2 camshafts, also mechanical injection, producing a little more than 80 hp versus 55 and 60 for the M18.4.

This sports equipment, for a small overpayment, gave a more sporty youth appearance, limited yellow paint and wood in the interior, the ability to accelerate to 100 km/h in a little faster than 12 seconds, and gain over 150 km/h.

Moreover, the R-Spec had much better grip on the road and was much more confident in corners…

What was in the coupe captivated the young audience, who the R-Spec, because for such a cheap price it was difficult to find a faster, more perky car…

[Ateh]

After the company started with the first successful generation of Forcor, by the end of the production of the 1st generation, the company introduced the long-awaited 2nd generation of Forcor!
Forcor has become bigger, more comfortable, more convenient, and most importantly much faster!
First of all, new bodies of a new generation were manufactured, modern rounded smooth shapes, and now these are more spacious 4-door hatchbacks.

Also, the 2nd generation already received a two-link suspension at the rear, and a transition to Multi Point (EFI) fuel injection, and the R-Spec also received turbocharging, which increased power to 137 hp, which really made the R-Spec fast.

But in addition to the R-spec, there were, of course, other configurations.

The simplest -1.3MT(base)-came with a 1.3L modernized “M18.4 EFI” engine, producing a modest 68 hp but having greater efficiency and environmental friendliness (compared to the first “M18.4”), the leather interior has been replaced with cloth, velor has been replaced with plastic, there is no more sunroof, no ventilated discs in the front, no sports body kits, no dual exhaust.

1.5AT (luxe) - already had a partially leather interior, a sunroof, and already a 1.5 liter modernized “M20.4 DOHC-EFI” engine producing 90 hp, and most importantly, it already worked with an automatic transmission!

R-spec-The most delicious! A sports body kit, a sports dual exhaust system, and of course the same turbo 1.5L “M20.4 DOHC-EFI T” producing a no longer comic 137 hp, allowing the Forcor to accelerate to the first 100 km/h in less than 8 seconds, and reach a speed of about 200km/h.

But besides this, of course, a stiff suspension, good work on weight distribution, camber adjustment, low ground clearance, 15" sports wheels on wide low-profile tires, which gave quite sharp and predictable handling, and so that the brakes cooled faster, ventilated brakes were installed in front disks!

But of course, the basic one was in greatest demand for such a cheap price, about 14,000. There were fewer people willing to overpay a little more than 1,000 for a luxury, and the R-Spec was for a special buyer, and it was too rigid, too sporty, and fast a car for traveling with children to school.

It is also worth noting that, starting with the 2nd generation of Forcor, the company decided to focus more on cars for export.

[Ateh]

And finally the 3rd generation of Forcor! Which was introduced in 1993. And to the surprise of many, Forcor turned into a D class sedan and station wagon, which adopted some design features from the 2nd generation, but received restyling, especially the rear.

However, of course, there had to be a wolf among the sheep, the R-Spec, and indeed it was also presented, already in the more familiar 3 Door hatchback/Coupe body, in a sports body kit.

Also introduced were the new aluminum “MG” and “MGZ” engine ranges, “18.4” and “20.4” respectively, which were already all-aluminum and lightweight to reduce weight.
In total, the 3rd generation used 3 engines:

“MG-18.04 EFI” - It’s a relatively simple inline 4-cylinder engine producing a modest 85hp.

“MGZ-20.4 EFI-A”-It’s not exactly a simple inline four-cylinder engine, and already the engine with the “VKEK” system, which, moreover, in a completely civilian version spins up to 8,000 rpm and develops about 123 hp.

“MGZ-20.4 EFI-T” - The same thing but with a turbine, which has already helped develop 180 hp, which is no longer a joke.

And there were only 5 trim levels:

Wagon 1.3MT(BASE) - A relatively simple D-class station wagon with an “MG-18.04 EFI” engine and front-wheel drive, fairly simple equipment, a simple family car in a station wagon body.

Wagon 1.5AT (LUXE) - Already a more luxurious and comfortable station wagon package, with richer equipment, with automatic transmission and “MGZ-20.4 EFI-A” engine, and this is the only package with a slightly increased ground clearance, AWD drive, and slightly higher profile universal tires. But it was important to remember that this is still not an SUV, just an all-terrain station wagon that will simply go where other front-wheel drive configurations are guaranteed not to go.

Sedan 1.3MT(BASE) - Same as the 1.3 station wagon, only in a sedan body.

Sedan 1.5AT (LUXE) - A more luxurious sedan configuration, with automatic transmission and “MGZ-20.4 EFI-A”, but there was no all-wheel drive here, it was only in the 1.5 station wagon.

R-SPEC/SRX - A classic wolf among sheep, already with sharp fangs, and a “MGZ-20.4 EFI-T” turbo engine already producing about 180 hp, driving only the front wheels, through a manual transmission, the wolf is ready to go from 7 seconds to 100 km / h, and reach about 230 km / h.

And here, in the 3rd generation, the R-Spec, like the Forcor in the hatchback body, ended its existence, then the R-Spec continued to exist as a separate SRX model range.

And under Forcor, the company continued to produce utilitarian middle-class cars, most often sedans.

And the 3rd generation was one of the most successful, marking the beginning.

buyers especially liked the all-wheel drive station wagon, which helped them actively spend the summer outside the city!

Again, it was not an SUV and its cross-country ability was worse, but it was enough for trips to the lake in the absence of roads.

And in highway conditions and smooth straight roads, buyers were very pleased with the 8,000 rpm in a city car with the “VKEK” system, sound and feeling as if you were sitting in a racing car.

And in 2002, new generations of Forcor and SRX were already introduced.

[Ateh]

And now the complete rebirth of Forcor has happened! After all, the 4th generation, which was introduced in 2002, has already received a globally new design, and globally new bodies of a new generation!

In addition, new 1.8L and 2.8L V6 units were introduced.

As well as the transition to a direct fuel injection system.

And 4 new engines were put into production:

MGZ-20.4 FD (1.5L) - A relatively simple 4-cylinder in-line engine with a volume of 1.5L, without the “VKEK” system but with direct fuel injection, which made it possible to obtain 110 hp with good efficiency; the only thing following tradition was that the engine had a high RPM

MGZ-20.4 AJ (1.8L) - A direct relative of the MGZ-20.4 DIJ, only without a turbine, and with a slightly different cylinder head, almost a racing engine with the “VKEK” system, but with high reliability and efficiency, already developing 167 hp and having a cut-off rpm at 8,000, but despite this, it was a reliable engine, much more reliable than its turbo father MGZ-20.4 DIJ.

MGZ-20.4 DIJ (1.8L) - One can already say that the racing turbo engine with the “VKEK” system, a little stifled by eco-norms, already producing an impressive 256 hp at 7900 rpm, almost at its cutoff, was far less reliable than its atmospheric version. But, uh, it was set up exclusively in the RS package, a racing car in the guise of a business sedan.

MGV-6 MA (2.8L) - The first V-engine from the company, it was needed at the time of release for a station wagon, which in its dimensions had already surpassed the D-class, and required a more powerful engine with more torque at lower speeds, rather than the racing MGZ-20.4 DIJ which, moreover, was not very reliable as for a civilian car.

But due to the physical limitation of space under the hood, it was not possible to fit an in-line engine with more than 4 cylinders across it, so the engineers came up with the V-6 option, which was ideal in its dimensions, with a displacement of 2.8L.

And finally 5 configurations:

SEDAN 1.5MT(BASE) - The simplest and cheapest package with no frills, no air conditioning, no wooden interior parts, heated seats, no sports muffler, with the weakest and simplest engine MGZ-20.4 FD.

SEDAN 1.5CVT(BASE) - The same most simplified simple configuration, but with a CVT gearbox for a super smooth ride, but with less reliability.

SEDAN 1.8AT(LITE) - The richest equipment of a regular sedan, it has a more familiar automatic transmission, air conditioning, heated seats, wood inserts, a sports muffler, and of course a 1.8L MGZ-20.4 AJ engine, which already gave some dynamics car, and it was quite fast, and at the same time comfortable.

SEDAN 1.8MT(RS) - Special version, differing from the Lite configuration with all-wheel drive, limited colors, modified sports body kits, a proud RS badge, and a stiffer suspension. And of course, all-wheel drive was there for a reason, that there was a chance of getting caught in the pavement, because its turbo MGZ-20.4 DIJ could accelerate this business sedan to the first 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds…

In general terms, it was a racing car, shoved into the back of a business sedan, on civilian sports tires, but which could perform on the race track no worse than a sports coupe.

WAGON 2.8AT - According to the classics, originated in the 3rd generation - All-wheel drive station wagon, however, one can already say that it is aimed at the business segment, and already with a powerful large engine under the hood, 2.8L v6 MGV-6 MA, thanks to which it was much faster than its predecessor.

As a result, the 4th generation was quite successful, and customers liked it, especially the basic versions and the station wagon, although the station wagon was too expensive for many. And the RS was in demand among hot young guys who liked to organize street races in the evenings.

[abg7]

The atmo 1.8 has a sketchy torque curve - it seems to dip before 4K RPM, then spikes upward suddenly and significantly before following a more normal trajectory. I suspect this is due to the engine having VVL, but without it being configured correctly - presumably the initial cam profile is too low, or the switchover point is too far up the rev range.

[Ateh]

Yes, that’s true, it might be worthwhile to initially set the camshaft cams to a higher shape so that the drop at 4,000 RPM does not occur, or to shift the vvl actuation point a little lower, by 100-200 RPM. But the engine was initially tuned for efficiency. Until the vvl trigger point. Therefore, the camshaft cams are not quite optimally shaped.

[Hshan]

Same with the 1.5 in the previous Forcor. IMO those should have the trigger point set WAY lower, like that it would be a very harsh jolt. Also same with the turbo one - that curve with such a late spool would be normal in the 80s I guess, but not so much in the 00s.

[Ateh]

The point of the VVL system is to get a calm, economical, reliable engine at low speeds. But when you want to go faster, you just have to press the gas pedal all the way down, and from above 4000RPM the engine will give a sharp jerk, and give the car a strong acceleration. It doesn’t make much sense to make the VVL trigger point very low, as for me, because then it’s easier and cheaper not to use VVL, but just put more sporty camshafts, especially if you need a smoother engine, but again, this just my opinion.

[Hshan]

Well in general you’re right, but from my experience even setting the VVL trigger at around 3000 rpm doesn’t negatively impact economy that much, while it can give perfectly smooth power curve. And a single profile equal to the high one on VVL would make the engine much less efficient (and less smooth IIRC). IDK, try and see if it works for you, I guess - just a suggestion

(PS: also from my RL driving and driver observing experience ~3000-3500 rpm seems like a good boundary between eco and performance ranges)

[Ateh]

3500 rpm is basically fine if you think you need a smoother graph when using VVL. But personally, I would still prefer a higher VVL trigger point, up to 4000 rpm and above… And a sharper power boost.

[Ateh]

Yaho is the first and successful SUV-Pickup from the company “furunja”, the first and truly legendary SUV that traveled around the world, in the most difficult conditions.

All thanks to its simplicity, reliability, maintainability, in any conditions…

A simple frame base, on 2 bridges, only with a simple manual transmission “5GU-1”, harsh reliability.

The SUV did not even have power windows, and the rear windows were small windows that could only be opened manually.

The only thing that was in the richest package with all the additional equipment was air conditioning and CD-Radio.

But what’s under the hood? Were equipped Yaho a 3.1L engines:

1. -“YAH 4 SOHC-4V” - A simple but 16-valve SOHC 4-cylinder engine producing 135 hp and 296 N.M. of torque. a fairly economical, reliable engine.

2. -“YAH 4-VVl SOHC 4V” is a less simple modification, having the “VVL” system, but necessary solely to achieve high torque and at high revs, so it triggered early and but had a very light profile.

After all, the goal was not a sudden arrival of power to the wheels, and smooth maintenance of the torque shelf.

It was less reliable, but made it easier to overcome obstacles and swamps, even at high rpm.

And there were only 2 configurations:

1)-Base was distinguished by smaller tires, lack of air conditioning, CD-Radio, chandelier on the roof, and an abundance of chrome. And of course, a simpler “YAH 4 SOHC-4V” was installed here

2. • FULL_PACKAGE - the name says it all, full package, chrome, air conditioning/or more powerful heater for cold regions, CD-Radio, chandelier, large tires, spare wheel, tool box, and of course “YAH 4-VVl SOHC 4V” under the hood, there are also slight differences in the front bumper.

But for the full package you would have to pay about $2000-3000, but judging by the demand, this was not a problem, and 60% of buyers bought FULL_PACKAGE.

But still, this does not mean that you received a premium suv, it is still the same Spartan SUV, where the back row has only 2 full seats, and nothing else, not even doors, only windows.

But still in the wilderness, it was an irreplaceable car, in which, if desired, you could take your children to school, somewhere on the cold, impenetrable conditions of Alaska. Where there are no roads, and where you need a passable, reliable SUV. And in the back in the body you could throw prey, or everything you needed for survival.

Therefore, Yaho was in great demand, both in the hot desert and in the deserted north, and was produced until 2004.

[Ateh]

The beginning of the 21st century, and the Furunja company decided to expand a little and create new division - AJV, the essence of which is to produce mid-budget and business class cars, but mainly intended for families, not for racing.

Was the first car from the new division - Alivia, a mid-budget compact minivan, but with a spacious back row.

It was never more than 4.6 meters long, but it was quite comfortable in the back row, you could easily stretch out in a semi-recumbent position.

Otherwise, in its two configurations;
1.4MT
1.4AT
There was nothing special, just reliable, unpretentious minivans for family trips, but with a spacious back row that could be turned into a bed.

Otherwise, the usual front-wheel drive, automatic or manual transmission, Mac Pherson suspension in the front and levers in the back, a classic layout with a transverse engine.

They were equipped with new generation engines, with direct injection, and weight loss:

MGF-20.3-T-Eco Bust: New lightweight 3-cylinder engines with direct injection and turbocharging, made entirely of lightweight aluminum, with lightweight crankshafts, due to which their weight with a turbine did not exceed 103 kg.

Which, coupled with direct injection, gave good efficiency, but also according to eco standards, the engine was ahead of its time …
In general, buyers appreciated these models, simple, reliable, interesting design - a good family car …
Thanks to which it was sold until 2010.

But there was another trump card up his sleeve:
Alivia V6 2.4 AWD
A dark horse among the sheep…A separate luxury package with a V6 under the hood…

It featured a luxury interior, heated seats, an additional rear row, a panoramic roof, a digital instrument panel with built-in multimedia, cast 16" disks, and of course these madmen were able to stuff a small V6 with all-wheel drive under the hood!

-MG L6 FE, also a new generation engine, v6, lightweight, with direct injection, but without a turbine.

But thanks to the larger volume and number of pistons, it already produced 155 hp and 240 torque even in the naturally aspirated version. But the important point is that FE is a version deliberately strangled for Alivia, in favor of economy and ecology, the block itself could hold more than 200 hp.

But the engineers considered that 155 hp would be quite enough for such a family car, and more is not needed, but fuel economy never hurts, and still the very fact that there is a V6 under the hood warmed the soul.

Especially with all-wheel drive - which gave, albeit small, but cross-country ability, on large wheels.
It was quite possible to go into the forest for mushrooms on it, without problems …
But still, at what cost? Here the owners of Alivia v6 were in for a surprise and a price to pay for the v6,as soon as it was time for maintenance.
Because opening the hood the owner would see 3 cylinders at most, and would think that he had been deceived…
But no, the thing is that, as you understand, fitting a V-shaped engine into a small engine compartment was something out of science fiction, but the engineers managed to do it by turning the engine so that the 2nd half of the engine went exactly under the dashboard, deep into the engine compartment, the problem was solved, but the problem is…

That the owner could not just replace even the spark plugs, only 3 spark plugs, and that’s it, for other manipulations with the engine he had to be removed

Alivia v6 was of course prestigious, roomy, comfortable, fast, passable, but much more expensive than its basic configurations, and very expensive to maintain…

But this was an exclusive configuration for a wealthy family man, which could only be purchased by special order, in order to go on weekends in the forest to relax, and brag to your neighbor that you have a V6 under the hood! This could also be understood by the digital instrument panel, and the sports dual exhaust.

And of course, the owner of this V6 could easily install stage 3, flash the ECU, and remove about 200 hp from the engine …