Project MR2

[Andy]

IÔÇÖve been wanting to do a write-up on my MR2. I bought this car with the intent on getting on track for as cheap as possible while maintaining DD status. That worked for a while but as everyone knows, the GFCP is a bloodsucking whore. I bought it because it was a low hp car that was awesome in the turns so hopefully, it would allow me to learn while not allowing me to get in over my head.

I got on track with stock All-Seasons, stock brake pads, stock everything really except a TRD shifter, KYB AGXÔÇÖs and Tein springs. The AGX/Tein were in retrospect, a terrible combo as the shocks was over damped and the springs were too soft, but it was cheap and got me on track ASAP.

MR2's are really finicky about suspension bits. When I first picked up the car, it had this terrible vibration in the wheel at any speed about 65mph. I replaced all the balljoints, tie rod ends, suspension bushings, roadforce balanced the tires, and got an alignment before the vibration when away.



After that first event, I was hooked completely. The pic above is at VIR 06 with the Turbo wheels that I bought over the winter of 05 with some BFG G-Force sport tires and TRD sway bars. The sway bars worked wonders on the car. The car is really flat through the turns and combined with my maxed out caster setting, makes the steering heavy but responsive. ItÔÇÖs really helped my learning curve as opposed to the steering in the 240sx which I thought was really overboosted and vague.

Here'a pic of the TRD Sway bars that took 4-6 months to get here from
JDMland.



Here's a pic of the Turbo Brakes I put on as opposed to the stock NA caliper.



Here's a pic of the front pads vs. the rear pads. Bet you can't tell which one's which. The rears are huge. The rear rotor is also bigger than the fronts.



During the NASA April event and Hyperfest, I was having some serious brake fade issues. Instructors were telling me to squeeze the brakes and not stomping on them but I had no idea what they were talking about. At Hyperfest, I was going two off at Turn 5 a few times in a row. I kept backing up my brake zone but could not stop the car. At this point, I had stopped lifting at T4 and was beginning to go almost flat through T4. My car was a big pain in the nuts. I swapped over to XP-8ÔÇÖs and theyÔÇÖve worked wonders for the car. The Panther Pluses are now my backups.

I had Piper weld in a rollbar and install some Sparco Pro2KÔÇÖs before Hyperfest. The seats and harnesses have been a big help except driving to the track is sort of scary because I have a huge ass blind to my left as IÔÇÖm changing lanes. If I donÔÇÖt keep track of the cars behind me, I have to stick my head clear out of the car before I change lanes. One piece of advice for those that are planning on getting seats/rollbar/harness, buy the Pull up lap belts. I have the pulldowns and they are the biggest pain in the nuts.

My transmission also took a dump at Hyperfest. 4th gear was popping out on me at the April event and what was left of third that came with me to H-fest was gone before I left. 4th gear was also roasted. I ended up driving home on Sunday with 1st, 2nd and 5th.

For the winter of 06, IÔÇÖm redoing the suspension. I took out the Tein springs and replaced them with TRD ones back in October. TheyÔÇÖre stiffer and linear. IÔÇÖm also overdue for some KoniÔÇÖs as IÔÇÖve done 3 track weekends now with a blown AGX in the rear driver side.

I also bought Full RaceÔÇÖs Traction bars. ItÔÇÖs a lot beefier than I thougth and the front crossmember should stiffen up the chassis that little bit more. Once they release their bars for the rear, IÔÇÖm going to get those and the suspension should be set.



That's it for now. I always mean to snap pics of weird stuff that pertain to midengine cars (like my 7-8 radiator hoses or electro/hydraulic powersteering) but I either forget or my fingers are too greasy to hold a camera but I will make a point to snap some shots. I have a bunch of other things I want to have to complete this winter so hopefully, I'll take some more pics.

[.RJ]

Andy - from when I rode with you, the shocks felt horribly underdamped - needed ALOT more low-speed rebound, a lot less high speed rebound, and more compression damping. But for cheap shocks, I guess thats status quo.

Konis will change your life, get on it

[ScottyB]

love the car. how have you adjusted to the difference between the 240 and the midship beast? did you find that the aftermarket suspension quelled, or enunciated the MR handling tendencies?

lol @ your sig

[Evan]

:thumbup: its a fun ride

I love the sounds this car makes

There is an immaculate white turbo that I pass everytime I go to anne's and it gives me evil, evil thoughts. Im begging for the day a For Sale sign goes up in its window.

[Maengelito]

Konis will change your life, get on it

agreed. going through the carousel in your car was like going over someone's wake in a jetski. you know you need new shocks so hook it up before feb. also, have you fixed the 5th gear pop out so you can stop stunnin' on the straights?

[Andy]

I haven't fixed the 5th gear poop out but I think I just need to adjust the detent ball more. We'll see.

Konis will be here mid January.

Scotty,

The aftermarket for this car is underwhelming. I have everything out of the TRD catalog except their shocks which are just repainted Bilsteins.

The car drives good and hopefully, once I get through with the offseason upgrades, I shouldn't have to touch it again for the rest of the year. I have a spare engine that I'm going to rebuild once the current engine lets go.

[Dave]

i love this thread already, even though it was way overdue. I have a feeling there will a big fight when/if you car goes up for sale :-).

[Feersty]

I bought this car with the intent on getting on track for as cheap as possible while maintaining DD status.

So what is the status now?

[CaptainHenreh]

I bought this car with the intent on getting on track for as cheap as possible while maintaining DD status.

So what is the status now?

MR2 Status = EXIST

[Andy]

Yes the MR2 does, in fact, still exist. It is my track car. I daily a Legacy Wagon to and from work. Right now, she's undrivable as I've taken off the stock sway bar endlinks to take measurements. I'm making adjustable endlinks. The stock 91-92 endlinks are about 5-7 inches long and are known to snap. It's also a way to properly eliminate from loading the swaybars since the cars been dropped.

[Andy]

Below is my long term project for next year. It's a custom coilover setup that one of the national AX champs uses in his MK2 MR2. It's basically a hacked up stock strut shell with Koni 8610 shock inserts.



Did he just buy coilover sleeves and slip them on the housing? How do those sleeves stay on the body since he cut off the stock strut spring perches? Have any of you guys done something like this?

[Dave]

is that your sway bar endlink? CRAZY! :-)
I have nothing notable for input on your question other than maybe the koni goes all the way to the bottom and the sleeve simply rests on the rim of the strut shell. Man, wouldn't that be nice and easy, except potentially hazardous if you ever catch some air.

[Goodspeed]

Cool thread, I've always liked your car, it was fun seeing it in person at Summit a few months ago. Couple questions I have about those cars...one, would you say it has been worth it? Would you recommend the 2nd gen MR2 N/A to someone looking for a cheap, fun car? Also, I always hear those rumors about MR2's being excellent handling cars up until you really push it, then they can turn evil with snap oversteer etc...true? Are you looking at getting a Turbo model in the future?

[Andy]

I like it but you should get to like wrenching on your car because most folks won't know what they're doing.

The snap oversteer can be dialed out for the street with an alignment and some suspension bits. I think an Mr2 would be great car to learn motorsports in.

I would like a Turbo but not for the track. It doesn't fit into any race division and the maintenance cost to get a turbo engine that doesn't see direct air to run safely on track would cost too much. They also carry a big ass premium that I'm not willing to pay for.

Honestly, I really think that the MR2 has really helped me learn and progress faster on track.

[D_Eclipse9916]

The snap oversteer was only mainly a problem in the earlier mk2 mr2s. Even then it is not a huge deal if you actually now how to handle and be smooth about it. They are rumors like every other car way overdone to be used by other car guys to bash it and make their car feel better. (supra is a dyno queen, eclipses and crankwalk, wrx transmissions)

Mr2 is an awesome car, if you can stand working on in it being in the middle of the car, but they are awesome.

[CaptainHenreh]

The snap oversteer was only mainly a problem in the earlier mk2 mr2s. Even then it is not a huge deal if you actually now how to handle and be smooth about it.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/OverSteerFAQ.html">http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/OverSteerFAQ.html</a><!-- m -->

93-95 had a different suspension geometry to try and "dial-out" some of that snap oversteer, but by far the most common MR2 models are 91 and 92's.

An old friend of mine had a 91 turbo and used to talk about how he stopped letting other people drive it because no one could understand that letting off the throttle at the limit is a bad idea. I drove it, and one day he "demonstrated" this tendency... it's not a joke, but it's obviously a bigger problem in the turbo cars.

But long story short, an MR2, like any mid engine rear drive car, is a very different animal from a Civic, or in Goodspeed's case, the Bus.

[Andy]

Mid engined cars don't go sideways, they spin. That's the biggest difference. On my way to the Richmond Autox a few weeks ago, I was trying to make a green left arrow light, and as I sped up through the turn, a SUV that was making a right hand turn scooted out ahead of me. I lifted, and the car started rotating even though I was only going 20-25 mph. I was able to catch it but at track speeds, that's a much harder proposition.

[Maengelito]

[
An old friend of mine had a 91 turbo and used to talk about how he stopped letting other people drive it because no one could understand that letting off the throttle at the limit is a bad idea.

this doesnt apply just to MR2's but i hear what you're sayin...

[CaptainHenreh]

An old friend of mine had a 91 turbo and used to talk about how he stopped letting other people drive it because no one could understand that letting off the throttle at the limit is a bad idea.

this doesnt apply just to MR2's but i hear what you're sayin...

Yeah, of course. It's also one of the first things most people do when they feel a slip start. Just, in an MR2 as Andy said, it's a spin, not a slide.

[Andy]

I just finished packing my new bearings with some nice redline grease and I got to wondering what exactly was going to keep the grease from oozing out. The thing has an outboard hubseal but outside of the dustcap on the inboard side, there's nothing else that is grease tight. Here's a pic.