Getting a new car

[DieselRacer]

Just thought I'd tell you all that I couldn't stand driving my 406 diesel around all the time, so I've decided to get a new car. I couldn't afford much, so I went back to the Toyota MR2.

The car I'm getting is a Revision 3 MR2 Turbo GT. It already has one or two modifications, such as a K&N air filter and 5iegen Exhaust, so should be pushing out about 275bhp. Once I add a boost controller I should be able to tweak that up to 300bhp. I know how to fit a BC myself now because I put one in my old MR2 Turbo - thankfully they're not that difficult to install.

For information, an MR2 Turbo running at 300bhp is capable of 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds and can reach a top speed of approximately 170mph. Not bad for a car costing less than £5k.

Picking it up this week, I'll post some pictures at some point.

[85RX7]

Awesome choice dude!

Love those cars, a nice looking sports car with power for a good price........nothing wrong with that!!!

Is it the T-Top model?
Manual or Auto?

[DieselRacer]

Yeah, it's the T-top. Means I can take the roof off in the summer. My last MR2 had a solid top, and I really missed not being able to do that.

Gearbox is manual. I had the option of buying a different mr2 which had a semi-automatic tiptronic box, but I've known owners who've had problems with that, plus I heard it takes about 2-3 seconds for the gear to change sometimes. But anyway... I prefer manual.

[McReis]

Egg Nog's ownership challenge, please... :rolleyes:
After the Cossie RS500, I'm ready to believe in anything but, you have to make proof of it.

[DieselRacer]

Sure, well obviously I'll do it once I actually have the car :)

My my, you are an untrusting lot aren't you! :p

[McReis]

Sure, well obviously I'll do it once I actually have the car :)

My my, you are an untrusting lot aren't you! :p


Please don't get offended. But every month or so, we get someone who claims one of two things: that he has a supercar or a highly modified one. They even post pics. But when we ask for come proofs, they disspear from the forums... Or they stay but try to convinve us for years that they have escorts or so... :D
I hope you enjoy your car when it arrives. ;)

[Matra et Alpine]

Sorry DR, but why over-power the MR2 chassis like that to produce an evil-handling monster near the limit ? ( and without a very high limit too :( )

Do you really like the MR2 shape that much - or ( as is the norm in the UK ) is your second career in hair-dressing ?? :)

What do you do to the rears to stop it wheel-hoppin in corners ?
Are there upgrade arounds to match the power and how much change is needed to the chassis to accomodate ??

[DieselRacer]

Thanks - yeah, I can understand that. I suppose every forum has those people who constantly lie about things.

Of course, the MR2 won't be a patch on the Enzo I have in my other garage. (jk)

Here's some photo's of my last car - www.wright-it.com/exige - a Lotus Exige S1. My cousin did the egg nog challange on that for me, I'm sure you'll find it if you look in that thread or seach the member :exige: for the relevant post.

[DieselRacer]

Sorry DR, but why over-power the MR2 chassis like that to produce an evil-handling monster near the limit ? ( and without a very high limit too :( )

Do you really like the MR2 shape that much - or ( as is the norm in the UK ) is your second career in hair-dressing ?? :)

What do you do to the rears to stop it wheel-hoppin in corners ?
Are there upgrade arounds to match the power and how much change is needed to the chassis to accomodate ??


Actually, the chassis of the MR2 is more than capable of handling that amount of power, and more. This is the Japanese import version of the car, not the UK spec, and has a standard power output of 245bhp. So taking it up to 300bhp isn't that much of a problem. There are plenty of MR2s out there which generate power in the vicinity of 450bhp without any chassis modifications.

I admit, the MR2 isn't the best handling car on the road, but it's certainly not the worst either. And btw, hairdressers only go for the white and yellow MR2s, and more frequently have the UK spec cars, which aren't turbocharged. Either that or they drive a mazda or something.

Matra - I'm beginning to think you have something against me :p You only ever reply to my posts in a negative way. :rolleyes:

[Matra et Alpine]

Matra - I'm beginning to think you have something against me :p You only ever reply to my posts in a negative way. :rolleyes:

Sorry, DR, no.

I's my "style".
I tend to ask blunt questions and usually frame my question with some of my understanding.
Yep, I soemtimes/often get reminded I'm a bit too "curt" :)
BUT I'm trying to work and jumpin and out of UCP, so I dont' tend to be too "chatty" - very "matter-of-fact" sorry.
Also, I've seen a few MR2s go off backwards at the hairpin at Knochill so have a possibly "biased" view of their handling :)

[DieselRacer]

It's ok Matra, I do the same actually - I'm always working too whilst trying to keep up with about 3 or 4 different forums. No offense taken :)

As for the MR2s - I've owned 2, a non-turbo and a turbo. I agree they can be hard to control if you're really pushing them... but that just makes it more fun doesn't it?

I don't suppose you remember how old those MR2s you saw crash were? For reference, the Revision 1 and 2 cars were much more twitchy than the Revision 3+ cars. The Rev3's all have uprated suspension as standard. However it has been said that although it's easier to lose the rear end of a Rev1 or Rev2, it's also easier correct. If you lose the back end of a Rev3, it's near on impossible to control, even though it's harder to lose it in the first place. If that makes any sense!! LOL

Gonna take some getting used to after the Exige though - you can throw them things about as much as you want and know damn well it's going to correct itself perfectly every time!

[McReis]

Thanks - yeah, I can understand that. I suppose every forum has those people who constantly lie about things.

Of course, the MR2 won't be a patch on the Enzo I have in my other garage. (jk)

Here's some photo's of my last car - www.wright-it.com/exige - a Lotus Exige S1. My cousin did the egg nog challange on that for me, I'm sure you'll find it if you look in that thread or seach the member :exige: for the relevant post.


I remember the egg nog challenge of that car. Very, very beautiful.
Going from that to any MR2 will be a bit of a pain anyway, right?

[DieselRacer]

Unfortunately yes - but at least its better than a Peugeot 406 diesel! :p

The MR2 isn't a bad substitute though - it's a quicker than the Exige for straight line speed, and isn't that much slower for accelleration either. As Matra reminds us though, the MR2 isn't as good for it's handling, but then, it only costs a tenth of an Exige, so you get what you pay for I guess.

To answer your question - yes I will miss the Lotus, but hopefully I will enjoy the Toyota as much but for different reasons. (The Lotus is very basic inside, whereas the MR2 has more gadgets and luxuries).

[d-quik]

You only ever reply to my posts in a negative way. :rolleyes:You're really senstive then if you think that his reply was "negative"...

[DieselRacer]

Nah not really.. but it doesn't really matter now. It's a moot point considering we have both replied since that post. He was just concerned about the handling of the car, and I took it as him questioning my choice of cars. I know he didn't mean that now, so it really doesn't matter. :)

Besides, I was kinda joking when I said that, hense the smileys :p

[Spastik_Roach]

Why'd ya sell the Exige? That was a kick ass car! Not practical enough?

Anyway, I love MR2's, this should be really awesome, can't wait to see pics.

[TheStig]

Great choice, i just googled it and really liked what i saw.
What year range is Revision 3 exactly?

[DieselRacer]

To answer both the above questions...

The Exige wasn't practical at all. In fact really hurt my back one day getting out of the thing. I can't put the car down in anyway though, it was a fantastic experience and I loved every minute of driving it. The straight line speed isn't wonderful, but the accelleration and handling more than make up for it. Besides, how many times on UK roads can you actually get up to 145mph? (which is the Exige's top speed more-or-less). The other reason I got rid of it was because it was an expensive car to have and run, especially when I only used it for fun at weekends. I also bought it so that my cousin and I could have some fun in it, but unfortunately he and I have had a disagreement so in the end it seemed pointless keeping the car.

The MR2 MK2 changed from revision 2 to revision 3 about 1995 I believe. Maybe a year earlier or later, but it was about that time. The main differences are a different turbo (the rev3 uses the same turbo now as the Celica). The engine is better reinforced, and uses steel gaskets etc, plus the suspension has been upgraded making the car (supposedly) more stable. The older rev1 and rev2 cars were easier to loose on corners, however some have argued that dispite this, the rev1 and 2 cars were more fun to drive, and easier to correct if they did actually lose the back end. Performance wise, the Rev3 car is 245bhp standard, whereas the previous two revisions were about 220bhp standard. Most people have realised however that the Rev3 is easier to modify in regards to it's power output. On my previous MR2 for example I got the power up to 300bhp by adding only a new exhaust, a boost controller and an induction kit (the ind. kit didn't really make all that difference either).

The Rev3 MR2 can handle about 19psi of boost as opposed to it's standard 13psi. Each 1psi adding about 6-7bhp. So you can see that 35-45 extra bhp can be had just by adding an aftermarket controller such as the Blitz SBC model.

Ok, I've rambled on far too much now... any more questions? I'm picking the car up tomorrow, so I will get some pictures uploaded asap.

[DieselRacer]

Update:

Picked up the car yesterday... the damn guy lied (or didn't know his MR2s). It wasn't a Rev3, it was a Rev2. Means it has a less powerful turbo, worse suspension and basically isn't such a good car. After a sight argument he agreed to lower the price, and considering the car was actually in very good nick I went ahead and bought it. Managed to get £500 off the price - so basically £2k for a 240bhp car which already has a sports exhaust, 16" alloys and a K/N air filter.

I'm a little dissapointed that the turbo doesn't seem to be operating to the max. Tried various things like resetting the ECU and heatsoaking the engine bay (ECU enters safe mode under about 5 degrees C outside temp), and still the car only produces about 7-8psi rather than 11-13psi. Got a few more things to try such as new leads and dizzy cap, checking the timing and whatever... so hopefully I'll get it up to speed.

Already though it's still a very quick car. Someone in a new Golf GTi tried to outaccellerate me on a motorway sliproad and got wasted... poor guy, he did look sad. Also a Vauxhall Nova (with underglow neons ROTF) tried to burn me up at some traffic lights. Sigh - I think he might still be there now he was so slow!

Anyway - will get pics for you soon - right now I'm still trying to iron out the turbo problems.

[FerrariMan44]

hey, i have a Vauxhall nova, don't diss them!!!!!!

They're cheap cheap cheap and easy to modify!!!

I don't have neons though!!!

[Cotterik]

we're on about real cars here lol

sounds like a good plan you got DR, let us know how it turns out