Taiden wrote: I'm worried that the tail-happiness will be too much to deal with.
My advice is totally not car specific but you, my friend, need to change your attitude!
Just kidding, but seriously, tail happy is so much better than eternal push. You'll learn soon enough when it's come around too far and it's time to cut the ego loose and go both feet in.
Disclaimer: I've never been in an MR2, but I have learned how to recognize the point between "drift" and "spin."
Clem
Yeah, a red 87 (I think, might have been 85) Turbo Esprit backed into him at the car wash area at LOG26, just before the show. He was a tad upset, especially after just getting it fixed from the wreck in the shop, which I think was from starting it in gear or something like that.
The tail happiness isn't really that bad. It's just, in my experience and in my AW11 (RIP) set up the way it was, it went "More, more, more, more, more, spin." The Esprit, on the other hand, goes "More, more, more, more, you're starting to berkeley up here, you better back off now, slide, recover, downshift, go."
I think the AW11 has a shorter wheelbase than the Esprit? That would explain the unexpected "snap" oversteer you are talking about.
Might be worth gutting the bumpers to move more of the weight inboard of the wheels
I went from a b13 SE-R to a mk2 MR2, and while it wasn't as easy to drive as, say, a Miata, it didn't take too much getting used to. When you get the car, just pump the tire pressure way up and go learn what oversteer feels like in a parking lot somewhere, you should be able to recover just fine within an hour.
it is always a learning curve to go from fwd to rwd and vice versa. I went from a 1st gen Hyundai Tiburon to my BMW...
and I did manage to have a couple of tank slappers on the bimmer when I first got it.. the worst of which had me backed up onto somebody's lawn with the brakes locked in the wet.... thankfully it was 6am and there were no kerbs on that rurual road
Mk1 MR2s do not snap oversteer. I find them very neutral. They may be tail-happy compared to average road cars that are 20 years newer, but they are easy to handle.
The best thing you can do for an old MR2 is tie-rod ends, steering rack bushings and ball joints.
All most all of the clunks, rattles and/or slop in the steering and suspension can be contributed to these cheap components.
Watch for rust in the battery tray and rear 1/4 panels, oil leaks in the distributor shaft, otherwise enjoy.
These cars are 'heavy' because they're overbuilt. My buddy got dive-bombed by a 91 CRX in an ITA race. The CRX was out of the race and the MR2 barely showed any damage.
They also have plenty of suspension travel. Eibach Pro-kit springs and Koni inserts are the way to go.
AW11s drive a lot like Miatas, but once you get used to using that extra rear bias to transition the car (chuck it into corners,) you'll be hooked. These cars really like to be 'man-handled' on an autocross course
Dr. Hess wrote: The 85 Koni insert isn't going to fit the 87 strut housing. I've had them both in my hands with the whole thing apart. Now, you might be able to "make it fit," but I'm talking fit like Koni made it to without serious fabrication skills. I have the pictorial guide to strut replacement on my site showing a Koni yellow insert going into the back strut of a 87 MR2.
I guess I should clarify. The front struts are the same for all years. The 85-86 rear is the same diameter as the fronts. It was a recommendation by koni to a fellow competitor to use the 85 rear in the front, due to its stiffer rebound damping. My 85 is set up with 85 rear inserts all around.
The rear training links need to be beefed up. Have some one weld on some additional steel tube or what ever around/on them. This makes "love taps" in ITA a non issue for you and sends the Honda's to the pits for extensive repairs.
I apologize - my 20v information is based upon what I've seen in AE86 swaps, where many must choose not to swap the ITBs over.
Both of my AW11s have been late ones, an '88 and my current '89. The '87-on models have slightly larger brakes that are less prone to warping the rotors, and supposedly have altered rear geometry as well as different rear shocks. I can't verify the geometry claims that I have read about, but I have had no snap oversteer problems whatsoever in either one. First one was stock springs, Illuminas set 2/F, 5/r, BFG R-1s (yes, this was a long time ago). If anything, it pushed.
My current car has Eibach Pro-Kits, Illuminas 2/F, 5/R, Suspension techniques rear bar set stiff,and 14x7 wheels with Victoracers in 195/55-14 on all four and the balance is wonderful - but absolutely no snap oversteer at all. I have to really work to get the tail out much, I wish it were looser.
Most of the snap oversteer comments I have read come from folks with pre-'87 cars, so maybe there is something to the geometry story.
I'm going back to stock springs on mine because I live at the end of a 7-mile long unpaved county road that has heavy washboard and deep potholes, and the front end crashes out at 20 mph. I can slalom around the holes, but to make the car more practical as a DD, the increased travel will help - it was better before I added the Eibachs. But for normal folk who live on pavement, the Eibachs are sweet, but they may increase the front wheel lockup tendency. But I tend to brake way too late and too hard, so the problem could be me.
I've tried using the ST front bar on full soft, and it seems OK, too - doesn't make the car plow particularly. When I put the stock springs back on, I may go back to the ST front bar along with the ST rear bar full stiff. We'll see.
One other problem - not much room under the front spring perches for big tires. 205/50-15 is probably about it, unless you get some 13s made up that will clear the brakes.
Well, AW11 owner went MIA.
As of now I am dropping a deposit on an 89 Si.
179k miles, black, 2 owner, commuter car, rust, running + inspected. $500
At least I'll have a trunk and back seats.
Taiden wrote: Well, AW11 owner went MIA. As of now I am dropping a deposit on an 89 Si. 179k miles, black, 2 owner, commuter car, rust, running + inspected. $500 At least I'll have a trunk and back seats.
And a BAZILLION swap options. As much as I feel Toyota>honda, this may be a blessing in disguise. Plus, some oddball car magazine that recently started a project track rat outa a CRX might have some good pointers...I wonder how we could get in touch with those guys...
That's too bad, I was going to add how much I love my '85 MR2. (With Eibach Springs, Tokico Inserts, ST Sway Bars, Poly bushings everywhere, and Azenis on stock triangles it handles like a go cart on rails, with velcro tires, on a banked track...) The Si is equally fun IMHO, just in a different way. Good news is that you can get a lot of parts form the junkyard, hard to do on an AW11.
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