Well, yesterday was our next to last local event of the season in Central
Pennsylvania. I had the privilege of being soundly thrashed by Ken Frey,
Doug Newhard, Mike Potocki, Brian Priebe, Mike Eckert, Sam Strano, and
Eric (hey, I was expecting it), and I also got to drive 3 different MR2s
in one day. It was a lot of fun, but sure underlined the fact that these
are very individual critters AND made me start looking at my car for ways
to improve it (OK, for ways for ERIC to improve it). So, I have a couple
of questions that I'm hoping the MR2 experts in the crowd can help with
(and you know who you are!).
1) Have you ever switched a car from manual steering to power steering?
Are there hideous things to know about such a swap (like there are with,
say, the air conditioning which wraps and winds around suspension pieces
and such)?
I understand that power weighs more (but don't care). I also understand
that the ratio is quicker with power. Most importantly, I've been
lifting weights since we bought this thing, and I still fight pretty hard
with it in tight corners.
2) Other MR2s I've been in (and now it's been several) seem to have more
low-end power and less high-end power than mine does (and folks who have
driven ours tend to agree). Since in autocrossing, lots of times you're
needing the low-end relatively more often, it seems as if investigating
legal means to improve the low-end would be a valid use of off-season
time (no cracks about "what off-season?" from you, Randy Chase). Any
ideas? I've heard that valve shims increase high end while not hurting
low end, I've heard that getting the injectors cleaned and balanced could
be a good idea, and I've heard that my car has 106K miles so I should
just expect that. Don't love that live with it option, but are the first
two worth following up? Are there other options to consider?
Finally, mandatory disclaimer--yes, I am FULLY aware that the nut behind
the wheel needs tightened and that adjustment will make the biggest
improvement.
mlc
'91 MR2 N/A
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