I'd second everything Katie said. Ever since I bought my MR2 I've never
left an event without having an absolute blast driving it. They are just a
ton of fun!
I think Miatas are just as fun, but different. When I first tried Kevin
Lahey's M2 Miata, it was love at first drive. Quick, responsive steering,
perfect balance, and excellent feedback to the driver about what's going on
at the contact patches.
The MR2 took a while for me to get used to, but I have really grown to love
it. Even with the optional power steering, the ratio is ***yawn*** slow
compared to the Miata. And a well setup MR2 is easy to slide around and
work with at the limit up to a certain slip angle, but go beyond that and
things can get ugly.
But the neat thing about the MR2 is that its characteristics match up well
with the stock class Solo2 rules. You can get lots of static negative
camber in the front, which isn't all that common in stock. And while the
rear biased weight distribution gives a tendency toward oversteer, you
install a bigger front swaybar in stock which helps to balance that out.
Also since the NA cars have an open diff, the big front bar helps keep the
inside drive wheel on the ground to reduce wheelspin. The result is a car
that is really well balanced under power. The car teaches good driving
habits because if you aren't on the power really early you are pretty much
dead.
This brings me to the swaybar endlinks. In 1993 the MkII MR2 had got
revised rear suspension geometry to quell lift off oversteer, reinforced
endlinks, a wheel/tire upgrade to 15", and 5 more hp/lb-ft. The '91-'92
models usually run a much stiffer swaybar to balance out the tail happiness,
which also puts much more stress on the endlinks. On the '93+ models, the
TRD swaybar we run is not that much stiffer than stock, and combined with
the beefier endlinks on these models Randy and I have never had a problem
with them on either of our cars. Still I keep a spare set with me just in
case.
Peter
-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly, Katie [mailto:kkelly@spss.com]
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2002 9:45 AM
To: Todd Stiers; ba-autox@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: 91-95 MR2 Comments?
I've never owned and MR-2, but I got to co-drive one for a bit of a season,
and it was one of the funnest cars I have ever driven. I almost got one
myself, and I can't remember my final reasoning, but I guess I just liked
Miatas better. Now I remember. Akkana Peck and David Gould did an excellent
sales job on me, David the worst, I mean, best. When he found out there was
a Miata for sale in Iowa, he forwarded the on-line ad to me, with the note:
"You're not just buying a car, you're buying an ADVENTURE." That's how I got
Lucy.
Still, I can't think of a car so old, but still so competitive. I'm sure
many people could tell you about their REAL problems, but one thing I
learned is that sway bar bracket mounts, or whatever they're called, break A
LOT. I think we were driving with one broken for awhile, and then when the
car owner discovered the problem, he said, Forget it, I don't want to do
this anymore. I wonder if his car's for sale? :)
Great commuter car, by the way. He was really happy with it, and could cram
in a whole bunch of stuff. We fit in four tires, our luggage, and TWO
people, in one little car. You can't do that in a Miata.
So, be prepared for little things to break - it is a used car, after all -
but if you're ready for it, you've got yourself a nice little autox car.
Katie K.
-----Original Message-----
From: james creasy [mailto:Black94PGT@pacbell.net]
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2002 9:27 AM
To: Allendorfer, Peter; 'Todd Stiers '; ba-autox@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: 91-95 MR2 Comments?
> Miata. More of 'em out there.
id second this. is there a better handling stock class car for under $5000?
MR2 is a nice car, and the turbo has ok power.
-james c
OSP - Obvious Sliding Permitted
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