Help me pick a suspension and design a stereo for my MR2 Spyder

The car in question is a 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder. Now that winter is coming, the car will be coming off the road so I'll have some time to work on it.

I've been enjoying it this summer but it is riding on very worn out original shocks so it crashes and shudders over bumps more than I would like. I'm interested in trying something nicer, but have little experience with suspension mods in general and zero experience with MR2 Spyder suspension. I'd like something for summer time street driving - no track time, autocross class doesn't matter, it's a fair weather commuter that my wife and I both drive. Comfort is important, as is spirited street driving handling. I don't mind the factory ride height. Really good shocks on the factory springs would be fine with me if I knew what the "really good shocks" meant for this car. Does anyone here? Budget is up to $1000. Car has 112k miles - should I go ahead and do the bushings and ball joints and strut mounts while I have it apart?

It has the broken factory CD player in it right now. The radio works but CD doesn't. The sound from the system is pretty tinny and bad, so I have to turn it up a lot to hear it and then it sounds even worse. I'd like to get something with more functionality and better sound, but don't want to add a ton of weight. I'm picturing something like a Kenwood digital media receiver like this: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DPX303B/Kenwood-DPX303MBT.html?tp=5684&omnews=794968 and then a small amp, good speakers for the doors, and would love a small subwoofer but don't want to lose any storage space. Has anyone found a sub that fits in very small cars and offers any bass? There's not much clearance under the seats on these, so I can't imagine one of the under-seat subs fitting. Losing seat travel is sort of out of the question given how small the cabin is. I can comfortably sit in the seat with it about 2 clicks up from the back. Any suggestions or pointers on amp, sub, or head unit? Budget is "a few hundred bucks."

Any input? :-)

I was looking at that stereo for my FX16. 

Since you want comfort over handling, you should just upgrade to some nice struts.  Tirerack shows Koni Sports struts are available.  You can stiffen them when you decide to autocross.  They are comfortable on the street.  

I've always like Blaupunkt head units. 

I have a Kenwood in my Jeep. Hate the small little buttons. 

For a sub, what about a tactile transducer, a.k.a. Bass shaker?  

For a conventional sub woofer, check partsexpress.com. They often have 6" or 8"  sub drivers on clearance. 

8"

Nice little beastie right here

Upper end of the price range

Too cheap not to buy one

6.5"

Looks very nice

Looks like anither inexpensive performer

Admittedly I'm a fan of Konis so take that for what it's worth.  Also no secret sauce here, but if you just wanted a damper to mate with the stock springs then the Koni reds might work pretty well.  I know some have put the adjustable sport/yellows with stock springs, but that seem like it would be over-damped depending on the application.  For street suspensions, I end up pairing the Koni sports with a mild progressive spring like the Pro-Kit (AW11) and H&R OE Sport (Integra).  I believe the Tein S.Tech is pretty similar, but I've never used those.   Those combos were a lot of fun, but definitely a few degrees stiffer than a stock suspension.  I've never found an aftermarket setup that drove as well as stock, comfort wise.

Also, not sure what kind of "crashing" you're experiencing, but you might want to inspect some bushings while you're doing the work.  I had some sway bar bushings that were shot and causing some noise.

Edit - if you decide to change the springs, here's a list of rates someone put together: Spyderchat spring rates

For suspension, yes.... bushings are cheap.  Do it.  I'm a fan of Bilstein, but most of my stuff is big, bloated American sedans and pickups.  Tire Rack has always done right by me for this stuff.

For stereo, I tend to pick stuff that is electronically good and then complain about the display and controls.  I have a newer Kenwood in my truck and the sound is amazing, but the display looks like an alarm clock from 1992.  Big, ugly LCD characters that try to conjure up a font using straight lines.  Pay attention to the numbers; S/N ratio, FM sensitivity, etc.  None of them will make enough wattage to sound really good.  If you listen to a lot of radio, FM sensitivity should be a priority.  JVC and Kenwood top that list.  If you listen to CDs but not radio, look to Clarion for example.  Crappy FM sensitivity, but great CD reproduction.

Speakers can be confusing, but I'll give you some of my experience.  Cheap aftermarket speakers aren't bad, in fact they can be good.  As you go up the line, you go up in quality but you also go down in sensitivity.  This means that the "better" speakers will sound better, but only if you drive them with enough wattage.  Example:  Rockford Fosgate makes some really great speakers in three levels; the "regular" ones, the Punch series, and the Punch Power series.  If you're just using the head unit to power them, go cheap.  Stepping up the the Punch series gets you bigger magnets which means it needs more power to work well.  In that case, putting Punch or Power speakers on just head unit power might sound worse than just the cheap entry level version.  I just picked up a pair of Punch for my truck that I will be powering with a 2 x 80w amp.  If I hadn't been doing the amp, I would have picked the regular RF speakers.  Strongly consider an amplifier for better sound.  Even though your head unit might say 22w, it isn't 22 real watts.  Running them on a separate 20w amplifier will sound better than the 22w you head unit says it makes.  They just don't have the amperage capacity to support the full wattage they advertise.  You can almost never go wrong buying an amplifier with a rated wattage that matches the rated wattage of the speaker.  Kenwood makes some very nice amps for cheap.  Zapco is a top name in amps and they have a 2 x 65w for under $100.  Can't go wrong with pretty much any of the recognizable names; JVC, Kenwood, Clarion, Fosgate, Kicker, Pioneer.

CDT makes some of the best speakers I know of, but you'll pay for it.  MBQuart, Polk, JL, and Memphis also top my list these days.  Fosgate seems to hit the sweet spot for bang for buck.  For slightly cheaper, go with something like JBL or Pioneer.

Woofers etc has some good closeouts and refurbs on the high end stuff, but for me, Crutchfield is the pinnacle of customer service, returns simplicity, and they always throw in freebies like crimp connectors, install kits, etc.  Lighting shipping, crazy knowledgeable sales people who aren't on commission, and great selection.  Not a canoe, just a plug for a business that I've been using since the early 90s and I love them.

For a MR2, I'd certainly go Koni.  They use more more rebound and less compression.  MR2s with a lot of compression get nervous quickly at speed.  Shocks like Bilsteins and KYBs are compression heavy to control the body roll and in this case only upset the chassis.  For a mid engine car that can be bad news.

If they sell FSDs for the MR2 I'd go that route (or whatever the name changed to).  No adjustment but a nice shock all the way around.  I would also be OK with the sports, just set to full soft.  Either one will transform the ride quality.  

As stated above, go ahead and replace all the bushings.  Compared to a lot of cars, MR2 don't have that many and most are easy to do.  It's like buying a new car when you are finished.

I'm no help at all on the stereo however.  

Awesome; thanks for the tips. It looks like the Koni FSDs are not available for the MR2 Spyder. The Sports are, but it looks like only as an insert where you cut the factory housings to put the insert in. Kind of a shame - the run of the mill KYBs are bolt-in, seems like Koni could swing it. I'm not averse to cutting the strut housings, it's just more work for me to do and keeps me from ever re-using the factory pieces.

I'll check the bushings. The crashing I'm talking about is just harsh ride over bumps, not specific noises. Although a soft top with worn shocks makes plenty of noises.

I forgot that Parts Express has new tiny subwoofers. I wonder if I could put a couple behind or under each seat in a small enclosure and get anything out of them? https://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w3-1876s-3-mini-subwoofer--264-909

I don't mind the calculator look screen on the Kenwood. To me, a child of the 80s/90s, that looks "factory." Especially when the color is set to match the stock lighting. The MR2 factory stereo doesn't exactly look 21st century.

Yeah the AW11 Koni sports were also inserts.  It's a bit of extra work, but worth it compared to using something else like KYB units (not hating here, they're fine for a budget alternative).