MR2 Spyders

Alright.

We test drove two Toyotas yesterday, and i fell in love with both of them, hard.

SWMBO fell in love with one hard, and was pleasantly surprised if not infatuated with the other.

We both loved the FJ Cruiser.

I loved the MR-S.

I know how to make my target power with an MR-S, i don't really need help with that.

What i'm wanting to know is:

1) What's the suspension aftermarket like? Anything remotely resembling Xidas/AFCOs/Ohlins for Miatas in the MR-S market?
2) Any good motor mounts?
3) What's the brake situation like?
4) What sort of wheel/tire setup can they swallow? Would prefer 15s, bonus points if say.... a square set of 15x9 or 15x10 6ULs could be made to fit without a huge amount of modification. A good roll/pull is cool.
5) Lots of budget racing seats that fit?
6) Roll bar situation?
7) Are hard tops still obscene amounts of money?

No answers on the MR-S, but I drove an FJ Cruiser not long ago and can't quit thinking about it. I was shocked at how good it was, and I'm not a SUV guy.

I wasn't expecting to love it, but it ticked every box.

Hard dog for roll bars on the MR-S. Hardtops are still silly money because they were very uncommon over here. IIRC the mounting kits is also NLA, although I maybe wrong about that.

Automatic or Manual FJ?

Was an auto, and i'm cool with that. SWMBO doesn't like the idea of a manual in winter.

Ahh, just curious.

I had a spyder and loved it. I may have another. It is the only car I sold that before I got bored with it. What are your power plans?

I just bought a Spyder at auction with the idea of turning it into Elise clone. It has the SMT but may very quickly become a manual 6spd if we cant resolve some of the codes that the trans is throwing. There are several power options but I tend to prefer the 2ZZ option which gives lots of high rpm power without too many complications; turbo and supercharged are also available.
It is not as aftermarket friendly as a miata but there seems to be lots of interchangeable parts such as wheels, brakes and struts. The interior has held up well and it is just a matter of how creative I want to get. Hardtops are silly expensive at $2500 or so plus shipping from Europe.

I'd just want a basic 2zz swap with bolt ons. More for sounds and revs than a burning need for power.

I almost bough an MR-S back in 2005, but ended up buying the MSM instead. I loved the MR-S every way except figured I might want to drive it to the grocery store or other errands sometimes. The absolute lack of storage space is the one reason I didn't buy one.

My buddy has an FJ outfitted for serious off-road work. It is pretty amazing, even for a guy used to Jeeps.

MR2 Spyder, still want one

CL content. Might be interesting.

KyAllroad wrote: CL content. Might be interesting.

That IS interesting, but pretty much the exact thing i'm trying to get away from.

I can put you in touch with a guy with a pretty damn fast STR MR-S. PM me your email address. Or, if you're on The Big Book of Faces, look up a guy named Turk McGurk and contact him.

monkeywrenchracing.com Great guys, use them for my buddies Celica, and my Vibe.

I wonder if the Ford RS body kit would allow more carrying capacity???

It would provide a fixed roof......

fstbandit wrote: monkeywrenchracing.com Great guys, use them for my buddies Celica, and my Vibe.

Yep, guy i share a garage with has a friend that works up there.

When I was reading about these, and 2zz swaps in particular, people recommended oiling system modifications if you track day it. I guess on high G cornering you can get oil starvation

Yeah, Moroso makes a baffled pan that seems to solve that. I'm not super worried about the driveline/power portions, i think i remember enough from my Toyota days to handle that pretty well, and MWR seems to be making it easy, if expensive, these days.

Manual FJs are all time 4wd, autos aren't. Gas milage blows at all times. They break front windows all the time.

I still want one.

1) What's the suspension aftermarket like? Anything remotely resembling Xidas/AFCOs/Ohlins for Miatas in the MR-S market?

Ohlins makes coil overs for the mr-s, so do several other kickass companies

2) Any good motor mounts?

Mine has inserts but there are full race aftermarket ones available through moneywrench racing

3) What's the brake situation like?

Best in the business, stops ridiculous stock, better with sticky tires, pads and stainless steel lines

4) What sort of wheel/tire setup can they swallow? Would prefer 15s, bonus points if say.... a square set of 15x9 or 15x10 6ULs could be made to fit without a huge amount of modification. A good roll/pull is cool.

I'm currently running 225/45/15 ra1s all around with no rub whatsoever (no rolled fenders), I think 245s will fit in rear with some massaging. square setup is edgy/ loose/ fun

/\ I haven't been to an autox with this setup that I didn't ftd. /\

5) Lots of budget racing seats that fit?

Yes, plenty of room for seats in my experience, not much elbow room for long arms though, as door panels are pretty intrusive (no longer a problem on mine)

6) Roll bar situation? easy, just buy one, bolt or weld it in.

7) Are hard tops still obscene amounts of money? yes, $2500ish

Dude, you are gonna love a spyder. Gut it the first day, they're better in every way when they're stripped out.

Such a simple car, just about the driving experience, no bulle36m3 to interfere with the drive.

My experience with power in these cars is (despite the fact you specifically didn't ask for my 2c): 200ish wheel is plenty on short tracks but you'll eventually want more on bigger tracks and on the road.

P.S. Ive got a 2zz on a stand in my garage if you want it, $2.

MRS is like the Skystice to me. So close to being a Miata competitor, and better than the Miata in many if not all ways... Except that I can't even fit a golf bag in the thing.