Mr2 Help Required

[Unity Jon]

Ok i can give you a nut by bolt guided tour of a corolla Gti 16v but i know jack sh1te about mr2's, except that the wife would love one.

can someone run down all the mr2 models and genrés for me, what to look for and how to tell them apart, which is best and why ?

or can you post a link to a website that has a rundown.

I'm not overly concerned with mk1's or the latest roadsters as she doesn't like the mk1 and cant we cant afford a brand new model :(

thanks in advance. :)

[TheNissanMan]

If you count the MK1 out (shame as the MK1 Supercharger is amazing) there's a wide amount of variety, before going down the ful path of information it would probably be best to start with a few main questions.

Answer the q's below and we should be able to give you a better idea of what to expect and never know find one for sale :P

1) What budget ?

2) T-Bar or Coupe (would personally recommend T-Bar) ?

3) Turbo or Normally Aspirated ?

4) Colour ?

5) Are you willing to wait to take delivery ?

Obviously there is a lot more to chosing a two than that but with the current market for 2's those questions will provide an execellent place to start. Mr2 valuations are a bit stranger as they fluctuate dramatically between cars and it is very hard to put a value on a specific car. It's almost to the stage where it ends up being the question, would you be happy paying a set amount for a certain car.

Value's can range from £3k to £15k+ for a Mk2 so it really is up to you what ytou want to spend.

The basic differences are T-Bar and Coupe, obvious to spot the difference :D

The other main obvious one is Turbo or NA (Normally Aspirated), the turbo is an incredible car and very quick indeed. There were a number of changes to the Mk2 but the main one was in 94 which saw bothe the NA and Trubo get an increase in power and a few other bits and bobs to go with it.

Imports are common and pretty much exxaclty the same as UK cars although some Toyota Dealers don't like servicing them.

If you have the money and want to get a reallyu good deal I would import one,magain depends on how willing you are to wait, if your interested I can post some URL's of tried and tested MR2 import companies.

Only warning I would give is that there a re a lot of tired MR2's out there for sale, if you set your heart on buying a 2, be careful which one you buy and there are enough people out there who would be more than happy to go and have a look at a car with you if you wished, they are great cars, guarentee as soon as you own one and drive it you'll fall in love with it, they are amazing vehicles, not that I'm biased in any way of course.....

[Unity Jon]

ok a good start, definately after a t-bar and definately after a turbo, or are the NA engines compatible with turbo application, i.e pistons, rods and top end in general up to spec ?

price, dunno, like everyone we want the most for the least,but i reckon somewhere about the 5k mark would be cool.

Not sure about imports as the insurance companies dont like them, do they ? not fussed about servicing as i'll do it myself, can also handle crash repairs so a damaged one might be the way forward ?

what are the different models of MR2 called, i've seen some with 'g limted' on the back whats special about this for example ? the one i saw was bright yellow with a !Removed! purple trim down the side and went like a piece of crap :( (compared to my corolla at the traffic light drags ?)

what are the engine codes for mr2's ? 3sgte ? 4agze ? ????

as for colour..... well black, gun metal grey, possibly white it doesn't really matter i dont think, but will draw the line at faded red. ;)

[dub_boy]

If you definatley want a Turbo then an import it is I'm afraid! :( For what you pay & the work involved there is no point in trying to bolt a Turbo on a NA car, when you can buy a Turbo car for much the same money.

Engine codes:

2.0 Coupe 3S-FE

2.0 GT 3S-GE

2.0 Turbo 3S-GTE

[TheNissanMan]

Turbo';s are defintately imports and they aren't to bad to insure, personally I would recommend Dorset Insurance (get membership to MR" Owners CLub for discount) as they cover all mod's at no extra cost as long as they are declared and also prrovide free trackday cover if you call them up in advance, or AON insurance as they do a similar deal.

The Turbo's are either the GT or GT-S (G-Limited is an NA import), the only real difference between the GT and GT-S is that the GT comes with all the electronic toys as standard so you'll get the AC Climate Control, Electronic wing mirrors and a fe other bits and bobs that I can't remember at this time.

5k should get you a reasonable Rev 1 or 2 turbo although if your lucky and can find a 94+ you would be better off, they revised the car again in '94 and put and upped the power on the engine to 245bhp as standard.

The Mk2 MR2 Turbo has the 3S-GTE engine, the 4a-ge was the MK1 NA engine and the 4a-gze was the Mk1 Supercharger engine, as dub said there is no point in getting an NA to add a turbo on later, you are much better off getting a turbo in the first place.

If the yellow one you tried was bad of the lights I would suggest the car is not as healthy as it appeard as the Turbo's are very quick and off the lights should leave your rolla standing..

There's a buyers guide to buying an MR2 at the INternational MR2 Owners club site (under FAQ I think at www.imoc.c.uk), you may find a turbo for sale in their for sale section but am not sure how often it is updated.

When you buy your 2 make sure you get it checked out fully as if you buy a dog you could end up spending a fortune getting it right unless you buy from a garage and get a warranty, if you buy a loked after one you should have no problems as theyare solid cars if they're looked after. I

[Unity Jon]

so they didnt release a UK spec turbo..... ?

bogus.

so what about the model names, what are they ?

[TheNissanMan]

Nope, no UK Spec Turbo for the MR2....

MOdel names were the MR2 GT Turbo, and GT-S Turbo

[Unity Jon]

ok thanks, i'm begining to get a good picture now .

as for the old G-limited, younever really know what your up against at the lights, i've embarrased 5 MR2's to date inthe Southend area, some stock looking and some boyed up, but have since backed away from that scene. My Corolla has only light modifications, but they're done with extreme care...... ;)

anyway back on the subject, is it easy to import a turbo engine from Japan or other parts of the world, are they as plentiful as the GZE's etc ? i'm assumingit would be a direct replacement with ecu and harness etc., has anyone here done an engine swap in an MR2 ?

[TheNissanMan]

Due to the MR2 being a very popular car you don't really need to import that many parts from overseas unless it's specialst stuff,. There is support for people like Fensport who sell engines and all other bits and bobs (www.fensport.co.uk) and also sell engines/ecu's/looms etc, have a look at there website you'll see what I mean.

Engine swap's should be no problems as the mounts are the same 3S-GE & 3S-GTE so you shouldn't have a problem there, mine had an engine swap just after I bought it as the muppets in the garage I bought it from didn't put the right amount of oil in after the service so after 212 miles the big ends blew, staraight 3S-GE to 3S-GE swap as it was under warranty I couldn't get them to put a 3S-GTEW in there lol...

One thing you might want to be aware of is the rear engine covers are different, the turbo has raised air vents whereas the NA is flat, spare parts can be had through Toyota Celica Breakers or from the IMOC yahoo groups , parts aren't generally a problem as a lot of young people get an MR2, forget they are powerful RWD cars and not as forgiving as the FWD they are used to, get a bit silly and crash them :( They are great cars to drive but obviously require a different driving style to get the best from them....

[Unity Jon]

LOL... before i got a FWD car i used to race a 13sec vw beetle in the VWDRC that was my daily driver as well.....

Had stuff from Fennsport for my rolla , but they tend to be pricey, especially as you can get the same gear elsewhere cheaper, their 4agze prices are ridiculous ! but you cant beat their experience, plus Adrian is a nice enough guy.

i think the plan of action for myself will be to buy a NA uk car and enjoy it for what its worth with some light tuning and maybe some body mods then when both the wife and i are comfortable with it (i.e. its getting boring) slap an imported turbo engine in the mix for re-juvinated fun.

i will check out the imoc website also.

thanks for your help, its been a decent kick in the right direction.

one more question, if you were inthe market for a NA uk spec MR2 what would you buy ?

[TheNissanMan]

Only light tuning worth doing to an NA really is to get an Induction Kit (RamAir or Blitz tend to be favoured, although I love my HKS), mongoose exhaust is very popular and has an amazing sound too it (nice low gurgling sound and nice roar) with obvious de-cat pipe...

If your going to change engines later on get the Unichip installed £470 from Millway Sport, it appears to be the best chip for the MR2 and if installed properly (Millway Sport in Andover highly recommended) can do wonders for a Turbo and pretty good on an NA, it run's piggy back to the main ECU so can be removed and put into another car or simply re-programmed when you decide to go to the turbo engine, a definate must IMHO....

[Unity Jon]

ok, the tuning route will follow my tried and tested method so i get the most fun from each mod....

xorst, filter, cam's then chip.

cant beat a bit of breathing enhancement, but this way each step thrives from the previous one.

[TheNissanMan]

Not heard of anyone changing the cam's on a 3s-ge or 3s-gte as its a great engine as it stands, would be interesting to see what you get out of it :D :D :D

Was thinking the Unichip would be good as can offer great improvements to the turbo engine while adding extra benefits to the NA aswell, seems silly to change cams on the NA if your going to do the Turbo later...