Is The Mr2 More Dangerous To Drive

[ghecko]

What is it about the MR2 N/A and tubby it seems that I keep on finding poor souls who have had crashes and spins nearly every day - are these cars inherentley more dangerous to drive especially in the wet than other rear wheel drive cars ?

My misses is crapping herself as she keeps hearing these horror stories and thinks I'm going to be next.

[KidKoala]

Take it easy and you will be fine.

They are mid engined, as well as RWD, which does make for some twitchy handling, but if you don't drive it hard you wont have a problem.

[boundsw]

Take it easy and you will be fine.

They are mid engined, as well as RWD, which does make for some twitchy handling, but if you don't drive it hard you wont have a problem.

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You can drive them hard, but have a little common sence on corners and in the wet.

as said its a RWD mid engine monster !, it bound to be a bit happy in the wet to leave you facing sideways ! go fun though :D

[KidKoala]

Yes of course you can drive them hard, they are sports cars afterall... It's more about learning how the cars handle than common sense really, if you go flat out when you've just bought it your going to crash!

It's all about learning the limits of the cars handling, and how it reacts to the conditions, and how you react to the car.

I said don't drive it hard and you will be fine, as ghecko seems to have the impression that its "easy" to crash these cars, possibly under normal driving conditions.

[boundsw]

Yes of course you can drive them hard, they are sports cars afterall... It's more about learning how the cars handle than common sense really, if you go flat out when you've just bought it your going to crash!

It's all about learning the limits of the cars handling, and how it reacts to the conditions, and how you react to the car.

I said don't drive it hard and you will be fine, as ghecko seems to have the impression that its "easy" to crash these cars, possibly under normal driving conditions.

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Agreed

you need to learn how it handles and know its limits ! :D

[Roytoner]

No matter where you go on the net this time of year you can read

lots of horror storys of peeps and their cars, It's not just ours that can't keep on the roads.On monday we had 6 buses hit things in about an hour, and brought Oldham to a stand still

[Bibbs]

I've been in MR2's for over 4 years now .. and you can drive them quicker than normal cars for the same conditions. You just need to know that the "fine line" of traction is a little bit finer in an MR2 .. and usually ends up messier.

[Jimlad]

No matter where you go on the net this time of year you can read

lots of horror storys of peeps and their cars, It's not just ours that can't keep on the roads.On monday we had 6 buses hit things in about an hour, and brought Oldham to a stand still

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sure it wasn't you driving all 6 buses mate ??? ... lol.

[urotsukidoji_badassdemon]

Hey Ghecko, where abouts in Berks are you?

[KidKoala]

urotsukidoji_badassdemon, who's that in your avatar

[Roytoner]

No matter where you go on the net this time of year you can read

lots of horror storys of peeps and their cars, It's not just ours that can't keep on the roads.On monday we had 6 buses hit things in about an hour, and brought Oldham to a stand still

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sure it wasn't you driving all 6 buses mate ??? ... lol.

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NO

I was stood in the sodding snow waiting for mine to turn up :!Removed!:

Haven't hit owt in weeks :P :P

[ghecko]

Hey Ghecko, where abouts in Berks are you?

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Down Reading way - if thats you in your avatar your welcome to pop down :)

[Mr2dude]

before I bought my first one, I was also worried about how twitchy these cars would be

provided you are sensible they are nice stable cars, if you are hitting the limits of ahesion (in the dry) you are pushing them very hard indeed !

keep that kinda thing for the track, and u will love it (even the odd 360 on a track is a good learning experience)

good tyres are essential, badly worn tyres in the wet make them very slippy indeed

and forget about taking one out in the snow !

[Fitz]

If the MR2 was really that unsafe and unstable, it would never have been alowed on the market.

Most people I hear talking about them being dangerous have never driven a rear wheel drive car, let alone a 2.

oh, and urotsukidoji_badassdemon, the old picture of the girl taking a picture of a mirrow in skimpy outfit was far better, bring it back ;)

[dawolf]

The MR2 definitely isn't as 'straight forward' to drive as a FWD car. I'd never driven a RWD car before this and it has caught me out a couple of times, both were on corners and in wet conditions, the problem was I went into them a bit quick and had to let off the gas. But in the dry it just seems to keep hanging on to the road. As I say just be cautious in the wet.

[mr2mk1g]

Take two cars, an MR2 and an "average" car and put them through the same course at the same speed. The MR2 will be more stable and hold the road better. The MR2 is inherently SAFER than the "average" car. Certainly than the "average" FWD car.

Being a mid engined RWD car, when the MR2 loses traction it does so in a big way... people are not ready for that and end up in a prang. The up side is you can push an MR2 further than the "average" car before you get to that point... it's just that the twits of this world use that increased sticking power to go faster as opposed to going just as fast but safer. It's called risk homeostasis.

People push the envelope and then are unable to cope when the car does eventually lose traction. MR2’s are safe. People are dangerous.

[midmotorsteve]

put it this way, if you have ever had a front drive hot hatch spinning wheels out of fast corners, if you were in an MR2 you'd be doing well not to be leaving the road.

[Mister2]

in dawolf's situation, his spin was due to him letting off the gas. if u think about it, being on the gas means the weight is transferred to the rear. letting off the gas while turning would cause the weight to transfer over to the front letting the rear become lighter and swing around. i dont get how people get into accidents really. i mean, mid engine cars are supposed to have the best handling because of its weight distribution. the reason i think people think its more dangerous is because the people who drive a 2 treat it like its a ff or a fr car.

[Mr2dude]

indeedy, last thing u want to do once u feel the back start to break is immediately back of the throttle, (and even worse go for the brakes !), quick flick of opposite lock and back to dead centre is much more likely to save your bacon. u only got a few 10ths of a second to sort it out though !

of course this only applies to driving on the limits (i.e ON A TRACK !)

been said above, cars are safe, the drivers choose how dangerous the combination is

[Stu8]

If your feel the back end is going, try and be as smooth as possible with the steering and whatever you do dont take your foot of the accelator!! ease the throttle back.

that is unless it throw's you straight into a 90" slide in which case opposite lock and pray. lol

[tallbloke]

Too many people jump in them & either don't consider the road conditions or just decide that they can hoon it about everywhere in the wet & in the dry.

As said above many people get caught out at this time of year due to the changing driving conditions.

I've only owned mine a short while but have owned rear wheel drive cars before (inc a MK1 MR2) and I have to say its more stable than most. However when it goes it's harder to catch as all the weight is transfering to the wheel that dont steer the car, or if they do you get oversteer.

Anyway I'm rambling on (damned drink) so I'm going to shut up now and bu66er off for a bit

Chris

[Mr2dude]

Owned:- Ford Capri 2.8, Mk1 MR2, Ford Granada 3L V6, N/A Mk2 and now a tubby

I would never buy a fwd car, and now never even a front engine car !

Only move up is a Lotus Esprit V8 or a Ferrari 348/355.

Mid engine, rwd are simply the best layout of a car.

Must be fridays, when we ramble on a lot !

[SpyderWoman]

I just bought one, learning to drive it. It’s so hard to resist that powerful little engine. Ima really good driver, w a great safety record. 
But as I was taking a legal left someone took a sharp Left hand turn in front of me and we nearly had a head on collision my second day driving it! 🤦🏻‍♀️
 

And Other drivers challenge me. ( new experience for me)Still deciding  if this really bothers me BC it’s actually kind of fun- esp when I beat them... 😂

Are there videos w guidelines for safe driving either MR2 or for RWD, mid engine sports cars?