Mr2 Slow Go, Whats Happenin ?

[Toyota_Carina_GTi]

Hi Guys ...

I have had my Carina GTi for about 6 weeks now, and I was so impressed, that my bro's gone out and only a few hours ago bought a 1992 J reg Toyota MR2 in black, looks lovely.

However .. when we took it for a testdrive and put our foot down, we were suprised, not much poke at all, what gives ? Are MR2's slow or something ? or are they just deceptive ?

We've had a Vauxhall Astra GTE 2.0i GTE 16v on a 1990 G plate, that was fast, much faster than the MR2, so were wondering if theres something wrong with this MR2.

Any advice guys please, and also any info on your experiances in a 2.0 16v twin cam MR2, what u get in 2nd gear etc etc ...

Cheers.

[Jimlad]

slow ?!?... slow ??....... get a turbo then mate... then you won't be complaining.

[Toyota_Carina_GTi]

Erm ... me bro aint got a Turbo mate (too thirsty for 50 miles to work and back daily).

So any advice anyone on if MR2's are slow as standard ? or how to find out if its performing correctly ?

Cheers

[ZeroBlade]

Well i've got an n/a mr2 uk spec and i can certainly say it isnt slow.

I've driven a lot of "regular" car's w. my last personal car being a Carina E 2.0 TDi.

What u can try it floor it in 1st, no need to redline it, take it to about 6500rpm or even 6 hsould suffice, then switch to 2nd gear take that into 6's etc. U'll defo feel the power m8.

In fact a few m8's of mine thought i had a tubby cos of the kickback they felt when i whent into 2nd, heh.

If this doesnt help then the car could have a problem.

Is it all stock? What does the exhaust sound like? does it give a deep roar? if its a stock exhaust then this could indicate ur exhaust is blown (had this prob w. mine, but wasnt 2 bothered as i knew i was replacing the exhaust neways). What else. Hrm top up on optimax (/me is preparing for a fuel flame war :P). Get a service done, something like the airfilter being blocked up can hinder power, make sure plugs etc are seated, or clean for that matter, a lot of gunk can build up.

Basically get a service done to the car, if it still feels weak get it checked by a dealer. but i can defo say that not even the n/a mr2 can be considered slow!

Let us know how it goes pal, hopefully well!

-Z

[Toyota_Carina_GTi]

Zeroblade ..

Thanks for the info there mate :)

I recon theres a prob with it, it certainly dont put you back in your seat at all.

The car look well, drives weel, supposed to have had 2k spent on last service (maybe theres a story in that) but its just soooo not fast.

The engine is quiet, exhaust is quiet .. my bro gets it on Monday, might take some video footage and put it on ere so you can see how pants it is on accelleration for more info.

I think maybe take it to Toyota and get them to check it out ? Problem is, hes paid £200 deposit today (non-refundable) as its goin for MOT, so if he pays the rest £2k+ and its major fault then hes lost the lot.

Anyway thanks for ya help, will keep ya posted, next mon / tues will give full report on just how slow the pickup is.

Cheers ... :(

[pizza boy]

You wanna sure fire way to find out if its busted or just too slow for you m8? Go find other NA mr2s and test drive em..youll know for sure then ...simple.

Just out of interest your bro didnt rush out and buy the first one he seen did he? First mistake if he did. Also NEVER agree to non-refundable deposists. Its a disgraceful way for a garage to do business as far as im concerned. Your basically being handcuffed to the car.

[ZeroBlade]

yeh it would be harsh if there was a major problem, but i think ur bro's like me.

I practically snapped up my 2 (gave carina in p/x) luckily there werent ne major faults w. it.

if the car drives well then i cant see it being a major problem tbh w. ya. fingers crossed tho!

And yep pizza boy's rite, post on here asking for some1 in nottinghamsire or really near to show u what the 2 should run like ;)

-Z

[mogsmex]

I Only picked my mr2 up last weekend, and there not the fastest cars in the world but they do go alright, I test drove about 4 before buying mine and they were all very similair, you should be able to feel a little pick up at the top of the rev range if its a rev 1/2. I suppose it depends on what your used to really, I had a porsche and a cosworth previous to my Mr2 and still feel it goes resonably well, if not the fastest thing around

Cheers Glyn ;) ps mines a rev2 n/a

[Jimlad]

I was a passenger in JappyBeasts N/A before I got my Turbo.... it defo seemed quick and pinned me back in my seat. Nothing compared with a Turbo... but still quick.

[Dame]

Does it come with any type of warrenty? If you've bought it from a garage, it certainly should. Voice your concerns, and tell them you are going to get it checked out with Toyota. See if you can get them to agree to paying for this (if something wrong is found) and for the repair costs. Alternatively allow them the opportunity to check it out themselves. The car has the 3S-GE engine right? not the single cam far slower 3S-FE? You can tell by finding the engine model from the engine itself.

The car should feel brisk, I've got a mate with a Celica GTR that has very punchy performance, and definately puts you to the back of your seat. I driven a couple of N/A's and they do feel pretty quick should certainly feel just as quick as the Astra GTE - There is around a 0.4 0 - 60 time difference in favour of the Astra....

[pizza boy]

Problem is warrenty doesnt mean anything..if your engine fell out and you had a 'warranty' with your garage theyll say ' Haha! Nowt to do with us m8!' Its worked out thru insurance and they will give you the insurance companies number and boot you off the premises. And you will grow a 10ft beard before anything happens.

[ZeroBlade]

not the single cam far slower 3S-FE?

just hope that aint true, or even worse the 5-sfe...

[Toyota_Carina_GTi]

GUYS GUYS GUYS !!!

Pant, pant ... I just been to the garage, seen me bros MR2 there with the sold sign in the window, asked for the keys to have a looka t the engine to get the numbers fomr it.

I popped the rear hood and there it hit me in the face :!Removed!:

Top of the cam cover I think ? a sticker saying 3S-FE !!!

Could this be the reason it isnt very fast ???

'Dame' said in this thread it could be the reason if its 3S-FE, and it looks like it is.

Although on the engine there is a large sticker saying Toyota 2000 Twin Cam, so what can this mean ?

Is it an 8v unit ? and if so, why does it say Twin Cam on the engine ? is this purly a vanity sticker or can you get twin cam 8v units ?

So guys ... is this the reason its slow ? the S3-FE engine ? and if so, what can be done about it ?

MANY thanks for all ya help, cant tell you enough how much you've helped us out.

Thanks again

Matt

[jimma]

GUYS GUYS GUYS !!!

Pant, pant ... I just been to the garage, seen me bros MR2 there with the sold sign in the window, asked for the keys to have a looka t the engine to get the numbers fomr it.

I popped the rear hood and there it hit me in the face :!Removed!:

Top of the cam cover I think ? a sticker saying 3S-FE !!!

Could this be the reason it isnt very fast ???

'Dame' said in this thread it could be the reason if its 3S-FE, and it looks like it is.

Although on the engine there is a large sticker saying Toyota 2000 Twin Cam, so what can this mean ?

Is it an 8v unit ? and if so, why does it say Twin Cam on the engine ? is this purly a vanity sticker or can you get twin cam 8v units ?

So guys ... is this the reason its slow ? the S3-FE engine ? and if so, what can be done about it ?

MANY thanks for all ya help, cant tell you enough how much you've helped us out.

Thanks again

Matt

3sfe is a sports engine with an economy head, there are different revisions ranging from 118bhp to 140bhp It IS 16v unit which (depending on revision) comes in twin cam or single.

[jimma]

GUYS GUYS GUYS !!!

Pant, pant ... I just been to the garage, seen me bros MR2 there with the sold sign in the window, asked for the keys to have a looka t the engine to get the numbers fomr it.

I popped the rear hood and there it hit me in the face  :!Removed!:

Top of the cam cover I think ? a sticker saying 3S-FE !!!

Could this be the reason it isnt very fast ???

'Dame' said in this thread it could be the reason if its 3S-FE, and it looks like it is.

Although on the engine there is a large sticker saying Toyota 2000 Twin Cam, so what can this mean ?

Is it an 8v unit ? and if so, why does it say Twin Cam on the engine ? is this purly a vanity sticker or can you get twin cam 8v units ?

So guys ... is this the reason its slow ? the S3-FE engine ? and if so, what can be done about it ?

MANY thanks for all ya help, cant tell you enough how much you've helped us out.

Thanks again

Matt 

3sfe is a sports engine with an economy head, there are different revisions ranging from 118bhp to 140bhp It IS 16v unit which (depending on revision) comes in twin cam or single.

ps and it is quite a bit slower than the 3sGE which apparently is good for 181bhp.

[pizza boy]

Jesus...you ended up with a 3SFE!?!?! :ffs: Oh man..thats the same engine in 2.0 taxi carinas. Imo they are the worst mistake toyota realeased. An economy engine in an mr2 guh. No wonder it runs like a sh :censor: tter. You have 2 choices : 1)dont buy it and cut your losses 2)buy it and sell it immedietly

Id just cut my losses.

It goes to show you really really have to research before you buy ANY car. I spent 4 months looking into every different variation test driving many etc(as did many others on this board). Its all here on the net . Bad luck dude. :(

[Fizz]

i cant belive that you have been screwed in such a way mate...

Id get onto the some kind of citizens advice line and get some legal ground for where you stand..and worst comes to the worst... make sure you get that garage all the bad press you can get locally...

Also metion that you are connected to numerous internet Car Clubs and that bad press is a !Removed!!

If they dont give you your deposit back then make sure you screw them hard! :arrgg-matey:

[Dame]

Not sure if you can do anything legally, unless the garage has sold you the car under the illusion that it is the 3S-GE model. TBH I doubt they even realise there are two engine types and unless the car is unfit for purpose, I can't see there's anything you can do.....

TBH I would cut my losses and lose the deposit. This car would be pretty difficult to sell in the future due to the low power engine (it's not bought for economy you know :) ) - unless of course you sell it to someone who doesn't know any better....

I would guess the engine is outputting around 140BHP, and I would imagine a 0-60 trime in the region of 10-11 secs.

[pizza boy]

hmmm..yea as Dame sez..you could state you were told you were being sold the 2.0 16v 3SGE GT model. It is the salespersons !Removed! job to inform you of the cars stats/model. If they didnt tell you it isnt the mainstream 3sge model then you should argue your case..maybe get the deposit back due to 'unusual' circumstances.

I meantioned earlier to handcuff you to the car via non-refundable deposits is a disgraceful way to do business. Looking at the unfolding situation it is VERY CLEAR why they made your bro sign a non-refund deposit. Youve been scammed m8 Always walk away if a a garage requires you to put down money like this...its screams 'dodgy car'

[midmotorsteve]

yes its the 3sfe they are 118bhp so your looking at a slow car, you'll only ever race recent 8v 4 door golfs in that...

3sge ones range between 158bhp to 173bhp (UK cars) stock, both of these can easily gain 15 bhp ish from filter and exhaust mods, i don't know that there are mods for the fe 'economy' taxi engine... i'd ask nicely if you could have your deposit back as you only just found out about the engine variations from the owners club and it really isn't what you want, if there stubborn ask if they will source you a 3sge engine one and you'll have that instead.

[Toyota_Carina_GTi]

Guys ... thanks so much for the info.

Were bobbin it ere .. but maybe, just maybe we can get our deposit back and go buy a 3S-GE version .

OK so whats happened is .. on the advert on Autotrader.co.uk the car is advertised as a GT model, but if its 3S-F3 model, would this be a GT version ?

Can we argue that you advertised it as a GT version meaning 3G-Se when infact your selling a non-GT 3S-FE model ?

If this is the case, and through misinterpretation via his advert passing it off as a GT model, then do you guys think we have grounds for our £200 deposit back ?

Guys .. thanks a million.

Cheers

[Harold56]

Can we argue that you advertised it as a GT version meaning 3G-Se when infact your selling a non-GT 3S-FE model ?

If this is the case, and through misinterpretation via his advert passing it off as a GT model, then do you guys think we have grounds for our £200 deposit back ?

Guys .. thanks a million.

Cheers 

I would think you have a case.

This is the naming system for the MKII MR2

Model BHP Years available How to tell them apart

Coupe 119bhp 1990-1992 No rear spoiler, 14" wheels

GT Coupe 158bhp 1990-1994 Rear spoiler, sunroof, 14" wheels, square rear light cluster

GT T-Bar 158bhp 1990-1994 Rear spoiler, removable roof panels, 14"wheels, square rear light cluster

GT Coupe 175bhp 1994-1998 Rear spoiler, sunroof, 15" wheels, round rear light cluster

GT T-Bar 175bhp 1994-1998 Rear spoiler, removable roof panels, 15" wheels, round rear light cluster

10th Aniv 175bhp 1995 Wooden steering wheel, chrome kick plates, different wheels, 10th aniv Badge

GT Coupe 175bhp 1998-2000 Round spoke 15" wheels, large adjustable rear spoiler, clear front light cluster

http://www.imoc.co.uk/technical/buyersguid...BuyersGuide.htm

[midmotorsteve]

almost right, 92 on are revised suspension with 15" wheels not 14"

[KiwiMR2]

You don't have GT NA's over there do you??

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[jimma]

Guys ... thanks so much for the info.

Were bobbin it ere .. but maybe, just maybe we can get our deposit back and go buy a 3S-GE version .

OK so whats happened is .. on the advert on Autotrader.co.uk the car is advertised as a GT model, but if its 3S-F3 model, would this be a GT version ?

Can we argue that you advertised it as a GT version meaning 3G-Se when infact your selling a non-GT 3S-FE model ?

If this is the case, and through misinterpretation via his advert passing it off as a GT model, then do you guys think we have grounds for our £200 deposit back ?

Guys .. thanks a million.

Cheers

FE and GE are both GT models, by the way, its only the head thats economy the engine is no different to a ge and like i said, check what revision you got cos my FE is rated at 141Bhp. Theres too many people on here who 'jump in' with their answers before reading everyone elses posts. Yes there is a 118 bhp FE but I think you'll only find that in a mki MR2.