thinking of getting rid of the rst and getting a mr2 turbo what are they like??? is it worth getting one or is it a case of stay away?? always been a ford man but feel like a change and if i dont like it i can always get another rs!! Any advice most welcome, thanks in advance.

 

I don't know much but the rev 3 model is about 240hp and mentally fast for a stock motor.

Very cheap too and being Japanese it should be very reliable if its a good example of one.

 

A mate had one, lovely motor, very quick and look great. Don't seem to rust either.

 

Rust can be a problem as they are all imported from Japan and might not be as protected as cars built specifically for the UK.

Also, they're reliable if you leave them standard but they're not as undertuned as let's say a YB. Listen for any bottom-end noises.

 

nice cars for hairdressers and pons

 

Had a rev3 about 6 years ago, great fun, tail happy in the wet, pretty naff on juice but 100% reliable, plus parts arent overly expensive. There is a good following of them on www.imoc.co.uk

 

Choose the year carefully, as already said a rev 3 is the one to go for, 240bhp is the min these motors have they seem to produce allot more. The rev 3 came with an LSD for a short period too so try and narrow your search down to certain years to get all the goodies.
Lovely cars, a Rev 3 Import Turbo with T bar roof, rev 5 spoiler and LSD would be my ideal MR2. Allot of them are used as track cars though due to insurance costs in Japan so beware, importing one is risky but if you dont mind then they usually come with extras

 

From what ive been told they are Poo. btw

 

The one i am thinking of buying is a j reg 1992, its only got an exhaust and filter with revision 3 rear lights its grey with nice alloys, bloke says its 225bhp

 

Ask Jim Galbally

 

a mate had one and it was a good laugh until we had an argument with a railway bridge,broke my plated arm again in the bloody thing ha ha

 

i would defo ask Jim

 

The Rev3's have the better engine/turbo combo as you have full boost all the way to red line, unlike the rev 1/2 which will only rev to 5500 and run out of puff.

with usual breathing mods and EBC you can get 300hp easally.

 

I third that, i get to see it every other night

 

If they're as reliable as my old Mk1 Supercharger version then you shouldn't have many probs.
One thing I noticed is garages generally didn't like to do any work on them due to the engine being not the most accessible.

 

A friend had one and it was a quick car.I bet it would of been quicker than my cossie.It blew up in the end and it through a con rod through the block.

 

They're good cars, decent engine too... although go for a Rev 3 model and newer, the older models are known to be twitchy and the headgasket can cause a bit of bother above 1bar of boost. The later Rev 3 can take 1.15-1.2bar fine, any higher will hit standard fuel cut.


Cheers,
Grant

 

I rebuilt the engine on my friend's mr2.t '92 version last year.
Cambelts are sods to sort with engine inside car,bolts also strip easily.
Over complicated procedure when setting the cam tensioner with a small
allen key(that bends..),small drill twist(that snaps).
Air locks can be buggers to remove 'cos of the forward mounted radiator.
Coolant expansion bottle impossible to see from above,engine mounting bolt sods to refit,time consuming setting up valve clearances and easily to get them too loose or tight.
Ignition switchs contacts play up often,bottom crank pulley,even if alloy aftermarket version can be a nightmare to remove.
Watch out if you change the cambelt not to loose or forget the small metal spacer fitted to 1 of the belt idlers,your cambelt will chew itself on the inside edge,not a lot but it'll drive you mad trying to figure out wtf's wrong...

 

True

There are loads of MR2 specialist around the UK and they all have very good labour rates.

I paid £180 on labour for a clutch change and gearbox oil change.

Very quick cars. I've raced a FRS with a Gt28 and he couldnt keep up. I'm running 328hp on my rev 3 and my mates skyline R33 pushing 348hp cant keep up either

Just waiting to fit a gt28-71r turbo and Charge Cooler in the new year. That should be fun

 

This is the key! I am currently in the process of putting one right. The wiring on mine has been preoperly butchered in various places and is proving a pig to get right. Mine's a Rev2, so it could do with a remap and a boost controller, which is going to be done in around 2 months.

Lots of problems can often be resolved by checking fuses and relays, all of which are pretty easy to find, and they handle beautifully if the suspension is up to scratch. Mine's got Tein height adjustable Superstreet coilovers on it. On the hardest setting they're unbearable, on the softest they are just a bit harder than stock, which suits me fine being a car I commute 50 miles a day in.

My old N/A MR2 had shot suspension and was a pig.

As for tail happy, it's mostly a myth. My old N/A was a tail happy beast, but as said before, the suspension was shot to pieces on it. Try a well setup car and you should find it awesome to drive. I've NEVER had the back step out on mine and I don't dawdle.

Mind you, having 9J rear wheels does tend to make it that little bit stickier

 

What ECU you running?

The stock ECU's on the mr2 cannot be remapped. But there are loads of aftermarket ECU's to choose from. just depending on the budget you have.

 

Exactly. I've got an NA model and I never felt that the handling was dangerous or anything. I think what catches most people out is the lift-off oversteer you get from them. Or the fact that even when the back-end starts to slide, it's better to keep the foot planted on the throttle and only give a little bit of opposite lock.

 

I drove mine pretty hard and had the tail out on it everywhere!

You must be doing something wrong Jay!

 

Me? Do something wrong?

Perhaps!