1999 Revision 5 MR2

[SonicShadow]

Last month, my '97 MR2 got rear ended at some traffic lights. So I got another one











It's a couple years newer than the old one, same colour. I wouldn't want the username to become redundant now, would I?

Things that need doing:

• Rear drop links are knackered
• Exhaust mount needs replacing along with manifold -> cat section.
• Alignment
• Sort central locking issue

Hopefully I don't uncover any horrors along the way while fixing the above...

[Ved]

Surely an estate is better for dogging though?

Lovely cars, by the way. Never tried a Rev5 so how does it compare to your old one?

[SonicShadow]

There isn't really much difference between them. My Rev4 had much nicer handling, but then that was down ~30mm on decent springs, had strut braces, wider staggered 16inch wheels and better tyres and the alignment was sorted so it's not a fair comparison. The differences are pretty much just cosmetic - different spoiler, different wheels, and red stitching on the wheel and gearstick and red markings on the dial mats.

[james_gt3rs]

I keep thinking about getting a mk2. I've owned a mk3 and driven a mk1 a fair bit, so I guess I just want to complete the set!

[nitrodave]

nice. i got a rev3 turbo with the boost wound up for some weekend giggles. great cars

[Riknos]

Aha! Sorry to hear about your old one.

I remember seeing the photos of it in Jap chat - and then when I saw you posted the one above of yours I thought "That's not new he's had it a while... wait, it wasn't a T reg, was it?" and I thought you may be such a massive sonic shadow fan you got two! But now it makes sense.

Good luck with the new one - must be one of the newest mk2s around!

[samdale]

I do really like the sonic shadows, mines's black and a PITA to keep looking clean.

Riknos said:

Good luck with the new one - must be one of the newest mk2s around!

Mine's Feb '00 on a V plate. I've seen one or two (presumably late registered) on a W!

[SonicShadow]

Riknos said:

Aha! Sorry to hear about your old one.

I remember seeing the photos of it in Jap chat - and then when I saw you posted the one above of yours I thought "That's not new he's had it a while... wait, it wasn't a T reg, was it?" and I thought you may be such a massive sonic shadow fan you got two! But now it makes sense.

Good luck with the new one - must be one of the newest mk2s around!

Well, I was definitely going to get another Mk2 MR2, and the thing with insurance is I was time limited, so I had to buy fairly quickly. The shortlist was: Yellow Rev3 / Red / Sonic / Cosmos Rev5 / T Bar turbo. I couldn't find any turbo's within budget at the time I needed to buy, there was a couple of yellow ones but they all looked a bit ropey, and this was at the time the only Rev5 for sale within 200 miles of Essex.

It's a damn good colour combo though, 2nd only to Cosmos Blue on a Rev5 IMO!

[SonicShadow]

samdale said:

I do really like the sonic shadows, mines's black and a PITA to keep looking clean.

Riknos said:

Good luck with the new one - must be one of the newest mk2s around!

Mine's Feb '00 on a V plate. I've seen one or two (presumably late registered) on a W!

Aye, it's a lot of work. And I hate washing cars. I bought this Autoglym kit with sealers and all that in. I tried it last weekend, it seems alright. Not sure if I did it right though, I just don't have the patience for it.

[Ian Geary]

Nice looking car.

A simple but effective mod I did to my old rev3 was to swap the inner bulb holders with dual filament ones (from any 90s Toyota in a scappie) and link up the rear lights so all 4 acted as stop / tail. I then fitted a central fog under the number plate.

I think it looked good. Shame it had to go when the kids came.

Ian

[SonicShadow]

Ian Geary said:

Nice looking car.

A simple but effective mod I did to my old rev3 was to swap the inner bulb holders with dual filament ones (from any 90s Toyota in a scappie) and link up the rear lights so all 4 acted as stop / tail. I then fitted a central fog under the number plate.

I think it looked good. Shame it had to go when the kids came.

Ian

I have the bits to do the quad mod and spare looms, I've just not got around to doing it. You can wire it so that the fog lights are still functional. There's a reflector in the inner lens which makes the mod look a bit odd, but if you split the lights you can remove it.

It's had a few bits and pieces done / added over the past few months:

[psychoR1]

Looks nice - I think I recognise the wheels - are you also on IMOC?

[danjama]

SS - where will you be getting your alignment done? Do you know any mr2 specialists in Essex as I have a cold start issue that needs looking at?

The car is looking great on those Advans! What are the wheel dimensions and tyre sizes? The Kumhos look nice and chunky. I only know of one newer than yours and it's a W plate also in Essex

[SonicShadow]

psychoR1 said:

Looks nice - I think I recognise the wheels - are you also on IMOC?

Yes, and MR2OC. We've actually met before, I bought a door and bumper from you last year. Ended up selling them as they were destined for the Rev4 that got rear ended!

[SonicShadow]

danjama said:

SS - where will you be getting your alignment done? Do you know any mr2 specialists in Essex as I have a cold start issue that needs looking at?

The car is looking great on those Advans! What are the wheel dimensions and tyre sizes? The Kumhos look nice and chunky. I only know of one newer than yours and it's a W plate also in Essex

Geo setup was done at RaceTek: http://www.race-tek.net

Wheels are 16x7 and 16x8, ET32 and ET35 I think. Not 100% sure on the offsets. Tyres are 205/45 front and 225/50 rear. The rear needs a 225/45 though really.

Is it an Orange Mica one by any chance?

[danjama]

I will have to call race-tek and see if they can help me then, they look promising, thanks for that!

I'm pretty sure a 45 on the front and 50 on the rear is actually better as it keeps your rolling radius closer to OEM so you get a better speedo reading And 50 profiles look great on MR2's I think with the right wheels...

Not seen a Mica orange one, think the colour is Cosmo Blue

edit: ignore that about profiles, OEM is 55 front and 50 rear! There's still good arguments for your setup though, sharper turn in on the front and more grip/comfort on the rear.

[SonicShadow]

danjama said:

I will have to call race-tek and see if they can help me then, they look promising, thanks for that!

I'm pretty sure a 45 on the front and 50 on the rear is actually better as it keeps your rolling radius closer to OEM so you get a better speedo reading And 50 profiles look great on MR2's I think with the right wheels...

Not seen a Mica orange one, think the colour is Cosmo Blue

edit: ignore that about profiles, OEM is 55 front and 50 rear! There's still good arguments for your setup though, sharper turn in on the front and more grip/comfort on the rear.

I think compared to OEM, 225/45R16 is slightly under and 225/50R16 is slightly over. At the time I got the 50's based on price, it was about £60 cheaper for the pair, and I was on a tight budget at the time. I would like to fit something like the Toyo R1R or Yokohama AD08 on there, but considering I do about 75 miles a day commuting, tyres like that would be wasted for the majority of their life. More research required on that front.

Yeah, it drives very nicely as it is. I did have 45's on the back on those wheels on the old car and there's quite a difference in feel.

[SonicShadow]

Not much has changed, just a slightly lower profile rear tyre - 225/45R16.

And to demonstrate that, I'll post this picture where you can't really see the rear tyre at all:

[andyc11]

Lovely car, had a Rev 2 many moons ago and always liked these. I often find myself looking for a cheap Rev 5 with the aim of using it just as a track car, but know I've got a soft spot for them and couldn't do it.

[SonicShadow]

andyc11 said:

Lovely car, had a Rev 2 many moons ago and always liked these. I often find myself looking for a cheap Rev 5 with the aim of using it just as a track car, but know I've got a soft spot for them and couldn't do it.

Thanks

There's a BEAMS powered Rev5 Coupe on MR2OC for sale at the moment. It's not bargain basement, but it is a tin top so it's the lightest / stiffest combo, and the BEAMS engine has another 25bhp or so over mine, and an extra ~1000RPM at the top. Would be great fun on the track. Not sure if PH rules allows me to link to a sale on another forum, but if you go to mr2oc.co.uk, it's in the classifieds section.