Toyota MR2 Rev 5 - 'Sonic Shadow'
Discussion
After driving MX-5's for nearly 5 years, I'd been after a change for ages. I looked at all sorts. At one point I was dead set on an Alfa GTV or Fiat Coupe. Problem is, after every single one I test drove, I enjoyed it yes. Great cars, but not for me - too nose heavy and understeery.
Anyway, I'd looked at these before. I ended up viewing loads, including 5 in one day. Some NA, some Turbo, some cheap, some expensive.
In the end this was by far the best buy, there was no way I could turn it down. Most cars were tatty, worn out, nearly all were very rusty. Turbos were smoky and leaky. Was very disheartening actually. Eventually found this little beauty though.
Very keen owner had had it 9 years, done over 100k miles in it. I was sold as soon as I saw it - its been kept incredibly well. 120k miles and its better nick than most 30k mile cars you'll see at a car supermarket - really. And its had everything done - absolutely stacks of history. Full suspension rebuild. Fantastic uprated brakes. Matching new tyres. Factory/JDM upgrades added, like folding wing mirrors. Spotless inside. No wear to seat/wheel etc. The underneath is similarly spotless having had a full proffesional underseal a few years ago - very pleased with that and very telling of its previous owner, who was clearly quite upset to see it go!
Its like a car thats been clocked the wrong way, I'm very happy. If ever there was proof of miles on the Odo not being important, this is it.
1 by simonholehan, on Flickr
2 by simonholehan, on Flickr
3 by simonholehan, on Flickr
4 by simonholehan, on Flickr
5 by simonholehan, on Flickr
6 by simonholehan, on Flickr
Chanced on it really after nearly giving up on these, but glad I didnt. Being a Rev 5 its got the snazzy spoiler, slightly nicer interior, leather wheel etc.
It has carbotech pads, and the later, bigger twin piston calipers, which dust like buggery but are absolutely amazing. Exhaust is pretty loud but sounds very good for a 4 cyl - in fact, much better than I thought it would. Eibach springs, recent dampers, TRD top mounts, full polybushes etc.
Thoughts so far?
It feels wonderful - low, smooth, exceptionally comfortable ( seats are amazing ). It is going to make an excellent GT / Roadtrip car, I cant wait to take it to Le-mans next year. . Compared to the MX-5 - steering is meaty but not quite the same amount of feel. Turn in is similarly manic, but a touch lighter and floatier once loaded. Theres a much bigger difference between it being out of balance, to just right. You have to think more, to drive quickly - but its very satisfying when right. More serious than a hooligan MX-5 style. Wags its tail a bit underpower, overall very grippy, and a lot of fun. Much, much more fun for me to drive than the faster, but FWD cars I tried. It feels like it wants to 'carve' turns, to set a rythm.
Gearshift is very good, but not a patch on the Mazda. Noise is massively better, more tuneful engine (see below).
Roof does not come off. But I think I prefer this to a T-bar. With sunroof popped and windows down, its still quite light and airy, and the engine placement means you get lots of noises coming through to the cabin. Its so pleasant having a chassis that feels like its connected at both ends too!
Is it fast? No. Faster than an Mx-5, a bit. Much better above 60, 70mph. But long geared and with a noticeable drop in power once off the boil. But the engine is sweeter and massively more smooth than the unburstable but rough Mazda engine. I may get frustrated at some point, but when I was looking I didnt really specify anything had to be 'faster', indeed the faster cars I looked at all seemed to have the party piece of the power and acceleration, but not much else. Like an MX-5 I think this has 'just enough' power for its chassis. And frankly it can go very illegal very easily so I'm not bothered. Rather this than the smoky, ruined turbos I saw.
It has the smallest 'jobs to do' list of any car I've owned! New number plates front and rear ordered. Wiper arms need painting. That's all I can find so far!
Oh and, the slightly dubious white dials might get changed back to regular ones.
I'll add more later, as I know the MR-2 / MX-5 thing is quite a popular topic, and I've lots of experience of the latter.
Anyway, I'd looked at these before. I ended up viewing loads, including 5 in one day. Some NA, some Turbo, some cheap, some expensive.
In the end this was by far the best buy, there was no way I could turn it down. Most cars were tatty, worn out, nearly all were very rusty. Turbos were smoky and leaky. Was very disheartening actually. Eventually found this little beauty though.
Very keen owner had had it 9 years, done over 100k miles in it. I was sold as soon as I saw it - its been kept incredibly well. 120k miles and its better nick than most 30k mile cars you'll see at a car supermarket - really. And its had everything done - absolutely stacks of history. Full suspension rebuild. Fantastic uprated brakes. Matching new tyres. Factory/JDM upgrades added, like folding wing mirrors. Spotless inside. No wear to seat/wheel etc. The underneath is similarly spotless having had a full proffesional underseal a few years ago - very pleased with that and very telling of its previous owner, who was clearly quite upset to see it go!
Its like a car thats been clocked the wrong way, I'm very happy. If ever there was proof of miles on the Odo not being important, this is it.
1 by simonholehan, on Flickr
2 by simonholehan, on Flickr
3 by simonholehan, on Flickr
4 by simonholehan, on Flickr
5 by simonholehan, on Flickr
6 by simonholehan, on Flickr
Chanced on it really after nearly giving up on these, but glad I didnt. Being a Rev 5 its got the snazzy spoiler, slightly nicer interior, leather wheel etc.
It has carbotech pads, and the later, bigger twin piston calipers, which dust like buggery but are absolutely amazing. Exhaust is pretty loud but sounds very good for a 4 cyl - in fact, much better than I thought it would. Eibach springs, recent dampers, TRD top mounts, full polybushes etc.
Thoughts so far?
It feels wonderful - low, smooth, exceptionally comfortable ( seats are amazing ). It is going to make an excellent GT / Roadtrip car, I cant wait to take it to Le-mans next year. . Compared to the MX-5 - steering is meaty but not quite the same amount of feel. Turn in is similarly manic, but a touch lighter and floatier once loaded. Theres a much bigger difference between it being out of balance, to just right. You have to think more, to drive quickly - but its very satisfying when right. More serious than a hooligan MX-5 style. Wags its tail a bit underpower, overall very grippy, and a lot of fun. Much, much more fun for me to drive than the faster, but FWD cars I tried. It feels like it wants to 'carve' turns, to set a rythm.
Gearshift is very good, but not a patch on the Mazda. Noise is massively better, more tuneful engine (see below).
Roof does not come off. But I think I prefer this to a T-bar. With sunroof popped and windows down, its still quite light and airy, and the engine placement means you get lots of noises coming through to the cabin. Its so pleasant having a chassis that feels like its connected at both ends too!
Is it fast? No. Faster than an Mx-5, a bit. Much better above 60, 70mph. But long geared and with a noticeable drop in power once off the boil. But the engine is sweeter and massively more smooth than the unburstable but rough Mazda engine. I may get frustrated at some point, but when I was looking I didnt really specify anything had to be 'faster', indeed the faster cars I looked at all seemed to have the party piece of the power and acceleration, but not much else. Like an MX-5 I think this has 'just enough' power for its chassis. And frankly it can go very illegal very easily so I'm not bothered. Rather this than the smoky, ruined turbos I saw.
It has the smallest 'jobs to do' list of any car I've owned! New number plates front and rear ordered. Wiper arms need painting. That's all I can find so far!
Oh and, the slightly dubious white dials might get changed back to regular ones.
I'll add more later, as I know the MR-2 / MX-5 thing is quite a popular topic, and I've lots of experience of the latter.
Edited by snotrag on Monday 30th July 19:19
Looks immaculate! Especially the interior considering the mileage.
It's worth taking the door cards off and having a look inside the door. The window seal at the bottom left of pic 5 tends to leak and let water into the door. The inside of the doors aren't painted so tend to rust. I have a pretty decent nick Rev5 with no visible rust but there was some surface rust starting on the inside of the doors which I've cleaned up, primed and painted.
You say the later twin piston calipers? Had mine off just the other day and the rears are certainly single piston.
Lastly, is that exhaust standard? Looks stainless. If not, what is it? I'd quite like something stainless for a different sound but don't want a deafening drainpipe
It's worth taking the door cards off and having a look inside the door. The window seal at the bottom left of pic 5 tends to leak and let water into the door. The inside of the doors aren't painted so tend to rust. I have a pretty decent nick Rev5 with no visible rust but there was some surface rust starting on the inside of the doors which I've cleaned up, primed and painted.
You say the later twin piston calipers? Had mine off just the other day and the rears are certainly single piston.
Lastly, is that exhaust standard? Looks stainless. If not, what is it? I'd quite like something stainless for a different sound but don't want a deafening drainpipe
I've had 2 of these, one turbo and one NA. Admittedly, neither were anywhere near the condition of yours - it looks fantastic by the way - but they were great cars. I had a particular fondness for the NA car if I'm honest, lovely induction noise...and it was in better condition than the turbo.
The seats are very comfortable indeed, among the most comfortable I've sat in. The Mongoose exhaust is an extremely popular choice among the enthusiasts too, good replacement for the standard box.
Enjoy.
ETA: Looking at this makes me want another!
The seats are very comfortable indeed, among the most comfortable I've sat in. The Mongoose exhaust is an extremely popular choice among the enthusiasts too, good replacement for the standard box.
Enjoy.
ETA: Looking at this makes me want another!
Edited by Ferosferio on Monday 30th July 21:39
I imagine he has as that's JohnnyC's old car 
Looks like a real peach and I wish my Sonic Shadow had been in the same condition as yours. Mine turned into a fairly epic resto-mod project taking 2 years (still not really finished)
What's your plans for it? I can see where you are coming from about the motor, It doesn't feel lively until you wring its neck. I found the Rev1+2 3S-GE's to have a little bit more grunt than the later units, but it's barely perceptible.
Looks like a real peach and I wish my Sonic Shadow had been in the same condition as yours. Mine turned into a fairly epic resto-mod project taking 2 years (still not really finished)
What's your plans for it? I can see where you are coming from about the motor, It doesn't feel lively until you wring its neck. I found the Rev1+2 3S-GE's to have a little bit more grunt than the later units, but it's barely perceptible.
Ug_lee said:
I found the Rev1+2 3S-GE's to have a little bit more grunt than the later units, but it's barely perceptible.
The later revisions are a tad heavier than the earlier cars but have comparable torque figures. That could account for you feeling that "little more grunt". I tend to agree, although, as you've stated, it's not that perceptible. Edited by Ferosferio on Tuesday 31st July 16:27
All this talk of MR2's, thought I'd update my thread.
Passed a pointless but amusing milestone this week:
2012-11-02 19.32.27 by simonholehan, on Flickr
Still feels really good overall despite its age. I'm feeling particularly guilty now that the weathers turned s
tty. I have a filthy muddy commute down some lanes to work, and its dark when I leave, Dark when I get home, so the car ends up quite cruddy a bit, but then that's what happens when you only have one car I guess.
Points of note - The suspension was all rebuilt in 2008. It still feels 'tight', and it handles great. But I'm not 100% convinced with the combo of Eibach springs, and Toyota OEM dampers - I reckon the spring rates must be on the verge of being too much for the dampers. I reckon the dampers have done maybe 40000 miles, so they shouldn't be shafted, but equally, not brand new either, and teaming them up with uprated springs will only accelerate wear. I may look into changing the dampers after Christmas.
The alternator failed last month, after the car had been sat for a week while I was on holiday. Bit of a bugger, but it was old, and a known weak-spot, so I wasn't too bothered. £150 for a brand new one, failed, ordered replacement, and fitted on the same day (took a day off work when I got to the end of the street and the dash went mental at me, quick u-turn and just about rolled home on battery power!). Read lots of moaning about how difficult a job it was, but wasn't that hard really, no different to most FWD cars, just at the back instead.
The main issue though is the clutch is on its last legs - I knew this when I bought it. It slipped once in a 3-4th gear change booting it up a sliproad, since then I've been driving like a sissy for about a month and its fine. Just need to pull my finger out my arse and change it. Got a mates garage to work in to get out of the cold, will set aside a Saturday and Sunday, should be fine, working slow and steady, lots of coffee breaks.
I was getting annoyed with the car at points but I've realised that because of the clutch, I've not used it for anything other than commuting. No 'fun' driving at all. I'm really looking forward to getting it changed, then I'll take a good long day out up onto the moors or Wales, and do some driver-car bonding!
It is excellent on fuel (particularly with my dud-clutch nanny driving) and touches 40 on a long run.
The wet weather traction is brilliant - it really digs in and pulls out of slipper muddy t-junctions well, good tyres, weight distribution and locking diff helps I guess. Its not a 'hooligan' car like an MX-5 but it does move about underneath you, you just have to be really neat and controlled when driving and it covers ground really well.
A mountain bike will go in the passenger side if needs be. I've also picked up some roofbars for it too for biking use.
Overall I'm really chuffed with the car, people in the works car park seem to think its incredibly exotic, which is amusing. Its probably the cheapest and oldest thing there. God knows what they'd think if it had a private plate on it - some people have no idea.
And it looks cool as hell at night (crappy phone pic). I need to take some decent photos of it with the proper camera, and I reckon to best pull it off I need to go for the Gran Turismo, urban landscape, backlit kind of look, should look pretty cool!
MR2 night by simonholehan, on Flickr
Passed a pointless but amusing milestone this week:
2012-11-02 19.32.27 by simonholehan, on Flickr
Still feels really good overall despite its age. I'm feeling particularly guilty now that the weathers turned s
tty. I have a filthy muddy commute down some lanes to work, and its dark when I leave, Dark when I get home, so the car ends up quite cruddy a bit, but then that's what happens when you only have one car I guess. Points of note - The suspension was all rebuilt in 2008. It still feels 'tight', and it handles great. But I'm not 100% convinced with the combo of Eibach springs, and Toyota OEM dampers - I reckon the spring rates must be on the verge of being too much for the dampers. I reckon the dampers have done maybe 40000 miles, so they shouldn't be shafted, but equally, not brand new either, and teaming them up with uprated springs will only accelerate wear. I may look into changing the dampers after Christmas.
The alternator failed last month, after the car had been sat for a week while I was on holiday. Bit of a bugger, but it was old, and a known weak-spot, so I wasn't too bothered. £150 for a brand new one, failed, ordered replacement, and fitted on the same day (took a day off work when I got to the end of the street and the dash went mental at me, quick u-turn and just about rolled home on battery power!). Read lots of moaning about how difficult a job it was, but wasn't that hard really, no different to most FWD cars, just at the back instead.
The main issue though is the clutch is on its last legs - I knew this when I bought it. It slipped once in a 3-4th gear change booting it up a sliproad, since then I've been driving like a sissy for about a month and its fine. Just need to pull my finger out my arse and change it. Got a mates garage to work in to get out of the cold, will set aside a Saturday and Sunday, should be fine, working slow and steady, lots of coffee breaks.
I was getting annoyed with the car at points but I've realised that because of the clutch, I've not used it for anything other than commuting. No 'fun' driving at all. I'm really looking forward to getting it changed, then I'll take a good long day out up onto the moors or Wales, and do some driver-car bonding!
It is excellent on fuel (particularly with my dud-clutch nanny driving) and touches 40 on a long run.
The wet weather traction is brilliant - it really digs in and pulls out of slipper muddy t-junctions well, good tyres, weight distribution and locking diff helps I guess. Its not a 'hooligan' car like an MX-5 but it does move about underneath you, you just have to be really neat and controlled when driving and it covers ground really well.
A mountain bike will go in the passenger side if needs be. I've also picked up some roofbars for it too for biking use.
Overall I'm really chuffed with the car, people in the works car park seem to think its incredibly exotic, which is amusing. Its probably the cheapest and oldest thing there. God knows what they'd think if it had a private plate on it - some people have no idea.
And it looks cool as hell at night (crappy phone pic). I need to take some decent photos of it with the proper camera, and I reckon to best pull it off I need to go for the Gran Turismo, urban landscape, backlit kind of look, should look pretty cool!
MR2 night by simonholehan, on Flickr
Forgot to add...
Last time I was giving it a clean, mates caught me messing around the adjustable spoiler. I now get constantly ribbed about this. "Bit slippy today eh, you running a couple more clicks of downforce?", or "We're off down the motorway, you going to adjust for top speed first?" etc etc... Completely pointless feature on a roadcar but hey, its fun to play with.
2012-10-13 14.08.13 by simonholehan, on Flickr
Last time I was giving it a clean, mates caught me messing around the adjustable spoiler. I now get constantly ribbed about this. "Bit slippy today eh, you running a couple more clicks of downforce?", or "We're off down the motorway, you going to adjust for top speed first?" etc etc... Completely pointless feature on a roadcar but hey, its fun to play with.
2012-10-13 14.08.13 by simonholehan, on Flickr
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