MR2 Spyder - My Track Toy
Discussion
Hai everyone,
Decided to make a wee thread about my track toy.
Decided about a year ago I wanted to get into track days after a merc world experience given to me as a present. Spent a few weeks researching but pretty quickly it boiled down to either an MR2 or MX5 after still being bitter from the awful MG TF ownership trauma from a half-year previous. I needed it cheap to buy, easy to service, easy to fix, and fun to drive. Soft top was a big plus.
So onto the owners group I went and purchase an 02 MR2 (pre facelift) with precats not done, 58K on the clock, a gash in the roof, scratch on the o/s front wing, tatty rims and some of the worse speaker wiring I've ever seen!
Nice red interior though.
Driving it back was nice. Really thrashy engine, not exactly fast but has the makings of a fun track car. Completely different to my daily which is a crossfire, very snappy handling - albeit it slightly soft still. But as a platform, its good.
First task was to remove the pre-cats, which are known for breaking down and getting sucked back into the engine. In short that was a complete disaster as every bolt was rounded by a previous owner. It actually went into a garage to get done in the end, as I just wanted it to be finished ASAP.
But then it came back and then the fun started.
First; a full service:
- Oil filter
- Oil flush/refil
- Panel filter
- Aux belt
- Spark plugs
- HT leads
- Coolant flush/refil
- Brake fluid
Just standard stuff - pads on it were good and had plenty of meat left so decided to leave them there.
Out came the interior; including:
- Door cards,
- Trans tunnel
- Sound system/cables
- Rear storage bin doors/backings
- Front storage bins (made removable)
- Frunk plastic
- Carpet/sound proofing
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/4JqMv48W[/url][url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/uc2PCklb[/url]
All sharp edges were filed till completely smooth, then taped over before the padding goes on-top with double adhesive on it to fasten to the shape it needs to cover. Works well.
[url]
Then on went from Toyo T1R's and it went for 4-wheel alignment before the first track day, which came back perfect.
BUT DISASTER.
Some idiot drove into the side of but didnt leave a note, so I had to delay the track day by a month less than a week prior and source a new panel. £35 from a breaker and one came in, but blue. Lawls.
On the track day the car performed very well, no balancing issues following being striped out, no issues with the engine. Brakes were fine as well.
Even made a couple of friends
On the way back however it started to whistle when driving very slowly. I didnt think anything of it. A month later when driving down the A3 it started again, and I pulled over to find one of the front disks VERY hot. Thought it was binding so I stripped the caliper and rebuilt; but it continued and went from whistling to grinding.
Although the front of the disk looked good, the back had only about 50% of its surface area not covered in rust.
So replacements went on, with new pads and new pads went on the rear - the old pads are now backup pads in case the mains are burned through on the track. She sounds fine now.
Tell you what though, driving around with nothing but your own mind to keep you company is boring, so I bought a £15 bluetooth sound-bar of ECP and stuck it to the dash with velcro so it can come off at the track. Its not great, but does the job.
By this point the rims were in a seriously bad stake, with heavy flaking. So they got repainted black.
Then I painted the calipers red to make it more sporty; fitted an ultragauge to keep monitor on temps/pressures and finally added the car mascot - bob the blob.
[
|http://thumbsnap.com/Qb6pa2HT[/url][url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/0iAchIFU[/url][url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/n9w9oadx[/url][url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/WBJ9i3EI[/url]
So now she is getting to near where I want her to be stock. Shes getting her tracking done tomorrow and then its hitting the track on Saturday again.
If all goes well, then I'll start looking at buying some new coilovers and suspension bushes to give it a full refresh before bracing and uprating the brakes.
I'm also doing to do some minor styling to make it more unique.
Engine will come last.
A lot of the things I'm doing on the MR2 are probably very minor to most people, but I'm learning a lot and gaining confidence. Never thought I could do a disk change, or drill out sheared bolts; but these things are being done which is great.
More to follow
Decided to make a wee thread about my track toy.
Decided about a year ago I wanted to get into track days after a merc world experience given to me as a present. Spent a few weeks researching but pretty quickly it boiled down to either an MR2 or MX5 after still being bitter from the awful MG TF ownership trauma from a half-year previous. I needed it cheap to buy, easy to service, easy to fix, and fun to drive. Soft top was a big plus.
So onto the owners group I went and purchase an 02 MR2 (pre facelift) with precats not done, 58K on the clock, a gash in the roof, scratch on the o/s front wing, tatty rims and some of the worse speaker wiring I've ever seen!
Nice red interior though.
Driving it back was nice. Really thrashy engine, not exactly fast but has the makings of a fun track car. Completely different to my daily which is a crossfire, very snappy handling - albeit it slightly soft still. But as a platform, its good.
First task was to remove the pre-cats, which are known for breaking down and getting sucked back into the engine. In short that was a complete disaster as every bolt was rounded by a previous owner. It actually went into a garage to get done in the end, as I just wanted it to be finished ASAP.
But then it came back and then the fun started.
First; a full service:
- Oil filter
- Oil flush/refil
- Panel filter
- Aux belt
- Spark plugs
- HT leads
- Coolant flush/refil
- Brake fluid
Just standard stuff - pads on it were good and had plenty of meat left so decided to leave them there.
Out came the interior; including:
- Door cards,
- Trans tunnel
- Sound system/cables
- Rear storage bin doors/backings
- Front storage bins (made removable)
- Frunk plastic
- Carpet/sound proofing
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/4JqMv48W[/url][url]|http://thumbsnap.com/uc2PCklb[/url]All sharp edges were filed till completely smooth, then taped over before the padding goes on-top with double adhesive on it to fasten to the shape it needs to cover. Works well.
[url]Then on went from Toyo T1R's and it went for 4-wheel alignment before the first track day, which came back perfect.
BUT DISASTER.
Some idiot drove into the side of but didnt leave a note, so I had to delay the track day by a month less than a week prior and source a new panel. £35 from a breaker and one came in, but blue. Lawls.
On the track day the car performed very well, no balancing issues following being striped out, no issues with the engine. Brakes were fine as well.
Even made a couple of friends
On the way back however it started to whistle when driving very slowly. I didnt think anything of it. A month later when driving down the A3 it started again, and I pulled over to find one of the front disks VERY hot. Thought it was binding so I stripped the caliper and rebuilt; but it continued and went from whistling to grinding.
Although the front of the disk looked good, the back had only about 50% of its surface area not covered in rust.
So replacements went on, with new pads and new pads went on the rear - the old pads are now backup pads in case the mains are burned through on the track. She sounds fine now.
Tell you what though, driving around with nothing but your own mind to keep you company is boring, so I bought a £15 bluetooth sound-bar of ECP and stuck it to the dash with velcro so it can come off at the track. Its not great, but does the job.
By this point the rims were in a seriously bad stake, with heavy flaking. So they got repainted black.
Then I painted the calipers red to make it more sporty; fitted an ultragauge to keep monitor on temps/pressures and finally added the car mascot - bob the blob.
[
|http://thumbsnap.com/Qb6pa2HT[/url][url]|http://thumbsnap.com/0iAchIFU[/url][url]|http://thumbsnap.com/n9w9oadx[/url][url]|http://thumbsnap.com/WBJ9i3EI[/url]So now she is getting to near where I want her to be stock. Shes getting her tracking done tomorrow and then its hitting the track on Saturday again.
If all goes well, then I'll start looking at buying some new coilovers and suspension bushes to give it a full refresh before bracing and uprating the brakes.
I'm also doing to do some minor styling to make it more unique.
Engine will come last.
A lot of the things I'm doing on the MR2 are probably very minor to most people, but I'm learning a lot and gaining confidence. Never thought I could do a disk change, or drill out sheared bolts; but these things are being done which is great.
More to follow
Edited by SloppyClock on Monday 11th July 14:41
james_gt3rs said:
It's a shame that they are so rare at trackdays. When I had mine, I never got the opportunity to drive round with another one had to make do with the MX5s.
I saw two at the last track day I went to; but noticed when searching for a track car to buy that in general the MR2s seem to be a fair bit more expensive in comparison to the MX5. I'm not actually sure why, as the MR2 has a pretty catastrophic engine fault thats well known enough to show up as a common fault; would have thought that would have caused prices to drop.Whats slightly odd is out of the track I see bloody loads of them around!
Would like to drive an mx5 to compare. TF feels like it handles the same, but driving position is too high.
daniel-5zjw7 said:
Hi bud,
Liking the black wheels/red brake calipers, definitely gives it more of an edge! Is it still rocking that blue panel?
How did Saturday go, was this at Woodbridge again?
Yo!Liking the black wheels/red brake calipers, definitely gives it more of an edge! Is it still rocking that blue panel?
How did Saturday go, was this at Woodbridge again?
Blue panel is gone, replaced by an absolutely TERRIBLE paint job by my own hammer-fisted hands. Actually to be fair, it was going really well until my dad dropped his step-ladder onto the panel when it was drying. The clear coat was the wrong type as well and made it react. But, from a distance and behind a tree you can't tell a difference.
Car absolutely stomped at Woodbridge! I however was as sick as a nearly-pining parrot and ended up sitting out. Going to try and get back this month though, with some upper-body bracing in place. It scuttles at the back far to much, and thats costing time.
Plan is to get some tuition booked in as well.
When you planning on going next?
These are so underrated!
Mine is standard, but still fun on track, coped much better in the wet than my old MX-5.
Donington Park Trackday Official Photo by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Mine is standard, but still fun on track, coped much better in the wet than my old MX-5.
Donington Park Trackday Official Photo by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
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