New Member/Owner

[lelley1]

Hi

I am new to the site - My hubby Just bought me a MR2 mk3 at the weekend, picking up hopefully tomorow - cant wait!

MR2 is 2000 - Mk3 - 24k Miles, fsh, 1 previous owner and is absolutely mint.

Was wondering whether there is anything that we should check/do when we get the car. Read something about the CAT being a pain and affecting the engine.. should something be done about this when we get it?

Any advice/Info would be appreciated.

Hoping for nice weather at the weekend!

Many Thanks,
Lesley.

[Jaspa]

Welcome to Imoc and congrats on the new car

Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to play with a mk3 yet, but I'm sure one of our resident mk3ers will be along shortly.

Oh, finally, it is law to get pics of your new car posted on here for us all to see

Stuart

[lelley1]

ah thanks for the welcome stuart

I will def post some pics once I have actually got the car - fingers crossed should be tomorow..

It wilol be great if anyone is able to offer advice etc re cat ammongst other things.. Bit concerned when I read about many people losing them round bends and that but.. If I drive careful till I get used to car I am guessing I will be ok.. Hubby would find it awesome if the back slid.. Me - Id prob wet myself !! lol.

Reallyyyyyyy cant wait to pick it up tom..
Thanks again.

Lesley.

[Ekona]

As far as the pre-cats (not the main cat, completely different things) go, have a read of this for all the info you could possibly need.

The only other thing I would check is that the tyre sized are correct: You'd be amazed at how many mk3s there are out there running completely wrong (and dangerous!) sizes. For your car they should be 185/55 R15 at the front and 205/50 R15 at the rear. If there is no stagger between the two (i.e. front is same size as the back) then get the garage to replace them with the correct size BEFORE you pick it up. If it was bought privately, then do it ASAP. Also make sure they're the same make all round too, i.e. Bridgestone RE040.


Also, and this is very important, make sure you have the roof down if the sun's out!

[lelley1]

Hi Ya

Thankyou for that advice.. I will have to read up on the cat thing... dont really understand.

The tyres. - Have checked and they all are the sizes you say they should be - yay!! But the front are nang-wangs (or something like that!!) and the backs are Feds.. is that ok?

We collected the car tonight and just got back with it - wozzed out and got hubby to drive - it was miles away... I took over when nearer to home - LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its amazing....

Lesley.

[Ekona]

The tyres. - Have checked and they all are the sizes you say they should be - yay!! But the front are nang-wangs (or something like that!!) and the backs are Feds.. is that ok?

No. Get them changed ASAP, like yesterday. Personally I'd replace the lot with some nice Toyo T1-Rs as they're fantastic for the money, and you really don't want either Nankangs or Feds (whatever they are) on a mid-engined performance car, as it's just asking for trouble and I'd hate for you to prang your pride and joy so soon into ownership.

[lelley1]

ah bloody hell got to change them now then.... but better safe than sorry umm...

Ok hubby looking at Ebay Item - 110365863442

which are 17" and woiuld upgrade tyres to Falcons...

Be mega greatful if you - or anyone else has an opinion on this asap.... Thanks so much..

(obviously everyone likes different wheels - looks etc - and we really quite like these..)

Lesley.

[Ekona]

The offset on those is surprisingly good and would only require a bit of alteration to the front wheelarches, but the real problem is the tyres: 205/40/17 all round is a death trap waiting to happen. I've driven an MR2 like that for a few miles and I swore never, ever to do it again.

Personally I'd just order these and these and fit them. Other tyre places are available in case you can find them anywhere cheaper, but I've used MyTyres before and found them really good.

[Quigonjay]

welcome to imoc

[BenF]

Welcome

24k miles for a 200 car is very low - sounds like you've got a good one. My '03 car is nearing 100k miles at the moment and still going strong

The Cat issue is something that only affects a small number of owners - there is a visual check that you can do which basically is to remove the oxygen sensors from the exhaust manifold and check the condition of the 'pre' cats there. If they look undamaged and whole then there's nothing to worry about.

Others would advise removing the precats and running with the single main cat - I can confirm you'd pass a MOT without problems in this configuration.

Other than that - I'd really recommend a 4 wheel lazer alignment as after 8 years it is bound to have had a few knocks and be well outside. Sorting that will transform the car's handling. Elite in Rainham ( Just off the A13 / M25 junction ) specialise in this kind of setup.

The only other thing I'd look at would be quality tyres ( as Dan says above ) - Toyo T1-R's are a popular choice on the Roadster.

[lelley1]

Ekona – Thanks so much for all your help with wheels/tyres.
Appreciated. Had a look at the Link for MyTyres and it does seem to be good deals. Im not sure what hubby is going to do re the wheels now, another possibility would be to have the current ones refurbed and then painted black, maybe.... but it is something that we want to get sorted asap, they look awful at the moment plus we now have the tyre issue that obviously needs addressing – bit gutted as the tyres that are on there are all brand new.. Really want to get a spoiler/body kit for it – but will need to throw money at tyres/wheels first now.

BenF – Thanks for the welcome Yep 24k is really low milage isn’t it.. apparently we were the first to phone re the car and I pestered like mad to go view the car ! – the selletrs were away when the ad went online – so rang and rang and managed to go see the car late the night they came back.. It was owned by their son-in-law and only having had the one owner – have got all old mots etc for the car and everything tallies up which is brill... FSH was a bonus as well..

We took it out last night for a drive – with the top down – of course!! Ha ha. (was freezing!)

So the cat Issue is something that may not even be a problem.. but would you agree that its worth checking it just in case?

Re – Lazer alignment – I have sent link to hubby so he can look into this Rainham is pretty local to us so wouldn’t be a problem to get there etc.
Thankyou for all the info. Really do like the drive of the car – looks georgous! Have to say that its weird that we have only seen one ! other MR2 on the road since we started looking at them – that was on the way back home with car last night, coming up to the Dartford tunnel – saw a red one.. its seems like there aren’t that many on the rd ?

How bad are these cars in the rain – surely as long as you take it easy they should be fine?? Have read some post that more or less say – if it rains leave it at home ! .....

thankyou to other members welcoming us to the group.

Lesley.

[Ekona]

How bad are these cars in the rain – surely as long as you take it easy they should be fine?? Have read some post that more or less say – if it rains leave it at home ! .....

Interesting question. If your car had the correct tyres on it then I would say that there is absolutely no issues with using the car in the rain at all, as long as you're aware of the different handling a mid-engined car will have. However, on mixed tyres it's not strictly a case of leave it at home, but I certainly would drive around like I was driving on ice, and I certainly wouldn't take any pleasure rides in it.

The stock wheels do actually suit the car pretty well I think, and getting them done in black will make them look even better.

What colour is your car btw?

[lelley1]

Interesting question. If your car had the correct tyres on it then I would say that there is absolutely no issues with using the car in the rain at all, as long as you're aware of the different handling a mid-engined car will have. ?

It was pouring down most of today - used the car but just took it easy..

However, on mixed tyres it's not strictly a case of leave it at home, but I certainly would drive around like I was driving on ice, and I certainly wouldn't take any pleasure rides in it. Going to change the tyres asap.. hubby rang the place suggested in Rainham - quoted a price - which I think was 500 ish - we just have to do there to have a look - possibly tomorow..

The stock wheels do actually suit the car pretty well I think, and getting them done in black will make them look even better. Ummm I think they do look so bad because their condition is so awful...

What colour is your car btw? Black.

what colour have you got?

[Rowland]

Hi Lesley - Welcome to imoc!!

[Ekona]

Going to change the tyres asap.. hubby rang the place suggested in Rainham - quoted a price - which I think was 500 ish - we just have to do there to have a look - possibly tomorow.. what colour have you got?

£500 just for the tyres?! That's at least £250 more than it should be, was that for new wheels as well?

I sold my mk3 back in 2006, but it was a silver one. Even though I've had faster & better handling cars since then, I do still miss the old girl. Sadly bubbling alloys are a known fault on the mk3, but black on black should look very stealthy

[lelley1]

hi

i think the sites been playing up tonight ? havent been able to get on tonight before now... yes that was for a choice of alloys and the tyres...

yes we think black on black will look good as well....

[Ekona]

Phew, not a bad price then! Again, just confirm with them that they have got the tyre sizes and the offset right, but like Ben said they do know their stuff down there so should be fine.

Not just you having issues either, was playing silly buggers for me earlier too.

[lelley1]

could you confirm that on the alloys that are standard with the mk3 - can we put 205 on front and 225 on rear - does anyone know what the profile would be - as it changes as the tyres get bigger?

just trying to get it right as hoping to get tyres tom... hubby took daughter for a spin in the rain tonight - and it slid a little.. though he said it was funnnnnn... ummmm!! ha ha

[Ekona]

It all depends on what size wheels you're going to be running. Post up the details and we'll take a look for you.

[lelley1]

the wheels are the ones that came standard on the mr2 2000 - when made. does that help?