so i got a rev1 and non staggered wheels, never slid or skidded!

[vmaxnick]

You have to be an idiot to spin any car

Sir, I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I'm not Sir and that Sir is an idiot!
Did I mention; the Tank is a Tank?

[leenjenna]

So if I use some spacers on my non staggered wheels I will be better off than without spacers. I dont want to end up in a tree.

[dantheman]

So if I use some spacers on my non staggered wheels I will be better off than without spacers. I dont want to end up in a tree.

you are sounding quite nervous. if you always take it carefully and drive to the conditions you will be ok. if you feel you want the extra safety margin and you prefer understeer then yes if you space the rears out a bit you will get more understeer. Using ordinary spaces might shear your wheel studs (though ive not actually heard of it happening). Hubcentric spacers however can be quite expensive. it might be cheaper to get slightly wider (edit) rear tyres. that will also induce more understeer.

[dave5526]

Got a corner i go around every day from work, its about 100 degrees over maybe 100 yards, cambered too. i go round this at 40 (the limit) whether its wet or dry, never even a hint of letting go.

That's because the MR2 has excellent grip, with the engine above the rear wheels to keep it planted. Normal RWD's don't have as much weight over the rear wheels so don't get as much grip, and FWD's have to steer as well as brake/accelerate with the front tyres which reduces the grip.

But what if you went round that same corner at the same speed and found debris/a broken down car/a dog in the road? Lift off too fast (too fast is not very fast at all) and you would spin out, almost definitely in the wet. Whereas in a FWD/4WD and to some extent a normal RWD you probably wouldn't spin out.

That's where the MR2 gets its reputation from, any error/overcompensation is exaggerated compared to other non-MR cars.

[HighwayStar]

Ignore the post above by Dantheman.... spacers wont shear anything off your car though you are best sticking to hubcentric ones (have the same centre bore as the hub so fit really well). Not too expensive really, reckon on £70-£100 ish for a pair of top quality kit but you do get them secondhand here on occasion.
As for increasing the width of the front tyre... it will cause oversteer NOT understeer. If you want to avoid a wayward rear end you want more rubber at the back not the front.

R.

[dantheman]

Ignore the post above by Dantheman.... spacers wont shear anything off your car though you are best sticking to hubcentric ones (have the same centre bore as the hub so fit really well). Not too expensive really, reckon on £70-£100 ish for a pair of top quality kit but you do get them secondhand here on occasion.
As for increasing the width of the front tyre... it will cause oversteer NOT understeer. If you want to avoid a wayward rear end you want more rubber at the back not the front.

im just repeating information i have been told otherwise whats the benefit of using hubcentric spacers over non-hubcentric spacers?

And yes you are right, that is infact a typo. i meant increase rear tyre width. Got distracted halfway through that post.

[leenjenna]

Thanks for the info, only nervous in the fact I dont want to smash my newly painted 2 into anything. Im in no way going to be racing people in it (its a 3S-FE) so im not planning on being on the edge of grip limit but some people seem to make it sound as if 'normal' driving is still erratic and chucks you sideways given the oppurtunity.

[alan wheeldon]

Thanks for the info, only nervous in the fact I dont want to smash my newly painted 2 into anything. Im in no way going to be racing people in it (its a 3S-FE) so im not planning on being on the edge of grip limit but some people seem to make it sound as if 'normal' driving is still erratic and chucks you sideways given the oppurtunity.

Staggered or not staggered it wont make a difference from personal experience and ive had lots of it on road and track. It all depends how you drive the car, if you drive sensibly then the back end is never going to be stepping out, its only when your near the limit of your car set up then you are going to be hitting problems.

Your wheel and tyre set up is just fine and nothing to worry about.

All the "horror" stories are normaly from pepole with little experience of the car layout (ie. mid engine rear wheel drive) as when they step out of line it can catch you out if you dont know what your doing. (no offence to anyone)

These cars need to be driven with respect

[leenjenna]

Cheers alan, I wouldnt be able to face more days sanding bodywork down. And I am new to MR (from FF) so wont be hammering it round bends for a while yet.

[fishface]

Our Rev1 Turbo was running 215/40/17 fronts and 235/40/17 rear but on 7" rims all round when we got it. We fitted BC Racing coilovers and replaced just about every suspension component with new parts in an effort to get it handling sweetly! It was ok but you lost the rear end turning into corners if pushing it (on track i might add)! We went to Brands for a track evening last Tuesday and i managed to collect and get fitted a set of Enkei EV5 wheels with an 8" front rim and 9" rear rim. Running the same tyres (front Toyo T1-rs and rear Toyo R1-Rs) as on the 7" rims the difference is unbelievable! The rear end is totally planted and the only times i managed to get it sliding was on the painted kerbs at Paddock and Druids when i ran wide after pushing the front tyres! I was able to put the power down from the apex in every corner with no loss of traction at all! We have got the Torsen diff fitted too which obviously helps but the problems we were having were totally down to the rims being too narrow for the tyres! The new wheels have a 35 offset front and 42 rear and look fantastic too!