Are MR2's a waste of money??

[Daveb]

Are MR2's a waste of money??


Im starting to wonder this... Ive not had to spend much on mine through problems its been through choice - modifying.

They are very heavy on fuel. I hate putting fuel in my MR2 now. Especially at the rate it drinks it and the amount it costs. I put a tenner in the other day and it hardly registered on the guage and did its usual 50 miles.

Im starting to think about light, n/a cars. I enjoy the track so sometime like a elise, westfield etc...

At the end of the day the MR2 isnt ideal for track. Sure its fun but I just think its not the car for it. Im not happy with it just now.

So my dialema is do I waste yet more money on the MR2. 4 pots at front. £700. Coilovers £700. Anti Roll Bars and Poly buses. £400. Engine work and ecu maybe turbo. 1k. To bring it to a level i might be happier with.

Or do I just get rid of it and get something lightweight. N/A. Its going to probably handle better. Stop better. Use less fuel. Probably be newer. Plus ever man and his dog might not have one.

I think my MR2 days are up. Ive majorly gone off them.

[scotiamr2t]

if thats how you feel, then thats how you feel so just sell it.

but bear in mind most N/A cars you get wont be as quick, an elise IMO would be hellish as an every day car. the mr2 aint a bad track car handling wise if you drive it and set it up properly.

anyway there's no point me or anyone else preachin about an mr2 as its your choice.

last thing i'll say is how long would the slower N/A keep you occupied for before you wanted something that bit quicker. also elises aint rare i see loads of them everyday

[The Morris]

yes total waste of money, but you have to waste it somewhere

[revturbo]

you've got 344bhp, how the hell can you 'go off' that?

[Draven]

yes total waste of money, but you have to waste it somewhere

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

[lower]

once you hit that point its time to move on.

but something with similar power, NA or not, will drink similar amounts of fuel unless it is a lightweight. My S2000 has similar fuel consumption, but the handling is much better, and the brakes are much better. It is also way better around the track.

Are MR2's a waste of money??


Im starting to wonder this... Ive not had to spend much on mine through problems its been through choice - modifying.

They are very heavy on fuel. I hate putting fuel in my MR2 now. Especially at the rate it drinks it and the amount it costs. I put a tenner in the other day and it hardly registered on the gauge and did its usual 50 miles.

Im starting to think about light, n/a cars. I enjoy the track so sometime like a elise, westfield etc...

At the end of the day the MR2 isnt ideal for track. Sure its fun but I just think its not the car for it. Im not happy with it just now.

So my dialema is do I waste yet more money on the MR2. 4 pots at front. £700. Coilovers £700. Anti Roll Bars and Poly buses. £400. Engine work and ecu maybe turbo. 1k. To bring it to a level i might be happier with.

Or do I just get rid of it and get something lightweight. N/A. Its going to probably handle better. Stop better. Use less fuel. Probably be newer. Plus ever man and his dog might not have one.

I think my MR2 days are up. Ive majorly gone off them.

[SwissHeavy]

344bhp and you winge about fuel! Of course it will eat fuel if you want that kinda power!

Although if u want cheap handling fun, but with some smidge of practicality, consider the smart Roadster Coupe. Achieves 50mpg too...

[nakamura]

Try a prostitute, they have high mileage and never had much spent on them and they are very good on their backs(tracks)!

Seriously tho maybe its time to move on. I have an na and have used my mates twin turbo gto a few times but i still enjoy my 2 more. How about an exige?

[jonb-]

Cheapest option is to detune your mr2 to around 220bhp and get a nice map and you'll be laughing on petrol.

While my mr2 isn't typical i easily see off elises on track and on quick circuits the first revision of exiges aren't much bother so they're not /that/ bad.

You'll have trouble finding an NA you're happy with after that much power, as the below have said any NA with good power eats fuel.

My daily Civic Type R is only 200bhp but i see about 26mpg. I've had 30 from the tubby on motorways before.

[ENSMR2]

Just sell up if you feel like this.

[Tiamat]

Why not keep the Tubby as a weekend car and have a MK1 as the daily run around. Fun to drive, cheap to buy, insure and run, reliable and still get good mileage out of it.
Don't sell up - expand!

[THE DUKE]

I'll buy it off you for a fiver if its buggin you that much?

[Daveb]

While my mr2 isn't typical i easily see off elises on track and on quick circuits the first revision of exiges aren't much bother so they're not /that/ bad.

At Oulton the MR2 really had the legs and handling over the elises, there wasnt any exiges there that day. At smaller Knockhill exiges are bit too fast but elises arent a problem. However even if you are faster by a wee bit or a lot your still using a load of fuel, tyres and brakes humphing your big MR2 round while they float round in there little 1.6 using hardly any tyres or brakes.

[scotiamr2t]

i have a guy at work who tracks his elise at knockie and to say they float round and use less tyres etc is a load of BS he spends as much time on track as i do and spends just as much £ sometimes more.

also i know in my car exige's dont pose any problem on the straight bits. round the corners they have the legs slightly though, but once on the straight's i pull away again. personally i dont think you need anymore power, just better braking performance and maybe some suspension adjustments

also elises use the celica's 1.8vvti engine do they not (new elises anyway), old ones used a 1.8 K series rover engine i think. although i think someone may come along and corret me on the earlier models.

as for the braking etc, the only reason the elise is better is its a more modern car that came with higher spec'd brakes in standard trim than an mr2 (obviously the weight helps). Up rate the brakes on the mr2 to in relation to size and weight a similar spec and you'll be able to brake as late as them etc etc.

just depends if your heart is lying with up rating the mr2 to get it where you want it. or selling up and trying something new?

[Lauren]

also elises use the celica's 1.8vvti engine do they not (new elises anyway), old ones used a 1.8 K series rover engine i think. although i think someone may come along and corret me on the earlier models.

as for the braking etc, the only reason the elise is better is its a more modern car that came with higher spec'd brakes in standard trim than an mr2 (obviously the weight helps). Up rate the brakes on the mr2 to in relation to size and weight a similar spec and you'll be able to brake as late as them etc etc.

just depends if your heart is lying with up rating the mr2 to get it where you want it. or selling up and trying something new?

All S1 elises use the K-series engine. Only the late S2s use the toyota engine and this is basically shared between two models; 111R and Exige.

Not wishing to start a big debate about this but i would say an elise is in a different league handling wise to an MR2. Granted the MK3 is a good match for it but not the mk1 or mk2. Elises are a lot lighter than an MR2, the early S1s are nearly half the weight of a MK2! They have much better chassis setup ie double wishbones plus a much stiffer extruded ally body, which helps give them a far superior geo throughout the suspender travel. At the end of the day you can't beat the massive advantage of having a lightweight car, because not only does it brake bettter, it turns better it accelerates better. More power is not a substitute for this.

[jonb-]

But a 1000kgs car with 300bhp is more fun to drive than a 500kgs with 150bhp.

Not saying it's faster but if I recon i'd have plenty more grin and feel good moments in the former.

[Lauren]

But a 1000kgs car with 300bhp is more fun to drive than a 500kgs with 150bhp.

Not saying it's faster but if I recon i'd have plenty more grin and feel good moments in the former.

Honey you couldn't be more wrong. I'm guessing you haven't driven a caterham?

I would say that the caterham is more fun to drive by a country mile than a car with twice the power and twice the weight. I've driven tubbies with similar power and yes they can be great fun but honestly i would argue they aren't half the fun of a caterham superlight with a measly 1.6.

[Bender Unit]

Im starting to think about light, n/a cars. I enjoy the track so sometime like a elise, westfield etc...

If you want a track car get somthing thats easy to work on that you dont care about.

[jonb-]

Honey you couldn't be more wrong. I'm guessing you haven't driven a caterham?

You guess right, hence my musings. I've had a few blats in K series elises and wasn't overly impressed, didn't feel urgent enough out of the corners for my liking, but i really enjoy a car that moves around so perhaps i just wasn't pushing hard enough.

I'd like to have ago in a caterham, was extremely impressed with an R500 chasing down and beating a 996 GT3 RS a few trackdays ago. Pulling that kind of speed on a trackday can't be great overall fun though as every car becomes a rolling roadblock (he was running slicks too).

[Gordy]

I think my MR2 days are up. Ive majorly gone off them

Opinion 1: Just 5od off then and stop depressing the rest here

Opinion 2: 50 miles from £10 is about 23 mpg which from a (someone said) 344bhp car seems reasonable enough

Opinion 3: I've just bought a rev3 (245bhp) car that looks great and goes great, all for way less than £4000, so are they a waste of money? Can you find this blend of performance, usability, aesthetics and design integrity for that sort of money elsewhere? No: they are bl00dy good value for money

Opinion 4: There are lots of people who live with an Elise as a day car. Not my kind of day car though, however it might be for you, if you like difficult entry and egress, poor build quality, a constantly leaking roof, poor audio system, poor ride quality, poor noise and vibration, etc., etc..

Opinion 5: If you want to spend a lot of time on the track then why not flog your 2 and buy both a cheap track car (a tweaked mk 1?) and a cheap road car (Pug 205Gti), and don't try and make one do both