Picking up my first MR2 tonight!

[lebarron]

The gurgling noise is completely normal it is just the Exhauust Gas Recirculation Valve releasing the excess gas.

You've got yourself a really nice car there mate. Benny P and the previous owner are both really good friends of mine and i know the car has been well looked after.

Hope you enjoy i!

[ICEMAN]

Just seen the pics now the link works. Very nice clean mr2. All it needs is a nice set of wheels like mine. Witch are for sale might I add

[gordy.r]

Hi mate and welcome. Good advice from Jim there. Just take it very easy as it looks like it will be a horrid wet journey. Just thought I would add mr2,s do wheel spin in 3rd in the wet as I found out. So its not to wise to open it up

Your not wrong there fella, found that myself the other day! Need toyos for the rear

Yeah mate was quite a shock . I have Eagle F1,s on aswell and they are good tyres

I have Dunlops finest digi-tyres on and i still wheelspin in 3rd in the wet!



Back on topic.... well done Luke on your tubby, and welcome to IMOC!

[ICEMAN]

Your not wrong there fella, found that myself the other day! Need toyos for the rear

Yeah mate was quite a shock . I have Eagle F1,s on aswell and they are good tyres

I have Dunlops finest digi-tyres on and i still wheelspin in 3rd in the wet!



Back on topic.... well done Luke on your tubby, and welcome to IMOC!

A few people have said that now mate. I think Lordmike thought I was crazy or somthing

[L0rdMike]

Wheels never spin on mine in 3rd and thats with 318Nm of torque.

[Leon.]

Hi Luke, welcome. What's with the x's?

What tyres are you running? Tyre choice is at least as big a facter for grip as your driving style, at least that's what I've found. I span mine on the second day of ownership, not giving it very much at all - bad tyres and low tread. Never looked back since getting some decent ones.

Also, make sure your ignition components are in good condition - spark plugs, distributer cap and rotor arm, and ignition leads. If they're in bad condition they can cause lots of problems, esp. in winter months.

The gurgling noise is completely normal it is just the Exhauust Gas Recirculation Valve releasing the excess gas.

Er, don't think so matey.

Its the bubbles from the boiling coolant rising to the top of the system since its no longer being pumped around.

[xxlukexx]

What tyres are you running? Tyre choice is at least as big a facter for grip as your driving style, at least that's what I've found. I span mine on the second day of ownership, not giving it very much at all - bad tyres and low tread. Never looked back since getting some decent ones.

Bridgestone Potenza G3's, as put on it by imoc member Benny P, the previous owner. I believe they're supposed to be good?

I'm also going to get a tyre tread gauge from Halfords, so I can keep on top of wear.

Cheers,

Luke

[craig]

Welcome to IMOC mate, take it easy an enjoy the new turbo! =D>

[xxlukexx]

You've got yourself a really nice car there mate. Benny P and the previous owner are both really good friends of mine and i know the car has been well looked after.

That's good to know - I had the feeling that Benny P had looked after it well, but didn't know anything about any previous owners. It certainly feels well looked after - it's the best built car that I've owned, despite being one of the oldest.

Cheers,

Luke

[xxlukexx]

Hi all,

First of, thanks for all the welcomes, much appreciated!

I had an alarm fitted to the car today, so it's now covered for theft, which is a slightly worrying weight off my mind. The roads have been drier this afternoon so I've had a chance to put my foot down a bit more.

I'm still taking it careful round corners and on B roads, but on the A2, which where I live is a motorway in everything but name, it really showed what it can do. Accelerating up a hill that, in my civic, I had to change down to fourth to keep a steady 80 (kph, of course), the MR2 took off like a rocket. It went from 60 to 100 without letting up even a little bit.

Keeping roughly within speed limits, I swear it's a much safer motorway car than anything else I've driven because with just a slight tap of the right foot you can make it gain speed and move out of the way, get past someone quickly, and basically place the car wherever you want on the road without upsetting any other drivers.

I also think it's deceptively quick - 40mph in this car feels like 30mph in others, so it's easy to not realise how fast I'm going. I really like the steering, nice and heavy and SO direct. You only need to think about moving your arms for it to gently change direction, and you can drive it so smoothly it's unbelievable. In the Civic, you have to anticipate corners and steer it into a sideways roll before you turn in, otherwise it lurches round the corner, and I've driven other FWD cars that handle far worse than an civic.

I've connected my stereo but I've got a couple of questions if anyone can help?

- antenna - the back of my stereo takes quite a thick antenna plug - good centremetre or so across. The one in the car is much thinner, but obviously works in the same way. Is it simple to get a converter to make it fit the back of my head unit?

- speakers - I've been reading about this and from what I can gather, 5 1/4" front speakers will fit straight in, but might need some work to get them to fit in terms of depth. Is this correct? If I go for the easier option and get a pair that will go right in without any hassle, will I regret it in terms of sound? Also, what's this about putting 6" speakers on with spacers? What are spacers?

- head unit - Benny P said something about the stereo cage screwing into the car on the side, or is it the head unit that screws in? I was excited about driving the car at the time, so might not have listened!! Do I have to take any of the dashboard off to do this?

Sorry for the essay.

Cheers,

Luke

[Leon.]

- antenna - the back of my stereo takes quite a thick antenna plug - good centremetre or so across. The one in the car is much thinner, but obviously works in the same way. Is it simple to get a converter to make it fit the back of my head unit?

I would have thought so, try halfords or audio shop.

- speakers - I've been reading about this and from what I can gather, 5 1/4" front speakers will fit straight in, but might need some work to get them to fit in terms of depth. Is this correct? If I go for the easier option and get a pair that will go right in without any hassle, will I regret it in terms of sound? Also, what's this about putting 6" speakers on with spacers? What are spacers?

Can't remember exact diameter of the speakers but you can measure the old ones... If going bigger than stock you'll have to make some adaptor plates with different locations for the screw holes of the bigger speakers. Of course you'd have to check that the door cards will fit back on! Some people put 6x9s on the box shelves behind the seats, and subs there too.

If you go similar depth and width to stock speakers for sure they'll just drop in. I went for deeper Kenwoods and had to 'space' them out using MDF rings that I cut. I think the MDF was 12mm thick and the doorcards just about fit! Obviously the base/mid-tones will be deeper and a bigger range with a bigger magnet but depends if you can be bothered to fit spacers. Btw, not sure if you can just buy already made spacers?

- head unit - Benny P said something about the stereo cage screwing into the car on the side, or is it the head unit that screws in? I was excited about driving the car at the time, so might not have listened!! Do I have to take any of the dashboard off to do this?

The head unit screws in to a cage which itself screws onto the dash. YEs you have to remove the trim that sits over the stereo area - this includes the central vents - but is easy to do. I'll probably get this slightly wrong because I've not done it for so long but should be obvious when you try it...

1. You need to remove the gearstick gaitor edging from the panel. Then just pull this panel out from the central area - its clipped in.
2. Then remove the ash tray, either pull out or remove screws - can't remember! Remove screws underneath this if there are any.
3. Check for any other screws on the outside area around the head unit area...
4. Carefully pull the whole trim off the dash and remove any wiring connectors that may come from the vents.
5. You'll then see the cage and its obvious which screws to remove and how the headunit is screwed into it.

Have a go, its very straightforward once you start...

HTH

Leon

[Leon.]

Bridgestone Potenza G3's, as put on it by imoc member Benny P, the previous owner. I believe they're supposed to be good?

I don't know them personally but a few run them on this site. They should be fine for you....

You'll get used to how they behave anyway soon, no doubt you'll give it a bit of stick at some point when safe and when there's lots of run off area just incase! You should get a feel for the limit of grip before too long...

[xxlukexx]

The head unit screws in to a cage which itself screws onto the dash. YEs you have to remove the trim that sits over the stereo area - this includes the central vents - but is easy to do.

Thanks Leeroy. Hopefully I should have time tomorrow to give it a go. It sounds straightforward, I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

Luke

[GeoffC320]

40mph in this car feels like 30mph in others

If your speedo's anything like as accurate as mine was, that's because 40mph indicated IS 30mph actual . We used to have a 2001 Civic at the same time as I had my turbo, and we have one of those digital speed check signs down my road.

Consistently the Civic's speedo would read the same as the speed check whereas the MR2 was 10mph over...our joint replacement SLK also reads about the same as the Civic.

Know what you mean about the handling BTW - I was really scared driving that Civic sometimes; it cornered on it's doorhandles!!

[xxlukexx]

40mph in this car feels like 30mph in others

If your speedo's anything like as accurate as mine was, that's because 40mph indicated IS 30mph actual . We used to have a 2001 Civic at the same time as I had my turbo, and we have one of those digital speed check signs down my road.

I must check this on my GPS receiver. My brother's Impreza underreads by about 10%, which I think is about normal, and means that you can go through a 50mph gatso at an indicated 60mph (cos, certainly for most cameras, you get 10% + 2mph - on 50mph that's 57mph, well within the margin of error on the speedo).

Hmmm...I'll try it with the GPS tomorrow and report back!

Cheers,

Luke

[benny p]

Hey luke,

Sounds like your enjoying and treating her well already! I'm glad to hear!

I'm missing her already and what makes it worse is that i'm yet to source a bargain 'poo car' so i'm slumming it on the train!

Drive safe matey

Ben

[xxlukexx]

Hi Mate,

Yeah, definitely enjoying myself. The only trouble is that I'm getting used to it. I drove my civic up the road the other day and it felt like a horse and cart. I thought something was wrong with it at first, and was wondering where all the power had gone, then I realised that it was always like that, but now I'm used to better!

I feel much more comfortable now I've done 100 odd miles in it. The weather today, coming home from London, was terrible, loads of spray and muck on the road, but the car felt really stable. I can imagine how the back end could go on a bend, but seeing as I've been driving fairly sedately and off-boost most of the time, it always feels really stable.

I've got my stereo in now, and I'm ordering a set of Alpine components for the front. Once that's done it should be about perfect.

By the way, what's the first headlight setting for? There are three clicks, the first doesn't seem to do anything, the second is sidelights and the third is main beam. Am I missing something obvious?

Why don't you forget about a daily driver and buy a rev3?!!

Cheers,

Luke

[Steve Horrocks]

By the way, what's the first headlight setting for? There are three clicks, the first doesn't seem to do anything, the second is sidelights and the third is main beam. Am I missing something obvious?

it's for servicing the lights (clean lens or change bulb, etc)

if you turn the lights on, then turn stalk back to position 1 lights will go out but stay up, so you can get to access panel.

also, you can turn to pos 1 & jus flash your lights, simpler than first option!

you may find that this annoys you when you have your sidelights on tho & you flash someone as they stay popped up. there is a mod where you cut the relay wire & fit a button switch, just do a search, it's on here somewhere!

[benny p]

By the way, what's the first headlight setting for? There are three clicks, the first doesn't seem to do anything, the second is sidelights and the third is main beam. Am I missing something obvious?

it's for servicing the lights (clean lens or change bulb, etc)

if you turn the lights on, then turn stalk back to position 1 lights will go out but stay up, so you can get to access panel.

also, you can turn to pos 1 & jus flash your lights, simpler than first option!

you may find that this annoys you when you have your sidelights on tho & you flash someone as they stay popped up. there is a mod where you cut the relay wire & fit a button switch, just do a search, it's on here somewhere!

Theres your answer!! I had no idea that it was for that! lol

Hmmm... REV 3 ehhh?? NO... lol... goes completely against the point of selling the tidy rev 2 i just had! - Maybe next summer

[Harry]

Welcome Luke you seem to catch on fast and will find information about Mr2's here to keep you occupied for a while.

Your'e interpretation of the Mr2 and the drive is good and yes wise to be aware of the back end but confident you are sensible with it.
Enjoy.