just my opinion.

[The Morris]

Also I wouldn't expect a Ferarri to be modified. But, you never know

Jay

Nicely done

Is a ferrari more realiable than a tuned MR2. Wouldnt of thought so especially if the 2 has been done properly

[llenrub]

If I wanted a car for track days I'd buy a go kart!

Anyway, track days wreck your car and I don't have a racing team budget.

Most accidents are caused on bends.

Most people want HP for a rolling 50 to 70 MPH when exotic car drivers tailgate and p1$$ you off most. It's a thrill to pull away if you can.

I knew a chap who ran a Ford Anglia with 850HP. It had a modified Aston Martin engine. (Wolf in sheeps clothing) you know the feeling!

[MegatronUK]

Also remember folks that the MR2 was never designed for high speed cruising.. indeed if you look at the technical manuals or the owners manuals it says not to sustain speeds of over a certain speed (I think it's 120mph) for more than X minutes at a time (I think it's 10, but I'm not certain). There was a warning of turbo and engine/manifold damage due to the massive amount of heat, IIRC. Don't know how true that is though.

Fair enough the mk2 turbo will give the Supe* a run for its money in the acceleration stakes... but the Supra* will sit at 120mph for hours on end without breaking a sweat. (Replace Supra with any other expensive, high performance car that the Tubby is similar in performance to.)

It's a great car.. cheap... fast.. reliable.. but I think some people are kidding themselves if they really think it can outclass some of the cars we've heard in the 'race' stories in here.

Oh, and going fast in a straight line is boring. IMO.

[Icsunonove]

Rogue_zero,

Couldn't agree with you more. It is ridiculous what some people are claiming with their MR2s. It is total rubbish. So what if you beat something in a straight line? I would be more impressed with a lap time around a circuit. Tell me some genuine fast lap times around a circuit and I will be impressed by your car and your driving. Tom

[BLOODUK]

Oh, and going fast in a straight line is boring. IMO.

What about reversing instead

[MegatronUK]

Hmmm... interesting... that could well make a decent motor sport...

... now how do I work in the Wacky-Racers style booby traps and 'turbo boosts' ??? ....

[The Morris]

now doesnt lap time come down to the skill of the driver and not the car itself. Also driving fast in straight lines is a lot safer than ripping round corners at 90 not knowing whats round the other side. i know a porsche turbo is qicker than my car. It also stops quicker and handles better. But its great fun giving them a scare And sometimes its surprising how well you do

[llenrub]

now doesnt lap time come down to the skill of the driver and not the car itself. Also driving fast in straight lines is a lot safer than ripping round corners at 90 not knowing whats round the other side. i know a porsche turbo is qicker than my car. It also stops quicker and handles better. But its great fun giving them a scare And sometimes its surprising how well you do

Absolutely!!

How often does your average MR2 owner get to a track. Most have never even been to one!

Owners want a little fun where they use it most without the risk of parking in someones living room.

There's a nice stretch on the M3, straight and smooth for about 2 mile!!

[Lauren]

If I wanted a car for track days I'd buy a go kart!

Anyway, track days wreck your car and I don't have a racing team budget.

Most accidents are caused on bends.

Most people want HP for a rolling 50 to 70 MPH when exotic car drivers tailgate and p"%s you off most. It's a thrill to pull away if you can.

I knew a chap who ran a Ford Anglia with 850HP. It had a modified Aston Martin engine. (Wolf in sheeps clothing) you know the feeling!

I don't think trackdays wreck your car. Particularly so if you approach them sensibly and work out what you are going to use in consumables. I did 30+ trackdays in my old SC and never had a problem. The worst thing to ever happen on a trackday was when a gear cable clamp came off and we had to fab up a new one in the pits, but an hour later and it was fixed. That would have happenned on the road anyway.

Yep its really thrilling to pull away from someone on your local dual carriage way..

[Lauren]

now doesnt lap time come down to the skill of the driver and not the car itself. Also driving fast in straight lines is a lot safer than ripping round corners at 90 not knowing whats round the other side. i know a porsche turbo is qicker than my car. It also stops quicker and handles better. But its great fun giving them a scare And sometimes its surprising how well you do

Thats why we have trackdays and airfield days, so you can go round a corner at 90mph sideways should you wish with very little risk involved. Nobody does that kind of thing on the road, or if they do they don't do it for long.

[Lauren]

Absolutely!!

How often does your average MR2 owner get to a track. Most have never even been to one!

Owners want a little fun where they use it most without the risk of parking in someones living room.

There's a nice stretch on the M3, straight and smooth for about 2 mile!!

Well a load of MR2 owners went to brunty not two weeks ago. I'm at angersea this friday, we have the IMOC trackday in September, not to mention the Ring trip in July. If you think about, for the price of an Apexi airfilter you could buy yourself a days tracktime for that, improve your driving skills to boot and actually get more out of driving your car and be quicker and safer than if you spent the same money on increasing your horsepower.

Driver upgrades are the way forward without a doubt.

When you have driven circuits and taken corners at decent speeds driving fast in a straight line really does have very little appeal as basically there isn't any skill in it. And with no skill there is little satisfaction other than proving whether your car is faster than another.

I don't know why you guys don't simply pull the guy you are about to race over, drop your trousers, compare sizes and whoever is bigger wins. It'd save you loads in fuel and you may keep your licence a bit longer too, plus its a lot safer.

[Rogue_zero]

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

I think Laurens post sums up what ive been trying to say

[The Morris]

Any way last night i was racing this TVR at 150MPH only joking

[llenrub]

The fun is in stickin it to exotic car tailgaters and not comparing nob size.

People boost HP because it something that can be used on a daily basis, thats why there is very little about track day races on this Forum or any other and, nearly all the MPEGs on the web are straight line street races.

So have fun doing what you do and others will do what they do and have fun in what ever way they see fit!

I can see why you'd prefer to go round corners Lauren, Yours is a 1986 NA.

[ENSMR2]

I over took him whilst on the outside of a bend.

erm.. aint you a rozzer enis?

Yes.

Nothing wrong with what I did it was a dual carriage way, national speed limit. Coming off a round about taking a tight left bend. I was in behind him coming of the roundabout, I felt I could get more so I passed him on his drivers side as we went round the bend. I think he got about 45mph before the rear of his elise started twitching, I sailed past at around 50mph I think, judging by the speed I didn't really have time to look. It's a bend that both of us negotiate about twice a day. We both know that stretch of road very well.

Going to track days isn't racing either though, is it? I believe you must let someone pass if they are faster then you. It's good to test your cars handling though.

On another note I watched a programme on sky discovery life I think? All about the D1 drift event in the US. They showed the Suso drifting which is 2 cars basically playing cat and mouse whilst drifting. the car behind had to keep up and not let the one in front get away whilst matching the drift. It also had to try and pass whilst drifting!! Man that was some great control!!!

[splashnatz]

i'm still shocked thinking that there's people expect Ferrari's to be reliable and/or comfortable .... Porsches can certainly be reliable but the cost of servicing alone (never mind if something breaks) is more than most people would spend on servicing and repairing an mr2.

Still agree most of the "supercars" aren't trying or a playing a "safer" game. But a twenty year old supercar will more than likely have inferior performance to an mr2 turbo (Ferrari 328, Lamborghini Jalpa, any real 911 (real 911's are air-cooled, and don't have radiators - i don't like waterboxed 911's)

... straight line performance means a lot to people - look how popular drag meets are - i reckon there's as many drag racing mr2s as there are track day mr2s. Don't think anyones sport should be put down - i find both exciting even as a spectator. Maybe if more of the track/strip people would put there experiences into this section, more of the "non-track" mr2s will be inspired to give it a go ??

loving this thread by the way ...

[tonigmr2]

I can see why you'd prefer to go round corners Lauren, Yours is a 1986 NA.

I think you'll find Lauren preferred corners in her supercharger too...and I'd put good money on her giving you a serious scare on any track no matter what you're driving

At the end of the day public roads means just that - the public are on them. Even if you think you are Schumacher standard, they are not, and they can and do get in your way. That means one day you will crash if you drive at insane speeds or take risks. It's only a matter of time.

T

[excalibur1814]

I know not every roundabout and corner is the same but I would say that I, personally, could learn quite a bit from a nice track day event! I have only fishtailed my MR2 twice and it scared the living crappo out of me.

I would say that if you are going to race on the roads then no one is going to stop anyone... apart from your car shooting off the road and ending up in a coal bunker, but, a track day could be used to throw your car around (I think) or at least drive close to the edge.....

Tips and tricks... oh yeah. I still haven't figured out heal and toe

Super cars? Not bothered if one passes me as it should and as far as the male testosterone goes, we guys simply cannot fight it at times.

Ugg.

[MR2Mania]

I don't know why you guys don't simply pull the guy you are about to race over, drop your trousers, compare sizes and whoever is bigger wins.

I'll give you a scenario when that won't work...

Say you've got a girl with a 500bhp Evo, going against some kiddy in a Ferrari 355. The girl stands a very good chance if she races this guy, yet if she was to whip it out, she'd.... errrr... LOSE!

Seriously though, as some have said, the fun is experiencing your own modded pride and joy (and one that could be a result of your own hard work and research) beating an expensive car that is already meant to be a Supercar. Think about it - if you were to have such a Supercar yourself, whenever you drove around, you'd naturally be thinking in the back of your mind that very few cars are as quick as you. Then, you see what is otherwise considered a cheaper, more inferior car and it beats you! It's happened to me, experiencing a REALLY quick original Mini and an equally quick Mk2 Escort - they both left impressions on me.

[Lauren]

The fun is in stickin it to exotic car tailgaters and not comparing nob size.

People boost HP because it something that can be used on a daily basis, thats why there is very little about track day races on this Forum or any other and, nearly all the MPEGs on the web are straight line street races.

So have fun doing what you do and others will do what they do and have fun in what ever way they see fit!

I can see why you'd prefer to go round corners Lauren, Yours is a 1986 NA.

Shirley, car control can be used on a daily basis? Trackdays are not about racing. By definition racing or timing is not allowed. Erm have a look on any elise forum SELOC, Caterham forums etc... and you will find 90% of talk is about trackdays. I think saying nearly all the MPEGs on the web are about straight line street races is pure and utter balls. You are just looking in the wrong places, eg:

http://www.jimbocam.com/

I've driven cars that are hell of a lot faster than MK2 turbos and whilst the acceleration can be impressive its get boring pretty quickly as soon as you get used to it, not to mention the licence losing ability.

Tell me if i'm wrong but planting your foot to the floor in second, third, fourth etc takes no skill whatsoever, that is why it is boring after a while. Learning how to balance a car properly round a corner takes infinitely more skill and is therefore far more rewarding.

Surely all straightline racing says; Is that you can't drive.

No offence etc.