CasperIV

I thought I would post this story since I'm planning to sell my MR2 this weekend. Anyway, its a daily driver/autocross car that has just suspension upgrades (koni adjustables, strut bars, etc), a border body kit, and a cone filter intake.

I was on my way to "Race Warriors" or whatever it was called at PIR a couple of weekends ago. It was packed, the roads were backed up onto I-5 and we were at a standstill for about a mile waiting for the exit. I get stuck next to a Civic with a huge wing and more stickers then a NASCAR..... and of course he had a coffee can for a muffler. Anyway, he could tell right off the bat that I didn't like him or his car. Every time we moved forward he would rev his little 1.6 at me and creep up a bit slipping the clutch like crazy. As soon as we got off the freeway we ended up next to each other at a stop light with a good open stretch ahead of us. I looked over at him and knew it was pretty much a sure fire win. He was running Federal tires, on 18's, with an ebay spoiler that probably added 30 pounds, and a strait through exhaust that robbed what little torque his engine had to start with. As we saw the other lights go yellow, he staged at like 7000 rpms and held it, which just let me know how stupid this kid really was. As the light turns green, I blip the gas to about 4500 rpms and pop the clutch. All my weight drops onto my koni's and I don't even squeek my tires, just a nice clean launch to 5000 rpms and a firm shift into second. Running my car like this usually gets me around a 16.3 and it's pretty consistent, and around 16.0 with a higher launch on sticky tarmack. Of course the civic gets nothing but wheel spin and hop, torque steers from side to side, then hits his rev limiter. Once he gets into second I'm well over a car ahead and walking away faster then even I expected. We get into 3rd before I slow down and pull into a parking lot to walk over to the race track. Most people would accept a loss and move on, but this kid pulled in and started talking trash about how he runs 13's and would have smoked me on slicks. I ignore him and start walking to PIR.... the line was WAY too long to wait to get into the tracks parking lot.

Now, I told you ALL that because later that night in the street legal drags I saw the same car staging. First off, he pulled too far forward and overstaged the light, then he rolled too far backwards. When he was flagged into position, the tree dropped to green and he launched at 7k just like when he raced me, but this time on slicks. From the looks of it he had lowering springs with stock shocks, because the wheels jumped into the fenders so hard that it was making his healights rattle. As he shifts into second it starts taking longer and longer for him to get his RPMs up. After 15 seconds go by and his not crossing the finish line I start laughing and pointing. When 18 seconds go by and hes still maxing it out and just getting to the end of the track I was officially laughing my a$$ off. His final time was 18.62 at 80 something. Of course I couldn't resist it and had to go down by the timing booth and clap for him as he was getting his time slip.

I watched this kid do 4 more runs and the best he got was 18.2 and the worst was over 19. I don't know how he thought his 18 second civic with stickers was going to beat my 16 second MR2 that is a bone stock motor and has no stickers on it anywhere, but it sure made me wish he could have met my RX-7

Sorry for the LONG story, but I like to get as much detail in as possible.... helps me remeber it better.

Rotary Noob

AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAA, nice call on that one. I dislike ricers with a passion. Dont get me wrong, if I see any import car that runs fairly quick, ill give it the respect it deserves, but im not about to give it up to a Fart Can + Airbrake wannabe. I can imagine the crowd was laughing just as hard. Nice kill.

DrOliver8706

I love kids that think 2-2.5 inch exhast is gonna give them more power on there stock as engines! Cmon ricers think about your looseing power you dont notice your car getting slower tisk tisk.... Good story mr2 FTW!!

Tyblat

First or second gen mr2?

Secondmessiah

one kid at my school has a 1" motorcycle exhaust on his civic, thats probably more restrictive than stock, except louder

Insanity7

Where do kids get all the money for their ricers anyway? Do their mommies and daddies get them for them for their birthday or something?

Rotary Noob

most of them work minimum wage jobs and find things they think are cool because they cant afford anything else (at least thats how most ricers were at my high school). very few of them actually did any performance mods. (SERIOUS mods, not just cold air, and a "muffler")

Tyblat

Lol, I make minimum wage, 6.40 =/ but I'm actually doing an engine swap haha. Jspec Turbo! woot woot!

rx7droptop

wow minimum wage here is like low 5's. im just over it ha nice kill tho ha civics suck (sorry honda luers had 2 say it)

Rotary Noob

Then you are far ahead of most of the people that lived in my home town, grats on the motor swap. Min. wage in cali is 6.75, and going up to 7 (soon, I think).

CasperIV

It's a second gen. It's a 93 so it has some handling advantages over the 90-92 MR2's, but thing that helps it in a strait line really.

Yeah, the problem is that kids want to make a "race car" that they can use as a daily driver. After watching Fast and the Furious about 100 times they decide they can do it with a Civic.... and their parents are all for them buying a 35 MPG Civic. What they don't understand is that most Hondas have to be gutted, and have a fully built and boosted engine to make good times in the 1/4 and once they break 13's they suck for corners....

I prefer my 200HP+ RWD cars. I can drive them to work, race them, and how well they handle is all a matter of how hard I mash the gas.

mr2trd3

I'm assuming your MR2 is non-turbo. That's the only way that a MarkII MR2 would ever hit 16 secs in the quarter mile besides running on three cylinder, a slipping clutch, and a 300k mile old CT26.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

nice kill. i know it's childish, but i'm not sure if i would have stopped making fun of him at the track until he shot me or something. i have nothing against Hondas. i happen to like them, in fact. however, his boldface lies especially when he knows i know the truth would be too much for me to let his embarassment end in 18 seconds!

i'd love to get back into the MR2 game (used to have a '91 Turbo), but i need to do something different now ... something ... German!

cool_as_crap

turbo mr2?
nice kill, ive always loved mr2's.

CasperIV

Yeah it's NA... had to give up my turbos for a more realistic daily driver (commuting 150 miles a day). This car is more of an autocross car then anything, and has yet to lose to an SW20 turbo. It's not really fair though, the NA cars are lighter, the 93+ handle better, and the NA cars are a lot easier to run consistent times. The NA and turbo cars are also in different groups, so the competition for the NA cars are a lot easier (miatas and such).

It's nice to see people like these little mid engine cars. They have loads of grip and get me 30 mpg.... can't complain about that, but wish it was lighter. Who would have thought a car this small could weigh so much.

CasperIV

Are you looking to BMW or Porsche? I have a E34 that's my wifes car, but I have always loved the older 911's and 944 turbos.

mr2trd3

I'm glad you like the MR2 too. I dont mean to pick a fight, but your statement about the 93+ having better handling is subjective. In truth, skilled drivers prefer the '91-'92 MR2's. This is because Toyota toned down the suspensions for the average driver from '93 onwards.

spandy

iTrader: (1)

Thats how it is around here with the little wannabe ricers. They hit schucks and NAPA for all the novelty items they can find to put in there car, head over to walmart and buy a "system" that was less than 120 bucks and adds 80lbs to the car, back down to schucks for the big *** metal spoiler that sticks up 5 feet in the air and a k&n air filter, over to the exhaust shop for a bolt on fart pipe that sounds as raspy as a 90 year old smokers cough and costs less than 50 bucks, to the vinyl shop for as many stickers as they can find that say "racing" or "tuned", over the NAPA for some high quality motor oil and filter, maybe get a couple strobe lights and an APR diy under car kit neon kit, a new racing steering wheel, possibly some high performance spark plugs, chrome valve stem covers, and some seat covers that say racing on them.

These guys must be amazing mechanics around here, because they do all this, add all the extra weight to their car, but some how, their car is all of a sudden a speed racer that can't be beat. But if they do lose, it's always some made up story of how their flux capacitor is running too much boost and their rotor spindle shaft is out of spec, but once they fix that and add a motec system exhaust, slicks, and their FMIC finally comes in and they get a body kit and paint, they are going to destroy every car in town

KeloidJonesJr.

iTrader: (8)

16 sec for 1/4 mi?

spandy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, my wifes GTP will do it in 14 something, and its a 4 door family car

jic

iTrader: (1)

turbo mr2 does low 14s...im sure the na gets a good 16 sec.

spandy

iTrader: (1)

I missed the part where he said it was na, my bad.

1RevvinFC3S

Nice kill. Where do you live? Reason I ask is that why does it only run 16's? I figured they were quicker than that, depending on altitude. Hell, I ran 15.62 @ 87mph in my 280ZX NA with nothing more than a CAI and a removed muffler! That car SHOULD be running hight 16's (16.9 to be exact) yet I ran 1.3 seconds faster...

CasperIV

LOL, your comparing a 2.2 liter NA MR2 econo car that's 14 years older to a 3.8 V6 Supercharged modern car? The MR2 was bought for milage, has over 170k on the clock, and cost under 4k... but if you want to race the MR2 in autocross as it's intended you will lose very badly

That would be like me taking my wifes wolfsburg out and hunting a focus....

twincannon26

this story made my morning, as my daily driver is an 86 mk1 mr2, n/a. i've never really raced it, so i dont know how quick it is, but i do know the thing will handle considering the only upgrades are kyb shocks with stock springs and wider offset 15' wheels. i did jump on my girlfriends 95 n/a 300zx pretty good though, but it was only stoplight to stop light.


i do agree with one thing though, most of the time when people rev at me, i just sit there, but im always thinking "man i wish i was in the rx-7."