has anyone here driven an mr2?

has anyone here driven an mr2 and a s13?

if so,
what were your impressions of the 2?
how did it handle vs. a s13?
was it a 2nd gen or 1st gen that you drove? forced induction or n/a?

I've never driven an mr2, but I'm almost 100% sure the mr2 will handle a lot better.

I wouldn't nessecarily say that........

plus the mr2 takes on some handling characteristics being a mid mounted engine that I just don't like one bit.

Ive driven all three generations of MR2 and I gotta say that the first and last have the best handling. The 2nd gen has pretty good handling, but even though I did not get a chacne to drive it to the limit, I have a feeling it would have been rather difficult to control.

rgr most rear monted engine'd cars are too squirelly or they go from bad understeer to snap oversteer......

i have driven a worked 91 mr2 turbo tuned to about 300hp@ wheels. that car hauls ass. the handling was o.k. but not up equal with the new added speed. i rember loosing the back quickly. it was still a fun car but a bitch to work on..
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oh yeah thats a nother thing, those cars have SMALL engine bays, i mean REAL SMALL like smallest you will ever see. You have no idea how lucky you are to have a 240sx engine compartment lol, there is quite a lot of space in there for an import.

we had to change the altinator and to get to it we had to disconnect the exhaust from the turbo back and drop the crossmember..
lots of work..
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I drove an MR2 once and the hellish thing would pop out of gear on every uphill...what a pain in the ass! :mad:

My friend has a 91 mr2 turbo and it handles hella good. like someone said before, the mid engine does make it squirly. when you load up the outside wheels on a turn, they will easily snap back and you will loose control (i speak from experience). i have not driven a s13 yet.......

well i own an mr2 turbo, so heres what i think of it. i think it handles really good, good for autocrossing, better than a 240sx, cause it can go left to right quicker since the engines in the middle. if you dont know how to drive this car, yea you ll probably end up spinning out. it hasnt happened to me yet, but ive been in situation a couple of times where i almost did. like when i was taking this corner really hard, i decided to let off the gas, which is not a good idea and a mistake, the rear end all of a sudden just snapped out, and i corrected it really quick. you better have fast hands when this happens, but even if you re a really good driver, it still might not work, and you ll just go into a spin, so you dont want to let off the gas in an mr2 when goin into a corner really hard. this snap oversteer thing really only applies to 91-92 mr2s though, since the 93-95 got a rear suspension redesign, by doing this, toyota pretty much got rid of the problem. if you want that rear suspension on the 91-92, its simply a bolt on process.

to get a good slide on the mr2, you have to be really gentle with the gas, and the steering wheel. mr2's are less forgiving than a 240sx, its a lot easier to control a 240 through a slide, but the mr2 seems to grip a little harder.

on that engine room thing, yea it doesnt have much space, but you can fit one of those toyota v6s in there, it actually fits better than its original motor, cause the cylinders are three in a row, and v shaped, instead of 4 in a row. although i love the mr2, id much rather have the 240 for an everyday performance car, and a car to work on yourself. id really like to have both cars, thats actually my plan, but we ll see what happens depending on my budget.

i've ben in my uncle's MR2 Turbo...fastest car i have ridden in, the launch was 2nd to the DSM AWDs' well...my uncle said the handling was good at high speeds...and the engine is pretty damn small last time i checked...nice car tho..havent ben in a 240sx, but my bro wants one

the 240sx handles really good. I see a lot of people dog it out and I wonder what they are thinking! Maybe they drive Ferrari F40's for an everyday car lol. Its not the best handling car, and by far not the worst. It just excels in drifting, with its nuetral balance, IRS, FR drivetrain, lightweight, and its chassis rigidity. 240sx's have a pretty good chassis, even the 'sloppier' s14's are still real tight. If you don't feel this way you need to upgrade your suspension or atleast put on some OEM parts to replace that old worn out part.

On the other hand mr2 is real touchy but it has ok road holding. It is terrible to work on, and rear weight biased.

your put let a driver drive both of them on a race track who never has driven them before and the 240sx should be faster(lets say one with a sr20det so power is equal or a non turbo mr2) Given experienced drivers in each stock the mr2 might come out on top, the 240 still has more balls and when its at its limit and lets loose you still feel very confident with it. Thats what racing real hard is mostly about, being condifent in your car, you have to know how it reacts to everything so there are no surprises.

If you hit a little bump in a hard turn and it starts to mess up you have to know whats it going to do and how to counter it like 2nd nature without even thinking. And mod for mod, experienced drivers on a race track, im going to put my money on the 240sx! its all about who has the biggest balls, mr2 isn't a very confident car in oversteer, whereas the 240sx is probably one of the most. This little tidbit, even though we aren't talking about drift racing is what gives it an edge. When you take it past the granny margin and put your vehicle on the line, whoever has the more confidence inspiring car is going to burn your ass. This is why some underdog cars can put the hurt on expensive sports cars on the race track.

91-92 mr2s are the only ones that really had that snap oversteer problem, it was just a design flaw that toyota fixed in later mr2s. toyota changed the rear suspension design twice on the mr2, they pretty much got rid of that oversteer problem the first time, and then made it even better on the last mr2 which we never got. the front to rear balance isnt bad either, its about 45/55. if you want good cornering on the mr2, either buy the 93+ ones, or bolt on the newer rear suspension on the 91-92. the 91-92 still handles good, but has that snap oversteer problem if you make a mistake behind the wheel.

mr2s will launch better than a 240sx, cause of where the engine is located, and itll lose less horsepower due to no driveshaft, so the mr2 has the better straight line performance. mr2s also stop better. for cornering, it depends on what you like, for grip, they re probably about the same, but for drifting, the 240sx is the better car. overall performance seems better on the mr2, but id still rather have a 240sx, cause the performance is not too far off, easier to control through the corners, and it has a lot more room.

I drove an MR2 once and the hellish thing would pop out of gear on every uphill...what a pain in the ass! :mad:

what yr mr2 was that? the older mr2 transmissions werent that great, i think they were the 91-92 ones. a lot of 91 mr2s tend to need a transmission rebuild, or a whole new one. 91 mr2s lacked syncromesh, which made shifting difficult, it was easy to scratch the gears. 92 got more syncros, but i think it was the 93 and up that were good, since it got even more syncros.

another thing about the mr2, the turbo had stiffer suspension, and thicker sway bars, so the n/a didnt handle as well.

I hate how car companies differ their suspension setups on different models of cars, they would do a lot better if they had the decent parts on the whole line-up, maybe they just want to sell more top of the line expensive ones though....

If you put the same width tires on all four corners, the handling will be dangerous in anything other than perfect dry road.

If you drive in the wet, you should be very paranoid.

You shouldn't brake mid-corner or be going so fast as to require braking mid-corner.

Don't floor it coming out of an intersection in the middle of the turn. Also, don't lift off suddenly on a freeway onramp unless you know what you're doing, which brings us to...

In an MR2, you steer into the slide, not away from it.

You need to keep your alignment in spec in a religous sort of way for above reasons.

T-Tops have wet-noodle chassis.

They're tiny inside. Ever seen the trunk?

Bad engine bay airflow.

so in a mr2 if your taking a left turn and get into some oversteer you continue to steer left through the intial slide?


this seems like a lot of odd shit just for this car, after knowing more about the handling I don't even think they are that good and would never want one. you have to be perfect in the right situations with the right setup to come out on top it seems like lol. Thats not very confidence inspiring.

even in my brothers impala ss, that is a big heavy american v8 full frame car with a solid rear axel, I am very confident behind the wheel even if I want to let the rear end out on command it does exactly what I want it to do no questions asked. I don't have to worry about having to do this or that when im making a turn, I put the car where I want it and it obeys easily. It isn't exactly the easiest car to drive and you need some seat time with it to know it a little better. It does have some stipulations of what not to do if you just started driving one for the first time but after awhile it becomes 2nd nature and even if you do those things it is easily countered. I've also never had a problem with it oversteering if you lift off the gas in a turn, in fact if you do that it pretty much stops oversteering in about a second or less catches traction and your back in a straight line. Most cars if you encounter oversteer or understeer for your respective chassis, in grip racing the easiest way to get the traction back is to lift off the throttle. The only car I've sometimes felt that problem with is a new Trans Am ws6, I think those are a little squirely for sure, especially at higher speeds. I've never liked the F bodies though hehe.

a pretty good chassis, even the 'sloppier' s14's are still real tight.



s14s arent "sloppy". theyre tighter and stiffer than a "sloppy" s13.

s14s arent "sloppy". theyre tighter and stiffer than a "sloppy" s13.

You are wrong!! those s14 where as sloppy as a wet sponge!!

s13 is stronger then a s14. S13's are just older, so if you put oem parts and rebuilt both back to their respective factory like condition, the s13 has the stiffer chassis of the 2.

The S14 was a step up in comfort. They designed the inside to be more egronomic, the cams are less agressive, and the chassis/suspension was weakened up so it gives a more comfortable ride.

this isn't my opinion its a fact.

You are wrong!! those s14 where as sloppy as a wet sponge!!

wow you can use metaphors, now can you back it up? youre wrong bozo. the 14 is stiffer and more stable. i know this because ive compared a 13 with 57k miles vs my old gold 14 with 160k+ and my 14 was still stiffer. hell, all my 3 of my past 14s were older than most 13s i drove and my 14 is flat out BETTER.

true the 14 is more comfortable but smoother suspension doesnt hafta mean weaker. if the 14 is weaker, than you must think the 15 is a hella pussy car huh?

i dont mean to contradict you sr20, but find where this fact is written and ill give you your props.

:2cents:

I guess I should expect this from the 240sx forums...but why must you guys be so biased?

The MR2 is a great car and while it's major flaw might be that it is somewhat easy to lose control also means it can have amazing handling if you can control that tendency. All MR cars have low-polar weight distribution and that allows them to do things that front-engine fwds can't even dream about and usually leaves front-engine rwds scratching their heads too.

If you think low-polar weight distribution is poor design or useless then maybe you should also dislike the rx7 and 350z since both use a front midship weight distribution...about the same as a mid-engine only the engine is a little behind the front wheels rather than a little in front of the back.

Porsche uses a rear-engine design...and look at how well they do. With a mid or rear engine configuration you can have a lot lower drag coeficient...which again increases performance.

MR2s are not shitty cars...they are just very at one with the road. If you point them somewhere then you should expect them to do it...immediately...unlike most other cars where there a slight delay...which makes them favorable to drivers that like to be lazy or bad drivers. Every move you make with a mid-engined car should be smooth...nothing jerky. If you want to let off the gas or brake you ease into it and apply however much you need...don't just make snap judgements...as snap judgements will cause snap oversteer...whether you have the 93+ suspension or 91/92 suspension.

And to address the 91/92 and 93+ suspensions...many mr2 enthusiasts believe the original mark 2 design to be better and that the oversteer problem is merely due to poor driving. Many also believe the 91/92 suspension had a little too much tendency for oversteer and snap-oversteer, but still don't like the muted and less agile 93+ suspension. It all comes down to how much you really think you can handle, how much you know you can handle and how much you want to handle. A car is only as good as it's driver.

An MR2 can drift and autox really well...you just need to know what you're doing a little more than with a 240. If you want a forgiving ride and something a lot easier to live with...get the 240...if you want amazing performance and agility at a cost less than a 240sx...get a 91/92 mr2 turbo.

That's my :2cents:

MR2s are not shitty cars...
I dont think anyone is saying the the mr2s are shitty. if i didnt have my heart set on a 240, i would not hessitate to buy an mr2. the two cars are very different and have their own advantages and disadvantages. its all about preference.

...if you want amazing performance and agility at a cost less than a 240sx...get a 91/92 mr2 turbo.

i dont know why you are saying the mr2 is cheaper.... a 91 240 hatchback se is blue booked at $2800. the 91 non turbo mr2 is bluebooked at $3400 and the turbo at $4100.

fully modyfied, wouldn't the 240 be the faster one around the corners with its more perfect weight distribution (or exactly perfect with an sr20)?

fully modyfied, wouldn't the 240 be the faster one around the corners with its more perfect weight distribution (or exactly perfect with an sr20)?

well, in stock form, the car would be near perfect weight distro. add on a bigger turbo charger, a FMIC, and some other goodies, and you will have less than perfect weight distro. probably some weight reduction via the back seats. so the weight distro becomes a little less "perfect".

but it all depends on how the driver can react to the drivetrain setup. one driver can probably let the mr2 slide a little bit, but at the same time, keep the car in a nice line around the corner and pick up some speed on the exit. another driver may actually oversteer the car or spin out due to snap. so there are alot of factors to what would win in this race.

my friend witnessed a near-stock hachi beat a z06 in autocross. and the z06 came in 3rd out of like 10 people. so its basically down to the driver + car combination.

I was saying cheaper since the 2nd gen mr2 is a lot cheaper than the s14 and the turbo can be about the same price as a late model s13 and it comes with 200hp rather than 155...so it's cheaper since it already has more power and it weighs about the same...give or take 50 or so pounds depending on what you remove or who's in the drivers seat.

And fully modified I'd put my money on the mr2 since it has less polar mass. Through corners, especially s-curves, the mr2 would waste the 240 as long as both drivers are competent enough to drive decently (not professionals...just decent amatuers).

In terms of reliability and ease of use on the streets...the 240 is a much better machine, but which do you value more? Performance or economy?

Anyone know the skid pad numbers for each car? I know both can run similar 1/4s when moded similar amounts...though the mr2 starts out a little ahead since if you buy the turbo it's a 14 or so second car and if you have the jspec 225 or 240 hp engine then it will run mid 13s...while the 240 with the usdm engine runs a mid 16 and the jap 215 or 250hp runs a mid 14...

I love both cars and I love a lot of others... they both are great and I'm sure whichever I or whoever else buys...they will enjoy them a lot.

when you say less polar mass, do you mean the overall weight of the car? because a second gen. mr2 isn't any lighter than an s13.

why does everyone say the mr2 is better if the driver know what he is doing? i would take the more neutral handling of the two, which is the 240.

[QUOTE=RalphCare]well, in stock form, the car would be near perfect weight distro. add on a bigger turbo charger, a FMIC, and some other goodies, and you will have less than perfect weight distro. probably some weight reduction via the back seats. so the weight distro becomes a little less "perfect".
QUOTE]

well, i dont know how much removing the back seats would really do to affect the weight distribution. any interior weight reduction you do (except maybe removing the spare) is inbetween the axles. also, there are weight reduction possibilites for the front half of the car.

no, polar mass is where the weight is spread out. like a midengine car has most of its weight near the center, which has less polar mass than a f/r, so it helps it go around a corner better. look at formula 1, midengined.

on the handling issue of the mr2, basically you dont want to brake, or lift off the gas through corners, just feather the gas. if you get the handling thing on the mr2, it handles really good.

I own 2 AW11 MR2s and an S13 240SX. The MR2 is better handling; as said before, IF the driver is up to par with the car. The 240SX is more robust and durable it seems. The MR2s are fun because of the razor sharp response, but I have more fun with the 240SX because of the low and mid rpm power and the neutral handling.

"true the 14 is more comfortable but smoother suspension doesnt hafta mean weaker. if the 14 is weaker, than you must think the 15 is a hella pussy car huh?

i dont mean to contradict you sr20, but find where this fact is written and ill give you your props."



Logical, long time ago we had a Probe kicks 240sx ass threat type deal LMAO, im sure you might remeber it. On there Jspec Sil80 posts an article that compares the 240sx, Probe, and a couple others I believe. It tests it against the S14 and they point out, that even though the S14 is sloppier then previous generation it still lays down a respectable .88g and handles better then the Probe.

Thats one magazine article that talks of this, and I hear lots of other things from other sources, such as the softer suspension, and how the car was redesigned to be more comfortable then the S13 but at a SLIGHT cost of performance. The added weight, bigger dimensions, redesign of rear multilink suspension, redesigned interior, less aggressive cam profiles, and the smoother ride are all tell tale signs of this information about the S14.

Also the S15 is the best of the bunch. Just cause its newer doesn't make it weaker, its just how they designed it for given outcomes and desired effect of the company. The S15 is a hell of a lot more sporty, and more of a step back towards a sports car. Sportier interior(s14 just isn't that sporty looking compared to S13 or S15 interior), The car was made smaller(S15's despite appearance are VERY small) More HP, Better Turbo, 6spd, better LSD, larger brakes, and the Rear End Suspension was redesigned yet again to give it the firmest feel out of the s13-s15 cars.

i never knw the S13 performes better than the S14, thanks for sharing that :)

S13 and s14 still aren't that different...once modifed they share similar weights and similar cornering limits...since they are nearly the same car.

I'd rather have an s14 than s13...I think the interior looks a lot more sporty and the exterior of the SE s14s looks just sporty than the s13 and it has a little more personality. The late-model s14 looked great too :). Without the small stock spoiler or a similar-to-stock aftermarket job...the rear looks fucked up...and the front loses a lot of sportiness without the fog lights.

i also think the S13's look is outdated. the flip-down lights are retro looking, like the prelude and probe it's outdated. A lot of my friends think S13's are kind of corvette wanna-bes, I don't think so though. S14 has a bit of a unique look, I like mine a lot, ultra red with black tint fits it a lot. Just got my NaVaN wing spoiler put on also, goin to pick it up at the body shop and can't wait to see what it looks like. Will take some pics and show it to u guys once i get the car back.

i think s14s look like 2 door altimas from the side

i think s14s look like 2 door altimas from the side

yeah and i think that the civic looks like a hummer from the side :screwy:

I have never driven the 240. Well, I did drive a 91 fastback once but a cop was following me so i couldnt push it at all. It had a lot of suspension work done and felt great from pass. seat. I still prefer my mr2. It requires tons of concentration to drive hard though. I've spun mine several times, autoxing and on the street, and it was always due to a split second of indecision and usually some throttle lift-off. Under hard braking going into a corner it rotates like nothing i've driven or ridden in. With the stock suspension intact @ 78,000 miles It still kills the sloloms and switchbacks. I love my 2 and would never trade it for FR. f1, top fuel, and every other serious racecar i can think of is midengined. Plus, I've seen some excellent drifting videos starring mr2's. I suppose each car is great in thier own right though. Just two more cents to add to the pot. Good luck.

old thread man....

i just read 3 pages of an old thread that I didn't know i read before...

now that ive read this old thread, im thinking of tryin to find an mr2. my 240 is a pile of crap that every week, something new goes wrong. if i can get rid of it, the mr2 would def. be my first pick of a new car. i love taking corners at fast speeds, and if i can get it down right, it sounds like the mr2 can do that.

Its very simple, the MR2 is a true drivers car. The inexperienced would say it handles poorly because they cant handle it. Its not as forgiving and tossable as the 240SX.

When I was looking to upgrade from my Integra to a RWD car I looked at the S14 too, but I realized that the MR2 was more "me."

The MR2 handles better when handled better, and I was willing to learn the car. The 240SX is a little underpowered too. I mean just to get it to a competitive level you need to engine swap or turbo your engine.

But the 240SX is more practical with its seats and trunk space. Its much more economical, but I prefer the performance, look and potential of the MR2. You just cant beat that body styling.

Also it seemed cheaper to make faster with the MR2 for my goal (300RWHP.)

If i got a S14 I woulda spent twice as much on the car, and another couple thousand on an engine swap, then I could get to mods... With the 2 I payed 4500 and it wouldnt cost me more than 3 grand to get very close to my goal. The 3S-GTE engine is a masterpiece.

I wouldn't mind owning an aw11 SC for a track car or a beater. I think it would be pretty cool to have a mid engine car. Plus how hard can it be to drive? Few weeks after noticing its habits and how it reacts to things and u should be alright for awhile.

The MR2 is an awesome car if you can tune it right. Same goes for the S14 (SR20det). All you need is money, then you have a fast handling car. If i had to pick one between the two that was stock, the MR2 wins hands down.