Trackday Car- Mk2 or Mk3 MR2?

[StreetDragster]

Hi All,

Looking for a track car and a MR2 seems to fit the bill.

My low budget seems to allow for both MK2 and Mk3 MR2's with about 75k miles, mot, tax and decent tyres.

I'm thinking MK3 as its newer so i assume better corrosion protection, seems smaller so maybe more nibble, and i can get an old one for about £1200-£1500. I know about the pre-cat/piston ring issue but that seems to be the only major thing to watch, and its going to be a road legal track car, so £200 insurance is managable too.

Is this correct that its the best choice for what i intend to do? Or is there some Mk2 that would be ideal? LSD would be nice.

thanks

matt

[_Al_]

Depends which tracks you want to do. Big internationals like Silverstone would probably be a bit too long & open for a mk3, more suited to a mk2 turbo.

Tight, twisty courses would be much better in a mk3.

I think all UK mk3s have LSD by the way. Only turbo mk2s or very late model mk2s do.

[StreetDragster]

Good stuff, thanks.

I don't think a turbo is the car for me, insurance is just too high for them.

Matt

[Dakkon]

Well I have just bought a Rev 3 '94 Turbo this weekend for trackdays £1,900, almost completely stock which is a very rare thing these days.

Sky Insurance gave me a decent quote, so don't discount them too quickly on that front.

What I now need to decide is how far to take the car, but the journey should be interesting.

[SonicShadow]

A MK3 is the better chassis for sure, and in the future a 2ZZGE (Celica 190bhp engine) is a pretty simple swap to add some power. From there, you can go forced induction, budget allowing. Its also lighter than a Mk2, so it will be easier on consumables like brakes and tyres.

I have grown to quite like how Mk3's look with a few modifications. Theres a chap on reddit.com/r/mr2 who has an AutoX prepped Mk3, and I think it looks great:

[OlberJ]

Without doubt, on a standard engine, Mk2 every single time.

What you lose in agility you make up for in reliability, availability of upgrade parts and support.

1zzfe's are rubbish.

[pti]

SonicShadow said:

That looks class! I'd take a Tubby any day though (no bias...)

[james_gt3rs]

I own a mk3 as a daily driver and it's great. I'll get it on track at some point as well, I'm expecting good things!

At the £1500 mark I'd get a mk2 though, the mk2 is much more reliable than a pre facelift mk3 engine wise.

[Synchromesh]

You can get a good trackable mk2 for a grand. Mine's currently up for sale on Autotrader (I think it's against forum rules to post a link) and I'd be prepared to let it go for that figure. Don't worry too much about mileage - mine's on 160k and has coped admirably on track. The most important think to look out for is rust, so make sure the chassis is solid.

[Hol]

StreetDragster said:

Good stuff, thanks.

I don't think a turbo is the car for me, insurance is just too high for them.

Matt

So do you mean a road car, that you want to use on the track.

If so, you need to look at how cages, brakes and modification will affect your insurance. If you have not already.

[StreetDragster]

That's right, i have three cars already on a multicar policy, so i'll be adding a fourth to that policy not getting a brand new policy, and my current provider does not allow imports, so the turbo is out.

My Noble has light tuning mods on its current insurance policy which is acceptable, but i don't want to be adding roll cages etc, ideally, i would like to keep the car as close to standard as possible, maybe with a little lowering, strut braces if required, and decent tyres.

I cannot tow a car on a trailer on my license, and my current other cars towing weight limits put me at a 1000kg anyway even if i took my B+E license, so that's out. So the track car will have to be road legal.

It will however only be used to transit to the track, the trackday, and back again, no need for any other use.

Thanks for all advice so far

Matt

Edited by StreetDragster on Friday 13th September 09:13

[Baryonyx]

I do plan on buying a mk3 MR2 next year as a little run around to replace my Rallye. The Rallye is a little tiger, but I want something a little softer and a little more luxurious. On track though, I'd always advocate the MR2 Turbo - an absolute monster of a car for the price you can get them for these days! Sure, the mk3 handles better, but the Mk2 is a great handler by any stretch and the 3s-gte engine is an absolute belter. I'm only going for the mik3 MR2 this time because I know I'll never find another Turbo as good as the one I sold!

[_Al_]

Due to a small misunderstanding I'm now the proud owner of a pair of mk2 MR2s, one turbo one not.

I can safely say that both would be excellent on track, but truth be told I'd probably have more fun in the non-turbo. It makes a way better noise and is considerably more chuckable.

If you were chasing lap times the turbo would murder the NA, but that's not really the point of a trackday...

[Baryonyx]

Hmm, I've never really thought of these cars as 'chuckable', mainly because of that mid-engined setup. To me, they're all about the smoothness and flow that a ME-RWD car requires. If I was wanting something I could chuck into corners I'd choose an MX5, though I find that sort of driving less rewarding.

If only the mk3 had had some better engines from the go. Though I suppose once I have one I'll have more time to better assess the drive.

[james_gt3rs]

Baryonyx said:

Hmm, I've never really thought of these cars as 'chuckable', mainly because of that mid-engined setup. To me, they're all about the smoothness and flow that a ME-RWD car requires. If I was wanting something I could chuck into corners I'd choose an MX5, though I find that sort of driving less rewarding.

If only the mk3 had had some better engines from the go. Though I suppose once I have one I'll have more time to better assess the drive.

I had my mk3 sideways on a roundabout today, they're not the easiest to unstick even in teh wet. But I reckon on a track with nice big runoff it would be able to slide nicely and be pretty chuckable.

[james_gt3rs]

If you have skills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdsdPkVVtI

If you don't

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_71W08fOmRc

[SonicShadow]

Bouncing off the limiter

MR2 drift skills? Look no further than these guys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De81BrQjoRY

[StreetDragster]

Thanks for all replies.

In the end i bought an RX8 for a track car

Thanks

Matt

[Dakkon]

Interesting choice for a trackcar, you should check out Dale Lomas's reports on his running of an Rx8 trackcar, it did not end well:

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...

[StreetDragster]

You get alot of car for your money which seems on paper at least to be ideally suited to trackwork (231bhp, 6 speed box, rear wheel drive with LSD, 50/50 weight distribution, decent brakes and handling as standard, can get 4 people to and from the track with tools in the boot, etc), and its a bit of a grey area as to whether their unreliability is down to poor maintenance or not. I'm handy with the tools and really like the engineering behind the rotary engine so i'm willing to take a bit of a risk and find out for myself how they go, lots of people wouldn't, which is ideal for me as it has pushed the prices down to track car levels.
Alot of the history and reputation from them seems to generally come from none-owners, the actual owners regarding the model very highly, albeit with penelties (oil checking, coil packs, flooding, mpg etc) which must be embraced and accounted for.

The one i bought has had all the common failure items (including the engine fully rebuilt) in the last 2k miles, with warranty. I don't need a track fireball, the objective of this exercise is to improve my driving technique rather than set lap times, and that could be done in a transit van if needed.

In any case, only one way to find out what happens!

Thanks

Matt

Edited by StreetDragster on Wednesday 18th September 17:48