So making a friendly comment on the owner is 'ripping into him'. Not everyone is precious you know nor does everyone try to virtue signal by exaggerating other's comments.
Finally someone who actually engages Micha in a conversation about their own car. This lap was just pure excitement from two different car enthusiasts about the same car, this is just we wanna see more of!
Fun car and fun owner. I appreciate his knowledge depth for his cars common mods etc, and it'd be interesting if every cars owner knew this much about their cars and common mods etc during the lap. I'll take nervous chatter over 0 words or staring at phone, every day of the week.
You SUSTAIN more than 1G in a 2ZZ and your engine goes pop lol. I thought it was a major issue of owning the car, but apparently outside of track it's a non-issue.
He was so excited! Misha was laughing, but I think it was an understanding laughter....Misha knows the guy was living out a dream letting him drive the car.....what a great video, I'd love to see him make some modifications to the car and bring it back next year.
Could you imagine the junk that people bring him to drive though? Old cars with bad brakes, bad tires, bad alignments, bad transmissions, bad clutches, bad shocks, etc. He goes from getting to drive a new GT3RS to having to drive some kids 25-year old mr2. I was autocrossing when those cars were new, and stock they were bad, even back then.
I would be like that depending on caffeine and the day you catch me. I'm a nervous talker, especially when I don't know someone. The air gets tense for me.
It’s because it makes us feel better about the cars we own ;) right right 😅 but it’s fun to see what old sports cars can do on the track in the hands of somebody with track knowledge, awesome.
Small mods would completely transform this car. One thing people think is that a car will suit every track, that’s not the case, the ring is a fast circuit, not suited to this car, a tighter track with more corners and less long straights would suit this car better and be a blast, Cadwell Park or Anglesey for example.
You mean first lap, that was sketchy, with a MR2? Because in general, I distinctly remember many sketchy laps, such as the Xsara, or the one where the brake pedal went out, ones where chassis parts came loose, etc etc. Gotta love variety! Sweet old car with owner who knows and obviously loves it very much.
@@mgcharoudin the sketchier the better these days ;) us poor people want to know how you drive these beauties! slow cars been driven fast are pretty much as much fun as as you can get !
ah i got a 2001 zzw30 with a 6 speed swap + 2zz. Paint is trashed so its a real sleeper unit. Love my budget lotus elise. 1zz was definitely under powered and once it rod knocked I didn't hesitate to do the swap.
Misha, I met you a few years ago at the Cologne motor show, I was exhibiting there and was coming down an escalator after a long day and a half of travelling from England and setting up our stand. I was honestly a little star struck when I saw you 😂, but I shouted your name and you came back and spoke to me for a couple of minutes which meant a lot and confirmed that you are in fact a decent guy 👍. Congrats too you for all your success over the years and it’s almost unbelievable what you, jimmy, and Steve are doing as a team now. I’m strangely proud as just a fan lol 👊
There's more storage behind the seats! I could fit a 3.5 ton jack, 4 jack stands and a torque wrench back there. 3 tires in the passenger seat + 1 in the frunk. Tools and wheel chocks on the passenger front floor. I miss autocrossing my MR2.
My spyder came with a custom fabricated enclosed subwoofer box. Never really felt like I'm missing out. Although I don't have a spare tire so the frunk can actually hold a duffel bag and backpack for trips
My roadster is a 2003 model the only year when they dropped the suspension/ ride height, my suspension is pretty sturdy. I do wonder if my suspension is modified or not because it feels on point for track (I'm not the first owner).
This was one of the most wholesome Misha videos I´ve seen in a while! The dude was really nice and funny, you can hear his passion for this kind of cars. I really enjoyed watching!
Had the same car (with LSD), suspension was not as soft as yours. My advice: freshen up the suspension and put semi sporty 195 tires front and back and you have a brilliant handling car. The squared 195 setup is best mod i did.
I find having 195s on the front 215s on the back is just perfectly balanced with no understeer whatsoever. Surely it's trying to swap ends on turn in with only 192 at the back?
Decent suspension setup will solve that. I had one, very capable car and though I am a aw11 enthusiast, the mr-s spyder is the best handling of the 3 models of mr2.
The MR2 mk3 or MR-S was quite successful in the gt300 in early 2000s. I believe it ran with a 3S-GTE engine. I am a big fan of this car, seems like a perfect weekend car especially in the summer!
This is one of your best videos. Owner is mega into his motor with nervous energy, and some of the interaction Is hilarious. This guy should run an MR2 club he’s so into it.
One thing I learned watching Gears and gasoline when Ben Lin built his MRS/MR2 spyder is the front has a lot of chassis flex and when Ben had the roll cage built, they re-enforced the front part of the chassis. He swapped a junkyard bought 2AR Toyota Camry hybrid engine.
@@clumsygarage1578 If you look for the original bracing bar around the front subframe, they're actually different between 99-03 & 03-05. Later one is beefier. But yeah, they still need cross brace between strut & the radiator bar.
I bought same car even tho I have much newer and faster cars. Its great chassis (under 1000kg) with solid brakes (as its light). Ive just added Whiteline sway bars, Bc coilovers and 6speed (gearing is sadly very long, JDM and USDM had shorter gearing) with LSD. Its very good car. It has literally insane turn-in, its really well balanced. Nothing like snapoversteer as you can read online 😃 Its overlooked car and its cheap, yet has a lot of potential - proved many times. If somebody wants cheap midengine car, this is a nice option and parts are cheap too.
Great lap to see, I agree on the points but from a fellow MR2 owner here are the some easy tips, Sway bars, koni yellow + lowering springs 20 mm AND either 16" or 17" inch wheels 205 in front 225 in the rear and the car is transformed. Power ! teh easy way is turbo (maybee not THAT easy) TTE made a TUV compliant system back in the days. popular stealth swap is 2zz with the 6 speed gearbox with LSD
Just bought one of these LOL I think they handle great for what they are. Mine is the MRS import version. Although it has to be said the seats are absolutely terrible and uncomfortable for long and hard driving. Slippery and the leather is not soft
For anyone who's mocking this nice guy, may I remind you that he currently owns his dream car, is very passionate about it and just did a lap around Nurburgring? Many of us doesn't get the same luxury, so I think we should show more respect 😅
At first I thought this guy was talking a bit too much but just as you said he's super excited and very passionate about his MR2 and it's nice to see someone having one of their dreams fulfilled. I'd love to have Misha show me what my 2016 WRX STI is capable of and I'd probably be talking more or completely silent in awe of his driving skills.
Nothing wrong with being enthusiastic, Some people are amazed and have a very positive outlook, who said there’s a limit in how much you talk in this world
The KW V3 coilovers will transform it totally, bought them for my own zzw30 last year and it's night and day. I'm also planning to do a k24 swap but that will take a few years for me to find the time and money for it, if you're still doing this by the time this gets done you're welcome to take it for a spin :)
I've decided not to engine swap mine as I go too fast as it is. You can add a few BHP with some very easy cheap mods and you can drop a little weight by ditching the space saver and going on a diet ;-)
I just got the same car, stock everything with a K20A drivetrain. The suspension is so soft and compliant that it feels vague and a bit scary at times. I can't wait to get started on the suspension upgrades-the car should transform into something much faster. Thanks for the video! :)
I like them so much I've got 2, an early stock 5 speed JDM import and a mildly modded facelift 6 Speed. One thing of note is that at least here in the UK the facelift models have quite a bit softer springs and a higher front ride height and looking at his ride height and from the way it rolls it does look like he's got the softer facelift springs (when replacing springs/dampers a garage who isn't in the know might fit the later softer ones by mistake!) Swapping to stiffer adjustable coil overs and decent tyres along with a front strut brace as I've done with my own facelift MR2 totally transforms the car and makes it a real joy to drive. Also you might as well ditch the space saver in the frunk to save 11Kgs of weight as in a car this light ever little makes a difference, and my coil overs save another 11KG. I did consider an engine swap but as I already keep having to back out to stop going silly fast on the road I decided it would be a bit pointless trying to go much faster. In any case there's a restricted air intake pipe which you can very cheaply swap out which along with a high flow air filter gives you a few extra bhp and a better throttle response. I've also fitted uprated brake pads and fluid and a quick shift and I've replaced the rubber bearings in the gear linkage with metal ones (best and cheapest mod ever at £2.50!) which makes the gear change oh so satisfying 🙂
You really need to try a mark one (AW11) version with either (even?) Koni dampers or preferably coil overs fully set up (LEDA used to be a favourite - I’ve run both). No power (though can be made very light - mine was 729kg caged. And corner weighted to tiny discrepancies front to back and side to side) though the supercharged version could run c.190BHP in good condition, and beautiful handling with steering feel to die for!
i was considering bringing my own stock mr2 down for my first nurburgring experience this summer, but mine is super clapped out (stemming from a skill issue in icy conditions) so i don't think misha would have wanted to drive it 😅 nice to see it's capabilities in stock form at the ring, im hoping to eventually 2zz swap mine with the appropriate supporting mods (brakes, cooling, suspension, wheels etc.) so maybe some time in the next couple of years we may get to enjoy a lap together ❤️
3:25 It wasn't trouble of precats pieces getting back to combustion chamber. Precats are breaking apart and jamming exhaust which tends to increase EGT, which causes valve seals to basically burn which causes oil leak into exhaust port.
I was there last week for the second time with my 2zz swapped Mr2 spyder, can’t think of a better car for the money, it sounds amazing, handles amazing, looks really cool, sure it isn’t the fastest on the straights but it’s a really fun car :)
I have the same car with D2 Racing coilovers and decat + cobra exhaust. Honestly, it feels like a go kart. It's not crazy fast but with lowered and good suspension it's completely different! And it can drift!
If you do an engine swap and trans, and do racing brakes, suspension and rollcage with recaro seats, these are amazing cars to drive, keep up with some modern sporty hatches! Totally underrated car; a sleeper if you will.
These things, they need a couple of bracing (later year MR-S come factory with bigger bracing at front subframe too), a set of coilovers, better tires, better pad/disc/braided line/DOT4, and it should be enough. 140hp is bit little, but that's the "fun" part.
He's correct about the KWv3 coilover. I have them on my turbo MR2 (2003)+A052 tire. It's a pretty insane car at 1000kg weight. I'd love to take it to the green hell at some point. Let's gooooo.
🐸 So hyped for this because I own one BTW the pre-cat thing is apparently better on the facelift cars, they made the engines burn less oil. Apparently while suspension is important, lowering these cars my more than a couple centimeters ruins the roll center and the handling. The same guy who told me that also said that stock brake discs are basically all you need. Not like an MX-5 where it's a necessary upgrade for a track build. And yeah the stock flywheel is pretty light, and these cars get surprisingly amazing fuel mileage.
Nah dropping the ride height really improves the handling a lot as lowering the roll center only improves things. On coil overs my facelift MR2 sits 5.5 cm lower at the front compared to before with enough height top avoid rubbing and still get over speed humps. At least in the UK the facelift has taller springs the the earlier model. Adding a decent set of coilvers and dropping the height and fitting decent tyres transforms the handling. Brakes are certainly good enough though, you just need to fit better pads and upgrade the fluid for fast road/track driving.
as a note to the owner, a front sway bar at the very least is needed for this car. around 500 lb/inch for the bar rate. I have a 3rd gen I've been competing with for the past few years, and I honestly recommend at least a front sway bar.
I remember suggesting you should drive one of these on one of your end of year 2023 videos and you made it happen Misha! As a MK3 MR2 owner myself here's my thoughts after doing my first ever track day in my life at Brands Hatch in January. All UK spec cars thankfully get a Torsen LSD from factory whether it's an early 5 speed like mine or the later 6 speed. First suspension mod should be upgraded front and rear anti roll bars. Mine runs the Whiteline kit and I couldn't imagine doing a track day with standard ARBs so no wonder you found the handling sketchy 😅 Definitely needs a better seats than standard for track work though! For me the issue wasn't the leather material. It was the lack of lateral support under hard cornering. I've since changed the seats for gen 7 Celica GT half leather/half alcantara items which are far more supportive and more comfortable. I'm on road tyres as well like this guy (195/50/15 Rainsport 5 front and Falken 205/50/15 rear) and only other suspension mods on my car is TTE lowering springs with fresh OEM spec dampers and Barbarian Racing front strut brace. Overall the car handled well and even with the body roll there still was on the track, the car still seemed to have plenty of grip with those road tyres. I loved the feeling of exiting corners using the throttle 😃 The standard braking setup is very good though! The only mod I've got in that area is braided lines. I did use my brakes a lot that day and I never ran out of stopping power. All I noticed was the pedal getting a little softer (1 year old fluid at the time). The car is light so even with engine conversions and higher power levels people often leave the standard caliper setup but will change the pads to suit their preference. If you've made it this far Misha I'd love to let you drive my car if I ever come to the Ring and see what your thoughts are! In the meantime I hope some modified examples appear on your channel. DannyDC2's MR2 would be excellent for you to drive as that car is built for the UK MR2 Championship race series.
I have seen Videos of people putting a 2GR V6 Engine in their Toyota MR2. Some use the NA engine while other use the supercharged version. Especially the NA V6 sounds really nice
the car 850kg keep it that way im sure other engine what very light but power or tune the one its got . sadly we get tanks now classed as sports cars it rare get true light weight
MR2's are nice. A friend of mine had a Gen 2 MR2 at the time. The second generation was also the most beautiful in my opinion. I could never really get used to the third one visually.
I wasn't gonna comment but goddam this kid is a chatter box! lol anyway i've been waiting for an MR2 video for a while. Nice lap and hope you get a modified MR2 soon
Well, this reminds me of driving in @KayHesse his Mr2. On sketchy tires going sideways on the road.. After a few laps I decided to moneyshift it.. Hmmm, good old days.
@mgcharoudin I'll be at the ring for touristenfahrten next week if you want to drive basically the same car on a set of kw v3 coilovers, advan ad08rs tires, and some ebc yellowstuff pads. (cloth seats too, so not slippery at all)
This one of the most under rated car. It has great potential as you can do many things to make it amazing track car. 2zz or K20 swap Just go and drive one with any of this swap.
Didn't realize how blessed I was to buy mine with a 6 speed + 4.3 final drive already swapped in. Nice compliment once I blew the stock 1zz and swapped in the 2zz. Just need to install my quaife lsd in then it should be perfect.
The JDM 5spd manual MRS has lower gear ratios. I know as I've got both and early JDM MRS and an facelift UK spec MR2 6 speed. The 2ZZ revs higher so to make the most of it you really would need a lower final drive.
Thanks M, having heard your recommendation of an MR2, which I own - the Spyder / Roadster. I was thinking of selling it but no more. Time for mods - ultimately 1.8T vw/audi swapped 🤤
i didnt know you wanted to drive one.. I have a MR2 with low budget tuning (my first car ever). Anyway, great video, but i am happy i did the changes on my MR2 haha
Same engine as my 7th gen Celica, would be cool to see you drive one of those, potentially the 190hp VVTLI model (2ZZ). The engine is the same until it enters lift (Vtec basically) at 6250rpm where it gains 50bhp over the 140 (1ZZ) until redline. People swap that engine into this as its an easy swap.
@mgcharoudinI was there in a 2zz 180bhp 80000rpm swap with close ratio box and lsd around the same time you did this. Also I had too much roll, so I am replacing the shocks for koni sports for my next visit. I know you mention a Honda swap as interesting, but if you want to try mine, it would be a pleasure.
a good superchrager kit will work great on that engine to give it more power think the same engine where used in Lotus Elise of the same time period and that where both NA and Supercharged. better Suspension a LSD and Brakes and you have a fun little track car.maybe a short throw shifter coud be alot of fun :)
While there were some Elises with 1ZZs in them, the supercharged ones were 2ZZ only. After they switched to the Toyota engines they had rhe 1zz with 136hp, the NA 2ZZ with 192hp and the sc with 220hp
Audi 1.8t is a good swap not to hard and will leave most supercars at 500bhp. vr6 is a more extreme swap but 3.2 and sound is brilliant. The guys on UA-cam.
It's almost the perfect car. It's just BAFFLING that they didn't give it the amazing 2ZZ upgrade motor with valve lift, higher revs, and 40 more HP. I got the best of both worlds with my Celica GT-S because it has one and they sure as hell are cheaper than ANY MR2. Weight is just below 2,500 so she's perfect and very practical. As for the leather seats? Mine are like a slip-n-slide. Only way I fixed it was to buy child's car seat slipmat and put a sheepskin cover over that, but even then you don't get much support.
Why are you guys ripping into this man for being excited? This is huge moment in his life just like it would be for us...
as always, ENVY
I used to be like that.
How’re the brakes? they are fine I’am not using them much 🤣
yea he enjoys! cool and chill dude
So making a friendly comment on the owner is 'ripping into him'. Not everyone is precious you know nor does everyone try to virtue signal by exaggerating other's comments.
I found myself telling him to shut up. No offence intended but he’s young and excited !
Finally someone who actually engages Micha in a conversation about their own car. This lap was just pure excitement from two different car enthusiasts about the same car, this is just we wanna see more of!
Exactly !!
Engages in a conversation? Thats what you call not shutting up for 2 seconds while thebdriver is trying to enjoy the car?
Fun car and fun owner. I appreciate his knowledge depth for his cars common mods etc, and it'd be interesting if every cars owner knew this much about their cars and common mods etc during the lap.
I'll take nervous chatter over 0 words or staring at phone, every day of the week.
This guy is nice. I think he realized Assetto Corsa is not real life once he felt the speed and G’s (G!!).
I somehow doubt he feels G often.
AC is good to learn the track and the corners but it doesn't prepare you for the height differences and of course the Gs.
needs billy B12s, good for road & track
You SUSTAIN more than 1G in a 2ZZ and your engine goes pop lol. I thought it was a major issue of owning the car, but apparently outside of track it's a non-issue.
@@rushnerd Yeah for serious track use dry sump is a must
Yall realize he's living a dream in that passenger seat right? Let the man live.
Exactlyyyy. Its just how some people process things, verbally. It seems hes one of those. And you can also hear the passion in his voice!
Only truly miserable people would rip into someone for being excited lmao
Why should we not? He seems like a super nice dude.
He reminds me of me... dude loves cars. It's endearing.
He was so excited! Misha was laughing, but I think it was an understanding laughter....Misha knows the guy was living out a dream letting him drive the car.....what a great video, I'd love to see him make some modifications to the car and bring it back next year.
It doesn't take much for these to become really capable!
“How are the brakes?” “Good, I’m not using them” 😂
Misha is a salty mf'er lol 👌🤣
😂😂😂
Always the way, especially with the slower cars
Could you imagine the junk that people bring him to drive though? Old cars with bad brakes, bad tires, bad alignments, bad transmissions, bad clutches, bad shocks, etc.
He goes from getting to drive a new GT3RS to having to drive some kids 25-year old mr2. I was autocrossing when those cars were new, and stock they were bad, even back then.
@@aab350z variety... think goal is to drive every car..
Such an enthusiastic owner haha. Maybe it's just the nervousness talking
Or passion!
The guy is a motormouth but very enthusiastic. I like him.
I would be like that depending on caffeine and the day you catch me. I'm a nervous talker, especially when I don't know someone. The air gets tense for me.
@@btownballer27 nervous talker is a good description I think.
I missed these old stock/sketchy car videos
Misha probably doesn't lol
Who remembers Misha and the Lada?
It’s because it makes us feel better about the cars we own ;) right right 😅 but it’s fun to see what old sports cars can do on the track in the hands of somebody with track knowledge, awesome.
Small mods would completely transform this car.
One thing people think is that a car will suit every track, that’s not the case, the ring is a fast circuit, not suited to this car, a tighter track with more corners and less long straights would suit this car better and be a blast, Cadwell Park or Anglesey for example.
You mean first lap, that was sketchy, with a MR2? Because in general, I distinctly remember many sketchy laps, such as the Xsara, or the one where the brake pedal went out, ones where chassis parts came loose, etc etc.
Gotta love variety! Sweet old car with owner who knows and obviously loves it very much.
Haha, you are right!
probably sketchy lap of the season i'd say
@@mgcharoudin the sketchier the better these days ;) us poor people want to know how you drive these beauties! slow cars been driven fast are pretty much as much fun as as you can get !
Great car, great lap and a great owner. This guy was born to be a rally co-driver navigator 100%.
I had modified MR-2 with 2zz-ge engine. Unfortunately I had to sold it. Your video is sentimental journey for me❤
ah i got a 2001 zzw30 with a 6 speed swap + 2zz. Paint is trashed so its a real sleeper unit. Love my budget lotus elise. 1zz was definitely under powered and once it rod knocked I didn't hesitate to do the swap.
@@nx_Exe my had already broken 1zz 😂
Sameee!
I hope to do this conversion on mine! Having driven an example with a 2ZZ I know what I'm in for 😎
You can laugh all you want with the guy, but he actually KNOWS something about cars... Unlike many others...
Loved your conversations with the owner! Please more! Way more entertaining than a super fast lap where nobody says a word :)
Misha, I met you a few years ago at the Cologne motor show, I was exhibiting there and was coming down an escalator after a long day and a half of travelling from England and setting up our stand. I was honestly a little star struck when I saw you 😂, but I shouted your name and you came back and spoke to me for a couple of minutes which meant a lot and confirmed that you are in fact a decent guy 👍. Congrats too you for all your success over the years and it’s almost unbelievable what you, jimmy, and Steve are doing as a team now. I’m strangely proud as just a fan lol 👊
I love the personality owner, seems such a nice guy!!! Misha always bring the best content for us!
There's more storage behind the seats! I could fit a 3.5 ton jack, 4 jack stands and a torque wrench back there. 3 tires in the passenger seat + 1 in the frunk. Tools and wheel chocks on the passenger front floor. I miss autocrossing my MR2.
They do have a surprising amount of space if you ditch the space saver!
My spyder came with a custom fabricated enclosed subwoofer box. Never really felt like I'm missing out. Although I don't have a spare tire so the frunk can actually hold a duffel bag and backpack for trips
My roadster is a 2003 model the only year when they dropped the suspension/ ride height, my suspension is pretty sturdy. I do wonder if my suspension is modified or not because it feels on point for track (I'm not the first owner).
Loved how excited he was and real his emotions were. Also loved how Misha just let him keep talking the whole time.
love this dude, he's soo happy, love to see the looks of his face 😊
Why did you say you wouldn't do stock cars anymore? These are the videos I enjoy most.
Safety reasons
@@ugsl5236 if car well maintained its safe you just drive within its limits
This was one of the most wholesome Misha videos I´ve seen in a while!
The dude was really nice and funny, you can hear his passion for this kind of cars. I really enjoyed watching!
I think the definition of an excited owner should link to this video :) Keep up the good work Misha.
Had the same car (with LSD), suspension was not as soft as yours. My advice: freshen up the suspension and put semi sporty 195 tires front and back and you have a brilliant handling car. The squared 195 setup is best mod i did.
I find having 195s on the front 215s on the back is just perfectly balanced with no understeer whatsoever. Surely it's trying to swap ends on turn in with only 192 at the back?
Decent suspension setup will solve that. I had one, very capable car and though I am a aw11 enthusiast, the mr-s spyder is the best handling of the 3 models of mr2.
The MR2 mk3 or MR-S was quite successful in the gt300 in early 2000s. I believe it ran with a 3S-GTE engine. I am a big fan of this car, seems like a perfect weekend car especially in the summer!
This is one of your best videos. Owner is mega into his motor with nervous energy, and some of the interaction Is hilarious. This guy should run an MR2 club he’s so into it.
Hi misha I have a mk2 mk2 turbo wide body I will be at the ring in June would u like to do a lap
YESSS
i know i'd love to see that, had a soft spot for Mk2's in the late 90's.
One thing I learned watching Gears and gasoline when Ben Lin built his MRS/MR2 spyder is the front has a lot of chassis flex and when Ben had the roll cage built, they re-enforced the front part of the chassis. He swapped a junkyard bought 2AR Toyota Camry hybrid engine.
Yeah chassis bracing seems important on these. That's why the TRD strut bar is basically the thickest strut bar I've ever seen.
@@clumsygarage1578 If you look for the original bracing bar around the front subframe, they're actually different between 99-03 & 03-05. Later one is beefier. But yeah, they still need cross brace between strut & the radiator bar.
@@clumsygarage1578 I have antrd front strut bar and its really essential especially if you lower the car
I bought same car even tho I have much newer and faster cars. Its great chassis (under 1000kg) with solid brakes (as its light). Ive just added Whiteline sway bars, Bc coilovers and 6speed (gearing is sadly very long, JDM and USDM had shorter gearing) with LSD. Its very good car. It has literally insane turn-in, its really well balanced. Nothing like snapoversteer as you can read online 😃 Its overlooked car and its cheap, yet has a lot of potential - proved many times. If somebody wants cheap midengine car, this is a nice option and parts are cheap too.
Nice guy who loves his car remember we are all that person
Ps try a stock flywheel to wake her up :)
lol thanks for the shoutout, maybe MR2 racecar needs to do a lap
Great lap to see, I agree on the points but from a fellow MR2 owner here are the some easy tips, Sway bars, koni yellow + lowering springs 20 mm AND either 16" or 17" inch wheels 205 in front 225 in the rear and the car is transformed. Power ! teh easy way is turbo (maybee not THAT easy) TTE made a TUV compliant system back in the days. popular stealth swap is 2zz with the 6 speed gearbox with LSD
Just bought one of these LOL
I think they handle great for what they are. Mine is the MRS import version. Although it has to be said the seats are absolutely terrible and uncomfortable for long and hard driving. Slippery and the leather is not soft
Can we compare w elise s1
Your ass conforms to the seat eventually dont worry.
Agreed lol. Loud on the highway and my legs go numb after a while. Gets much better mileage than I expected though.
Toyota has never been known for their leather.
@@mohddanial2619 How dare you 🤣 2 different leagues. Sorry for that comment Lotus
I love this guy! Thanks for all the information about your car! Great passion sand thanks for not recording from your mobile the whole time👊
Man, on showing the world quricky bits of a car - never skip out on! We're here for the lap, but your take on uncommon cars is always welcome!
For anyone who's mocking this nice guy, may I remind you that he currently owns his dream car, is very passionate about it and just did a lap around Nurburgring? Many of us doesn't get the same luxury, so I think we should show more respect 😅
At first I thought this guy was talking a bit too much but just as you said he's super excited and very passionate about his MR2 and it's nice to see someone having one of their dreams fulfilled. I'd love to have Misha show me what my 2016 WRX STI is capable of and I'd probably be talking more or completely silent in awe of his driving skills.
Nothing wrong with being enthusiastic, Some people are amazed and have a very positive outlook, who said there’s a limit in how much you talk in this world
Absolutely love seeing an mr2 on the Nürnbergring! I’d love to take mine there someday
The KW V3 coilovers will transform it totally, bought them for my own zzw30 last year and it's night and day.
I'm also planning to do a k24 swap but that will take a few years for me to find the time and money for it, if you're still doing this by the time this gets done you're welcome to take it for a spin :)
I've decided not to engine swap mine as I go too fast as it is. You can add a few BHP with some very easy cheap mods and you can drop a little weight by ditching the space saver and going on a diet ;-)
I just got the same car, stock everything with a K20A drivetrain. The suspension is so soft and compliant that it feels vague and a bit scary at times. I can't wait to get started on the suspension upgrades-the car should transform into something much faster. Thanks for the video! :)
Thank you both for bringing this car to us!
10:40 misha was just having soo much fun , bro is a professional yapper, and we love it!! hahahhahha
Now Misha needs to try a track prepped K-swaped MR-S to see what this baby is really capable of.
There are also a few VW 1.8T swapped cars in the UK now which are pretty potent
@@Chappers158why the hell should i swap a unreliable Volkswagen Crap into a absolutely reliable car ? Senseless level overload..🤦🏼♂️
Why K Swap ? I know Honda K is a legend but Toyota has an huge amount of compareable engines.
@@TheS1PikesPeak Because it's a match made in heaven. In an alternate perfect universe MR-S would be like that from the factory.
@@RustyRussell_YT ever drove an 2ZZ or an 3S-GTE ?
I like them so much I've got 2, an early stock 5 speed JDM import and a mildly modded facelift 6 Speed. One thing of note is that at least here in the UK the facelift models have quite a bit softer springs and a higher front ride height and looking at his ride height and from the way it rolls it does look like he's got the softer facelift springs (when replacing springs/dampers a garage who isn't in the know might fit the later softer ones by mistake!) Swapping to stiffer adjustable coil overs and decent tyres along with a front strut brace as I've done with my own facelift MR2 totally transforms the car and makes it a real joy to drive. Also you might as well ditch the space saver in the frunk to save 11Kgs of weight as in a car this light ever little makes a difference, and my coil overs save another 11KG. I did consider an engine swap but as I already keep having to back out to stop going silly fast on the road I decided it would be a bit pointless trying to go much faster. In any case there's a restricted air intake pipe which you can very cheaply swap out which along with a high flow air filter gives you a few extra bhp and a better throttle response. I've also fitted uprated brake pads and fluid and a quick shift and I've replaced the rubber bearings in the gear linkage with metal ones (best and cheapest mod ever at £2.50!) which makes the gear change oh so satisfying 🙂
Ayy whats yout IG, I want to see this. my spyders 6 speed swapped + 2zz-ge
His mouth is running faster than the car 🚨 🚗 😅😂
god its annoying
that's why you dont do blow kids
You will meet all types of people in life, your negative comment is just as jarring to me as you find this guy. 😅
@@berkeyazc1803 It's not
I have never seen a german talking that much on a car ride in english because its english and we are mostly not that good in english.
Ive been hoping you would make a video in an mr2 eversince I found out about your channel. Awesome lap mate!
frl. Love seeing frogs get more recognition.
You really need to try a mark one (AW11) version with either (even?) Koni dampers or preferably coil overs fully set up (LEDA used to be a favourite - I’ve run both). No power (though can be made very light - mine was 729kg caged. And corner weighted to tiny discrepancies front to back and side to side) though the supercharged version could run c.190BHP in good condition, and beautiful handling with steering feel to die for!
i was considering bringing my own stock mr2 down for my first nurburgring experience this summer, but mine is super clapped out (stemming from a skill issue in icy conditions) so i don't think misha would have wanted to drive it 😅
nice to see it's capabilities in stock form at the ring, im hoping to eventually 2zz swap mine with the appropriate supporting mods (brakes, cooling, suspension, wheels etc.) so maybe some time in the next couple of years we may get to enjoy a lap together ❤️
3:25
It wasn't trouble of precats pieces getting back to combustion chamber. Precats are breaking apart and jamming exhaust which tends to increase EGT, which causes valve seals to basically burn which causes oil leak into exhaust port.
I was there last week for the second time with my 2zz swapped Mr2 spyder, can’t think of a better car for the money, it sounds amazing, handles amazing, looks really cool, sure it isn’t the fastest on the straights but it’s a really fun car :)
I need to get my spyder on a track. Gotta get a roll bar first for any local tracks to me
I have the same car with D2 Racing coilovers and decat + cobra exhaust. Honestly, it feels like a go kart. It's not crazy fast but with lowered and good suspension it's completely different! And it can drift!
This is called the MR-S for Spyder.
The MR-2 will give you more sketchy experience with its strong snap oversteer and turbo boost
If you do an engine swap and trans, and do racing brakes, suspension and rollcage with recaro seats, these are amazing cars to drive, keep up with some modern sporty hatches! Totally underrated car; a sleeper if you will.
These things, they need a couple of bracing (later year MR-S come factory with bigger bracing at front subframe too), a set of coilovers, better tires, better pad/disc/braided line/DOT4, and it should be enough.
140hp is bit little, but that's the "fun" part.
I’ve got TTE turbo Mr2 ZZW30 with 185 HP and 255 Nm.
Wonder how that would stack up against my 2zz swapped spyder making roughly similar power
much rather have excited talkative passenger than holding up a phone to record dead mouth passenger
Exactly what I was thinking the whole time!
He's correct about the KWv3 coilover. I have them on my turbo MR2 (2003)+A052 tire. It's a pretty insane car at 1000kg weight. I'd love to take it to the green hell at some point. Let's gooooo.
10:20 As much fun as both were having here I think that was a little too much to ask 🤣
🐸
So hyped for this because I own one
BTW the pre-cat thing is apparently better on the facelift cars, they made the engines burn less oil.
Apparently while suspension is important, lowering these cars my more than a couple centimeters ruins the roll center and the handling. The same guy who told me that also said that stock brake discs are basically all you need. Not like an MX-5 where it's a necessary upgrade for a track build.
And yeah the stock flywheel is pretty light, and these cars get surprisingly amazing fuel mileage.
Nah dropping the ride height really improves the handling a lot as lowering the roll center only improves things. On coil overs my facelift MR2 sits 5.5 cm lower at the front compared to before with enough height top avoid rubbing and still get over speed humps. At least in the UK the facelift has taller springs the the earlier model. Adding a decent set of coilvers and dropping the height and fitting decent tyres transforms the handling. Brakes are certainly good enough though, you just need to fit better pads and upgrade the fluid for fast road/track driving.
as a note to the owner, a front sway bar at the very least is needed for this car. around 500 lb/inch for the bar rate. I have a 3rd gen I've been competing with for the past few years, and I honestly recommend at least a front sway bar.
I remember suggesting you should drive one of these on one of your end of year 2023 videos and you made it happen Misha! As a MK3 MR2 owner myself here's my thoughts after doing my first ever track day in my life at Brands Hatch in January. All UK spec cars thankfully get a Torsen LSD from factory whether it's an early 5 speed like mine or the later 6 speed. First suspension mod should be upgraded front and rear anti roll bars. Mine runs the Whiteline kit and I couldn't imagine doing a track day with standard ARBs so no wonder you found the handling sketchy 😅 Definitely needs a better seats than standard for track work though! For me the issue wasn't the leather material. It was the lack of lateral support under hard cornering. I've since changed the seats for gen 7 Celica GT half leather/half alcantara items which are far more supportive and more comfortable. I'm on road tyres as well like this guy (195/50/15 Rainsport 5 front and Falken 205/50/15 rear) and only other suspension mods on my car is TTE lowering springs with fresh OEM spec dampers and Barbarian Racing front strut brace. Overall the car handled well and even with the body roll there still was on the track, the car still seemed to have plenty of grip with those road tyres. I loved the feeling of exiting corners using the throttle 😃 The standard braking setup is very good though! The only mod I've got in that area is braided lines. I did use my brakes a lot that day and I never ran out of stopping power. All I noticed was the pedal getting a little softer (1 year old fluid at the time). The car is light so even with engine conversions and higher power levels people often leave the standard caliper setup but will change the pads to suit their preference. If you've made it this far Misha I'd love to let you drive my car if I ever come to the Ring and see what your thoughts are! In the meantime I hope some modified examples appear on your channel. DannyDC2's MR2 would be excellent for you to drive as that car is built for the UK MR2 Championship race series.
I have seen Videos of people putting a 2GR V6 Engine in their Toyota MR2. Some use the NA engine while other use the supercharged version. Especially the NA V6 sounds really nice
the car 850kg keep it that way im sure other engine what very light but power or tune the one its got . sadly we get tanks now classed as sports cars it rare get true light weight
This is what i love!
Love this chap. Entirely on the spectrum. What a guy lol
MR2's are nice. A friend of mine had a Gen 2 MR2 at the time. The second generation was also the most beautiful in my opinion. I could never really get used to the third one visually.
I wasn't gonna comment but goddam this kid is a chatter box! lol anyway i've been waiting for an MR2 video for a while. Nice lap and hope you get a modified MR2 soon
My mr2 spyder is chilling around 155k miles with 5k miles on the 2zz swap. Absolutely shreds, changed the car completely.
It was the celica engine back in 2002 with the vvti system you may find this engine in some lotus cars
The Toyota engine you can find on Lotus cars is the 2ZZ-GE engine and not this one... This one is the 1ZZ-FE.
@@billg26 I have a 2zz dropping in my spyder. Definetely a budget lotus elise sleeper.
@@billg26 There were also Elises with the 1ZZ. They are the the ones with 136hp.
Love the owners enthusiam! Great vid
He´s a such nice guy :) Remember my first time on ring at my twentys...I was even more excited :)
The conversation goes like:
MR2 guy: bla bla bla bla
Misha: Yeah
MR2 guy: Let's say bla bla bla bla
Misha: Yeah 😐
And really crap bla bla bla...
MR2 guy reminds me of "Hessi James" 🤣 ua-cam.com/video/akfz5Fw-pZI/v-deo.htmlsi=JHPbbW2ScjUfFCju
classic cokehead conversation
he is just super excited, chill out
To be honest, I would be talking all the time too to Mischa if he would take me for a lap in my car, so much passion to share :)
Well, this reminds me of driving in @KayHesse his Mr2. On sketchy tires going sideways on the road.. After a few laps I decided to moneyshift it.. Hmmm, good old days.
@mgcharoudin I'll be at the ring for touristenfahrten next week if you want to drive basically the same car on a set of kw v3 coilovers, advan ad08rs tires, and some ebc yellowstuff pads. (cloth seats too, so not slippery at all)
This one of the most under rated car. It has great potential as you can do many things to make it amazing track car. 2zz or K20 swap
Just go and drive one with any of this swap.
Any car has potential to be a great car 😉
@dannydc2 hope you see this, you were asking for opinions and options to what to do with the mr2 lol. This would be great. :D
MR-S' 5MT & 6MT both have very long ratio, you need 6MT of 2ZZ plus aftermarket final drive to be able to have good ratio.
Didn't realize how blessed I was to buy mine with a 6 speed + 4.3 final drive already swapped in. Nice compliment once I blew the stock 1zz and swapped in the 2zz. Just need to install my quaife lsd in then it should be perfect.
The JDM 5spd manual MRS has lower gear ratios. I know as I've got both and early JDM MRS and an facelift UK spec MR2 6 speed. The 2ZZ revs higher so to make the most of it you really would need a lower final drive.
love the passenger chat in this lap
Don't remember my old one being that soft. Certainly wasn't fast but it never felt like it was wallowing about, nor did it feel skittish.
Shocks probably worn out
Thanks M, having heard your recommendation of an MR2, which I own - the Spyder / Roadster. I was thinking of selling it but no more. Time for mods - ultimately 1.8T vw/audi swapped 🤤
If you want to build an MR 2 the best swap kit on the market is the 1.8t bam that the Stav tech guys have.
This is what I have planed for mine
i didnt know you wanted to drive one.. I have a MR2 with low budget tuning (my first car ever). Anyway, great video, but i am happy i did the changes on my MR2 haha
Finally a passenger that talks! awesome lap
As a fellow MrS owner love to see this video on here and it was honestly 10/10
Man this guy is having a great time and I love that
Same engine as my 7th gen Celica, would be cool to see you drive one of those, potentially the 190hp VVTLI model (2ZZ). The engine is the same until it enters lift (Vtec basically) at 6250rpm where it gains 50bhp over the 140 (1ZZ) until redline. People swap that engine into this as its an easy swap.
I have a JDM Corolla with the 2zzGE and 6 speed and its great fun stock, would be great to see Misha in one around here
Guy is a non-stop speakin' lexicon :D
Love it!
Need to see a Zurawski Motorsport VW 1.8t swapped MR-S take on the ring
@mgcharoudinI was there in a 2zz 180bhp 80000rpm swap with close ratio box and lsd around the same time you did this. Also I had too much roll, so I am replacing the shocks for koni sports for my next visit. I know you mention a Honda swap as interesting, but if you want to try mine, it would be a pleasure.
a good superchrager kit will work great on that engine to give it more power think the same engine where used in Lotus Elise of the same time period and that where both NA and Supercharged. better Suspension a LSD and Brakes and you have a fun little track car.maybe a short throw shifter coud be alot of fun :)
225-240 HP is safe on Stock Engine Internals.
The engine used in Lotus was the 2ZZ-GE... This one is the 1ZZ-FE.
While there were some Elises with 1ZZs in them, the supercharged ones were 2ZZ only. After they switched to the Toyota engines they had rhe 1zz with 136hp, the NA 2ZZ with 192hp and the sc with 220hp
Audi 1.8t is a good swap not to hard and will leave most supercars at 500bhp. vr6 is a more extreme swap but 3.2 and sound is brilliant.
The guys on UA-cam.
It's almost the perfect car. It's just BAFFLING that they didn't give it the amazing 2ZZ upgrade motor with valve lift, higher revs, and 40 more HP.
I got the best of both worlds with my Celica GT-S because it has one and they sure as hell are cheaper than ANY MR2. Weight is just below 2,500 so she's perfect and very practical.
As for the leather seats? Mine are like a slip-n-slide. Only way I fixed it was to buy child's car seat slipmat and put a sheepskin cover over that, but even then you don't get much support.
Since the mk3 was for a different demographic the extra weight and cost would’ve made no sense as sad as it sounds
Also this mr2 with the 2zz🤤 perfecto
Bro is so excited to be there. So cool man.
I own one of these and i can also confirm that suspension feels very soft. Otherwise great driving experience and performance for what it is
great for bumpy back roads
Love all models of the MR2 awesome car.
Very quick mr2 👍
You can tell he really loves that car 😅