Alright Guys, In a HUGE Dilema MKII MR2-T vs. My S14a HELP!

[gotime242]

Slider - I dont know much about un-even tire wear being a problem. Im on a mr2 forum as well, and have been for the last 2 years and i have never in my life heard of un-even tire wear being a problem. And open diff might contribute to it, but thats about it, theres no real problem. MOST-all 93+ came with LSD.

The improvement you are talking about is the suspension, and this was improved in 1993. 91-92 mr2s had a problem with snap-oversteer. And in 93, toyota re-did the suspension to have it be more predictable, and grip a little more. Its also 1" lower than the 91/92's due to all this. The transmission was also re-done, because the 91/92's had weak syncros, the 93's transmission shifts like fluid, and has VERY short throw. (shorter than my 91 w/ short shifter installed. ) The taillights were updated in 1994.

So yeah, this particular mr2 does have the upgraded suspension to correct most of the oversteer you all have been mentioning. I, as many others, have had my horrible run-ins with oversteer.

It was late one night, i was driving on a empty road next to cow pastures, pushing it faster than i should. The road was still damp from an early night rain. So there i was, flying around a corner, and boom...it happend. The rear started to slip a TINY bit, and i hit the brakes a little bit, and the rear snapped out faster than anything you could imagine. All of a sudden the i was sliding backwards, and the car started spinning. The flew off the road at over 100 mph, into a ditch, which launched me through a barb-wire fence, and into a cow pasture, destroying my two thousand dollar paint job, and perfect stock-bodies mr2. I hate what happend, and i take full respondsibility. I never do anything like that anymore. Dont get me wrong though, this was at 2 in the mornign, no cars/ traffic/ racing what ever. A open road, with a minor bend, only surrounded by cow pastures for miles in the middle of no-where.

I didnt file a report, so i had no help from insurance. I spent the next 5-6 months fixing it myself, in my driveway, out of my pocket (had to get a loan as well). THats why theres a body kit on it now, i installed that myself, as it was cheaper than all new oem bumpers. There wasnt any mechanical damage, only a ton of bodywork, and a couple flat tires. Here are some pics:(56k warning)

Before:http://www.eniety.com/pichost/pic/DCP_0043.JPG

After: http://www.eniety.com/pichost/pic/mr2crash2.jpg

Another 5-6 months...http://www.eniety.com/pichost/pic/DCP_0018.JPG

Now!! w00t (800 dollar macco paint job, all i could afford, but came out pretty good as i am good terms with the manager. Full wet sand and buff, lifetime warrenty, and good job.)

http://www.eniety.com/pichost/pic/d44.jpg

[ESPER]

IMHO i would keep the 240. i too knew about someone who died in an mr2 due too oversteer. also, one time this guy in a SOUPED up mr2 was at an intersection with me checking out my car and when his light turned green he tired to show off by accelerating during his turn but his rear end started to come out and he quickly tried to counter steer and his car started wiglling everywhere hahaha my friend has a nice one though

but basically the MR2 gives youMid Rear engine for sharp cornering (not for novices though)already comes with turbo so it cheaper to make horsepower if thats what u really want

the 240has nuetral handling overall easy to auto x, drift, track, mountain, whatever

average power, but expenisve to turbo or engine swapFR purity

both are great looking respectable sprots cars in their stck form

[gotime242]

Im glad my bro gets to hear about how easy it is to lose it in this car, because im sure he thought i was some kind of idiot to lose the rear-end in an mr2. Now he knows, NOW HE KNOWS!!!!

:ylsuper

[SHiFT]

yes I know, but I knew before. But as you said, 100mph braking, so that means well over 100 around the corner... while that road was 45, so...i dunno what to tell ya, live and learn I guess, we all have.

[Nebraska240sx]

i retract my previous statement, if you can have both for free... then do it. or sell the mr2 and get a turbo kit for your 240.

do not get rid of the 240... you will hate your self, ask anyone who has gotten rid of one.

[SHiFT]

i cannot have both for free and by selling the family MR2 elsewhere I get zero money.

[Slippery S14]

I think everything good and bad has been pointed out. The MR-2 really is a great car. I think its all up to you now

Good Luck on your decision. I sorta envy that you have this dilemna. :P

-Slip

[SHiFT]

Yeah, you're right. When I get home I'll weigh everything side by side, and see what I come up with. I think I want the speed and turbo, since aesthetically they're both awesome cars. We'll see what happens, thanks for everyones input, this has become a HUGE thread:ylsuper

[GELLIS2586]

How much you selling the MR-2 for. I'm interested if I can sell my 240 first. How many miles does it have and what is the overall condition. Do you have more pics if so can you E-mail them to me at [email protected] thanks.

[gotime242]

http://www.nicoclub.com/forums...44500

There you go, its all the info and some more pictures.

Asking 7900, its got 79k miles on it, and overall condition is awsome. I emailed you the link as well, just incase. Let me know if you need anything.

-Dylan

[SHiFT]

Well guys, its over, I got the MR2 after all. Thanks for the help in all this, it had the better part of this decision. I posted some pics below of the new car.

[BomexS13]

Good choice;)

[Shnitz]

hey, i realize that this has been pretty much answered, but go for the mr2 in my opinion. the turbo engine in the mr2 is basically the best 4-cylinder, it whoops the sr's and ca's up and down. the reason i got a 240? price. wow, i cant believe you s14 guys, spending that much on your car, considering how much is needed to make it faster. i only decided 240 because i got it used from the dealership for 2300 out the door. if i was spending $10k plus on a car, it sure as hell wouldn't be a company's bottom of the line sports car, you could have gotten 300zx's, rx7's, etc.anyways, back to the mr2. yeah, so it's an amazing car, get used to its handling quirks, a guy i used to work for had a turbo one, totalled it. but if i had the money right now, i'd be in a supra or mr2 (both having engines considered to be the best in their class) instead of going for nissan (which is in no way bad, i love my car, and from what i hear about the ca18, it's a great engine) but it's just no comparison, toyota makes just awesome vehicles.

[theronin]

shoulda stuck with the s14 man. mr2's come and go but the class of a well taken care of s14 will never die. you will yearn for your s14 in about 6 months mark my words.

[SHiFT]

Oh I already do, I love both cars. However, I took the S14 and MR2 out at the same time with my brother. We drove around, switched off and so forth. I've had the 240 for 6 months or so, and the MR2 for two weeks. I already like how the MR2 drives more than the 240. This opinion isn't bias, seeing as I've put all my money, time, and effort into my white 97. I'm a college student, and don't have that much money to play around with. I really wanted turbo, and the 3S-GTE engine doesn't get much better as far as a 4 cylinder turbo. It is better than the SR as said above, and toyota makes a damn good car. My brother found this MR2 for $5,000. White, black front lip, basically just the same as my 97, pretty ironic. It has new turbo/AC/clutch as well, which will last as long as the car does from this point. It's super strong, I've already walked 230whp eclipses to 100 mph. All I have is an ebay intake and it's running 9lbs stock (170~ whp). If I ever turboed the 240 I'd have to spend about 4 grand, whichever engine I chose. Thats not just engine, thats putting in LSD and everything too. I can't afford that nor can I go through the hastle in college. I know my limitations as far as working on cars also, I know information but don't have first hand experience doing extensive engine work. It was an extremely hard decision but I do not look back in the fact that I made the right one given the situation. I miss it yes, but naturally thats how it will go after you've put so much work and time into anything. The car is still for sale at this point as well, check out these links for more information -

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....45926

Thanks all, its great to get so much input.

[thx247]

Mr2's come and go?

Clean MR2's do not come and go lol. I think I looked for a clean MR2 for maybe 8 months before I decided on getting a 240 instead.

[SHiFT]

exactly. 3,655 1997 240SX's were manufacturered here in the states, only 2,900 1993 MR2 Turbo's were made in that year. Take a big percentage off for wrecks, and you have a heavily exotic car.

[theronin]

so did you get it cause it was exotic? or did you get it cause it was the better car for you?

[SHiFT]

Because it was a better car for me. My 240sx was also one of a kind, so rarity is not my concern since they both have it. If you read like 3 posts back, I was providing data in regards to the comment on MR2s coming and going...

[nebula]

this is a little different from what I've been told from a considerable amount of people. I once was really into mr2's but after some tuners they had told me how difficult it was to work on the rear engine; no space whatsoever. That if someone wanted to work on the engine it had to be completely dropped out of the car. I also heard that the weight distribution was way off due to the large amount of weight in rear; thus the car will spin out or dive in after great amounts of speed. can someone confirm this because if its not true I still want that mr2 ......

[Touchdown038]

Oversteer is a lot greater on the MR2... but can easily be corrected by countersteering faster.

Learned that from the drift bible baby!

[SILVER97LE]

Just seeing this thread for the first time...

I saw that your car is on autotrader.com. MAKE SURE you want to sell that ride man. In my opinion that is the PERFECT 240. White, 5-spd, LE... You are not going to find another one like it. I had a '92 S13 SE 5-SPD and bought what I thought was a better car. I regretted it and spent over a year finding my current 97 S14 LE 5-SPD. I have toyed with selling it and rebuilding a couple of wrecked S14's, but I think I'm going to keep this one.

Just make sure and don't get screwed on the selling price of your 240. I think it is worth $11,400 all day long.

If you are definatly keeping the MR2, go away trader! Your boys at mr2.org are waiting....ONLY KIDDING!

[Onizuka]

I really wanted turbo, and the 3S-GTE engine doesn't get much better as far as a 4 cylinder turbo. It is better than the SR as said above, and toyota makes a damn good car.

I dunno, Whats the most anyone has gotten out of the stock bottom end of a 3S-GTE? Right now Enjuku has 544 hp of the stock bottom end of a SR...

[Speed-Techniques]

I hate you all, I used to have an MR2, a white 91 turbo, damn it was sweet too, I invested like 8k in that car... and I sold it... now I'm getting all nostalgic, I swear if you punks make me search ebay motors or autotrader, I'm stopping after the first page...

[erollinc]

i say you keep the 240 and turbocharge it or swap an SR ...... i suggest finding a turbo 240 to drive before you jump to a mr2.... the handling will be dramaticly different....... especially if you are into drifting

[SHiFT]

Well, the MR2 was a better choice for me. Money was a big issue, and not having a turbo a non turbo car from the start was worth it for me too. As far as the the 3SGTE bottom end, it's the same or even more capable than the SR, toyota makes freakin sweet engines. And this MR2 is SOOO easy to mod to get fast quick. Intake, Exhaust, and Boost Controller = 13s. for dragging its great because of all the weight in the rear sitting on the tires. I just wanted a turbo car without the hastle because I'm in college and low on money..which brings me to my next subject:

My 1997 240SX 5spd is still for sale! Some deals fell through and it's back up for grabs. Check this link for all the info:

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....45926

Accepting all offers, you can email or call me so we can discuss it. Once again, the car is in perfect condition and comes with clean and rare mods. As stated above, you won't find one like this again.

-Erin

[Onizuka]

You can get 13s with a stock sr, hell, enjuku got a 12.80 on the stock turbo + a few bolt ons. Im just haggling you though . Sweet buy with the MR2, I love those things. Its probably is the better car for you too if you dont have enough time to screw around with swaps and such. Good luck with selling your s14, I hope another Niconaut gives it a good home.

:thumbup

[SILVER97LE]

FYI,

My brother's friend will pay $9,000 for it. He would pay the full price, but he's on 16 and that is all the money he has. Just something to keep in your back pocket in case too much time passes.

[180fan]

Getting the 3s was a good choice. They're both good choices, just that the 3s is a ***** to work on. Might want to have a gander at a black mr2 called "the beast" it's rather impressive. The 3s does have its weaknesses, cast iron pistons. A buddy of mine ran a 300rwhp mr2 into a pole recently and I do have to say that they can take a beating.

BTW if you've worked on some of the newer toyotas, you'll see their build quality going down. also you might want to have a look at your turbo. I'm not too familiar with USDM spec 3s's as I've been working on the JDM 3s, but you might want to look into getting the mkIII ceramic turbo the ct20 and the newer injectors along with the jdm ecu to hit that 245hp base. Cut the EGR and you've got yourself a JDM spec 3s...well minus the part that says "ceramic turbo" on the valve cover...

[Antyoo]

Getting the 3s was a good choice. They're both good choices, just that the 3s is a ***** to work on. Might want to have a gander at a black mr2 called "the beast" it's rather impressive. The 3s does have its weaknesses, cast iron pistons. A buddy of mine ran a 300rwhp mr2 into a pole recently and I do have to say that they can take a beating.

BTW if you've worked on some of the newer toyotas, you'll see their build quality going down. also you might want to have a look at your turbo. I'm not too familiar with USDM spec 3s's as I've been working on the JDM 3s, but you might want to look into getting the mkIII ceramic turbo the ct20 and the newer injectors along with the jdm ecu to hit that 245hp base. Cut the EGR and you've got yourself a JDM spec 3s...well minus the part that says "ceramic turbo" on the valve cover...

the 3rd gen 3sgte turbo will bolt to a mr2 3sgte

but the ecu will not be plug and play.

mr2 uses MAF

3rd gen 3sgte uses a MAP

mr2 has tvis

3rd gen 3sgte does not.

the head and compression ratio along with the intake manifold would have to be changed to make a 2nd gen 3sgte like a 3rd gen 3sgte.

ct20 turbos are rare, and its only a little better than the ct26

if you want an easy turbo upgrade, get a mk3 supra turbo, ct26 .60 trim. good for modest power goals.