Input on mkii MR2 Turbo?

[Kenshi]

Hey everyone,

I apologize for being slightly off-topic, but I'm currently looking for input on the 1991-1995 MR2 Turbo. I know these cars have a lot of potential due to the 3SGTE, but I'm mostly interested in how they would serve as a daily driver.

1) If looking at a used one, what should I look out for? I've read that the turbo may need to be replaced, any info on cost?

2) How well does the rest of the car hold up with age? I know it's a Toyota, but mechanical objects have to deal with wear and tear.

3) Where are some good sources on the internet for information?

Thanks for any input.

http://board.mr2faq.com/

[Maelfyn]

My Dad used to have one long ago and I loved that damn car! I liked it more than any corvette or Viper he has owned. 2nd gen MR2s are sweet. I can't say anything bad about them.

[yakkosmurf]

If the car has been taken care of, it will last just fine. The stock turbo is not very good, and does have some reliability problems. Most of the turbo's problems come from people not properly maintaining it. You're looking at a few thousand dollars to replace the turbo. It's tricky to get the old one out, but it can be done in an afternoon. I recommend just getting a turbo upgrade. Add a simple boost controller and the car will be much faster than stock. If you find a MkII turbo in good shape, snap it up quick. I've been looking for a while. The only ones I know of are owned by friends of mine and they aren't selling. :(

[2000 XYR]

Look for a 1993 and up. I don't recall all of the differences, but Toyota made several upgrades in 1993. I've also heard that the stock turbos are crap and when they go out to upgrade to a nicer bigger one. I'd buy one if I found a "decent" one around. Most of them I see or hear about are 1991's though. Must've made a ton of them in '91.

[yakkosmurf]

I would prefer a 91 or 92. The changes they made in 93 were to the rear suspension. They tried to make the car less tail happy, but in the process made it handle more poorly on the race track. They just made it harder for the inexperienced drivers to lose control. I don't want that.

[jlevy]

I agree with Yakko, the 91 or 92 has a better rear suspension setup. If I remember right, one of the later years did get some 2 piston front calipers on the turbo model. T-top models have been known to develop cracks, but sunroof turbos are harder to find. My 91 is an N/A, but the handling on these cars is very good (even with nothing special Dunlops and a bone stock suspension).

Oh, and the last time I rebuilt a turbo (87 RX-7), a kit with two bearings and a couple of gaskets cost about $120.00. It was a real pain getting the compressor wheel off the shaft, but other than that the rebuild was pretty easy. That turbo was still singin' its song when I sold the car 50,000 miles later.

www.mr2.com is an excellent source of info.

[2000 XYR]

Ooops. Sorry, guess I had the right year changes, but the wrong info. :(

[Kenshi]

I think I will try to pick up a 1991 MR2, as they are more common and the original suspension is tuned to reward skilled driving. The greatest difficulty is finding one with low miles, but I guess I can live with it.

Thanks for all the replies!

[Luni420]

Dude if you can get your hands on one, do it. I flew all the way from Utah to Michigan the week that the World Trade Center was ruined and put up with all sorts of airport drama to get my MR2 Turbo then drove it the 1700 miles back to Utah. It is such a sweet car. Very much worth it. Even if you cant find one in perfect condition, they are worth every penny you can sink into them. Its one of the sweetest cars Toyota ever made. I love my MR2.

[Guerillah]

I have a 91 turbo 2. it is a very nie car, hasd the toyota reliability, but I would have personally gone with a 93. The 93 comes with a lsd and beefier brake calipers. The transmission on it is a whole lot better than a 92 or below will ever be. I have a greddy td06 20g setup on my car right now, once tuned should be a little over 300hp at the wheels on 15psi. They definately arent a car you can abuse like DSM's but they do hold their own. One thing for sure though, you'll always get looks in them. at least in mine I do :) Also, the stock turbo si only unreliable when people modify the internals like clipping them. They are water cooled and reliable as hell stock. It cost around $1600 for a td06 turbo kit. My car is a 91 but has 78K on the chassis, with 4500 on the motor now. So far everything is good... Good source for info is www.board.mr2faq.com or www.mr2.com . A good place to buy peformance parts for it is www.performanceartmotorsports.com . Check my site for more info on my car..

later

[Infinity78]

Hi guys,

I have a 91NA MR2 I bought in 1994 and its been an absolutely great car. I have 145k miles on it now and its still running strong. I haven't did much in the way of modification on it. It has amazing handling, but no power compared the turbo. If it was the turbo edition i would probably put some money into it, but the NA isn't worth it in my opinoin.

Getting a 93T is pretty hard. Getting a 94 or 95T is almost impossible. Go to www.mr2.com and look at the production stats on the 94 and above. They didn't make hardly any 94-95 turbo mr2s.

[msilvia]

Hey, just tuned in from lurking cuz I'm looking for an MR2T myself. I'm curious as to what you MR2 owners/shoppers see as the going rate for a '91ish turbo with, say, around 90K or so miles. Blue book value for private party sale is like $6k or so in excellent condition, but I see '91s selling online for $10K plus. What the hell?

Basically just wondering what you guys think the going rate is. What kind of prices are you seeing around?

[Infinity78]

Hi,

No thats too much. A 91NA would go from 2-3,000 depending on condition. a 91T would be prolly 4-6,000 also depending on condition. I wish I had a turbo, but im still glad I got the car. They have such amazing handling. There is an oversteer problem though that is the biggest drawback, but it was fixed in the 93+ with the Limited Slip Differential. Upgrading the turbo and modifying the wastegate you can get boost up to 14psi which is what i hear as being safe for the MR2. You might look at www.mr2.com or #mr2 on efnet. Those guys know what they are talking about. Anyway, at 14psi I think its 250HP to the wheels. If you find a 93T in good condition I would get it, because like i said the 94's and on are almost impossible to get considering how many they made.

[Kenshi]

Wow, I knew that there were a lot of Toyota fans on this board, but I didn't expect to get so much feedback!

Currently, I've located an MR2 Turbo in good condition, but the kicker is that it's out of state. Does anyone know how much it would cost to ship a car from Texas to Southern California?

Anyhoo, I had my heart set on a 6speed GTS, but due to financial concerns, it wasn't an option.

Thanks again!

[Kenshi]

Originally posted by msilvia
Hey, just tuned in from lurking cuz I'm looking for an MR2T myself. I'm curious as to what you MR2 owners/shoppers see as the going rate for a '91ish turbo with, say, around 90K or so miles. Blue book value for private party sale is like $6k or so in excellent condition, but I see '91s selling online for $10K plus. What the hell?

Basically just wondering what you guys think the going rate is. What kind of prices are you seeing around?

msilvia,

I think a large part of finding a decent price may have to do with your location. I live near L.A., which seems to have a high premium on sport compact cars and due to the size of the metropolitan area, contain a lot of high mileage cars. I saw a lot of MR2 Turbos in good condition for 8k+ with at least 100k miles.

[Infinity78]

I agree with that. Location is big. Try to get one in the southern states to avoid underbody rusting. Bluebook for my 91NA with 145k on it says about 2k. They are old cares but good cars. You don't see much of them around probably because they are 2 seaters. Its your call, but im personally thinking about a celica as my next car. I haven't got a chance to ask Larry, but I remember at the time he was having problems with his celica he was talking about selling it and getting something else. He said they had "too many problems" or something. I was just curious if he still had this opinoin. I guess I should post to him directly. Like I said #mr2 on efnet. Those guys know whats going on.


Inf

[Slade_Templar]

of course, i have to reply =)
I love my MR2, it is by far the most unique car i have ever owned, i mean, what other mid-engine rwd cars out there are turbo 4 cyls? When i am done tuning this next segment of mods, hopefully i will be in mid 12s along with 300rwhp. The car isnt the most fun to work on(i was laying inside of it almost changing a hose last night), and when you start making big power (which is pretty easy to do with the money) you really should address the cooling system (because recently it has been postulated that hot spots occur near the cylinder walls) and the intake manifold has been proven to have a problem with the runners, especially cylinder #3. But, if you have the money, everything can be fixed (obviously) and they are just so much fun to drive and a definate head turner (unless you have a ghetto exhaust like i used to haha). 3 mods (and appropriate gauges) and you can run high 13's if you are a good driver. Manual Boost Controller, Intake, Exhaust (gut the cats)... thats what i had when i ran my 13.9 with my mad shifting skillz. The car also eats rear tires, but thats fine with me =)
All in all, i love my car and that probably explains why i spend so much money on it! Me and V8Eater (450rwhp) are gonna show Kansas what MR2 PoWaH is all about next spring!