randedge
08-27-2007, 09:14 PM
I own a later model MR2 aw11 with the 7 rib 4AGE. Body is beat as heck, but motor runs crazy strong for something with 224,000km. Must be because it was all synthetic since I got the car 160,000km 5 years ago.
Mods include 2.5" exhaust that follows the stock route - no cat - and a short ram intake.
Lately, I've been expressing interest in Supercharged MR2's.
So far, in the City of Calgary, I've test driven two stock ones that were for sale. The first one was almost 300,000kms and this one just an hour ago had 160,000
The really really high mileage one, felt like it did have more torque down below. I mean, I was expecting it to be so weak due to the age, but was surprised that it was still alive and kicking so well. This car was beat however and would have been best as a parts car. The price wasn't much for a runner, but too much for a parts car. Hence, why I didn't end up with it...
Some other things besides more torque down low stand out: It isn't rev happy. The flywheel feels like it weighs a ton and the ratios feel like they're spaced so far apart. And I think as a combination of all this, the car just doesn't surge to the redline the same way my 88 stripper NA does. The overall feel was that it just ISN'T that much faster despite better off the line performance - which was marginal to begin with.
So, I waited for a chance to be able to test drive a younger, also bone stock SC. Hoping that maybe because the beat one I test drove had such high mileage, a fresher example would be better.
Today I got that chance and once again... it just doesn't feel that much faster!
Another local guy has this SC that's modified with pulley, exhaust, and computer work. His car really put me back to my seat when I rode with him in Autox. I expected at least some semblance of that.
But what I got from this stock SC with 160,000km was just an overall feeling of pork! I did keep in mind that my daily driven 88NA has much stiffer suspension (something to the tune of twice the stock rates) so I just tried to judge the car's reactions straight line and on the highway. My impression? Underwhelming. I was expecting a harder push. I was expecting a rush of power.
Nothing! Ahhh! Are SC's really not that much faster? Or are these two examples just flukes that are particularly weak? I wish I could drag race my car side by side for a definitive test.
My loyalty to the AW11 chassis is being shaken. If the SC doesn't offer much more, I might just pursue something else for more power.
Mods include 2.5" exhaust that follows the stock route - no cat - and a short ram intake.
Lately, I've been expressing interest in Supercharged MR2's.
So far, in the City of Calgary, I've test driven two stock ones that were for sale. The first one was almost 300,000kms and this one just an hour ago had 160,000
The really really high mileage one, felt like it did have more torque down below. I mean, I was expecting it to be so weak due to the age, but was surprised that it was still alive and kicking so well. This car was beat however and would have been best as a parts car. The price wasn't much for a runner, but too much for a parts car. Hence, why I didn't end up with it...
Some other things besides more torque down low stand out: It isn't rev happy. The flywheel feels like it weighs a ton and the ratios feel like they're spaced so far apart. And I think as a combination of all this, the car just doesn't surge to the redline the same way my 88 stripper NA does. The overall feel was that it just ISN'T that much faster despite better off the line performance - which was marginal to begin with.
So, I waited for a chance to be able to test drive a younger, also bone stock SC. Hoping that maybe because the beat one I test drove had such high mileage, a fresher example would be better.
Today I got that chance and once again... it just doesn't feel that much faster!
Another local guy has this SC that's modified with pulley, exhaust, and computer work. His car really put me back to my seat when I rode with him in Autox. I expected at least some semblance of that.
But what I got from this stock SC with 160,000km was just an overall feeling of pork! I did keep in mind that my daily driven 88NA has much stiffer suspension (something to the tune of twice the stock rates) so I just tried to judge the car's reactions straight line and on the highway. My impression? Underwhelming. I was expecting a harder push. I was expecting a rush of power.
Nothing! Ahhh! Are SC's really not that much faster? Or are these two examples just flukes that are particularly weak? I wish I could drag race my car side by side for a definitive test.
My loyalty to the AW11 chassis is being shaken. If the SC doesn't offer much more, I might just pursue something else for more power.