"phenotyp" (phenotyp)
12/17/2015 at 00:09 • Filed to: Photo, MR2, Toyota, IT, computers | 1 | 13 |
Got the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! all up and runnin, finally.
Doing some quick performance tests on some pics of the only car I will ever love.
So far so good. Music drive is going, three new drives all copied over intact, drivers reinstalled, pretty pictures possible again.
BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> phenotyp
12/17/2015 at 00:23 | 0 |
Such a good idea.
Such a let down to anyone who needs to haul a passenger and a couple bags of groceries at a time. Or sense enough not to want a dimpled plastic interior.
Tested one, wanted to love it, but just couldn’t pull the trigger. Have had an NB Miata for 14 years instead.
AW and SW MR2s had two trunks. ZZW30 had none.
Arguably FT86 should have been a UW40 MR2, with a choice of 4U-GSE or 4U-GTE engine. (toyota equivalent codes for the Subaru FA20 and FA20DIT)
it could have been a half-price alternative to Porsche 718 before Porsche even considered reviving the name 718.
phenotyp
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
12/17/2015 at 00:30 | 0 |
Mine was my car for 8+ years.
Too tall for a Miata— I’ve driven caged racers, super/turbo/charged... no way I could live with that. If I had money I didn’t care about, I’d have kept this car forever. The custom bracing and canvas top transformed it, and, yeah, they could have done some amazing stuff with it. But the fact that they made it at all is the most amazing.
phenotyp
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
12/17/2015 at 00:33 | 0 |
The dimpled plastic shit is shit, though. totally.
BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> phenotyp
12/17/2015 at 00:43 | 0 |
I am a big fan of almost all affordable mid-engined cars, even Fiero, which seems to be a ‘whipping-boy’ to most. I do like the MR2 Spyder, but I wish it had been much more successful by being more compelling.
SW20 MR2 is on my short want list.
The only killer on MR2 Spyder for us was the lack of an actual trunk, front or rear. The MR2 does have the outright performance edge, but at slightly too high a practicality cost. I would buy one as a club sport racer, though. And I’d wish it would dave the 2ZZ, 6-speed and LSD transaxle, rather than 1ZZ engine.
The Miata’s trunk is tiny, but at least enough to carry two people and their luggage for a weekend, or some groceries.
I am 6’2”, nearly 6’3”, with a 31” inseam, and I can drive an NB miata. It is a bit of a contortion to get in and out with the roof up, but do-able. I am sure I look ridiculous to passers-by, but I couldn’t care less. The seat does have to be all the way back, and the back angle reclined against the bulkhead. NC and ND Miatas are actually a little more generous between the door card and the center console.
phenotyp
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
12/17/2015 at 02:12 | 1 |
My driver’s seat was always 3/4 back from the pedals, with the backrest all the way to the bulkhead. I had about 3-4” of headroom.
Luggage space, though— my mom once took a taxi from the airport, and the driver asked her why I hadn’t just picked her up. Hard to explain that her bag would have fit, or she would have, but not both.
I did, though, transport some big monitors and a really nice table in it, with the top down.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> phenotyp
12/17/2015 at 07:56 | 0 |
Yeah that whole not being able to pick someone up from the airport would be annoying to me. I often pick my girlfriend up from the airport using my Miata. The trunk is perfectly sized for one full sized suitcase. Plus I still have a small tool kit plus a backpack in there at the same time. I have a luggage rack for when I need to transport two full sized suitcases which is nice for much longer trips. I never feel like I need more space with my Miata but I could not imagine managing with less.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> phenotyp
12/17/2015 at 07:58 | 0 |
I love seeing these (moreso the older ones) at Auto-x. They always seem like a lot of fun since its much more squirrelly and willing to toss the rear end around. What is maintenance like with this engine placement?
phenotyp
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/17/2015 at 10:00 | 1 |
Yeah, that was probably the only thing that I didn’t like about the MR2. I live less than 5 miles from the airport here, but it always required a taxi. It’s pretty much just a bike with 4 wheels.
phenotyp
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/17/2015 at 10:03 | 0 |
In 8.5+ years, the only problems I ever had were an evap return sensor (caused a CEL), and a snapped engine lid cable (that one took about 3 hrs of labor for a $5 part, since it snakes from the footwell back around the firewall, and up and back to the latch). Otherwise, it’s just a backwards Corolla. Easy to work on, tons of room around the engine— it’s pretty amazing how easy it was.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> phenotyp
12/17/2015 at 14:16 | 0 |
never thought of it that way, a backwards corolla. Do you access the engine via the trunk (I guess hood really)? Or is it from the interior somehow like in a Previa. I broke the engine lid cable on my Civic when I first bought it. Ended up just rigging a short cable to right behind the license plate because there was no way in hell I was going to rerun that.
phenotyp
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/17/2015 at 14:27 | 0 |
That whole back panel just pops up.
(not my pic, obvs)
Easy to get to everything, lots of room to spare. Only PITA is the tower brace that partially blocks the oil filler.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> phenotyp
12/17/2015 at 14:42 | 0 |
Yeah that looks like a little bit of a pain if you had to pull something heavy out of there. Maybe like an alternator or something heavier, since you have to bend over pretty far. But yeah it doesn’t look too bad for most things! It really is like a backwards corolla!
phenotyp
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/17/2015 at 14:47 | 1 |
Pull off the underbody tray (“diaper”) and it’s easy to get anything underneath, too. I made it harder by installing a full underbody brace, but still not bad.