The Revision 1 SW20 MR2 is... twitchy.

Kinja'd!!! "Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
04/17/2018 at 07:27 • Filed to: None

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I bought one for work and while the car is good and fairly fast (JDM NA SW20 produced around 170hp instead of 130hp in the US), that car is quite sketchy around or over the limit... I didn’t get that feeling with the much more powerful (and LSD equipped) Revision 2 Turbo SW20 but that NA Rev1... hum... Not sure what to think of it. I know many people who’d crash it in a heartbeat hahaha

The car is most likely sold... but still, weird car, weird dynamics.


DISCUSSION (10)


Kinja'd!!! MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Flavien Vidal
04/17/2018 at 07:50

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It’s the short rear toe arms. As the rear suspension unloads, the short length of the arms causes the rear wheels to toe out, making it very tail-happy. Some people actually prefer it, kinda like people do with AP1 vs AP2 S2000 suspension.


Kinja'd!!! Flavien Vidal > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig
04/17/2018 at 08:02

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It would be fine if coupled with a LSD... but with the open-diff...


Kinja'd!!! OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Flavien Vidal
04/17/2018 at 08:14

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Toyota has a habit of messing up the suspension in the first series of a car and then figuring it masterfully in the facelift. 2008-2010 ISF wasn’t tail happybut rode way to hard, and then figured out for 2011


Kinja'd!!! Flavien Vidal > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
04/17/2018 at 08:29

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I’d like to try a turbo SW20 as they all came with a LSD... but a twitchy car with an open-dif is asking for problems haha


Kinja'd!!! cbell04 > Flavien Vidal
04/17/2018 at 08:46

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I spun my parents 91 na mr2 out pulling out of a car wash across a 4 lane road. Lucky all was well but man did I have a moment.


Kinja'd!!! Flavien Vidal > cbell04
04/17/2018 at 08:59

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hahaha I go over this in the video actually :)
Scare the hell out of a teen once in a car... That teen should drive that same car very safely afterward!


Kinja'd!!! MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Flavien Vidal
04/17/2018 at 14:01

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To be fair I never had the power of a turbo, but my MK1 SC with an open diff at 150rwhp has never really lacked for rear grip. I’m sure an LSD is nice, but in my (fairly limited) experience, the MR2 is not as desperate for an LSD as most front-engine cars are.


Kinja'd!!! Nauraushaun > Flavien Vidal
04/17/2018 at 23:20

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Oddly I disagree. I have the exact same car, a 1990 JDM non turbo. It loves to go sideways in the wet but I blame that on old tyres. In the dry it’s fairly grippy and predictable too, great fun to get the bum out.

And I’m not a good driver ;)


Kinja'd!!! Flavien Vidal > Nauraushaun
04/18/2018 at 00:00

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A friend of mine is a MR2 specialist and has been for over 20 years... he told me the car not having staggered tires plays a big role in how it felt. It’s got 195 all around, and it needs wider tires in the rear, ideally 225... Not if it’s the only reason, but yeah, I still pushed the car pretty decently at times, especially downhill and it just didn’t feel “fun”...


Kinja'd!!! Nauraushaun > Flavien Vidal
04/18/2018 at 23:09

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They do have staggered tires from the factory though don’t they?

I drive a lot less cars than you but I think it’s fantastic fun. Particularly when turning right on a big roundabout. I like to come in a bit hot and turn in a bit hard, feel the front come loose and wait for the back to follow suit