I've been reading posts for about a week now. Just signed up.
Who I am:
I'm 24, I'm a full time student going for anesthesiology nursing (CRNA), part time worker. I live in Hoboken NJ with my hard working GF/sugarmama while I finish school lol. I should be full time next year working CardioVas ICU. I like good music, snowboarding, guitar, EAGLES!!! (JUST WON BABY!)
What I'm doing here:
I was driving a 99.5 A4 1.8t quattro with turbo upgrade, tune, whole nine but 2 weeks ago messed up the trans pretty bad. It would cost me over $2,000 to have a shop do it, or I could do it myself this summer for around $700... So I decided to get myself a 91 MR2 till then since I've always liked them and it seems perfect for my needs.
This is what I got:
91 MR2 n/a 5spd. Bought it off of the original owner who garaged it every winter and only used it to drive to work 90mins away (130k miles). It has a clean carfax and was freshly painted black (original color) like 4 years ago. It is like new inside and out! I'm very excited to have found a car I've always wanted in such amazing shape. I got it for $2,900 which I think is just fine for what great shape it is in.
Plans:
I'm sure everyone that buys a n/a right away thinks SWAP! Maybe later down the road sure, I've been looking at all possible swaps, V6, 3s-gte (2nd and 3rd gen) Once I get my audi back on the road I'll prob sell it and get myself something new and make the MR2 the toy to tinker with. I'll go 2nd gen swap. It seems like the most dependable and easiest to gain power if thats what I wanna do.
This looks like the best forum for MR2 info and I look forward to joinin the community.
Welcome to Toyota Nation
Glad to have another MR2 owner here. Though your post is more of an introduction and would probably been better to post it in the " Introduce Yourself Here" Section.
We're glad you could join us and look forward to your participation.
Welcome to the board. Sounds like a nice find, too.
V6 swaps are costly and difficult. I'd recommend the gen3 3SGTE if you can get it past whatever smog laws they have in your part of the country. Otherwise, the gen2 can easily be pushed to ~275rwhp on the stock fuel and internals.
You'll have a lot of fun with the NA... does it have stock suspension and brakes?
My bad on the wrong forum, I was lookin at the Gen 3 but wouldn't it be easier to get parts for the gen 2, I mean i still have time we'll see, $ for $ I think you can get the gen2 running more power then the Gen3 swap with newer parts and easier access to parts. The car itself is bone stock.. This guy took real good care of it, nice older guy. It had the timing belt, alternator, clutch and battery replaced in the last year too. I'm thinkin I got one hell of a deal. I'll get pics up asap
I'm thinkin I got one hell of a deal. I'll get pics up asap
sounds like it
if you want >300 whp, a 3rd gen will be good. after that, you're going to be changing enough parts, that a gen2 will do.
main differences on 3rd gen: no afm! (<i hate this thing!), ct20b, intake mani (not much better), cams
cams and turbo get changed and the gen 2 will be about equal. another advantage to the gen2 is ATS racing's rom tune for gen 2's. can get 350 whp out of them. even get 2 fuel maps.
if you want >300 whp, a 3rd gen will be good. after that, you're going to be changing enough parts, that a gen2 will do.
main differences on 3rd gen: no afm! (<i hate this thing!), ct20b, intake mani (not much better), cams
cams and turbo get changed and the gen 2 will be about equal. another advantage to the gen2 is ATS racing's rom tune for gen 2's. can get 350 whp out of them. even get 2 fuel maps.
I think you mean <300 whp and I totally agree. The other big difference between the generations is the fuel system. The gen2 has 440 injectors while the gen3 has 550s and a redesigned fuel rail with less pressure drop. That's the main reason the gen2 maxes out around 275whp in stock form.
If you want high power levels, look into using a 5SFE block with a 3SGTE head. The 5S is stronger and the added .2L displacement will help spool whatever monster turbo you go with. Combine that with an EMS that eliminates the AFM and the gen2 will be just as good as the gen3.
Yea I don't need all that.. To be honest I'm pretty impressed with just how this 5sfe handles itself now. I'd rather just get a gen 2 locally fix it up with easy to get parts and drop it in. With the extra $ I save I'll replace the weaker parts and they'll be new parts instead of the gen3's old "better" parts. All this isnt gonna happen for a while anyway, who knows next year someone could come up with an even better swap.
Other than parts availability and cost, there's no reason to choose a gen2 over a gen3. The gen3 is a better engine.
If you upgrade the engine aren't you just going to replace the parts that make the gen3 better anyway? Here is how I see it:
If you put an extra $1500 and some work into a gen2 you can get close to 300hp
A gen3 costs around $1500 more then a gen2 and you'll only have 250hp (plus you'll still be running old parts)
Besides the first thing you are gonna do when you get a used engine is start replacing stuff making it run like new. Maybe some people can justify the extra money and harder to locate parts the slightly more difficult swap and the higher difficulty to pass inspection, but if you're just going to change out the parts anyway why make life more difficult? Just so you can say you have a Gen3? I'm over it.
And on another point.. Since the gen3 parts are better to begin with, if you upgrade them you wont feel quite as much power by adding an equal part to a gen2. If you switch out the cams for example you might gain say 20hp on the gen3 but you'll gain 30 on the gen2 (these numbers may night be right, they are just for example).. Personally I love the feeling of driving a car after upgrades and really feeling the car pull. I'd much rather have a slightly lower performing engine so when I do upgrade the parts I can really feel all that extra horsepower.
Save the extra money by doing a gen2 swap then run circles around the guys running the gen3 when you put the extra money back into the gen2, And when the gen3 guy breaks down cause he was running old parts you just keep on driving cause you just upgraded your engine with all new parts.
The big difference when you start going for more power is the head. The gen3 head is better designed and has better flow. If you're going to be swapping out the fuel system, intake, turbo, exhaust, cams, etc... you will really benefit from the better head at those power levels.
The money you save from buying a gen2 probably won't allow you to upgrade it beyond a stock gen3.
Both are good engines but the gen3 is better.
For a cheap build, I'd go gen2 + eBay turbo. If I was interested in the highest quality, I'd definitely want a gen3.
(and there's always the gen4 but that's not very backwards compatible and very hard to get parts for outside of Japan)
If you're worried about passing inspections, get a stock gen2. Gen3s won't pass inspection because they didn't ever come in USDM cars. And most modded gen2s won't pass visual inspection if your state has it.
You're in Jersey so you have it easier than me. I don't know what your smog inspections are like, but Cali is the worst in the nation in terms of strictness. By the time you're modifying the engine to get serious power out of it, you'll need a "friend" to get it smogged or return it to stock every 2 years.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
ToyotaNation.com is an independent Toyota/Lexus enthusiast website. ToyotaNation.com is not sponsored by or in any way affiliated with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The Toyota, Lexus and Scion names and logos are trademarks owned by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Forum for every generation Toyota MR2. Including the AW11 and SW20.
Linear Mode
