MR2 Setup

'01 Nats Setup

Driving Tips

SFR Solo2

Autox Photos

2001 Nationals

MR2 General Setup Tips
Since I first wrote this section I have stopped running my '91 and started running a '93. Most of the below info is based on what I ran on my '91. See my 2001 Nationals Setup for '93+ setup.

Tires | Sway Bar | Shocks | Alignment | Exhaust | Air Filter

"R" Tires
$500-$800/set

If you are a beginner autocrosser don't waste the money just yet. Most novice classes won't let you run "Competition" Tires (tires with very low treadware and a soft compound). I ran my first half season on cheap 195/60/HR14s all the way around and had a blast. You will lock up your wheels under braking and you will spin the car on many occasions as you learn to drive it quickly. These things will make competition tires wear very quickly; locking up the brakes can ruin a brand new set of Hoosiers immediately.

Once you have some experience on the track invest in a second set of rims (try xcars.com) and buy a set of Kumhos in sizes 195/55/14 (f) and 205/55/14 (r) for a '91-'92 or 205/50/15 (f) and 225/50/15 (r) for '93+ MR2s. Kumhos are almost as quick as Hoosiers (approx 0.5 sec difference), cost about $200 less a set, and will last many, many times longer. Any tire shop should be able to install them. Make sure they are installed with the correct side out. Though marked "R" and "L", Kumhos are no longer directional (they just didn't change the molds). However, make sure the wide treadblocks get mounted on the outside. Tirerack.com has pretty good prices and their shipping is incredibly quick.

Hoosiers are very light weight very soft competition tires. If you are planning on competing at regional and/or national events you will need a set of these to be competitive. They are made in wider sizes for the '91-'92 MR2--205/55/14 (f) and 225/55/14 (r)--though you will most likely need to run 1/4" spacers (stock-class legal) up front so the wide tire won't rub on the strut. For a '93+ MR2 Hoosiers come in 205/50/15 (f) and 225/45/15 (r), though some people squeeze the 225s on the front. Hoosiers are more or less slicks with two grooves carved in them and they are made of an extremely soft compound that is very grippy and in turn doesn't last very long. If you look at the results from the 2000 nationals every C Stock car in the top 25 was running Hoosiers.
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Stiffer Front Sway Bar
$175

SCCA Stock class rules only allow modification/replacement to the front sway bar on any car. Most '91 and '92 MR2s did not come with an LSD (Limited Slip Differential) which causes them to spin the inside rear tire when exiting a corner quickly and thus not putting the power to the ground. The legal fix? A stiffer front sway bar. TRD makes a hollow bar that's approx 38% stiffer. Suspension Techniques makes a solid bar that's approx 155% stiffer, both are approx $175. Ideal is apparently somewhere in between so.... you have two options: 1) buy a TRD bar and stiffen it up by drilling an extra hole in it (see WRENCHING), or 2) buy a ST bar and have someone shave a little off of the middle so it will flex more (don't do this unless you know what you are doing!). I bought the TRD one and drilled the hole and it's working great. I lied, you actually have 3 options: apparently GAB (Japan) makes an adjustable bar for the bargain basement price of $600 or so.... uh.... yeah.
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Shocks
$600/set of 4

SCCA Stock class rules basically say you can put any dampening device inside the stock strut housing with stock springs. Two brands seem to be the most popular: Koni and Tokico. They actually vary pretty dramatically. Konis are set bound (compression) and infinitely adjustable rebound (through turning an analog dial). The range of adjustability on Konis makes them a good choice and apparently the rebound (how fast the car comes back up) is much more important than the bound. Tokicos are 5-way adjustable, but this adjustment applies to both bound and rebound. I run Tokicos and they seem to be working fine. Consensus on settings seems to be almost full stiff in front, 4 or 5 on Tokicos, and almost full soft in back, I run 2 on my Tokicos. I've been told by some wicked fast drivers that Konis are better, until I lose the national championship by 0.05 seconds I'll stick to my Tokicos and work on my driving!

UPDATE (9/20/01): I ran Konis in my '93 at nationals and they felt great. Were they better than the Tokicos? Dunno, but the car handled awesome.
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Alignment
$80 labor

Before you start messing with your alignment know the following: alignment settings that work best for autocross are not within manufacturer's specs. These settings will cause your street tires to wear quickly and unevenly. The inside of my tires wears way faster than the outside. These settings will cause your car to be less stable at highway speeds and feel more "darty". Be very careful!

Front '91-'92
toe out: 1/16" (approx 0.2 degrees)
caster: full (approx 5 degrees)
camber: max negative w/crash bolts (approx 2.5-3 degrees)
To acheive 2.5 degrees of camber go to the toyota dealer and have the parts guy pull up the schematic of the front suspension. Get the part# of the two bolts that hold the strut housing to the steering knuckle. Replace the last 3 digits of the part number with "006". These bolts, also called "crash bolts", are narrower than the originals and will allow you to achieve more negative camber. Make sure these bolts are torqued down at or above spec (188 ft-lbs) or they will rattle loose.

Rear '91-'92
toe in: 1/8"-1/4" each side (start with 1/8")
caster: spec
camber: max negative w/in spec (neg 1.5 degrees, crash bolts illegal)

Front '93+
toe: neutral
caster: non-adjustable
camber: max negative w/crash bolts (2.5-3 degrees)

Rear '93+
toe in: 0"-1/8" each side (maybe start at 1/16")
camber: max negative w/in spec (neg 1.5 degrees, crash bolts illegal)
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Exhaust
$0-ridiculous

Do not spend money here unless you want to either a) look like a gansta wannabe, or b) sound like a gansta wannabe. SCCA rules state that you can modify the exhaust in back of the primary cat (catalytic converter). The main reason for pulling the stock muffler is that it weighs a ton and slightly restricts air flow. For $45 I had a shop cut off my muffler and weld on a straight pipe off the secondary cat (CA vehicles only). It sounds nice and throaty, flows more freely than any muffler setup, and it's dirt cheap. I wouldn't touch the muffler until you get really serious about autocrossing and tenths of seconds start making a difference.
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Air Filter
$40

Whatever... I don't run one and my car still goes fast. I've never witnessed or heard of anyone actually producing evidence that these things do anything more than filter poorly and allow more crap into your engine. Again, when thousandths of seconds start to matter at a national level I may give one a try. I'll probably invest $200 in some Nology wires at that point too, which I've been told also don't do jack at an autocross level.

UPDATE (9/20/01): Ok, so I ended up 4th at the 2001 Nationals, 7 thousandths in back of Randy Chase and 12 thousandths ahead of Barry Ott. I had a K&N filter in my '93 MR2. Did it make a difference? Who knows...
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