Az's BMW M3 - Found out only 113 in my Paint/Interior, aww yeah

[YSSMAN]

Ha-wah?

You'd need a more stable job than that to get an MR-S. Its really not a good car for anyone who is intent on living a "normal" lifestyle with their car. Furthermore, you're in Detroit (I'm three hours away in Grand Rapids), I know what the weather is like, and this is not the state for an MR-S...

 

[Spec M]

Ha-wah?

You'd need a more stable job than that to get an MR-S. Its really not a good car for anyone who is intent on living a "normal" lifestyle with their car. Furthermore, you're in Detroit (I'm three hours away in Grand Rapids), I know what the weather is like, and this is not the state for an MR-S...

That was a joke. And im moving to Avondale, AZ in August and ill be looking for something a bit sporty and small. The MRS is as small as ill go though because im 6'2 and I want my girlfriend and my "clubing wingman" to be comfortable to.

 

[ferrari_chris]

You need to be a player like Cody to afford the player's lifestyle. Right Cody?

 

[Bram Turismo]

You need to be a player like Cody to afford the player's lifestyle. Right Cody?

!

Anyway, lovely car Azure, I'm jealous right now 👍

I've always wanted an MR-S as my first car, but I don't see that happen right now...

Anyway, good luck with it, wasn't that the last sporty model Toyota build or was that the Corolla compressor?

Oh and that link on cardomain.com was very nice, love that body colour

 

[Philly]

Azure:

I'm sure they're both great cars. I have no doubt that they behave little like their respective economy counterparts. It's just the first thing that popped into my mind came from a "should the Corvette be a different brand" that a friend was doing research for that the Cavalier was just a four door Corvette and the Corvette was a two door Cavalier with a bigger engine. But then it could be just me of lumping the MR-S into the 21st century Toyota, which has been a little disappointing. If you could consider the car in the spirit of Toyota ten years ago, then the little badge on the hood would mean so much more. But that's just that little piece of shiny plastic telling you who made it.

 

[Spec M]

!

Anyway, lovely car Azure, I'm jealous right now 👍

I've always wanted an MR-S as my first car, but I don't see that happen right now...

Anyway, good luck with it, wasn't that the last sporty model Toyota build or was that the Corolla compressor?

Oh and that link on cardomain.com was very nice, love that body colour

Yea bram that green and gold was sick together. An the hard top added on was the topping on the cake. I just had to share it . Mad props to that guy, he made it look like a totally different car without even mounting a body kit. Now thats my style 👍

 

[Keef]

Azure:

I'm sure they're both great cars. I have no doubt that they behave little like their respective economy counterparts. It's just the first thing that popped into my mind came from a "should the Corvette be a different brand" that a friend was doing research for that the Cavalier was just a four door Corvette and the Corvette was a two door Cavalier with a bigger engine. But then it could be just me of lumping the MR-S into the 21st century Toyota, which has been a little disappointing. If you could consider the car in the spirit of Toyota ten years ago, then the little badge on the hood would mean so much more. But that's just that little piece of shiny plastic telling you who made it.

I don't think your "this brand is better than that brand" ideology is very logical. Miatas and MR2s are hardly related to any other car in their respective lineups. It's like saying the GTI is a Beetle with the engine up front...

Also, the MRS has rod knock. Everyone loves rod knock, and I don't think any Miata ever came with rod knock as standard equipment. I don't think I've ever heard of any Civics coming with rod knock either. Damn, that MRS is hot.

The MRS is probably a better performance platform than a Miata. But because nobody seems to know where to buy tuning parts for the MRS from, the Miata is much more popular.

 

[Philly]

Of course branding and the other cars in the lineup has no effect on performance and things like that. It'll just affect desirability and maybe sales a little. Maybe it's just me, but when you are looking at two cars that are very similar, I would be more inclined to pick the one made by the most prestigious company. The Miata and MR2 not being actually related to other cars in the company doesn't really have anything to do with it.

 

[Spec M]

I always felt that the MRS is the next best thing to an Elise for the price. It just seems like you get so much for your money with this car. Or maybe I just have a soft spot for mid-engines, but a low mileage one for less than the average of $15k.., What a deal


Edit: I guess this will have to do until after I get my apartment.
http://www.model-marque.com/details.cfm?prodid=1194

 

[Azuremen]

Well, I got owned by the pre cat issues on the earlier models. Lesson learned: Gut the precat and check oil every time I put gas in the car.

On to the next step. A short block will run me $2100 dollars from a dealership. I'm only looking for 03 or newer motors with lower mileage, and aiming at the $1500 dollar price range. I'm putting off the 2ZZ-GE swap because it requires more work than I want to fark with right now and I honestly wouldn't mind staying in a stock class for autocross.

What I am asking here is if you know an good yards that are willing to ship, let me know. I plan on purchasing in the next week or so, and getting the Spyder into a shop as well to get the current toasted motor out. The appeal of getting the short block from Toyota is that it will have some warranty and I'll know the crank and all that is good.

The goal is to have the car ready in about 2 or 3 weeks for the first scored autocross of the season for the area club here.

 

[Bram Turismo]

You blew it already?


*looks at your avatar*

 

[Keef]

See what you make of this:

100mph.

A long, sweeping curve.

Probably about .6g or a little more all the way around it.

Two quarts of oil.

Apparently the innards were jangling around within minutes.

 

[Philly]

*really fun corner*

I have experience with those. It's not uncommon for me to get the "dude, your car is about to break" light to come on around freeway onramps because the oil level got a little low. And now my car is a part of an experiment by VW that I might get a free rebuild out of....

 

[YSSMAN]

The vacuum lines were that bad on the car? You'd think VW would get to the point where they'd just hand you a new GTI...

 

[Azuremen]

Silly VW.

Anyhow, looking more at doing the OEM short block than sourcing a used engine. Would have it sooner and would be guaranteed. So Monday I am going to limp the Spyder down to a shop and talk to the dealership about getting a short block. Hopefully I can register for a program that gives racers (remember, autocross) a discount on parts, which will make this a bit less painful.

 

[YSSMAN]

All sounds like good stuff to me, I'd say go for it...

 

[Thirdeye]

If you need me to, I'll send you a case of oil But.. shipping would kill me Jokes aside, I'm sorry to hear about your "loss." It always pains me to hear things like that, especially being the engine maintenance nut that I am (I have a stash of over 100 quarts of oil and 15 oil filters in my basement). I rarely ever see the MR-S here in Michigan, but once in a great while I'll see one of the older mid-late 80's MR2's, and I've seen ONE mid 90's MR2. I'm surprised it didn't catch on as much, I've always liked them.

 

[niky]

Silly VW.

Anyhow, looking more at doing the OEM short block than sourcing a used engine. Would have it sooner and would be guaranteed. So Monday I am going to limp the Spyder down to a shop and talk to the dealership about getting a short block. Hopefully I can register for a program that gives racers (remember, autocross) a discount on parts, which will make this a bit less painful.

Can't you just source the short block from a wrecked Corolla? It's basically the same engine, isn't it?

Still thinking about autocross after getting the dreaded knock? You'll want to look at getting a pre-lube system or some other kind of insurance for those "fun" moments when all the oil creeps up one side of the engine.

 

[Azuremen]

No, I can't just use a Corolla short block The Corolla has the 1ZZ-FE, which was produced in West Virginia, while the MR-S and Celica GT use the 1ZZ-FED, which uses lighter rods and some other tweaks and was built in Japan. So while the block is the same, some of the internals are not

I'll be making a few adjustments to help preserve the engine as well, trust me.

 

[Venari]

Can't you find a Celica SS/190 Sport? The 140hp engine is all very well, but you always need MOAR POWER! Or is it a 'keep it stock' choice for competition rules?

 

[Azuremen]

Can't you find a Celica SS/190 Sport? The 140hp engine is all very well, but you always need MOAR POWER! Or is it a 'keep it stock' choice for competition rules?

Celica GT-S for us in the states here. Its that, and the swap is a bit more work than drop in new engine and go. Some machining has to be done with one of the mounts and such, plus getting the ECU and another engine swap related stuff.

Keeping it stock is also part of my aim for competition stuff, as engine swap would put me in the crazy go fast category of cars where it would be impossible to get a podium finish without investing quite a bit more in the car.

Part of me wants do a V6 swap when I get out of college here, as that would give torque and let me stay away from forced induction. But who knows.

 

[niky]

Yeah... I agree with the idea of keeping it simple... besides... stock is a great place to be...

Good luck with your search!

 

[Tornado]

That happened at almost Fiero speed.

 

[Azuremen]

Well, got the car down to the shop. Guy quoted about $800 for labor, and suggested I look at a place in Idaho for an engine. Called them up; say they have one for a little over $2000 and ship for free in this area. On top of that, they have a 1 year warranty on internals, so that puts my mind a bit at ease. Will probably place the order tomorrow from them, after I check a few things over.

Hopefully I'll have the Spyder back on the road sometime next week.

 

[Spec M]

Wow thats a good deal, free shipping is always great. How many miles on the motor?

 

[YSSMAN]

I think it was Cody's plan to go for an OEM replacement, so it would essentially be "zero" with the exception of what has to be switched out...

 

[Spec M]

I think it was Cody's plan to go for an OEM replacement, so it would essentially be "zero" with the exception of what has to be switched out...

O I see now. I dont know why I was thinking Azure was looking for a used motor.
Why call him by his first name?

 

[YSSMAN]

Why not?

I dunno. I switch back and fourth.

...And yes, I realize it confuses people...

 

[Azuremen]

Confuse away.

The reason you think I am getting a used motor is in my previous post, thats what I said I am going to do. About 40,000 miles on the motor I'd be getting, plus it has a warranty. To me, it seems like a better, cheaper option to the OEM short block, because I'll have a full long block to play with and build up for boost later on.

See, that would be fun

 

[Spec M]

...And yes, I realize it confuses people...

Naah, not to much lol.

Confuse away.

The reason you think I am getting a used motor is in my previous post, thats what I said I am going to do. About 40,000 miles on the motor I'd be getting, plus it has a warranty. To me, it seems like a better, cheaper option to the OEM short block, because I'll have a full long block to play with and build up for boost later on.

See, that would be fun

Some of the top online shops ive looked at average about 30k miles but usually have a shipping charge no matter were you live or how much money you spend. Overall sounds like you got a deal.