Richard’s MR2 Turbo: Not Too Pretty To Pirouette
Although Richard already had an E92 M3, he decided to spruce up his mid-ship sports car and spin his way into driving competence.
It began all the way back in grade school with Gran Turismo. A few years later, Richard Tran graduated from video games and started moving through the worlds of hard-parking BMWs and drag racing until his expanding network brought a few road racers into his life.
When they invited him to a track day with Speed SF in 2019, he accepted — but not before considering the consequences. Richard was opposed to taking big risks; he’d seriously hurt himself in a car crash a few years before, and he certainly didn’t want to damage his then-new M3, but they persisted — they told him he’d leave the the track feeling something extraordinary.
The feelings of euphoria following that first session helped him forget about the potential costs of thrill seeking. In fact, he’d been bitten badly enough to sign up then and there for another twelve track days. Quickly, he put the dependable M3 on the back burner; he had a cheaper, lighter, more maneuverable mid-engined car he believed would take more to master.
To the trained eye, his 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo (SW20) didn’t look like the ideal track toy candidate. Actually, it looked more like a museum piece. Three-stage paint, fresh interior panels, and completely new suspension components were all parts of a three-year restoration that culminated in a show-grade vehicle. Richard was so proud of it, he displayed it at SEMA.
Work Meisters and the OEM kouki aero was all that was needed to make the SW20 pop — it truly is a svelte, sexy car.
Despite its immaculate condition, he felt it wasn’t too good to be used in the way he’d (ab)used his M3. In fact, Richard felt that he’d be missing out on something vital if he didn’t track it. There was a directness and a demanding quality about it that made him feel giddy at 5/10ths.
The second outing proved he had his head screwed on straight, but didn’t quite have the quick hands needed to manage the MR2. The factory components just wouldn’t cut it, especially on all-seasons, so he replaced the rotors with slotted Stoptechs and slapped on a set of EBC Yellows. Along with those, he installed a set of Tein Super Street coilovers, a pair of GReddy side skirts, and a 1998-spec spoiler with lifted risers for a little flash.
The basic package was fun, but far from friendly. “I made the mistake of trying to drive it like the M3,” he began, “and that just wouldn’t work. I learned pretty quickly that I couldn’t throw it around or brake as late as I could in the BMW.”
The odd agricultural excursion didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for his demanding new car.
After many red flags and several stern conversations with the track workers, Richard learned he had to soften his inputs a little and improve the chassis a lot. The second-generation MR2 is known as a nervous car prone to rotate without much provocation, but it can be tamed with some suspension work, a little maintenance throttle, and the right sort of staggered tire setup.
Giving precedence to the rear axle began by fitting the rear wheels with 245/40R17 Federal RS-RR Pros — somewhat wider than the 215/40R17 fronts. Then, Richard turned to Elite Performance’s Melody Cannizzaro to soften the sensitive midship’s edges. A little more front camber relative to the rear helped settle the rear end while cornering, and more toe-in at the rear kept it planted under braking and acceleration. Then, as advised by his friends, Richard tried stiffening the front to minimize the nose dive under heavy braking, which could encourage the lightened rear to spin.
Minimizing some of that see-sawing gave him much more confidence in the car, and the resulting improvements in cornering speeds helped Richard notice a few more of its shortcomings.
It wasn’t the tight, direct thing he thought a lightweight MR car would be, but, after all, it was nearing a half-million miles. Sunshine Auto overhauled the entire suspension, adding new control arms, bigger sway bars, inner and outer tie rods, additional chassis bracing, and a set of 808 Racespec coilovers from Bob Pham. “The new setup made the car feel like a go-kart. Actually, the first day back at the track with these mods, I went six seconds faster than I’d ever gone before,” he exclaimed.
Richard’s love for the Sailor Moon series gave this car its eponymous nickname.
“Those modifications transformed it from a decent daily driver to an uncomfortable track car, but I still trust it enough to drive it to the track — it hasn’t left me stranded once,” he said. Pretty impressive for a car that just passed the 500,000 miles on the odometer. Chalk a bit of that up to build quality from the late-eighties Japanese boom, some of that to Richard’s obsessive maintenance habits, and a little bit to the near-stock configuration of the power train.
Aside from a Mishimoto radiator an HKS SSQV BOV, and a Berk 3” exhaust, the original 3SGTE motor remains stock.
Aside from a splitter and a pair of canards, Richard doesn’t plan on adding much more. Actually, he’s confident enough to admit he’s the limiting factor at this stage. “My friends will get in and go six seconds faster than I can, so I know I need seat time more than anything. Well, I could use a set of Sparco Circuits because I’m getting thrown around on the stock seats, but that’s about it.
For me, it’s the perfect track car — dependable, fun, and constantly challenging. I don’t really care about making it the fastest car here. I’ve got a ways to go as a driver, anyways. I’m not here to be the best — I just want to have fun, and in that department, the MR2 always delivers.
My track friends’ words of encouragement and support have been a driving force behind my journey; pushing me to overcome obstacles and strive for greatness. I rolled my car once many years ago and I was in the hospital for months. I thought I wouldn’t walk again.
My wife did not want to see me in another accident ever again. Actually, she wanted me to retire, but she saw how happy I was attending track days with friends, so she now watches me track. I promised her I’ll never go completely flat-out ever again and I’m fine with that — as long as I get to see her smile.”
Special thanks to Elite Performance, The Driveway, and Sunshine Auto.
A No-Compromise Toyota MR2 Named Frog
After finding the limits of his FR-S, Joe McGuigan wanted something even pointier. This superliight midship provided him with all the mid-corner adjustability that the previous car couldn’t.
Joe McGuigan made a bit of reputation for himself with a nicely sorted FR-S. Light, agile, very pointy, and usually driven with a lot of slip angle, Joe’s FR-S was an attention getter. It was genuinely fast, too. He spent a few years developing the car and hit that hard-to-find medium of both playful and quick. Like few other cars in its class, it would genuinely fire off corners while sliding in a way that few vehicles really can.
But the limitations of an FR car are noticeable when you’re trying to find every mid-corner mph available. Basically, its engine placement and suspension design might not strike some as perks. True, an FR car—and particularly the FR-S—is usually an easier car to drive and his is fairly forgiving for how much it slides, but Joe sought more in cornering performance. No compromises, no luggage compartments, and no forgiving weight transfer mistakes.
The nickname “Frog” definitely fits this squat scalpel.
The replacement was about as harsh and confining any streetable car gets. This third-generation Toyota MR-2, better known to fans of Best Motoring as an MR-S, is a truly tiny car. Surprisingly, the interior is relatively spacious, hence why a 6’3” guy like Joe has not one, but three in his garage currently.
But once he started tracking it, he gelled so well with the little roadster that he forgot about his bruised knees and elbows. Although the MR2’s wheelbase was lengthened to improve stability, it’s still about five inches shorter than the FR-S’. Its overhangs are unusually short, and with an engine placed in the ideal position (mounted laterally, no less), the weight is in the right place everywhere. Speaking of, there isn’t much weight to consider; the MR-S, when fitted with a hardtop, weighs only 2,200 pounds.
“I’ve got a habit,” Joe laughs. “It’s the fifth MR2 I’ve owned, and by far the best. Once I picked this one up, the floodgate opened with all my friends offering parts for cheap. I guess that’s called a good problem to have.”
With the right setup, Joe would be able to get the car to do things that the FR-S simply couldn’t. Swifter steering and shorter braking distances were the obvious benefits, but as he learned, he had easier access to more mid-corner rotation and better traction at corner exit. He could exact his will over this car in subtler ways; its response to weight transfer made it a little spikier and certainly more sensitive to his inputs, but when driven properly, much more adjustable.
That development period was further shortened by having a friend, Tony Rodriguez, who gave Joe a proven modification route to follow with his own track-spec MR2. In addition to following all the suspension leads that his friend gave him, but he learned that the ZZ motors need a little cooling assistance for track work. In fact, the original 1ZZ in the MR-S couldn’t handle the summer temperatures and popped after just eight track days. Though Joe considered throwing in the towel, he grabbed a better motor—one with an oil cooler to keep things in order on August afternoons.
The Link ECU from Panic Wire was used on the 1ZZ. To make life easier for Joe, they have included a subharness for the VVTL-i sensor and oil pressure sensor to make installing the 2ZZ a plug-and-play affair. They actually transfered over the 1zz OEM engine harness as everything plugs in the same
The 2ZZ motor, improved by a Link ECU, a set of cams, and a little optimization from Unrivaled Tuning, is a real lively, top-endy sort of engine that will trump a lot of mid-range turbo motors in terms of sheer exhilaration. Plus, it’s not gutless; the little 1.8-liter makes a healthy 190 horsepower at the wheels. Coupled to a Lotus six-speed with revised ratios, this featherweight MR2 is not a momentum car in the truest sense of the term.
The current modifications are:
Monkey Wrench Racing Stage 2 Cams
PPE Header & Gokey's Garage Custom Exhaust
Konig Dekagram Wheels 15x9 & 15x10
Tires 225/45-15 & 245/40-15
Annex Suspension CSP Coilovers (7K/11K)
Addco Front Swaybar
Raybestos ST43 Brake Pads
TRD Front & Rear Strut Bar
TRD Front Underbrace
TRD Rear Arm Braces
Battle Version Complete Front & Rear Arm Setup (courtesy of Battle Version)
TougeHQ Rear Bash Bar
Custom Front Splitter (Tony R. Special)
Custom Vented Rear Bumper (Tony R. Special)
C-One Replica Sideskirts
OEM Hardtop
GT300 Vented Hood
ARP GT200C Wing with custom risers
The only setup changes made post-swap are a little more rear wing angle, fender flares, and a slight stagger instead of the original 225/40/15 square setup he originally ran. It neutralizes the car, which now enjoys an additional 60 horsepower over the original iteration.
It still verges on oversteer at most times. For that reason, the tired phrase “handles like a go-kart” might actually be appropriate in this instance. This MR2 is pointy, eager to change direction, snappy when trailbraked incorrectly, and on a fast lap, usually dancing under his control. In many ways, it really is like a quick kart.
It should only get easier to drive and less frenetic when the setup is improved, but for now, it’s plenty thrilling, even with a few rough edges.
