Just weighed my mki.

[scottohno]

Originally Posted by Raptor13x

I have the aluminum flywheel, but I don't really see the point in a 6-speed. It strikes me as the "more is better" philosophy, that just ends up equaling more gear changes and no real gain in performance. The only point in having more gears is to keep the engine in the powerband- and if your engine has a good powerband, you can get away with 4 gears doing that, there's no reason to go for 5 or 6.

really? have you ever raced on a track? my car has most power at redline, like most should.the closer you are to redline the more power you have. if you have 6 speeds you go up the entire band once, in first. then second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth are ABLE to be geared in a way that theyre closer to redline when you upshift. ALSO, its better for downshifting, gives you more selection on how hard you want to slow down.

[Raptor13x]

I have raced on a track. It's good to have the best gear ratio for any particular speed, but each gearchange does cost you time, so optimally, you should have the minimum number of gears that allows you to always be in the "sweet spot" of the engine.

[328FTW]

This is the bit where the good ol chevy motors are cool you don't change gears you just stick it in top gear and burble around not that you have to my 327 small block pulls all the way to 7k. Torque is good, it was the big difference when I put the 3sge in I don't have to change gears as badly I can hold it down low.

[traintech86]

oh raptor, i forgot to mention. what did you do with the stock intake? the prev owner of mine took out the filter(leaving the pip to the vent) and put a K&N off the intake in the engine bay. i bought the stock filter but was wondering if the weight was worth the cold air?

[Raptor13x]

I have no clue where my stock intake from the 16v is currently (I think I threw it out). I do know it's not very good. My 20v didn't come with any intake system beyond the manifold.

I don't think there is a good aftermarket system for the 16v- one that puts the filter right next to the air intake on the side. Just mounting the filter right after the AFM should be fine. You'd gain more power in the lack of restriction than you'd lose from marginally hotter air.

[traintech86]

hmmm ok, out with the piping then haha. i wish i knew before i spent the 10$ at the yard. maybe someone on here would be interested in it. doubt it haha

[Kerry Phillips]

Recently weighed my 25% all original MR2

[Raptor13x]

^ Wow, the stock unibody weighs that much!??

[Kerry Phillips]

Originally Posted by Raptor13x

^ Wow, the stock unibody weighs that much!??

Yeah, sure was surprising, I expected about 400 pounds MAX. I recieved $44.20 for that shell! Sad thing, supposedly scrap prices are down, but at that low rate a complete MR2 is worth about $150. At higher scrap prices, crushing an MR2 become a viable option.

An example, the 4age Engine weighs 340 pounds, that is $22 worth, I am VERY tempted to scrap my two 4age engines. I could get maybe twice if I separated the aluminum. How much is an enthusist willing to pay for a blown motor?
Kerry

[Raptor13x]

Actually, now that I think about it, it's not surprising. There's a LOT of metal. I hate unibodies. They SUCK.

[TomsMR2]

almost all the high end exotic sports cars come in above 3000lbs. light weight cars just end up being loud annoying tuna cans that really dont perform. as much as people like the lotus, they fail on the track compared to real cars.. and the 3200lbs corvette chases it down and kills it at autox.

counting pounds is fine if you're broke and dont mind your car turning into a complete beater.. all the fastest track mr2's have not been the lightest.

[Jackstand Queen]

Sammy? Is that you?

You are the guy I met at an autox event . . . .. who is only 5 feet, 2 inches tall right?

Well, whatever it takes to make you feel like a real man is O.K. with me.

[Raptor13x]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

almost all the high end exotic sports cars come in above 3000lbs. light weight cars just end up being loud annoying tuna cans that really dont perform. as much as people like the lotus, they fail on the track compared to real cars.. and the 3200lbs corvette chases it down and kills it at autox.

counting pounds is fine if you're broke and dont mind your car turning into a complete beater.. all the fastest track mr2's have not been the lightest.

That is plainly ridiculous. The example you mentioned, Lotus, will drive circles around pretty much anything near its power. Sure something with tons more power can pass it- and really, my biggest gripe with the car besides the extra weight they've added is that it is so down on power. 190hp is not near enough for a 2000lb car.

[TomsMR2]

its not ridiculous at all.. it is the reason why so many cars like this end up junked and trashed though. so many people buy into the lightweight crap and end up destroying their car, and then hate it because its loud, obnoxious and uncomfortable.

if you truly want to go faster, track time pays more dividends than removing a 30lbs seat.. j&h made quite an impression in hill climb circuits just pouring power into his car and using huge tires. his car was lighter, but the huge power and tires got him so far.

the hugely overwhelming majority of owners dont race their car, and if they do they're never frequent enough to be competitive. 99% of the miles put on the car are street miles, in which case having a trashed and gutted mr2 doesnt help too much.

im not trying to convince you raptor.. i know you like tuna cans and you probably always will its the other kids who get overexcited and gut the crap out of their car thinking they're "improving" it, only to realize they just made a junker they cant sell. its extremely common, i cant even count how many ive seen go down like that in the last ~9 years ive been here.

[olson-g]

[QUOTE=TomsMR2;472294]almost all the high end exotic sports cars come in above 3000lbs. light weight cars just end up being loud annoying tuna cans that really dont perform

High end exotic sports cars come in at 3000 lbs because the people who can afford to pay $80-200K (not who want one) want AC, electric windows, power seats, and they want to hear the stereo. And they want to be able to brag about how much horsepower they have.
All production cars are a compromise between performance, price, comfort, environmental sensitivity, etc. Do you think putting 8 90 lb bags of cement in an NA MR2 will improve performance because it brings it to 3000 lbs?
I agree with you that many people (including myself) have gotten overzealous and chopped too much creating a car that is an uncomfortable tuna can with not much benefit to performance. THAT IS THE POINT OF THIS TOPIC- TO DISCUSS THINGS THAT WORK.
I agree that scraping off all the tar insulation from the wall behind the seat will make the car much noisier and not significantly improve performance. But if your AC is not working, and you are not going to fix it; it will help to remove it. Many little things will add up. I am more at peace that I have hacked out the 3 lb slugs in the center bump under the seats (MK1). I presume they are to prevent resonance from the under seat subwoofer. Any other guesses?
So post what seems to help and what causes problems. weight does matter.
One suggestion- do not take too much weight off the front or the front brakes will lock up in hard stops. Car already has rear weight bias.

[dirocyn]

[quote=olson-g;472738]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

Do you think putting 8 90 lb bags of cement in an NA MR2 will improve performance because it brings it to 3000 lbs?

I have seen weight added actually improve a car's handling. Some years ago I added 150 lbs of sand bags to the front of my brother-in-law's Corvair, it was the best performance mod he ever made. Before adding the sand, the car was unstable and bouncy in the front, it felt like it was about to lose control at speeds over 45. Afterwords, the car rode a lot smoother, with no more bouncing around. Didn't test it above 90, we felt like that was good enough.

[Raptor13x]

^ That's just poor design.

[silver-mk1-mr2]

Rust helps out with weight saving FYI hahaha so leave your car out for a lil while and you can knock off a few pounds

[mikemike]

[quote=dirocyn;474704]

Originally Posted by olson-g

I have seen weight added actually improve a car's handling. Some years ago I added 150 lbs of sand bags to the front of my brother-in-law's Corvair, it was the best performance mod he ever made. Before adding the sand, the car was unstable and bouncy in the front, it felt like it was about to lose control at speeds over 45. Afterwords, the car rode a lot smoother, with no more bouncing around. Didn't test it above 90, we felt like that was good enough.

I have personally owned more than a few Corvairs, early and late models. The sand bags definitely work, but it tends to wear the ball joints out quite rapidly... especially in autox. I always preferred just putting something heavy up there that was useful lol (jack, spare tire, tool bag w/ varying amount of tools for precision weight control lol).

[jameys18]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

almost all the high end exotic sports cars come in above 3000lbs. light weight cars just end up being loud annoying tuna cans that really dont perform. as much as people like the lotus, they fail on the track compared to real cars.. and the 3200lbs corvette chases it down and kills it at autox.

counting pounds is fine if you're broke and dont mind your car turning into a complete beater.. all the fastest track mr2's have not been the lightest.

tell that to the ariel atom.... FACED