Power Pages - 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo

July, 2007

Sometimes called a "Poor Man's Ferrari," the second-generation MR2 turbo was the shiznig back in the day. With a mid-engine platform and a potent, turbocharged 2.0-liter 3SGTE engine, the little sports car had the handling and power to hold its own against most anything from that era. The '91-95 MR2s still weren't exactly cheap though, but thanks to depreciation, a decent condition '90-92 Rev. 2 car can be found for around $5,000, which isn't too bad when you consider what else you can get with that much shrapnel in your pocket. The stout 3SGTE engines make between 200-225hp, depending on year, with '90-93 cars rated at 200hp and '94-95 cars at 225hp. Just about anyone who can afford a Civic can afford a mid-ship, turbocharged 2-seater sports car.

There's probably no harder car to work on than a mid-engine car, and the SW20 MR2 is no exception. Even something small, like changing a coolant hose can require removing the turbo, manifold, downpipe, exhaust and the rear sub-frame... we kid you not. The electronics and engine management were cutting-edge technology in 1990, and as such, parts are absurdly expensive and many are available only through the local Toyota dealership-and expect that to be a special order too. There are a ton of sensors and actuators on an MR2 Turbo, and most will eventually go bad. While you can pick up a turbo MR2 for around $5K, you can easily spend that much in the first year on maintenance if you get a lemon. We'd guesstimate that 75 percent of all "Mister Twos" in existence are lemons. Not to knock Toyota. Properly maintained, they're probably just as reliable as a Corolla or Camry. It's just that many owners beat on the cars and re-sell them without doing the required maintenance because it is so expensive. Expect to do 15 years of repairs in the first year of ownership. Poor Man's Ferrari, pshht, more like the "Masochistic Man's Ferrari."

With 145,000 miles on the odometer, our MR2 had good compression and leak down test numbers and burned no oil, indicating a mechanically-healthy engine. Before hitting the dyno we replaced the plugs, cap, rotor and wires with OEM Toyota parts. Those last three parts cost $180. The spark plugs were NGK 7ES-11's and cost a very reasonable $8 for a set of four. In addition, the fuel filter was replaced and the re-usable air filter was cleaned and oiled. When we got the car, it was rolling on a set of spray-painted stock wheels and 4 different brands of tires. Not only were the tires mismatched, but the rears were down to the cords. Obviously, a safety issue we needed to resolve before hitting the dyno. Since the car will be tracked regularly, we chose to use Nitto's sticky NT-01 R-compound tires on a set of Konig Sideways wheels from Discount Tire Direct. It's hard to find wheels that come in the correct offset and staggered width for the MR2. But the 17x7 and 17x8 Konigs fit perfectly. We've had plenty of experience with the NT01's and know they'll be awesome on the track. Most early MR2 Turbos' dyno around 145-160 wheel hp stock. Ours was equipped with a "GReddy style" eBay intercooler, and an eBay "A'PEXi style" air filter. It was otherwise stock, running around 9.5 pounds of boost. Our baseline of 152 wheel hp 161 lb-ft of torque put us around where we expected to be. We cut the dyno run short (around 6500rpm) due to an operator error, but the numbers had already peaked and you can figure out what the rest of the curve would look like using a little imagination.