The AW11 is tail heavy which increases the tendency to "swing around" on you very suddenly. The easiest way to help reduce this is to redistribute weight, so moving the battery from the engine
compartment to the front of the car is a good way to help that.
The original battery weighed 37 pounds which isn't bad, but I replaced it with a smaller "lawn and garden" unit that only weighs 18 pounds. It's a 425 amp unit with 340 CCA's and it's working great. I've
driven it around for three years now without issue, and just bought a small marine battery box for it so that I'm track legal.
compartment to the front of the car is a good way to help that.
The original battery weighed 37 pounds which isn't bad, but I replaced it with a smaller "lawn and garden" unit that only weighs 18 pounds. It's a 425 amp unit with 340 CCA's and it's working great. I've
driven it around for three years now without issue, and just bought a small marine battery box for it so that I'm track legal.
Chassis, Suspension and Brakes
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The 1st generation MR2 MK1 had 2 very different suspensions. The early cars (85 and 86) were, in my opinion, the best of the two. The later cars had more "stability" designed into the suspension to
accommodate "regular, everyday" drivers. The original design has just enough of that "inherently responsive to the slightest input" feel, so if you can imagine flying an F-16, but never leaving the ground,
that's what the MR2 feels like.
Of course, like any 20 year old car, parts wear, and there is always room for improvement.
I've replaced the old bushings with a set of polyurethane bushings that dramatically improve handling, braking, response and also make alignments more consistent. They have very little "give", so there is
an increase in ride harshness however the improvements are more than worth it.
I've also installed a set of Suspension Techniques lowering springs so that the car tucks nicely over the larger wheels and tires. Surprisingly, this also improved the ride quality - probably because the ST
springs are progressive (they get stiffer the more they compress) as opposed to the stock single rate springs.
I've added a stock front strut tower bar from a later car which includes the special bend and tab setup required to accommodate the factory sun roof. The sunroof is stored in the frunk (the front trunk). For the
rear, I've added a modified later model non-sun roof strut tower bar. It fit pretty well, but I'm going to widen the tab centers about 1/2" for a better, more secure fitment
And of course I can't forget the other HUGE improvement to the car - a quick ratio Quaiffe steering rack kit. This reduced the lock to lock steering wheel travel to just 2.5 turns for lightning quick steering
response. After 190K miles, the original gears were somewhat worn, as were the tie rods ends, and the white plastic bushing used on the passenger side of the rack. I figured that if I was going to tear the
whole rack down to replace the bushing, re-grease the rack and replace the tie rod ends, I might as well get the quick ratio rack. I've had other cars in the past with similar racks, so I knew what to expect
and how much it would benefit the MR2. The Quaiffe rack listed for the AE86 fits the MR2 housing and works fine. The pinion is about 1/2" shorter than the MR2 unit, but there is enough adjustment range in
the steering coupler to allow for this.
Like every other mod I've made to the car, I was very pleased with the quick ratio rack. There is NO slop at all in the steering. It's laser sharp and precise - you can put the wheels anywhere you want and
that's exactly where the car goes.
accommodate "regular, everyday" drivers. The original design has just enough of that "inherently responsive to the slightest input" feel, so if you can imagine flying an F-16, but never leaving the ground,
that's what the MR2 feels like.
Of course, like any 20 year old car, parts wear, and there is always room for improvement.
I've replaced the old bushings with a set of polyurethane bushings that dramatically improve handling, braking, response and also make alignments more consistent. They have very little "give", so there is
an increase in ride harshness however the improvements are more than worth it.
I've also installed a set of Suspension Techniques lowering springs so that the car tucks nicely over the larger wheels and tires. Surprisingly, this also improved the ride quality - probably because the ST
springs are progressive (they get stiffer the more they compress) as opposed to the stock single rate springs.
I've added a stock front strut tower bar from a later car which includes the special bend and tab setup required to accommodate the factory sun roof. The sunroof is stored in the frunk (the front trunk). For the
rear, I've added a modified later model non-sun roof strut tower bar. It fit pretty well, but I'm going to widen the tab centers about 1/2" for a better, more secure fitment
And of course I can't forget the other HUGE improvement to the car - a quick ratio Quaiffe steering rack kit. This reduced the lock to lock steering wheel travel to just 2.5 turns for lightning quick steering
response. After 190K miles, the original gears were somewhat worn, as were the tie rods ends, and the white plastic bushing used on the passenger side of the rack. I figured that if I was going to tear the
whole rack down to replace the bushing, re-grease the rack and replace the tie rod ends, I might as well get the quick ratio rack. I've had other cars in the past with similar racks, so I knew what to expect
and how much it would benefit the MR2. The Quaiffe rack listed for the AE86 fits the MR2 housing and works fine. The pinion is about 1/2" shorter than the MR2 unit, but there is enough adjustment range in
the steering coupler to allow for this.
Like every other mod I've made to the car, I was very pleased with the quick ratio rack. There is NO slop at all in the steering. It's laser sharp and precise - you can put the wheels anywhere you want and
that's exactly where the car goes.
The early cars have the smallest brakes of all the MR2's, so that was also on my list of upgrade items. First, I replaced the old rubber flex lines with a set of Russel, DOT approved braided stainless steel
flex lines. This was a HUGE improvement over the original rubber hoses.
Next was the upgrade to the larger diameter 87 - 89 rotors. This is a simple swap requiring only the rotors themselves and the matching caliper adapters. New, high quality Raybestos rotors were less
than $20 each. I also used my favorite pads - Raybestos PGD's. Again I was pleased with the big improvement, but still wanted more since I'm a big believer in powerful brakes, no matter how fast or
quick the car may be.
I had the opportunity to do some junkyard research and found a 90 Celica GT with rear drum brakes and larger piston versions of the MK1 front calipers. The same pads fit, the brake hoses worked fine,
the only difference was the (one size larger) bolts between the caliper adapters and the calipers themselves. The big plus was the gain in piston bore diameter - the stock calipers were only 46MM in
diameter, whereas the Celica calipers had a much larger 57mm diameter - big improvement.
I chose the Celica caliper route for several reasons. First, I don't want to add any weight to the car if at all possible. The other brake upgrades out there all involved larger (and heavier) rotors and
calipers. Keeping weight off the spindles helps the handling, especially on rougher roads, and also keeps the overall car weight down. I was also able to keep my existing brake pads.
I still want to get an adjustable proportioning valve to have better control over the amount of pressure to the rear brakes, but that will have to wait for a while. The only other brake work I'll be doing is a
rebuild of the rear calipers when weather warms up some.
flex lines. This was a HUGE improvement over the original rubber hoses.
Next was the upgrade to the larger diameter 87 - 89 rotors. This is a simple swap requiring only the rotors themselves and the matching caliper adapters. New, high quality Raybestos rotors were less
than $20 each. I also used my favorite pads - Raybestos PGD's. Again I was pleased with the big improvement, but still wanted more since I'm a big believer in powerful brakes, no matter how fast or
quick the car may be.
I had the opportunity to do some junkyard research and found a 90 Celica GT with rear drum brakes and larger piston versions of the MK1 front calipers. The same pads fit, the brake hoses worked fine,
the only difference was the (one size larger) bolts between the caliper adapters and the calipers themselves. The big plus was the gain in piston bore diameter - the stock calipers were only 46MM in
diameter, whereas the Celica calipers had a much larger 57mm diameter - big improvement.
I chose the Celica caliper route for several reasons. First, I don't want to add any weight to the car if at all possible. The other brake upgrades out there all involved larger (and heavier) rotors and
calipers. Keeping weight off the spindles helps the handling, especially on rougher roads, and also keeps the overall car weight down. I was also able to keep my existing brake pads.
I still want to get an adjustable proportioning valve to have better control over the amount of pressure to the rear brakes, but that will have to wait for a while. The only other brake work I'll be doing is a
rebuild of the rear calipers when weather warms up some.
Front Strut Tower Bar and sunroof storage
