Opinions on 2 cars...

[Harry]

A nice conundrum to have if the car is for sunny days and track then something along the lines of the Caterham or other derivatives are fantastic to drive but can be pricey and of variable build quality.

As Russ says it can be difficult sharing a car if you happen to bend or break it (thankfully we never did) and in truth you probably only drive it at 9/10ths I know that Russ is always restrained when he drives mine now.

Plenty of BMW's about but for track use check out Mr Fletcher's BMW very fast on track but not massive BHP but very well prepared as indeed are cars built and driven by TK and Mike B.

Perhaps there is a case for further fettling of the MR2 but as previously pointed out there is very little wrong with 4 WD my Scooby can snap into oversteer in high speed bends such as Seers, though in fairness low speed corners such as Montreal do generate a lot of understeer but you simply adjust your driving style to suit.

Good luck with the hunt and have fun but you may have to go a long way to find something with a better power to weight ratio than what you have

[john B]

With regards to running a Soarer 2.5 TT Manual........I can most definatley comment.......I have had mine now for about 4 years its a good spec with just under 350bhp big brakes and coilovers etc.....it has been a fast road car and occasional track day car and it is very well suited at both.....
Yes the Soarer is a very heavy car especially the doors I read somewhere they weigh almost 12stone each I don't think there that much but they sure are heavy....
Anyway with the right mods I would say yep there worth considering if you can find a good one !
It has embarrased some much more expensive machinary at Snetterton and Castle Coombe......

[andycaca]

swop your MR2 for a turbo version.

[john B]

I "owned" a few soarer TTs when I was doing the Jap Imports years back and although they are funny fast on the road it would never have crossed my mind to use one one track - although I know people do. Big,, heavy, steering v light and no feel. Dont get me wrong, great cars but a track hack I'm not convinced.

..

Although as above I agree about the weight issue with the Soarer but I have to say the mods on mine have made it into a very capable car out on track......coilovers,big brakes, sticky tyres,uprated ARB's keep it flat and level round the twisty bits never felt it was losing out on anything in particular apart from overall speed although that was resolved with a boost level raise.

[TheNissanMan]

swop your MR2 for a turbo version.

It's a rev 2 turbo the rev 1&2 had less power than the rev 3-5, we would like more power than any of them...

[TheNissanMan]

Thanks for the feedback and has to some extent put my mind to ease about the soarer

[andycaca]

ah, in that case just build a forged rev 3engine (just forged pistons and rings are all you need), stick a GTX3071 on it and motec/remap it.

of course the above depends on how good you are with spanners and building engines. i built my first even 4stroke engine over last winter and its holding up well to a year of racing abuse

[TheNissanMan]

The big spanner in the works is my father, I would love to get my hands dirty and DIY it which is what I did with my last mx5, my father on the other hand wants the peace of mind that he knows which pro tuned it and where he can take it if something goes wrong lol...

[john B]

Well I could sell you either of those cars a Soarer Manual or an MX5 turbo !!!

[Stuart]

Go on John..............everyone's a winner