The MR2, being an open top number, is less than super rigid as cars go. It is good for what it is, but scuttle shake and general wobbles through the shell are your companion when the road is less than perfect. I fitted the 3.0 Racing bracing (Corky) kit yesterday and have had some time to drive the car on my well known local routes now.

Fitted:

Front Strut Tower Brace (does the same as on any other car)

Front Member Brace Adds a traiangulated brace between the lower arm forward mounts and the floorpan chassis reinforcement rails.

Midship Member Brace a tubular subframe that attaches in 10 points under the floor of the car.

Rear Lower Cross Brace RLCB fixes rear firewall to lower arm location point and across between lower arm mount points.

Rear Member Brace RMB triangulated subframe attaches rear firewall to rear lower arm mount points and across the car between mount points.

All in lightweight ally tube and powdercoated.

Fitting was done incrementally, so the effect on front mid and rear sections was able to be compared.

First thing fitted was the FSTB. This took about 5 minutes and replaced a hinged contoured brace form Che. Changing from the Che to the Corky FSB did not make a huge difference in general driving. The Che brace pulls the strut tops togethter harder and the effect of changing the brace was that the car feels like it now runs a little less camber. Turn in is just a little less direct. Steering is lighter around the straight ahead as per stock setup.

Pushing on close to the limit of tyre adhesion, a slight front end springiness is gone, a result of the rigid brace or just because the front feels different? Not too sure. Either solution is a big improvement over the stock unbraced setup.

The MSMB and FMB were fitted together as they share a common bolt position at the front of the chassis rails and are made to work together. This took a bit more doing as there were issues with alignment. With much pushing, shoving, swearing and a little filing, it all went into place. Welding on the MSMB was a bit iffy wrt finish with spatter to a level that required removal before a bolt and washer or socket spanner would fit in some of the recesses for the fixing holes. This seems to be isolated to the MSMBs and not all were affected. We also got to prove that you can fit the MSMB to the 04+ car and that it is effective.

The difference from fitting this was evident by the time I had reversed off the drive. The shell is immediately more rigid, the reduction in flexing is really obvious manoeuvring the car at low speeds on uneven surfaces. Once out on the road, the car feels generally less wobbly. The windscreen and steering column flex are greatly reduced. Interior rattles are conspicuous by their absence. The cars handling becomes more settled and direct, turn in is now balanced by a more predictable weighting up of the back end to respond to the front. The steering seems to take on a better degree of accuracy. The slight loss of turn in that occurred swapping the Che FSB for the Corky one has been countered. Turn in is at least as good, but also more accurate. Grip and composure at the rear were also improved by a noticeable degree.

Last phase was to fit the RLCB and RMB. Fitting of the RLCB was not really practical as supplied. The oil filter will come very close to the crossbar of the brace. We needed to pack washers between the brace and body shell to generate enough clearance. The brace also comes into contact with the fuel filler pipe. This is a point of some concern and will need regular inspection to spot any premature wear of damage to the hose.

The RMB all lined up very nicely. It has been designed to work with the pre facelift configuration lower arm mounting points. The 03+ cars have a slightly different bolt on the rear of the two lower arm mounting points where stock bracing is fitted. Fortunately, Aaron had a spare set of pre facelift bolts, so the job could be completed.

Initial driving impressions were that the shell rigidity was further improved. pushing on a bit, the car feels much more planted at the back end.

So today, I have driven the car in anger over some of my faster fun routes to see just mow much difference this little lot has made. The MR2 with the bracing is certainly heading in the right direction, but is still obviously less rigid than the bonded ally tub of a Lotus, or for that matter a sturdy hatchback.

What is very evident is the fact that the car is very much more rigid than it was. Sections of road that would have the stock car wobbling like a jelly in magnitude 9 Richter scale event seem to have been magically resurfaced. You are still very much aware that the road is uneven, but the sensation is of the suspension doing the work, not the shell. As the occupant of the car, all is calm in the cabin. General road disturbance is just so much better than even if you never drive hard, the kit will be good value for money.

Where things get really interesting is when driving a bit more enthusiastically. Generally, turn in is very much more accurate that it was. The car's response to the steering seems more linear, more consistent. The axis of turn of the car at turn in now feels (to me) to be located very much where the engine is and the communication of the axis of turn is very nicely relayed to the driver. Where before it was kind of tricky to read what the rear was doing before the tyres let go, now as the power is applied in a turn and the car begins to shift it's balance, the signals are very easy to read. The sensation is that the axis of turn is moving forward as the rears get pushed wider and wider. It is also possible to feel the relative loading at the rear and to feel if your outside rear is digging in or losing the battle. The car just communicates so much more clearly. This is matched by the front end, which due to reduced flexing, keeps information through the steering wheel nicely uncorrupted.

The car is also noticeably more grippy at both ends. Throttle steerability seems to be very much enhanced and the communication coming back from four separate corners unconfused by shell flexing makes this exploitable. it is still not a car a novice should push, but it is even more of a real drivers tool now.

Balance on the RS-2s is pretty much spot on. Front and rear grip are so well balanced that it is easy to accurately shift the cars attitude at will via the throttle, steering or both.

A few good examples impressed today:

One corner round here is a beast that has always upset the car. One exits a 45mph left hander which feeds into an opening right hand bend. The left hander is superelevated and smooth and here one can get on the throttle really early, much more so than before and push the back end round, not sliding, just using the throttle to push the back while unwinding lock. Previously, this was a waste of time, as once you got the the second bend, you had to lift right off because the bumps would cause the car to literally lose control. The front would scuttle shake itself so bad the tyres would unstick, launching the car into understeer, shorty before the rear end would join in. Virtually total loss of control at anything above 50mph. With the bracing, the the front picks up the disturbance and very slightly loosens its line, the rear then does a similar thing, the whole car just gently losing a bit of grip, that is easily corrected with small steering and throttle inputs without getting off the pace. I was through it at 55mph+ today and reckon 60mph will be attainable pretty easily now.

A series of left / right turns demonstrates the big improvement in the rear end stability. Where previously, one had to feed the nose in and wait to see what the back end would do, it is now a case of turning in with more vigour and the back letting you know exactly how well it is coping by feel, rather than by looking at how far it swung before settling. Accuracy of turn in makes it easier to thread the car through the sequence tidily.

A fast roundabout with excellent surface and visibility, but odd offset layout, was always a good place to find the limits of the car and to discover that the rear end did not give too much warning. The grip there was so good that the shell would be flexed and the car would lose it's cohesion, then get twitchy or snappy immediately. The car now communicates its grip from each corner in such a clear manner that it is possible to push right up to the limit and hold it on the knife edge. Even pushing a bit harder provokes only a small progressive and easily corrected slide. It now feels like you can smear the rear tyres across the road as they slide.

So all in all, very happy with Corky's bracing. The new tyres (Hankook RS-2) I felt may be overworking the shell at little as the car was quite vague at the admittedly very high limit of grip. With the bracing, more of the potential of these tyres can be exploited. The overall balance is now very neutral. The car feels both better planted and more nimble as it will now change direction more easily.

An excellent product from Corky. IMO the best mod you can make to the MR2.

Chris

Happy as Larry Very Happy

Whats next a roll cage or a welded on roof.

Do you like the RS2s, they are a good price at the moment, how are they in the wet as I've seen mixed reports.

Whats next a roll cage or a welded on roof.

Do you like the RS2s, they are a good price at the moment, how are they in the wet as I've seen mixed reports.

Next is probably Tein Coilovers. The RS-2 seem OK in the wet, but I have not had time to really push them on a wet road yet. Autocrossers are using them in the wet and are competitive, so cannot be too shabby.

Dry grip is good compared to a road tyre until they get properly hot, then they become very sticky indeed.

Chris

Front Strut Tower Brace (does the same as on any other car)

:eek: :confused:

:eek: :confused:

Well most of the functions anyway:D

Chris