NSX vs. MR2 Turbo

I agree with Billy (Stuntman) I had a 93 MR2 that dynoed at 264 hp and while it would take the NSX off the line it was a dog compared to the NSX when cornering. My NSX is mostly stock, minus an exhaust and minor minor weight reduction and yet the NSX's connection to the road is a couple levels above the MR2. Like said above if you want a car that you can run quick 1/4 mile times and compete with light to light drag races then you may want to head over to the Supra forums. If, however, want a great balance car, that will put a smile on your face everytime you drive her (not saying the MR2 or the Supra won't do that) then stay here research until your heart is content. Find a owner that will give you a ride or even let you drive his/her NSX. I had 2 MR2s the one heavily modded mentioned above and a '94 that was mostly stock minus intake and exhaust and coilovers and I would never replace the NSX with the MR2. Seriously once you drive one you will know if it is the car for you. It all depends on what you want out of the car.
 
stuntman said:
On equal tires & suspension, an NSX with 270whp from an intake & exhaust is probably faster than a 370whp MR2. I haven't seen an mr2 break the 2:00 barrier at BW on street tires.

Found this from back in the day:

http://www.mr2oc.com/43-all-cars-no...willow-time-attack.html?nocache=1451106326036
Click to expand...

You may be right on the race track. But not the case in a quarter mile. My car is low to mid 12 second car. And thats with my crappy launch times.

I do appreciate all of your responses guys!!!

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Nukem said:
I agree with Billy (Stuntman) I had a 93 MR2 that dynoed at 264 hp and while it would take the NSX off the line it was a dog compared to the NSX when cornering. My NSX is mostly stock, minus an exhaust and minor minor weight reduction and yet the NSX's connection to the road is a couple levels above the MR2. Like said above if you want a car that you can run quick 1/4 mile times and compete with light to light drag races then you may want to head over to the Supra forums. If, however, want a great balance car, that will put a smile on your face everytime you drive her (not saying the MR2 or the Supra won't do that) then stay here research until your heart is content. Find a owner that will give you a ride or even let you drive his/her NSX. I had 2 MR2s the one heavily modded mentioned above and a '94 that was mostly stock minus intake and exhaust and coilovers and I would never replace the NSX with the MR2. Seriously once you drive one you will know if it is the car for you. It all depends on what you want out of the car.
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Thanks Nukem..I did drive an NSX..and actually I did own a 94 turbo supra. Very cool car...only sold it because I was offered crazy money for it. But I will admit I like the MR2 better than the supra. The supra was a torque monster and as cool as it was I had more fun in the MR2 once I built up the horsepower. I think I will really love the NSX after I do the same!!!
 
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mike555 said:
2. The manual steering seems awfully heavy on the NSX. Its kind of a pain in a parking lot. The MR2 manual steering almost feels powered compared to the NSX.
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Kind of shocked to read this, ha ha. A friend has a red early 90s MR2 and I find its steering effort to be twice that of my 93 NSX. Thanks for starting a fun thread, I always liked how the second gen MR2's looked like a more attractive Ferrari than some 80's/90's Ferraris at the time.
 
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since we are discussing Japanese mid engine cars..........imo the mr2 is like the sushi you find pre made in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket....the nsx is fresh hand crafted in front of you at the best restaurant in town:biggrin:
 
docjohn said:
since we are discussing Japanese mid engine cars..........imo the mr2 is like the sushi you find pre made in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket....the nsx is fresh hand crafted in front of you at the best restaurant in town:biggrin:
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Thats a good way to put it! lol I look at the mr2 as the little brother of the nsx. All the same stuff just not as refined.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkfVnkFzeZk

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Yinzer said:
Kind of shocked to read this, ha ha. A friend has a red early 90s MR2 and I find its steering effort to be twice that of my 93 NSX. Thanks for starting a fun thread, I always liked how the second gen MR2's looked like a more attractive Ferrari than some 80's/90's Ferraris at the time.
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The question I have is what are the tires between the MR2 and NSX at the time of the comparison? make/model and tire size can make all the difference in the world on the steering feel during parking..
 
BATMANs said:
The question I have is what are the tires between the MR2 and NSX at the time of the comparison? make/model and tire size can make all the difference in the world on the steering feel during parking..
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Interesting, never thought that might affect things. Makes sense that larger wheels and wheels would result in higher efforts due to contact patch size? My NSX has 15/16's and I believe my friend's MR2 was all 15's or 16's, definitely not 17's or larger.
 
Yinzer said:
Interesting, never thought that might affect things. Makes sense that larger wheels and wheels would result in higher efforts due to contact patch size? My NSX has 15/16's and I believe my friend's MR2 was all 15's or 16's, definitely not 17's or larger.
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What about the make/model (performance category - like r-compound, extreme rated, max rated, ultra high performance, ultra-high performance all season and so forth). Also the temps of the conditions that the tires were compared.

Soooooo many variables.
 
yeah.. You see similar posts like this for almost any cars. Purchase decisions are rather subjective/emotional. I am familiar and have driven the MR2's. I personally would never cross-shop the NSX with the MR2 regardless of how fast it is. Why don't we compare the MR2 with the Italian mid engine cars while we are at it? It is pointless in my opinion.

Furthermore, there is no right or wrong purchase decision, it is your money, do what you want with it.

mrbozo1 said:
We could compare all day this vs that and so on. It sounds to me the OP has his heart set on an NSX.
Click to expand...
 
If it was not for 3rd gear, the exclusiveness, the timeless design, the conversation starter, the videos and snapshots, the appreciation, the car you can stare at for hours, I would have kept my MR2.

On some many days, the MR2 was meh......, and on all days, the NSX is ear to ear.
 
Mike,

Where do you live ? I live in MD and my friend lives near a guy in Severn that has 3-4 MR2s at a time. I love them and I have always wanted a turbo model.
 
What a timely thread. Proud owner of a '91 MR2 with 373K miles, but since my neighbor hit the rear quarter with her SUV a few weeks ago, my eye has started wandering. Just starting my journey here, but the NSX is at the top of a very short list. Glad to see some kinship between the MR2 and NSX!
 
nis350 said:
yeah.. You see similar posts like this for almost any cars. Purchase decisions are rather subjective/emotional. I am familiar and have driven the MR2's. I personally would never cross-shop the NSX with the MR2 regardless of how fast it is. Why don't we compare the MR2 with the Italian mid engine cars while we are at it? It is pointless in my opinion.

Furthermore, there is no right or wrong purchase decision, it is your money, do what you want with it.
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I guess you never seen the multiple cover stories comparing the MR2 to the Ferrari??? And the first gen MR2 actually beat out the new Ferrari for car of the year. So other than yourself...Many others dont think its "pointless".

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mike555 said:
I guess you never seen the multiple cover stories comparing the MR2 to the Ferrari??? And the first gen MR2 actually beat out the new Ferrari for car of the year. So other than yourself...Many others dont think its "pointless".

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I would love to read that article. Went looking for it online, didn't find it yet but, but found this one.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/1986-toyota-mr2-vs-1985-ferrari-308-gtsi-qv-comparison/

Fun quote in that article: “The MR2 is a source of pure, unalloyed driving fun and is infinitely superior to anything remotely like it. God help the Italians if the Japanese ever decide to build supercars.” — David E. Davis Jr., Automobile, April 1986"
 
Yinzer said:
I would love to read that article. Went looking for it online, didn't find it yet but, but found this one.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/1986-toyota-mr2-vs-1985-ferrari-308-gtsi-qv-comparison/

Fun quote in that article: “The MR2 is a source of pure, unalloyed driving fun and is infinitely superior to anything remotely like it. God help the Italians if the Japanese ever decide to build supercars.” — David E. Davis Jr., Automobile, April 1986"
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that was a really good read, thanks for posting. i always wanted to buy an older 308 or 328 as the local car for my Oahu beach house, except now they've doubled and tripled in value.

the quote you posted above is fantastic in hindsight. the Japanese building Supercars forced the Italians to build better ones, and of course gave us our beloved NSX...
 
I doubt that you would find too many buyers are cross shopping 348's and MR2's new or used. They buy Ferrari's because of the brand. The demographics of the buyers are very different.

You can drop $15k in an MR2 to make it goes really fast, but it is still an MR2. I personally would not trade my stock NSX for your 12 second MR2 just because I want to own an NSX rather than an MR2. It is an emotional reason. I am not bashing the MR2, just trying to say that car purchase decisions are not solely based on speed.

Put in a similar post in the Fcar forum to see what kind of responses you get.

mike555 said:
I guess you never seen the multiple cover stories comparing the MR2 to the Ferrari??? And the first gen MR2 actually beat out the new Ferrari for car of the year. So other than yourself...Many others dont think its "pointless".

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nis350 said:
I doubt that you would find too many buyers are cross shopping 348's and MR2's new or used. They buy Ferrari's because of the brand. The demographics of the buyers are very different.

You can drop $15k in an MR2 to make it goes really fast, but it is still an MR2. I personally would not trade my stock NSX for your 12 second MR2 just because I want to own an NSX rather than an MR2. It is an emotional reason. I am not bashing the MR2, just trying to say that car purchase decisions are not solely based on speed.


Put in a similar post in the Fcar forum to see what kind of responses you get.
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Yep..you are totally right about that. The NSX has an exotic factor the MR2 just doesn't have. And I plan on owning both cars. And I love both cars! But the MR2 is appreciating and I think sometime in the future they will have their day. No where near NSX status though. I would love to take you for a ride in my MR2 turbo...I think you would be very surprised at how capable the car is with very minimal money into it. On the track too...not just in a straight line.

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honda built a car that from a construction/market segment perspective competed with the mr2.....the del-sol...
 
brandonsan said:
Mike,

Where do you live ? I live in MD and my friend lives near a guy in Severn that has 3-4 MR2s at a time. I love them and I have always wanted a turbo model.
Click to expand...

I live in Westland MI.

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docjohn said:
honda built a car that from a construction/market segment perspective competed with the mr2.....the del-sol...
Click to expand...


The del sol was meant for male hairdressers...It does not compare to the MR2 at all. Your just being silly now. lol :biggrin: They compare the MR2 to the Ferrari in at least 4 cover stories...not the del sol. The MR2 was almost twice the price as the del sol also. At least the turbo version.
 
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the male hairdresser of my age was warren beatty .....he made out pretty well:wink:
 
Lol, I'm in the same boat. I have a 93 MR2 turbo with many mods and have been looking for an NSX here in Canada. My search is limited because of the shitty CDN dollar value but eventually I'll find the right one.

I use to work at an Acura dealer in the service dept. and got to see a few NSX come to our NSX tech. I would just stare at the NSX in the bay and get a sense of the pride that went into designing and building it.
I just love the look and how easy they are to maintain, hopefully I can get a ride in a FI one to compare to my MR2.
 

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