Finally found 1!

[macatak]

Welcome to the obsession,

Royal Purple also has a line of synthetic trans fluids now.
Max-Gear is the one for manual trans
http://www.royalpurple.com/gear-oil-pp.html

running it in the SC and havn't noticed any difference from Redline.

on another note, I've never had any problems with Mopac in Langley.

[MRII]

The MR2 takes 4 bottles,IIRC. The price was very reasonable.
I have tried, GM syncho-mesh mixed and royal purple gear oil but neither helped me out.

[thelaw604]

Thanks for the heads up on the tranny fluids.

I've been reading a lot on it in this forum and MR2OC. It seems a lot prefer the lightweight/heavyweight shockproof on MR2OC and people prefer the MT-90 here. Are they drastically different?

I've also done some research on tires as well. My friend is selling his car and may sell me his bronze Enkei Evo5 rims. They are 17x7. He is checking the offset for me tonight. After reading further, it looks like 225R/205F would fit these rims. Thoughts?

In terms of tires, I've done a bit of research but haven't narrowed down to the tires yet. Reviews seemed mixed for a lot of tires. I initially wanted tires around $100/each but it seems like that isn't going to be happening after some research. So I'm looking at $150 or less each. I've narrowed it down to these based on reviews:

Falken 912
Pirelli P4
Kumho ASX
Continental ExtremeContact DWS

Any thoughts or other suggestions? As mentioned earlier, a lot of these tires have mixed reviews so I'm a bit lost. My main purpose would be daily driving so good traction in the rain is a must for our weather. I won't be driving it when there's snow out, but may still drive it's cold (ie. zero degrees). Would prefer not changing tires every year so tread life is somewhat important. I drive about 10k kms a year.

Thanks for all your help, already liking the community!

[RePete]

I used MT-90 on my old hardtop before I put in a new tranny, seemed to work fine. I used it because it was available and recommended.

As for tires, your sizing is correct for non-staggered 17x7. Something like 205/40 and 225/45. If you want cheap tires, go South. Can't beat their pricing there, Schwab, Discount Tire, Tire Rack - all of them are very inexpensive compared to here. I got my tires on closeout for $74 each, they were going for $235 and $305 when I priced them here.

One thing you should know about most tire comparison tests. Except for possibly the top and the bottom rankers, all tires in a test usually are within 10% of each other's performance statistics across all results (turn-in, wet/dry grip, braking, etc.). Ten percent is easily within the reach of a good driver. So pick a tire with the tread wear & noise level you want and mount away.

[immorality]

I'm running the 205/225 combo on my stock wheels and it works well. In addition I've got Kumho ASX on the back and they are a great tire for the $$.

[MR2Kid]

Tires is the last thing I would compromise on. doesn't matter how much hp you have, or how good your weight distribution and how well your car can handle if you don't have traction.

I agree with Repeate, to go south. I like the Kumho's, but definitely go for a higher performance tire. I run the ECSTA SPT, and they have been great. Just a suggestion. I got mine at discount tire, all 4 mounted, balanced, taxes and duty under 650$. Worth the money and drive down.

[immorality]

Oops, I have Kumho AST's out back. They were on the car when I bought it.

[thelaw604]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions.

I ended up order the Kumho ASX last Friday from discount tire and they are being shipped to Point Roberts for pick up. Total came to $390 USD before taxes and duties at the border. I will look into the the SPT for my next set (thanks Matt). Where do you all go to get your tires mounted/balanced? Kaltire wanted $130, Fountain Tire wanted $140, Volco wanted $100.

The notchy/grind in 2nd gear is still prevalent and starting to be quite annoying... I hope I wasn't blinded by how clean the exterior is and miss this when inspecting it. Toyota should've caught it when they did their inspection... In any case, going to get some MT-90 sometime this week and hopefully change it this weekend. (PS. is MT-90 the same as the Redline Lightweight ShockProof?)

I've also briefly read (don't remember where) that the clutch cable could affect the shifting as well. Anyone dealt with this before?

Thanks again!

[Tonyq]

I'll mount your tires for 80 I work at kaltire pm me!!

[thelaw604]

After a bit more research I found out the answers to some of my questions so I'll post them here for other people.

MT-90 vs. Shockproof
Apparently the ShockProof stuff has some friction modifiers in it that may affect the syncros. However, it seems like many on MR2OC swear by this stuff and haven't had any problems. I will probably pick up some MT-90 first and give that a go.

I found where I read about the shift cables (MR2OC). Some say that the shift cable bushings could affect shifting as well. I will have to look into this a little deeper.

Thanks Tonyq for the offer, you've got pm.

[thelaw604]

Finally got around to uploading some pictures.

These are the day I brought her home. I'll take some better pictures later.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/103350185476 ... directlink

[FOX]

Congrats on the nice find! I believe the price is excellent for such a nice car particularly with such a low mileage. As to the rear tires, a remember a phrase I read in MR2.com when I didn't even own a 2: MR2's have rear tires for breakfast. So that is normal.

As to the tranny, the Redline might help, if not, you're up for an LSD tranny change!