Going from the Evo to an MR-S is like restarting the game, and scrolling all the way down past Hard Mode and selecting PAIN. Then going "Alright, this should be fun"
@TorqueTestChannel can never really tell with the tool/tech guys. To some it's just a career, some only care about fixing things, but some of us live and breathe cars.
Man I know it's probably really stressful and at times it seems like everything is fighting against you. But I'll tell you what, you guys are very lucky. Even if you're in last place, it's your job to race wheel to wheel in your homebrew creations. Try to enjoy the ride, and the rest will come.
he’s likely very aware of how lucky he is to create content for a living, he’s simply competitive and expects more from himself, nothing wrong with that.
The only bad day on a race track is one you cant walk away from, everything else is just an expensive learning experience. Looks like a ton of fun, and stress!
Hawk Integra here, completely appreciate this video. It captures the insanity that is GLTC and getting started in it, perfectly. I remember my first qualifying, and having the same feelings of frustration as Ben Lin. Keep going! its gets better, you get more comfortable and it becomes the most fun you've ever had. This was a lot of fun to watch! Looking forward to trying to catch that MR-S in the near future!
I know it's stressful to race wheel to wheel and 17th and 30th may not seem exciting, but for me, wheel to wheel racing is so much more fun to watch than the gridlife content. Not that the old stuff was bad, it's just harder to get excited about lap times. You got some great shots of cars flying off track. Keep up the good work.
Honestly you have to use the MR2 to it’s advantages. Super light and very very nimble. You have to carry your speed wisely. The big motor cars will pull you on the straights of course… but in the corners you can go faster then them… brake later, accelerate out the apex quicker. But if the suspension set up or tires etc etc are not dialed AND including your confidence in the vehicle will all play a factor.
Problem was he was catching too much air and his handling in the corners wasn’t stiff enough on his old lighter set up. So increasing the weight seemed to be good for his handling this race but the down on power thing was such a surprise. I bet if he had that extra 30 hp he was missing then he woulda been fine
Some of this was tough to watch, but including the difficulties and frustrations probably keeps things grounded and real. I feel like this is setting up for a glorious comeback once they find that missing hp. Crossing my fingers for that at least
Tall Ben, of course the car needs work. But, it appears you need some seat time with momentum cars - shaving 7 sec off is wild. Get that practice in - you’ll do so much better next time !
Bear in mind the 1:50 was practice session where I didn't even get the front tires up to temp due to all the point bys. Not actually representative. Race pace went from 1:45 to 1:43 by the last race.
This is one of my favourite G&G videos. I love thsi series. The grassroots motorsports, the positive mindsets, the struggle, the redemption; its all beautiful. Also having both Marks there just doing what they do best and keeping the bens cool was just great.
keep hammering away at that MR-S, watching your trial and tribulations is an absolute inspiration to all us grass root enthusiasts who are struggling to make things work. lots of love guys
Hey 7 seconds of improvement in one weekend with a car that's 30+ horsetorques down is a major win in my book. Especially since you're used to an AWD class record setting car and you've switched to the MRS.
The MRS will evolve! Going from an evo which you can compensate for cornering in the straights is like going from a broadsword to a katana, the MR2 is a balanced scalpel of a car and did well in its day on the circuits. Give it time and more fine tuning and it will be a beast!!! The mr2 community is cheering for you ben.
Watching your driver development from that first race 3 years ago to now is a night and day difference. So awesome following your love for motorsport! Keep pushing!
as the owner of a SCCA Solo prepped Spyder, this is really frustrating to see. I know that car is capable of a lot more with less. your build and my build are vastly different in strategy. you went heavier with more power, I went minimalistic on everything to stay within the rules. Maybe that is where the key lies. I hope you and Mark can get the spyder sorted. I'm rooting for you.
Heck even the techno pro spirit MRS was only around 180 HP initially and was beating up cars way higher horsepower than it. I think the widebody and overall build intent may be a bit awkward with lins Spyder concerning the class he's going for. If anything it may have made more sense for a K swap and go for a class up with higher HP considering he came from an Evo.
yeah, I think is killing the strenghts of the car,... there are a lot of fast MRS, and all go for the same way. Go Light, go handling, go aero.... if you plain go for other way you should chose other car.
That's absolutely true. You have to go lighter on this chassis, not heavier. It upsets everything including the handling. Its about 80% similiar to an Lotus Elise.
Tall Ben, I must say you did great! You didn't crash, you didn't spin, you catch your car great, none crashed into you, you safely made it home - good job man! You even made more places than the other Ben! You are a good driver, you'll make progress, keep going!
dude, super proud of you and your mr2, I know you have expectations but maybe you're too hard on yourself. 7 seconds on lap time improvement is huge! keep up the great work, I'm sure you'll be better next race when you and your mechanic have fixed the issue of power loss.
This was SUCH A GOOD video! I loved everything about the pacing and switching back between Lin and Thorn and their vastly different situations, mixed together with the right picks of music, and edited perfectly between your footage and the GL footage❤ Just a masterpiece.
After watching for the 2nd time, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you. It's been so long since I've done anything like this, it's refreshing to see how popular it is again & living vicariously through this channel has been great. The only thing I would critique is the length of the uploads, I know most people's attention spans are just too short to justify long episodes, BUT there are some of us out here that could easily watch 30-90-minute episodes & be very happy with them, the other people can just put it on 1.5 times playback speed. And I am not just talking about the races, I mean all episodes, including just wrenching on the cars, helps keep me motivated while I'm at work.
Seeing you guys at mid ohio, and taking bens picture in the civic when he scraped his splitter in the paddock saturday night was absolutely the highlight of my year. You guys are the best
2zz, stripped out, stock body and biggest tires you can fit. This is exactly what happens when you over complicate it. I really want to see the MR competitive but it’s got too many cooks making the same meal.
this is basically what I did for SCCA Solo. I also have found the stock 5spd box to work better than the 6speed version having better ratios. people often don't think about rotating mass but minimalizing the mass of all the spinny parts makes a HUGE difference in the cars performance.
@@zerohikari2685 it’s a cool idea. And theoretically it could work great. But why over complicate it when there are recipes that just work. Especially on a car you just want seat time in
@@typedrew I don't think theoretically it could. It's heavy and the head has zero development into it. You will very quickly hit a point where you run out of flow and have nowhere to go. The only thing it has going for it is displacement.
@@zerohikari2685 the problem is he over powered the car and the rest of it wasn't set up correctly to balance out the power upgrade (which was over a 75% increase from stock). they just assume MR2 parts are all the same without taking into account the weight changed, the balance changed, the width of the car, and there for the leverage on the suspension changed, tire sizes changes which can effect gearing and will increase the rotational mass which effect steering feedback, cornering and braking... he changed everything. mean while, March car stayed fairly stock chassis configuration wise and the same engine and trans has been great for him and a bunch of other people. His issues didnt start with the engine, they car has always had issues since he got it. his issue is the way he built it.
who remembers when Ben L. said the Mr2 was just going to be a cheap lap turner? :D It's crazy how far it has come along now. Can't wait to see it dialed in and sorted out.
Seat time at a circuit like that is a dream for most of us. I live in Maui and we don’t have a circuit here. I know it’s frustrating but Ty to just enjoy the seat time. Try to be proud of all the work you’ve done and how far you’ve come.
Lin, your job isn't to win despite the fact that you want to, your job is to enjoy tinkering with the MRS and talk about the experience. So enjoy the fact that you get to go out with Thorn and Mark and spend time enjoying the track day - and not worrying about the fact that you're in the back (at least as long as you're staying safe).
Man, CRAZY vibes in this video. I am loving the GLTC commentary and the heavy focus on the racing. It really takes me back to your old time attack videos.
fuck this is so dope. no other channel is doing what you guys do. you went from street cars, to casual local time attacks to full on gridlife. love it. keep it going guys.
The Civic just has so many more years in development into making a competitive car in general compared to the MR-S it can only go up from here. But you're also dealing with a whole new type of racing and car with completely different driving styles. I want to see this unique little Toyota get there, it'll be great to see its journey over time.
These videos are such a bonus while I sit at work on Saturday mornings! I actually met the 4 of you while at this event (with my G&G t-shirt on of course). You guys are all great and have the best stuff on YT. The Bens and the Marc(k)s put up with all my dumb questions and it was really nice to meet you guys face-to-face. Will always be a day I remember. Thanks G&G team!
I must say, G&G is releasing some of the best car content on RU-vid. I’m always looking forward to their Saturday uploads. The upload cadence and quality is a perfect balance for me. Keep up the great work, Ben and Ben!
Man, it's a special feeling to watch vids like this as the wind-down of doing the iRacing Petit LeMans in a GTP (ended up p13). Were so many things different I'd be running in some domestic series all summer instead of pretending in a foldable chair with a plastic wheel attached.
Cool to see the audio deployment and mix I worked on for the broadcast make it into your videos as someone who went from just a fan of gridlife from watching your videos a few years ago to working on the show. Won't be making it out to Laguna but hope it made it difference to folks at home catching the races at Gingerman , mid Ohio, and lime rock.
it says alot when you know this channel brings enough income that you could probably just say screw it and buy whatever, build it and race it. but instead you guys keep renovating what you have and pushing it to the limits. last place or first place. the effort to get here alone is winning
I've done sprint meetings in Australia for 30 years and had so much fun and I've seen a lot of mates take the step up in to racing and then they hate their hobby.
I feel like the MRS suspension is too stiff. There seems to be some pogo sticking in the front from time to time. Also, that front end looks like it needs constant correction, however that might just be the editing.
I have been commenting about suspension and alignment set up since he got this car. there is a ton of info out there on set ups for the spyder. event at 180hp, that car should be doing much more than it is.
@@MrZyLeXxit doesn't matter how much weight you have in a car, it shouldn't be pogo'ing around like that. The #1 job of suspension is to keep the tires on the track not constantly loading and unloading an axle with pogo'ing. That's a recipe for an extremely inconsistent car.
no but what i was saying is if you set up car that is suppose to weigh 3000lbs and then take 500lbs out of it, the suspension will be much too stiff for it and pogo'ing around will happen, im not saying you're wrong@@hamsterbrigade
@@MrZyLeXx Ahh..my bad, I understand what you're saying. I don't have any order based on the editing magic but in the order of the video, it looks like it was doing it before he took the weight out. However, you never know based on edit order. btw. Thanks for taking the time to explain.
Tall Ben dont get discouraged. The car is pretty much brand new and you're out there turning laps instead of spinning in every corner like just a few months ago. And you're getting passes on people going off track or breaking down by not going off track or breaking down. Thats a major win.
Lin, you're having to perfect racecraft, this isn't something that's easy and you've picked one of the hardest cars to master, the mr2 is a well noted handful at full tilt and you've got everyone rooting for you. It hurts to see you down, but we're looking forward to your climb to success and will be following you the whole way.
MR2 needs Aero and more HP. You're the only car on the field without it and with how much that car dances there will never be enough weight to fight that off.
if you are rely on aero to set up a car, you're doing it wrong. It's just masking the underlying issues not to mention point penalties. They would also have to get the rear suspension revalved again for aero.
Thorn, well done. You're not at the top yet, but you're keeping it up and clean and staying in perspective. Keep up that attitude and drive and you'll be on top in no time.
@Gears and Gasoline You should watch the RU-vid video of the Spirit MR-S. The guy that built that legendary car spills all the details. Car is light as it can be, using a lot of Titanium braces, roll cage, etc. 80 Liter full cell in front. 2zzge+tranny. Brake controller with ABS delete. Stagger wheel setup, etc etc etc. VERY informative and FREE INFO. I think just having a very light 2zzge car with perfect balance would have been better than 230whp akinston with weight ballasts etc. Give it a watch!
Theres something about the MR2 making me rewatch the whole playlist 5 times LMAFO, I cant wait for the comeback since i also watch that Mr.Marc's video about the MR2 and why it was underperforming
That must be wild to go from a fully built evo 9 to an mr2 haha. I’m still struggling to fully understand the rules here. You’re running a 180hp mrs against a sea of s2k’s and c5’s? Even if it’s based on power to weight ratio you’re never going to beat the low down grunt of an LS on the straights. Kinda confusing. Regardless, great job bens! Lol love your guys’ content!!
was watching the recent Engineering Explained video about the dark horse out braking everything. And how tires are not the limiting factor for G forces. It makes sense I guess that the heavier the car the more horsepower and tire they can run. With how good tires are they are still able to brake/accel as well as a lighter car. Putting light cars at a significant disadvantage. Honestly it doesn't seem like a very fun ruleset to be competing in because of that.
looks really fun out there ..... I enjoy playing my race games forza motorsports and it's always fun for me at least .... I want to build a little Miata I think
I dunno if I'd be able to put ky little temper tantrum on the internet in front a million subs. Props for keeping it real, and reminding us all that the hard part of racing isn't just car breakdowns. As ManKandy from GarageFab would say... "Keep moving forward".
bummed that it is down on power. hope you can get the power back up. i understand that you are pushing the no aero route but i still feel that having a wing will be beneficial. It will get better! you will get better! go get it Ben Lin!
Love these videos. Also cool to see so many S2000, MX5 and MRS on track. In Latvia there is this pesky rule saying that convertibles are not allowed to race in any events. Even with hardtops and full welded roll cages. Would love to take my MRS out as well but yeah
Dont stop being the man to prove it's worth it for the MR2 spyder. There is so much potential. It just needs to be tapped, and your tap dancing on that.
Wake up call there, and thanks Lin for that, you can bring your carefully modified car to the track and finding it is NOT competitive. That sets quite a goal though !
A suspension setup for the lost weight will make the Mr2 faster . It is just a steep learning curve in the beginning. You will find a good setup soon and get more confident with the car. The result will follow.
he added a ton of weight to that car, he didn't reduce it. He's at around 2700+ right now, stock its like 2300. considering he's probably stripped close to 150lbs or more in parts out of it, then put it right back in and then some.
Living the life boys, every kid like us dreamed of what you guys are doing - including being pissed at yourselves for being slow. Can't wait to see more.
Have you considered areo on the mr to raise the minimum wait up to meet closer to what it was with full balist? Because that could be a very effective option depending on how the math works out.
I wonder if you switch over to a 2GR vs a 2AR if that low end torque difference and weight over the rear might help you out coming out of corners and pulling harder on the straights. Ask Marc about converting over to the widow maker he’s done that swap before and he’s already gotten 400whp N/A of of a 2GR it’s worth a thought the mounts line up and your eb60 works with it.
