Toyota MR2: My FIRST Sketchy Lap! // Nürburgring 

Why are you guys ripping into this man for being excited? This is huge moment in his life just like it would be for us...

Yall realize he's living a dream in that passenger seat right? Let the man live.

Finally someone who actually engages Micha in a conversation about their own car. This lap was just pure excitement from two different car enthusiasts about the same car, this is just we wanna see more of!

“How are the brakes?” “Good, I’m not using them” 😂

This guy is nice. I think he realized Assetto Corsa is not real life once he felt the speed and G’s (G!!).

Fun car and fun owner. I appreciate his knowledge depth for his cars common mods etc, and it'd be interesting if every cars owner knew this much about their cars and common mods etc during the lap. I'll take nervous chatter over 0 words or staring at phone, every day of the week.

He was so excited! Misha was laughing, but I think it was an understanding laughter....Misha knows the guy was living out a dream letting him drive the car.....what a great video, I'd love to see him make some modifications to the car and bring it back next year.

I missed these old stock/sketchy car videos

Such an enthusiastic owner haha. Maybe it's just the nervousness talking

The guy is a motormouth but very enthusiastic. I like him.

You can laugh all you want with the guy, but he actually KNOWS something about cars... Unlike many others...

Great car, great lap and a great owner. This guy was born to be a rally co-driver navigator 100%.

Small mods would completely transform this car. One thing people think is that a car will suit every track, that’s not the case, the ring is a fast circuit, not suited to this car, a tighter track with more corners and less long straights would suit this car better and be a blast, Cadwell Park or Anglesey for example.

You mean first lap, that was sketchy, with a MR2? Because in general, I distinctly remember many sketchy laps, such as the Xsara, or the one where the brake pedal went out, ones where chassis parts came loose, etc etc. Gotta love variety! Sweet old car with owner who knows and obviously loves it very much.

There's more storage behind the seats! I could fit a 3.5 ton jack, 4 jack stands and a torque wrench back there. 3 tires in the passenger seat + 1 in the frunk. Tools and wheel chocks on the passenger front floor. I miss autocrossing my MR2.

Misha, I met you a few years ago at the Cologne motor show, I was exhibiting there and was coming down an escalator after a long day and a half of travelling from England and setting up our stand. I was honestly a little star struck when I saw you 😂, but I shouted your name and you came back and spoke to me for a couple of minutes which meant a lot and confirmed that you are in fact a decent guy 👍. Congrats too you for all your success over the years and it’s almost unbelievable what you, jimmy, and Steve are doing as a team now. I’m strangely proud as just a fan lol 👊

I had modified MR-2 with 2zz-ge engine. Unfortunately I had to sold it. Your video is sentimental journey for me❤

Loved how excited he was and real his emotions were. Also loved how Misha just let him keep talking the whole time.

Loved your conversations with the owner! Please more! Way more entertaining than a super fast lap where nobody says a word :)

And finally, the MR2-we love this car. The 2ZZ swap +turbo is an absolute beast. A great design combined with low weight, just add some power and make a few suspension tweaks, and you'll get a car that can outperform much more expensive ones. If you're interested in seeing how such a car performs, check out our channel where we race it in hill climbs.😁

Why did you say you wouldn't do stock cars anymore? These are the videos I enjoy most.

love this dude, he's soo happy, love to see the looks of his face 😊

I think the definition of an excited owner should link to this video :) Keep up the good work Misha.

I love the personality owner, seems such a nice guy!!! Misha always bring the best content for us!

This was one of the most wholesome Misha videos I´ve seen in a while! The dude was really nice and funny, you can hear his passion for this kind of cars. I really enjoyed watching!

His mouth is running faster than the car 🚨 🚗 😅😂

For anyone who's mocking this nice guy, may I remind you that he currently owns his dream car, is very passionate about it and just did a lap around Nurburgring? Many of us doesn't get the same luxury, so I think we should show more respect 😅

Decent suspension setup will solve that. I had one, very capable car and though I am a aw11 enthusiast, the mr-s spyder is the best handling of the 3 models of mr2.

The MR2 mk3 or MR-S was quite successful in the gt300 in early 2000s. I believe it ran with a 3S-GTE engine. I am a big fan of this car, seems like a perfect weekend car especially in the summer!

Had the same car (with LSD), suspension was not as soft as yours. My advice: freshen up the suspension and put semi sporty 195 tires front and back and you have a brilliant handling car. The squared 195 setup is best mod i did.

Hi misha I have a mk2 mk2 turbo wide body I will be at the ring in June would u like to do a lap

Nice guy who loves his car remember we are all that person Ps try a stock flywheel to wake her up :)

One thing I learned watching Gears and gasoline when Ben Lin built his MRS/MR2 spyder is the front has a lot of chassis flex and when Ben had the roll cage built, they re-enforced the front part of the chassis. He swapped a junkyard bought 2AR Toyota Camry hybrid engine.

I love this guy! Thanks for all the information about your car! Great passion sand thanks for not recording from your mobile the whole time👊

Thank you both for bringing this car to us!

lol thanks for the shoutout, maybe MR2 racecar needs to do a lap

Nothing wrong with being enthusiastic, Some people are amazed and have a very positive outlook, who said there’s a limit in how much you talk in this world

Love the owners enthusiam! Great vid

Now Misha needs to try a track prepped K-swaped MR-S to see what this baby is really capable of.

10:40 misha was just having soo much fun , bro is a professional yapper, and we love it!! hahahhahha

When people are quiet you complain. When people talk too much you complain. There is no pleasing youtube audience. The guy seems nice maybe he was nervous, some people when nervous tend to speak more. Give him a break ffs.

I love the MR2 so much.I think the 2ZZ swaps the gent was talking about is one of the best mods you can do for the car. You get Toyota VTEC, decent aftermarket support... the MR2 has so much personality in everything it does. Looks, sound, performance... I absolutely love it when I see one!

This is what i love!

much rather have excited talkative passenger than holding up a phone to record dead mouth passenger

Man this guy is having a great time and I love that

The KW V3 coilovers will transform it totally, bought them for my own zzw30 last year and it's night and day. I'm also planning to do a k24 swap but that will take a few years for me to find the time and money for it, if you're still doing this by the time this gets done you're welcome to take it for a spin :)

Ive been hoping you would make a video in an mr2 eversince I found out about your channel. Awesome lap mate!

Man, on showing the world quricky bits of a car - never skip out on! We're here for the lap, but your take on uncommon cars is always welcome!

i was considering bringing my own stock mr2 down for my first nurburgring experience this summer, but mine is super clapped out (stemming from a skill issue in icy conditions) so i don't think misha would have wanted to drive it 😅 nice to see it's capabilities in stock form at the ring, im hoping to eventually 2zz swap mine with the appropriate supporting mods (brakes, cooling, suspension, wheels etc.) so maybe some time in the next couple of years we may get to enjoy a lap together ❤️

Also this mr2 with the 2zz🤤 perfecto

MR2's are nice. A friend of mine had a Gen 2 MR2 at the time. The second generation was also the most beautiful in my opinion. I could never really get used to the third one visually.

I like them so much I've got 2, an early stock 5 speed JDM import and a mildly modded facelift 6 Speed. One thing of note is that at least here in the UK the facelift models have quite a bit softer springs and a higher front ride height and looking at his ride height and from the way it rolls it does look like he's got the softer facelift springs (when replacing springs/dampers a garage who isn't in the know might fit the later softer ones by mistake!) Swapping to stiffer adjustable coil overs and decent tyres along with a front strut brace as I've done with my own facelift MR2 totally transforms the car and makes it a real joy to drive. Also you might as well ditch the space saver in the frunk to save 11Kgs of weight as in a car this light ever little makes a difference, and my coil overs save another 11KG. I did consider an engine swap but as I already keep having to back out to stop going silly fast on the road I decided it would be a bit pointless trying to go much faster. In any case there's a restricted air intake pipe which you can very cheaply swap out which along with a high flow air filter gives you a few extra bhp and a better throttle response. I've also fitted uprated brake pads and fluid and a quick shift and I've replaced the rubber bearings in the gear linkage with metal ones (best and cheapest mod ever at £2.50!) which makes the gear change oh so satisfying 🙂

I remember suggesting you should drive one of these on one of your end of year 2023 videos and you made it happen Misha! As a MK3 MR2 owner myself here's my thoughts after doing my first ever track day in my life at Brands Hatch in January. All UK spec cars thankfully get a Torsen LSD from factory whether it's an early 5 speed like mine or the later 6 speed. First suspension mod should be upgraded front and rear anti roll bars. Mine runs the Whiteline kit and I couldn't imagine doing a track day with standard ARBs so no wonder you found the handling sketchy 😅 Definitely needs a better seats than standard for track work though! For me the issue wasn't the leather material. It was the lack of lateral support under hard cornering. I've since changed the seats for gen 7 Celica GT half leather/half alcantara items which are far more supportive and more comfortable. I'm on road tyres as well like this guy (195/50/15 Rainsport 5 front and Falken 205/50/15 rear) and only other suspension mods on my car is TTE lowering springs with fresh OEM spec dampers and Barbarian Racing front strut brace. Overall the car handled well and even with the body roll there still was on the track, the car still seemed to have plenty of grip with those road tyres. I loved the feeling of exiting corners using the throttle 😃 The standard braking setup is very good though! The only mod I've got in that area is braided lines. I did use my brakes a lot that day and I never ran out of stopping power. All I noticed was the pedal getting a little softer (1 year old fluid at the time). The car is light so even with engine conversions and higher power levels people often leave the standard caliper setup but will change the pads to suit their preference. If you've made it this far Misha I'd love to let you drive my car if I ever come to the Ring and see what your thoughts are! In the meantime I hope some modified examples appear on your channel. DannyDC2's MR2 would be excellent for you to drive as that car is built for the UK MR2 Championship race series.

I bought same car even tho I have much newer and faster cars. Its great chassis (under 1000kg) with solid brakes (as its light). Ive just added Whiteline sway bars, Bc coilovers and 6speed (gearing is sadly very long, JDM and USDM had shorter gearing) with LSD. Its very good car. It has literally insane turn-in, its really well balanced. Nothing like snapoversteer as you can read online 😃 Its overlooked car and its cheap, yet has a lot of potential - proved many times. If somebody wants cheap midengine car, this is a nice option and parts are cheap too.

As a mr2 spyder owner I must confirm. The car is anything but fast, but it feels fast to the driver which is great if you want pure fun. It shines in low speed corners and twisties and super fun in that pushing 6k rpm in second gear without going light speed, the car ways about 950kg and since the 1zz is a bit underpowered you can push it in the corners, snap oversteer is a thing tho but since its mid rear engine layout, not that bad as in the previous generation mr2 where the engine is behind the rear axel. But going top speed is super sketchy, but thats not what the car is about. Basically you hear the engine riping and feel engaged without breaking the speed limit and loosing your license. I do have to say, it can go fast and the driver should not push it. The deformation zone are your legs and there is no rollbars in stock build. Also, most of the parts are from the corolla so the service costs are friendly. Anyway if you do a 2zz swap or a k20, change the suspension and other things the car is crazy. Imagine having 300hp (not the 2zz pfcourse) in a street legal gocart.

I was there last week for the second time with my 2zz swapped Mr2 spyder, can’t think of a better car for the money, it sounds amazing, handles amazing, looks really cool, sure it isn’t the fastest on the straights but it’s a really fun car :)

Never thought I'd see rhe day! Love some confirmation bias on my mr2

He's correct about the KWv3 coilover. I have them on my turbo MR2 (2003)+A052 tire. It's a pretty insane car at 1000kg weight. I'd love to take it to the green hell at some point. Let's gooooo.

Love all models of the MR2 awesome car.

He´s a such nice guy :) Remember my first time on ring at my twentys...I was even more excited :)

I had one of these. These are so cool

🐸 So hyped for this because I own one BTW the pre-cat thing is apparently better on the facelift cars, they made the engines burn less oil. Apparently while suspension is important, lowering these cars my more than a couple centimeters ruins the roll center and the handling. The same guy who told me that also said that stock brake discs are basically all you need. Not like an MX-5 where it's a necessary upgrade for a track build. And yeah the stock flywheel is pretty light, and these cars get surprisingly amazing fuel mileage.

If you do an engine swap and trans, and do racing brakes, suspension and rollcage with recaro seats, these are amazing cars to drive, keep up with some modern sporty hatches! Totally underrated car; a sleeper if you will.

You really need to try a mark one (AW11) version with either (even?) Koni dampers or preferably coil overs fully set up (LEDA used to be a favourite - I’ve run both). No power (though can be made very light - mine was 729kg caged. And corner weighted to tiny discrepancies front to back and side to side) though the supercharged version could run c.190BHP in good condition, and beautiful handling with steering feel to die for!

10:20 As much fun as both were having here I think that was a little too much to ask 🤣

i didnt know you wanted to drive one.. I have a MR2 with low budget tuning (my first car ever). Anyway, great video, but i am happy i did the changes on my MR2 haha

3:25 It wasn't trouble of precats pieces getting back to combustion chamber. Precats are breaking apart and jamming exhaust which tends to increase EGT, which causes valve seals to basically burn which causes oil leak into exhaust port.

Very quick mr2 👍

He’s so visibly nervous he can’t stop talking haha nice car!

love the passenger chat in this lap

I have seen Videos of people putting a 2GR V6 Engine in their Toyota MR2. Some use the NA engine while other use the supercharged version. Especially the NA V6 sounds really nice

Finally a passenger that talks! awesome lap

Just bought one of these LOL I think they handle great for what they are. Mine is the MRS import version. Although it has to be said the seats are absolutely terrible and uncomfortable for long and hard driving. Slippery and the leather is not soft

Bro is so excited to be there. So cool man.

I wasn't gonna comment but goddam this kid is a chatter box! lol anyway i've been waiting for an MR2 video for a while. Nice lap and hope you get a modified MR2 soon

Love this chap. Entirely on the spectrum. What a guy lol

This guy is living his best life ❤

What a legend owner, would love a beer with him!

3:08 correction, the 1ZZ is extremely reliable out of the factory but they absolutely DO NOT like to hit the limiter. And yeah, the stock suspension is very soft and not fitting for the car at all. Drop some coilovers in and it completely transforms the car. (mine has a KW V3) @Misha If you liked it like this, you will love to drive one with a proper suspension.

Guy is a non-stop speakin' lexicon :D Love it!

My mr2 spyder is chilling around 155k miles with 5k miles on the 2zz swap. Absolutely shreds, changed the car completely.

Need to see a Zurawski Motorsport VW 1.8t swapped MR-S take on the ring

I’ve got TTE turbo Mr2 ZZW30 with 185 HP and 255 Nm.

These things, they need a couple of bracing (later year MR-S come factory with bigger bracing at front subframe too), a set of coilovers, better tires, better pad/disc/braided line/DOT4, and it should be enough. 140hp is bit little, but that's the "fun" part.

I have a JDM Corolla with the 2zzGE and 6 speed and its great fun stock, would be great to see Misha in one around here

I'm so happy this guy never pulled out his phone and stared at the screen

If you want to build an MR 2 the best swap kit on the market is the 1.8t bam that the Stav tech guys have. This is what I have planed for mine

Beautiful car!

Holy Moly!

This one of the most under rated car. It has great potential as you can do many things to make it amazing track car. 2zz or K20 swap Just go and drive one with any of this swap.

Well, this reminds me of driving in @KayHesse his Mr2. On sketchy tires going sideways on the road.. After a few laps I decided to moneyshift it.. Hmmm, good old days.

Nothing like a sketchy car XD BTW Misha, I'm getting to love your glasses. WHAT ARE THEY I WANT ONE LIKE IT

Here for the Danny mention 😂. Great idea

Looks like a fun little car

Alot bodyroll but still handling magnificent tho.. misha just used to stiff cars.. more fun with bodyroll and little more playfull. Great lap done 👍

My Roadster is 20 years old in next month, owned from new and is the Facelift UK Version, so a 6 speed box, Limited slip, added bracing, different seats, bumpers and lights plus 15" Fronts and 16" Rears with fatter rear tyres. You might find a low mileage Facelift could handle a bit better as result. Mine has been lowered by 30ml but still has the stock shocks & is fitted with 195/50 15 and 225/40 16 Yokohama Advan AD08R tyres & handles really well. Engine is stock, still with precats & only done 69K miles. There will be hundreds of our little cars at the MR2 Drivers Club get together on June 2nd at Hatton...looking forward to it. Good to see a positive review...keep up the great content.

hi misha i have one mr2 spyder k24 swap and some nice aero and fuctional upgrades. should i pm you when its ready?

Same engine as my 7th gen Celica, would be cool to see you drive one of those, potentially the 190hp VVTLI model (2ZZ). The engine is the same until it enters lift (Vtec basically) at 6250rpm where it gains 50bhp over the 140 (1ZZ) until redline. People swap that engine into this as its an easy swap.

It was the celica engine back in 2002 with the vvti system you may find this engine in some lotus cars

Put a 2zz from celica the speed and the rear diff! Also put a coilover and this thing gonna smoke a lot of cars on the ring fully stock only with some mods