Widowmaker MR2 - 230WHP MRS Goes to the Track 

I love how nice and understanding that worker was lol

Oh my! you described some of this on the phone but it wasn't really clear until i saw it on video. There's a lot of little things i've learned over the years of racing an MR2 Spyder, we can make that thing handle a hell of a lot better without a ton of work. It does not have to feel like it's trying to kill you at ever corner.

Holy hell that car looks like it REALLY wants to kill you hahaha. Will be fun watching it improve :)

Ben: *swapped the motor on the mrs making 200+whp, double the factory power* Also ben: “the car just doesn’t stop sometimes” 😂

My parents made the mistake of buying an 85 mr2 as my first car. Having lived near the mountains, I took it to the canyons almost immediately after getting my license, and I am not exaggerating when I say there were moments where I should have gone over the edge from not knowing how to drive it. Snap oversteer almost had me throw my car over a small cliff at 60 mph. Eventually, I saved up my money from working at the local track (and used my employee discount) to actually track drive the thing at time attack and autocross. No car has ever felt as good to drive once I learned it. Not a built civic- not my old supra- not even a new Camaro SS. You simply cannot beat mid/rear engine once you learn to drive it. I miss that vehicle dearly- I shouldn't have sold it. But my new Nebraskan roads and winters aren't kind to cars like that. Enjoy your car. I know that feeling and miss it dearly.

"I´m scared" - Proceeds to go faster. Love it

Great video. As an instructor, a couple of things were noted in the video. On the higher speed turns, you are not staying out and are drifting into the the turn. This is causing an early turn in and then you are having to fight the car on exit. Brake earlier, stay outside and wait for the turn in point, turn in, apex, and then track out. It is all about exit speed. Especially, with a car that has some oversteer. On slower turns, if you turn in later, and are slower, you can throttle steer the car to maximize exit speed and track out position. Another thing, your had position on the steering wheel is a disaster. Your hands are getting all crossed up. Keep your hands at 10&2. Then, when turning right, just before the turn, put your hands at ~9&1 (or 8& 12 for slower turns). The goal is to have your hands at 10&2 relative at the apex (though they are really at 9&1) Then walk your hands back to 10&2 as you exit the turn. It is all about being smooth, consistent, and maximizing the speed out of the exit of a turn. Anyway, keep having fun; you are doing great.

Wow, I love how this is an attainable inexpensive "track car" compared to how much some cost. Plus, the power steering issues and such remind me I'm really just like you guys! 😂

lmao I love the eurobeat that comes in when you showed the oversteer, made my day

Driving an MR2 fast is partly setup partly driving. Both of which are quite different from a normal car. They are really more rear engine than mid engine like an old porsche. Soft suspension in the front with slow rebound to get the weight on the front wheels, and keep it there. Then break on the straight and use the throttle to balance the car through the corners and nail it when you are pointing straight. You cannot trail break!

absolutely sending it while yelling "OPEN DIIIIF" is one hell of a mood haha

An EXTRA special thank you to whoever threw in the eurobeat right when ben took that corner. I blurted out laughing

Ben: Oversteer! Eurobeat intensifies in background.

The title of the video is more accurate than you think. They are known to be very dangerous cars, they are notoriously snappy. I lost a friend last year (coming up to a year this December) in his MR2. He'll rolled and it pancaked, he a cage ready and was due to fit the week after we lost him. It really shows the importance of cages in verts. Stay safe out there people.

Love the Eurobeat after saying oversteer 😂

Having driven a modified MR2 spyder for about 5 years now, I've learned that you really need to go with a staggered wheel setup. 7" wide in the front, and 8" to 8.5" in the rear is a sweetspot that I've found, as it does a lot to combat the oversteer the car is known for. You'll probably need coilovers to make the space for that setup, though.

Hey, Ben! AW11 Owner here! I just wanted to give you some pointers on pushing the car! I'm sure you know this already, but whenever you are approaching a curve or a turn, you either have to brake earlier than normal or reduce speed and stay on throttle. Even partial throttle keeps the mr2 from oversteer and rotating. The MR2 demands the driver to push the car to achieve maximum performance. It's scary for sure, but once you get the hang of the throttle, you'll be planted. Just never lift off; instead, lightly depress the throttle! Good luck, Ben!

So it's a little hard to tell exactly what's happening from video, but here are some things I have learned: if you really do have initial turn in oversteer (while off the brakes, in neutral) then problem #1 might be the front end link to lower control arm connection: there's bushings in there that you really have to crank down on. If you don't compress those enough it's basically like not having a front bar for turn in until they get loaded up. #2 you need to consider spring rates and sway bars together; if your rear spring rate got jacked up too much then it doesn't matter that sway bars are full soft all around. I liked stiff front setting + second softest in the rear with stock springs. MY OPINION however is that you are struggling in low speed entry/mid corner stuff, which is indicative that you need more maintenance throttle. stop messing around with making cool heel-toe downshift sounds and focus more on controlling the brakes going into the corner. Brake in a straight line, don't trail brake; the engine braking is enough to get rotation. You can even let the clutch out partway, without gas, to modulate the front/rear brake balance using the engine braking, but this is pretty esoteric. mid corner focus on maintenance throttle!

MAN that thing sounds great with the new engine. Camry engine has no right to sound that good, I'm sure it'll be even better with the kinks worked out, these logs and the showing of the struggles and the progression of the build are such a cool thing to see.

One thing mr2 taught me on sim is to be a smooth operater with the steering and gentle brake bleed off to help keep the rear slip angle under control. Such a fun car to learn lift off oversteer

The Initial D music is almost as great as Ben's recovery skills!

I don't know exactly what your rear setup is on the car but if you have a rear bar, remove it and tune with springs. Mr2s like a softer rear. Then work on bump steer correction at least in the rear. Static camber helps with strut cars also. One rule of thumb, tune the end that is having problems (oversteer tune the rear, understeer tune the front). Overall just looks like the car may be a bit too stiff and has some teething problems BUT looks like its at a great starting point!

Hmm will say from a friend who races his MR2 Spyder at summit point he definitely recommends steel braided brake lines when track it it helped him endure more of the session brake wise. He has tracked it a few times so know his way around it a bit. I have an MR2 Spyder as well here in Maryland and know a couple spyders in the DMV area we have met up before if you ever need more feedback from any one just let us know we are here to support another fellow Mr2👍 on either Spyderchat or Facebook group

On the next gears and gasoline...Ben becomes a drifter

You guys have some of the best videos out there. Love the MR2 series

225/245 section width tires, brakes and the digital dash up to see easier. love this nugget!!!

I'm always blown away by the production quality you guys put out, thanks for the videos, they are helping get through some really hard stuff. Keep uploading this awesome videos that clearly have character and love put into them.

Thank you for posting can't wait to get on the track

Thanks for adding the full laps at the end of these race track episodes!

This was a nicer episode, because you're showing the development. Excited.

That MR2 has really becoming a different beast. Great driving!

That is a tiny terror and it is badass! Can't wait to see it with the suspension overhauled and brakes upgraded.

Thank you for making 2 videos a week. This is incredible!

This Camr2 is so nutty. Love the build Ben!

Time for a big brake upgrade for the widowmaker.

all in all over 8 seconds is huge especially for a shakedown! this thing is going to rip once it is dialed in! Hopfully you guys make it back to CT! we have an turbo spyder build series i just dropped yesterday and would love to get on track with you guys some time next year!

Fujiwara Ben, its insane with the new upload schedule. Ride Safe guys!

So what a lot of people get wrong about suspension setups on this car in particular, and Marc has alluded to it with very soft spring rates, is that 99% of coilover setups, that aren't stock, absolutely do not have enough suspension travel. When I hit the limit of my suspension travel, which is super pronounced at lower speeds in canyon runs, or at higher speeds on the track, once you hit the limit, 1) your back tells you that you f***ed up, 2) your car loses control. What SuperMiata did right w/ their suspension setup over Ohlins (which were the previous gold standard for Miatas) was produce a setup with way more droop travel so that when you load up over a bump, your tires remain in contact w/ the ground and allow your dampers to begin absorbing that shock immediately instead of after landing. This is incredibly important, and most track focused suspension fail to take this condition into account.

At 12:52 when you passed the C5 I just felt that in my soul. Wasn't me but I can't imagine the feeling a lot of people had with you passing them in that MRS lol! Nice job dealing with that giddy little terrier.

It always amazes me how one can double their car's power, and still struggle to shave off 10% of their lap time. I learned that the hard way with my first car, trying to make it faster on the track ended up making it unsuitable for daily use.

Oh My! I love to go for a ride on that MR2 man I wish I can. Amazing build Ben keep it up. ❤❤❤❤

Great vid! I usually skip through car vids but this was entertaining the entire time, showing the realities of driving mistakes and highly modified cars!

I like the brutal honesty in every aspect and it shows that when you add double power.... The other issues you may encounter. Awesome videos! You'll get there and look forward to seeing the end results.

Starting off my morning nice and stressed 🤣 nothing short of a nailbiter watching you catch the oversteer and sliding off the track! Can't wait to see your following vids on fixing the 'trauma' this car endured

Man, those shots from the middle of the seats with the car overstearing are awesome!

That little thing is a beast and I look forward to seeing it in its fully dialed in form.

Another great vid! Can't wait to see more MR2 content

in my experience the MR2 wants a relatively big camber settings. Specially in the rear. i Think this comes from the dual McPhearson setup. I drive with -3° front and -2,5° to -3° in the Back and my tires have a very even tread wear. Some peaple even drive with less camber (~ -4° in the back) This might help with the oversteer everywhere.

Taking some pointers from Spirit MR-S builder: Remove gas tank, add small fuel cell in the "frunk" area. Pillowball Spherical bushings all around. Remove all abs and electronics, run everything as analog as necessary (add brake controller and make braking force rear biased) Spring rates 12K front 16K rear Tires 16 front 17 rear with wide size (245+ rear). Camber -3.5 front -5 rear. 👍🏼 it's all about balance.

Tall ben is such an inspiration to see how far he has come with that driver mod💯

Gotta love these middle of the week uploads.

For the time and money invested that's a great difference in laptimes. Once you get the car dailed in, this is going to be a great little car.

I'm in love with this build..

I'm frankly shocked at how much driver improvement Ben has made over the last few years - staying planted despite the absolutely terrifying levels of snap oversteer and keeping it collected and on the pavement (and not testing that roll bar out) is frankly impressive... I can't wait to see the whole series working with Frankenstein Motorworks to actually get it dialed in to where this car lets Ben progress more as a driver, and not quite as exclusively as a brown undergarment production technician.

Fantastic video! I enjoy a lot stay onboard with you for all that session.

8secs! Man that’s huge! Can’t wait to see what she does when you get some good brakes on it and get the handling dialed

Awesome video. Thanks Ben(s and Luke)

Just remember, although snap oversteer may be a tendency of the platform but it is still driver error. (Still doing better than I ever could and I'm sure you will get better in not time)

If you master this MR2 just imagine the confidence you will gain to go flat out with the EVO. Great video 👍

I love this guys videos…because you feel like you go on the emotional adventure with him.

Such a dope build!

You handled the infamous snap oversteer like a pro. This car forces you to be a great driver. I miss my first and second gen MR2 every summer

Lol the little MR2 passing all those Corvettes

Awesome video! Really impressed with the TQ numbers on it. I have a 2zz Stroker and have thought hard about installing that LSD now after watching this video.

favorite build to date!

I really like your video colours and overall production. Very nice

I do like this engine conversion a lot about guy from FM answered all my questions on the how to do it stuff so big respect to him. Hes a propper car guy.

Been waiting for this one....

Kudos to you for staying with it. After the 2nd almost snap over steer I would have backed way off and thought about a 4wd evo/subi :-)

I love the Test n Tune track day content. MORE MORE MORE I SAY!!!

Love the Eurobeat at the mention of oversteer

The Initial D music during the oversteer portion of this is awesome. Hats off to the editor. 😂

That MR2 is a workout. Glad your working the bugs out

Hardest part about MR is ya gotta brake in a straight line and keep weight on the rear wheels during the corner to counter that oversteer. You could also be overdriving the car, which is a common folly of all younger drivers-- like me. Do that shit ALL the time.

The eurobeat edit was hilarious 😂😂😂

I liked watching the oversteer, some great saves there!

God I am so much happier with these double week uploads

I think I was smiling or laughing the entire video. I can't wait to drive this car again!!

When the Euro beat came on as he started to counter and over steer was hilarious

Damn dude this looks like so much fun

I knew that you will eventually use the Initial D background music at some point, but I was not ready for this! Lol! Great Job guys!

This is gonna be so satisfying when it’s dialed in

Watching the two cars together, damn. Its terrifying with the engine swap and a nice daily drive with out it.

Looks like a fun time! I used to race an engine swapped Fiero, so I can relate. Mid engine cars are a different animal, and take some getting used to. Also, looks like the MR2 needs more brakes, and an upgraded power steering cooler. Edit: or you could man up and do a power steering delete. 😛

It sounds so good!!!!!!!!

Looks a hell of a lot more fun than my golf 7.5r! I think aero and playing with the alignment will help with your corner stability, but the cars character will shine through regardless, such is the nature of the beast.

"I have to pee." - me before every session, without fail.

I bought my MR2 from a neighbor a couple years ago to replace a wrecked Mazda3. I was thinking I would sell it until this series came along. After my current project is done I'm going to seriously look into this swap. Great job guys.

Many thanks. I've liked these since my father owned one. Stuck to a corner like sh"t to a shovel, did fit a full whiteline suspension kit. Been looking to pick one up for my own fun. Wife thinks I need to sell my Busa and gsxr first. Did tell her if she sells her Impreza first. Yip wife, in her 40s and drives the Impreza like she's in a race to go shopping 😁

I just love seeing this little MR2 running along those other bad boys 😂😂

5:22 First Viper on your channel! Good job, by the way, Ben! Keep going!

Really like the car, lots of fun

Shout-out to Frankenstein motors dude seems to love the mr2 and Toyota community!

Dang, that looks like fun !!!! :)

Having the Eurobeat was awesome haha 🤘🏻

Would like to point out a couple of (obvious) things... Dude, you drove like a BEAST.! Super Impressive. Damn dude. And pushing through not one, not two, BUT THREE sessions. Just felt I need to say... Give yourself pats, credit, and props! And that's without saying... If you were serious and needed to pee there at the start, how did you NOT Pee yourself?! Keep up the content. Cannot wait to see how the next couple of adjustments get things going.

this guy is such a good driver. you don't expect that from youtubers sometimes

I took a note from the 2003 and newer MR2 and installed 16X7 wheels on the front and 17X7.5 rear and it doesn't act up in corners anymore, with the 2AR it needs the Xtra traction. You will also want some heat protection, Summit Racing sells some with an adhesive backing that works good, I also use a header blanket from Nissan part-16590-3TA0A

Ben, I watch your channel because of you and Ben. Have fun and be careful. I must admit I was scared myself watching you with those quick hands. When you getting this lady back on the track?

excellent video--this is the shit we need more of