Advice Needed

[CharlieCad]

right then, lets get to it iv got a mark 3 MR2 black red seats... but my problem is that i bought it without standard wheels its got 17" toyota alloys all round, they look good but dnt feel right. please correct me if im wrong they usually ride on 15" alloys on the front and 16" on the back?? when driven upwards of 40mph the front gets light and doesnt steer right (not nice at all) driven a frends and its fine. Had the wheel elinment checked and it was spot on soo the qurstion is What could the problem be? is it the wheels because of the diffrece to the original wheel/setup of the car??

please help !!!

[cbzcbz]

Hi,

Welcome to TOC :)

I'm no expert but you're right about the 15's on the front and 16's on the rear. (they are on mine anyway lol) (though not sure if earlier mk3s had 15s all round??)

I know with mine (and probably your mates) the steering is spot on, and the turn in into bends is excellent. It may be the setup like you say, but one of the many knowledgeable people on here should give some good advice :)

[cfc1]

Roadsters made before 2003 had 15|" all round, newer cars had 15" fronts and 16" rears.

You say yours has 17" all round, that in itself is fine.. I too have 17" all round, but what is important is the tyre sizes... the rear tyres should be wider than the fronts, I have 205/40x17 front and 215/45x17 rear, I have no handling problems at all but.. I also have lowered suspension (TIen Springs) and uprated anti-roll bars front and rear (Whiteline) which makes a bit of a difference over stock.

When I first fitted my 17" wheels things never felt quite right, I had the wheels before I had the springs etc, at speeds above/around the 70mph mark the front end went really light and the car felt very unstable, lowering the car solved the problem, here's why I think it done the trick...

If you look under your car just infront of your front wheels you will see a couple of little spoilers, these are there to divert air around the tyre, check to see if they are present on your car (I don't know if they were standard on pre 2003 cars though.. perhaps someone else can confirm) if they are missing then a trip to a dealer is in order. Also, with your car sitting on 17's your cars ride height will be slightly higher, this will cause more air to get under the car, this is what could be causing your handling issues... lowering the car on a set of springs will bring the body back down and stop excess air getting under it. It helped with mine and the car felt more planted after lowering.

What I would do 1st though is... see if you can borrow a set of standard wheels and see f it improoves things, if it does then either buying a set of standard wheels is in order or lowering thecar is in order... if it doesn't then the problem needs to be investigated further, perhaps getting a full geometric check carried out, this can determine if anything is out of shape or out of allignment. Also worth checking suspension bushes and steering components to make sure everything is in good condition.

You want a Roadster for it's handling capabilities as that is primarily what they are all about, if it isn't handling they way it should then you can't enjoy your car... good luck with it and let us know how you get on.

[CharlieCad]

not much to report so far, its goin bk to toyota tho cus theres been a recall on summat so there gonna sort thar out somthing to do with a cable :S nd gonna see wat they say about tha whole driving thingy will let u know wen i know thanx for all the advice so far keep it comin