[Petrus]

I tease you in good fun. There are some older pictures of my first mr2 on here somewhere, which I began modding in my early 20’s, and predictably I made some questionable choices both aesthetically and functionally. Granted, not on the same level of disaster that is your set of decisions, but im sure there are plenty of opportunities to have some fun at my expense, on which I will join you if the ball gets rolling.

Don’t feel bad. I am very difficult to please. I can’t even manage it.

Don´t worry; I feel as good as ányone

My take on the sabi of wabi sabi; honourable proof of a useful life:

and here one illustrating my own ´sabi´.
Was faffing with the wing angle while still on twin crutches. On board had them firmly wedged to keep them from distracting while on/over the boundaries of traction.
Meanwhile my son has 3D printed lighter replicas of the wing supports. Oh and the side uprights of it I made in pvc foamboard.

 

[rcntype]

Alignment you posted looks ok, could always be more accurate with the left and right sides but its good enough. I'd say check your tire pressures as another quick and free way to get the spyder back into shape.

 

[scotched]

IMO this car is not great at prolonged high speeds unless you have bigger tires or something keeping you on the ground.

 

[New2me]

Some time in 2001, Toyota started equipping Spyders with a chin spoiler. If you don't have one, that's part of your problem. Without the spoiler, the car begins to wander at about 60mph.

The part number is 76851-17070.
I installed mine with some humongous plastic rivets ("clips" in Toyota parlance) I found at ACE Hardware. They have 3/8" shafts and 1" heads. I don't know what ACE calls them, but they're in the plastic fastener section.

Will this fit a 2000 model ?

 

[OldMan]

Will this fit a 2000 model ?

Yes

 

[mini1071]

you might want to fully review all of the handling and ride impacts of swaybars, springs (ie coilovers) and shocks. Everything is a trade off between handling snd ride to some degree.

 

[marsrock7]

Hmmm... I don't think I have that little front lip on my car. Guess that's next.

 

[DeuceFatty]

I'm a bit skeptical of the "get a front lip" comments as I do a mostly highway commute (granted not doing 90) and I've gone from stock no lip, to a sti lip, to a TRD lip and can't recall any amount of difference. Do you have the spare tire in the frunk? Taking that out DEFINITELY made the front end feel light/floaty. I keep the spare and put my tools in the frunk to have some weight up front and don't keep anything heavy in the storage behind the seat. Granted my car is modified. FA Coils, Whiteline sway bars, all the TRD bracing, and 15x8 wheels with 205 50 tires.

On a side note hope your condition improves. I skimmed some of the posts so didn't read everything.

 

[Steve Miller]

I'm a bit skeptical of the "get a front lip" comments as I do a mostly highway commute (granted not doing 90) and I've gone from stock no lip, to a sti lip, to a TRD lip and can't recall any amount of difference. Do you have the spare tire in the frunk? Taking that out DEFINITELY made the front end feel light/floaty. I keep the spare and put my tools in the frunk to have some weight up front and don't keep anything heavy in the storage behind the seat. Granted my car is modified. FA Coils, Whiteline sway bars, all the TRD bracing, and 15x8 wheels with 205 50 tires.

On a side note hope your condition improves. I skimmed some of the posts so didn't read everything.

Thanks for the info on the front lip. I haven't ordered it yet, but nevertheless for $50 or so, what can go wrong? (no need to answer ) Still got the donut in the frunk. I've got an OEM jack kit behind the passenger seat. I'm thinking now bigger tires, and wheels, but I really didn't want to go there because I got the original wheels and I like the original look. Maybe it's time to change my mind on that. Matter of fact, I still got the car mats, but I let the driver's side get a little worn.

Also, thanks for the well-wishes on the leukemia. It's the old "is what it is." At 71 I've had a good run, but after six months of treatment, I'm starting to feel the old fire and actually feel well enough to play hockey again, as soon as I have my port-a-cath removed. ugh

Obtw, do you have 205's all around?

 

[DeuceFatty]

Thanks for the info on the front lip. I haven't ordered it yet, but nevertheless for $50 or so, what can go wrong? (no need to answer ) Still got the donut in the frunk. I've got an OEM jack kit behind the passenger seat. I'm thinking now bigger tires, and wheels, but I really didn't want to go there because I got the original wheels and I like the original look. Maybe it's time to change my mind on that. Matter of fact, I still got the car mats, but I let the driver's side get a little worn.

Could try just getting wider tires put on and they'd have a fatter look to them. Not ure if it would help or hurt performance.

Also, thanks for the well-wishes on the leukemia. It's the old "is what it is." At 71 I've had a good run, but after six months of treatment, I'm starting to feel the old fire and actually feel well enough to play hockey again, as soon as I have my port-a-cath removed. ugh

Obtw, do you have 205's all around?

Oh ok, doesn't sound fun. Miss hockey also. Used to play roller (ice too expensive around here).

Yeah, square setup. All 205 tires. It's mostly for tire availability than anything else.

 

[Steve Miller]

Could try just getting wider tires put on and they'd have a fatter look to them. Not ure if it would help or hurt performance.



Oh ok, doesn't sound fun. Miss hockey also. Used to play roller (ice too expensive around here).

Yeah, square setup. All 205 tires. It's mostly for tire availability than anything else.

Obtw, I was digging the hood modification on your Spyder in the pictures you showed. Same car, before and after?

 

[Steve Miller]

IMO this car is not great at prolonged high speeds unless you have bigger tires or something keeping you on the ground.

I'm still looking at wheel offset. For the Spyder the wheels are 6Jx15 ET45 (front) and 6.5Jx15 ET45 (rear). So, if 45mm (1.77165 inches) is positive offset, what is the value/result of adding or subtracting offset? Also, where do I get the specifications for how much clearance I have so without cutting, I can prevent rubbing on the fender, or damaging the suspension, if I want to go with a wider tire, and wheel?

 

[DeuceFatty]

Obtw, I was digging the hood modification on your Spyder in the pictures you showed. Same car, before and after?

Yeah, it's a Seibon ts-style hood. It's vented, but since I have the frunk storage it doesn't do anything I'm assuming. Well unless you count catch all the leaves and crap. Lol...

 

[beachbum]

I'm still looking at wheel offset. For the Spyder the wheels are 6Jx15 ET45 (front) and 6.5Jx15 ET45 (rear). So, if 45mm (1.77165 inches) is positive offset, what is the value/result of adding or subtracting offset? Also, where do I get the specifications for how much clearance I have so without cutting, I can prevent rubbing on the fender, or damaging the suspension, if I want to go with a wider tire, and wheel?

Changing offset will change the scrub radius of the suspension and may make the handling more unstable and impact stability when braking. Staying close to stock offset is probably a good thing

Tire Offset Explained

You can do you own wheel calculations with a tool like THIS calculator. It can be very helful when comparing wheel and tire sizes.

As suggested earlier, alignment probably has the biggest impact on handling and stability, assuming the tires are good and the pressures are correct. The Spyder seems very sensitive to alignment, and even small changes can be felt. Some tires have more straight line stability that others.

But if the car seems stable at legal highway speeds but becomes a bit less stable at higher speeds, that suggests an aero issue with front end lift. The point of the little chin spoiler is to reduce the air under the car to reduce lift. Lowering the car has a similar effect. We lowered our Spyder about an inch and the car was more stable at speed. The lowering also changed the rake as the front lowered slightly more than the rear, which also reduced aero lift. But lowering introduces other issues like the need for stiffer springs and reduced ground clearance and may not be an acceptable trade off.

Of course, since 90 MPH isn't legal anywhere in the US, you can also just slow down a bit.

 

[Steve Miller]

Changing offset will change the scrub radius of the suspension and may make the handling more unstable and impact stability when braking. Staying close to stock offset is probably a good thing

Tire Offset Explained

You can do you own wheel calculations with a tool like THIS calculator. It can be very helful when comparing wheel and tire sizes.

As suggested earlier, alignment probably has the biggest impact on handling and stability, assuming the tires are good and the pressures are correct. The Spyder seems very sensitive to alignment, and even small changes can be felt. Some tires have more straight line stability that others.

But if the car seems stable at legal highway speeds but becomes a bit less stable at higher speeds, that suggests an aero issue with front end lift. The point of the little chin spoiler is to reduce the air under the car to reduce lift. Lowering the car has a similar effect. We lowered our Spyder about an inch and the car was more stable at speed. The lowering also changed the rake as the front lowered slightly more than the rear, which also reduced aero lift. But lowering introduces other issues like the need for stiffer springs and reduced ground clearance and may not be an acceptable trade off.

Of course, since 90 MPH isn't legal anywhere in the US, you can also just slow down a bit.

Well...I'm just trying to catch the Porsche's, BMW's, and Corvette's that pass me @100 mph and let them know that they are going too fast.

Wrt square build of the tires, seems the consensus of literature, at least what I have read, claims a staggered build is generally for performance vehicles. How does the Spyder qualify as a performance vehicle, or perhaps, why didn't the Toyota engineers come up with a square build for Spyder?

 

[scotched]

@Steve Miller

Do you have stock suspension? Good tires, pressure, and alignment make a big difference. Like another member posted, everything you change is a tradeoff.

My car is setup to turn, but it suffers in a straight line at high speed. It picks up all the unevenness on the road. All of my agressive driving is in the 30-60mph range. If I wanted a track car I would have bigger tires and a different alignment.

 

[MRSPONZ]

@SteveMiller
You don't mention it, but how many miles on your struts? It may be time for a new set. Double check your air pressure, especially when you foresee hitting 90mph. And you may want to consider a good set of sticky summer tires and not your all-season tires. Wider wheel / tires on the front will change the "feel" and nimbleness of the car. You may like it, or you may not. Some people say that the OEM size of 185/55R16 makes the car feel "squirrely" at higher speeds, not sure if that's what you mean.
Aero bits and pieces should help with high speed stability.

Lets us know on your progress.

 

[Steve Miller]

@Steve Miller

Do you have stock suspension? Good tires, pressure, and alignment make a big difference. Like another member posted, everything you change is a tradeoff.

My car is setup to turn, but it suffers in a straight line at high speed. It picks up all the unevenness on the road. All of my agressive driving is in the 30-60mph range. If I wanted a track car I would have bigger tires and a different alignment.

Stock suspension. Also have TRD brace set. Tire pressure 28 front 32 rear, probably a little higher now due to heat so I need to double check.

Interestingly enough, I was researching "square setup" on spyderchat and found your post "Yes this is correct. The rear wheels are 0.5" wider and the original tires were 185 front and 205 rear. Rear wheels have a dent that prevents them from being installed on the front" On this thread. Saw that

Sort of a bummer because I was thinking just another set of OEM rear rims and put 205's w/rear rims on the front. Good thing I found that. I see the pro's and con's; like the idea of tire rotation because I barely get 20k miles on rear tires, and other than hitting it on the straight aways, I really am not that hard a driver.

Drove the car today on CT I395 at around 75 mph. Actually I generally do 65 these days but the car is too much fun. Anyhow at 75 the car handled fine. Maybe I'm asking for too much while trying to keep the car as OEM as possible.

 

[beachbum]

Well...I'm just trying to catch the Porsche's, BMW's, and Corvette's that pass me @100 mph and let them know that they are going too fast.

I laugh at them when they go by when I think I could buy a number of Spyders for the price they paid, and the Spyder is even more exclusive. I have friends with Porsche's, BMW's, etc and all of them complain about repair costs. Very few ever venture onto back roads where handling really counts

Do you have stock suspension? Good tires, pressure, and alignment make a big difference. Like another member posted, everything you change is a tradeoff.

My car is setup to turn, but it suffers in a straight line at high speed. It picks up all the unevenness on the road. All of my agressive driving is in the 30-60mph range. If I wanted a track car I would have bigger tires and a different alignment.

Similar here. The Spyder shines on tight twisty back roads in the 40- 60 (OK, 70) range, not blasting down wide open roads. We have at times had the Spyder set up for the "twisties" with a set up that turns very aggressively, but is a bit "darty" at higher speeds.

 

[Steve Miller]

@SteveMiller
You don't mention it, but how many miles on your struts? It may be time for a new set. Double check your air pressure, especially when you foresee hitting 90mph. And you may want to consider a good set of sticky summer tires and not your all-season tires. Wider wheel / tires on the front will change the "feel" and nimbleness of the car. You may like it, or you may not. Some people say that the OEM size of 185/55R16 makes the car feel "squirrely" at higher speeds, not sure if that's what you mean.
Aero bits and pieces should help with high speed stability.

Lets us know on your progress.

Struts are most likely the originals, so 135k miles. I bought the car w/~60k miles. I recently had the car in the shop for CV assembly, wheel bearing, and later DENSO coils, so I've gotten tapped out with mad money. I like the mechanic who works on my car, as he drives an Eagle Talon among other cars, and he's done a nice job on it, so he has the knowledge imo. Anyhow, he hasn't noticed anything with the struts but has commented on how clean my Spyder's undercarriage is. I'm figuring Moroso oil pan next season; but I'd imagine the struts will be coming soon thereafter.

Had Yokohama S-drive's about 6 years ago; went through them pretty quick. Been using the Ecsta' all-weathers, but lately I've been only driving on dry pavement so I may go back to a summer tire.

Can I go with 195's on the OEM 6" wheel?