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Looking to add appearance mods (need help :))

5K views 49 replies 9 participants last post by  Jaesul 
#1 · (Edited)
Title pretty much covers it.
Just picked up a 2000. It's original wrap is silver but owner has it covered with white. Only problem is, it has lots of tree bark on it which is extremely hard to get rid of.
Anyways, I'm looking some interior and exterior appearance modifications that I can add. The owner has a silver dotted like shift knob (looks good) and silver spider themed knobs for ac / fan adjustments. I would like to keep it 'spider' theme (nothing overdone or extra) a simple clean spider look if that makes sense. ty
Or could be any look tbh, just want a clean looking car.
I do like the trd market stuff, if anyone could recom me some of those
 
#19 ·
I have a working (when removed) stock radio from my first Spyder...I used to use the same cassette adapter to play songs from my iPod. If you're interested in it shoot me a PM.
 
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#20 ·
My honest opinion as to the car's appearance:
  • Exterior has a clean look, if I were to change anything, I'd replace the vinyl top with cloth and lower the car at least an inch or three. New suspension can be a deep rabbit hole, beware.
  • Interior -
    • I don't care for the shift knob, the A/C controls or cigarette lighter. If they were anodized black, I'd probably feel differently. The shift knob should be discarded in favor of a leather weighted knob regardless of color.
    • Seats look nice and clean
You've got a pretty nice car there, it doesn't really need much. I'd say get some good driving in before making up your mind about aesthetic things, and think more about performance enhancing mods first.
 
#23 ·
Thank you for your response!
Just curious, do you have any recommendations for a leather weighted shift knob. I don't really know much about cars and don't know the difference between a weighted vs a normal one...though I like the height of my shift knob, not too tall or short. The owner did give me OEM shift knob and OEM A/C controls and cigarette lighter
 
#24 ·
Here's one example of the shift knob. Supposedly the weighted knob gives a smoother shifting experience due to mass or inertia or both or whatever.

As to the other knobs, if you like them then keep them. It's not the design, it's the color for me - too much silver right in the middle of a black dashboard. I recently put in a set of knobs from a Tacoma, after another member here did it... nice and cheap, and I like the look of them with just silver trim around a black knob.

Here are the Tacoma knobs

 
#26 ·
Here's one example of the shift knob. Supposedly the weighted knob gives a smoother shifting experience due to mass or inertia or both or whatever.

As to the other knobs, if you like them then keep them. It's not the design, it's the color for me - too much silver right in the middle of a black dashboard. I recently put in a set of knobs from a Tacoma, after another member here did it... nice and cheap, and I like the look of them with just silver trim around a black knob.

Here are the Tacoma knobs

I like the idea of a shift knob but I'm not a fan of ones that have shift numbers on it.
Also I think you talked about performance mods. The car has a cold air intake, KYB Shocks and APEXi exhaust. What else should I add? Also I need to clean the filter for the intake.
 
#25 ·
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This car has a gorgeous side profile without a spoiler, but it's down to personal preference. There's lots of options, do a deep dive and find out what you like. I have a Saturn Ion Redline spoiler on my car lol. There's more options than you'd think.
 
#27 ·
The factory airbox is about as cold-air intake as you can get with it being fed directly from the side scoop. Was it just a case of going to a cylindrical filter for more surface area? Or was your cold-air mod more creative? Just curious. BTW: I like the engraved spider on the HVAC knob.
 
#39 ·
Your MR-S is too high and wheels are too big. It ruin the design of an MR-S.
Just by lowering it, the car will look more like bodybuilded's frog. By exagerating, it look like a real mini SuperCar.

Decent 15 or 16 wheels, wheel spacers (if needed), lowered and your car will have better looking.
Because the front hood is lower than fenders/headlights and the "V" shape make the car agressive (specificity to SuperCar).
Even if I have visual habits with the MR-S, when I see another one, the design is attractive.

Car Vehicle Tire Wheel Automotive lighting


Wheel Tire Vehicle Car Hood
 
#41 · (Edited)
It has BC Racing BR-RA coilover with "special" street springs rate (4kg front / rear 6kg).
Ground clearance of the MR-S : 6.29 inches (stock) -- My case > 4.7 inch (front) / (rear) 5.1 inch.
Front lip was from Fyralip (Ebay). Unfortunaly no more produced. I am the only one MR-S's owner who bought this product.

For street use and 17 inch wheels, I recommend to not go lower than 5.5 inch ground clearance.
Lowered lower, tires will scratch on fender lane. Tire grip and driving will be hard on bumpy roads.
 
#42 ·
For street use and 17 inch wheels, I recommend to not go lower than 5.5 inch ground clearance.
Lowered lower, tires will scratch on fender lane. Tire grip and driving will be hard on bumpy roads.
Counterpoint to this, my car has 17 inch wheels and I have 3 inches ground clearance at the center chassis brace. 4 inches at the side under the doors. My wheels only rub slightly under very specific circumstances. Like I mentioned before I have made some very long distance road trips with this car in it's current configuration. No problems except the occasional speed bump that has been paved over too many times and sticks 6 inches up in the air.
Wheel Car Vehicle Tire Hood
 
#43 ·
Yes, depend of living city/country and car using. A daily car is supposed to be drove on all kind of roads without stucking others or being stucked.
3 inch ground clearance is too low in France. I will have to pre-organised roads with good surface. Without that, there is a point where the car will be stucked.
Driving freely without thinking about road surface or preferring aesthetic of a car are personals points of views and compromises.
 
#47 ·
You don't rev match when you down shift, hence the car jerking. That puts a significant strain on the driveline so I would learn to do that asap
 
#49 ·
As long as you don't stall the engine or redline you can upshift or downshift at any rpm. You would benefit from some self directed learning on how to do so. There are a million videos with very good explanations showing the process & the tach as it is done.
 
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