My Pastor just bought an '87 Toyota MR2... The sad thing is that he became interested in mid engine cars after I took him for a ride in my '85 Fiero, yet chose to buy a Toyota.

I sat in the little thing and it feels much less substantial than my Fiero. He has a 1600 cc fuel injected engine, and a nice re-done black interior. There is a bigger trunk in the front than my car, and the trunk in the rear is much smaller. Also, the designers used two lids in the back over the motor and trunk instead of one.

He is unhappy with the steering/front end feel. He says that the car seems to hop (chatter) around corners. I asked about alignment, tires, and suspension. He says the shocks are new, the tires are new and balanced, and that the alignment is perfect. So what's up with MR2 front ends?

In my opinion, the MR2 is boxy and ugly compared to the graceful lines of the Fiero.

What do you fellow Fiero humans know about 1987 MR2 vs Fieros?

Gary

I search in the archives will provide you with tons of information regarding this topic. It's been debated many times.

People trash the fiero because it was built with 'off the shelf' parts, yet most don't realize the MR2 was nothing more than a mid-engine Corolla GTS.

The SC MR2's are faster than the fieros by like a second in 0-60. I am willing to be that the shifting is much nicer than our fieros. I think they might handle better........not sure.

The fiero is better.......Nothin' is better than a V8 or a 3800 SC Fiero!!!!!!!!!!!

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'88 Fiero Formula

I miss my '88 Formula.

Mr2's handle better , depending on year the weight varies. 85 cars are the lightest @ 2400Lbs , an 88SC is around 2800LBs. they advertised 0 to 60 in 6.5 sec , but I never had a problem in a drag with my friends 88SC (my car was a 4spd GT 2.8) a well prepped MR2 is a lot easier to drive fast than a well prepped Fiero.

But the Mk1 Mr2's are just Fugly. And there very few motor swap possibilities..please no one post the pic of the Northstar int he MR2 , it took a lot more work to get it in there than a fiero.

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1986 GT Northstar 5spd , direct port nitrous nprogress
2002 Mini (autocross car)
2004 WRX (daily driver)
www.geocites.com/morley_m/northstar.htm

Slammed - I just loked at your web page. Your car is now one of my favorates. very nice!

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-Chris
86 GT
***95 Camaro 3.4 swap, Ported and polished heads and intakes, CRX CAI, Custom Cam, steel vacuum lines, steel braided EGR tube, new Wire Harness, New Exhaust, No Cat, Flowmaster, polished poly dog bone. Isuzu 5 speed, Short through shifter
***Intrax 2" drop springs, Full Polly Suspension, Sencetrack Struts and Shocks, Grand AM brake upgrade, steel braided brake lines, 17" Gun Metal Wheels, Khumo Tires
***Racing Seats, SunPro tach w/ shift light, carbon fiber Steering wheel, Carbon Fiber dash accents and custom sphere shift knob

So, why do you think his steering hops around corners? Is this just bumpsteer?

Gary

MR2's are cool cars too. They did not have the sleek lines of the Fiero, but are not that bad looking IMO. I really have nothing against them except for the small handful of MR2 owners that are jerks about Fieros. BUT, and this is a biggie, I find that the MR2 owners are much more interested in and accepting of Fieros than owners of many other similar sports cars and sports coupes. I'd easily take a Mark 2 turbo!

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John
AOLIM: Fformula88

1988 Fiero Formula
2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MR2s stack up great.One on top of the other.
Ugly and built cheap.little tin can frames.Can't even compare as far as strenth goes.
i have cut up both and it's easier to cut up a MR2 than a Fiero.I have been in a really serious accident in a fiero and i was lucky but no amount of luck would have saved me in a MR2.
Did i mention how ugly they are?
I got the impression the front end was light on the MR2.I got a lot of push on the front wheels.I get some push on fieros also but not as much.i think the fiero sets up better than the MR2 for sure.The Fiero drifts more predictably and corrects with little movement if it had just a little more power it would open up more options when cornering.MR2s don't seem to drift,they stick,slide and spin.Corrections are clunky but it seems to have the power to do it.I think it is just an under designed baller.I have not driven the new ones though and i wish we had a new fiero to go up against it.

'

[This message has been edited by 454Fiero (edited 04-12-2004).]

I own a 85 MR2 and a 85 GT. My GT wins in accel outher than that the MR2 is better at all things. Vented front rotors front and rear sway bar way smoother tranny. Smoother clutch very easy to use. I would have to blame his tires for the hopping. Put a diff set on and it should fix it. I love my 2 its only down fall is the steel body. I got lucky and mine is free of rust. Outher than that everything is better than my Fiero. My fiero is way more fun to race tourque rules and the V6 has lots of it Anouther thing to check is the rack its self. If there is play there the tire will wobble when youre turning.

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85 GT 4 speed 2.8L auto X'er

[This message has been edited by red85gt (edited 03-05-2004).]

there is a slight chance the the front ball joints are going my car had shot lower front ball joints but it still alined up ok other then that could be cheap front tires they usually dont stick very well
good luck

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Chris 85 Fiero SE 2.5L of fury
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/view_page.pl?page_id=347941&page

The MR2 is a smaller, lighter car. If your going to race around a small autocross track, The MR2 will out corner the Fiero due to a smaller wheelbase. The only simularities between the MR2 and the Fiero is that both are mid-engined and both have 2-seats. Other than that, the cars are in two completely different classes. Park a Fiero next to an MR2, Which car is larger/wider/longer? The Fiero's wider wheel base makes it better for large road courses. The MR2's lighter front end tends to push more when trying to take larger higher speed corners so it tends to be slower on large courses. Even back in the 80's, They compared the two cars just because both were mid-engine. Magazines are paid to compare vehicles and usually the higher "sponser" get's put on the "advantage" side. Comparing a Fiero to an MR2 is like comparing a Miata to an RX-7. In the magazines eyes it's a fair comparison, both have 2 -seats and front engine/RWD configuration. The problem is both are made by the same company so there is no money involved.
If your going to compare two vehicles, You need to look at more then just 2 or 3 simularities. Weight, wheelbase, size, power, etc is the way it should be done. It always makes me laugh when they do unfair comparisons. You can tell exactly who sponsered the test usually in the first paragraph.

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.

[This message has been edited by Oreif (edited 03-06-2004).]

Ah yes, a few years ago I read a review comparing the Mitsubishi 3000GT versus the Trans Am. While an entertaining read, the only thing they said about the T/A was that it had a more modern interior. Of course, most magazines subscribe to the idea that "it's North American, it must be trash."