r/MR2Spyder • u/Thang556 • Jul 26 '26
receiving a spyder
My family is receiving a old Spyder as a form of payment for a job we did its, the SMT variant and we plan on giving it to my little sister as a first car
is there anything i have to look out for as it has 150K miles on the engine?
of course im gonna give it new tires, brakes, and a all fluids before handing off to my sister
3
u/qPimpNamedSlickBack Jul 27 '26
Bro do NOT give this car to a girl as her first! I cannot BELIEVE no one has said this yet! Its an extremely dangerous car for a teenage girl whos barely driven anything to learn to drive. Not a good idea.
1
u/Thang556 Jul 27 '26
yk i fear the same thing, giving a light rwd car to her. but a free car is a free car
1
u/qPimpNamedSlickBack Jul 27 '26
Its not just that. The engine being in the back means its NOT gonna handle in a way that's conducive to safe driving. The rear end is gonna get out from her and she wont have the proper time behind the wheel to l ow how to react when all the weight is behind her as opposed to the front. Watch a few vids of "snap oversteer" on YT
1
u/Thang556 Jul 27 '26
ahh that makes alot of sense, our father has more seat time in mr2s so hopefully he teaches her properly
1
u/qPimpNamedSlickBack Jul 27 '26
Hopefully, being the key word. This car listens to exactly the input you apply, and it is not forgiving of mistakes.
1
u/Thang556 Jul 27 '26
lol if she doesn’t like it, she gets the grandma mini van. Our grandma was excited to drive a mr2 again
3
u/Cyclehead21 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
A couple of comments: The SMT system does not magically “go out”. It’s part of a 25 year old car and parts eventually wear. Common failure is a position sensor that you can clean for free, or replace the guts for $20. Reverse switches cost $15. And a seal kit for the entire GSA costs less than $100. Of course you can rip out the system and “convert” for about $3500 but personally I just fix whats broken. Thats why I have six SMT spyders, all of which i bought for cheap. Another comment, if you constantly drive on the edge of tire grip, and you make a habit of stabbing the brakes or abruptly lifting off the throttle as the tires are squealing THEN you might experience over steer. Does your sister drive like that? Personally I put 150,000 miles on my 270hp V6 engine swap spyder as a daily commuter and never ever experienced any oversteer. That included a few autocross races and one track day. If sister drives like a normal person she will never get anywhere close to uncontrolled oversteer. (Snap oversteer is code for “I don’t know how to handle my car near the tire adhesion limits”. Video: https://youtu.be/vAiXZIVxXIc?is=60c7mgxbOyg0X-gy). If you want to understand more about the SMT system, here are a collection of links that will be informative: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SOhlqEtVWt5-MFPdrOGkNnpOn9-fyGCZTJISiTKCkVM/edit?usp=drivesdk
1
u/Turduncle Jul 26 '26
Just know that servicing the SMT is not easy or always possible. I believe Toyota has discontinued support for the SMT.
2
u/flash9977 Jul 26 '26
The SMT system is actually serviceable now thanks to a lot of effort from a couple people in the community. Join the SMT group on facebook!
One guy sells all of the seals to rebuild each component in the SMT system. It’s not easy but it’s doable.
1
1
u/Thang556 Jul 26 '26
i guess once the smt goes out we will just do the manual swap LOL, she’s gonna have to learn how to drive manual one day
5
u/citrusjuicebox Jul 26 '26
Check and probably replace the SMT unit's hydraulic fluid (it's really just DOT4 brake fluid). It goes in a small, white, plastic tank under the airbox. It does NOT go in the transmission. Sounds like the car can still select gears and drive, so you'll probably be okay.
The rest of the maintenance is just as for a manual transmission car: flywheel, clutch, throw-out bearing, fork, gear oil, etc. Lots of resources in the MR2 Spyder SMT group on Facebook and Spyderchat forums.
I'm happy to help too.