Denny Aungst’s ’03 Toyota
MR2 Spyder
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Here's another picture of Melissa having quite the learning experience at Beaver Springs' Test n Tune session in 2006. She was actually faster than I was with the car, proof that a driver's weight can make a difference. Remember, I weigh around 100 pounds more than she does.
The Background Story:
This purchase wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, but it certainly did catch me off guard. I first saw the Spyder at a local mall show in early 2000. I brought my friends with the next night to see it, but it was sold. I decided to read up on the vehicle and sent for a brochure. The brochure came, I read it, and my girlfriend (at the time) said I shouldn't get it. So much for looking at a sports car.
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Chat about spyders:
This photo to date is still my favorite picture of the Spyder. Where was it taken? On our way home from our honeymoon in Mystic Seaport, October 19th, 2004, we stopped at the rest area in the Delaware Water Gap on route 80. The leaves were beautiful the entire trip and I got to catch it with this photo when we got out to photograph the mountains.
Then in March 2001, Spring was around the corner, my girlfriend was no longer my girlfriend, and I happened to be in the vicinity of that same local Toyota dealer. They were at that time just across the street from a Chevy dealer I do business with through work. I was delivering one of our customer's cars to them for some warranty work and noticed that there was a "1D0 Liquid Silver” Spyder being unloaded at the Toyota dealership. After discussing a new Corvette with the Chevy guys, I told them I would be back after work to talk further and returned to the shop in Pine Grove.
That evening, on the way to the Chevy dealership to again consider purchasing the ‘Vette, I decided to stop and see the Spyder up close. I wound up discussing a possible trade with the salesman but we didn’t see eye to eye and i kept the Lumina Z34 to sell outright. An hour later was the owner of the Spyder. After driving several performance cars, I was impressed with the go cart feel of the little sports car. It wasn't the fastest on the block and I was disappointed in the initial feel of the power. It did feel like the most fun and the price fit perfectly in my budget.
When I brought it home, it began to hail on the ride home. I quickly zipped to my parents house to get it in their garage but they already had it full. I zipped in on a covered section between the house where we kept a lawn tractor... No other car could have fit in that space, but it was out of the hail.
The next day I showed off the new ride and my family loved the car, but insisted that the cops would be out to get me. My friends think it is the coolest car, and I love it.
Well, as a racer, I was quick to take it to the track the first time. There was just under 200 miles on the car. For as much fun as it was to drive around corners, this car was really a bore at the drags. It’s not made for the drags, but, like everything I own, I wanted a baseline performance readout anyway. The car could do a 16 second quarter at just under 90 MPH.
Not long after I bought the car, I came across a web site filled with Spyder enthusiasts. This place was a real treasure trove of information. One problem though, you get addicted to modifying and improving your car. Swing by spyderchat.com if you are interested in checking it out. The forums are fun and you can get parts there that you can’t find anywhere.
The forums even get together to cruise and picnic for the afternoon. The video to the right was taken at such a meet in Gambrell State Park in Maryland in 2006.
My first mod was to install a set of Eibach Pro-kit lowering springs. These gave me approximately one to 1.25 inch drop after driving the car some time to allow them to sag where they would end up.
I also picked up a set of Motegi Racing FF5 17" wheels wrapped in Dunlop rubber. Just a suggestion, try to stay with some lightweight 15 inch wheels to retain the “lightness” of the feel and acceleration. I have sold these wheels and have gone back to stock and don’t miss the 17 inch wheels at all.
Check out a T.S.S.C (Tri State Spyder Club) Spyder Meet by clicking the image to the right. Spyder meets are cool and you get to meet many Spyder owners from all over. Sometimes there is even a nice curvy road top enjoy once you get there.
Check out another spyderchat.com Spyder Meet by clicking the image to the left. This meet was held in Gambrell State Park, Maryland in the summer of 2006. We not only meet, greet, and eat like we did at the above event, usually they set up a nice local tour of scenic places and twisty back roads with ice cream stops. How can you NOT have an ice cream stop?
Well, back to the mods. What did I find necessary to install on my fun little sports car? Well, nothing was really necessary. It was great right out the box. We did do some stuff and some even did improve it, rather than just customize it.
Next, I installed a “cut-out” switch for the daytime running lamps. I did this to be able to turn them off at the drags, auto crossing, or drive-ins. (That type of thing anyway.) Another suggestion is to NOT turn them off while driving on the street. It is unsafe as they are there for a reason. Some people don’t see small cars or motorcycles. It also could be illegal where you are and you could receive a citation.
To the left is a "J-spec" Toyota midship runabout emblem which replaces the front bumper emblem. (Want one? It's Toyota part number 75314-17030) There are also some matching wheel caps for the original wheels which I also installed. (Toyota part number 75314-17030) On spyderchat.com there is even a steering wheel badge which is custom made and sold by one of the members there. The best part? You should see how many people really check the emblems out and shrug. They don’t realize it’s a Toyota.
Next, I found some ‘03 Spyder Leather Seats in a salvage yard. (See pics here) The seats are much more firm and even look cooler. If you do this, plan on keeping them conditioned with some quality lotion. They’ll crack if you don’t.
On the Spyder, there is nothing like a Team Moon dual exhaust. (See installation pics here) Pictured below, you can see how it evens out the back. They can be a bit loud, but they are lighter, and quality made. The horsepower increase is minimal and if you plan to turbo the car, skip this one. You won’t need it anyway. Remember, if you choose this, highway speeds tend to be loud and give you a cabin “drone”.
About the best improvement I made to this car had to be the JDM removable hard top pictured above. (See installation pics here) (Click here for high resolution image) There was NOTHING that got me more comments and emails than this rare addition. I had this flown in directly from Japan. Overseas this was a factory option and really tighten up the chassis, improve visibility to the rear, and quiet road noise. They are now out of production, but click the link for information to try to get one of your own.
To the left is a 3" intake hose I installed on the airbox inlet. (See installation pics here) This is a cheap mod that I really believe increased the horsepower. I have the time slips to prove it stored away somewhere. The original is highly restrictive and it is designed to quiet intake growl. You WILL notice a louder intake sound with this mod.
Next, I decided to tighten up the unibody with “Corky's Breast Plate”. (See installation pics here) Any convertible benefits from unibody and chassis bracing, especially when the top is down. Take a convertible for a ride with the top down and watch the rear view mirror. You’ll see the a pillars wobble and feel what seems to be bad shocks. That is body flex due to the missing steel strengthening the top of the car.
I also added a Cusco Front Strut Tower Brace pictured above, Che's TRD replica front member brace ( Installation pics here), and Che's TRD replica rear member braces (Installation pics here) to finish the bracing. These are TRD replicas and were much cheaper from a Spyderchat vender. These units really tightened up the feel of the car. Very little wobble with the top removed and none with it installed.
Another appearance mod was SpoilerDepot.com’s "TRD REPLICA" spoiler. (See installation pics here) This is a quality made piece and comes painted with a warranty. Again, this is a replica and very much cheaper than a factory piece.
Below, you can see Taurec's (spyderchat ID) custom gauge face. (Download installation PDF here) (See template pic) (See installation pics and problem areas here) You can get them fully custom made to YOUR specs.
Che's (Spyderchat vender) custom short shifter (See Installation pics here) makes for a nice short sweep while racing. This is a bit of a job to install and can be quite costly if you break the factory bushings. Beware!
My final mod was Dev's (another Spyderchat vender) Keyhole Covers. These are color matched keyhole eliminators. Nothing more than a plastic trim panel fastener that was custom fit and painted to match your car, these really look cool and are VERY easy to install. They cover the keyholes that we never seem to use since they all had keyless entry. Not only that, the security system REQUIRES a Spyder owner to use the keyless entry. I won’t get into it anymore than that. If you absolutely had to use the key, the covers are just as easily removed and re-installed.
Check out the photos below of our Spyder on different driving excursions.
