The precat was not the issue of the engine failing. It were the piston rings and piston design.
Piston rings getting stucked by old oil leading to burning oil.
Burning oil leads the precat inside to worn out fast and material getting then sucked by the engine leading to ultimate engine failure.
Pre and facelift engines suffered by this design (even with the first 2 revised versions of the rings and piston), only the so called "optifit" shortblock which was provided after production time delivered no issues anymore.
5 speed gearbox for example where in europe equipped by factory with an LSD. ;)

Too late, sitting in one atm.

100% agree with getting a hardtop.
especially if u park outside
i own a miata, installed new softtop 6 years ago and its already fukd up.
GET A HARDTOP

This is a dream car for me, i hope ill be able to afford one in the future

There are some decent hard top options out there that wont break the bank

Not me watching this after I already bought one

Wait... What?!  It's a convertible?  (Just kidding.  I noticed that right away.)
The only issue I've had with my 2003 MR2 Spyder is getting tires for the differently-sized front and rear wheels... which is overcome by buying aftermarket ones of all the same size.  I prefer 16" wheels for comfort and 17" for handling, but even all-16"s work fine for pleasure driving and/or commuting.

This is a fantastic video, very necessary info.

Ik weet niet hoe het mogelijk is, maar jouw accent is nog sterker dan die van onze Mark "Rattie"😂

Thanks fort the video.
CAN a 2m01 with long legs fit with some mods in the mr2?

Good and informative video! Just a few things to clear up tho.

The pre-cat failure in the early cars is caused by the piston rings letting oil by in the cilinder. This oil doesn’t burn up and over time damages the pre-cats in the exhaust manifold, causing them to disintegrate and get sucked back into the engine. They fixed this issue on the facelift cars. At some point, most of the pre facelift cars will start burning some oil over time. As long as the pre-cats are dealt with this isn’t a massive concern.

As far as I’m aware, the limited slip differential actually came standerd on the pre facelift cars aswel! I have an original Dutch Toyota brochure for the 2000 MR2 model year that under the specs and options lists the limited slip diff as standard. I also have a 2002 MR2 myself and can confirm, it has a limited slip also.

I love the yellow one in this video, what kit is that?

A 2zz swap makes this car come alive like you wouldn't believe it, and it's fairly straightforward as swaps go. Though with the original gearing it feels like a 1zz.

I think it's the best way to fix the oil burning issue!

Nice Video ! I can tell you tried to cover all bases, and you did it very well ! I'm a MRS owner, in France, ( they scrapped the "2" of MR2 here because mr2 means "shit" in french !)
To just reassure people, I wouldn't be so arsh on the SMT gearbox. Mine has one, and I like it. It's essentially the manual gearbox with an electronic actuator so the gearbox is the same, but controls are different. It's prone to be a little more complicated to troubleshoot if it fails, I agree, but it never failed me so far, and I haven't heard a SMT owner complain about the added bonus of having it.
What about the fun to drive a MR2 with the SMT?? You focus on the curves, and the instructions to gear. The SMT switches gears for you, but will not do it if not asked for, also does (pretty fast) double clutching with revs up on down shifting, which just print a smile on your face ! The car is very fun to drive, and she is your best buddy on the road (that's how I call mine), but also, she's always pushing YOU, you don't have to ask, she wants it ! Which, as a hands on car lover for a long time, I can say that I love this car. It's a semi modern car, that stayed simple, pure, and provocative all the while not blushing to anyone in performance. The SMT was a less purist move to the roadster spirit, but is absolutely not a drawback, because very capable for fun purposes, and the performance of the MR2-S justifies it! That SMT was made to show Porshe they could do PDK-like boxes, and shifting time wise, the SMT is not far behind a PDK. ;-)

No cruise control.

Thank you for the Video!
Do you know how much MR2 W3 got a turbo kit by TTE Cologne ?
Only 100 units or more?
I own the "Muggianu Turbo Final edition 1 of 12".
Installed in 2015.
I have the car since 2010.
Muggianu Turbo from Geretsried (in Bavaria) added 40 cars over the time with a small Borg Warner K04 - 20 and a water-cooled System.
Everything ist TUV-compliant.
190HP in the documents but more than 200HP in reality 😂.

The price difference between the SMT and MT models is quite big here. I found a MR-S with some nice TRD bumper and side skirts for $4,000, but it is a SMT. Is it worth it?

I‘ve heard, that these cars are a bit more spacious for the driver that a mx5 nb. Will I fit at 6,5ft or nearly 2 meters?
Or are there good modifications to make me fit better?