New Mk1 Owner (hopefully) needs advice first!

[utopia]

Hi Guys

the wife and I really fancy a Mk1 MR2 but have a question first, we have found a great car in fantastic condition for sensible money, the only thing we are not sure about is the lack of power steering, the wife will be using the car as her daily and is use to having it.
The car in question has bigger after market wheels and a Momo steering wheel fitted but the original wheels are available to go with the car.
I drove the car and found the steering very heavy at low speed and when parking it which has put us off ownership of this great little car.
If the wheels and steering wheel where changed back to original spec is the lack of power steering ok to live with on a daily basis?
Any feedback/advice is greatly appreciated
cheers
Mark

[FossMan]

Hi Mark and welcome. I have standard alloys and steering wheel on my car and I don't have any trouble with parking. I've never owned a car with pas though! I would say that the MR2 is the easiest to drive at low speeds of all my cars as it is light at the front thanks to the fact that it has no heavy engine over the front wheels!

[superwhite90]

Hi and welcome!

I have just purchased a smaller momo steering wheel and have aftermarket 15" alloys on mine so I will be able to tell you if I notice any difference.

I have to agree with fossman that its so easy to drive at low speeds, i've got reverse parallel parking now down to a fine art! I've never had a car with PAS and I dont think I'd like to own one either - not until I have family and need to buy a sensible car!

I did have some heavier 16" alloys with the standard toyota steering wheel on mine for a few months and it didnt feel that different to what it does now.

[kevin..in]

you don't say what size the wheels are, but if they are 17" then you are bast to go back to std. any way
my other half loved to drive both my MK1s even though her regular drive has PAS, steering is not an issue with these cars at all
post some pics of your intended car

[utopia]

thanks for your comments guys, seems the general opinion is that they isn't a problem with heavy steering on standard wheels

here is some pics from the advert with the after market wheels on,








really tempted to buy this car it's in fantastic condition

what do you think?

[kevin..in]

looks tidy enough although you never can tell from a digital photo as they do seem to make anything look good,
car has had a respray and rear arches have had some attention, neither of which are necessarily a bad thing if they have been done well
best advice I could give is add your location into your profile and perhaps someone local to you might give the car a once over for you

[andyj]

Think there's no escaping the steering will be heavy at parking speeds compared to some cars. Guess you'd be better off with the standard alloys. My Mark 1 has 15" 6.5 wheels and it's quite heavy to park. My Mark 2 has power steering, which like other speed sensitive systems gives easier parking job but feel at speed. Makes it easy for my wife to drive. That said, you really have to get the Mark 1 - the steering is an integral part of the go-kart experience. Just have to get your wife weight training

Car looks good - bit too good on the rear arches I'd take a magnet and see if it sticks! If it's a filler job and respray to get it ready for sale, it will be bubbling up within a few weeks.