Improve my spyder

[westcoast]

Hi !

I'm Dom, you can find my introduction topic over here => http://mr2roc.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=42767&sid=a939d12dcd1b30b41025e5e3517b1cbd

I have now succesfully completed 800 miles with my MR2 and really like it.
It really is a head turner too apparently   s8) s8)   .

Altough I really like the car in every way there are some things I would like to improve.

1) Engine has enough power for me on the public roads, I mean, how many times can you actually go trough a full 2nd or 3rd gear pull?
I love the torque in the lower revs too, didn't expect it from a 1.8 eco engine.
What I don't like is how the engine responds to heavy throttle, it doesn't seem to like to do what it's made for. I'm not sure what mods I could do to make the engine a bit more lively, more like a K-engine or something.
I know it's not made to be super sporty but I'm sure it could be better even with the conservative valve timing.
It just feels restrained and not happy if you know what I mean  s:) s:) .

2) In one of my sharper, slower test corners I was surprised by a predictable but serious amount of understeer  s:o s:o . This is on RE040's that need replacing in a couple of 1000 miles though.
Is this how the car is setup from the factory for safety? I could feel like the tires were rolling a bit on it's sidewalls maybe, I could feel it pushing out of the corner.
It made the 'slow corner' speed rather slow comparing to the 'mid speed corner's cornering speed.
Should I try some left foot braking to try and get some weight over the front?
I now upped the front tire pressure a bit from (the recommended) 1.8 bar (26 psi) to 2.0 bar (29psi). I have not tested it since then but it already feels better.

3) I don't seem to get a lot of information from the rear of the car. Altough the rear wheels feel and are planted, I just don't feel what they are up to.
Is this caused by the understeering or should I try a breastplate to connect the car a bit more?
I remember getting a ride in an old ferrari 328 spider and even as passenger I could feel what rear tires were up to. (very fun experience!)

So to sum it all up, I hope to create a more freely breathing, more responsive engine.
I will try to remove most of the understeering and make the chassis more neutral.
Hope to get some information from the rear tires.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the car, I could write pages about all the things I like but these are just observations that I made and hope to fix with the help of some more experienced drivers.

[Zonda_]

You describe exactly how my car felt on purchase,  I was so disappointed I considered selling.  A full laser alignment transformed it,  there are posts on here about tyre pressure,  the roadster is very sensitive to them. I'm assuming you're American based on your spellings and calling it the Spyder,  the PPE induction kit is very good and expensive here but cheap in the states as it's made there.