As some of you know, the MR2 was out of commission for a week for the purpose of installing new motor mounts. The urethane compound we used is stiffer than the original rubber material, and it kicks ass! I took the car out for a drive tonight and found that:

1. The engine started immediately.
2. The throttle responds much more quickly.
3. Shifting gears is faster.
4. The engine shuts off immediately.

All this, thanks to about $10 of liquid plastic. I highly recommend this to anyone who can afford not to have their car to drive for a week. Well worth the time and money.

The MR2 has new front and rear motor mounts. They’re mostly solidified, so I put them in the car to wait out the remaining few days. The front motor mount had been completely destroyed… and it’s no wonder, too. It looked flimsy as all hell. So now the car will sufer from more vibration and noise, but the throttle response is supposed to be much improved. Can’t wait to drive this car Monday evening.

New brake pads arrived today from BrakeWarehouse. Those guys are awesome. They had the best prices for the Axxis Metal Masters I wanted, and they were delivered the day after I placed the order. Now that’s fast. I’ll probably install the pads Sunday afternoon after I re-attach the exhaust. I highly recommend Metal Masters to people for street use. My Impreza had shitty brakes before, but now they’re awesome.

Brake fluid’s on its way, and so are the stainless steel braided brake lines. The brakes on the MR2 are going to kick ass.

After that, suspension.

I replaced the spark plugs over the weekend, though I’m not sure that it was necessary to deal with the Check Engine Light problem. The light had gone out when I’d finished, but since I had to disconnect the battery before messing with the plugs, I’m willing to bet that the new plugs weren’t responsible for correcting the problem. Either way, the service manual recommends replacement at 60 months or 60,000 miles, so it was probably a good idea to do it, especially if I intend to sell it.

Today I went over to AAA to deal with my mileage problem. When I registered the car last year, the woman helping me keyed in 060702 for the mileage… but it was actually the date! Anyway, AAA was pretty helpful today when they did the title verification process. I should have a new title with the accurate mileage within a few weeks.

I have a lot of stuff I need to do for my cars.

Impreza: deal with the cylinder misfire problem. The solution might be to replace the plugs. I doubt they’ve ever been replaced, and the car is now 5 years old with 25,000 miles. I’ve posted on the Impreza owner board at i-club.com, but no one’s been very helpful so far. I don’t get it. The MR2 board and list is much more responsive.

MR2: deal with the brakes. It’s not a problem, but I’d love to have better brakes. That calls for new pads, new lines, and new fluid. Probably around $240 total. After that, suspension. After that, engine. Yeah!