Hi all,
 
Looking at buying a 1990 rev1 Turbo. I keep reading about snap oversteer and how dangerous the rev1 is compared to the rev2 onwards. 
 
Is it all that bad? Can this be improved or completely fixed now with more modern parts? I'm not one to push a car to its limits, but wondering if it's worth looking for a later revision just for this issue.
 
Do people avoid buying rev1 due to this? 
 
Thanks all. 

No, definitely not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. No problems with early models / yrs sw20's.
If people cant control them, then they should learn how to drive them properly 1st before pushing to the limits.

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Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure they improved this quirk over the years, but it couldnt be as bad as some made it out to be.

I agree that snap oversteer is not an issue, provided that you learn how to drive a rear engined car.
 
However the oversteer tendency of the early models can be reduced by swapping in the the rear X-Member from the post '92 model. I also found the car more stable with better straight line tracking with it fitted to my '90 model NA. 
 
A fairly easy mod, and all you need is the X-Member with its longer track rods. Goes straight in, but of course an alignment is needed afterwards. Pic gives a comparison.
 

Fantastic! So mods can be done to make a difference. Was worried it was something more significant like the body itself

Snap oversteer is caused by incorrectly driving the car - mid mounted engine when lifting off the throttle and trying to correct (incorrectly or at the point of no return). Because of the position of weight you can’t drive it like a Commodore or Hyundai.

MR2 often are made much worse by worn suspension components (bushings / shocks / springs), incorrect wheels (wrong offset, width, profile - front to rear), inexperienced driver.

If you buy a mr2, put money into suspension, tyres, brakes, before trying to drive it faster or make it faster.

I would suggest (without knowing) that there wouldn't be too many stock turbos in Aust. Most would have wider wheels fitted at some stage which makes a huge difference to the amount of grip at the back. Check a Porsche's wheels, they have the same problem. The scenario for losing the back, is cornering hard/max AND having to lift off the throttle. Braking makes the problem (weight transfer to the front) even worse and the back will want to come round. Can be fun at a racetrack with run-off - but scarey, dangerous on the road. Needless to say a day at the track in one of these things is a joy, and will help you understand the limits, if you can find them.
 Old saying : slow into the corner, fast out - on the throttle.