It should be mentioned that there is a price to pay for that improved pedal feel -  more pedal effort needed.
But if you like the result, great.

Reddtarga

It should be mentioned that there is a price to pay for that improved pedal feel -  more pedal effort needed.
But if you like the result, great.

Yeah that's right. I don't mind the paying the price, I actually prefer it over new(er) cars that are FAR too sensitive eg. work Holden Cruze where I nearly went through the windscreen!

MRTurbo
I actually prefer it over new(er) cars that are FAR too sensitive eg. work Holden Cruze where I nearly went through the windscreen!

i think this is what im having the problem with as well comparing the newer cars and feeling like the MR2 is outdated
just stepping on the pedal will stop the nearly 2 tonne 4wd but not the same for the MR2

Pedal feel may not necessarily indicate how good your brakes are.
At different stages I tried a 15/16" bore, and then later a 1'' bore M/C with my early model small brakes.
With the 15/16" M/C pedal feel was firmer with less travel and a bit more pedal pressure needed, but not too bad.
With the one inch bore M/C there was a good firm pedal with a lot less travel and great smooth pedal modulation, but a lot more effort needed to stop, so strong leg muscles needed.
 
Anyway, after driving with each of those for a while, regardless of their better pedal feel, I found that in a panic stop situation the stopping distance with them was actually longer than with the stock 7/8" M/C.
For that reason I put the stock one back, and I'm wondering whether maybe Toyota got it right after all lol.
 

So the answer is just go drive a old car for a while.
 
I hate the feel in the HQ and was always bleeding the brakes after every session, until the last race where I had a co-driver and said thats just the way they are. At least it makes all the other cars I drive feel good

Reddtarga
Pedal feel may not necessarily indicate how good your brakes are.
At different stages I tried a 15/16" bore, and then later a 1'' bore M/C with my early model small brakes.
With the 15/16" M/C pedal feel was firmer with less travel and a bit more pedal pressure needed, but not too bad.
With the one inch bore M/C there was a good firm pedal with a lot less travel and great smooth pedal modulation, but a lot more effort needed to stop, so strong leg muscles needed.

Anyway, after driving with each of those for a while, regardless of their better pedal feel, I found that in a panic stop situation the stopping distance with them was actually longer than with the stock 7/8" M/C.
For that reason I put the stock one back, and I'm wondering whether maybe Toyota got it right after all lol.

I found when I just changed to the later calipers up front, there was no noticeable difference in pedal feel but changing the rears as well, resulted in a low spongy pedal with not much feel. Obviously the 15/16" M/C is designed to work with the '92+ brakes, otherwise I would have retained the original M/C, hence Toyota being correct :P

Larger bore in MC = larger volume of fluid displaced.
Larger brake pistons = Larger volume of fluid required for the same movement effect.
 
Smaller bore MC = takes longer to displace the required amount of fluid, resulting in a soft pedal.
OEM size MC = takes just the right amount of time to displace the required amount of fluid and the required speed.  WINNING.
Larger bore MC = takes much less time to move the fluid, but the pistons dont fill fast enough, hence needing more pedal effort.
 

ok, so i was filling some air in the tyres and while i was doing that i happened to notice that one of the brakes had the backing plate missing and Lo and Behold theres a TRW brake Pad sitting in there. so looks like they were some decent ones afterall and not some ****ty ones as previously thought.
this explains why there wasnt much difference between mine and Trees car (his was still better for sure, but i was expecting a BIG difference)
so i have decided to flush the whole brake fluid system and refill with some fresh brake fluid.
let you know how things go

Yeh should feel a lot better after new fluid. After 3 track days I can say my pedal feels like it has less bite. Haven't checked the pads yet but prob needs a flush now

so the brake fluid has been done and dusted, also did the clutch while we were at it
 
first lesson learnt - never bleed the clutch without keeping an eye on the very very small reservoir. after 2 failes attempts we finally ended up one under the car and one topping up the reservoir as it drained, very quickly might i add
 
brakes feels a lot more better in the limited braking i did on the way home, i havent put the pedal through the floor yet, but feels a bit better.
 
biggest improvement i noticed is now the gears are shifting a lot better than before, actualling getting it into gear is more smoother, i think this has a lot to do with replacign the clutch fluid. the old fluid that came out was black and reservoir was filled with a nice black gunk on the bottom, needless to say with our bleeding skills the whole clutch line has been thoroughly bled a few times over.
 
Special Thanks goes to IAN (redtarga) for helping and showing me how to bleed the clutch and brake lines.
cheers