Bloody hell its cold !

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Discussion

DennisTheMenace

Original Poster:

15,603 posts

269 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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Just taken the car for its 1st run since getting back from south africa , discovered i now have a siezed caliper that i need to sort and my drivers side shock absorber has died frown

Had all the gear for roof down though biggrin


Tia the springer did'nt though hehe


managed to pry myself from the heated seat to snap 2 pics ...




SAw this for sale in cape town , been in a shunt and had piss poor repairs but at least they have 5's in SA this one was pretty much uk spec , no A/C electric windows etc





Doctor Bone

382 posts

215 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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Nice hat!

Evil Edna

389 posts

234 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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Washed my MX-5 today. The water actually froze on the car! yikes

franv8

2,212 posts

239 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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Hmm, I do think white is starting to come into vogue again!

Soft tops in SA - interesting choice given car jacking problems down there these days, shame, lovely country and otehrwise made for it! (weather bit better than ours too)

Yes it's cold, although leaving mine for a couple of weeks means I now get interior rain (condensation) and ice on the inside of the windscreen, ah the joys of winter!

On another handy thing about the time of year - I also now find the stock 116hp is plenty enough to break traction from the line!

Good work on the roof down - have you a plastic rear window? I'd tend to leave mine up in these temperatures, purely on the basis of possible tearing something - unless the car was living in a warm garage when I actually put the roof down?


DennisTheMenace

Original Poster:

15,603 posts

269 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
quotequote all
Yep plastic screen , i leave the car running and the blower on to heat the roof up a bit before dropping it ,

TBH SA is not too bad , ok there are dodgey areas , but then the uk is the same .... well luton ..

If i get the job ive applied for im going to look into getting a container and ship all my stuff down and the car , would love to retire him to sa , and do an early drive through cape town down to chapmans peak and onto cape point .

Deva Link

26,934 posts

246 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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The dog took a nice picture of you!

DennisTheMenace

Original Poster:

15,603 posts

269 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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hehe
ja she is getting good , has to have the camera in simple mode though .

franv8

2,212 posts

239 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
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Um, I can safely say SA is not comparable to anywhere in the UK in terms of personal security, you do have to take sensible precautions and keep your guard up at all times.

OllieWinchester

5,655 posts

193 months

Monday 2nd February 2009
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Its just taken me over an hour to get in to work which is probably less than 3 miles. Managed to slide backwards into a curb beating off my fog light, (Is that a good or bad thing?scratchchin) and had to give up on loads of slight inclines where FWD cars were having far less trouble. Great fun, just wish I didn't have to be in work!

franv8

2,212 posts

239 months

Monday 2nd February 2009
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You could try drving backwards to emulate some of the FWD experience...

I had to be immature and do a 360 on the throttle outside my driveway, all at walking speed!

NiceCupOfTea

25,294 posts

252 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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Was very tempted to take the '5 out today - doughnuts in the snow and hood down whilst snowing both need doing!

It was absolutely buried under a snowdrift though with another car in between it and the road, and what with the summer tyres I decided discretion was the better part of valour!

I have a hat like that too, they're really good except mine is a size too big so it's not great for driving - usually wear a beanie under it which pads it out just enough smile I hate it when I want to put the hood down but can't because of the temps. I need a new roof so I am tempted by a mohair with glass screen...

Must admit, days like today make me want to get a cheap set of alloys with winter tyres. What tyres would you fit on 14" 5.5J rims? 165s?

snotrag

14,475 posts

212 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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185/65/14's I believe they are.

And oh look, I've got a set of 4 wheels with tyres for sale for £80 here...

biggrin

NiceCupOfTea

25,294 posts

252 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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Now if they were winter tyres... wink

PS - Dennis, your dog looks lovely - he looks like he's saying "Put the roof up Dennis, I'm freezing!"

Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Tuesday 3rd February 09:12

Merlot

4,121 posts

209 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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I understand the best winter tyres for the '5 are also the cheapest:



Currently less than £40 per tyre in 185/65/14 delivered to your door.

NiceCupOfTea

25,294 posts

252 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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What are they?

Presumably the narrowed the better - is there a table that shows a safe range of tyre profiles for different width wheels?

OllieWinchester

5,655 posts

193 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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snotrag said:
185/65/14's I believe they are.

And oh look, I've got a set of 4 wheels with tyres for sale for £80 here...

biggrin
If only you were closer, I'd have them off you like a shot. Trying to stick with the budget ethos with my Eunos and looking for a set of cheap wheels and tyres. Does anyone know if there was a thread that detailed what wheels off other cars would fit straight on to the MX5? I've tried searching but I'm useless at it.

MX-5 Lazza

7,952 posts

220 months

Tuesday 3rd February 2009
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I wouldn't go cheap on tyres. I've see too many try that route and end up spending a fortune on repairs. These cars deserve good tyres.
Anyway, something like Toyo T1R are about as cheap as you'll get anyway. They are rubbish in this weather but that's a couple of days a year.