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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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Loopyleesa said: And I get to see spaghetti junction, alls good  Sorted.  Being serious if you do actually want it I'm sure we could sort something out. Had a cracking day today using the MX5 to get about, possibly a couple of minor, slow speed "dab of oppo" moments on a couple of damp roundabouts. (More like lift off the throttle and car snaps back into line moments tbh). Also I think it's worth stating that it's nice to have a car that can actually effortlessly make decent progress  . It's going into a garage tomorrow to get a set of Toyo T1R's fitted, be interesting to find out how much difference there is when that's done. -JB
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snotrag
10,427 posts
81 months
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You MUST check the tyre pressures when you pick it up.
99% of tyre place will put way too much in there as there not used to the low pressures required. 27psi all round.
And mind how you go on your way home there a bit greasy straight out the mould!
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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Quick update.
Been having an excellent time in the car, the new T1Rs have a ton more grip than I'm used to.
Managed to rack up a couple of hundred miles in less than a week when normally it takes a good 3 weeks or so for me to do that kind of mileage with better fuel economy as well so it's a win/win.
Strangely the fuel gauge under-reads by a large margin, brimmed the tank when it read empty and put 31 litres of fuel in, according to a google search there's a 48 litre tank fitted so that's 17 litres of fuel in reserve which is probably enough to do another 150 - 200 miles after the gauge hits empty.
Finally, tax, stuck a years tax on it yesterday, obviously it's part of the cost of owning and running the car but still, paying getting on for 1/8th of what I paid for the entire car to tax it for the year is a bit excessive...
Better get the most use I can out of it then, I think a road trip somewhere is on the cards for next weekend.
Any ideas? I'm thinking Wales.
-JB
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PGD5
820 posts
53 months
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Woo an NB owner, we have one of those too Its my OH's car really but I borrow it for a bit of fun when I can. Far more interesting to drive than the daily yet still has a good level of refinement
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St. Anger
1,080 posts
51 months
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JB434 said: Strangely the fuel gauge under-reads by a large margin, brimmed the tank when it read empty and put 31 litres of fuel in, according to a google search there's a 48 litre tank fitted so that's 17 litres of fuel in reserve which is probably enough to do another 150 - 200 miles after the gauge hits empty. My Mk1 is the same - ran it once till the gauge was at empty, drove it 50miles home and then filled it up till it clicked off. Took almost 35 litres of fuel and (apparently) has a 45 litre tank!
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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Hello again PH.
After a month I update this again.
I haven't been updating this because quite frankly, nothing note worthy has occurred until today.
To cut a long story short, I've pranged the MX5... I'm completely fine and the car has only suffered cosmetic damage. I'm going to need to find a new nearside front wing and new front number plate holder at the very least... May need to find a new front bumper and bonnet depending on what kind of damage they've suffered.
Fortunately no other road users were involved, more details and pictures tomorrow.
Luckily I do have a few hundred quid I can use to pay for the parts so I'm just gonna have to suck it up and learn from this mistake in order to ensure it doesn't happen again.
-JB
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St. Anger
1,080 posts
51 months
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Bummer matey - the panels are very easy to replace on your own driveways and are available quite readily from Autolink. I speak from experience Drifting accident?
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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St. Anger said: Bummer matey - the panels are very easy to replace on your own driveways and are available quite readily from Autolink. I speak from experience St. Anger said: Drifting accident? You could say that. Taking a 90 degree right hander, (you can see the road beyond the bend well so I knew there wasn't any traffic coming, if there had been I wouldn't have done what I did) I was hooning and dropped it into second to take the bend and just before I reached the exit I put the throttle on, resulting in a powerslide, I held it and started to wind the countersteer off as the car regained traction, however I then lifted off the throttle (just a little bit, but enough,) while there was still a bit of countersteer on and the front end regained grip as the weight shifted forward a bit and the car oversteered in the other direction and aimed towards the left hand edge of the road. Hit the verge/embankment at about 15 - 20mph at most with the nearside wing and the car simply pivoted around that point and ended up facing the opposite direction. Damage report? Bonnet is dented, may be able to pry that out once I find a crowbar or something, nearside front wing has had it, front bumper is damaged and I have a feeling at least a few of the brackets holding it will have broken, front number plate is cracked with the numberplate holder itself being wrecked and the undertray underneath the engine has cracked at one of the mounting points. Oh, and the nearside headlamp unit has broken its top mountings, it's still secure though. Nearside damage:  Offside damage:  Front:  Headlight:  My mum was trying to get me to go through insurance but I pointed out that it was a few hundred quids worth of body panels, not really worth the thousands of pounds it'd cost in the long run if I put a claim in. Hell, my excess alone is about double of what the cost will be, also there's a principle involved; if I can break it then I can fix it. -JB
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St. Anger
1,080 posts
51 months
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JB434 said: also there's a principle involved; if I can break it then I can fix it.  Good ethos. My mum was the same about going through the insurance but since she's a bit old fashioned about that stuff she didn't quite understand why I refused to tell them. Looks like you got away with it (all things considered!) and as you say, it's only cosmetic so I'd be taking it as a learning experience. Would rather bend a few panels on an MX5 than on the Elise which is sure to follow. Have you had a look to see if you've bent any of the control arms and stuff? They're also pretty cheap and take about 5 minutes to switch over at a garage, but I'll be very surprised if they've survived the incident!
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snotrag
10,427 posts
81 months
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Aye, dont worry too much, take it on the chin. Be mad to inform insurance about this kind of thing. Get it fixed up as best you can for cheap, so long as it all looks straight and all the same colour that should be ok.
Worth a check under as said, but I wouldnt worry too much at that kind of speed.
I span my first one in the middle of nowhere soon after getting it, hadn't seen another vehicle for ages - span 180 coming out a tight hairpin to see 2 or 3 motorcyclists, also out on a morning hoon, parked off the road having a rest. Poked a bit of fun at me but generally thought it was quite funny - it was enough to make me calm down!
Once its all back together make sure you take it for an alignment befure you start doing any other work - its vitally important and you can get them to make the handling as user-friendly and 'catchable' as possible.
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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St. Anger said: Have you had a look to see if you've bent any of the control arms and stuff? snotrag said: Worth a check under as said. Just had a look, mobile phone cameras are a wonderful thing else I'd have have a hard time trying to get a good view. EDIT: Actually, scratch that, both sides are identical in every way, including the part I thought was damaged when I looked at it on the small screen on my mobile. snotrag said: Once its all back together make sure you take it for an alignment befure you start doing any other work - its vitally important and you can get them to make the handling as user-friendly and 'catchable' as possible. Yeah, definitely seems worthwhile, especially since I obviously gave the nearside a bit of a knock. Although, for what it's worth, I did catch it , I only crashed because I lifted and didn't fully take the countersteer off at the same time. Not that it excuses me any, I mean, I did crash after all.
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C7 JFW
129 posts
89 months
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You just ran out of road, it happens to all of us & the car did it's job whilst quietly patting you on the back and saying 'remember, i'll sting you if you forget'.
You'll have that back in form on no time - you're right not to inform insurance. They will fit the same panels and parts you would so there's no difference. Plus paying for it personally always enhanced the lesson for me.
Nice car and i'm sure you'll have it fixed up a treat in no time!
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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I've spent today looking for potential parts sources online and reflecting somewhat on what happened. I haven't yet rung up autolink to see if they have the panels I'd need since they haven't got them on their website (it's an irrational fear of mine, I absolutely hate ringing people I don't know) although I have discovered that MK2.5 body panels are much more expensive and harder to find than MK1 panels. I'll keep trying tomorrow. I think I may end up buying a good limited edition 1.8 MK1 within the next year or so now I'd end up with a better equipped car that will have cheaper parts, some extra money in my pocket from selling the MK2.5 and I think good condition MK1's will start to appreciate in price at some point in the next few years. Also, flip up headlights. -JB
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Riknos
3,639 posts
74 months
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JB434 said: I think I may end up buying a good limited edition 1.8 MK1 within the next year or so now I'd end up with a better equipped car that will have cheaper parts, some extra money in my pocket from selling the MK2.5 and I think good condition MK1's will start to appreciate in price at some point in the next few years. Also, flip up headlights. -JB And they drive better. And look better. And rust less..
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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Been round one bodyshop today, guy looked at it, sucked air through his teeth and declared that with all new parts I'd be looking at £1800.  Obviously that can be vastly brought down with second hand parts, the problem is finding them now. It'd still cost me more if he sourced the second hand parts so it's still up to me to find them, he did give me the number of a scrapyard outside of town that I rang, good news, they do have an MK2.5 MX5 in the yard. The bad news? The front end on it is all smashed up. I'm going to ring again on Monday because they may have another coming in over the weekend. I also rang autolink, they don't ship bonnets because they tend to get bent in transit and front bumpers get snapped up before they even get the cars on their premises. Gonna try another couple of bodyshops and get another couple of quotes anyway and I think I may be posting in the Midlands forum to see if anyone can reccomend any other scrapyards locally. -JB
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jimslops
6,419 posts
24 months
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JB434 said: Been round one bodyshop today, guy looked at it, sucked air through his teeth and declared that with all new parts I'd be looking at £1800. It'd still cost me more if he sourced second hand parts so it's still up to me to find the parts, he did give me the number of a scrapyard outside of town that I rang, good news, they do have an MK2.5 MX5 in the yard. The bad news? The front end on it is all smashed up. I'm going to ring again on Monday because they may have another coming in over the weekend. I also rang autolink, they don't ship bonnets because they tend to get bent in transit and front bumpers get snapped up before they even get the cars on their premises. Gonna try another couple of bodyshops and get another couple of quotes anyway and I think I may be posting in the Midlands forum to see if anyone can reccomend any other scrapyards locally. -JB Get different coloured panels on and track it.
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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I'm literally kicking myself right about now, browsing various classified websites, no shortage of cheap MK1's available. Even a cheap-ish MK2. The cheapest MK2.5? £1800. Why oh why did I have to buy a MK2.5? Why didn't I buy a MK1 like I wanted to? 
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jimslops
6,419 posts
24 months
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I picked up a mk1 eunos recently with 1.8 engine, LSD, new tyres/hardtop for <£950.
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St. Anger
1,080 posts
51 months
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To be fair mate, they're all the same beast really - the later models are no doubt the more comfortable option but I like the raw feeling of the Mk1. I'll try and dig out the number for the garage who sold me my panel - was £40 delivered and honestly looked like new - I can't imagine a Mk2 wing being much more than £60ish!
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JB434
Original Poster
166 posts
18 months
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St. Anger said: To be fair mate, they're all the same beast really - the later models are no doubt the more comfortable option but I like the raw feeling of the Mk1. I'll try and dig out the number for the garage who sold me my panel - was £40 delivered and honestly looked like new - I can't imagine a Mk2 wing being much more than £60ish! It's not the wing that's the issue, it's the bonnet and front bumper. Those are the big money parts.
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