Mk3 MX5 Sport - Grey and Tan
Discussion
Thanks Claire.
Much fun had at the Silverstone Sunday Service today.
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
CT-6144-(ZF-1554-81834-1-001) by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
Much fun had at the Silverstone Sunday Service today.
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on FlickrUntitled by Nicholas Horne, on FlickrUntitled by Nicholas Horne, on FlickrCT-6144-(ZF-1554-81834-1-001) by Nicholas Horne, on FlickrUntitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
Well blimey I’ve not updated this thread in a looooong time!
Back in may 2017 this was removed from daily duties as I’d changed jobs and the mileage I was doing went up by 20,000 miles year. It was diesel time. So I bought this:
It’s frankly brilliant and resulted in purchasing a cheap R50 Cooper as a toy, that turned out to be too slow to be a toy so spent loads mor money and bought a 250bhp R53 Cooper S. Thread here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... That thread also needs updating as I’ve done a bit more recently.
I also bought another MK3 sport to build into a track car and spent a lot of money on bits, that car started blowing smoke and when we pulled the engine found it was rotten as hell so that’s being broken for parts.
So all that leads into where we are with this one. I’d kept it because it was such a great car. I now had the rotten black MK3 to break and a pile of MK3 go faster bits that I’d bought for it. It seemed sensible to fit them to this one instead.
First up, Racing Beat Manifold.
I also swapped the old MX5 parts back box for the Go Perform back box that I’d bought for the Black one. Mostly because it’s a bit louder and more fruity. So the system now consists of RB manifold, standard centre section with cat, Go Perform back box (no pics of that at the moment).
The result?
160.9 at the wheels which is roughly 190bhp at the flywheel. The cars is considerably faster and responsive. It also does a glorious little pop on up shifts once the manifold is nice and hot.
A month or so ago I acquired a DG Motorsports front lip.
And finally I’ve fitted some BC coilovers in th least week. The ride height isn’t altered really however even with them set to 3 clicks from soft it corners much flatter and there’s much less wallowing going on.
In typical MX5 fashion it needed welding for the MOT in September. Rear sill on the passenger side where a trim screw had triggered some grot. Looks like the other side will need doing this September.
That’s about it for now. I’ve got a full set of new pads in the post and heading to Donnngton on 10th Feb for the first trackday of 2018.
MrsHorneyMX5 also bought a 2 day Ring trip with driver instruction for my 40th the other week. I’ve decided to take this over the Cooper S for various reasons. To that end it will get some buckets thrown in it which will then be fitted to the Cooper S post Ring trip.
Back in may 2017 this was removed from daily duties as I’d changed jobs and the mileage I was doing went up by 20,000 miles year. It was diesel time. So I bought this:
It’s frankly brilliant and resulted in purchasing a cheap R50 Cooper as a toy, that turned out to be too slow to be a toy so spent loads mor money and bought a 250bhp R53 Cooper S. Thread here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... That thread also needs updating as I’ve done a bit more recently.
I also bought another MK3 sport to build into a track car and spent a lot of money on bits, that car started blowing smoke and when we pulled the engine found it was rotten as hell so that’s being broken for parts.
So all that leads into where we are with this one. I’d kept it because it was such a great car. I now had the rotten black MK3 to break and a pile of MK3 go faster bits that I’d bought for it. It seemed sensible to fit them to this one instead.
First up, Racing Beat Manifold.
I also swapped the old MX5 parts back box for the Go Perform back box that I’d bought for the Black one. Mostly because it’s a bit louder and more fruity. So the system now consists of RB manifold, standard centre section with cat, Go Perform back box (no pics of that at the moment).
The result?
160.9 at the wheels which is roughly 190bhp at the flywheel. The cars is considerably faster and responsive. It also does a glorious little pop on up shifts once the manifold is nice and hot.
A month or so ago I acquired a DG Motorsports front lip.
And finally I’ve fitted some BC coilovers in th least week. The ride height isn’t altered really however even with them set to 3 clicks from soft it corners much flatter and there’s much less wallowing going on.
In typical MX5 fashion it needed welding for the MOT in September. Rear sill on the passenger side where a trim screw had triggered some grot. Looks like the other side will need doing this September.
That’s about it for now. I’ve got a full set of new pads in the post and heading to Donnngton on 10th Feb for the first trackday of 2018.
MrsHorneyMX5 also bought a 2 day Ring trip with driver instruction for my 40th the other week. I’ve decided to take this over the Cooper S for various reasons. To that end it will get some buckets thrown in it which will then be fitted to the Cooper S post Ring trip.
Edited by HorneyMX5 on Saturday 27th January 10:04
The rot in these is all at the back end. Both rear sills were toast, when I was stripping stuff off it the other day the axel stand went through the sill. The rear bulkhead has holes, the boot floor has holes. The rear arches are very crusty. The rear arches are actually starting to go on this one as well but I’ll be dealing with that this year.
When we pulled the engine from the black one I found all the hard pipes for the coolant system were terminally rotten, the radiator was shot as well. It was just way too much work for what was supposed to be a quick and dirty track car build.
When we pulled the engine from the black one I found all the hard pipes for the coolant system were terminally rotten, the radiator was shot as well. It was just way too much work for what was supposed to be a quick and dirty track car build.
Don’t let it out you off one of these though. While they do suffer, it’s nowhere near the level of the earlier cars. There’s also plenty out there that are mint and when added with an underseal job will last for many many years.
It’s a bit of a controversial statement, but I prefer these over the earlier cars and the mk4 as a drivers car. It’s the perfect balance of speed, handling, comfort and toys for not much money. Ok so standard vs standard they’re probably the worst Mx5 but it doesn’t take much to elevate them to greatness.
It’s a bit of a controversial statement, but I prefer these over the earlier cars and the mk4 as a drivers car. It’s the perfect balance of speed, handling, comfort and toys for not much money. Ok so standard vs standard they’re probably the worst Mx5 but it doesn’t take much to elevate them to greatness.
HorneyMX5 said:
It’s a bit of a controversial statement, but I prefer these over the earlier cars and the mk4 as a drivers car. It’s the perfect balance of speed, handling, comfort and toys for not much money. Ok so standard vs standard they’re probably the worst Mx5 but it doesn’t take much to elevate them to greatness.
not driven a mk4 yet, but the mk3 got a slating from UK journos for poor handling because of a late suspension change purely for the uk/euro car, didnt affect anywhere else, and was sorted pretty soonish but by then the damage was done and the NC handled 'like crap' in a typical modern instagram way.
RobDickinson said:
not driven a mk4 yet, but the mk3 got a slating from UK journos for poor handling because of a late suspension change purely for the uk/euro car, didnt affect anywhere else, and was sorted pretty soonish but by then the damage was done and the NC handled 'like crap' in a typical modern instagram way.
Agree with that. It’s a shame, but it doesn’t actually seem to effect values. They still hold their money despite the early ones being 12 years old now. LOH. Loved your thread on that car.
HorneyMX5 said:
It would be my pleasure Ben. I need to look at the SS diary for this year, assuming one has been posted.
Thanks Nick! Hopefully going live with the calendar later this week, so maybe check back Thursday/Friday and we should have something ready and up in the Sunday Service forum.RenesisEvo said:
I'd be happy to offer you a run in mine as well if that's in any way more convenient.
Very kind thank you! Drop me a PM if you're ever going to a Sunday Service too, always good to chat to people about their experiences. I was victim of heavily bodged corrosion on a Mk2 last year but it hasn't put me off going back to an MX5. Still concerning that it's being seen on the NCs although I'll probably get a later one so hopefully I can protect it before any corrosion sets in.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff