Discussion
The RF's look lovely in that colour.
I bought a soft top ND2 at the end of last month and it has been great fun so far. You'll love it.
The Mazda approved Eibac sports springs make a big difference to the way it handles as well as improving the stance without compromising the ride quality. Get the geo checked by somebody who knows what they're doing as that also makes a big difference. Then think about PS5's etc
Depending on how you'll be using. it, the induction tube mod is fun - the induction noise is fed into the cabin via a tube on the pax side as standard. You can remove the original tube and refit a larger diameter pipe which increases the noise. You get better sound without annoying everybody outside the car with a chav exhaust.
They are a joy to heel and toe! Have fun.
I bought a soft top ND2 at the end of last month and it has been great fun so far. You'll love it.
The Mazda approved Eibac sports springs make a big difference to the way it handles as well as improving the stance without compromising the ride quality. Get the geo checked by somebody who knows what they're doing as that also makes a big difference. Then think about PS5's etc
Depending on how you'll be using. it, the induction tube mod is fun - the induction noise is fed into the cabin via a tube on the pax side as standard. You can remove the original tube and refit a larger diameter pipe which increases the noise. You get better sound without annoying everybody outside the car with a chav exhaust.
They are a joy to heel and toe! Have fun.
Hi Ben, good to hear you're enjoying the soft top. I did think long and hard about going for a soft top as they are more 'open' and I love the simplicity of the manual folding roof. I'll be using the mx5 mainly for commuting and local journeys year round so it's a daily driver albeit not big mileage involved. I don't have a garage so it's parked outside on the drive all the time. With that in mind it felt safer to go with the RF. Actually when I drove it I felt it was plenty open enough with the roof down and being fairly short I don't seem to suffer any buffeting so that works for me.
I have some decent roads on my short commutes between towns and I'm sure I'll get out on the country lanes often enough just for fun. Probably won't mess with the car as I've always liked to keep things standard. At the moment it still has the Bridgestone Potenzas all round which are probably the original tyres. Not sure how long tyres last with such low miles, there's plenty of tread but the car is 4 years old. I checked black circles and tyres are pretty inexpensive in that size so I'd possibly go fir PS5 when the time comes, I've had them on the Fiesta and they're great.
I have some decent roads on my short commutes between towns and I'm sure I'll get out on the country lanes often enough just for fun. Probably won't mess with the car as I've always liked to keep things standard. At the moment it still has the Bridgestone Potenzas all round which are probably the original tyres. Not sure how long tyres last with such low miles, there's plenty of tread but the car is 4 years old. I checked black circles and tyres are pretty inexpensive in that size so I'd possibly go fir PS5 when the time comes, I've had them on the Fiesta and they're great.
I think you made the right choice with the RF. The soft top is noisy. Great for high days and holidays but could certainly become a chore on a commute.
I had a drive in an identical grey RF to yours (might be the same one if you bought it from Petch!) when I was looking and had it not been newer and therefore more expensive I think I would have gone for it over the soft top I ended up with. That colour looks great on them.
You might find this interesting: https://autocatalogarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/...
I had a drive in an identical grey RF to yours (might be the same one if you bought it from Petch!) when I was looking and had it not been newer and therefore more expensive I think I would have gone for it over the soft top I ended up with. That colour looks great on them.
You might find this interesting: https://autocatalogarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/...
Cheers for the brochure.
I did get it out on a bit of dual carriageway and took it up to 70mph. Noise level seemed okay to me. It wasn't noticeably noisier than the Fiesta so that's fine. I don't do much of that kind of driving in my car anyway, we use the family motor for longer distances. My usage is mostly B roads between towns and urban roads. The ride was pretty good for a small sports car and speed bumps were okay.
I did get it out on a bit of dual carriageway and took it up to 70mph. Noise level seemed okay to me. It wasn't noticeably noisier than the Fiesta so that's fine. I don't do much of that kind of driving in my car anyway, we use the family motor for longer distances. My usage is mostly B roads between towns and urban roads. The ride was pretty good for a small sports car and speed bumps were okay.
ChrisH72 said:
Hi Ben, good to hear you're enjoying the soft top. I did think long and hard about going for a soft top as they are more 'open' and I love the simplicity of the manual folding roof. I'll be using the mx5 mainly for commuting and local journeys year round so it's a daily driver albeit not big mileage involved. I don't have a garage so it's parked outside on the drive all the time. With that in mind it felt safer to go with the RF. Actually when I drove it I felt it was plenty open enough with the roof down and being fairly short I don't seem to suffer any buffeting so that works for me.
I have some decent roads on my short commutes between towns and I'm sure I'll get out on the country lanes often enough just for fun. Probably won't mess with the car as I've always liked to keep things standard. At the moment it still has the Bridgestone Potenzas all round which are probably the original tyres. Not sure how long tyres last with such low miles, there's plenty of tread but the car is 4 years old. I checked black circles and tyres are pretty inexpensive in that size so I'd possibly go fir PS5 when the time comes, I've had them on the Fiesta and they're great.
The factory bridgestones weren't brilliant, a fairly old tyre and not great in the wet. More importantly they have the michelin problem where they tend to dry out and crack between the treads with age before they wear out.I have some decent roads on my short commutes between towns and I'm sure I'll get out on the country lanes often enough just for fun. Probably won't mess with the car as I've always liked to keep things standard. At the moment it still has the Bridgestone Potenzas all round which are probably the original tyres. Not sure how long tyres last with such low miles, there's plenty of tread but the car is 4 years old. I checked black circles and tyres are pretty inexpensive in that size so I'd possibly go fir PS5 when the time comes, I've had them on the Fiesta and they're great.
Just keep an eye on them, while not dangerous the cracking shows a hardening which will reduce grip, especially in the cold/wet.
Looks like plenty of tyre choices available at reasonable prices when I looked.
There's a new model Potenza sport for £130. But after BC 10% discount the PS5 is the same price. Then for £120 there's Hankook and Goodyear. Even the Kuhmo Ecsta is decent enough, I've had them before and they're good value at £93 a corner.
Will see how it goes but I'll swap them if necessary. Probably wait until the winter comes and see how it feels.
There's a new model Potenza sport for £130. But after BC 10% discount the PS5 is the same price. Then for £120 there's Hankook and Goodyear. Even the Kuhmo Ecsta is decent enough, I've had them before and they're good value at £93 a corner.
Will see how it goes but I'll swap them if necessary. Probably wait until the winter comes and see how it feels.
ChrisH72 said:
Looks like plenty of tyre choices available at reasonable prices when I looked.
There's a new model Potenza sport for £130. But after BC 10% discount the PS5 is the same price. Then for £120 there's Hankook and Goodyear. Even the Kuhmo Ecsta is decent enough, I've had them before and they're good value at £93 a corner.
Will see how it goes but I'll swap them if necessary. Probably wait until the winter comes and see how it feels.
I’m running the kumhos as I value wet performance above absolute performance in the dry and it performed very well on the tyre reviews tests There's a new model Potenza sport for £130. But after BC 10% discount the PS5 is the same price. Then for £120 there's Hankook and Goodyear. Even the Kuhmo Ecsta is decent enough, I've had them before and they're good value at £93 a corner.
Will see how it goes but I'll swap them if necessary. Probably wait until the winter comes and see how it feels.
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