Hello! New owner checking in

[AcidReflux]

Hi all. Hope to be spending a lot more time in this forum now - bought a Mk1 MX-5 yesterday which a mate and I plan to enjoy driving 'enthusiastically' at some of the circuits in England. My mate - previously a Caterham owner - drove it 50 miles home and arrived with a huge grin on his face. He was a bit doubtful about the fun factor of the MX-5 and was steering us towards something a bit more powerful and substantial, but he's been won over. He even configured a new MX-5 on the Mazda website last night as a replacement for his own Audi saloon.

We've bought a black 1.8i 'Classic'. Good service history and mechanically it seems excellent but it's slightly scruffy around the edges. Needs a bit of TLC. And a new rear window.

First on our list is a full alignment at a decent specialist, followed by a roll bar and harnesses.

I haven't had chance to Google for this yet, but if anybody would like to suggest good alignment garages south of London we'd be most grateful.

Happy days!

[Eighteeteewhy]

Another one, Welcome along.

Pics?

[kazman]

Hello, from one new owner to another! Sounds like we have similar plans also.

[AcidReflux]

Thanks.

Just been out for a mini hoon. First roundabout: progressive, beautiful, controllable oversteer. Second roundabout: understeer. The frost is forming though so it's possible the road conditions were affecting things. I was giggling like a schoolboy earlier when I drove it for the first time and got my first taste of oversteer.

On the front the car has new Avon tyres fitted to the OEM 15" alloys and on the back some relatively new but awful non-brand ditchfinders. They'll do for track stuff but we plan to get some alternative wheels for day-to-day driving and save the scratched alloys for the track.

Can't post photos yet because we haven't had chance to take any in daylight, but it's a bog-standard black 1997 Mk1 so I guess you know what it looks like already. We're going to try and replace the console with scrapyard-sourced pieces that don't have the awful fake walnut trim falling off. Would also like to get the heater fan control working in positions 1, 2 and 3, to go with the gale-force number 4. Oh, and it's 20k miles overdue a service. Minimal rust, but I'd like to treat what little rust there is. And grease the window runners more effectively.

Must say, it's fun tinkering with something again.

[MX-5 Lazza]

So you have no-name ditch-finders on the front and Avon ditch-finders on the rear

If you are careful you can peel the "walnut" trim off. No need to replace anything.

[Trap]

Sounds like a heater resister for the fan issue.

[madmover]

You will love it im sure, lots of great advice about on here!

[AcidReflux]

Tyres are the other way around. Avons on the front.

Trap said:

Sounds like a heater resister for the fan issue.

Thanks Trap. Where might we find this resister? Is it part of the control mechanism or does it sit in the heater air stream somewhere?

[MX-5 Lazza]

AcidReflux said:

Tyres are the other way around. Avons on the front.

My mistake. Either way, don't fall into the trap of thinking the Avons are decent tyres.

Once you work out which are the better tyres, the Avons or the no-names, stick them on the rear. You should always have the best tyres on the rear. I know that will trigger a load of post from people saying that it will spoil the fun but only from those who don't know how to drive RWD and rely on a lack of rear grip to get their kicks

[Trefy5]

AR
alignmycar... will find those with the Hunter machines
WiM (Wheels in Motion) are Chesham, Bucks. if that's any good to you are excellent and have really led the way, imo, for aligning mmx5s.
Don't know about summers but i have Winter Avons which are keeping me and mine on the black stuff very very competently
Come summer it's Uniroyal Rainsport2s

[AcidReflux]

Thanks again. We'll check out WiM when we get five minutes to play with this damn thing!

[denniswise9]

MX-5 Lazza said:

You should always have the best tyres on the rear. I know that will trigger a load of post from people saying that it will spoil the fun but only from those who don't know how to drive RWD and rely on a lack of rear grip to get their kicks

...or maybe they are so incredibly good with RWD, no amount of oversteer fazes them, and a dab of oppo puts the biggest smile on the face of all so they deliberately boot the throttle at the opportune moment to swing the back out

Cheap rear tyres are for the sideways win.

[MX-5 Lazza]

denniswise9 said:

MX-5 Lazza said:

You should always have the best tyres on the rear. I know that will trigger a load of post from people saying that it will spoil the fun but only from those who don't know how to drive RWD and rely on a lack of rear grip to get their kicks

...or maybe they are so incredibly good with RWD, no amount of oversteer fazes them, and a dab of oppo puts the biggest smile on the face of all so they deliberately boot the throttle at the opportune moment to swing the back out

Cheap rear tyres are for the sideways win.

Until you come around a wet corner on a dark cold night, find a car/pedestrian/tree/something in the road, try to avoid it then end up sailing backwards into a house/tree/ditch out of control. Oversteer is fine as long as it's been initiated by the driver. If it happens due to the rear having less grip than the front and is unexpected then expect to be paying a visit to the scenery.

[denniswise9]

MX-5 Lazza said:

Until you come around a wet corner on a dark cold night, find a car/pedestrian/tree/something in the road, try to avoid it then end up sailing backwards into a house/tree/ditch out of control. Oversteer is fine as long as it's been initiated by the driver. If it happens due to the rear having less grip than the front and is unexpected then expect to be paying a visit to the scenery.

Very true.

I had a deer run out in front of my car a while back, cold wet night...back swung out as I slammed on, just about kept it but now I drive like an old person on roads like that, in those conditions. In the dry they are still fine for a hoon though.

[AcidReflux]

denniswise9 said:

...or maybe they are so incredibly good with RWD, no amount of oversteer fazes them, and a dab of oppo puts the biggest smile on the face of all so they deliberately boot the throttle at the opportune moment to swing the back out

Cheap rear tyres are for the sideways win.

Well we're not at that level yet, but maybe one day. Just popped out to the scrappy to get a new heater resistor (thanks for the tip!) and span out on a quiet roundabout in the wet. More practice needed!

Still makes me when I drive it though.