MX5 - Trackday Mods - Advice

[R100 OOF]

Hi

I currently own a 1999 MX5 - 1.8 which is completely standard and is used as a second car - I am hoping this year to enjoy a few trackdays in the car ( nothing heavy, but just another reason to enjoy this brilliant car ), and wondered if anyone can suggest a few light mods to make the trackdays more enjoyable, but still keep the car reasonably refined for normal road use.

I imagine upgraded brake pads might be a good start , but what about strut bracing or induction kits , to give it a bit more pep ??

Don't want to spend loads, and still want to keep it sensible on the road, but would enjoy changing a few bits to make it better on track.

Anyone any experience of Mazda on Track ?????

Many thanks

[roddo]

Mazda-on-track is a excellant place to start....

As for your car.....

1 get the alignment done
2 change the brake pads
3 change the suspension (if you are going to do this do it before alignment)
4 get driver tuition and enjoy what the 5 can do
5 tyres? what have you got??

I will be at the Mazda-on-track event at brands jan 31st Feel free to come and say hi

Paul

[miniman]

Stiffer, lower springs and adjustable dampers, properly set up by a pro. This will make more difference than the trivial BHP increase an induction kit will give.

[R100 OOF]

Cheers both - good advice , and it seems that suspension / braking needs to come before any attention to power .

Currently running Firestone Firehawks on the front and Falken ZIEX on rears - all with decent amount of tread, so would prefer not to change unless vital.

Does the alignment need to be done by a Mazda specialist , or anyone with the right rig ? - Any recommendations in the Lincolnshire / Notts area ???

Many thanks for your help

[roddo]

The Alignment MUST be done by someone who knows what they are doing with mx5's

I can do it or wheels-in-motion will do a good job for you.

I'm Based in Sheffield and build/race mx5's

You can contact me on 07770 566599
Paul

Feel free to check me out on mx5nutz.com

[B3njamin]

It was a pain to fit but the roll bar I fitted to my '5 stiffened up the chassis nicely - I paid £150 for it if I recall. It involves drilling into the body and ideally getting some spreader plates made up which may not make it ideal, however I have been very happy with the results.

[worldwidewebs]

Check the discs are ok, replace with std ones if needed
Fit some decent pads (not EBC!)
Change the brake fluid
Check your tyres are ok
Get your geometry checked (this is not the same as doing the tracking!)
For an extra £30 or so I'd fit a CG-Lock

After that, just go and enjoy it. If you get hooked there are plenty of things you'll find to spend money on, but tbh they'd be a waste of money at the moment. And if you don't believe me, ask one of the instructors to show you what your car is capable of - you'll be surprised

[Evangelion]

All we've done is:

Extensive lightening (but how much of that you do is up to you)
Lowered on coilovers
Lighter wheels with better tyres
Rollcage
Front strut brace
and a nice pint job (optional!).

Geometry needs to be done next.

I was advised not to bother with an induction kit; it makes a nice noise but the power increase is negligible as the cone filter takes hot air from inside the engine compartment. Better to fit a K&N or similar air filter.

Oh and don't forget the 14 degree timing mod.

[Mr MXT]

Best thing that will make your car better on track is tuition for the driver IMO!

[R100 OOF]

Thanks all - all good advice and very much appreciated -

Will start planning suspension set up / mods soon, and Paul, will give you a call soon about alignment

Cheers

[MX-5 Lazza]

Have you been on track before? If not then other than making sure the car is safe & well maintained (check brakes, tyres, alignment etc.) I'd suggest you don't do any mods to it at all for the first track day. A lot of people make a lot of "upgrades" before going near a track without really knowing what it's doing to the car. For example, You might find that your driving style means that the standard brakes are perfectly adequate in which case you might be wasting your money on upgraded pads. Much better to do a track day, work out what's holding you back and work on that. That way you will incrementally evolve the car into the perfect track car for you rather than just a generic track car.

As has been suggested though, track tuition is always going to be the biggest upgrade as you will almost certainly be the weakest link (no offence meant - I'm by far the weakest link when driving my car on the track! ).

[GravelBen]

MX-5 Lazza said:

Have you been on track before? If not then other than making sure the car is safe & well maintained (check brakes, tyres, alignment etc.) I'd suggest you don't do any mods to it at all for the first track day. A lot of people make a lot of "upgrades" before going near a track without really knowing what it's doing to the car.

+1

Don't worry about mods until you've tried it on track in standard form first, perhaps with one exception - I don't personally like the idea of taking an MX5 on track without a rollbar.

[JQ]

I run a 1998 Mk2 1.8iS and started on trackdays last year. As above, spend the money on actual trackdays and tuition first, mods can come later. All I've done is change the brake fluid (ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid £20) and put a TR Lane Roll bar on it (wife's request) - the rest of the car is completely standard and it's absolutely brilliant round the track. Mazda brake pads are absolutely fine but if you are due a change Roddo above does some very nice ones that come very highly recommended - when mine need replacing that's what I'll be getting.

The only other thing I got was a CG Lock off Ebay - £30 for providing 80% (apparently !) of the qualities of a bucket seat and harness. It certainly makes a trackday alot more comfortable when in stock seats.

As for tyres, I have Michelin Pilot Exalto 2's which perform perfectly on track, on road and in the snow. Costco do they cheap every few months.

Just get out there and enjoy it !


edited to say - I also got the alignment done at Nigel Langs in Bolton who uses the same settings as WIM on a Hunter laser alignment machine

Edited by JQ on Tuesday 28th December 00:55

[Mr MXT]

JQ said:

I run a 1998 Mk2 1.8iS and started on trackdays last year. As above, spend the money on actual trackdays and tuition first, mods can come later. All I've done is change the brake fluid (ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid £20) and put a TR Lane Roll bar on it (wife's request) - the rest of the car is completely standard and it's absolutely brilliant round the track. Mazda brake pads are absolutely fine but if you are due a change Roddo above does some very nice ones that come very highly recommended - when mine need replacing that's what I'll be getting.

The only other thing I got was a CG Lock off Ebay - £30 for providing 80% (apparently !) of the qualities of a bucket seat and harness. It certainly makes a trackday alot more comfortable when in stock seats.

As for tyres, I have Michelin Pilot Exalto 2's which perform perfectly on track, on road and in the snow. Costco do they cheap every few months.

Just get out there and enjoy it !


edited to say - I also got the alignment done at Nigel Langs in Bolton who uses the same settings as WIM on a Hunter laser alignment machine

Edited by JQ on Tuesday 28th December 00:55

I thought CG locks were a lot more £££ than that!

[JQ]

I think I got my CG lock for £28 posted on Ebay - brand new, just didn't come in any fancy packaging or with any instructions, however, the fitting instructions are downloadable from their website.

I'm sure you can buy them retail for around £40 on the net, I just like Ebay bargains. Keep your eyes open on Ebay they come up quite alot, or they did when I was looking about 12 months ago.

[MX-5 Lazza]

JQ said:

The only other thing I got was a CG Lock off Ebay - £30 for providing 80% (apparently !) of the qualities of a bucket seat and harness. It certainly makes a trackday alot more comfortable when in stock seats.

80% is a bit optimistic. 20% maybe. They keep you pinned down in the seat so stop you sliding around but they don't address the biggest problem with MX5 seats i.e. a lack of shoulder support and you still end up bracing your knees against the transmission tunnel & door panel. Still worth it for £30 but don't expect it to perform miracles.

[Dift]

As above, all I have done to mine is roll over bar, coilovers and a good geo setup.

Everything else is standard, even pads and fluid. I am sure these will be changed as and when needed, but for wet cold trackdays they are fine.

It's certainly not the quickest car I've driven on track, but it is the most fun... By far!

[snotrag]

Change the brake fluid.
Foamectomy on drivers seat.
CG lock.
Check tyres, fluids, coolant and tyre pressures.

And go!

[5paul5]

Agree with all the above, track mine on a regular basis, great track car, only thing you may crave for in a standard car is more straight line grunt.

[skinny]

+1 on lazza's post.

for your first track day, make sure you have meat on your brake pads (or ideally change to some good fast road / occasional track pads like axxis ultimate / mintex M1144 etc) new brake fluid bled well and brakes all greased up and adjusted properly.

then make sure you have good engine oil topped up to the correct level.

make sure you have enough tread on your tyres that you'll remain legal with around 3mm taken off them (esp the rears)

make sure your coolant is topped up.

enjoy. get a feeling for it first before you decide if you want or need uprated suspension etc. and a rollbar is not really required, i've seen more examples of rolled 5's on the road than on a track day (non-race)

Edited by skinny on Tuesday 28th December 13:38