2006 Mazda MX-5 NC 2.0 Sport
Discussion
K68 said:
Hi geraintthomas. I owned that MX5 from around 2012 to 2016 and only sold due to more seats required. I can confirm that the car never missed a beat during my ownership. The car didn't have the bass speaker when I sold it or any internal panels cut. The suspension was slightly lower than it is now as the previous guy to me had the geometry professionally set up, it was a cracking ride. Enjoy the car.
I totally missed this. What a great thing to read! Glad you enjoyed it, you'll have to have another drive at some point.Evoluzione said:
Something for you to aim for:
https://www.mazdaontrack.co.uk/donington-park--tra...
Weather permitting that will be a good day, to say the least
Very nice! I'll keep an eye on that and may pop along. That price isn't bad either.https://www.mazdaontrack.co.uk/donington-park--tra...
Weather permitting that will be a good day, to say the least
Dyl said:
Interested to keep updated with this thread - I owned a 2.0 NC a few years ago which I enjoyed.
I concur with all of the advice on sealing the scuttle drains and clearing the drain tubes behind the seats. I had wet carpets and the scuttle solution was an instant fix.
Rust was a problem with mine even though mileage was low; at 9.5 years old and 26k miles (IIRC) - and a full Mazda service history - I even managed to get Mazda to honour the 10 year corrosion warranty and the car was fitted with 2 new rear wings. It transpired that the one previous owner had lived in a seaside town, so I figured that probably accelerated corrosion.
In the end, I got rid and moved on to a Polo GTI because I wanted something more suited to daily driving. I do have an itch to scratch in buying another one though so I look forward to updates.
Luckily the previous owner had consistently cleared the drainage holes so there's no sign of damp anywhere. But the scuttles are something I'll look at next for sure.I concur with all of the advice on sealing the scuttle drains and clearing the drain tubes behind the seats. I had wet carpets and the scuttle solution was an instant fix.
Rust was a problem with mine even though mileage was low; at 9.5 years old and 26k miles (IIRC) - and a full Mazda service history - I even managed to get Mazda to honour the 10 year corrosion warranty and the car was fitted with 2 new rear wings. It transpired that the one previous owner had lived in a seaside town, so I figured that probably accelerated corrosion.
In the end, I got rid and moved on to a Polo GTI because I wanted something more suited to daily driving. I do have an itch to scratch in buying another one though so I look forward to updates.
Had chance to clean up the pad retaining clips. They were quite worse for wear, and some were bent so far out of shape that I had to spend quite a while reshaping them. Whoever changed the pads has made a complete mess of them as there were small fins bent back on themselves stopping the pads moving.
Before
Nice and shiny
All cleaned up.
After I greased them (and the pads), I put them back in. The pads could now move around far easier and relatively unhindered. Where I pushed the piston out quite far to judge the condition previously, I needed to push it back in. I took my trusty caliper winding tool and put it onto the caliper, took the cap off the reservoir, started winding and... my word, I could barely push the thing back in, to the point where I thought it wasn't going to be possible. At this point I knew it must be the caliper.
I tried it anyway. Bolted the caliper to the car, spun the wheel, pressed the brake and then checked if the wheel was free. The caliper had seized itself to the disc once again, and I couldn't move it at all. A bad piston it is, then.
I've never rebuilt a caliper before, so this should be interesting.
It didn't look bad from the surface, until I pulled the seal/piston out.
Full of rust on the areas where the seals were, and the rest of it wasn't too clever either. From here I sprayed generous amounts of PlusGas and scrubbed the pot with a wire brush and sand paper, until it was clean.
Far better.
New seals and piston compared to the old.
Thought I'd change the bleed nipple too.
One caliper rebuilt! I could push the piston back in with my thumbs this time, with a satisfying greased feeling to it. There's a knack to getting the seal on (many YouTube videos outlining it) where you slide the seal over the piston, slide it to the bottom so that it's half off the piston, put that end of the seal in the caliper, then push the piston in. It saves a lot of faff.
After some leak tests, the seal was good. Fitted back to the car, bled the brakes, and we were done. The caliper functions like new and the car drives lovely. The key it seems with these rebuilds is to ensure a properly sealed... seal, as well as to clean the pot as much as you can with plenty of penetrating fluid. I took a screwdriver to the area where the seal would sit to ensure that it was flush.
In all, for £18 it was a success, and I quite enjoyed rebuilding it too. It went without a hitch and was quite satisfying to rebuild. It's good to know as, like many of you have said, it's a weak point of the car, so it's great to know that it's fixable for £18 if it happens again. I'll keep an eye on the temperatures of the rest of the brakes as I suspect they may not be far behind.
After the test drive I locked the car and walked indoors, then the alarm went off? I walked out, unlocked the car, checked it, locked it, then 30 seconds later it went off again. To my surprise, I'd left my phone in the center console and that's what was causing the alarm to sound. This used to happen in my Toyota Celica, something to do with the metals conflicting with the alarm sensor. Is this an intended function by Mazda, or purely coincidence across two Japanese makes?
Next up, detail. I can't wait, just need two days of cloudy/dry weather and I can get that car to look as good as it drives.
Before
Nice and shiny
All cleaned up.
After I greased them (and the pads), I put them back in. The pads could now move around far easier and relatively unhindered. Where I pushed the piston out quite far to judge the condition previously, I needed to push it back in. I took my trusty caliper winding tool and put it onto the caliper, took the cap off the reservoir, started winding and... my word, I could barely push the thing back in, to the point where I thought it wasn't going to be possible. At this point I knew it must be the caliper.
I tried it anyway. Bolted the caliper to the car, spun the wheel, pressed the brake and then checked if the wheel was free. The caliper had seized itself to the disc once again, and I couldn't move it at all. A bad piston it is, then.
I've never rebuilt a caliper before, so this should be interesting.
It didn't look bad from the surface, until I pulled the seal/piston out.
Full of rust on the areas where the seals were, and the rest of it wasn't too clever either. From here I sprayed generous amounts of PlusGas and scrubbed the pot with a wire brush and sand paper, until it was clean.
Far better.
New seals and piston compared to the old.
Thought I'd change the bleed nipple too.
One caliper rebuilt! I could push the piston back in with my thumbs this time, with a satisfying greased feeling to it. There's a knack to getting the seal on (many YouTube videos outlining it) where you slide the seal over the piston, slide it to the bottom so that it's half off the piston, put that end of the seal in the caliper, then push the piston in. It saves a lot of faff.
After some leak tests, the seal was good. Fitted back to the car, bled the brakes, and we were done. The caliper functions like new and the car drives lovely. The key it seems with these rebuilds is to ensure a properly sealed... seal, as well as to clean the pot as much as you can with plenty of penetrating fluid. I took a screwdriver to the area where the seal would sit to ensure that it was flush.
In all, for £18 it was a success, and I quite enjoyed rebuilding it too. It went without a hitch and was quite satisfying to rebuild. It's good to know as, like many of you have said, it's a weak point of the car, so it's great to know that it's fixable for £18 if it happens again. I'll keep an eye on the temperatures of the rest of the brakes as I suspect they may not be far behind.
After the test drive I locked the car and walked indoors, then the alarm went off? I walked out, unlocked the car, checked it, locked it, then 30 seconds later it went off again. To my surprise, I'd left my phone in the center console and that's what was causing the alarm to sound. This used to happen in my Toyota Celica, something to do with the metals conflicting with the alarm sensor. Is this an intended function by Mazda, or purely coincidence across two Japanese makes?
Next up, detail. I can't wait, just need two days of cloudy/dry weather and I can get that car to look as good as it drives.
SlowcoachIII said:
The broken plastic is a result of someone removing the amber indicator lens so that the headlights are clear. Looks much better in my opinion but it hasn’t been cleaned up and painted to hide the marks.
I see! It does look better, I'm just not sure I'd want to split the headlights to clean it up. I barely notice it to be honest.
One thing I like about this car is driving it at night. The dashboard looks lovely illuminated in red, and so do all of the controls. It's a shame that the Bose head unit has been replaced with this Pioneer one. I've got the original Bose unit here, and it would look a lot better in the dashboard especially with the night lighting, but the Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and SatNav capabilities of this head unit are unfortunately too good to ignore. The Apple CarPlay is something that I had in the last car, and is fantastic. The ability to sync with your phone with Apple Maps, Spotify, etc, is brilliant.
It's a shame though, as the Bose unit would look lovely.
Accelebrate said:
Good work with the brakes! Mine were all similar, a little corrosion on the pistons near the pad but nothing too bad, but lots of internal corrosion. Maybe I should have refurbished them rather than throwing parts at it . Every new set of pads I've bought has come with a replacement set of retaining clips.
That's good to know when I replace the pads in the future, I wasn't sure if they came with the carriers or not.. Every new set of pads I've bought has come with a replacement set of retaining clips.I'd definitely give them a go if they go bad again, especially since you have a garage. The main thing is the seal condition and any rust stopping the rubber from creating a good seal. When you clear the piston out, clear the runs out where the rubber sits, and put new seals in, it's essentially as good as new. I was tempted to leave them in white wine vinegar overnight as this does wonders to rusty parts, but the finish came up fine.
Plus the satisfaction of pushing that oily new piston into place was more than worth it...
airdocful said:
Subbed :-)
Had a lovely one of these last year while living in Australia, absolutely fantastic car, and amazing fun bone stock on track!
Thanks! They're huge fun. I took it to my brother-in-law's yesterday, who's a big Porsche guy (previous 911 owner, now Cayenne) who wanted one as a second car after how fun it was to drive. I don't think there's a better word to describe an MX-5 than that.Had a lovely one of these last year while living in Australia, absolutely fantastic car, and amazing fun bone stock on track!
Just over a week into ownership, so I thought I'd give my thoughts so far. I'm by no means a professional though, so take my comments lightly.
To drive: Beautifully balanced on tighter bends with plenty of information through the whole car. You feel as if you're sitting directly in the middle of the car, with the car moving around you as you push it through corners. There's a lot of feedback. There's not much that's in between you and the road surface, which is lovely. The gear stick shakes on idle that allows you to feel what's going on in the transmission. To give an idea of how much you can feel, you can actually feel the windscreen wipers through the pedals. It's quite raw, without being compromising for a daily driver for some. Part of me thinks that this is due to the nature of it being a very cheap (for what it is) and light weight car, to which you naturally won't get much damping between what's happening to the wheels and what you feel in the cabin. The other part of me thinks that this is quite intentional from two previous - and successful - generations of the MX-5, being already based on a successful British recipe. The gear shift feels bolt-action like, and whilst the 2.0 block doesn't have much brute force behind it (160bhp for a 2.0 N/A is quite weak), the torque that you feel through the car is impressive. It pulls from any gear and puts the car exactly where you need it in terms of speed throughout bends. I haven't yet thought "Come on, quicker quicker!" whilst on a drive, and that's coming from owning a Boxster S. For the size and capability of the car, the engine suites it very well. The ride can be a little bouncy on some surfaces (the A4232 in Cardiff, if anyone's familiar) where other cars would absorb this, but if this is the cost you pay for the feedback you get, then that's fine by me.
To live with: I drove into work today and it was hammering down with rain. This is mainly due to the novelty that still hasn't worn off with a new car, so I find the need to drive it everywhere. Even so, I can see how people drive these as a daily. The clutch is light, seats are comfy, steering as a lovely weight and visibility is good for a convertible. It's got more storage than I thought it would have. Two cubby holders behind the seats, one in the middle of the seats, storage in the center console, the glove box, and the rear boot is far bigger than I thought it was from the photos. You could fit a decent sized suit case in there, and let's not forget the boot rack you can purchase, too. I do like the deep cup holders in the doors as well. In all, it's a lovely place to be. It's not bad on fuel, it's reliable, and cheap to run/maintain. If I'm being picky, I'd like a clock that's not built into the radio as, once you change the radio, you don't have one. My Pioneer has one, but I drive with the screen off at night which takes the clock away. Speaking of the dashboard, the oil pressure gives no use to me, especially as it's only an indication of what the oil pressure should be doing, and not an actual reading. I'd much rather see oil temperature here. The seat belts have a tendency of cutting into my neck a little (I'm 5'8"), so further investigation is needed with either repositioning or some simple belt straps. The roof mechanism being so easy to retract from the drivers seat is a welcome addition, and I'd choose this over the PRHT any day of the week. Push the button, pull the handle, and throw the roof behind you, and you don't even have to get out of your seat. It quite literally takes around two seconds. However, it's very hard to pull the roof back up from the drivers seat, so you have to take off your belt and swivel in your seat, trying to grab the roof, or you have to get out of the car to do it. The only reason why I'm commenting on this is that it's so easy to put the roof back when you're seated that it would have been lovely to have the same simplicity when putting it back up, too.
To look at: Really pleasing. It's not trying to be something that isn't, which goes for the rest of the car too. It's a small, fun, two seater sports car, and looks like one too. It's not lavished with indications that this is some sort of sleeper. What you see is what you get. The flared wheel arches and bulging bonnet makes it look quite handsome from angles, and looks great from a rear quarter view. The bumper and skirts curve inwards towards the bottom, making it look a little boat-like, but were rectified in later versions with better designed skirts and bumpers. However with it being black, it's a little more subtle than that of a brighter car, so it doesn't bother me much. The suspension is far too high from stock, I think we can all agree on that. Projector headlights help not only with driving at night, but help with the design of the headlamp as there's no need for a large and fussy reflector bowl. The rear lexus lights were something I was never a fan off (the later NC2 and NC3 nailed it), but they don't terrible. I'd wrap them red if I could. They look far better on a silver car mind. The interior is designed quite well, with long running lines throughout that reflect not only in the doors, but the center console and the seats too. It's functional. The piano black dash is a nice touch, though I can see this being easily scratched. Not much more to say with the interior, everything is where you need it, nothing is in an awkward position, and there's nothing oddly designed that won't age well.
In all, it's exactly what you'd expect the car to be. Reliable (hopefully), fun to drive, easy to live with, cheap to run. I can see why there's such a following behind these. Hopefully I've given a little insight into the car for anyone who's wondering what it's like. Even if you're simply considering buying one, then you're already in the mindset of enjoying a 2-seater convertible, and if that's what you enjoy, then you'll no doubt love the MX-5.
To drive: Beautifully balanced on tighter bends with plenty of information through the whole car. You feel as if you're sitting directly in the middle of the car, with the car moving around you as you push it through corners. There's a lot of feedback. There's not much that's in between you and the road surface, which is lovely. The gear stick shakes on idle that allows you to feel what's going on in the transmission. To give an idea of how much you can feel, you can actually feel the windscreen wipers through the pedals. It's quite raw, without being compromising for a daily driver for some. Part of me thinks that this is due to the nature of it being a very cheap (for what it is) and light weight car, to which you naturally won't get much damping between what's happening to the wheels and what you feel in the cabin. The other part of me thinks that this is quite intentional from two previous - and successful - generations of the MX-5, being already based on a successful British recipe. The gear shift feels bolt-action like, and whilst the 2.0 block doesn't have much brute force behind it (160bhp for a 2.0 N/A is quite weak), the torque that you feel through the car is impressive. It pulls from any gear and puts the car exactly where you need it in terms of speed throughout bends. I haven't yet thought "Come on, quicker quicker!" whilst on a drive, and that's coming from owning a Boxster S. For the size and capability of the car, the engine suites it very well. The ride can be a little bouncy on some surfaces (the A4232 in Cardiff, if anyone's familiar) where other cars would absorb this, but if this is the cost you pay for the feedback you get, then that's fine by me.
To live with: I drove into work today and it was hammering down with rain. This is mainly due to the novelty that still hasn't worn off with a new car, so I find the need to drive it everywhere. Even so, I can see how people drive these as a daily. The clutch is light, seats are comfy, steering as a lovely weight and visibility is good for a convertible. It's got more storage than I thought it would have. Two cubby holders behind the seats, one in the middle of the seats, storage in the center console, the glove box, and the rear boot is far bigger than I thought it was from the photos. You could fit a decent sized suit case in there, and let's not forget the boot rack you can purchase, too. I do like the deep cup holders in the doors as well. In all, it's a lovely place to be. It's not bad on fuel, it's reliable, and cheap to run/maintain. If I'm being picky, I'd like a clock that's not built into the radio as, once you change the radio, you don't have one. My Pioneer has one, but I drive with the screen off at night which takes the clock away. Speaking of the dashboard, the oil pressure gives no use to me, especially as it's only an indication of what the oil pressure should be doing, and not an actual reading. I'd much rather see oil temperature here. The seat belts have a tendency of cutting into my neck a little (I'm 5'8"), so further investigation is needed with either repositioning or some simple belt straps. The roof mechanism being so easy to retract from the drivers seat is a welcome addition, and I'd choose this over the PRHT any day of the week. Push the button, pull the handle, and throw the roof behind you, and you don't even have to get out of your seat. It quite literally takes around two seconds. However, it's very hard to pull the roof back up from the drivers seat, so you have to take off your belt and swivel in your seat, trying to grab the roof, or you have to get out of the car to do it. The only reason why I'm commenting on this is that it's so easy to put the roof back when you're seated that it would have been lovely to have the same simplicity when putting it back up, too.
To look at: Really pleasing. It's not trying to be something that isn't, which goes for the rest of the car too. It's a small, fun, two seater sports car, and looks like one too. It's not lavished with indications that this is some sort of sleeper. What you see is what you get. The flared wheel arches and bulging bonnet makes it look quite handsome from angles, and looks great from a rear quarter view. The bumper and skirts curve inwards towards the bottom, making it look a little boat-like, but were rectified in later versions with better designed skirts and bumpers. However with it being black, it's a little more subtle than that of a brighter car, so it doesn't bother me much. The suspension is far too high from stock, I think we can all agree on that. Projector headlights help not only with driving at night, but help with the design of the headlamp as there's no need for a large and fussy reflector bowl. The rear lexus lights were something I was never a fan off (the later NC2 and NC3 nailed it), but they don't terrible. I'd wrap them red if I could. They look far better on a silver car mind. The interior is designed quite well, with long running lines throughout that reflect not only in the doors, but the center console and the seats too. It's functional. The piano black dash is a nice touch, though I can see this being easily scratched. Not much more to say with the interior, everything is where you need it, nothing is in an awkward position, and there's nothing oddly designed that won't age well.
In all, it's exactly what you'd expect the car to be. Reliable (hopefully), fun to drive, easy to live with, cheap to run. I can see why there's such a following behind these. Hopefully I've given a little insight into the car for anyone who's wondering what it's like. Even if you're simply considering buying one, then you're already in the mindset of enjoying a 2-seater convertible, and if that's what you enjoy, then you'll no doubt love the MX-5.
tr7v8 said:
Law of sod applies here. I replied that the only problem outside servicing had been an EGR valve. Well used it twice on Saturday & returning the second time as I reversed I felt it stop the minute I took drive off. Quick walk around feeling wheels & the NSF was red hot. Booked it into my Mazda Indie & just picked it up.
Seized NSF calliper replaced, service & A/C regas. £450 ouch.
Ouch!Seized NSF calliper replaced, service & A/C regas. £450 ouch.
Would you be into working on it yourself at all? I only say this as it seems to be such an easy (and fun) car to work on. Even rebuilding the caliper was a doddle. Rebuild kit cost £18, servicing costs £40 for parts, and A/C regas is around £50, so would come to about £108. You'd save hundreds!
It's worth thinking about, not only for the savings but for the satisfaction. Totally understand if not, but it's definitely worth considering.
tr7v8 said:
Used to work on cars, was tempted on the calliper as I'd have pulled them all off & got them painted at the same time. He put a replacement calliper on it. So problem solved, He said he's done a few in the past few months due to lack of use during COVID But these days can't be arsed to grovel around under cars. Mark updates the Mazda DSR as well. Mine is low miles under 60K
Can't argue with that! I'm certain that's why my caliper went, lack of use. It's low mileage and didn't seem to be driven enthusiastically with its setup (I don't know how they could have).Accelebrate said:
There’s a knack to it, but you should be able to raise the roof back up whilst seated by reaching behind yourself with your right hand and grabbing the edge of the roof.
Evoluzione said:
Yes I was about to post the same, OP you're just not flexible enough 
My muscles get used to it in Summer and it's easy. This Spring I was wondering why my arm was aching and that was the reason, I was just out of practice
I need to try this! I've already got one huge left leg due to the Boxster clutch...My muscles get used to it in Summer and it's easy. This Spring I was wondering why my arm was aching and that was the reason, I was just out of practice
I still haven't washed the car since buying it, all I've done is fix the brake and drive it, so I gave it a quick once over today. Literally a little bit of soapy water in a bucket with a terrible washmitt. No point in doing a two bucket posh wash with the state of the paintwork. I'll be detailing it soon anyway.
Today was a good day to do the roof of the car. This needs to be the first step as the products used for the roof, especially the protector, can stain the paintwork. Nothing a polish won't fix, but I may as well do it first if I'm machining the paintwork later on down the line.
The roof isn't in a great state. It's faded, and covered in mould. Or as us Welsh like to say: minging.
I used AutoGlym's Soft Top Renovator kit. I've had good results with this on the Boxster, so it should be fine for this.
Wet the roof, spray half (literally says to use half) of the bottle across the roof, and start scrubbing with the included sponge. The trouble is that the sponge is so soft that it doesn't really do anything to the mould. Good at cleaning the roof, terrible at removing mould as it doesn't go into the fabric of the roof.
I switched to one of these and, as you can see, it's working as my thumb is now covered in disgusting mould juice.
The results however were lovely
The soft top protector is fantastic in the rain as water doesn't stick to the roof at all. It's good to top it up from time to time,.
Today was a good day to do the roof of the car. This needs to be the first step as the products used for the roof, especially the protector, can stain the paintwork. Nothing a polish won't fix, but I may as well do it first if I'm machining the paintwork later on down the line.
The roof isn't in a great state. It's faded, and covered in mould. Or as us Welsh like to say: minging.
I used AutoGlym's Soft Top Renovator kit. I've had good results with this on the Boxster, so it should be fine for this.
Wet the roof, spray half (literally says to use half) of the bottle across the roof, and start scrubbing with the included sponge. The trouble is that the sponge is so soft that it doesn't really do anything to the mould. Good at cleaning the roof, terrible at removing mould as it doesn't go into the fabric of the roof.
I switched to one of these and, as you can see, it's working as my thumb is now covered in disgusting mould juice.
The results however were lovely
The soft top protector is fantastic in the rain as water doesn't stick to the roof at all. It's good to top it up from time to time,.
Edited by geraintthomas on Wednesday 26th August 14:23
Edited by geraintthomas on Wednesday 26th August 14:24
Edited by geraintthomas on Wednesday 26th August 14:25
I've been tempted to put the original Bose head unit back in, rather than this Pioneer Apple CarPlay system.
The pro's of the Pioneer system is that I get the reverse camera feed, Bluetooth, and the Apple CarPlay system (which in itself is a phone, GPS, Spotify, etc), and that's about it.
The cons is that it's just a boring big screen, which doesn't seem to sit right in the interior of an MX-5. It screams 'aftermarket', which I hate. I'm a sucker for good UI design and the Pioneer's UI design is shocking, and doesn't suite the Mazda. I like things to look like they were intended to be there, but the Pioneer's head unit is just trying to be 'cool' with fancy backgrounds and weirdly laid out UI buttons. If I turn the screen off, I'm left with a blank space and, at night, it's just black with nothing there. I also loose the clock by turning off the screen. It's also causing a constant hiss due to this and the Bose amp both amplifying the signal.
Reverse camera, I'm really not bothered. I'd happily install parking sensors instead. I could simply get a Bluetooth module for the original Bose head unit, then get a phone holder for my iPhone (one that sits in the CD slot). That way I get navigation directly on my phone whenever I need it, and I can still use Bluetooth audio whenever I want. When it comes to using the phone, the caller's voice would come through the speakers via the Bluetooth module, and the microphone would be the phone's internal mic as opposed to an aftermarket microphone up by the sun visor. It'll be a lot neater, and a lot less fussy.
https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=475015
That guide shows how to custom make your own AUX input that works with the Bose system. I'd make one of those, and buy an 3.5mm to Bluetooth dongle for it, and will hide it behind the dash. Voila, factory Bluetooth.
I'll have a think about it because the Apple CarPlay is the only reason why I'd want it to stay there. If it didn't have this, then I'd have absolutely no use for a big screen in the dashboard.
Also, one more thing I've found that I don't like about NC MX-5's is how hard it is to heel & toe compared to other cars. I wonder if there's an extension I can install for the throttle pedal.
The pro's of the Pioneer system is that I get the reverse camera feed, Bluetooth, and the Apple CarPlay system (which in itself is a phone, GPS, Spotify, etc), and that's about it.
The cons is that it's just a boring big screen, which doesn't seem to sit right in the interior of an MX-5. It screams 'aftermarket', which I hate. I'm a sucker for good UI design and the Pioneer's UI design is shocking, and doesn't suite the Mazda. I like things to look like they were intended to be there, but the Pioneer's head unit is just trying to be 'cool' with fancy backgrounds and weirdly laid out UI buttons. If I turn the screen off, I'm left with a blank space and, at night, it's just black with nothing there. I also loose the clock by turning off the screen. It's also causing a constant hiss due to this and the Bose amp both amplifying the signal.
Reverse camera, I'm really not bothered. I'd happily install parking sensors instead. I could simply get a Bluetooth module for the original Bose head unit, then get a phone holder for my iPhone (one that sits in the CD slot). That way I get navigation directly on my phone whenever I need it, and I can still use Bluetooth audio whenever I want. When it comes to using the phone, the caller's voice would come through the speakers via the Bluetooth module, and the microphone would be the phone's internal mic as opposed to an aftermarket microphone up by the sun visor. It'll be a lot neater, and a lot less fussy.
https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=475015
That guide shows how to custom make your own AUX input that works with the Bose system. I'd make one of those, and buy an 3.5mm to Bluetooth dongle for it, and will hide it behind the dash. Voila, factory Bluetooth.
I'll have a think about it because the Apple CarPlay is the only reason why I'd want it to stay there. If it didn't have this, then I'd have absolutely no use for a big screen in the dashboard.
Also, one more thing I've found that I don't like about NC MX-5's is how hard it is to heel & toe compared to other cars. I wonder if there's an extension I can install for the throttle pedal.
Edited by geraintthomas on Thursday 27th August 13:54
I kept looking at this, convincing myself that the original Bose unit would look better. With what I explained in a previous post, I could always add in a line-in for the phone audio, and a phone stand to use my phone for the sat nav. I wouldn't be missing out on features, and I'd be having the original look, setup and sound.
I decided to go for it. I pulled the head unit out, then wanted to pull my hair out.
I've never seen so much of a mess of wires just for ICE in my life. All this just for a touch screen?
What's this for?! Why is this even here!
This was intriguing. Seems to be stereo speaker wires coming from somewhere, soldered into a loom that they've used. There's no 'extra' speakers other than the subwoofer, that I know of.
In a classic "JML" TV advertising voice: "But wait, there's more!" These wires are coming from the left behind the HU. The blue is labelled "P.Cont", which I assume is to do with the sub and its power. The silver lead on the right is definitely coming from the sub as I saw it back there. But the grey and white leads make me think that there's another set of speakers somewhere.
They go along the glove box area
Down the kick plates
Up behind the passenger seat, and behind the plastics.
Now then. Behind the driver seat was the sub.
I took it out, and these are the wires. Power (that connects to the battery), the blue lead, and the silver lead. But where's the white and grey? I have a feeling there's something behind the passenger seat, and I have a feeling it's an amplifier.
If that's true, then this car would essentially have three amps. The Pioneer unit itself, this mystery amp, and the car's Bose amp. No wonder it was hissing.
What an awful setup, it all had to go back to factory.
I disconnected the leads coming from behind the glove box and wrapped them up for now. I'll eventually take the interior plastics out and will remove this properly, when the weather permits. For now, it stays disconnected and wrapped up behind the glove box.
All of this came out, and there's a lot more to come that's cable tied in. I'll need to re-visit it to pull the remaining wires out. Anyone fancy a sub?
Bose unit back in.
Finished.
The sound is FAR better! No hiss, lots of clarity, plenty of mid-range (rather than just bass and tin-sounding treble), and it looks the part in the night too. Also, I now have a clock!
The in-dash 6-CD changer is cool. I've put a few CD's in already, but I want to start setting this up for AUX input. As I mentioned in a previous post, you can trick the car into thinking that it has the original media 3.5mm adapter, after soldering a few wires etc, so that was the plan.
And then I found this in that big box of trinkets:
Perfect!
The plan is to turn that USB port I made in the cubby holder back into a 12V socket, then turn the original Mazda 12v socket under the climate controls into one of these:
I'll put a female end on the 3.5mm lead that I have, and will link it up to this. This should make it look lovely and factory.
We visited my parents that evening, and took advantage of the misty Welsh mountain roads on the way.
That radio is far better.
robf1uk said:
Interesting - looks like a very sub-standard install. Bose equipped cars can be fiddly to get this right, and I chickened out and had mine professionally installed. Not sure if you're aware, but the 6-CD changer on these does have a tendency to fail and will end up not playing back the discs inserted, so you may want to look into a spare in case that happens.
Thanks for the heads up, I'll certainly keep it in mind.Day 2 of old radio removal. It's actually done, and I still can't believe the amount of wires that has just come out.
This was the cable I wanted to tackle first.
One huge lead, along with about a million zip ties. Which lead me to the next wires.
These are the GPS, microphone and rear camera wires.
Pulled them out of the HU area and removed all cable ties (they were hanging off the steering rack).
Had to remove the a-pillars and sun visor plastics to get to these, but eventually got them out.
Rear camera was next.
All by the boot lock. Bit of a mess. I disconnected the (bodged) wires, and went about removing the camera.
Came out easy enough, but needed to cover the hole.
Then I walked past my Focus brake caliper on the floor...
Those caliper slide bolt boots look interesting.
Especially since it could reach that inside hole that you see too.
Well I'll be damned, a perfect fit. I could trim a little off, but it's fine for now.
Lastly, this huge pile of wires
What have I gotten myself into...
Behind the seat plastics, I found it's not even connected! No wonder the sub didn't work.
It all came out, with an alarming amount of wires in total
And for the grand finale...
All of that came out of the Mazda (not the Lego technics car, points to guess what it is), and was for the head unit install. Absolutely shocked with the unnecessary length of wire.
It's a lot quieter with no tiny taps and clinks that I thought was just part of the car. I also found a brand new bag of plastic trim clips, which I used on all of the missing/snapped clips.
Gives me much better peace of mind knowing I'm driving the car without all of that rubbish in there.
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