2006 MX-5 2.0 Option Pack
Discussion
Bright Halo said:
I’m not so sure about your exhaust skid plate. If it comes off a following driver may well have a problem from either a puncture or impact.
Maybe better fully welded rather than tac then it won’t come off?
That crossed my mind. Think of it as a first prototype, I’ll make sure the first few impacts are carried out under controlled conditions Maybe better fully welded rather than tac then it won’t come off?
There are two scenarios where it tends to catch, speed bumps which are obviously very low speed, and rural roads with excessive camber from heavy farm machinery. There’s a local road where dodgy camber is combined with a heavy compression, it’s been responsible for a lot of the midpipe damage to date. It’s not a busy road, so I’ll do a few test runs there when I get chance and add some more weld if required. I didn’t want to attach it too well as I’d like that piece to be easily replaceable.
Bright Halo said:
I’m not so sure about your exhaust skid plate. If it comes off a following driver may well have a problem from either a puncture or impact.
Maybe better fully welded rather than tac then it won’t come off?
4 decent tacks will be OK, unlikely to break them all in 1 hit.. Maybe better fully welded rather than tac then it won’t come off?
Craikeybaby said:
I went from NC MX-5 to MR2 Roadster, whilst similar on paper I found them to be very different cars.
I can imagine! It was quite amusing raising the front of the car using the central jacking point, I could see it visibly bouncing on my jack as it lifted, they're impressively light.In the interests of science I headed to the previously mentioned compression. As the midpipe scraped the road I remembered that it's not where I think it is on that road - it always catches me out and I always hit it faster than I intend to. It's amusing that I managed to drive to Germany and back recently without hitting anything, yet I can find roads in such bad condition within a 10min drive of my house.
Anyway, looks like all four tack welds are still attached and the plate worked as intended. The weld on the backbox also stayed together.
Anyway, looks like all four tack welds are still attached and the plate worked as intended. The weld on the backbox also stayed together.
Cambs_Stuart said:
Ouch indeed. Is that kind of barrier incident covered by insurance?
I believe as the car was registered and covered by a German insurance policy it should have been covered. However, the owner has chosen to pay for both the repairs and the barrier damage out of his own pocket as he is worried about his already expensive insurance being unobtainable without NCB. On the trackdays we attend a lot of our group take an insurance policy that covers the car and the first €4000 of barrier damage. I think it's typically a little over £200 for the day.
Between the two cold spells and associated salty roads, I've managed to use the MX5 a bit for some nursery runs and a trip to the Jan Sunday Scramble at Bicester. "Using it a bit" is all relative - I've almost used up the tank of fuel that I put in at Folkestone on the way back from the Ring in October
The Scramble was a welcome break from the January Blues...
The headlights on the Mazda have started to suffer from cataracts. They're easily brought back with a machine polish, but as anyone who's ever polished a headlight probably knows, once the factory UV protection has been removed they soon cloud up again. One solution is to spray them with clearcoat, preferably 2K, but I've never quite found the inclination to remove the bumper and lights.
I spotted a product from 3M that's designed specifically for restoring UV protection to headlights:
It's a cheap (£10) and simple kit, two sachets that resemble the sort of wet wipe you might get in a curry house after a meal and a 3000 grit sanding disc.
It gets good reviews, as 3M products usually do. I was particularly swayed by this 18-month follow-up video - https://youtu.be/jpn0aaYoC88
I'd machine-polished the lights at the end of last year, so I don't have any rubbish-looking 'before' photos. The included 'Trizact' sanding pad was a great size for getting into the relatively tight corners on the NC lights. I quite like this kit as if you already have varying grades of wet and dry you can easily expand it to make it more aggressive, I did another set of lights at the same time that were heavily pebble-dashed, I went through 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then onto the included 3000 grit.
The 3000 grit removes light UV damage and leaves the light keyed ready for the sealant...
The sealant is applied using the edge of a wet wipe. I was slightly dubious about what sort of surface finish this would achieve, but it went on nice and evenly and smoothed out as it dried.
The second wipe is used for a second coat after 15mins...
They were dry, and very solid after an hour. Given how little work was involved the surface finish looks great. It's better than I can achieve with clear coat from a rattle can - maybe not as good as if I then spent some time sanding and polishing the clear but that's a lot more work for minimal benefit. Hopefully, it will last as well for me as it has for others.
The Scramble was a welcome break from the January Blues...
The headlights on the Mazda have started to suffer from cataracts. They're easily brought back with a machine polish, but as anyone who's ever polished a headlight probably knows, once the factory UV protection has been removed they soon cloud up again. One solution is to spray them with clearcoat, preferably 2K, but I've never quite found the inclination to remove the bumper and lights.
I spotted a product from 3M that's designed specifically for restoring UV protection to headlights:
It's a cheap (£10) and simple kit, two sachets that resemble the sort of wet wipe you might get in a curry house after a meal and a 3000 grit sanding disc.
It gets good reviews, as 3M products usually do. I was particularly swayed by this 18-month follow-up video - https://youtu.be/jpn0aaYoC88
I'd machine-polished the lights at the end of last year, so I don't have any rubbish-looking 'before' photos. The included 'Trizact' sanding pad was a great size for getting into the relatively tight corners on the NC lights. I quite like this kit as if you already have varying grades of wet and dry you can easily expand it to make it more aggressive, I did another set of lights at the same time that were heavily pebble-dashed, I went through 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then onto the included 3000 grit.
The 3000 grit removes light UV damage and leaves the light keyed ready for the sealant...
The sealant is applied using the edge of a wet wipe. I was slightly dubious about what sort of surface finish this would achieve, but it went on nice and evenly and smoothed out as it dried.
The second wipe is used for a second coat after 15mins...
They were dry, and very solid after an hour. Given how little work was involved the surface finish looks great. It's better than I can achieve with clear coat from a rattle can - maybe not as good as if I then spent some time sanding and polishing the clear but that's a lot more work for minimal benefit. Hopefully, it will last as well for me as it has for others.
After a winter hiatus since the Ring trip in October, it was nice to dig the car out on Monday and take it to familiar surroundings at Bedford. Alex joined me in his Fiesta...
And Roshan in his new-to-him GT86. This has replaced the black 350z that's appeared in this thread over the last few years. He became fed up with the weight of the Nissan as a track car...
I remain intrigued by the GT86, it's a similar prospect to the NC in a lot of ways, but I could carry both my children in it at a push and it's able to lug a set of track wheels internally without much fuss. Roshan has picked up some used Subaru rims for this purpose...
I left my house to some relatively heavy rain, but Bedford was mostly dry and what little moisture there was on the track had mostly disappeared once sighting laps were over. It stayed that way until the last hour, which is pretty lucky for March.
It felt great to be back driving the NC on a circuit, particularly one that I know well enough to push on a bit harder. I'd had a very busy few weeks at work, followed by everyone in our house being ill right up to the night before. All of that was quickly forgotten with some adrenaline, I miss being able to indulge in this hobby as frequently as I used to be able to, but that only adds to the enjoyment when everything aligns.
Roshan recorded some video following me and Alex during the morning. His GT86 has had some similar mods to mine (manifold, remap) and seems to be a fairly even match.
By lunchtime my front pads were getting low, I'd bought a spare set of PBS along so set about swapping them. A few people came over for a chat and to check if I needed anything
.
It transpired that one of them was driving one of several Ariel Atoms that were in attendance. He was an absolute gent, took an interest in my car as I'd apparently managed to hang around in his mirrors for longer than expected (I don't remember any such feat) and happily agreed to take me out for some passenger laps.
It was a nearly new Atom 4 with some nice options. I've been in a lot of Caterham and Caterham-shaped things over the years but nothing quite like this. The intake and turbo noises being sucked in behind your head are quite something, the acceleration was brutal and the damping from the Ohlins shocks was just superb, it was impressive how crashy it made my own car look as it seemingly glided over the same kerbs.
The afternoon continued with more driving in circles. I hopped into the GT86 for a few laps to see what it was about, and gave out a few passenger laps myself.
It was a fun day. I always feel like I've managed to get the most out of the car and my abilities at Bedford, it's all down to familiarity and it being such a 'safe' environment. I'm always impressed at the Mazda's ability to be left alone for months and not cause me any grief during a day of abuse, not a lot of cars can do that.
And Roshan in his new-to-him GT86. This has replaced the black 350z that's appeared in this thread over the last few years. He became fed up with the weight of the Nissan as a track car...
I remain intrigued by the GT86, it's a similar prospect to the NC in a lot of ways, but I could carry both my children in it at a push and it's able to lug a set of track wheels internally without much fuss. Roshan has picked up some used Subaru rims for this purpose...
I left my house to some relatively heavy rain, but Bedford was mostly dry and what little moisture there was on the track had mostly disappeared once sighting laps were over. It stayed that way until the last hour, which is pretty lucky for March.
It felt great to be back driving the NC on a circuit, particularly one that I know well enough to push on a bit harder. I'd had a very busy few weeks at work, followed by everyone in our house being ill right up to the night before. All of that was quickly forgotten with some adrenaline, I miss being able to indulge in this hobby as frequently as I used to be able to, but that only adds to the enjoyment when everything aligns.
Roshan recorded some video following me and Alex during the morning. His GT86 has had some similar mods to mine (manifold, remap) and seems to be a fairly even match.
By lunchtime my front pads were getting low, I'd bought a spare set of PBS along so set about swapping them. A few people came over for a chat and to check if I needed anything
. It transpired that one of them was driving one of several Ariel Atoms that were in attendance. He was an absolute gent, took an interest in my car as I'd apparently managed to hang around in his mirrors for longer than expected (I don't remember any such feat) and happily agreed to take me out for some passenger laps.
It was a nearly new Atom 4 with some nice options. I've been in a lot of Caterham and Caterham-shaped things over the years but nothing quite like this. The intake and turbo noises being sucked in behind your head are quite something, the acceleration was brutal and the damping from the Ohlins shocks was just superb, it was impressive how crashy it made my own car look as it seemingly glided over the same kerbs.
The afternoon continued with more driving in circles. I hopped into the GT86 for a few laps to see what it was about, and gave out a few passenger laps myself.
It was a fun day. I always feel like I've managed to get the most out of the car and my abilities at Bedford, it's all down to familiarity and it being such a 'safe' environment. I'm always impressed at the Mazda's ability to be left alone for months and not cause me any grief during a day of abuse, not a lot of cars can do that.
Kaveney said:
Gutted i missed this it looks like it was great fun and would have been good to meet you and Alex .
Car looks great on track as always .
Have you any other track days planed this year ?
You never know i may just make one this year if i get lucky
Sorry you couldn't make it, hopefully, the Renault gods will be kinder next time.Car looks great on track as always .
Have you any other track days planed this year ?
You never know i may just make one this year if i get lucky
We haven't booked anything just yet, apart from another Ring trip in Oct. If we manage to agree on a venue and a date I'll let you know
Accelebrate said:
Kaveney said:
Gutted i missed this it looks like it was great fun and would have been good to meet you and Alex .
Car looks great on track as always .
Have you any other track days planed this year ?
You never know i may just make one this year if i get lucky
Sorry you couldn't make it, hopefully, the Renault gods will be kinder next time.Car looks great on track as always .
Have you any other track days planed this year ?
You never know i may just make one this year if i get lucky
We haven't booked anything just yet, apart from another Ring trip in Oct. If we manage to agree on a venue and a date I'll let you know
Accelebrate said:
Kev_Mk3 said:
Ring - October? Circuit days by any chance? If so see you there and be good to lap together as I'm in the swift
That's the one! I'll look forward to meeting you Kev_Mk3 said:
Likewise looking forward to it. Just bought a new set of ad08R's (yes they are old but same batch date as the ones on my car) so I'm ready to go already lol
Good find, I'd take a new old stock set of AD08R over some new AD08RS.EVOTECH3BELL said:
Never done a trackday but Bedford looks like a good place to start. On the video at least, doesn't look like there's too much to hit.
Yes, it's a popular first track day location for that reason. I've been there quite a lot and still enjoy it, one of the few places I feel comfortable driving at closer to 10/10ths of my ability.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff