2006 MX-5 2.0 Option Pack
Discussion
Long-term thread readers will know that I was a big fan of Stoptech Sport brake pads. Stoptech was acquired by a company called Centric a few years ago and stock and UK resellers of their pads seemed to dry up not long after.
I noticed recently that Amazon US had some good prices and a small amount of stock of pads with the same product codes that I used to order. I ordered a front and rear set for £130 delivered, which is about what I'm now paying for a front set of PBS pads that don't last as long. I think I was hoping that they'd maybe found some new old stock.
The rears shipped first, all the way from California. However, the box that arrived was suspiciously light...
Just the clips!
The box was sealed, so it appears to have left the factory that way. Checking the sticker on the side there's nothing to suggest it shouldn't have also contained a set of pads...
I still had a box from an old set of rears, as you can see the product code matches...
There are some obvious differences:
Amazon wanted my almost empty box shipped to Indianapolis for a refund (at their expense), the fronts still hadn't shipped so I cancelled that order. Oh well - it was worth a try.
I noticed recently that Amazon US had some good prices and a small amount of stock of pads with the same product codes that I used to order. I ordered a front and rear set for £130 delivered, which is about what I'm now paying for a front set of PBS pads that don't last as long. I think I was hoping that they'd maybe found some new old stock.
The rears shipped first, all the way from California. However, the box that arrived was suspiciously light...
Just the clips!
The box was sealed, so it appears to have left the factory that way. Checking the sticker on the side there's nothing to suggest it shouldn't have also contained a set of pads...
I still had a box from an old set of rears, as you can see the product code matches...
There are some obvious differences:
- Plain unbranded box
- Pads now made in Mexico rather than Taiwan
- Hardware kit now made in China rather than the USA
Amazon wanted my almost empty box shipped to Indianapolis for a refund (at their expense), the fronts still hadn't shipped so I cancelled that order. Oh well - it was worth a try.
Another exciting update of man changes oil. I think these routine maintenance posts are mostly for my own reference at this point!
I've stockpiled quite a lot of this Mobil oil, works out almost 'free' whenever confused.com send me a £20 Halfords voucher.
Not many miles, but the oil had done at least two track days.
Back on the 50 profile tyres in the hope that I manage to do some road miles now that the weather is improving.
I've stockpiled quite a lot of this Mobil oil, works out almost 'free' whenever confused.com send me a £20 Halfords voucher.
Not many miles, but the oil had done at least two track days.
Back on the 50 profile tyres in the hope that I manage to do some road miles now that the weather is improving.
I took a trip up to Donnington Park this weekend to collect another set of wheels...
They're a 17" set of Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 with Toyo R888R tyres. The Pro Race is a wheel I always associate with track days and motorsport. They're not a particularly exotic wheel but I've grown quite fond of them. Their manufacturer, Rimstock was taken over a few years ago and I believe they're in the process of building a new factory. Supply of the Pro Race in 5x114.3 has been non-existent for a while now.
This set is in reasonable condition, and the Toyos have a few track days left in them.
If I include the wheel that's bolted to my garage wall as an airline holder that made 21 wheels that I owned for this car
This seemed a little excessive so I sold the other 17" set that I bought from PH member drgoatboy a few years ago...
The Rainsport tyres on these wheels were in need of changing. Now that I don't commute I don't really have a need for a set of road tyres for the Mazda so I'd never felt obliged to spend the money on tyres. As a result, they'd been sitting in my garage loft for a while. They were too heavy a wheel to ideally use for track days (with tyres they were 1.5kg per wheel heavier than the Pro Races) so they seemed the logical choice to go. They sold quickly for pretty much what I paid for them.
I've never been a huge fan of black wheels and was planning to drop these off for a cheap Birmingham refurb, but now they're fitted I like them more than I expected to. They pick up with the rollbar nicely.
They're the same size as the OE 17" wheels, but from what I can tell the offset pushes them out 10mm compared to stock. I'd ideally have them sticking out another 10mm to match the 20mm spacers I run on my other OE wheels but there's no easy way to achieve that.
I'd noticed the car had been running badly for the first few miles when cold recently. I didn't think too much of this at first as the car sat for a while over winter, but when the problem persisted it dawned on me that I hadn't cleaned the MAF sensor for years. Sure enough, it was visibly grubby...
After being on the receiving end of a squirty can...
It seems much happier when cold now.
I took the Mazda and the oldest child over to Bicester Heritage for the Scramble yesterday...
My son seemed to enjoy The Little Car Company and Defender stickers that Collecting Cars were handing out. I've been taking him to Bicester in the MX5 since he was a baby, it's nice to see him becoming more and more engaged and excited about the idea of doing car stuff.
Back at home, I discovered that a set of Mazda centre caps that I had lying around my garage fitted the Pro Race wheels.
They're a 17" set of Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 with Toyo R888R tyres. The Pro Race is a wheel I always associate with track days and motorsport. They're not a particularly exotic wheel but I've grown quite fond of them. Their manufacturer, Rimstock was taken over a few years ago and I believe they're in the process of building a new factory. Supply of the Pro Race in 5x114.3 has been non-existent for a while now.
This set is in reasonable condition, and the Toyos have a few track days left in them.
If I include the wheel that's bolted to my garage wall as an airline holder that made 21 wheels that I owned for this car
This seemed a little excessive so I sold the other 17" set that I bought from PH member drgoatboy a few years ago...The Rainsport tyres on these wheels were in need of changing. Now that I don't commute I don't really have a need for a set of road tyres for the Mazda so I'd never felt obliged to spend the money on tyres. As a result, they'd been sitting in my garage loft for a while. They were too heavy a wheel to ideally use for track days (with tyres they were 1.5kg per wheel heavier than the Pro Races) so they seemed the logical choice to go. They sold quickly for pretty much what I paid for them.
I've never been a huge fan of black wheels and was planning to drop these off for a cheap Birmingham refurb, but now they're fitted I like them more than I expected to. They pick up with the rollbar nicely.
They're the same size as the OE 17" wheels, but from what I can tell the offset pushes them out 10mm compared to stock. I'd ideally have them sticking out another 10mm to match the 20mm spacers I run on my other OE wheels but there's no easy way to achieve that.
I'd noticed the car had been running badly for the first few miles when cold recently. I didn't think too much of this at first as the car sat for a while over winter, but when the problem persisted it dawned on me that I hadn't cleaned the MAF sensor for years. Sure enough, it was visibly grubby...
After being on the receiving end of a squirty can...
It seems much happier when cold now.
I took the Mazda and the oldest child over to Bicester Heritage for the Scramble yesterday...
My son seemed to enjoy The Little Car Company and Defender stickers that Collecting Cars were handing out. I've been taking him to Bicester in the MX5 since he was a baby, it's nice to see him becoming more and more engaged and excited about the idea of doing car stuff.
Back at home, I discovered that a set of Mazda centre caps that I had lying around my garage fitted the Pro Race wheels.
Glad the nudge towards MAF cleaning was useful to others. Someone smarter than me has pointed out the bit that was grubby is actually the intake temp sensor, rather than the MAF (the single sensor unit performs two functions).
I put 130 miles on the car on Tuesday driving to the Midlands and back. I avoided motorways on the way there and had a nice run out through Stratford-upon-Avon in the sun.
I put 130 miles on the car on Tuesday driving to the Midlands and back. I avoided motorways on the way there and had a nice run out through Stratford-upon-Avon in the sun.
The 21mm OE Mazda nuts were a bit too wide to use with the Team Dynamics wheels, so I picked up some 19mm nuts. They're just steel, I might stomach the cost of something lighter in the future. They look good in black though...
I picked up a couple of 5mm shim spacers to see how the rear would look, I've got quite a lot of negative camber at the back so the new wheels looked a little lost.
They looked good, but I didn't have enough thread left engaged to feel confident using them. So I purchased some 10mm longer studs...
I made a mistake with these. I assumed Mazda would use 13mm wide Ford studs, but they're actually 12.82mm wide and 13mm is just too big to press in.
I experimented on a spare hub and passed a 13mm drill bits through a couple of holes. This worked fine, there are more aftermarket stud options for Fords so it seems like a worthwhile modification...
I was keen to mock this setup up to see if I could still fit the 20mm spacers I run with the smaller 16" wheels, or if the longer studs would be too long for the cutouts on the back of the wheels.
The 16" wheels bolt up nice and tight, but it's an only just, the longer studs are close enough that they've scratched the powder coat off some raised lettering inside the cutouts...
I could grind these features off the wheels, but I don't think it's necessary.
Annoyingly, it looks like the only way to replace studs on the rear hubs of the NC is to remove the hub assembly and press the hub out of the hub carrier. This is a lot of work for some silly 5mm spacers, but it might be a good excuse to proactively replace the rear wheel bearings. I refreshed the front hubs not that long ago, given how often I remove and refit wheels on this car having a new set of studs on the back wouldn't hurt.
Looks good, to my eyes...
To be continued.
I picked up a couple of 5mm shim spacers to see how the rear would look, I've got quite a lot of negative camber at the back so the new wheels looked a little lost.
They looked good, but I didn't have enough thread left engaged to feel confident using them. So I purchased some 10mm longer studs...
I made a mistake with these. I assumed Mazda would use 13mm wide Ford studs, but they're actually 12.82mm wide and 13mm is just too big to press in.
I experimented on a spare hub and passed a 13mm drill bits through a couple of holes. This worked fine, there are more aftermarket stud options for Fords so it seems like a worthwhile modification...
I was keen to mock this setup up to see if I could still fit the 20mm spacers I run with the smaller 16" wheels, or if the longer studs would be too long for the cutouts on the back of the wheels.
The 16" wheels bolt up nice and tight, but it's an only just, the longer studs are close enough that they've scratched the powder coat off some raised lettering inside the cutouts...
I could grind these features off the wheels, but I don't think it's necessary.
Annoyingly, it looks like the only way to replace studs on the rear hubs of the NC is to remove the hub assembly and press the hub out of the hub carrier. This is a lot of work for some silly 5mm spacers, but it might be a good excuse to proactively replace the rear wheel bearings. I refreshed the front hubs not that long ago, given how often I remove and refit wheels on this car having a new set of studs on the back wouldn't hurt.
Looks good, to my eyes...
To be continued.
Edited by Accelebrate on Monday 22 May 18:45
[quote=Accelebrate]The 21mm OE Mazda nuts were a bit too wide to use with the Team Dynamics wheels, so I picked up some 19mm nuts. They're just steel, I might stomach the cost of something lighter in the future. They look good in black though...
I've got a set of almost new (fitted and then taken off) Mishimoto aluminium wheels nuts that you can have if you want them, they are black but, the reason I took them off was because the black coating came off too easily for my liking so I bought a set of lightweight steel ones instead.
They will come with both the normal socket and the 7 point one for the locking nuts, just the postage cost will be fine or you could pick them up from me on the Haverhill/Essex border.
This is my MX5 as it currently looks - more to come when the bits arrive - its got the BBR 225 kit as well as the full exhaust and Koni suspension kit.
One previous owner until I bought it in March and just turned over 19000 miles - its super clean underneath.
I've got a set of almost new (fitted and then taken off) Mishimoto aluminium wheels nuts that you can have if you want them, they are black but, the reason I took them off was because the black coating came off too easily for my liking so I bought a set of lightweight steel ones instead.
They will come with both the normal socket and the 7 point one for the locking nuts, just the postage cost will be fine or you could pick them up from me on the Haverhill/Essex border.
This is my MX5 as it currently looks - more to come when the bits arrive - its got the BBR 225 kit as well as the full exhaust and Koni suspension kit.
One previous owner until I bought it in March and just turned over 19000 miles - its super clean underneath.
wilksy61 said:
I've got a set of almost new (fitted and then taken off) Mishimoto aluminium wheels nuts that you can have if you want them, they are black but, the reason I took them off was because the black coating came off too easily for my liking so I bought a set of lightweight steel ones instead.
They will come with both the normal socket and the 7 point one for the locking nuts, just the postage cost will be fine or you could pick them up from me on the Haverhill/Essex border.
That's a very kind offer! I'll PM you They will come with both the normal socket and the 7 point one for the locking nuts, just the postage cost will be fine or you could pick them up from me on the Haverhill/Essex border.
I love that green, you see so few in it that it makes it even more special. Good spec and mileage too!
They are from Clarke bought from a Machine Mart, classed as their lightweight range, I did slightly modify them by machining of some material on two sides of the pads so it would clear an obstacle on another car I had at the time.
Must admit they are now my go to pair of axle stands.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cax3ta-3-to...
Must admit they are now my go to pair of axle stands.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cax3ta-3-to...
wilksy61 said:
They are from Clarke bought from a Machine Mart, classed as their lightweight range, I did slightly modify them by machining of some material on two sides of the pads so it would clear an obstacle on another car I had at the time.
Must admit they are now my go to pair of axle stands.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cax3ta-3-to...
Thanks. Looks like they are being discontinued now.Must admit they are now my go to pair of axle stands.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cax3ta-3-to...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff