2006 MX-5 2.0 Option Pack
Discussion
Not long until we go away now so I treated the car to a good clean today. I used to be mildly interested in detailing cars but I haven't had any enthusiasm for it recently. This is the first car I've bothered to polish and wax in years, I must like it!
I used Collinite 476s wax, there are probably better products around now but I seem to remember that it sticks around on the paintwork for ages.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I used Collinite 476s wax, there are probably better products around now but I seem to remember that it sticks around on the paintwork for ages.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:23
Well it made it this far, and another 100km to the rather nice town of Troyes.
I can't say all is well though, the 5 developed a sticky front caliper the evening before we left. I cleaned and greased the slider pins and lubricated the piston (looked clean). It generally works but every so often still seems to fail to retract properly, pulling over and pumping the brakes seems to resolve it.
Annoying how these things always seem to wait until you're just about to leave. Hopefully we'll make it to Switzerland today!
It seems to potentially be improving. It only stuck a couple of times on the way to Lucerne in Switzerland, then only once between Lucerne and Lake Como, it hasn't been a problem today whilst driving around the lake. I've become quite adept at detecting it whilst behind the wheel and a bit of brake pumping seems to cure it.
That aside the 5 has been a great little tourer. We've had the roof down almost the whole trip with the exception of a couple of occasions where the sun was a bit too much and we decided to give the aircon a fighting chance.
It's rather nice here...
That aside the 5 has been a great little tourer. We've had the roof down almost the whole trip with the exception of a couple of occasions where the sun was a bit too much and we decided to give the aircon a fighting chance.
It's rather nice here...
It made it!
About 2000 miles in the end. Stopping overnight in France, Switzerland and then we spent a week in Italy at Lake Como.
As I previously mentioned we looped into Reims on the first day.
Before continuing onto Troyes where we stayed overnight. Lovely town.
The next day we headed for the Swiss border, stopping in Belfort on the way for lunch.
The MX5 had claimed many a victim on the autoroutes. We generally avoided them from this point onwards, I think I was just keen to cover some miles in the first couple of days. A combination of high speeds, roof down, an occasionally sticking caliper had seen some fairly shocking MPG/tank ranges on the way down.
On the way out of Belfort a Total employee spent a long time with no english (I speak hardly any French) explaining to me that I shouldn't have purchased 95 RON E10 fuel. I stuck to the pure 98 stuff after that and it did seem happier.
The French know how to do a good salad...
We stayed in Lucerne in a rather no frills hotel imaginatively named the 'Swiss Chalet'. I'm not sure I realised before booking that we wouldn't have our own bathroom, Mrs Accelebrate wasn't too impressed.
It was also an unusually warm week, which resulted in a hotel room that was a similar temperature to a kiln. Oh well, it was cheap for Switzerland and only one night.
We saw our first bit of rain as we left the next morning. Right up to the entrance to the 10.5 mile Gotthard Tunnel.
It was a pleasant dry day on the other side of the tunnel. Funny how that happens!
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
About 2000 miles in the end. Stopping overnight in France, Switzerland and then we spent a week in Italy at Lake Como.
As I previously mentioned we looped into Reims on the first day.
Before continuing onto Troyes where we stayed overnight. Lovely town.
The next day we headed for the Swiss border, stopping in Belfort on the way for lunch.
The MX5 had claimed many a victim on the autoroutes. We generally avoided them from this point onwards, I think I was just keen to cover some miles in the first couple of days. A combination of high speeds, roof down, an occasionally sticking caliper had seen some fairly shocking MPG/tank ranges on the way down.
On the way out of Belfort a Total employee spent a long time with no english (I speak hardly any French) explaining to me that I shouldn't have purchased 95 RON E10 fuel. I stuck to the pure 98 stuff after that and it did seem happier.
The French know how to do a good salad...
We stayed in Lucerne in a rather no frills hotel imaginatively named the 'Swiss Chalet'. I'm not sure I realised before booking that we wouldn't have our own bathroom, Mrs Accelebrate wasn't too impressed.
It was also an unusually warm week, which resulted in a hotel room that was a similar temperature to a kiln. Oh well, it was cheap for Switzerland and only one night.We saw our first bit of rain as we left the next morning. Right up to the entrance to the 10.5 mile Gotthard Tunnel.
It was a pleasant dry day on the other side of the tunnel. Funny how that happens!
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:24
We then crossed over the border into Italy and spent a week or so at Lake Como.
We had a great little apartment on the lake that Mrs A found on Airbnb...
I spotted this British Caterham in Switzerland, and then kept running into it around Como.
We caught the ferry over to Bellagio and explored the other side of the lake.
I had some good fun the mountain roads around Como. The tyres on the MX5 squeal so easily that it makes even a fairly delicately driven hairpin seem amusingly hooliganish.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
We had a great little apartment on the lake that Mrs A found on Airbnb...
I spotted this British Caterham in Switzerland, and then kept running into it around Como.
We caught the ferry over to Bellagio and explored the other side of the lake.
I had some good fun the mountain roads around Como. The tyres on the MX5 squeal so easily that it makes even a fairly delicately driven hairpin seem amusingly hooliganish.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:26
After leaving Como we drove back through Switzerland in a single hit. Stopping only for a very glamorous McDonalds and fuel stop somewhere near Basel.
I don't really mind Swiss motorways. I realise the consequences for speeding are quite severe, but they're still legally allowed to drive quicker than we are. It does lead to a fairly relaxed journey as a foreigner as it's rare to have anyone hassling you if you sit at 120km/h.
We stayed in France, close to the German border in a rather low-rent chalet. You had to pay extra to borrow bedding and towels. But it was pleasant and in the middle of nowhere.
We then headed up to Sedan for our final night. Avoiding autoroutes and taking in some great roads.
We stopped in Nancy for lunch, which was grander than I expected.
We carried on through the French countryside, roof down, tiny roads. Some locals coming in the opposite direction helpfully alerted us to a Police speed trap as we approached a village with an unusually low 20km/h limit.
We stayed in the fort in Sedan...
It was wet for the final run back to Calais. Very wet. It was the first time I've driven the MX5 in such conditions. It was surprisingly sure footed. The nearly new tyres probably help with that. The RX8 wiper stalk came in handy as well.
One positive side effect of the roof being up was that despite the boot being stuffed full we now had room for a few essentials from the Carrefour on the parcel shelf.
All in all it was a great trip and the MX5 wasn't a bad car to do it in. You feel a lot less like you've missed a nice day stuck in a car if the roof is down. Black leather seats were a bit unpleasant at times though, cloth would have been much nicer in the heat of the day.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I don't really mind Swiss motorways. I realise the consequences for speeding are quite severe, but they're still legally allowed to drive quicker than we are. It does lead to a fairly relaxed journey as a foreigner as it's rare to have anyone hassling you if you sit at 120km/h.
We stayed in France, close to the German border in a rather low-rent chalet. You had to pay extra to borrow bedding and towels. But it was pleasant and in the middle of nowhere.
We then headed up to Sedan for our final night. Avoiding autoroutes and taking in some great roads.
We stopped in Nancy for lunch, which was grander than I expected.
We carried on through the French countryside, roof down, tiny roads. Some locals coming in the opposite direction helpfully alerted us to a Police speed trap as we approached a village with an unusually low 20km/h limit.
We stayed in the fort in Sedan...
It was wet for the final run back to Calais. Very wet. It was the first time I've driven the MX5 in such conditions. It was surprisingly sure footed. The nearly new tyres probably help with that. The RX8 wiper stalk came in handy as well.
One positive side effect of the roof being up was that despite the boot being stuffed full we now had room for a few essentials from the Carrefour on the parcel shelf.
All in all it was a great trip and the MX5 wasn't a bad car to do it in. You feel a lot less like you've missed a nice day stuck in a car if the roof is down. Black leather seats were a bit unpleasant at times though, cloth would have been much nicer in the heat of the day.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:27
You didn't miss anything. It was an issue on the first couple of days, the o/s front brake would occasionally stick a little at speed. It felt a bit like a wheel had suddenly become extremely unbalanced. Pulling over and letting everything cool down, then pumping the brakes repeatedly seemed to 'fix' it for a while. Then for whatever reason the issue all but disappeared for the rest of the holiday.
I noticed the pads were getting low when I took the caliper off to grease everything before we left. So I ordered this little lot when we got back:
I might have got away without replacing the discs, but they'd got quite hot whilst and had a slight lip. I like basic Brembo discs, the hubs and edges are painted to prevent rust.
I also ordered a new set of slider pins and rubber boots for both sides. Part prices can be quite reasonable for the MX5, that lot was under £100.
The n/s disc retaining screws put up a fight:
With a new bit the impact driver prevailed. Two retaining screws in each disc seems a bit excessive!
However with the caliper remounted and the piston rewound into a new position with thicker pads it seemed to be sticking again. A short test drive confirmed the issue was back.
Luckily Brakes International had got the previously out of stock right hand calipers back in stock. Under £70 and no need to return the old one.
Notice the ghetto coke bottle bleeding kit...
That appears to have solved the issue. I'll flush the other three calipers when I get a minute as the brake fluid that came out didn't look great, hopefully the bleed nipples won't be seized.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I noticed the pads were getting low when I took the caliper off to grease everything before we left. So I ordered this little lot when we got back:
I might have got away without replacing the discs, but they'd got quite hot whilst and had a slight lip. I like basic Brembo discs, the hubs and edges are painted to prevent rust.
I also ordered a new set of slider pins and rubber boots for both sides. Part prices can be quite reasonable for the MX5, that lot was under £100.
The n/s disc retaining screws put up a fight:
With a new bit the impact driver prevailed. Two retaining screws in each disc seems a bit excessive!
However with the caliper remounted and the piston rewound into a new position with thicker pads it seemed to be sticking again. A short test drive confirmed the issue was back.
Luckily Brakes International had got the previously out of stock right hand calipers back in stock. Under £70 and no need to return the old one.
Notice the ghetto coke bottle bleeding kit...
That appears to have solved the issue. I'll flush the other three calipers when I get a minute as the brake fluid that came out didn't look great, hopefully the bleed nipples won't be seized.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:28
Another job I finished off whilst the wheels were off for the brakes was to tidy up the foglight installation.
Front fogs had been badly added at some point, controlled by a switch mounted way down by my knee. Only one of them worked and the other was full of moisture and heavily corroded. The DIY installation was rather unnecessary as the wiring and connectors exist on the loom regardless of if the car was built with them or not. You just need to install an indicator stalk that supports front fogs (I did this whilst swapping the wiper stalk) and install the fogs and carriers.
I replaced the switch...
With a rubber blank...
It's mounted quite far down so you can't really see it unless you stick your head in the footwell.
I ripped all this out, it used a fuse tap onto the battery...
Much better:
This was the interesting installation behind the bumper. I think they've used the original foglight blanks and cut them out to take what's either a universal lamp or something intended for another vehicle:
The MX5 fogs are shared with the RX8, just with different holders. Anything that's shared with the RX8 seems to mean there will be plenty of cheap parts on eBay. I think this pair cost me all of about £15, the plastic holders were double that from MX5 Parts.
The top bits are the RX8 holders (anybody want them?), bottom are the new holders with the RX8 fogs mounted, right is the old blank and the lamp that was mounted in it.
Much better...
I'm undecided if I should refit the optional chrome bezels or not?
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Front fogs had been badly added at some point, controlled by a switch mounted way down by my knee. Only one of them worked and the other was full of moisture and heavily corroded. The DIY installation was rather unnecessary as the wiring and connectors exist on the loom regardless of if the car was built with them or not. You just need to install an indicator stalk that supports front fogs (I did this whilst swapping the wiper stalk) and install the fogs and carriers.
I replaced the switch...
With a rubber blank...
It's mounted quite far down so you can't really see it unless you stick your head in the footwell.
I ripped all this out, it used a fuse tap onto the battery...
Much better:
This was the interesting installation behind the bumper. I think they've used the original foglight blanks and cut them out to take what's either a universal lamp or something intended for another vehicle:
The MX5 fogs are shared with the RX8, just with different holders. Anything that's shared with the RX8 seems to mean there will be plenty of cheap parts on eBay. I think this pair cost me all of about £15, the plastic holders were double that from MX5 Parts.
The top bits are the RX8 holders (anybody want them?), bottom are the new holders with the RX8 fogs mounted, right is the old blank and the lamp that was mounted in it.
Much better...
I'm undecided if I should refit the optional chrome bezels or not?
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:30
I must be one of few people to rebadge a car:
The previous owner had made a bit of a hash of removing the Mazda badge from the boot. The paint was scratched, it had also faded slightly so in certain angles/lights you could still read what used to be there.
I ordered a replacement on backorder from MX5 Parts when I first got the car. I'd forgotten all about it until it turned up in the post.
I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't for the damage, but it was a cheap way to tidy up the boot.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
The previous owner had made a bit of a hash of removing the Mazda badge from the boot. The paint was scratched, it had also faded slightly so in certain angles/lights you could still read what used to be there.
I ordered a replacement on backorder from MX5 Parts when I first got the car. I'd forgotten all about it until it turned up in the post.
I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't for the damage, but it was a cheap way to tidy up the boot.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:31
More brake issues 
I noticed the rear discs were tarnished with uneven wear. I've had a similar problem in the past on another car when I'd forgotten to grease the pad carriers correctly. I didn't rush to do anything about it as I've had enough fun with the front brakes recently.
However I started hearing a scraping noise when cornering at low speeds. It went away when the brakes were applied and sounded like metal on metal. I assumed I might have caught one of the dust shields around the disc when bleeding the brakes recently, but after prodding the shields with a screwdriver through the spokes there was no improvement with the noise.
I'd given the rear pads a casual glance whilst bleeding the brakes, they looked ok. However I'd made the rookie error of only inspecting the front pad.
Ooops!
The pads were impressively well stuck in the carriers. When I couldn't push them out by hand I moved onto prying them with a screwdriver, then had to resort to a hammer when they still refused to move.
Down to the metal on the inside pad, that would be the source of the noise! Didn't do the disc much good...
I bought a small tube of Mintex Ceratec about 10 years ago, I've only just run out after quite a few brake jobs (ECP sell it with Pagid branding for £3 a tube). When applied correctly I've had great success avoiding these sorts of binding issues with it, seems to stick around a lot longer than copper slip.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mintex-Ceratec-brake-Sque...
I went with Brembo pads:
For the discs I decided to try something different and ordered a set of 'Fremax Carbon+' discs. They were a decent amount cheaper than Brembo or Pagid. They're made it Brazil, but appeared to be well finished with painted hubs, although the edges are left unpainted.
The packaging was quite swish. The two plastic shells stay together until the yellow bung on the top is removed, they then slide apart to reveal the discs.
Fitting was straightforward enough. There were no retaining screws for the discs on the rear hubs, seems to bit odd that Mazda added two on the front hubs and didn't bother on the rear, under I've got aftermarket rear hubs?
The sliders seem to be sliding freely, the calipers wound back easily enough with a pair of needle nosed pliers.
The Brazilian discs look good, at first glance they appear to be a decent product.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I noticed the rear discs were tarnished with uneven wear. I've had a similar problem in the past on another car when I'd forgotten to grease the pad carriers correctly. I didn't rush to do anything about it as I've had enough fun with the front brakes recently.
However I started hearing a scraping noise when cornering at low speeds. It went away when the brakes were applied and sounded like metal on metal. I assumed I might have caught one of the dust shields around the disc when bleeding the brakes recently, but after prodding the shields with a screwdriver through the spokes there was no improvement with the noise.
I'd given the rear pads a casual glance whilst bleeding the brakes, they looked ok. However I'd made the rookie error of only inspecting the front pad.
Ooops!
The pads were impressively well stuck in the carriers. When I couldn't push them out by hand I moved onto prying them with a screwdriver, then had to resort to a hammer when they still refused to move.
Down to the metal on the inside pad, that would be the source of the noise! Didn't do the disc much good...
I bought a small tube of Mintex Ceratec about 10 years ago, I've only just run out after quite a few brake jobs (ECP sell it with Pagid branding for £3 a tube). When applied correctly I've had great success avoiding these sorts of binding issues with it, seems to stick around a lot longer than copper slip.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mintex-Ceratec-brake-Sque...
I went with Brembo pads:
For the discs I decided to try something different and ordered a set of 'Fremax Carbon+' discs. They were a decent amount cheaper than Brembo or Pagid. They're made it Brazil, but appeared to be well finished with painted hubs, although the edges are left unpainted.
The packaging was quite swish. The two plastic shells stay together until the yellow bung on the top is removed, they then slide apart to reveal the discs.
Fitting was straightforward enough. There were no retaining screws for the discs on the rear hubs, seems to bit odd that Mazda added two on the front hubs and didn't bother on the rear, under I've got aftermarket rear hubs?
The sliders seem to be sliding freely, the calipers wound back easily enough with a pair of needle nosed pliers.
The Brazilian discs look good, at first glance they appear to be a decent product.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:33
I've reluctantly refitted the hardtop for the winter:
I've had some great top-down commutes recently, but it's freezing and I've got a cold that doesn't seem to want to go. I don't really enjoy driving with the fabric roof up as the rear visibility is terrible, the hardtop is better in that respect as the glass window wraps around:
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I've had some great top-down commutes recently, but it's freezing and I've got a cold that doesn't seem to want to go. I don't really enjoy driving with the fabric roof up as the rear visibility is terrible, the hardtop is better in that respect as the glass window wraps around:
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:34
Performed an oil change last night. The car had been serviced just before I purchased it ~5k miles ago, so it's arguably a bit premature, but ECP were selling 5L of Shell Helix Ultra for £18 so it can't hurt.
I ordered an ECP own brand filter, but then I spotted this post:
http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst95060_FROM-...
Suggesting that not all filters that fit are equal and there's potentially a difference in the pressure release valves. So I ordered a genuine filter, but the first one turned up dented. Here's a size comparison between the genuine filter, the Motoquip filter I removed from the car and the ECP filter...
Replacement filter showed up without dents, along with a sump plug washer from MX-5 Parts. Easy job with the undertray removed...
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I ordered an ECP own brand filter, but then I spotted this post:
http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst95060_FROM-...
Suggesting that not all filters that fit are equal and there's potentially a difference in the pressure release valves. So I ordered a genuine filter, but the first one turned up dented. Here's a size comparison between the genuine filter, the Motoquip filter I removed from the car and the ECP filter...
Replacement filter showed up without dents, along with a sump plug washer from MX-5 Parts. Easy job with the undertray removed...
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:34
A wanted post on a forum led to an evening cross-country blast to Gloucestershire and the collection of this...
Never fitted, but a rather odd weld on one of the pipes. Looks like it might have warped during the original welding process and then been 'fixed in post'. Oh well, it was cheap
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Never fitted, but a rather odd weld on one of the pipes. Looks like it might have warped during the original welding process and then been 'fixed in post'. Oh well, it was cheap
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:41
I fitted the MX-5 Parts exhaust just before Christmas:
The nuts on the old exhaust were very rusty as internet wisdom suggested they would be. So badly that they didn't resemble anything vaguely nut shaped anymore. I ended up cutting them off with a Dremel and then drilling and grinding the studs off the old back-box so that it could be reused with stainless bolts in the future.
The MX-5 Parts exhaust gets mixed reviews. I'm a fan so far, it's not noisy but you can now hear a little exhaust noise, which suits the nature of the car. Admittedly I haven't yet experienced it without the roof down whilst the hard top is fitted.
I swapped the dipped beam bulbs tonight, quite a few drivers have flashed me recently thinking I hadn't dipped my high beams. I presumed a previous owner might have fitted some illegal bulbs, I was a little disappointed to find a regular set of Osrams (exactly the same as I was fitting). I've lowered the aim a little, so hopefully that'll sort things.
I've also booked the MX-5 into a track day at Bedford at the end of the month... Can't wait
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
The nuts on the old exhaust were very rusty as internet wisdom suggested they would be. So badly that they didn't resemble anything vaguely nut shaped anymore. I ended up cutting them off with a Dremel and then drilling and grinding the studs off the old back-box so that it could be reused with stainless bolts in the future.
The MX-5 Parts exhaust gets mixed reviews. I'm a fan so far, it's not noisy but you can now hear a little exhaust noise, which suits the nature of the car. Admittedly I haven't yet experienced it without the roof down whilst the hard top is fitted.
I swapped the dipped beam bulbs tonight, quite a few drivers have flashed me recently thinking I hadn't dipped my high beams. I presumed a previous owner might have fitted some illegal bulbs, I was a little disappointed to find a regular set of Osrams (exactly the same as I was fitting). I've lowered the aim a little, so hopefully that'll sort things.
I've also booked the MX-5 into a track day at Bedford at the end of the month... Can't wait
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:42
The bargain MX-5 has been on a bargain track day - an MSVT day at Bedford for £100. A small group of us attended and shared cars, something you don't have to think too hard about when you're taking a car you can afford to replace.
I've done relatively little track driving, so I booked some instruction and took along a friend who knows what he's doing. Charlie has a supercharged and well sorted MK1 MX-5 that's covered many miles on track. It's due a cambelt change and he hadn't had chance to get it sorted so he mostly drove my MK3 and bought along a Saab estate full of snacks, tools and jerry cans. My own pit crew - nice!
The day started off a little damp, but thankfully dried up towards the afternoon. I was particularly thankful as this meant the roof could come down. At 6'1" I discovered I don't really fit in the MX-5 whilst wearing a helmet, it made for some interesting driving positions.
The day highlighted how I really need to sort out the tall springs and pedestrian friendly ride height, it was a bit wallowy.
Despite trying not abuse them I had a few brake issues in the morning. I thought the relatively new discs and pads had bedded in, but they got quite hot and stinky quite quickly. The fronts appeared to warp whilst hot and for a while were quite juddery under braking. They never faded though and judder aside they always felt quite good. After cooling down over lunch the judder disappeared and didn't reappear for the rest of the day, it's almost like they needed heat conditioning.
One of my friends turned up in his Accord Type R and kindly let me take it out on track. A great car but a very different experience from the little MX-5. He's got some sort of aftermarket intake fitted that seemed to make the VTEC noise particularly pronounced, it was quite a giggle.
It's amusing how varied the selection of cars and abilities on track is. I think I was a little down on power over this...
Charlie was impressed by quite how well a standard MK3 did on track, and just how much fun it was. Everyone that drove it commented on how nice the gearbox is. Mazda really did get the shift just right. It was also the first time I've driven the car with the new MX5 Parts exhaust on and the roof down, it's noisier than I expected, I think it measured at around 87dB at 4.5k at the start of the day. However watching the car driveby from the side of the track it's far from a noisy car, so hopefully I won't be ousted from our village just yet.
The day made an impression on the front tyres. Rainsports are notoriously soft so it wasn't too much of a surprise. The 'Roadstone's that came fitted to the rear are a lot harder and still look barely run in.
I've wanted to get a matching set of decent tyres on the car for a while so now seems like a good time. I was going to get a set of Avon ZV7s fitted locally for around £240, but I've ended up winning a set of 16" wheels from a facelift MK3 fitted with a matching set of '200 miles only' Yokohamas on eBay for £200. I'm off to collect them tomorrow. Hopefully, they're as described and the tyres aren't too old. This seemed to make sense as I should get another track day or twos abuse out of the existing tyres.
Suspension will be next. As ever I don't want to spend too much (as that would rather negate the cheap purchase price/ethos of the car), the accepted options seem to be:
Take it to Wheels in Motion for a set of their 30mm springs and alignment - £300
WIM is a bit of a trek from here, and I quite fancy doing the work myself (well everything but the alignment). Also, £300 looks like quite a big chunk of the £5-600 cost for a cheap but reasonably well-reviewed coilover set http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/vmaxx-adjustable-height-... However, I don't want to spend £5-600 on suspension for this car, as it's too big a percentage of the purchase price.
So the second option would be a set of Eibach 30mm springs for £150, fit them myself and then get the alignment done locally for £50.
I also found these 35mm Direnza springs for £100 https://www.direnza.co.uk/direnza-tuv-lowering-spr... I can't find any comments from MX5 owners about them, but reviews from other marques seem to nearly all suggest they're good for the price. However 35mm might be a bit too low? Eibach might be the safer option for the sake of £50. On the other hand 5mm seems neither here nor there, and the £50 saving would cover the cost of the alignment
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
I've done relatively little track driving, so I booked some instruction and took along a friend who knows what he's doing. Charlie has a supercharged and well sorted MK1 MX-5 that's covered many miles on track. It's due a cambelt change and he hadn't had chance to get it sorted so he mostly drove my MK3 and bought along a Saab estate full of snacks, tools and jerry cans. My own pit crew - nice!
The day started off a little damp, but thankfully dried up towards the afternoon. I was particularly thankful as this meant the roof could come down. At 6'1" I discovered I don't really fit in the MX-5 whilst wearing a helmet, it made for some interesting driving positions.
The day highlighted how I really need to sort out the tall springs and pedestrian friendly ride height, it was a bit wallowy.
Despite trying not abuse them I had a few brake issues in the morning. I thought the relatively new discs and pads had bedded in, but they got quite hot and stinky quite quickly. The fronts appeared to warp whilst hot and for a while were quite juddery under braking. They never faded though and judder aside they always felt quite good. After cooling down over lunch the judder disappeared and didn't reappear for the rest of the day, it's almost like they needed heat conditioning.
One of my friends turned up in his Accord Type R and kindly let me take it out on track. A great car but a very different experience from the little MX-5. He's got some sort of aftermarket intake fitted that seemed to make the VTEC noise particularly pronounced, it was quite a giggle.
It's amusing how varied the selection of cars and abilities on track is. I think I was a little down on power over this...
Charlie was impressed by quite how well a standard MK3 did on track, and just how much fun it was. Everyone that drove it commented on how nice the gearbox is. Mazda really did get the shift just right. It was also the first time I've driven the car with the new MX5 Parts exhaust on and the roof down, it's noisier than I expected, I think it measured at around 87dB at 4.5k at the start of the day. However watching the car driveby from the side of the track it's far from a noisy car, so hopefully I won't be ousted from our village just yet.
The day made an impression on the front tyres. Rainsports are notoriously soft so it wasn't too much of a surprise. The 'Roadstone's that came fitted to the rear are a lot harder and still look barely run in.
I've wanted to get a matching set of decent tyres on the car for a while so now seems like a good time. I was going to get a set of Avon ZV7s fitted locally for around £240, but I've ended up winning a set of 16" wheels from a facelift MK3 fitted with a matching set of '200 miles only' Yokohamas on eBay for £200. I'm off to collect them tomorrow. Hopefully, they're as described and the tyres aren't too old. This seemed to make sense as I should get another track day or twos abuse out of the existing tyres.
Suspension will be next. As ever I don't want to spend too much (as that would rather negate the cheap purchase price/ethos of the car), the accepted options seem to be:
Take it to Wheels in Motion for a set of their 30mm springs and alignment - £300
WIM is a bit of a trek from here, and I quite fancy doing the work myself (well everything but the alignment). Also, £300 looks like quite a big chunk of the £5-600 cost for a cheap but reasonably well-reviewed coilover set http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/vmaxx-adjustable-height-... However, I don't want to spend £5-600 on suspension for this car, as it's too big a percentage of the purchase price.
So the second option would be a set of Eibach 30mm springs for £150, fit them myself and then get the alignment done locally for £50.
I also found these 35mm Direnza springs for £100 https://www.direnza.co.uk/direnza-tuv-lowering-spr... I can't find any comments from MX5 owners about them, but reviews from other marques seem to nearly all suggest they're good for the price. However 35mm might be a bit too low? Eibach might be the safer option for the sake of £50. On the other hand 5mm seems neither here nor there, and the £50 saving would cover the cost of the alignment
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:44
RenesisEvo said:
I have -30mm WIM springs on mine, plus laser-aligned recently (not by WIM) after new-ish OEM Bilsteins fitted. I'd definitely not want to go lower, if anything I'd like -20 or -25 but they don't exist. It's on the border of being too low for some kerbs/speed bumps with the splitter hidden under the front bumper (if I drive two wheels up on a kerb, it scrapes). You'd be welcome to try mine if you aren't too far away, if it helps give you some direction before committing to expenditure.
Interesting, thank you. I think I'll go no lower than 30mm. Thank you for the offer, I might take you up on that.There's a good range of springs here:
https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/list/lowering-spri...
It looks like AP do an inexpensive set that's 30mm at the front and 25mm at the rear. Odd that most manufacturers seem to go for the same drop front and rear, but some don't. I presume yours sits level?
Collected these this morning:
The tyres are spot on. The wheels look better in a photo than they do in the flesh, there's no kerbing but quite a lot of corrosion bubbling inside and around the centre caps. I'll either spray them, or get these tyres switched to the original wheels and vice-versa ready for the next track day.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
The tyres are spot on. The wheels look better in a photo than they do in the flesh, there's no kerbing but quite a lot of corrosion bubbling inside and around the centre caps. I'll either spray them, or get these tyres switched to the original wheels and vice-versa ready for the next track day.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:45
They're pretty shocking on the insides:
There's a little corrosion around the centre caps too, not too bad on three of the wheels:
But one looks worse:
They might get treated to a DIY refurb at some point. I think I prefer the original wheels though (and they were refurbished not long before I bought the car), so I might just get the tyres switched around and save the new wheels for future track days.
The Yokohamas felt good during a brief test drive. They're Advan A11A, dated from mid-2015.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
There's a little corrosion around the centre caps too, not too bad on three of the wheels:
But one looks worse:
They might get treated to a DIY refurb at some point. I think I prefer the original wheels though (and they were refurbished not long before I bought the car), so I might just get the tyres switched around and save the new wheels for future track days.
The Yokohamas felt good during a brief test drive. They're Advan A11A, dated from mid-2015.
Edit Jan 2020 - Fix image links
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 23 January 15:46
Evoluzione said:
A bit of man maths to overcome the extra expense would include the fact that the existing dampers will be worn or past their best so might as well replace those too...
Yes, that's the loop I'm caught in. My car has the standard black dampers, presumably original so they've probably done getting on for 100k. Coilovers start to look attractive, potentially the cheap Vmaxx set - http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/vmaxx-adjustable-height-...However spending £500 on suspension for a 3k car seems a little silly. Spending £300 on springs seems more sensible, but fitting new springs to old dampers seems daft.
Analysis paralysis.
That said, if you can get a decent price on a set of BC coilovers, let me know!
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