2006 MX-5 2.0 Option Pack
Discussion
So Ring 2022, or is that Ring 2021 postponed? Either way, it began in the usual fashion with us meeting at the Eurotunnel. I had a very early start straight into heavy rain between Oxford and London, there was an unpleasant amount of standing water for a little car on semi-slicks with partially obstructed headlights. Thankfully, the rain stopped as I travelled south and the M25 was quiet.
Obligatory photo of car in Eurotunnel...
We stopped almost immediately to get fuel at the Eurotunnel Total. I'd heard that fuel is much cheaper in France at the moment, which it was, although news of the strikes at refineries hadn't reached me so I was a little bemused as to why only one pump was operational and relieved-looking French drivers were sporadically arriving.
One of the rear lights on the Megane also went on strike. After much faffing to remove the taillight, we discovered a perfectly functional bulb. The issue was later traced to a broken wire by The Crown in Adenau.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. The roads were very quiet, and unusually we encountered minimal traffic around Brussels. We stopped only once to eat some lunch at a service station in Belgium. Half of the car park was closed due to some sort of TV or film production, this kept us amused whilst we ate a sandwich. I took a photo of a Lada that caught my eye...
We arrived at our destination in Kelberg near the Ring. This is the same village that we've stayed in for the last three or four trips. The apartment we usually book was occupied but the owner suggested another property nearby. This turned out to be a great find - we got both floors of a subdivided house for a similar price to the apartment, a bedroom and bathroom each, and two enormous lounges. All very nicely furnished too.
It doesn't appear to be listed on Airbnb/Hotels/Booking and looking at the guestbook I think we might have been the first British visitors. The owners, who live opposite, looked mildly horrified when a convoy of cheap British cars arrived but they were very friendly and accommodating throughout our stay.
The following morning was a lovely day. I had some work to do that I hadn't managed to clear before I left, I spent the morning sat outside with a coffee admiring the view whilst the others surfaced.
I discovered a fondness for Leberkäse from the local bakery. Don't let the literal translation of 'liver-cheese' put you off, it typically contains neither of those ingredients and is quite tasty.
We spent the rest of that day arranging for the Megane to be repaired and visited a few viewpoints whilst we waited for TF to start.
I had planned to do a slow TF/touristenfahrten lap that evening, but the track closed just as I purchased a lap ticket. I usually avoid TF as one of the reasons we book onto UK-run trackdays is to avoid the associated insurance and liability risks, but it was Tuesday at this point and the trackday wasn't until Friday, I was keen to treat it as an early sighting lap as it felt like a long time since our last trip in 2020.
The next day we hired e-bikes and followed the MTB trail that runs alongside the circuit. This turned into a highlight of the trip for me. The e-bike was just the ticket for an unfit office worker in a hilly alpine region and the trails were great fun. I used to do a lot of mountain biking in my teens, but progressed to road biking whilst I lived in Oxford. I'd forgotten how much fun can be had hammering down a loose surface and hopping over obstacles. The circuit was closed for industry testing that day so there were some interesting camouflaged cars hurtling past as we cycled around, that only added to the experience.
Thursday morning was spent preparing the cars for the track day. I helped Roshan to bleed his brakes, we drew a crowd of interested German children...
Some of the friends that we've made in Germany began to arrive. Keen readers might remember Thomas with this IS F from our last trip, although confusingly it was wrapped white back then...
Mark, who owns the MX5 NB with ITBs arrived in his recent purchase. An S2 Exige that was originally registered in Derby, before spending some time in Belgium and gaining a wider rear body before being exported to Germany. Not a common sight on German roads.
The German group had attended the Circuit Days event in 2021 which we were banned from travelling to. They gained Nick, an American with German heritage who was living near Cologne before recently moving to Switzerland. He returned this year, with his amusingly registered Swift Sport...
TF was on again that evening, and the single lap I'd purchased was burning a hole in my wallet so we assembled and waited for the circuit to open.
I was one of the first cars out onto a damp circuit. Not a great combination if you're hoping for grip.
It's amazing how many photographers you can see on a singular lap!
I don't have the time or inclination to drive virtual laps of the circuit, so I hadn't been around it since 2020. I was pleasantly surprised by how much of it I could remember. I had to remind myself of my plans for a steady lap when I found myself having a rather squirmy braking moment after the jump in Pflanzgarten. I made it back safely and parked up waiting for the others to return. Despite coming here multiple times in this car this was the first ever time it had been out on TF...
Moments after I took this photo Alex pulled into the car park and asked if I knew what had happened to Thomas in the Lexus. He'd apparently seen his car parked alongside the barrier just after Bergwerk. It wasn't clear if this was a crash or a mechanical issue, but I'm always wary of Bergwerk after renting a car from RSR during the first year and being shown a briefing video where they singled it out as the corner that was most likely to cost us our deposit. I feared the worse.
Unfortunately, my concerns were validated...
Thankfully, there were no injuries beyond pride. Thomas used to hold a season ticket for TF here and has a lot more laps under his belt than I do. A timely reminder that this circuit can catch anyone out.
The Ring overlords now post out barrier invoices after the event, so the sum total of the financial damage is currently unknown.
That evening we signed onto the track day and helped Thomas to switch over to a spare wheel so he could drive home. I didn't sleep very well that night, it's never pleasant to see your friends involved in an accident and it didn't put me in the best frame of mind for what we'd signed up to do the next morning.
The trackday was scheduled to start with sighting laps at 8am, but the Eifel weather had other ideas...
I killed some time in the car park, it seemed to be quite a quiet event, I guess October is always a gamble.
Our group was joined by Christian from Munich, he's the guy who let me drive his 987.1 in 2020, he's subsequently upgraded to a 987.2 with some choice modifications and has spent a lot of the last couple of years on track days and road tours.
The fog lifted and we made it out on track at about 9:30. It hadn't rained that morning and the weather was quite mild, it didn't take long for a dry line to appear. I had a lot more grip than the 2020 trip where the weather was hovering above freezing and I couldn't get any heat into the tyres. I soon found my groove and stayed out for several back-to-back laps after sighting, figuring that the weather might not hold.
I jumped in the Exige for a couple of passenger laps. This car surprised me, I drove an Exige on a Silverstone experience day many years ago, but it was before I vaguely knew what I was doing. For some reason I expected it to feel twitchier and be more nervous at the limit, quite the opposite was true. I was also very jealous of the 9,500rpm limit of the 2ZZ engine. I seemed to spend a lot of the day in the NC lifting to avoid running into my limiter at the top of third or fourth in situations where it seemed silly to change up just before entering a corner. I've been lusting after an S2 Lotus for a long time, this hasn't helped.
As afternoon approached the rain started to arrive and my pace dropped. This coincided with a non-CircuitDays photographer appearing at Pflanzgarten. One year I'll get a photo with the car in the air to show that I'm a real Ring hero, but not this year...
Unusually, there were no breaks in track time for lunch. As the rain got heavier I headed into Adenau for fuel and food, this conveniently coincided with the only red flag of the day.
The afternoon remained damp. I dropped my speed down and started to learn some of the wet lines. I had a lot more grip than the last track day I did here, the higher ambient temperature really helped. I had very few moments and could probably have pushed on harder than I did, but I was also conscious that I was a long way from home and needed to drive the car back.
I managed to cover 20 laps during the day, looking back at this thread my record during quiet summer days is 22, so the late start due to fog didn't really cost us anything. It's a big improvement on the last October day that we did when I only managed 15 due to the constant track closures.
Gearing aside I was generally happy with the car. It's the first time I've taken it there with a bucket seat and harness, and the first dry laps that I've managed since the manifold and remap. I've said it many times before, but the difference that each of those modifications has made was very obvious on a circuit with so many corners and such a large elevation change.
We had a lazy start on Saturday and then headed over to the GP circuit to watch some 'old timer' racing.
Our German friends found it hilarious that the British contingent skipped over all the DTM cars to gather around an MG Metro with such excitement.
The journey home on Sunday was easy. Brussels was so quiet that we braved stopping on the outskirts for lunch. I managed to purchase a large quantity of Côte d'Or chocolate to appease my wife after a week of solo childcare.
I found the Motamec bucket seat surprisingly comfy over such a long distance. My only issue was not being able to alter the position of my limbs to the extent that you can in a traditional seat. I think I'd have a similar issue in any seat that holds you tightly in position. The padding was perfectly adequate.
I collected a lot of insects between Belgium and France. I'd held off filling up in Belgium assuming I could find some cheap fuel in France again, not realising that the strikes would now mean that all the fuel stations between Dunkirk and Calais were completely dry. I managed to make it to Ashford in the UK before my fuel light came on. The Mazda averaged over 39mpg at a constant 120-130kph between Germany and Ashford. Pretty impressive as the boot and passenger seat were full to the brim with heavy tools and luggage.
Back home, 441 miles that day, 1,280 miles since leaving home. The last stretch of my journey ended exactly as it started with heavy rain and standing water in the dark. Not being one to learn from my mistakes I still hadn't removed the Eurolite adapters from the headlights.
Out of curiosity I went back through this thread and calculated the number of laps that I've done over the years. Amusingly, adding the 20 track day and 1 TF lap from this year brings my total to 105 laps, 5 of those were in a rental car during our first trip meaning that purely by chance the Mazda has now covered exactly 100 ring laps. I'm constantly impressed that a high mileage car that I originally bought for a little over £3k can be consistently reliable over long distances and track abuse. The MX5 was designed and assembled on a budget, which makes it even more impressive that it continues to get the basics right, even after 16 years and 130,000 miles.
All in all, it was another great trip. After a couple of years of being confined to the UK due to COVID restrictions and the birth of our daughter, half the fun was being able to leave the country with friends and do something other than work or childcare. The time on circuit was the icing on the cake.
Obligatory photo of car in Eurotunnel...
We stopped almost immediately to get fuel at the Eurotunnel Total. I'd heard that fuel is much cheaper in France at the moment, which it was, although news of the strikes at refineries hadn't reached me so I was a little bemused as to why only one pump was operational and relieved-looking French drivers were sporadically arriving.
One of the rear lights on the Megane also went on strike. After much faffing to remove the taillight, we discovered a perfectly functional bulb. The issue was later traced to a broken wire by The Crown in Adenau.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. The roads were very quiet, and unusually we encountered minimal traffic around Brussels. We stopped only once to eat some lunch at a service station in Belgium. Half of the car park was closed due to some sort of TV or film production, this kept us amused whilst we ate a sandwich. I took a photo of a Lada that caught my eye...
We arrived at our destination in Kelberg near the Ring. This is the same village that we've stayed in for the last three or four trips. The apartment we usually book was occupied but the owner suggested another property nearby. This turned out to be a great find - we got both floors of a subdivided house for a similar price to the apartment, a bedroom and bathroom each, and two enormous lounges. All very nicely furnished too.
It doesn't appear to be listed on Airbnb/Hotels/Booking and looking at the guestbook I think we might have been the first British visitors. The owners, who live opposite, looked mildly horrified when a convoy of cheap British cars arrived but they were very friendly and accommodating throughout our stay.
The following morning was a lovely day. I had some work to do that I hadn't managed to clear before I left, I spent the morning sat outside with a coffee admiring the view whilst the others surfaced.
I discovered a fondness for Leberkäse from the local bakery. Don't let the literal translation of 'liver-cheese' put you off, it typically contains neither of those ingredients and is quite tasty.
We spent the rest of that day arranging for the Megane to be repaired and visited a few viewpoints whilst we waited for TF to start.
I had planned to do a slow TF/touristenfahrten lap that evening, but the track closed just as I purchased a lap ticket. I usually avoid TF as one of the reasons we book onto UK-run trackdays is to avoid the associated insurance and liability risks, but it was Tuesday at this point and the trackday wasn't until Friday, I was keen to treat it as an early sighting lap as it felt like a long time since our last trip in 2020.
The next day we hired e-bikes and followed the MTB trail that runs alongside the circuit. This turned into a highlight of the trip for me. The e-bike was just the ticket for an unfit office worker in a hilly alpine region and the trails were great fun. I used to do a lot of mountain biking in my teens, but progressed to road biking whilst I lived in Oxford. I'd forgotten how much fun can be had hammering down a loose surface and hopping over obstacles. The circuit was closed for industry testing that day so there were some interesting camouflaged cars hurtling past as we cycled around, that only added to the experience.
Thursday morning was spent preparing the cars for the track day. I helped Roshan to bleed his brakes, we drew a crowd of interested German children...
Some of the friends that we've made in Germany began to arrive. Keen readers might remember Thomas with this IS F from our last trip, although confusingly it was wrapped white back then...
Mark, who owns the MX5 NB with ITBs arrived in his recent purchase. An S2 Exige that was originally registered in Derby, before spending some time in Belgium and gaining a wider rear body before being exported to Germany. Not a common sight on German roads.
The German group had attended the Circuit Days event in 2021 which we were banned from travelling to. They gained Nick, an American with German heritage who was living near Cologne before recently moving to Switzerland. He returned this year, with his amusingly registered Swift Sport...
TF was on again that evening, and the single lap I'd purchased was burning a hole in my wallet so we assembled and waited for the circuit to open.
I was one of the first cars out onto a damp circuit. Not a great combination if you're hoping for grip.
It's amazing how many photographers you can see on a singular lap!
I don't have the time or inclination to drive virtual laps of the circuit, so I hadn't been around it since 2020. I was pleasantly surprised by how much of it I could remember. I had to remind myself of my plans for a steady lap when I found myself having a rather squirmy braking moment after the jump in Pflanzgarten. I made it back safely and parked up waiting for the others to return. Despite coming here multiple times in this car this was the first ever time it had been out on TF...
Moments after I took this photo Alex pulled into the car park and asked if I knew what had happened to Thomas in the Lexus. He'd apparently seen his car parked alongside the barrier just after Bergwerk. It wasn't clear if this was a crash or a mechanical issue, but I'm always wary of Bergwerk after renting a car from RSR during the first year and being shown a briefing video where they singled it out as the corner that was most likely to cost us our deposit. I feared the worse.
Unfortunately, my concerns were validated...
Thankfully, there were no injuries beyond pride. Thomas used to hold a season ticket for TF here and has a lot more laps under his belt than I do. A timely reminder that this circuit can catch anyone out.
The Ring overlords now post out barrier invoices after the event, so the sum total of the financial damage is currently unknown.
That evening we signed onto the track day and helped Thomas to switch over to a spare wheel so he could drive home. I didn't sleep very well that night, it's never pleasant to see your friends involved in an accident and it didn't put me in the best frame of mind for what we'd signed up to do the next morning.
The trackday was scheduled to start with sighting laps at 8am, but the Eifel weather had other ideas...
I killed some time in the car park, it seemed to be quite a quiet event, I guess October is always a gamble.
Our group was joined by Christian from Munich, he's the guy who let me drive his 987.1 in 2020, he's subsequently upgraded to a 987.2 with some choice modifications and has spent a lot of the last couple of years on track days and road tours.
The fog lifted and we made it out on track at about 9:30. It hadn't rained that morning and the weather was quite mild, it didn't take long for a dry line to appear. I had a lot more grip than the 2020 trip where the weather was hovering above freezing and I couldn't get any heat into the tyres. I soon found my groove and stayed out for several back-to-back laps after sighting, figuring that the weather might not hold.
I jumped in the Exige for a couple of passenger laps. This car surprised me, I drove an Exige on a Silverstone experience day many years ago, but it was before I vaguely knew what I was doing. For some reason I expected it to feel twitchier and be more nervous at the limit, quite the opposite was true. I was also very jealous of the 9,500rpm limit of the 2ZZ engine. I seemed to spend a lot of the day in the NC lifting to avoid running into my limiter at the top of third or fourth in situations where it seemed silly to change up just before entering a corner. I've been lusting after an S2 Lotus for a long time, this hasn't helped.
As afternoon approached the rain started to arrive and my pace dropped. This coincided with a non-CircuitDays photographer appearing at Pflanzgarten. One year I'll get a photo with the car in the air to show that I'm a real Ring hero, but not this year...
Unusually, there were no breaks in track time for lunch. As the rain got heavier I headed into Adenau for fuel and food, this conveniently coincided with the only red flag of the day.
The afternoon remained damp. I dropped my speed down and started to learn some of the wet lines. I had a lot more grip than the last track day I did here, the higher ambient temperature really helped. I had very few moments and could probably have pushed on harder than I did, but I was also conscious that I was a long way from home and needed to drive the car back.
I managed to cover 20 laps during the day, looking back at this thread my record during quiet summer days is 22, so the late start due to fog didn't really cost us anything. It's a big improvement on the last October day that we did when I only managed 15 due to the constant track closures.
Gearing aside I was generally happy with the car. It's the first time I've taken it there with a bucket seat and harness, and the first dry laps that I've managed since the manifold and remap. I've said it many times before, but the difference that each of those modifications has made was very obvious on a circuit with so many corners and such a large elevation change.
We had a lazy start on Saturday and then headed over to the GP circuit to watch some 'old timer' racing.
Our German friends found it hilarious that the British contingent skipped over all the DTM cars to gather around an MG Metro with such excitement.
The journey home on Sunday was easy. Brussels was so quiet that we braved stopping on the outskirts for lunch. I managed to purchase a large quantity of Côte d'Or chocolate to appease my wife after a week of solo childcare.
I found the Motamec bucket seat surprisingly comfy over such a long distance. My only issue was not being able to alter the position of my limbs to the extent that you can in a traditional seat. I think I'd have a similar issue in any seat that holds you tightly in position. The padding was perfectly adequate.
I collected a lot of insects between Belgium and France. I'd held off filling up in Belgium assuming I could find some cheap fuel in France again, not realising that the strikes would now mean that all the fuel stations between Dunkirk and Calais were completely dry. I managed to make it to Ashford in the UK before my fuel light came on. The Mazda averaged over 39mpg at a constant 120-130kph between Germany and Ashford. Pretty impressive as the boot and passenger seat were full to the brim with heavy tools and luggage.
Back home, 441 miles that day, 1,280 miles since leaving home. The last stretch of my journey ended exactly as it started with heavy rain and standing water in the dark. Not being one to learn from my mistakes I still hadn't removed the Eurolite adapters from the headlights.
Out of curiosity I went back through this thread and calculated the number of laps that I've done over the years. Amusingly, adding the 20 track day and 1 TF lap from this year brings my total to 105 laps, 5 of those were in a rental car during our first trip meaning that purely by chance the Mazda has now covered exactly 100 ring laps. I'm constantly impressed that a high mileage car that I originally bought for a little over £3k can be consistently reliable over long distances and track abuse. The MX5 was designed and assembled on a budget, which makes it even more impressive that it continues to get the basics right, even after 16 years and 130,000 miles.
All in all, it was another great trip. After a couple of years of being confined to the UK due to COVID restrictions and the birth of our daughter, half the fun was being able to leave the country with friends and do something other than work or childcare. The time on circuit was the icing on the cake.
Accelebrate said:
We had a lazy start on Saturday and then headed over to the GP circuit to watch some 'old timer' racing.
Opel Fruit Mode on - Hmmm that's an interesting pairRed one on the left is wearing a genuine Lotus Carlton body kit but has a Lysholm twinscrew supercharger - ENEM did those for 3.0 litre and 4.0 litre engines - probably makes more bhp than a Lotus Carlton in 4.0 set up - over400 from memory)
The orange one on the right looks like a genuine DTM but it's running dual ram set up rather than individual throttle bodies so I'd say it's an EVO500 (homologation cars that allowed Opel to run the DTM cars with a different set up)
Opel Fruit mode off
However I'd be crawling all over the Metro first but then go back and see what the picture was with the two Opel Omegas
B'stard Child said:
Opel Fruit Mode on - Hmmm that's an interesting pair
Red one on the left is wearing a genuine Lotus Carlton body kit but has a Lysholm twinscrew supercharger - ENEM did those for 3.0 litre and 4.0 litre engines - probably makes more bhp than a Lotus Carlton in 4.0 set up - over400 from memory)
The orange one on the right looks like a genuine DTM but it's running dual ram set up rather than individual throttle bodies so I'd say it's an EVO500 (homologation cars that allowed Opel to run the DTM cars with a different set up)
Opel Fruit mode off
However I'd be crawling all over the Metro first but then go back and see what the picture was with the two Opel Omegas
Impressive knowledge! Red one on the left is wearing a genuine Lotus Carlton body kit but has a Lysholm twinscrew supercharger - ENEM did those for 3.0 litre and 4.0 litre engines - probably makes more bhp than a Lotus Carlton in 4.0 set up - over400 from memory)
The orange one on the right looks like a genuine DTM but it's running dual ram set up rather than individual throttle bodies so I'd say it's an EVO500 (homologation cars that allowed Opel to run the DTM cars with a different set up)
Opel Fruit mode off
However I'd be crawling all over the Metro first but then go back and see what the picture was with the two Opel Omegas
I took a better photo under the bonnet of the orange car...
Also nice...
B'stard Child said:
Accelebrate said:
We had a lazy start on Saturday and then headed over to the GP circuit to watch some 'old timer' racing.
Opel Fruit Mode on - Hmmm that's an interesting pairRed one on the left is wearing a genuine Lotus Carlton body kit but has a Lysholm twinscrew supercharger - ENEM did those for 3.0 litre and 4.0 litre engines - probably makes more bhp than a Lotus Carlton in 4.0 set up - over400 from memory)
The orange one on the right looks like a genuine DTM but it's running dual ram set up rather than individual throttle bodies so I'd say it's an EVO500 (homologation cars that allowed Opel to run the DTM cars with a different set up)
Opel Fruit mode off
However I'd be crawling all over the Metro first but then go back and see what the picture was with the two Opel Omegas
Great report always a gamble this time of the year and first time in many years i've not been on this event from my fb memories lol It's defiantly grippier than other years in wet conditions. Glad to see you had a great time lapping and always look for Claire from nordschleifepics with the pink hat on
Accelebrate said:
B'stard Child said:
Opel Fruit Mode on - Hmmm that's an interesting pair
Red one on the left is wearing a genuine Lotus Carlton body kit but has a Lysholm twinscrew supercharger - ENEM did those for 3.0 litre and 4.0 litre engines - probably makes more bhp than a Lotus Carlton in 4.0 set up - over400 from memory)
The orange one on the right looks like a genuine DTM but it's running dual ram set up rather than individual throttle bodies so I'd say it's an EVO500 (homologation cars that allowed Opel to run the DTM cars with a different set up)
Opel Fruit mode off
However I'd be crawling all over the Metro first but then go back and see what the picture was with the two Opel Omegas
Impressive knowledge! Red one on the left is wearing a genuine Lotus Carlton body kit but has a Lysholm twinscrew supercharger - ENEM did those for 3.0 litre and 4.0 litre engines - probably makes more bhp than a Lotus Carlton in 4.0 set up - over400 from memory)
The orange one on the right looks like a genuine DTM but it's running dual ram set up rather than individual throttle bodies so I'd say it's an EVO500 (homologation cars that allowed Opel to run the DTM cars with a different set up)
Opel Fruit mode off
However I'd be crawling all over the Metro first but then go back and see what the picture was with the two Opel Omegas
I took a better photo under the bonnet of the orange car...
t load of those made/cast and never sold that many 4.0 engines so lots of std 3.0 engines got cosmetic upgrades - however the inlet manifold has very fat runners which adds a lot of weight to consider it a genuine 4.0 (they like the bespoke head gaskets "a lot" - the strengthened block was offset bored to try and increase the meat between the bores which makes the head gaskets a bespoke to 4.0 engines only)Grey primer at the back of the engine bay behind the strut turrets shows the cage has been run into the engine bay - nice that really stiffens up the chassis did the same to my Monza when I caged it
B'stard Child said:
Ahhh nice - thank you - firstly the cam cover says 4.0 24V but irmscher had a st load of those made/cast and never sold that many 4.0 engines so lots of std 3.0 engines got cosmetic upgrades - however the inlet manifold has very fat runners which adds a lot of weight to consider it a genuine 4.0 (they like the bespoke head gaskets "a lot" - the strengthened block was offset bored to try and increase the meat between the bores which makes the head gaskets a bespoke to 4.0 engines only)
Grey primer at the back of the engine bay behind the strut turrets shows the cage has been run into the engine bay - nice that really stiffens up the chassis did the same to my Monza when I caged it
You've got a good eye - I hadn't even spotted the primer or tubing running to the turrets. Hopefully the owner remembered to replace his coolant cap t load of those made/cast and never sold that many 4.0 engines so lots of std 3.0 engines got cosmetic upgrades - however the inlet manifold has very fat runners which adds a lot of weight to consider it a genuine 4.0 (they like the bespoke head gaskets "a lot" - the strengthened block was offset bored to try and increase the meat between the bores which makes the head gaskets a bespoke to 4.0 engines only)Grey primer at the back of the engine bay behind the strut turrets shows the cage has been run into the engine bay - nice that really stiffens up the chassis did the same to my Monza when I caged it
I think I've mentioned previously that the diff on the NC has a small oil weep. I could smell a faint whiff of diff oil after the trackday and the casing looked a bit damper than usual so once I was home I removed the fill plug to inspect the level. Oil immediately seeped out of the fill hole so the level hadn't moved. It's amazing how big an oil leak you need before it has any impact on fluid levels.
I've been a bit lazy addressing the leak, to remove the diff I'd probably end up dropping the rear subframe, and if I did that it would probably make sense to get it and the many suspension arms powdercoated and polybushed. I'd probably then find some corrosion to address and spend a while undercoating the rear of the car. It's a job I'd like to do one day - but I fear if I start it now the car will be out of action for a while.
Looking at the leak all of the seals still appear to be dry, I think it's just seeping through the gasket between the diff and cover plate. Although the access is tight I think I might be able to remove and reseal it without removing the diff - although with the level not moving after a long trip like this there's a temptation just to keep cleaning the casing every so often.
Whilst I was under the car I noticed a small issue with the backbox...
I'm pretty sure this happened before our ring trip. There's a great curry house near us in a former countryside pub, the drive from our house covers some fun back roads so if we order a takeaway I'll usually take the Mazda. There's one section that's excessively cambered due to the road collapsing from farm machinery, I remember brushing the midpipe a little harder than usual and hearing the exhaust note change. Of course, I forgot all about this once I was home and tucking into a curry.
I remember thinking that the exhaust seemed quite droney during the trip, but having recently run the much louder single-tip exhaust I'd forgotten what the more sensible ILM backbox sounded like.
Once you've replaced the bolts with stainless fasteners the NC backbox is a doddle to remove.
I broke out drgoatboy's old welder and ran a wide bead around the whole pipe. Not my best weld, it's been a while and I should have put more effort into cleaning up what was there. But it seems a lot stronger than what was there.
Here's the point on the rear of the mid-pipe that's now the lowest. Most lowered NCs seem to catch here.
I'm not sure if this is a terrible idea or not, but I sliced up a piece of stainless exhaust sleeve that I had lying around and made a little skid/bash plate for that section. My logic is that it'll be easier to replace the section every so often rather than repairing the mid-pipe.
I've attached it with some tack welds, so that it can be easily reverted or replaced. There is also a chance it'll detach itself during the first impact - I'll make sure it's tested under controlled conditions first.
Because the midpipe is no longer round it does protrude down a little, I've angled it slightly so the front is the tightest fit. This section isn't parallel to the car, so any impacts will approach the curved sides rather than hitting the front square on. I don't think it'll catch.
I've been a bit lazy addressing the leak, to remove the diff I'd probably end up dropping the rear subframe, and if I did that it would probably make sense to get it and the many suspension arms powdercoated and polybushed. I'd probably then find some corrosion to address and spend a while undercoating the rear of the car. It's a job I'd like to do one day - but I fear if I start it now the car will be out of action for a while.
Looking at the leak all of the seals still appear to be dry, I think it's just seeping through the gasket between the diff and cover plate. Although the access is tight I think I might be able to remove and reseal it without removing the diff - although with the level not moving after a long trip like this there's a temptation just to keep cleaning the casing every so often.
Whilst I was under the car I noticed a small issue with the backbox...
I'm pretty sure this happened before our ring trip. There's a great curry house near us in a former countryside pub, the drive from our house covers some fun back roads so if we order a takeaway I'll usually take the Mazda. There's one section that's excessively cambered due to the road collapsing from farm machinery, I remember brushing the midpipe a little harder than usual and hearing the exhaust note change. Of course, I forgot all about this once I was home and tucking into a curry.
I remember thinking that the exhaust seemed quite droney during the trip, but having recently run the much louder single-tip exhaust I'd forgotten what the more sensible ILM backbox sounded like.
Once you've replaced the bolts with stainless fasteners the NC backbox is a doddle to remove.
I broke out drgoatboy's old welder and ran a wide bead around the whole pipe. Not my best weld, it's been a while and I should have put more effort into cleaning up what was there. But it seems a lot stronger than what was there.
Here's the point on the rear of the mid-pipe that's now the lowest. Most lowered NCs seem to catch here.
I'm not sure if this is a terrible idea or not, but I sliced up a piece of stainless exhaust sleeve that I had lying around and made a little skid/bash plate for that section. My logic is that it'll be easier to replace the section every so often rather than repairing the mid-pipe.
I've attached it with some tack welds, so that it can be easily reverted or replaced. There is also a chance it'll detach itself during the first impact - I'll make sure it's tested under controlled conditions first.
Because the midpipe is no longer round it does protrude down a little, I've angled it slightly so the front is the tightest fit. This section isn't parallel to the car, so any impacts will approach the curved sides rather than hitting the front square on. I don't think it'll catch.
Edited by Accelebrate on Thursday 20th October 11:18
Kaveney said:
Is that all the track outings done for the year then ?
I think so, Alex is out of the country for most of December and I used up quite a few brownie points by going away whilst our daughter is so young. I might look into an airfield or Bedford day at the start of next year.
When are you hoping to get the Megane on track? I’ve been following your build thread with interest. The white Megane in our group had a great day at the Ring.
Accelebrate said:
When are you hoping to get the Megane on track? I’ve been following your build thread with interest. The white Megane in our group had a great day at the Ring.
I was hoping that I would get the car finished for the end of this year and out on track but I dont think I will finish it off this year so I will be looking at early next year so may see you at Bedford next year .I collected a slightly unexpected purchase this morning, in the form of an entire rear subframe...
The seller is known for bringing over containers of 2.5L Duratec engines from the US every so often. This subframe came from California and he was intending to fit it to his own car, but he's since sold it and moved on to other things.
I've never seen an NC subframe in the UK with the factory paint still intact, they're usually brown with rust. Underneath a bit of road grime, this one looks factory fresh.
I'll probably now try and buy a second set of suspension arms so that I can pick away at the process of removing the bushes, getting the arms blasted and powder coated and pressing in new polybushes as and when I find time. If anyone is selling a set, let me know.
The seller is known for bringing over containers of 2.5L Duratec engines from the US every so often. This subframe came from California and he was intending to fit it to his own car, but he's since sold it and moved on to other things.
I've never seen an NC subframe in the UK with the factory paint still intact, they're usually brown with rust. Underneath a bit of road grime, this one looks factory fresh.
I'll probably now try and buy a second set of suspension arms so that I can pick away at the process of removing the bushes, getting the arms blasted and powder coated and pressing in new polybushes as and when I find time. If anyone is selling a set, let me know.
TurboRob said:
Good opportunity to do a bit of seam/stitch welding on that new subframe, too?
That was at the back of my mind. I remembered that when Koenigsegg's test driver shared a video of a Ring lap in his NC that caused mild hysteria a few years ago, a fully seam-welded rear subframe was one of the items he listed in the spec of his car in the description... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhWwl4bqeoYI presume that's all that's between me and a sub-8 lap
drgoatboy said:
Wow that is clean!
Yes! You don't see many Cali import subframes for cheap Japanese roadsters for sale, it was local too, I couldn't not buy it...shalmaneser said:
When I reconditioned the back end of the E36 M3 I did the same thing, nice being able to take your time with the job then just swap the new bits back in over an afternoon. I think I even made a profit on the old subframe!
It seemed to make a lot of sense. Saves taking the car out of action if I fancy using it, or feeling like I need to rush through the reconditioning process.I stocked up on PBS brake pads during Black Friday in anticipation of getting a few track days in next year. I've currently got their 'ProRace' pads in the front which have been great but are wearing faster than the StopTechs I used to use. I went for their lesser 'ProTrack' pads for the rear as they're supposedly slightly better for longevity. I roughly know how long I'd expect a set of StopTech rears to last so I'm curious to see how they compare.
I had a visit from a friend in what is arguably one of the MX5s arch-rivals this weekend - a MK3 MR2. He's been struggling with seized handbrake cables, which seem to be one of the MR2's favourite MOT failures. I'd offered to lend a hand with the replacement.
I've come close to buying a couple of cheap local MR2s over the years but didn't get to them in time. I find them quite an interesting package, super light, mid-engined and affordable. I was curious to see what they were like to spanner on.
Unfortunately, replacing the handbrake cables isn't completely straightforward. There's a lot of plastic to remove...
Followed by removing the fuel tank...
Fiddly job, it took the best part of 5hrs including an oil change. Amazingly, on a relatively crusty car, we didn't have any issues with corroded or seized fasteners.
The numerous plastic undertrays are annoying and quite fiddly to remove and refit, probably not helped by them being in poor condition on this car after it hit a dead fox. Compared to the NC the oil filter is in a much more sensible position. Access around the engine looks tight and the engine bay looks quite cramped from above but there's surprisingly good access to a lot of stuff once you're underneath.
Two new cables later and the handbrake now seems to engage firmly...
Rust-wise, the rear suspension and subframe on this car didn't look too bad. I didn't like the look of the corrosion on the body just behind the rear jacking points. It seemed to still be solid but I didn't go poking. I suggested some decent underbody protection and cavity wax wouldn't go amiss.
Apologies for the intermission, your regular MX5 content will resume shortly...
I had a visit from a friend in what is arguably one of the MX5s arch-rivals this weekend - a MK3 MR2. He's been struggling with seized handbrake cables, which seem to be one of the MR2's favourite MOT failures. I'd offered to lend a hand with the replacement.
I've come close to buying a couple of cheap local MR2s over the years but didn't get to them in time. I find them quite an interesting package, super light, mid-engined and affordable. I was curious to see what they were like to spanner on.
Unfortunately, replacing the handbrake cables isn't completely straightforward. There's a lot of plastic to remove...
Followed by removing the fuel tank...
Fiddly job, it took the best part of 5hrs including an oil change. Amazingly, on a relatively crusty car, we didn't have any issues with corroded or seized fasteners.
The numerous plastic undertrays are annoying and quite fiddly to remove and refit, probably not helped by them being in poor condition on this car after it hit a dead fox. Compared to the NC the oil filter is in a much more sensible position. Access around the engine looks tight and the engine bay looks quite cramped from above but there's surprisingly good access to a lot of stuff once you're underneath.
Two new cables later and the handbrake now seems to engage firmly...
Rust-wise, the rear suspension and subframe on this car didn't look too bad. I didn't like the look of the corrosion on the body just behind the rear jacking points. It seemed to still be solid but I didn't go poking. I suggested some decent underbody protection and cavity wax wouldn't go amiss.
Apologies for the intermission, your regular MX5 content will resume shortly...
Great Nurburgring road trip write, thank’s for sharing.
Mr2’s are tempting as very affordable. I’ve come across a couple of well set up ones on track days and they certainly go well and look great fun!
MX5’s take a lot of beating for overall fun on track, great package out of the box and so tuneable.
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?
Mr2’s are tempting as very affordable. I’ve come across a couple of well set up ones on track days and they certainly go well and look great fun!
MX5’s take a lot of beating for overall fun on track, great package out of the box and so tuneable.
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?
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