2006 Mazda MX-5 NC 2.0 Sport
Discussion
snotrag said:
Kumho PS71 in 215/45/17.
As reccomended by those who race Mk3s, including someone I was about to pay for Michelins.
I am a big proponent of Michelin and Goodyear (I always try and use premium tyres on all cars) however the PS71 specifically is known to work really well on the Mk3 with standard size wheels. for mixed road/track use.
Mine have done 4 trackdays and 6000miles ish and still good. Chunk cheaper than Michelin.
You wont go far wrong with the obvious choices though, just a personal reccomendation. (I haven't checked but they are probably close to the cost of the Goodyears. Note Michelin were 15% off yesterday at Blackcircles)
Really! That's surprising to hear. I thought Khumo was on the same level as Falkens. I've used Falkens for years and really like them, but didn't think they'd be up for the job. I'll certainly have a little look at those. Aren't they a sub-brand of someone else? Dunlop or somthing?As reccomended by those who race Mk3s, including someone I was about to pay for Michelins.
I am a big proponent of Michelin and Goodyear (I always try and use premium tyres on all cars) however the PS71 specifically is known to work really well on the Mk3 with standard size wheels. for mixed road/track use.
Mine have done 4 trackdays and 6000miles ish and still good. Chunk cheaper than Michelin.
You wont go far wrong with the obvious choices though, just a personal reccomendation. (I haven't checked but they are probably close to the cost of the Goodyears. Note Michelin were 15% off yesterday at Blackcircles)
Edited by snotrag on Friday 19th February 13:58
Accelebrate said:
I've been using Brembo road/blank discs for a while with no issues. I think I replaced the last front set after going through two sets of Stoptech pads and that was possibly premature as there was no real lip to speak of. The painted finish on the hubs lasts nicely too.
Great stuff. EuroCarParts has the never-ending deal so the discs aren't that expensive there at all. I'd value your input as you're doing exactly what I had in mind with the car; fast road, some track, travel here and there.I've had a few too many close calls lately. A couple of days ago, someone decided to overtake me on a 30mph road when everyone was travelling at the speed limit, and squeezed himself between us and on-coming traffic, and decided to continue doing so down the road. Missed me by what must have been an inch, and I wish I had a camera.
So off I went camera shopping.
I bought this same one for the Focus that I have and was impressed enough to buy a second. It's in a deal at the moment on Amazon for £25 (with the voucher applied). I wanted one that sat flush to the windshield and not to hang down as I wanted it to look as hidden as possible.
I purchased this NextBase hard wiring kit for £15 as I didn't want to have wires on display.
But then realised the ends were different. The camera was microUSB, the wiring kit was miniUSB.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any 90 degree microUSB hardwiring kits anywhere. Plenty microUSB, but all straight and not angled. However, the cigarette cable that came with the kit had a 90 degree microUSB on the end of it.
Snip!
No solder, just my trusty shrink wrap kit.
That's better.
To wire in the dash cam, the hardwire kit consists of a ground wire and a positive fuse piggyback wire:
You place the fuse for the dash cam in the top slot, and the original fuse that you're piggybacking off in the bottom. This is important as you'll blow the 2amp fuse that comes with the dash if you get it the wrong way round.
Located the fuse box in the passenger footwell and removed the trim.
That fuse is 'AUX power', so that'll be what I'll use.
I placed the fuse into the piggyback along with the dash cam fuse, and then placed it into the fuse hole.
I then found this bolt up under the dash which was ideal for the ground
Bit rusty from where the scuttle grommets were leaking a few years back, but it's done the trick.
Nice and simple.
A quick test to ensure the camera works.
I then pulled the rubber trim back on the left, removed the top three bolts holding the trim up on the top, and pulled it all back.
That gave me a very easy, clean run for the wires.
I've installed it to the right of the mirror so that it's tucked behind it. Originally I wanted it to be higher up where the sun shade was, but the adhesive wouldn't stick to this at all. Nevertheless, it's nice and subtle where it is.
The camera is set to loop record 3 minute video files, and will overwrite the oldest video. Pressing the 'menu' button whilst recording locks the current file so it doesn't ever get overwritten. It's a fantastic quality camera with a wide lens and aperture. It's got shock detection if anyone hits the car (it'll automatically lock the video), which I thought was a nice feature.
Either way, it's out of sight, good quality, always recording away and is there if I need it.
So off I went camera shopping.
I bought this same one for the Focus that I have and was impressed enough to buy a second. It's in a deal at the moment on Amazon for £25 (with the voucher applied). I wanted one that sat flush to the windshield and not to hang down as I wanted it to look as hidden as possible.
I purchased this NextBase hard wiring kit for £15 as I didn't want to have wires on display.
But then realised the ends were different. The camera was microUSB, the wiring kit was miniUSB.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any 90 degree microUSB hardwiring kits anywhere. Plenty microUSB, but all straight and not angled. However, the cigarette cable that came with the kit had a 90 degree microUSB on the end of it.
Snip!
No solder, just my trusty shrink wrap kit.
That's better.
To wire in the dash cam, the hardwire kit consists of a ground wire and a positive fuse piggyback wire:
You place the fuse for the dash cam in the top slot, and the original fuse that you're piggybacking off in the bottom. This is important as you'll blow the 2amp fuse that comes with the dash if you get it the wrong way round.
Located the fuse box in the passenger footwell and removed the trim.
That fuse is 'AUX power', so that'll be what I'll use.
I placed the fuse into the piggyback along with the dash cam fuse, and then placed it into the fuse hole.
I then found this bolt up under the dash which was ideal for the ground
Bit rusty from where the scuttle grommets were leaking a few years back, but it's done the trick.
Nice and simple.
A quick test to ensure the camera works.
I then pulled the rubber trim back on the left, removed the top three bolts holding the trim up on the top, and pulled it all back.
That gave me a very easy, clean run for the wires.
I've installed it to the right of the mirror so that it's tucked behind it. Originally I wanted it to be higher up where the sun shade was, but the adhesive wouldn't stick to this at all. Nevertheless, it's nice and subtle where it is.
The camera is set to loop record 3 minute video files, and will overwrite the oldest video. Pressing the 'menu' button whilst recording locks the current file so it doesn't ever get overwritten. It's a fantastic quality camera with a wide lens and aperture. It's got shock detection if anyone hits the car (it'll automatically lock the video), which I thought was a nice feature.
Either way, it's out of sight, good quality, always recording away and is there if I need it.
shalmaneser said:
£25 actually seems very reasonable for that. Does it record while the ignition is off? I guess that depends on which fuse you wire it in to, the power draw must be miniscule anyway...
You're absolutely right, it does depend on the fuse. If you wire it into an AUX fuse like I have, the ignition doesn't need to be on. I wouldn't recommend wiring it into a permanent live as it'll just drain the battery. You'd be surprised of how little it takes - my previous Boxster kept draining its battery because I kept an OBD2 WiFi receiver plugged in.When the power is off, it'll record for about 5 minutes until the battery depletes so you do get some time whilst walking away from the car.
After reading your recommendation on your focus thread this arrived today.
It will be going into my Z4 tomorrow. I currently have a dashcam hardwired in but it is the suction cup type that fits to the windscreen. Being that the Z4 cabin is much the same as your MX5 ie small I have always felt that the current cam looked rather to big ,ugly and somewhat out of place, not only that in the warmer weather the suction cup looses all it's adhesion and the cam falls from the screen and is left dangling from it's wire. This cam is smaller and neater and will will suit the cabin much better also seeing as the wiring is already in place it will be a simple 2 minute job to swap it over. Thanks for the recommendation and at the current price of £29 an absolute bargain.
It will be going into my Z4 tomorrow. I currently have a dashcam hardwired in but it is the suction cup type that fits to the windscreen. Being that the Z4 cabin is much the same as your MX5 ie small I have always felt that the current cam looked rather to big ,ugly and somewhat out of place, not only that in the warmer weather the suction cup looses all it's adhesion and the cam falls from the screen and is left dangling from it's wire. This cam is smaller and neater and will will suit the cabin much better also seeing as the wiring is already in place it will be a simple 2 minute job to swap it over. Thanks for the recommendation and at the current price of £29 an absolute bargain.
DevonLad said:
After reading your recommendation on your focus thread this arrived today.
It will be going into my Z4 tomorrow. I currently have a dashcam hardwired in but it is the suction cup type that fits to the windscreen. Being that the Z4 cabin is much the same as your MX5 ie small I have always felt that the current cam looked rather to big ,ugly and somewhat out of place, not only that in the warmer weather the suction cup looses all it's adhesion and the cam falls from the screen and is left dangling from it's wire. This cam is smaller and neater and will will suit the cabin much better also seeing as the wiring is already in place it will be a simple 2 minute job to swap it over. Thanks for the recommendation and at the current price of £29 an absolute bargain.
Great stuff, lovely to hear! If the current wire is a microUSB then it'll be a doddle to replace. If it's a miniUSB then the port won't match, so rather than re-routing the wires again, buy this:It will be going into my Z4 tomorrow. I currently have a dashcam hardwired in but it is the suction cup type that fits to the windscreen. Being that the Z4 cabin is much the same as your MX5 ie small I have always felt that the current cam looked rather to big ,ugly and somewhat out of place, not only that in the warmer weather the suction cup looses all it's adhesion and the cam falls from the screen and is left dangling from it's wire. This cam is smaller and neater and will will suit the cabin much better also seeing as the wiring is already in place it will be a simple 2 minute job to swap it over. Thanks for the recommendation and at the current price of £29 an absolute bargain.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07H4P4CNH/ref...
That'll change the ends for you and keep the 90 degree angle.
shalmaneser said:
£25 actually seems very reasonable for that. Does it record while the ignition is off? I guess that depends on which fuse you wire it in to, the power draw must be miniscule anyway...
If you want this blackview do a little box that monitors the voltage of the car battery and shuts the camera down after either time or the voltage of the car battery drops to a certain level. I’ve had one in my car for 2 years and it’s brilliant. You wire this to the car then the camera to the box. Quite easy to install as well.
https://blackvueuk.co.uk/product/blackvue-power-ma...
MB140 said:
If you want this blackview do a little box that monitors the voltage of the car battery and shuts the camera down after either time or the voltage of the car battery drops to a certain level. I’ve had one in my car for 2 years and it’s brilliant. You wire this to the car then the camera to the box.
Quite easy to install as well.
https://blackvueuk.co.uk/product/blackvue-power-ma...
Thanks for the recommendation, I may look into that. Sounds pretty interesting.Quite easy to install as well.
https://blackvueuk.co.uk/product/blackvue-power-ma...
Gave the car a quick clean and went for a drive to the shops, but may have gone the long way round. Had a blast, it's been a while since I've driven this properly. The wax is still holding up really well from the initial detail:
Although I took this next photo and realised something...
A little closer...
That's not good. Been a while since I checked on these cracks, they don't seem good at all.
Judging by that (which I assume is the production date) then it's time for a new tyre.
The rears are Maxxis, the front left is an Accelera PH1-R and the front right is a Michelin PS4, but clearly a very old one. I've managed to find another Accelera PH1-R on ebay for £37 to replace the Michelin, just so they're the same tyre across the axle.
Now the reason why I didn't just get new tyres all round is that the tread on the rest of the tyres are fine, and I'd feel bad for binning them when I'll be abusing them in the near future on track. For £37 I've got the same tyres per axle with good tread all round, which at this moment in time is fine. I hated having two brands of tyre across the same axle, so this is a very cheap fix for the mean time until I get new Goodyears all round.
Another reason is that I'll be purchasing new discs/pads soon. That'll be around £250, and I'm trying to pace myself with the spending on this car as I'm throwing as much as I can into my savings for the wedding next year. The odd freelance here and there lets me get the odd bits and bobs mind, so it wouldn't be long before the tyres are purchased.
geraintthomas said:
Although I took this next photo and realised something...
Judging by that (which I assume is the production date) then it's time for a new tyre.
That's not the production date. The date the tyre was made is a four-digit code, week number then year, so a tyre made the last week of 2019 would read 5219. In that photo, the date stamp is the last of the series of markings, roughly at the 5 o'clock position on the sidewall (near the valve). I have PS4s on mine for at least 3 years now and I've not observed any cracks on them, but will have a closer look next time.Judging by that (which I assume is the production date) then it's time for a new tyre.
Date code looks like this in my experience. As mentioned earlier above is week 50 2018.
PS4 caklme out in 2016 or so so probably ok for a while although manufacturers tend to suggest replacement after 4 years I think? But it is in their interest to get people buying new tyres as often as possible!
Ah, thanks for the clarification on the date. I saw it and instantly presumed. Just checked, it's 2016 so not as old as I thought. Still, the new tyre will be here in a day or two and I can get it switched out so it's the same on the front axle.
Looking to buy the new brakes in about 2-3 weeks time, and will hammerite the hubs of the discs in black so they don't rust (and they'll be easier off the car, but being sure not to touch the mounting surface.
So the knocking at the front end has returned and it's not the HID ballast. It's only over big bumps or speed humps, but yesterday I drove the wheel slowly off a curb and it made the same clunk. Also made a similar clunk when going from lock to lock, so I'm wondering if it's hub or caliper related. It sounds like it's a loose caliper, but I'll check everything soon to be sure. They found nothing on the MOT, so it can't be serious... but it's not normal so it's going to bug me.
Looking to buy the new brakes in about 2-3 weeks time, and will hammerite the hubs of the discs in black so they don't rust (and they'll be easier off the car, but being sure not to touch the mounting surface.
So the knocking at the front end has returned and it's not the HID ballast. It's only over big bumps or speed humps, but yesterday I drove the wheel slowly off a curb and it made the same clunk. Also made a similar clunk when going from lock to lock, so I'm wondering if it's hub or caliper related. It sounds like it's a loose caliper, but I'll check everything soon to be sure. They found nothing on the MOT, so it can't be serious... but it's not normal so it's going to bug me.
Bowen86 said:
Always like to see this thread on page 1 of RR with updates!
Question on the dashcam, how is it stuck to the screen? Is it a sticky 3m type pad? I am tempted although I wonder if (a big IF) we have a hot summer would it not become unstuck?
Great updates as always. Keep it up.
I did think of that, but I've used actual 3M tape before and it's held up permanently through numerous summers, so if this ever fell I'd resort to that. So far though it's as solid as a rock (I had to use a mini pry bar to remove it from the windscreen when I placed it incorrectly).Question on the dashcam, how is it stuck to the screen? Is it a sticky 3m type pad? I am tempted although I wonder if (a big IF) we have a hot summer would it not become unstuck?
Great updates as always. Keep it up.
TheJimi said:
Gerraint, I can't remember if you mentioned this but have you inspected under the arch liner?
Not sure if I mentioned either actually... it's all fine though, remarkably.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff