2006 Mazda MX-5 NC 2.0 Sport
Discussion
Why didn't I think of that?!
MyHermes came bearing gifts:
The finish on it is great. It's not perfect, with one or two 'dimples' on it, but not enough to notice if you weren't looking for them. The black gel coat is a pretty good match with the black of the car, so I'll be glueing this on as soon as I can.
There are the odd marks like this on the edges, but the advertisement did say 'black gel coat ready for painting' so there's no intention in the ad that this is a finished piece, but the finish is so good that I'm happy to just touch these edges up and fit it to the car.
Need to get some fishing wire to remove the badges, then I'll be fitting it. Hopefully I can get round to it today as I'm ridiculously impatient.
In all, for £62 delivered it's a great piece.
The finish on it is great. It's not perfect, with one or two 'dimples' on it, but not enough to notice if you weren't looking for them. The black gel coat is a pretty good match with the black of the car, so I'll be glueing this on as soon as I can.
There are the odd marks like this on the edges, but the advertisement did say 'black gel coat ready for painting' so there's no intention in the ad that this is a finished piece, but the finish is so good that I'm happy to just touch these edges up and fit it to the car.
Need to get some fishing wire to remove the badges, then I'll be fitting it. Hopefully I can get round to it today as I'm ridiculously impatient.
In all, for £62 delivered it's a great piece.
All fitted.
Fishing wire kept snapping when trying to remove the rear badges, so a guitar string managed it.
The finish is a tad lighter than the black of the car, so a quick 2-stage machine polish made it a little better.
Glued up
The finish of the edges could be better, but unless you look it's not that bad. If you were after a perfect fit and finish, I'd take it to a body shop.
Badges went back on with some number plate double sided tape, cut to shape
After a while it was pretty solid. The tape came off and the finished thing looks fantastic
Then typically, it started to rain. I've wrapped the boot in tarpaulin for the night, should be good by the morning.
I was tempted to leave the badges off but it looked a little plain, plus it looks a little more like it's part of the boot lid with them on.
Next up, fuel cap. Hopefully that'll arrive tomorrow, so I'll fit it in between watching the 24h LeMans.
Fishing wire kept snapping when trying to remove the rear badges, so a guitar string managed it.
The finish is a tad lighter than the black of the car, so a quick 2-stage machine polish made it a little better.
Glued up
The finish of the edges could be better, but unless you look it's not that bad. If you were after a perfect fit and finish, I'd take it to a body shop.
Badges went back on with some number plate double sided tape, cut to shape
After a while it was pretty solid. The tape came off and the finished thing looks fantastic
Then typically, it started to rain. I've wrapped the boot in tarpaulin for the night, should be good by the morning.
I was tempted to leave the badges off but it looked a little plain, plus it looks a little more like it's part of the boot lid with them on.
Next up, fuel cap. Hopefully that'll arrive tomorrow, so I'll fit it in between watching the 24h LeMans.
Looking at your pictures and the colors of the car, I remember something I've seen recently which might or might not give you an idea: to replace the orange indicators bulbs in the rear lights with "white" LEDs which light up orange. You rear lights will then not have orange color anymore when your indicators are turned off.... Just a suggestion 
cedrichn said:
Looking at your pictures and the colors of the car, I remember something I've seen recently which might or might not give you an idea: to replace the orange indicators bulbs in the rear lights with "white" LEDs which light up orange. You rear lights will then not have orange color anymore when your indicators are turned off.... Just a suggestion
The previous owner had these installed, but I removed them as they were so dim on a sunny day they were dangerous. I'm going to put Cree LED ones in soon which would be the best of both worlds; bright and colourless when off.
Not much to update lately, aside from re-painting my tow hooks for no reason other than being a complete tart.
Thinking on it, I should have done them bright yellow.
Next track day is in two weeks time (11th), and there's not much I need to do aside from buy some spare oil - I used the dregs of my remaining oil when fitting the oil temperature sensor.
I'm also going to swap the tyres front to back, and also left to right. Llandow was quite hard on the tyres, and I've heard it from a few people that it's a tyre killer. My fronts are naturally more worn than the rears, and the left is more worn than the right as it's a clockwise circuit. Swapping these front/back and left/right will make for more even wear on the day, but it'll probably be the last for these tyres. They're 'alright', but certainly not good.
Speaking of tyres...
The original plan was to buy some spare 16" MX-5 alloy wheels for around £100 (as the tyres are cheaper than 17's), and then to purchase some 16" Nankang NS-2R semi-slicks to go on them for around £330, making that a total of £430 for track day wheels and tyres. The good point is that it's quite affordable considering semi-slick tyres for my current 17" wheels are £400 alone. The bad point is that the sidewall is bigger and won't handle as good as the 17's, and that the 16" alloys look awful. For someone who's particular about the cars looks, it's hard to ignore.
But then a friend showed me these tyres:
Accelera 651 Sport semi-slick tyres. I've heard good things about them, and for £290 for 17" tyres (compared to Nankang's £400), they have to be worth a try. If you sign up to their mailing list, they're even cheaper at £250. At that price, I may just put them on my 17" road wheels and leave them on for the time being. I was getting spare wheels to save the wear on the semi-slicks, but thinking about it, I'll be driving the car less than 5,000 miles a year. They're not going to be great in the wet, but I don't actively take the car out when it's raining or icy; I have a daily car for that. So after Llandow in two weeks, I'll pick up a set and will have them as my only tyre for the time being.
Now that doesn't mean I won't ever get a spare set of track wheels - it's something I still want to do, but I'd rather keep my current 17's as track wheels and to buy some nice new road wheels. Originally, I was going to refurbish my current road wheels for around £290 and pick up a used set of crappy condition 16's for £100, so about £390 in total for newly refurbished road wheels and spare track wheels. But then I saw these for £399:
If I buy those for road wheels, and keep my current wheels as track wheels, it's pretty much the same price. It's a no brainer, so rather than pay almost £300 to powder coat my alloys and then have to buy more alloys, I'll just buy those and keep mine for the track.
Those hawk eyed viewers may have spotted that they're not Enkei RPF1's, missing the logo on the rim. In fact they're Ultralite F1's, though there's nothing 'Ultralite' about them. Weighing 8.7kg for each wheel, they're about 1kg heavier than the stock Mazda 17" wheel, and 2kg heavier than actual Enkei's. I'm not bothered for two reasons; firstly, they're road wheels so I won't be tracking them to notice the difference in weight. Secondly, they're less than half the price of actual Enkei's (they're over £1,000). For the money (and the looks), they're fantastic value for money. Just a big shame that they don't come in gunmetal grey in the 5x114.3 17" spec.
First up though, semi-slicks after Llandow. The temptation is there to buy them before though...
Thinking on it, I should have done them bright yellow.
Next track day is in two weeks time (11th), and there's not much I need to do aside from buy some spare oil - I used the dregs of my remaining oil when fitting the oil temperature sensor.
I'm also going to swap the tyres front to back, and also left to right. Llandow was quite hard on the tyres, and I've heard it from a few people that it's a tyre killer. My fronts are naturally more worn than the rears, and the left is more worn than the right as it's a clockwise circuit. Swapping these front/back and left/right will make for more even wear on the day, but it'll probably be the last for these tyres. They're 'alright', but certainly not good.
Speaking of tyres...
The original plan was to buy some spare 16" MX-5 alloy wheels for around £100 (as the tyres are cheaper than 17's), and then to purchase some 16" Nankang NS-2R semi-slicks to go on them for around £330, making that a total of £430 for track day wheels and tyres. The good point is that it's quite affordable considering semi-slick tyres for my current 17" wheels are £400 alone. The bad point is that the sidewall is bigger and won't handle as good as the 17's, and that the 16" alloys look awful. For someone who's particular about the cars looks, it's hard to ignore.
But then a friend showed me these tyres:
Accelera 651 Sport semi-slick tyres. I've heard good things about them, and for £290 for 17" tyres (compared to Nankang's £400), they have to be worth a try. If you sign up to their mailing list, they're even cheaper at £250. At that price, I may just put them on my 17" road wheels and leave them on for the time being. I was getting spare wheels to save the wear on the semi-slicks, but thinking about it, I'll be driving the car less than 5,000 miles a year. They're not going to be great in the wet, but I don't actively take the car out when it's raining or icy; I have a daily car for that. So after Llandow in two weeks, I'll pick up a set and will have them as my only tyre for the time being.
Now that doesn't mean I won't ever get a spare set of track wheels - it's something I still want to do, but I'd rather keep my current 17's as track wheels and to buy some nice new road wheels. Originally, I was going to refurbish my current road wheels for around £290 and pick up a used set of crappy condition 16's for £100, so about £390 in total for newly refurbished road wheels and spare track wheels. But then I saw these for £399:
If I buy those for road wheels, and keep my current wheels as track wheels, it's pretty much the same price. It's a no brainer, so rather than pay almost £300 to powder coat my alloys and then have to buy more alloys, I'll just buy those and keep mine for the track.
Those hawk eyed viewers may have spotted that they're not Enkei RPF1's, missing the logo on the rim. In fact they're Ultralite F1's, though there's nothing 'Ultralite' about them. Weighing 8.7kg for each wheel, they're about 1kg heavier than the stock Mazda 17" wheel, and 2kg heavier than actual Enkei's. I'm not bothered for two reasons; firstly, they're road wheels so I won't be tracking them to notice the difference in weight. Secondly, they're less than half the price of actual Enkei's (they're over £1,000). For the money (and the looks), they're fantastic value for money. Just a big shame that they don't come in gunmetal grey in the 5x114.3 17" spec.
First up though, semi-slicks after Llandow. The temptation is there to buy them before though...
I have road tyres (PS4s) and track tyres (AR-1s). If I had to pick one I'd go to the track with PS4s. Because quite a few of my track days it has rained and I wouldn't want semi slick in the rain. Fortunately the extra set do fit inside the Integra so don't have to trailer / second vehicle.
What he said.
Dont get track tyres or Semi Slicks for a handful of track days a year. Use your original wheels or some nice aftermarket ones by all means. And just get some top quality road tyres.
Nankanmg NSR2s, for instance, are bloody awful. Yes, when your on it on a hot trackday you will be faster. But they are noisy, heavy, uncomfortable and s
te in the wet. I am more than certain that 'acceleras' will be too. Same for R888s. etc etc.
Dont over think it. Get some nice road tyres. Dont ruin the car.
Dont get track tyres or Semi Slicks for a handful of track days a year. Use your original wheels or some nice aftermarket ones by all means. And just get some top quality road tyres.
Nankanmg NSR2s, for instance, are bloody awful. Yes, when your on it on a hot trackday you will be faster. But they are noisy, heavy, uncomfortable and s
te in the wet. I am more than certain that 'acceleras' will be too. Same for R888s. etc etc.Dont over think it. Get some nice road tyres. Dont ruin the car.
That's some interesting angles. I was under the impression that semi-slicks would cope (and last) longer with the abuse, whereas road tyres would wear out quicker. On top of that, Michelin PS4's are twice as expensive as the . Granted the PS4's are twice as good all year round, but I'd be worried about wearing them out quickly, especially for that money? I'll be looking to do around 6-7 track days a year.
I just put some semi-decent road tyres on for now (Falken, Khumo, etc), wait until I buy those new alloys, and then buy the semi-slicks for my track wheels. That may be a better option.
Bit of a shame, was looking forward to trying them out this month.
I just put some semi-decent road tyres on for now (Falken, Khumo, etc), wait until I buy those new alloys, and then buy the semi-slicks for my track wheels. That may be a better option.
Bit of a shame, was looking forward to trying them out this month.
Others may disagree but I've been there done that, with the same car.
Put Semi Slicks on and yes, your ultimate lap time will be quicker. The car will be less fun to drive. Awful on the road (or on the way to your trackday!) and useless in the wet. I mean, useless.
Nankangs in particular, awful. They are very, very heavy too.
Current car (Mazda Replacement) has AD07s on and is getting a more road focused tyre on as soon as they are spent.
I did about 6000 miles and 4 trackdays on a set of Kumho PS71 (a highly regarded tyre for the NC). They can do 20 minutes sessions on track without melting. They are good in the rain. They are quiet. Ditto PS4s, Goodyear Eagles, etc.
When they wore out, I just bought some more. £75 a corner fitted. Even PS4's are £100 a corner.
XSP_1427 by Javelin Trackdays, on Flickr
(Oh and, only buy aftermarket wheels if they are lighter than OEM, those traklites were 7.5inch wide and 6.7kg).
Put Semi Slicks on and yes, your ultimate lap time will be quicker. The car will be less fun to drive. Awful on the road (or on the way to your trackday!) and useless in the wet. I mean, useless.
Nankangs in particular, awful. They are very, very heavy too.
Current car (Mazda Replacement) has AD07s on and is getting a more road focused tyre on as soon as they are spent.
I did about 6000 miles and 4 trackdays on a set of Kumho PS71 (a highly regarded tyre for the NC). They can do 20 minutes sessions on track without melting. They are good in the rain. They are quiet. Ditto PS4s, Goodyear Eagles, etc.
When they wore out, I just bought some more. £75 a corner fitted. Even PS4's are £100 a corner.
XSP_1427 by Javelin Trackdays, on Flickr(Oh and, only buy aftermarket wheels if they are lighter than OEM, those traklites were 7.5inch wide and 6.7kg).
Hold on, 4 track days and 6,000 miles out of a single set of Kumho road tyres? You're kidding?
If that's the case, I'll certainly hold off on the semi's and will just replace mine with road tyres. When you put it like that, it makes no sense. I thought I'd get 2-3 track days until they're spent, without considering road miles. What you're getting out of them seems to be fantastic.
If that's the case, I'll certainly hold off on the semi's and will just replace mine with road tyres. When you put it like that, it makes no sense. I thought I'd get 2-3 track days until they're spent, without considering road miles. What you're getting out of them seems to be fantastic.
snotrag said:
Nankangs in particular, awful. They are very, very heavy too.
I was pondering this when I first purchased the Nankangs, they did feel heavy once mounted on a set of OE 16" wheels. I had a set of AD08Rs mounted on the same style of wheel so I took some tread depth readings and weights...NS2R, 6.8mm, 16.8kg
AD08R, 6mm, 16.4kg
AD08R, 4.4mm, 15.7kg
I was surprised that they were so close to the Yokohamas.
Better tires and faster on the track doesn't (always) mean "more fun" or "better driver".
One of my friend do few track days per year on st tires, and he is having a lot of fun! He is doing that since few years. On mine, I still have no-name rear tires from PO, and they are really progressive: so despite not being fast, I do find the car really fun and predictable 
And they don't want to die, so it is cheap fun 
It really depends what you are looking for... For me, the most important is not to be caught under heavy rain during a weekend, with my girlfriend in the passenger seat, and having an unstable car... Hence no cooling on the brakes and good tires for the wet. So I now have the Kumho on the front as mentionned above.
There is more important to do than tires in my opinion: rust proofing (preventive) and RX8 ARB. Then, new exhaust manifold and remap. Then, you will see
One of my friend do few track days per year on s
t tires, and he is having a lot of fun! He is doing that since few years. On mine, I still have no-name rear tires from PO, and they are really progressive: so despite not being fast, I do find the car really fun and predictable And they don't want to die, so it is cheap fun It really depends what you are looking for... For me, the most important is not to be caught under heavy rain during a weekend, with my girlfriend in the passenger seat, and having an unstable car... Hence no cooling on the brakes and good tires for the wet. So I now have the Kumho on the front as mentionned above.
There is more important to do than tires in my opinion: rust proofing (preventive) and RX8 ARB. Then, new exhaust manifold and remap. Then, you will see
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