mk 3.5 questions

[Ecosseven]

Morning all,

Thinking about a mk 3.5 sport tech for my next daily driver and have a few questions. I am willing to spend up to 12.5K but would definitely want the 6 speed box, bilstein dampers, leather interior etc for this money. Insurance is very reasonable at my age (36).

1. Are there any reliability concerns with the mk 3.5?
2. Is the retractable hard top worth the extra money? This will be my daily driver.
3. Can the hardtop be operated on the move?
4. Does the engine rev freely all the way to the 7500rm red line? One of the reasons for changing my current daily driver is that Im bored with the turbo diesel mid range and want something sporty again that revs freely.
5. The car doesnt have a space saver space wheel. What do people use instead? Tyre weld? AA membership?!
6. What are the service intervals?
7. Do all sport techs come with heated seats?
8. Do the engines use any oil?
9. Am I correct in thinking that all 2.0 litre engines use a cam chain and not a belt?

Thanks in advance.

[Craikeybaby]

Ecosseven said:

Morning all,

Thinking about a mk 3.5 sport tech for my next daily driver and have a few questions. I am willing to spend up to 12.5K but would definitely want the 6 speed box, bilstein dampers, leather interior etc for this money. Insurance is very reasonable at my age (36).

1. Are there any reliability concerns with the mk 3.5?
2. Is the retractable hard top worth the extra money? This will be my daily driver.
3. Can the hardtop be operated on the move?
4. Does the engine rev freely all the way to the 7500rm red line? One of the reasons for changing my current daily driver is that Im bored with the turbo diesel mid range and want something sporty again that revs freely.
5. The car doesnt have a space saver space wheel. What do people use instead? Tyre weld? AA membership?!
6. What are the service intervals?
7. Do all sport techs come with heated seats?
8. Do the engines use any oil?
9. Am I correct in thinking that all 2.0 litre engines use a cam chain and not a belt?

Thanks in advance.

I can answer a few of the questions as I run a mk3.5, but it's the 1.8 version.

1 - Not that I've heard of, mine has been fine.
2 - I'm not really a fan of the hard top ones, I've driven one and its *slightly* quieter than a soft top one with the roof up, but its only up when its raining and the Mrs is in the car. IMHO the mohair roof looks better, is lighter and if you do get caught in that rain shower, a lot quicker to raise, about 13s vs 2s, from being caught out in a Boxster which also takes about 13s to raise the roof, when it is chucking down, those 13s feel like a lot longer.
3 - From what I remember when I test drove one, no it can't (the soft top can though)
4 - The 1.8 does.
5 - They come with a tyre inflater thing and some tyreweld like stuff to pump in, I've not had to use it though.
6 - 12,000 miles.
7 - Pass.
8 - Mines only done 5,000 and I needed to top it up after 1,000 but haven't since.
9 - Pass.

[HK Phooey]

Ecosseven said:

Morning all,

Thinking about a mk 3.5 sport tech for my next daily driver and have a few questions. I am willing to spend up to 12.5K but would definitely want the 6 speed box, bilstein dampers, leather interior etc for this money. Insurance is very reasonable at my age (36).

1. Are there any reliability concerns with the mk 3.5?
2. Is the retractable hard top worth the extra money? This will be my daily driver.
3. Can the hardtop be operated on the move?
4. Does the engine rev freely all the way to the 7500rm red line? One of the reasons for changing my current daily driver is that Im bored with the turbo diesel mid range and want something sporty again that revs freely.
5. The car doesnt have a space saver space wheel. What do people use instead? Tyre weld? AA membership?!
6. What are the service intervals?
7. Do all sport techs come with heated seats?
8. Do the engines use any oil?
9. Am I correct in thinking that all 2.0 litre engines use a cam chain and not a belt?

Thanks in advance.

Afternoon,

I've got a 59 plate, 2.0 Sport Tech (6 speed box, bilstein dampers, leather interior etc).

1. Mine's done 30,000 miles and has never missed a beat.
2. I've got the soft top (my preference) and is perfectly fine for everyday use and rarely lives in the garage as the Wife's usually home first.
3. The soft top can!
4. Yes, it'll happily rev to the limit and the limiter is soft.
5. Gunk and a pump, got the car off the motorway and home.
6. 12,500 miles
7. Mine came as standard.
8. In 30,000 miles it's used about a litre - mainly in the first 12,000.
9. Correct - it uses a chain.

I hope that helps.

[Robstar111r]

Well I think all your question have been covered above. I would add I have a soft top as a daily driver and it's fine, so unless your prefer the look of the hard top, (I think the soft top looks best) it makes no differance. I've made some changes to mine, uprated Eibach springs. Handling improved and looks better. Milltek exhaust system and K&N fillter. Revs more freely and sounds better. It's a great fun car that you can be comfortable in and live with everyday in almost all weather, except deep snow, but then to be fair it is a rear wheel drive roadster. It beats my mate BMW in snow!
My advice.... buy one.

Rob

[hornetrider]

1. Are there any reliability concerns with the mk 3.5? - Nope
2. Is the retractable hard top worth the extra money? This will be my daily driver. - Personal preference, I love mine. Is more secure, looks good up, if you notice the minimal weight penalty then good luck to you
3. Can the hardtop be operated on the move? - Not without an aftermarket Smart-top
4. Does the engine rev freely all the way to the 7500rm red line? One of the reasons for changing my current daily driver is that Im bored with the turbo diesel mid range and want something sporty again that revs freely. - Only comes alive over 4.5k - so yes!
5. The car doesnt have a space saver space wheel. What do people use instead? Tyre weld? AA membership?! - Weld but it will kill the tyre, so I've been meaning to get a repair kit
6. What are the service intervals? - 12.5k/12 months
7. Do all sport techs come with heated seats? - Yep
8. Do the engines use any oil? - Mine hasn't - currently on 19k
9. Am I correct in thinking that all 2.0 litre engines use a cam chain and not a belt? - Chain I think - yes

Thanks in advance. - No problem

[Raffles]

All your queries have been answered but I'll just say that I got my 2010 Sport Tech new over two years ago now and have done 30,000 miles in it so far. It has never missed a beat, utterly reliable. I drive it like I stole it constantly and it still feels like new. It's not actually that bad at all in the snow, especially with the winter tyres on. I went for the soft top because I felt it was true to the MX-5's origins as I had an early Mk1 before it.

Good luck and let us know if you find one.

[DC5TEG]

As said, most been covered.

I have an 09, 2litre Sport tech, however the MK3 soft top. Personally think it looks better too with the black hood, and its up and down extremely quickly!
Engine and gearbox are a peach. I am generally used to a lot more powerful cars, but the MX5 has been a hoot to own so far. Mine has 20k on the clock, i have covered about 4k in it and it has used no oil!!!
However mine is not a daily driver.

Incidently i will be selling mine very soon, and i am looking to get rid of quick, so looking for not much more than a trade in price.

[Ecosseven]

Thanks for all the replies. The MX-5 appeals on so many levels. It's cheap(ish), fun, handles well, reliable, and looks good.

I now face a difficult decision.

My current fleet includes a mondeo and a Caterham. I love both for different reasons. Having two 2 seat cars doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Mondeo is a great all rounder and its practicality is very useful. The Caterham is cheap to run, great fun and doesn’t depcreciate but has seen very limited use in the last few years – its impractical and can be uncomfortable.

So the question is do I sell the Caterham and buy a MX-5?

Do I sell both and go down to one car? (this actually might make the most sense in that I’ll use the MX-5 everyday and won’t have the expense of running two cars)

Do I sell the Mondeo and buy the MX-5?

[edwheels]

Warning IMHO alert

However, if it's to be your daily driver, I would get one with aircon (std. on hard top).... as you must know with the 7, there are times when even if it is hot, you don't enjoy having the top down - motorway, traffic jams, dodgy areas, fierce midday sun.... Soft tops without aircon get incredibly hot top up!

[Riff Raff]

Ecosseven said:

Thanks for all the replies. The MX-5 appeals on so many levels. It's cheap(ish), fun, handles well, reliable, and looks good.

I now face a difficult decision.

My current fleet includes a mondeo and a Caterham. I love both for different reasons. Having two 2 seat cars doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Mondeo is a great all rounder and its practicality is very useful. The Caterham is cheap to run, great fun and doesn’t depcreciate but has seen very limited use in the last few years – its impractical and can be uncomfortable.

So the question is do I sell the Caterham and buy a MX-5?

Do I sell both and go down to one car? (this actually might make the most sense in that I’ll use the MX-5 everyday and won’t have the expense of running two cars)

Do I sell the Mondeo and buy the MX-5?

Only you can answer that. The MX5 isn't as much fun as the Caterham, but it does have a hood that works, has wind up windows, switchgear from the 21st century and a boot that is waterproof!

As an only car, especially having had a saloon, you need to be aware that the boot is on the small side, and interior cabin storage space is pretty non-existent. Bit like a Caterham. I can just about fit a weeks shopping in mine.

[Ecosseven]

I went to the Mazda dealer on Saturday to have a good look. What a great car!

Fits me perfectly, the driving position is absolutely spot on. Build quality looked really good, I love the simply instrumentation, and the boot is actually a decent size. Add in 35mpg (approx), a compact and good looking body shape, brilliant handling, cheap insurance and servicing, an excellent reputation for reliability, and enough performance and you have a winner. No wonder the MX-5 has proved so popular.

I’ll probably go for the soft top over the coupe but definitely want the sport tech for the 6 speed box, heated leather seats, Bose stereo, strut brace, and bilstein dampers.

I want to save a little more before taking the plunge but at the moment I can’t see any reason why I won’t be getting one.

edited to add....

1. Will the sport tech run on normal unleaded or does it require super unleaded?
2. Do the mirrors fold and is the width quoted in the mazda brochure with or without the mirrors?

Edited by Ecosseven on Monday 26th March 08:44

[hornetrider]

1. Either although it loves VPower. I'm convinced it's smoother and more eager on it.
2. No idea, never tried! I never park it next to anything else!

Edited by hornetrider on Monday 26th March 11:03

[Raffles]

I run mine on 95 with the odd tank of 97. There is a sticker on the fuel cap saying Premium is recommended and 95 RON is the minimum.

The mirrors do fold in properly, I had to do it yesterday when I was forced to park next to an old rusty Lupo in the local multi-story. *shudder*

[MX-5 Lazza]

95 RON is Premium. Higher is Super.
Mk1/2/2.5 there is no point running Super unless it's modified. Mk3+ might well be able to adapt to higher octane fuel, no idea.

[Robstar111r]

Only ever run mine on 95ron and it's fine. I have used 98ron and yes it does feel quicker, but maybe that's just in my head, plus I was at the "Ring" at the time.

[HK Phooey]

Evening,

I've only ever run mine on 95 Ron (regular) unleaded, usually the cheapest I can find! I've also used the E10 stuff in Europe and it ran perfectly well on that too.

The door mirrors fold nicely within the overall foot print of the car. unlike some cars I've seen.

[rich_y2]

I'm relatively new to MX-5 ownership having bought a Sport Black version late last year, I liked the green/black combination for the body and folding hard top. But basically it's a 2.0 Sport Tech.

I'd agree with pretty much all the above comments although reliability wise I'm too new to comment but all seems good so far however I would say I'm not as blown away by the handling as I was expecting based on the many reviews and short test drive. It's on the Bilsteins but they seem way under damped for my taste and I find on the British pot-holed roads the car can easily be unsettled when pressing on through the corners and as you go across any bumps, it's also quite softly sprung so you have to get used to it using the bump stops as part of the suspension, I presume Mazda designed it that way on purpose?

I bought new but have a slight twinge of regret that I didn't go second hand because I'm now in the process of buying some better dampers for it to try and cure the weak Bilsteins, reading the main Miata forums it seems a common entry in the States, given you run a Caterham already then I suspect you may feel the same about the suspension although it may depend on driving styles etc and how much you want to press on. I had assumed I would just be putting it on the common Eibach spring approach to lower things slightly and stiffen it up but I don't think that would do it for me, it wouldn't cure the under damped feeling I get when pressing on. 90% of the time though it's great and even the slight iffyness on handling for me went away during this weeks decent weather, top down and revving it to 7.5k it is very enjoyable to sit back in the great driving position and cruise along. the heated seats and great heating system in general also mean some nice winter top down moments on the odd blue sky day in January are possible, with a hat etc, very nice.

The good news is there are plenty of tweaks you can do at decent money so I don't suggest it should put you off because buy one and see how it suits your taste and you can look to tweak after if needed.

Edited by rich_y2 on Friday 30th March 22:50

[hornetrider]

rich_y2 said:

I'm relatively new to MX-5 ownership having bought a Sport Black version late last year, I liked the green/black combination for the body and folding hard top. But basically it's a 2.0 Sport Tech.

I'd agree with pretty much all the above comments although reliability wise I'm too new to comment but all seems good so far however I would say I'm not as blown away by the handling as I was expecting based on the many reviews and short test drive. It's on the Bilsteins but they seem way under damped for my taste and I find on the British pot-holed roads the car can easily be unsettled when pressing on through the corners and you go across the bumps, it's also quite softly sprung so you have to get used to it using the bump stops as part of the suspension, I presume Mazda designed it that way on purpose.

I bought new but have a slight twinge of regret that I didn't go second hand because I'm now in the process of buying some better dampers for it to try and cure the weak Bilsteins, reading the main Miata forums it seems a common entry in the States, given you run a Caterham already then I suspect you may feel the same about the suspension although it may depend on driving styles etc and how much you want to press on. I had assumed I would just be putting it on the common Eibach spring approach to lower things slightly and stiffen it up but I don't think that would do it for me, it wouldn't cure the under damped feeling I get when pressing on. 90% of the time though it's great and even the slight iffyness on handling for me went away during this weeks decent weather, top down and revving it to 7.5k it is very enjoyable to sit back in the great driving position and cruise along. the heated seats and great heating system in general also mean some nice winter top down moments on the odd blue sky day in January are possible, with a hat etc, very nice.

The good news is there are plenty of tweaks you can do at decent money so I don't suggest it should put you off because buy one and see how it suits your taste and you can look to tweak after if needed.

I agree with you completely regarding the lack of damping. I had my Sport Tech fitted with the Eibachs from new followed by a full alignment at WIM. It is a little stiffer than standard and it looks much better that bit lower. I find the backend far too bouncy on B-roads - it seems to blow through the travel quickly and also there is a lack of rebound. Do you have a shortlist of shocks which you are considering?

[rich_y2]

hornetrider said:

I agree with you completely regarding the lack of damping. I had my Sport Tech fitted with the Eibachs from new followed by a full alignment at WIM. It is a little stiffer than standard and it looks much better that bit lower. I find the backend far too bouncy on B-roads - it seems to blow through the travel quickly and also there is a lack of rebound. Do you have a shortlist of shocks which you are considering?

Mainly based on US reviews (which might not be perfect given the difference in road type and quality) I'm looking at Tokico HTS's or Koni Sports. Both are just a replacement shock but are adjustable, the HTS's adjusting compression and rebound at the same time and the Koni's rebound only (which as you point out I think is the main issue I have with the standard setup). Looks like the Koni's are the same as used in a Mazda (or Mazdaspeed?) setup which included Progress springs, different anti-roll bars (something like the Eibach kit) and a centre cross brace. No doubt a coil over package is the better answer but I'm trying to control the costs and I want to maintain at least a semi-decent compromise for standard driving.

Seems the Koni's have a .5" lowering effect versus the standard shocks or the HTS's, so combined with lowering springs I see references to replacing the bump stops as well. I'm not too bothered about going lower so I'm leaning towards the HTS's (although looking for a UK supplier at the moment) with these Progress springs and try it at that (before a roll bar upgrade, it does lean more than I like currently but I'm wondering if just a stiffer damper and spring setup will be sufficient for what I want to do, I'm not looking for ultimate lap times or spending more than I have to!). I've ordered a Beatrush cross brace already, which replaces the sheet metal standard version under the car apparently, seemed a quick win I thought plus it looks pretty lol!

Edited by rich_y2 on Friday 30th March 22:48

[Raffles]

rich_y2 said:

I've ordered a Beatrush cross brace already, which replaces the sheet metal standard version under the car apparently, seemed a quick win I thought plus it looks pretty lol!

Where did you order this from? eBay?