Mazda Mx5 2.0 Sport
Discussion
So, 2020 hasn’t been great has it? To cheer myself up, the wife and I planned a European road trip – so I saved some money with a plan to go out and buy something nice.
The brief was simple, 5k budget for a sports car. It needed to have a removable roof, air con, room for a few bags. It had to be able to do a few miles without being either spine ruiningly uncomfortable or likely to end up in flames on the side of a French N road. Initially I had my sights set on a Porsche Boxster, but after driving a few – none really excited me. Yes, they were fairly quick and yes they drove nicely – but they didn’t feel particularly special. Probably had a lot to do with the age and condition, but apart from the badge – they just didn’t do it for me. Then there was the Porsche tax on parts- which was a killer. Each one I drove had significant issues- either it leaked old like a greasy waterfall, or collected more water than a swimming pool. Things got no better when I went looking at SLK's- they were all ropey, super ropey.
Giving up hope, my wife suggested I went to have a look at an Mx5. I’d had a 1.8 mk2 that I enjoyed and only sold to pay removal company fees – so it seemed a sensible shout. I went to had a drive in 1.8 Mk3 MX5- it was just simple fun and had moved on a fair bit from the Mk2. On a whim I posted a message on an MX5 group on Facebook, a chap got back to me with some photos of a low mile (29k!) 2.0 Sport (LSD, leather, AC etc). Fully expecting a complete wild goose chase- I took a drive down to Folkstone. Turned out it was an ex-mx5 club member's car- so had been nicely taken care of, had a fat file of history and crucially – had been undersealed and kept indoors (rust is always a killer). The money was strong, but the car didn’t disappoint. Calling it a minter doesn’t do it justice. A long test drive later – money changed hands.
I drove home a very happy chap, cue a self indulgent post purchase photo at the nearest service station.
First impressions were that while it drove the 200 mile trip home nicely, it had a bit of a wobble around 70mph and seems to be chewing chunks of it's passenger side front tyre (Pilot Spot 3's... which had the potential to become expensive! ) .It had an odd intermittent brake warning light – but it seemed to go off fair quickly and there was clearly nothing serious amiss. Overall though, I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d made the right decision, but I was pretty pleased. So, I got it home, took a few photos...
...and tucked it up for the night .
In late summer the news came that COVID-19 had put pay to the European road trip, so an impromptu trip around Scotland and the highlands was booked. The car performed flawlessly taking almost 2500 (mostly topless) miles in it's stride– it didn’t miss a beat! It being a Scottish summer, it was wet – the top stayed water tight, the backs of the seats remained dry- but we did get wet toes. A quick Google showed that to likely be scuttle grommets – which were ordered for my return. Also a small pot of brake fluid sorted the brake light issue- appears the fluid was low causing the warning light- but thankfully not leaking. But otherwise, it was loads of fun and perfectly practical for a two week trip. While it wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable place to spend 11hours on the way home, despite the 70mph wobble we couldn’t fault it.
Here's a moody / tarty vanity shot at Glen Nevis.
On arriving home, my new scuttle grommets had arrived (great work MX5 Parts!). Had them fitted in no time- really simple process involving removing the wipers and the scuttle panel. A complete bonus was the super clean state of the bodywork underneath.
With a trip to the Peak District planned I resolved to solve the 70mph wobble issue. I had all the wheels balanced and the alignment done. The balance didn’t throw up any major issues, but the alignment showed an alarming 20 seconds out on the passenger front and a few seconds out on the passenger rear – totally explaining the chewed tyre issue, the slightly twitchy handling and the inability to make the car flow through bends – although that could be more driver error than machine! Just to make certain I changed the door bushes for some cheapy solid PETG bushes (all of £15 from eBay) on the basis that if they made difference, I’d invest in the expensive Delrin upgrade items later in time.
I'm happy to say, despite not looking standard – great success. No wobble and a much stiffer car. The trade off is that the door is harder to open and close- requires a good old shove- but it's trade off I’m happy to make for additional stiffness and less rattles.
So that brings us right up to date. I'm currently sitting here on holiday in the Peak District with a beer after a day at Snake Pass – very happy with the car. However, the driver may be the limiting factor now. So for the winter a little bit of smart touch up work, a machine polish and investment in some driver tuition will be the major targets!
The brief was simple, 5k budget for a sports car. It needed to have a removable roof, air con, room for a few bags. It had to be able to do a few miles without being either spine ruiningly uncomfortable or likely to end up in flames on the side of a French N road. Initially I had my sights set on a Porsche Boxster, but after driving a few – none really excited me. Yes, they were fairly quick and yes they drove nicely – but they didn’t feel particularly special. Probably had a lot to do with the age and condition, but apart from the badge – they just didn’t do it for me. Then there was the Porsche tax on parts- which was a killer. Each one I drove had significant issues- either it leaked old like a greasy waterfall, or collected more water than a swimming pool. Things got no better when I went looking at SLK's- they were all ropey, super ropey.
Giving up hope, my wife suggested I went to have a look at an Mx5. I’d had a 1.8 mk2 that I enjoyed and only sold to pay removal company fees – so it seemed a sensible shout. I went to had a drive in 1.8 Mk3 MX5- it was just simple fun and had moved on a fair bit from the Mk2. On a whim I posted a message on an MX5 group on Facebook, a chap got back to me with some photos of a low mile (29k!) 2.0 Sport (LSD, leather, AC etc). Fully expecting a complete wild goose chase- I took a drive down to Folkstone. Turned out it was an ex-mx5 club member's car- so had been nicely taken care of, had a fat file of history and crucially – had been undersealed and kept indoors (rust is always a killer). The money was strong, but the car didn’t disappoint. Calling it a minter doesn’t do it justice. A long test drive later – money changed hands.
I drove home a very happy chap, cue a self indulgent post purchase photo at the nearest service station.
First impressions were that while it drove the 200 mile trip home nicely, it had a bit of a wobble around 70mph and seems to be chewing chunks of it's passenger side front tyre (Pilot Spot 3's... which had the potential to become expensive! ) .It had an odd intermittent brake warning light – but it seemed to go off fair quickly and there was clearly nothing serious amiss. Overall though, I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d made the right decision, but I was pretty pleased. So, I got it home, took a few photos...
...and tucked it up for the night .
In late summer the news came that COVID-19 had put pay to the European road trip, so an impromptu trip around Scotland and the highlands was booked. The car performed flawlessly taking almost 2500 (mostly topless) miles in it's stride– it didn’t miss a beat! It being a Scottish summer, it was wet – the top stayed water tight, the backs of the seats remained dry- but we did get wet toes. A quick Google showed that to likely be scuttle grommets – which were ordered for my return. Also a small pot of brake fluid sorted the brake light issue- appears the fluid was low causing the warning light- but thankfully not leaking. But otherwise, it was loads of fun and perfectly practical for a two week trip. While it wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable place to spend 11hours on the way home, despite the 70mph wobble we couldn’t fault it.
Here's a moody / tarty vanity shot at Glen Nevis.
On arriving home, my new scuttle grommets had arrived (great work MX5 Parts!). Had them fitted in no time- really simple process involving removing the wipers and the scuttle panel. A complete bonus was the super clean state of the bodywork underneath.
With a trip to the Peak District planned I resolved to solve the 70mph wobble issue. I had all the wheels balanced and the alignment done. The balance didn’t throw up any major issues, but the alignment showed an alarming 20 seconds out on the passenger front and a few seconds out on the passenger rear – totally explaining the chewed tyre issue, the slightly twitchy handling and the inability to make the car flow through bends – although that could be more driver error than machine! Just to make certain I changed the door bushes for some cheapy solid PETG bushes (all of £15 from eBay) on the basis that if they made difference, I’d invest in the expensive Delrin upgrade items later in time.
I'm happy to say, despite not looking standard – great success. No wobble and a much stiffer car. The trade off is that the door is harder to open and close- requires a good old shove- but it's trade off I’m happy to make for additional stiffness and less rattles.
So that brings us right up to date. I'm currently sitting here on holiday in the Peak District with a beer after a day at Snake Pass – very happy with the car. However, the driver may be the limiting factor now. So for the winter a little bit of smart touch up work, a machine polish and investment in some driver tuition will be the major targets!
Edited by munk on Tuesday 6th October 20:04
Edited by munk on Tuesday 6th October 20:10
Edited by munk on Tuesday 6th October 20:12
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