Mazda MX5 (mk3) - talk to me!

Coco

Coco

Coco

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My brother is looking at replacing his Suzuki Swift Sport with something as a friendly introduction to the world of sportcars. He's looking at throwing in £10k tops & would probably only be keeping it for 12 months.
Having had a good poke around Aeros mk1 & also Howards, Saitrix & Matthew.M at the Rolling Road the MX5 looks to be spot on & throwing in ten large lands him plump in the mk3 lineup.

I'm aware of the disappointing write-up the UK-spec mk3 received but from reading about Houseys recent addition to his stable (very nice!) am I write in thinking a geo tweak can help matters enormously? Or are we talking a change of spring rates or tyres?
Any recommendations as to what options we should be looking for? I can see theres a choice of 1800cc & 2000cc engines, do these mate upto 5 & 6 speed gearbox? Is there no LSD in the UK?

As always many thanks for your time chaps!
 
I've got a MK3 2.0 Sport.

So far, I've had it lowered and a "fast road" geometry setup applied.
I love it, the chassis is spot on and with the proper geometry, the handling is spot on. Just a hint of lift off, power on oversteer, perfectly catchable, grin inspiring! Perfectly catchable drifts out of 2nd gear hairpins.

I had a little fun with my MX-5, at the "Stowe Circuit", Silverstone. Was a Lotus On Track day with a load of Elises, Exiges, etc. Little MX-5 loved it, didn't let me down at all, had an absolute hoot.
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Best bit of the day? The bemused look from an Elise owner when I told him it had no engine work. Awesome.

I've had my mx5 since March, and loved driving it.
It's not as communicative as my VX220, it's not as powerful as my Golf Edition 30 or s2000, but it's a lot of fun. Very rewarding to drive.
 
Coco said:
I can see theres a choice of 1800cc & 2000cc engines, do these mate upto 5 & 6 speed gearbox? Is there no LSD in the UK?

As always many thanks for your time chaps!
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I wouldn't bother with the 1.8, I felt it a little underpowered compared to the 2.0.

The LSD was standard on the 2.0.

The 6speed box was standard on the 2.0 Sport.

Cloth hoods are standard on 2.0 cars and an option on 1.8 cars.
 
I think the issue with the Mk3, from what I have read at least, is down to factory ride height and geo settings effected by the ride height. I have read Mazda had to increase it to get around the pedestrian crash legislation and because of this it corrupted the handling. A trip to one of the well know suspension specialists can soon sort this however so I don't think you should be put off the car by the old reviews, my view is its overplayed and quite easily addressed, again based on what I have read. The 3.5 puts most of the issue to rest and doesn't suffer in the same way but I feel it would still benefit from a tweak, which I plan soon.

As has been said 2L comes with LSD and is worth the extra in my view as it's far from powerful and I think a 1.8 would be too slow. But like the Boxster and Boxster S, it's all relative, but I wouldn't consider the 1.8 in the modern car. Cracking car though, I took ours for a 50 mile blat yesterday across country and though it was great fun, even with the current 5000rpm limit applied, it can still cary speed well.
 
Coco.. Sorry to derail the thread slightly but is there any news on your car mate? Is it destined never to turn it's tiny engine over again? *weeps* ;)
 
MrLOL said:
sorry to go OT... but which is the one who was a member of UOcUK back in the CS days ? :D
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Me, and then OcUK and then GSV too :p
Installed Steam on my OSX laptop with the hope that CS or CS:S will be ported over :D (No longer run a Windows machine).
 
Had my 2.0 5-spd Mk.3 for four years now and it still makes me grin. Had the lowering springs fitted soon after I got it, then Mazdaspeed front suspension tower bar (no tower bar at all on non-Sport versions), improved geometry (factory settings are all over the place) and Eibach anti-roll bars.
 
The missus has a Mk3 2.0 sport, like has been said the stock ride hight is a joke, so get it lowered 30mm and laser aligned and it transforms the car. Make sure you get a 2.0 with 6 speed manual cos not all the 2.0's got the 6 speed for some reason, also make sure its got the LSD but i think if its a 2.0 6 speed it should do? There also rather sensitive to tyre choice in our experience, we're currently running toyo TR1's and they soft sidewall seems to really suit the car.
 
I have just contacted Centre mavity to get my wife's MK3.5 in for a full geo alignment. I wanted to get a few miles on it first, so it had some time to settle but now it makes sense to get it checked.
 
First of all many thanks for all the replies in this thread, very very helpful, a virtual pat-on-the-back to all!

Looks like the 2.0 sport is the beauty to go for with the 6 speed box & LSD.
I assume air-con isn't required from the resale perspective?
Any other options recommended to look out for?

CocoPops - Perfect answer regarding the MX5 at play, sounds ideal for him to develop his skills.
Housey - I'll get him to book it in for a tweak straight away then, good news that its a simple 'fix'.
RobPot - Four years! Good for you mate! Any ideas how much yours differs to the 2.0 LSD which has the geo tweak?
sovietspybob - I'm a fan of the Toyo T1R as a playful 'everyday' tyre, watch us find the perfect example with YingYangs on it!


On other news!
bledd. - Me & CocoPops often get confused, but he is indeed the original! And I have to say his car-history also out shines my own, he has piloted some very nice motors.
MrLOL - To add a slight further confusion, I was a member of *spits!* Overclocking Store Counter Strike team (OCS-CS) back in those days, mmm UMP :)
Howard - She's still dead :eek: I was too busy/lazy/drunk over the weekend! I'll hopefully have it sorted in the next week.

Once again many thanks for the advice chaps. :cool:
 
Yeah i don't think you'd be able to find a 2.0 sport without AC tbf. I'm pretty sure all the 2.0's have climate anyhow.

On options to look for, i really really love the heated leather seats in ours, makes those top down blasts in the winter just that bit nicer.
 
Whats wrong with your car coco? Please say its not the exige? Silly question as I guess your not that fussed about the golf.

And for the record its a mk2 icon not a mk 1 :P

And + 1 for the air con, it makes a difference mate if slack wants a ride out in the 5 gimmie a shout :)
 
Housey said:
I would suggest AC is a must have personally.
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sovietspybob said:
Yeah i don't think you'd be able to find a 2.0 sport without AC tbf. I'm pretty sure all the 2.0's have climate anyhow.

On options to look for, i really really love the heated leather seats in ours, makes those top down blasts in the winter just that bit nicer.
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The MK3 2.0 Sports had AC as an option. It was top of my list when looking, so I ended up with a 2007 2.0 Sport with AC and BOSE.

There are "2.0 Option Pack" cars, but they are the none sport cars. With 5 spoke alloys, 5spd gear box etc.

The MK3 Roadster Coupe (leccy hardtop) was the only MK3 to have AC as standard iirc.
 
Looks like AC is on the list then!
It did seem strange that for the 'top of the range' model around 33% advertised don't appear to have been specified with AC, especially as it was only 500 notes. Heated leather sounds toasty & a BOSE setup would be nice, it just starts to limit the choice currently for sale, but we might get lucky. Many thanks for all the help, I thunk we've covered most items now! :)

Talking of wheels I thought Howards at RR10 looked quite smart;
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Aero,
I'm blaming the champagne on Sunday during Monaco GP for thinking you had a mk1, I've even referred to it as a mk2 in a different thread the other week! :p
Slaks heading down this way next weekend so that would be sweet to get a ride sorted mate.
Unfortunately tis' the orange one which has broken... however she now lives! :cool: See >here<
 
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