Car shortlist - MR2 / MX5 (mk1 or mk2?)

Nursie · 26 Jun 2013 at 11:14

That spoiler on the red one is a factory option, (it was on mine anyway) so shouldn't be an issue to play dumb.

elmarko · 26 Jun 2013 at 11:18

Hmm, nice to know - I'll see if I can get one the same as the factor option for the white one (as it makes it a little bit more manly!)

lordrobs · 26 Jun 2013 at 12:45

elmarko said:
Hmm, nice to know - I'll see if I can get one the same as the factor option for the white one (as it makes it a little bit more manly!)

Different strokes and all that but I think it ruins the lines of the car. My one has on old codger luggage rack on the back though so what do I know

Irish_Tom · 26 Jun 2013 at 12:46

lordrobs said:
Different strokes and all that but I think it ruins the lines of the car. My one has on old codger luggage rack on the back though so what do I know

As you say, different strokes. I think cars without the spoiler (or rack) look quite bare at the back.

Clarkey · 26 Jun 2013 at 12:49

The spoiler is definitely a wrong'un.

Firestar_3x · 26 Jun 2013 at 12:51

Clarkey said:
The spoiler is definitely a wrong'un.

^ This.

elmarko · 26 Jun 2013 at 13:09

Irish_Tom said:
As you say, different strokes. I think cars without the spoiler (or rack) look quite bare at the back.

That was what I was thinking (unless it already has quite a distinctive back shape).

Firestar_3x · 26 Jun 2013 at 13:10

elmarko said:
That was what I was thinking (unless it already has quite a distinctive back shape).

The idea of a 5 is to remove weight, not add it

elmarko · 26 Jun 2013 at 13:11

Firestar_3x said:
The idea of a 5 is to remove weight, not add it

I'll go on a diet.

dale1uk · 26 Jun 2013 at 13:45

Try giving Greenlight a call for an insurance quote, by far the cheapest for me and very mod friendly (as in no extra charge unless your mods are giving you big bhp gains)

elmarko · 26 Jun 2013 at 14:15

dale1uk said:
Try giving Greenlight a call for an insurance quote, by far the cheapest for me and very mod friendly (as in no extra charge unless your mods are giving you big bhp gains)

Thanks for the heads up, as I'll most likely be getting a couple of visual mods - nothing bumping up the BHP.

dale1uk · 26 Jun 2013 at 18:38

elmarko said:
Thanks for the heads up, as I'll most likely be getting a couple of visual mods - nothing bumping up the BHP.

No probs. Visual mods wont affect things at all. Ive got spoiler, skirts, splitter, exhaust, seats, roll bar, induction kit, wheels, brakes + others all declared and it made no difference. All declared mods are also covered on a like for like basis which a lot of other companies dont do. Might be worth signing up on mx5nutz too as Greenlight offer a 10 or 15% discount to nutz members.

Vigoro · 26 Jun 2013 at 18:58

Got mine covered with Greenlight, quite a bit cheaper than anywhere else would do too, with all the mods declared, which includes power mods up to 200bhp.

They are worth talking to, as another useful thing is they don't charge you an admin fee, unlike some companies, if you want to add modifications during your policy

elmarko · 26 Jun 2013 at 19:07

Thanks guys, some great tips. /bows at OCUK's superior knowledge.

elmarko · 1 Jul 2013 at 12:29

So,

I think now the mk1 MX5 will be the final choice - just need to make sure it's all good & ready them collect it (over the next month odd) all being well.

Now the only question is, what upgrades do you guys recommend going for?, getting a TR Lane roll bar seems to be a worthwhile purchase (£360 from mxparts near me in Portsmouth) for safety of mind.

I think I'll also switch out the old halogens for some Xenon's & maybe even a DLR headlight conversion socket (pretty cheap from what I've seen)

What do you guys have or recommend?.

Vigoro · 1 Jul 2013 at 12:40

With the rollbar, it may be cheaper ordering directly from tr lane, so check with them.

With regards to other mods, it depends what you want from the car, and also what your budget is.

elmarko · 1 Jul 2013 at 13:28

Vigoro said:
With the rollbar, it may be cheaper ordering directly from tr lane, so check with them.

With regards to other mods, it depends what you want from the car, and also what your budget is.

A smooth ride, not really after massive power upgrades - prefer the sound of the custom exhausts & anything which increases safety really/reduced chance of minor accidents/bumps.

Budget, well I planned on spending 5k-ish, but as the car is now 2k (Mk1), I'm happy to spend a grand odd on a few improvements.

For the TV roll cage & installation at mx5parts is about the same as the official TR lane place & the roll bar is about £40 more (but also 20mins drive away opposed to a 200 mile round trip) - so worth it I'd say.

Martynt74 · 1 Jul 2013 at 16:20

To be honest the car sits so low that the chances of rolling it are very slim. If you're going for a track monster then go for it but if not its worth thinking about.

The other thing is how long you're planning on keeping it. Buying a £5k car will still be that car whereas a 2k car with a grand of mods will still only be a 2k car (obviously ignoring depreciation) so I'd only spend extra if you're planning to keep it a while.

For some mods a lot of people seem to suggest coilovers as a decent purchase but I'd just keep it as is for a couple months and enjoy the car and then start thinking about changing things

dale1uk · 1 Jul 2013 at 21:55

For headlight upgrades on the mk1 I'd recommend a set of Raybrig headlamps and some uprated bulbs. Other upgrades I'd suggest are suspension, brakes and tyres. I'd look into doing those before spending money on a half cage. Depending on how tall you are you may need to replace the seats, and/or remove the seat humps from the floor in order for you to sit lower than a cage. Before I removed my seat humps my head sat about 10mm above my cage, rendering it pointless.

Vigoro · 1 Jul 2013 at 21:58

Best mod to start with is alignment.