MX5 Owners in here....bring your curling tongs

Gayjin said:
I thought you had an Megasquirt no?
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I do. There's been a fair bit of back and forth between me and one of the guys behind ME since they came to market that led to them promising me one to get some hands on experience with one late last year

It came at a handy time as a bizarre set of circumstances led to something getting shorted on the I/O breakout harness of my MS2 burning a couple of traces on the board and partially nuking the firmware.

Also because of the new engine it seems like as good a time as any to make such a big change to the setup
 
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This question is probably best answered by how long is a piece of string, however I am wondering on the longevity of the mx5.

I have wanted to get one as cheap as possible. Say 500quid to make a track day car. Get it mot'd and only insure it for a day to drive to the track.
Sharing the cost with a friend we would like to see if its possible to do..

If per say we got a really cheap mx5 would it stand up to a small beating every now and again? Are they reliable long lasting cars like every jap car I've owned. (that being a civic and corolla that have all been 300quid and lasted way over 30miles without issues)
 
ChroniC said:
This question is probably best answered by how long is a piece of string, however I am wondering on the longevity of the mx5.

I have wanted to get one as cheap as possible. Say 500quid to make a track day car. Get it mot'd and only insure it for a day to drive to the track.
Sharing the cost with a friend we would like to see if its possible to do..

If per say we got a really cheap mx5 would it stand up to a small beating every now and again? Are they reliable long lasting cars like every jap car I've owned. (that being a civic and corolla that have all been 300quid and lasted way over 30miles without issues)
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Engine/drivetrain absolutely, unless you are making LOL torque with a turbo kit they really don't seem to care how you abuse them.

The chassis on the other hand is an entirely different proposition, any <£1500 MX5 is likely to need sills at least and if its a MK2 probably chassis rails on top of that as well
 
Frozennova said:
Engine/drivetrain absolutely, unless you are making LOL torque with a turbo kit they really don't seem to care how you abuse them.

The chassis on the other hand is an entirely different proposition, any <£1500 MX5 is likely to need sills at least and if its a MK2 probably chassis rails on top of that as well
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Quoted for truth. Mine was supercharged to 220bhp with 118k on the clock, it's done 138k now with not a hint of bother engine and gearbox wise, including track days.

But go back a few posts and you'll see the state of my chassis rails...
 
wesimmo said:
Haha, nice job on the repair, but I think I prefer my solution to a rusty chassis...:D
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I'd love to go down the Exocet (300BHP & 650KG with my engine combo would be hilarious/terrifying)

Problem is I don't have a garage to build one, in fact I don't even have space to actually store mine at home, it spends most of its life parked at my parents
 
Frozennova said:
I'd love to go down the Exocet (300BHP & 650KG with my engine combo would be hilarious/terrifying)

Problem is I don't have a garage to build one, in fact I don't even have space to actually store mine at home, it spends most of its life parked at my parents
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There's a guy on the nutz Facebook page who's got one with 450bhp with a massive turbo on low boost.

If you're on there it's on the engine tuck thread.

But yeah having a townhouse with a garage on the ground floor and and a drive does make this project a little more doable.

I've not updated my build thread as there's not been much progress, got a hoist now though so getting the body off is nearly done and the chassis a couple of weeks at most away.
 
wesimmo said:
There's a guy on the nutz Facebook page who's got one with 450bhp with a massive turbo on low boost.

If you're on there it's on the engine tuck thread.

But yeah having a townhouse with a garage on the ground floor and and a drive does make this project a little more doable.

I've not updated my build thread as there's not been much progress, got a hoist now though so getting the body off is nearly done and the chassis a couple of weeks at most away.
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I know the one you mean (Owned by Owen or Al depending which account he seems to be using as he likes to offend people)
 
I went to look at a few MX5's today. One, rotten to pieces. Another I drove around the block with a welded diff, no thanks. Another, sitting on a driveway for years, potential project but i'm not sure as I just want some summer fun. Tempted to take the welded diff one and then swap it out for an LSD.
 
Just finished getting my "excellent condition" mk2.5 sorted.
Bought a 2002 Arizona in silver a week ago. Most definitely looked mint. 64k on the clock and owned by a couple who clearly really loved it. Bodywork (externally) looked spot on. Sills already been replaced and chassis rails filled with waxoyl. Inside in great condition. All the electrics work, even the heated leather seats (nice). Drove fine mechanically. All 4 tyres were premium, not ling-long ditchfinders. Looked like a good car at a sensible price.

However, turns out that the brakes weren't quite "mint". Had them checked out. Two calipers were knackered and virtually seized up and it needed a new set of pads on the rears as both were in terrible condition.
All now sorted. Alpine head unit re-fitted (was in my last 2.5, which was destroyed by some old biddy). Airbox drilled to give it a bit of bite to the induction sound.

So I'm ready to rock on roll.
I could upload some photos, but being silver, just looks like any other mk2.5, so that's a bit pointless. Great to be back in an MX.
 
Replaced old backbox (surface rusted but actually not too bad condition) with shiny SS one. Gradually going to work my way forward replacing with SS.. a bit too much to spend in one go.







 
I had a look at a 1999 1.8 the other day. No obvious rust problems as the owner had some welding done, and the sills have been filled with oil at some point. Car was great but bodywork a bit shabby.

Having never driven one (and maybe the fact I'm used to diesels), I found the clutch and throttle feel a bit odd? The throttle didn't seem very linear, as in the rpm didn't feel like it was matching the pedal closely enough. The clutch is very on and off, with the bite point quite low in the travel. Could that be poor/old fluid or air in the system or something?
 
Brookert said:
I had a look at a 1999 1.8 the other day. No obvious rust problems as the owner had some welding done, and the sills have been filled with oil at some point. Car was great but bodywork a bit shabby.

Having never driven one (and maybe the fact I'm used to diesels), I found the clutch and throttle feel a bit odd? The throttle didn't seem very linear, as in the rpm didn't feel like it was matching the pedal closely enough. The clutch is very on and off, with the bite point quite low in the travel. Could that be poor/old fluid or air in the system or something?
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Mine has always had very little travel on the clutch pedal with a low bite .

That's with what looked like a fairly OE replacement Exedy and now 2 Stage 3 Competition Clutches.

Pedal travel can be adjusted on on the pedal box but I've gotten used to it and not bothered. They do suffer with leaky clutch slave cylindrers. The stock clutch never felt grabby though.
 
Out and about with the top down yesterday... chap pulls up next to me on a push bike at some lights... starts asking me all about the ND.. whats it like to drive ect..
Had a conversation with him on and off for the next couple of hundred meters...

Summer and open roads ... the 5s natural habitat.
 
Well even after a full underseal and cavity wax last year at Skuzzle this past winter and all the gritting has taken its toll, rust was starting to creep into the rear arch returns from the inside edge :(

Just blitzed the arches to try and halt it before it becomes visible:

  • Removed arch liners and mudguards.
  • Cleaned away waxoyl from about 4 inches from the arch return.
  • Decreased and desalted.
  • Cut out the rust with a wire wheel.
  • Feathered back the paint.
  • Degreased and desalted again.
  • Brushed on 2 coats of mastic epoxy (metallic aluminium) and left to cure.
  • Waxoyled under arches and refitted liners.

Fingers crossed!
 
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