What have you done to your car today?

[TW]Fox · 23 May 2017 at 18:48

Frozennova said:
Had a bit of a play with an E93 M3 earlier on my way home from picking the Mazda up from my parents. Surprising to both of us he couldn't close the gap at all.

I suspect he probably thought better of unleashing all the performance of an E93 M3 just to make a point to a guy in a Mazda MX5 on a public road. Judging car performance based on random encounters is always very misleading.

Akagi · 23 May 2017 at 18:51

[TW]Fox said:
I suspect he probably thought better of unleashing all the performance of an E93 M3 just to make a point to a guy in a Mazda MX5 on a public road. Judging car performance based on random encounters is always very misleading.

I suspect you're wrong. E93 M3 is only 232HP per ton, they are fat as hell. Thats less than Frozennova's MX5.

Frozennova · 23 May 2017 at 19:03

[TW]Fox said:
I suspect he probably thought better of unleashing all the performance of an E93 M3 just to make a point to a guy in a Mazda MX5 on a public road. Judging car performance based on random encounters is always very misleading.

It's not exactly a standard MX5 though is it. He also fulfilled the exact stereotype to be the kind of owner that would happily unleash the performance to prove a point. Car and driver quote the M3 as a 13.1second quarter mile @ 109mph

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-bmw-m3-convertible-short-take-road-test

And here's mine my car doing the same in 12.9 @ 111mph
https://youtu.be/tVyRK-yD-ew

Clarkey · 23 May 2017 at 19:11

Not the M3s you need to worry about, it's the 35i/35d. I won't forget the time I raced a 335d right after I had the car mapped and made 350hp and found that I couldn't really keep up with him. I bought more speed parts that night, had it mapped again made 380hp, raced a 335i this time, couldn't get ahead of that mofo either. Turbo BMWs, no joke

Frozennova · 23 May 2017 at 19:19

Clarkey said:
Not the M3s you need to worry about, it's the 35i/35d. I won't forget the time I raced a 335d right after I had the car mapped and made 350hp and found that I couldn't really keep up with him. I bought more speed parts that night, had it mapped again made 380hp, raced a 335i this time, couldn't get ahead of that mofo either. Turbo BMWs, no joke

I'm guessing that was Ben's 35i? He took me out in it at the RR day, I was shocked how fast it felt

Clarkey · 23 May 2017 at 19:34

Yeah. The MHD tune was quite tame actually, with the JB4 it was considerably more punchy but it threw faults all the time. Was funny punching it off the lights and blowing the tyres off in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th

ScoobyDoo69 · 23 May 2017 at 21:17

Definitely wouldn't be surprised about the MX-5 being about the same if not quicker than an M3, it's a quick car!

sigma · 23 May 2017 at 21:21

Clarkey said:
Not the M3s you need to worry about, it's the 35i/35d. I won't forget the time I raced a 335d right after I had the car mapped and made 350hp and found that I couldn't really keep up with him. I bought more speed parts that night, had it mapped again made 380hp, raced a 335i this time, couldn't get ahead of that mofo either. Turbo BMWs, no joke

Hardly surprising given the extra displacement and power, especially as you say they weren't standard.

Dav4 · 23 May 2017 at 21:28

Frozennova said:
It's not exactly a standard MX5 though is it. He also fulfilled the exact stereotype to be the kind of owner that would happily unleash the performance to prove a point. Car and driver quote the M3 as a 13.1second quarter mile @ 109mph

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-bmw-m3-convertible-short-take-road-test

And here's mine my car doing the same in 12.9 @ 111mph
https://youtu.be/tVyRK-yD-ew

What the hell have you done to make an Mx5 on par with an M3 :eek:

I know they could be modded with a supercharger etc but didn't know they could go that fast

kind of want one now given how cheap the old model's are. How much we talking roughly to make it fast? Must be so much fun to drive

ScoobyDoo69 · 23 May 2017 at 21:32

Clarkey said:
Yeah. The MHD tune was quite tame actually, with the JB4 it was considerably more punchy but it threw faults all the time. Was funny punching it off the lights and blowing the tyres off in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th

All that engine and all that turbo = power everywhere !

Frozennova · 23 May 2017 at 21:47

Dav4 said:
What the hell have you done to make an Mx5 on par with an M3 I know they could be modded with a supercharger etc but didn't know they could go that fast kind of want one now given how cheap the old model's are. How much we talking roughly to make it fast? Must be so much fun to drive

Fairly standard turbo conversion using a Subaru WRX TD04 turbo, megasquirt ecu etc. With everything I've ve done including buying the car, the turbo conversion and replacing the rear/quarters the car owes me £4k.

I need to dyno it again since having some exhaust work done, but it made 250bhp 205ft/lbs last October based on 1/4 mile times and a few other things it's now around 275bhp 220ft/lbs. Car with 3/4 tank of fuel is 1060kg

Edit: Its also perfectly daily driveable, returns 25ish mpg when used normally (40mpg on a motorway stint) and costs peanuts to insure even with all the mods declared

Dav4 · 23 May 2017 at 22:00

Frozennova said:
Fairly standard turbo conversion using a Subaru WRX TD04 turbo, megasquirt ecu etc. With everything I've ve done including buying the car, the turbo conversion and replacing the rear/quarters the car owes me £4k.

I need to dyno it again since having some exhaust work done, but it made 250bhp 205ft/lbs last October based on 1/4 mile times and a few other things it's now around 275bhp 220ft/lbs. Car with 3/4 tank of fuel is 1060kg

Edit: Its also perfectly daily driveable, returns 25ish mpg when used normally (40mpg on a motorway stint) and costs peanuts to insure even with all the mods declared

Wow that's a very good power to weight ratio must be so fun to drive. I'm looking into getting a second "fun car" as I use my Mondeo ST220 as my daily. Was looking at mazda RX8's that can be had for naff all but the rotary engine problems put me off. I'm very tempted by the Mx5 now though I'll have to look into them more and the mods etc.

Frozennova · 23 May 2017 at 22:03

Dav4 said:
Wow that's a very good power to weight ratio must be so fun to drive. I'm looking into getting a second "fun car" as I use my Mondeo ST220 as my daily. Was looking at mazda RX8's that can be had for naff all but the rotary engine problems put me off. I'm very tempted by the Mx5 now though I'll have to look into them more and the mods etc.

Rust kills ALL of them, it just depends how willing you arent to spend more on a rust free example or sorting it out. You can get drive in drive out conversions that will give you 250bhp for £2500

Dav4 · 23 May 2017 at 22:15

Frozennova said:
Rust kills ALL of them, it just depends how willing you arent to spend more on a rust free example or sorting it out. You can get drive in drive out conversions that will give you 250bhp for £2500

Yeh I've heard they rust badly lol. Any difference between the 1st,2nd or 3rd gen prices are all over the place for under 3k from 2006 3rd gens to 1st and early 2nd gen models at 2k
Quite a few 2nd gen even for 1k

Frozennova · 23 May 2017 at 22:21

Dav4 said:
Yeh I've heard they rust badly lol. Any difference between the 1st,2nd or 3rd gen prices are all over the place for under 3k from 2006 3rd gens to 1st and early 2nd gen models at 2k
Quite a few 2nd gen even for 1k

Mk1 and Mk2 are in essence the same chassis. Mk1 feels more raw, mk2 is a nicer place to be, handles better and comes with a tiny bit more power from the factory. Mk3 aren't yet worth considering for "cheap" turbo conversions as the kits are still pricey and aftermarket ECU support is more limited. I paid £950 for my 98 mk2 with 103k miles on it

Akagi · 23 May 2017 at 22:24

My 98 MK2 was a similar price. 750 but needed 250 of work before I got an MOT on it. Both mine and FN's had rot for that price though.

Dav4 · 23 May 2017 at 22:29

Thanks for the info guys

seriously gonna look into these. I'll have to test drive a local one it might be abit cramped being tall.

Clarkey · 23 May 2017 at 22:54

sigma said:
Hardly surprising given the extra displacement and power, especially as you say they weren't standard.

Well actually yeah I was surprised when an oil burner 3 series taught me a lesson in 285bhp/tonne car, I don't know what was done to it. The 335i I know dyno'd with the same power as mine but stayed with me despite carrying an extra 300kg odd, 5 speed manual vs. 7 speed DCT though. Mine won't really hook up in second so started from 3rd and yeah the turbo lags a fair bit and the 335i doesn't. My car may have been down on power at the time with the cracked manifold but tbh I think it was ok at that point.

Stormster · 23 May 2017 at 23:10

Jonny ///M said:
Looks in better nick than mine!

I've not followed why you're back in an Astra though....

I test drove a 1.8 but it didn't hit the spot for me.

House purchase and to stop me wasting on hot hatches. Oh it's slow, but it has nothing to really break either. Won't be forever

Eibach Sportlines go on next Tuesday just because I cannot stand the arch gap but it's a tidy car now so will see me through for a bit.

mrk · 23 May 2017 at 23:17

Low priority task finally reached the top of the list!

Replaced the boot lid gas struts. The old ones were starting to corrode, and the boot farted every time I opened it (E46 owners will know what I'm on about

). The new struts were £18 for the pair. Obviously not OEM, but look and feel exactly the same as the original ones. Boot lid opens up more softly now, and no more farting :cool:

Pro tip, the pins that hold each end into the ball joint on the lid and car, only pry then out slightly, not completely. You will be in a world of hurt if you take them out fully, as they are a pain to get back in!

Also, gave the engine bay a bit of spit polish.