2002 NB MX5 SP Tare Weight - Urgent please help

[Tezzax5]

Engineer

I'm curious as to why you haven't put up a wanted ad and offered to pay a couple of SP owners to put their cars over a weigh bridge ?

It would certainly give you a definitive answer.

There certainly is enough helpful owners on here that could help you out.

[93_Clubman]

Yeah, was going to mention that LS1 into an JDM NB has been done in Victoria by an engineer owner-builder club member, but he had to go the ICV route. If OP is in NSW, given his references to RMS, then lots of luck as RMS have made the ICV route very difficult to achieve.
Btw, Google general search didn't reveal SP & 1167 links, but found another reference to 1167kg for the SP on here, but it quotes the SE SP Comparison thread & didn't come up originally as it contains a comma: https://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=71692

[NitroDann]

Take an unmodified one to a weigh bridge and get the RMS paperwork changed. Anyone can habe a car weighed and have the rego papers reflect the true weight.

My engineer would tell me to do exactly this.

Dann

[Danny]

Quote...@Legume: Faced between the choice of Lexus V8, Nissan V8 or Rover v8...I choose the 1.8L Turbo option. Those V8's are anemic and don't warrant the effort to install. ...




Maybe forget the v8. The Mitsubishi 6a13tt is physically a small engine that started life as a 1600cc and maxed out at 2500cc. I weighed one with turbos, flywheel/clutch and manifolds but no alternator or a/c compressor at 142kgs. 300+bhp (274 standard) with a good exhaust. Up the boost and ???

[Nevyn72]

The mass of the vehicle referred to in Tables LA1, LA2 and LA3 is the original (unmodified) tare mass of the model vehicle fitted with the largest engine available for the model in Australia but without optional accessories (air conditioning, tow bars etc.).

This is where I believe your hopes ultimately will fail.

While the SP may have been slightly heavier than the SE and over your desired 1100kg threshold, it was not a factory car.

The SP was a local distributor supported modification of a factory car, they basically diverted ~100 NB's off the ship to a local workshop for optional modification to a higher power configuration. The warranty for the SP modifications came from the local distributor, not the manufacturer.....

I suspect that in a court of law it would be successfully argued that the NB8b was the factory car and the SP enhancements were a locally designed and fitted 'option' and as such would be excluded under the rule quoted above.

[Engineer]

The mass of the vehicle referred to in Tables LA1, LA2 and LA3 is the original (unmodified) tare mass of the model vehicle fitted with the largest engine available for the model in Australia but without optional accessories (air conditioning, tow bars etc.).

This is where I believe your hopes ultimately will fail.

While the SP may have been slightly heavier than the SE and over your desired 1100kg threshold, it was not a factory car.

The SP was a local distributor supported modification of a factory car, they basically diverted ~100 NB's off the ship to a local workshop for optional modification to a higher power configuration. The warranty for the SP modifications came from the local distributor, not the manufacturer.....

I suspect that in a court of law it would be successfully argued that the NB8b was the factory car and the SP enhancements were a locally designed and fitted 'option' and as such would be excluded under the rule quoted above.

Hi Nevyn,

You make a good point, but my understanding is that the Mazda MX5 SP is not an OPTION on an existing model but a model in its own right. Therefore you could never OPTION the SP as an ADD ON to say an SE. Therefore it would be hard to classify a separate model as an option. If it was an option it would have been available on the list of options for any MX5...but to the best of my knowledge this was not the case...to get the SP option you needed a whole new car !

[Engineer]

Take an unmodified one to a weigh bridge and get the RMS paperwork changed. Anyone can habe a car weighed and have the rego papers reflect the true weight.

My engineer would tell me to do exactly this.

Dann

Thanks Dann, I will ask my engineer and see what he says about if we could do that. It would be ideal if I could!

Cheers
John

[Engineer]

My NSW SP rego papers says 1093kg

Thanks for confirming that, this is the same as the SE number. I suspect that Mazda did not update the SP number due to the low volume run so it looks the same. So frustrating...

All the reports of the time state that the car was 1119kg....but they don't stipulate tare or kerb weight.

Looks like I may need to indeed go to a weigh bridge and weigh an SP (or 2) with 10L of fuel in it to get the true tare weight.

See if that flies...

Thanks champ!

[StanTheMan]

The mass of the vehicle referred to in Tables LA1, LA2 and LA3 is the original (unmodified) tare mass of the model vehicle fitted with the largest engine available for the model in Australia but without optional accessories (air conditioning, tow bars etc.).

This is where I believe your hopes ultimately will fail.

While the SP may have been slightly heavier than the SE and over your desired 1100kg threshold, it was not a factory car.

The SP was a local distributor supported modification of a factory car, they basically diverted ~100 NB's off the ship to a local workshop for optional modification to a higher power configuration. The warranty for the SP modifications came from the local distributor, not the manufacturer.....

I suspect that in a court of law it would be successfully argued that the NB8b was the factory car and the SP enhancements were a locally designed and fitted 'option' and as such would be excluded under the rule quoted above.

Hi Nevyn,

You make a good point, but my understanding is that the Mazda MX5 SP is not an OPTION on an existing model but a model in its own right. Therefore you could never OPTION the SP as an ADD ON to say an SE. Therefore it would be hard to classify a separate model as an option. If it was an option it would have been available on the list of options for any MX5...but to the best of my knowledge this was not the case...to get the SP option you needed a whole new car !

Cripes......


So If Had gone to mazda & said I want an Mx5......would you like to Supersize Performance with SP?

I really hope you get this . But seriously hope you don't need to resort to sh*t like that.....to get it.

[bruce]

But all SPs came with aircon (20kgs), which is excluded from the weight. Plus most SPs have had things added (rollbars, wheels, etc).
You'd be lucky to find two SPs to even look at in the same spot. Let alone two unmolested SPs.

It would be easier to just do the conversion and just pray that you don't get pulled over. How often would you drive it anyway?

[chops]

I have a completely original unmolested SP that I could probably put over the weighbridge at my local tip. I use that weighbridge to weigh all of our cab chassis BT-50's and is accepted at the RMS

[Engineer]

Hi Chops,

That would be amazing PM sent !

[Engineer]

But all SPs came with aircon (20kgs), which is excluded from the weight. Plus most SPs have had things added (rollbars, wheels, etc).
You'd be lucky to find two SPs to even look at in the same spot. Let alone two unmolested SPs.

It would be easier to just do the conversion and just pray that you don't get pulled over. How often would you drive it anyway?

Hi Bruce,

Actually it is going to be a daily driver Traffic and everything ! ;) Chances of getting pulled over are good, so I need it legal.

[Engineer]

Engineer

I'm curious as to why you haven't put up a wanted ad and offered to pay a couple of SP owners to put their cars over a weigh bridge ?

It would certainly give you a definitive answer.

There certainly is enough helpful owners on here that could help you out.

Hi tezza5,

One kind owner has offered to do so, I will see if I can get another person with an SP to go over a weighbridge (I will pay for the privilege!) . That would indeed be a definitive answer for sure:)

Chops has offered to help (cheers !) and anyone else who would be kind enough to help by bringing a std SP along to a weighbridge...I will pay

Takers??

Send me a PM if interested...pretty please

[Engineer]

And if I can get through the legals...I promise to do a build thread on the car