NB seats

MrBrad · Postby **MrBrad** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 12:59 am

Hi All, first time poster...

I absolutely love mx5's, and test drove one recently and its better than I thought it would be.. so I'm looking for one..

I am looking at getting an NB mx5, I'm about 5'7 and 80kgs... and have found its a bit of a tight fit from mid back up... has anyone come across this before. And managed to work around it or is it a grin and bear it thing? I was wondering if the 'wings' on the seats can either be bent back slightly or maybe a little softer foam in it instead. I've read about replacing seats with Recaro's and the like but don't really want to do that.

Also I was looking at the SE model but am worried that it could have been thrashed and want to know if there is anything to look for, even for the standard model.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

Brad

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 1:13 am

Difficult to thrash an SE with low standard boost.

At your height the seat can go further forward than you might expect and can be more reclined. You can also dismantle the seat and remove foam from wherever you like. There's even a spare fabric seat advertised here for about $400.

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 10:00 am

It probably just feels different to what you're used to.
There's not much 'bucket' to the MX-5 seat, unless you're built like The Rock you should fit fine. The main problem people have is head and leg room.

Are you looking at NB1's or NB2's?

MrBrad · Postby **MrBrad** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:10 pm

Yeah ok, without sounding too silly i have reasonably broad shoulders.. so its a bit squeezy but hoping its just a get used to it kinda thing.... do have bruised ribs at the moment too which doesnt help...

Great i was kinda thinking worst case i could refoam a bit...

We'll see about the se.. as long as its been warmed up before dríven hard... i expect the clutch to be almost knackered.. done just over 100k.

Im looking at 01-05 i prefer that body shape. So i think thats nb2?

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:33 pm

SE (with factory turbo) would be 04 or 05 only. It would be called an NB8C by some. Plenty of info on this forum on various models. The search facility is great.

My modified SE had done 127,000 with 170rwkw compared with around 115rwkw for a standard SE and the clutch had 10-20,000kms left on it when the engine was replaced. So you'd be unlucky to find a standard SE needing a clutch at 100,000kms.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:03 pm

Brad the MX5 is no SUV ie the seats are made to fit in a restricted space and provide a level of comfort but the designers said the car was not designed for bigger people. 80kg does not make you a heavyweight but if you are not comfortable don't expect to readily find alternatives. Recaro seats maybe worse. If you remove foam you will take out what provides comfort and support. I suggest that you do some more test driving and try different adjustments. No one here can tell you what will make you comfortable.

MrBrad · Postby **MrBrad** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 2:12 am

Hey guys thanks for the advice guys, I've had a look at a few more and I think that first one I drove was the odd one out, the others have been fine so crisis avoided..... So we'll see what happens now :p

Did notice the seats are higher in some too... Interesting..

ManiacLachy · Postby **ManiacLachy** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 8:37 am

Most SE seats are leather (some came as cloth), and don't sink in as much as the regular cloth seats, so as far as I know they are the highest riding of the seats. But I'm 6' and 95kg, I fit. I think you'll just need to adjust to being in the tighter cockpit, it's not a roomy place.

As has been said, if you're looking at a stock SE, as long as it's around the 100k km mark you'll have no issues with it being thrashed. These aren't S2Ks, they didn't appeal to that scene very much, they didn't get dragged and driffted, most were babied and garaged, or just dríven over the mountains now and again.

Even if it's been modified, I'd still consider it. SE's are quite handicapped out of the factory and beg for some changes to intake and exhaust at the very least. You could save yourself some money there. Take a look at any of the SE garage threads, you'll see a lot of the same work being done, and very happy drivers. MX-5s are pretty reliable cars, you'll be good my friend :mrgreen:

MrBrad · Postby **MrBrad** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 4:36 pm

the one i'm looking at is a P-plater....so was concerned about that... then again.. they are built to be dríven hard so providing it's warmed up it shouldn't matter judging from what i've been reading here haha
aerial is missing too - $500 quote for the part from Mazda...
passenger seat has suspicious stain on it - leather seat... here's hoping its from a soft drink.....
every car i've looked at has had the faded/yellowish radiator tank so guessing that's just an age thing not it's about to let go thing.

ManiacLachy · Postby **ManiacLachy** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 5:00 pm

I have a spare OEM antenna from my car for sale, I can let you have it for much less than $500 if you're interested :wink:

But to be honest, the stubby antennas suit the car much better.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 7:27 pm

its fair enough to question whether a turbo has been thrashed and a fair bet that plenty have. No car is really built to be thrashed though clearly some cars are better than others in design etc. The factory NB turbo is only lightly turboed and you can bet that Mazda realised that they did not need to reengineer the car extensively to pull that off. One way perhaps to find out how a car has been dríven is let the owner drive it and see how its piloted. I know some car enthusiasts who are terrible drivers - an interest in cars and an ability are not always direct correlations. Look for some other pointers and ask in a smart way to find out if a driver has done Club comps or track work. Personally I would not go near a car that has been used in competition. Some guys are keen to tell you everything and even go to the trouble of recording all the things they do.

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:15 pm

MrBrad wrote:the one i'm looking at is a P-plater....so was concerned about that... then again.. they are built to be dríven hard so providing it's warmed up it shouldn't matter judging from what i've been reading here haha
aerial is missing too - $500 quote for the part from Mazda...
passenger seat has suspicious stain on it - leather seat... here's hoping its from a soft drink.....
every car i've looked at has had the faded/yellowish radiator tank so guessing that's just an age thing not it's about to let go thing.

P-plater or not, the condition of the car is more important than the driver, although it's good advice to notice how they drive the car.
$500 is crazy. Much cheaper elsewhere. True to say stubbies look better anyway.
Pair of SE leather seats on ebay starting at $600. Buy them, sell your good driver's seat and your seats are sorted. Might be able to sell the passenger seat to someone who'd re-cover it.
Radiators are $200 for an upgraded one.

Postby **Okibi** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:12 am

Mr Morlock wrote:its fair enough to question whether a turbo has been thrashed and a fair bet that plenty have. No car is really built to be thrashed though clearly some cars are better than others in design etc. The factory NB turbo is only lightly turboed and you can bet that Mazda realised that they did not need to reengineer the car extensively to pull that off. ...

In standard trim a stock SE isn't really that powerful. Unlike other factory turbo cars, the SE isn't to easy to wind up the boost and make bulk power with stock ECU/turbo etc.

The SE was engineered to cope with the blow by that B6/BP engines love when boosted. It has a decompressed engine, better radiator, stronger clutch, drive shafts, better suspension etc.

MX-5s love to rev but driving a boosted 5 in some way feels kinder on the engine, the turbo pushes it along rather than spanking the rev limiter again and again in a naturally aspirated MX-5.

Stock standard i'd expect an SE to be a pretty reliable car, that's why I bought one.

Like any car get it mechanically checked by an expert.

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:40 am

If your location was in your posts you might find someone prepared to look at cars with you.

MrBrad · Postby **MrBrad** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 5:38 pm

yeah ok looks alot easier than I thought it would be to fix bits and pieces. For now stock just seems like a good idea for now...

Yeah that one I was talking about is a no go... took my cousin to have a look (runs a panel shop) and this thing has had a massive hit in the right rear to the point where I'd question it's legality and safety on the road.. right rear tyre rubbing on the inner wheel well and the left rear has a factory gap..

whoops, thought I had location in the profile, will fix it up.. I'm in Perth, WA..