mx5cartalk.com

Hey all,

Thought I'd sign up for this forum, its awesome to have an Aussie one instead of having to read UK or US ones.

I got my MX5 before I got my driving licence, about a year ago now. It's about to hit 300,000km mark because driving it is such fun!!

When I bought it it came with the hardtop, mx5 factory cold air intake, and an exhaust system of some sort (I'm not too sure exactly but I know its not standard). Everything else was stock standard.

And then I did a few ( ) things to it, here it is today.



I can't really play with the engine due to P-plate restrictions and its also freakin expensive.... Does anyone know the power-to-weight ratio of the NA?



For audio I added a Sony headunit, a set of splits in each door (mounted the tweeters in the gap between the door handle and the armrest), two 4\" headrest speakers in each seat, a Sony 4-channel amp and a small sub that gives awesome bass and fits nicely in the boot cavity. Overall effect is awesome, with or without the roof. And I still have boot space!!!



Interior-wise I've changed the steering wheel to a momo one, added a momo gearstick, some chrome vent rings and a larger cubby box under the head unit.



Changed the wheels to some Rodney Jane Racing 17\" Flame (got them fairly new for $500 on ebay wooo )..



Other mods include a mesh grille out the front, a beesting aerial, painted brake callipers, short shifter, random engine bay chrome bits.

Every mod has been DIY with the help of manuals and ofcourse this forum!! My goal with this car to get something even more responsive and fun to driving. I want to keep the standard NA look inside and out. Since I'm a poor uni student I'm not looking for anything ultra-expensive instead am trying to do all the mods on a budget. Seem to be doing ok for now.

What I'd like to do next:
- Next is one of those MX5 Mania enlarged intake pipes (THEY LOOK AWESOME!!!)
- Change the interior lighting colour from old school green to white
- Build a windblocker
- Re-upholster the seats. Possibly change some of the interior trim colour, something two-tone.
- Upgrade the brakes and suspension (long way down the track for now)
- Find the car's limits on a race track
- Get rid of my P-plates

Any ideas? Suggestions? Comments? Tips? Cheap mods?
I'm open to anything. Anyone else live in the western suburbs of Melbourne?

Thanks for looking everybody!

doogle wrote:Any ideas? Suggestions? Comments? Tips? Cheap mods?
I'm open to anything.

First thing I'd do is get that hydraulic fluid (brake and clutch) changed.

lower your five, those rims need to be in the guards more!

good looking na, i also recieved my 5 before i had my p plates, and i am going down the same route as you (keep it as cheap as possible and d.i.y). but now i am starting to get to the expensive bits go to your local spotlight store and get 2 meters of vinyl (red would be the go) and cover the exsisting the door cards, meanmx has done this. Then head over to your local autobarn,supercheap or repco and purchase some red plastic paint, wax and grease remover, primer, sandpaper and a can of clear. this cost me upto $90-100, and took me about 1 week (about an hour each day after work) but i did paint almost everything, i rekon the whole center console and those door cards red would look really nice. ebay is your friend! and so is the used parts section, i have gotten many bargins from these two things. as your already doing diy is cheaper and more rewarding, nothing beats the satisfaction of finishing installing/making something for your ride. goodluck with it all, and i look forward to seeing the progress of it all.

ah , you have the original version (as seen on the website) of the mx5 factory c.a.i. very interesting! the one he sells now (like stu and i have) is just an off the shelf unit that he puts his sticker on... your one is huge!

ok you asked for some tips...

for a cool, cheap, diy 2 tone interior scheme you can just go to spotlight and buy some of their red vinyl and some glue. should cost you about $30 to do both doors, iirc


as far as getting it onto a racetrack, the vic mx5 club has regular track days. have you still got the stock rims? you'll probably find the stock rims will work better on a racetrack than your 17\" rims (plus you won't hurt your nice wheels and tyres this way). a lot of people like to have a spare set of tyres / wheels for the track....

thanks for the for the quick feedback guys... will get that fluid changed JBT, could you tell it was dirty or something, i had no idea

MXHEVN, can you really lower the car more??? i assume you're talking about the rear only. sometimes when i'm driving the fronts hit the wheel arch. makes me worry a bit. still, i reckon i could do the rears. how much can you lower it by?

Fatty, looks awesome. I think i've seen that before in another thread and i've already noted that. I think i will try that soon over the uni break.
So they sell a new design c.a.i now at the mx5 factory eh? Might have to look into that. Do you know if they do the enlarged intake pipe like mx5 mania?
Unfortunately i sold my stock 14\" to provide funding for other jobs...

keep the tips coming! its really helpful! thanks all

Hi mate, nice looking car, very tidy That does not look like a 300,000 km car! I'm anouther melbourne P-plater who got his car before his license, although i'm in the eastern suburbs.

You've done pretty much all of the mods I have done so I cant offer too much advice as for what to do next... Maybe upgrade the head light bulbs if the terrible stock lights are annoying you as much as they annoyed me.

& welcome to the forum!

Ben,

oh and come to the teem garage meets.

visit the events section of the forum for details.

doogle wrote:thanks for the for the quick feedback guys... will get that fluid changed JBT, could you tell it was dirty or something, i had no idea

MXHEVN, can you really lower the car more??? i assume you're talking about the rear only. sometimes when i'm driving the fronts hit the wheel arch. makes me worry a bit. still, i reckon i could do the rears. how much can you lower it by?

the fluid is black as, black = bad it should be a yellowy cleary colour.

is your 5 on stock height?

i'm sitting on 18's with 2 inch's lower at the back and 1.5 inches at the front and i had no problems, but now my shocks are getting soft so there is a bit of scrubing with big hits i.e potholes shitty roads.

MXHEVN wrote:

doogle wrote:thanks for the for the quick feedback guys... will get that fluid changed JBT, could you tell it was dirty or something, i had no idea

MXHEVN, can you really lower the car more??? i assume you're talking about the rear only. sometimes when i'm driving the fronts hit the wheel arch. makes me worry a bit. still, i reckon i could do the rears. how much can you lower it by?

the fluid is black as, black = bad it should be a yellowy cleary colour.

is your 5 on stock height?

i'm sitting on 18's with 2 inch's lower at the back and 1.5 inches at the front and i had no problems, but now my shocks are getting soft so there is a bit of scrubing with big hits i.e potholes shitty roads.

brake fluid colour depends on the type of brake fluid you use, however it does look dark. If you've just bought it, probably best to change the fluid. In addition, while you're at it, change the clutch fluid too =]

This caught my eye because the level looks low and the fluid looks dirty - as does the brake M/C reservoir. Thus my suggestion to flush both brake and clutch.

Nice car very neat and tidy.
At 300 k km maybe think about suspension and alignement.

Yeah bleed the brakes DOT 3 can be a dark blue fresh out of the bottle, but it does look kinda dirty.

doogle wrote:MXHEVN, can you really lower the car more??? i assume you're talking about the rear only. sometimes when i'm driving the fronts hit the wheel arch. makes me worry a bit. still, i reckon i could do the rears. how much can you lower it by?

hmm maybe it's time to look at that suspension setup

thanks for the feedback guys. i will look into suspension over the uni break. i'm a bit of a noob on this part

MXHEVN wrote:is your 5 on stock height?

i'm sitting on 18's with 2 inch's lower at the back and 1.5 inches at the front and i had no problems, but now my shocks are getting soft so there is a bit of scrubing with big hits i.e potholes shitty roads.

yeah it is on stock height. changing the rear and front by different amounts, does that affect the handling in any significant way? 18" wheels and lowered by 1.5", that's damn impressive! how much did it cost you? i think i'll do the rear wheels first. 2" sounds good. i dont think i have the right offset on my wheels so the front ones might have to stay the way they are.
can anyone suggest a good brand, or place to get them installed?

thanks

doogle wrote:thanks for the feedback guys. i will look into suspension over the uni break. i'm a bit of a noob on this part

MXHEVN wrote:is your 5 on stock height?

i'm sitting on 18's with 2 inch's lower at the back and 1.5 inches at the front and i had no problems, but now my shocks are getting soft so there is a bit of scrubing with big hits i.e potholes shitty roads.

yeah it is on stock height. changing the rear and front by different amounts, does that affect the handling in any significant way? 18" wheels and lowered by 1.5", that's damn impressive! how much did it cost you? i think i'll do the rear wheels first. 2" sounds good. i dont think i have the right offset on my wheels so the front ones might have to stay the way they are.
can anyone suggest a good brand, or place to get them installed?

thanks

as for changing the front and rear at diffrent heights, i dont think it would do anything to drastic, it might but i am unsure about it. i just wanted to make it as even as possible, and the 5 tends too sit higher at the back. handiling made it better but the 18's are too sloppy, i will be going to 16's soon.

you can drop your car at least 2inches each corner maybe even up 4inches at the back, but i'd recomend getting some coilovers, 300***km on stock shocks, your 5 must have a very soft ride yeah?

i'm not into big wheels so i can't help you. but you could talk to meanmx or fastfreddygassit. both of them have large wheels on their cars and they are very well sorted and handle very well (i've been in both cars and they feel vey nice). i'm sure those guys could point you in the right direction, as stevesports said come along to the a thursday night meet and im sure either of those guys can help you out.(just check first that they will be there)