mx5cartalk.com

Hello to all members of Mx-5 Anonymous ;)

My name is Twinlol and I've been and MX-5 addict for 3 1/2 years, since having my first drive as an L plater in my brothers NC1.
My addiction reared its ugly head in July of 2009, where I drove past a dark green nb8b for almost the correct price at a dealership in Tamworth, country NSW.
I couldn't stop thinking about this car, so I took a test drive and loved every minute of it, the tingling sensation as I turned the key for the first time was just awesome.
However, the price was just to much (18,999) still, not owning this car was unbearable. Unfortunately for me, the feeling of disappointment got worse when I purchased top gear AUS, only to see a write up in the TG buyer's guide section on an almost identical MX5, including colour!
That sealed the deal for me, I had to have that car!
My family had a history of buying cars from that dealership for over 25 years, so I got in contact with the owner to tell him who I was, in order to get a better bargaining position, fortunately, it worked.
I purchased the car for the right price the next day, including a 1 year warranty and a new CD player and a service.
The car was an Armidale car, where I now reside (110kms from Tamworth) with just 90,000 kms.
With my addiction now in full flight, problems arose, for example, parking far, far away from others, a sense of dread when returning to see another parked near my baby and a phobia of shopping trolleys. This problems still persist, but I think those who ride with me are used to this by now
Anywho, heres a picture of my big green pill after I got it home for the first time: Note the old red civic in the background, had nothing on the 5.



In the second picture, note the black strips on the door, they where evicted from the car ASAP! Unfortunately, there was some minor paint damage from them being on for so long

A picture of my car at the dam:


Fast forward to 2010, unfortnately, my addiction affected those around me, claiming one of my best mates:


With somebody close to me to share my addiction with, this only served to reaffirm my affliction, there is nothing better than having somebody to cruise with who shares the same passion.

Photo at the Tamworth Lookout

Last minute decision to not run over the camera-man.



Clearly something in this empty field is extremely valuable:


Ever since owning my Mx-5 the urge to participate in track days and motorsport has been extremely high, I intend to start competing seriously as soon as money allows, in the meantime, modifications will be made to my mx-5 in order to put me in the best position to attain this, long with some advanced driving days and plenty of practice.
I've started by purchasing an SMB head-back exhaust, which was installed on the 3/10/10, and added an excellent sporty note. - Video to come this weekend.
Here is a crappy picture of it as it arrived:

Maybe I was a little too excited :\

And a picture of the secondary pipe & catalytic converter, a 200 cell metallic cat.

Next week I expect another modification to arrive,
16x7 Volk TE37 +31 offset rims. In bronze.


Next on the list is a SMB intake, BD roll bar, Blitz ZZ-R coilovers and a flyin miata brace.
I'll continue to keep this updated as things progress, with detailed write-ups as I go, I'll post a detailed write-up of the exhaust install within 3 days.

Why 1337 you say? It comes from my internet gaming days, '1337' is 'Leet' or, elite in gamer talk, and is a bit of a throwback to some of my most fun times online gaming

Getting rid of that P-Plate in about 2 months will be a very happy day, I don't want to incite a discussion or argument but I think they are dangerous, and particuarly, the green P serves no purpose but to revenue raise.


So yeah, more detailed write ups on individual modifications to come, just thought I would do a brief overview and introduction of my obsession
Thanks for reading. Oh, and I still get that sensation from the first day I drove the car everytime I get in and turn the key!

mmm SMB, TE37.....i like where this car is headed!

Here's a startup vid of the 5 with the SMB header back system.


REVIEW

Well, the SMB system has been on for about 2 weeks now, I'm happy with the end result.
However, getting here was not fun.
Due to a problem with the cat. converter supplier, our systems (mine and Sheepish's) where late by about a month, which was a little frustrating as I was keen to have it done before my schedule got busy again. Anyway, Grant from SMB eased the pain with some free shipping.

System arrives, cat-back install was easy and went as expected. However, the bolts for the braces on my car did not want to budge, and required alot of effort to get off, if you are going through this process get yourself some impact sockets, sizes 16mm, 17mm, and 19mm. a good wrench and a nice long pole to slide over your wrench to give you some more torque.

I wouldn't recommend anybody install the secondaries by themselves without a rattle gun and some nifty flex joints etc. It took a few hours to get to those bolts from the header to the secondaries in the very tight working space. Also, the headers are going to need to be loosened off the engine to give you some room to maneuver the new secondaries in to place.
After the system went in, excitement!
But this was really just the beginning of the issues for me, lol.

The system liked to rattle ALOTon the 8Bs stock 'butterfly' type brace, and also the brace in-front of this closest to the front wheels. I suspect it was also touching the chassis under load here as-well.
I tried using spacers (washers) to drop this down in order to rectify the problem, relief, but still a rattle on idle, down-shift and hard acceleration.
In the end, I caved and called Grant about the issue.
He said that there may have been a production issue and that if I returned the Cat he would check it for faults and send a repaired one back. Not wanting to have to be without my tasty new system, I went to the local exhaust store, up on the jack the guy suggests raising the engine mounts about 2-3mm in order to get the clearance I need, thus not requiring the system to be removed and returned etc. So the engine mounts where raised a fraction and presto! no issue.
Dave at MX5 mania said that this is a common problem with the SMB system, unfortunate for such an excellent sounding exhaust.
Grant was great throughout the whole process, and as long as people are aware it may rattle, I say go for it.
SMB paid for the engine mounts to be raised, in order to fix the issue - as per the warranty. If in the future I require a different solution, the lifetime warranty takes care of that.
The built quality is excellent, nice, clean welds and great finish.

Well you say, what about the performance?!

I definitely noticed a difference in the engines willingness to rev, it gets up into the power quicker and easier, and I can notice an increase in power throughout.
It sounds excellent, crackling on the down shift and sounding very sporty, turns a lot of heads without leaving me feeling like a tosser.
at 100 kph the system is noticeable, but no louder than the tyre noise or wind noise, so I"m not worried about that.
I'll post a video with a fly-by etc later on, trying to figure out how to do a good one and do the system justice without having to worry about it being used as evidence to fine me for hoon related activities.

I recommend SMB to mx5cartalk as long as you guys are aware of the potiential issues with the rattle etc. But let's face it, its one of the best systems out there for the NB so regardless of what I say you'll go there

good review. glad u liked the sound of the exhaust, and good on SMB for going that extra step for their customers.

p.s. your voice sounded like one of those teenage americans, talking through a "how to" guide on youtube

sliq wrote:
p.s. your voice sounded like one of those teenage americans, talking through a "how to" guide on youtube

Thanks man, exactly what I was going for

Nice review thanks for sharing.

I'm hoping stiffer engine mounts (Mazda Competition) will fix mine even before I get the mid-pipe and cat fitted by replacing the worn out, old and most likely compressed, mounts and not allowing the engine to move as much under torque/load.

Fitting them can be our next DIY

Also...

sliq wrote:p.s. your voice sounded like one of those teenage americans, talking through a "how to" guide on youtube

I thought this as well, glad to see I'm not alone

you do realise harder mounts = more nvh?

sliq wrote:you do realise harder mounts = more nvh?

Yeah, I've been researching them for a good few days on the big forum and alot of people say they hardly notice any difference between to standard mounts and the Comp. ones, only a bit of vibration on idle but feels exactly the same or not noticeable under load

Postman was very generous today





I'll put them on next week, I'll have my current tyres put on the wheel until I can afford the tyres I want.

Wait....

there's a specific warning about fitting them to a Renault Grand Scenic???

Someone actually wanted to fit TE37s to a Renault Grand Scenic??




anyway, enough of that.

They look great! The colour should suit the Grace Green perfectly!

Mate, I'm so glad you noticed the sticker! thats 1/2 the reason I uploaded that picture!
Personally, if I had a Grand scenic I'd be gutted, such a shame I can't put lightweight race wheels on the family mover, I'll never get put into the higher class without those wheels, it's what I'd need to stay competitive with the tarago's and the zondas.

I really appreciate the vote of confidence in the colour choice, it was really hard to imagine what it would look like.

Just waiting tilll I have the cash for the RE001s and there will be some proof if I have made a terrible mistake of a good choice

Ah, the NB8B, a powerful drug. You just keep chasing the rush. Went to my first MX5 Anon meeting tonight.

I might have missed it but did you order the SMB mid pipe with resonator or without?

Would you change your decision now?

bootz wrote:I might have missed it but did you order the SMB mid pipe with resonator or without?

Would you change your decision now?

Hey man, Sorry I didn't reply to your early message yet either.

I got a resonator.
I would definitely get a resonator again. The exhaust is definitely loud enough for me, and the note has a fair bit of character as is, so I'd always option resonator unless I went track only I guess.

How was your first MX-5 Anon meeting? ;)

The latest:
Ordered and fitted some Toyo T1R 205/50 R16 rubber to my TE37s, also had a wheel alignment.
My Wheel Alignment Specs:
Front:
Caster 4.8 Deg
Camber -1.00
Toe (in) -0.28 (2 mm in)
Rear:
Camber -1.00
Toe (in) -0.13 deg (1mm in)

Review

First of all, some background.
I came from Toyo Proxxes 4 in 205/45 R16 specification on my stock NB8B 61/2JJ wheels. They where almost brand new when I bought the car. - The previous wheel alignment specs are unknown.
I now run Volks TE37's, 16x7 inch. incredibly light, good quality, nice looking (subjective) wheels. I test fitted a 225/50R16 tyre to these the other day, just for a point of refence:
No good, not even a fingerspace between the tyre and the wheel arch, appeared as though it would interfere with steering at full lock, such as entering/leaving my driveway, etc etc.
Heres a picture of that setup, note that a random cheap tyre was used just 'cause it was a test for size. See picture:


So it was decided on the T1R's in the 205/50 specification, considerably lighter than my proxxes 4 and the random 225 tyre.
I've dríven them in mildly moist conditions and dry conditions so far, at 32PSI, I'm happy enough with 32PSI as a base reference point, I will experiment over the next few days.
What can I say? It's excellent. The improvement over my proxxes for is astounding, the car feels very solid through the corners, corners and speeds that used to make my proxxes 4 feel like they where about to give out no feel effortless. So far I haven't experienced any anomalies in terms of under/oversteer what wasn't present previously, a short test of trailing throttle cornering and a full stick exit the car stayed predictable and stable, exactly what you want from a '5. Cold temperature response and handling was quite good, better than the proxxes 4, for example.
Wet weather handling is what you would expect from a mostly 'dry' conditions tyre, it does have a 'AA' rating, but the inference is there. This tyre is an excellent compromise between dry and wet weather conditions, safe enough for wet weather driving and grippy enough for a spirited drive on your favourite quiet backroad.
Tyre Noise? Well I have a exhaust system and softtop, so I'm not going to really going to notice a subtle difference in road noise. I could still hear the radio at it's normal 100 km/h setting if that helps ;)
In a week or two Sheepish and I will swap cars (he has Potenza RE001's) and we shall compare, as they are often seen as direct competitors.

I'll update with other thoughts on the tyres later, as they break in etc, give it time for the honeymoon period to wear off ;)

Pictures time! - Sorry about the phone pics, quality ones to come.


The orange reflectors and repeaters HAVE to go, ASAP! Don't match

yes, yes, more low to come, I'm happy with the front, not the rear - I should go buy a bag of concrete
Tomorrow I better line the wheels up, haha.

Thanks for reading, any questions? Just ask