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VTECMACHINE's 2005 SE
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:01 pm
by VTECMACHINE
Hey guys,
Some of you guys probably know me, but I thought I should formally introduce myself. My name is Ricki and I have always been a car lover. Particularly love Honda's but have always LOVED the way the MX5's drive and have wanted to own one. I will post my previous cars, just so you guys get a taste of what I am into.
I used to own a DC2R which did alright lapping 1.10.7380 at Wakefield with stock motor and gears and a pretty big sound system (LOL).


Time went by and I needed a change. So I sold that and bought an Evo 8. The Evo was to be a pure street car. I got bored of that quickly, and at the same time my mate offered to buy it. So I sold it to him.
Pics to come of the Evo
I looked high and low at MX5's and set a budget of $12 - $14 grand. Eventually ended up stretching it quite a bit and bought an absolute mint example of a Black 2005 SE. Absolutally love it to bits! It's been inspected and comp tested and everything, and Indy from ISMR and Ben from Touge Tune say it's the best one they have come across. So i'm happy and enjoying it alot.
The car is so well set up by Mazda/Mazdaspeed that I just don't want to touch it or molest it. I will definately put a roll bar in and apart from that maybe some HID's. I've changed the gay leather gearknob to the Silver brushed aluminium SP one. I want to go nuts on it, but something it telling me to enjoy it in stock form - which I am doing very much so.
Anyways, i'll be on this forum alot asking lots of questions, cos I don't know much about these cars.
Cheers,
Ricki.
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:45 pm
by ForceMajeure
Welcome, sounds like you have got yourself a very nice ride indeed.
I had my stock NB8A for a little over 5 years (apart from a wooden Nardi gearknob and handbrake handle) before i felt the need to "improve things", but eventually the itch needs scratching.

Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:43 pm
by evil_weevil
Sorry Ricki, we dont want you here!! :d lol j/k!!
Good move on the car mate!!
I remember before you bought EVO you wanted an MX5 and werent too sure, good to see you made it into one!
Would be good to see what you can do with this one at wakie!
Cheers,
Chris
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:21 pm
by A.Chen89
saw your thread on JDMST, looks great!
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:05 am
by Crapweasel
Welcome to the obsession Ricki - you chose well!
I'm jealous that you got a black one - and just so you know, you have one of only 13 black SE's in Australia, so your car is a very rare example.
Would be a good idea to update your profile to show your location, this way you can get local information for any parts/great twisty roads/other peoples in your area.
Enjoy it for a while, get a feel for it, then go nuts! The car will tell you what it wants, trust me - they all do...
I bought an SE with intake and exhaust almost 2 yrs ago, and the car has spoken. It wants more, and I for one, welcome our new MX5 overlords!
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:26 am
by VTECMACHINE
Chris too bad mate, i'm here wheather you like it or not

I really want to track the car, but i'm saving for an apartment so this is my calm down car. I want to keep it as my Daily street car, but I may make some improvements down the line... we'll see what happens.
13 black ones holy sh*t, so the guys from MX5mania were right by saying that I probs have 1 in 3 black
2005 ones.
So who can tell me where I can get a japanese branded intake from? I've looked everywhere, and I still can't find much for this car.
Also, are the calipers and rotors the same size as the NA NB's? Need to know if I can get a set of MX72's in their quick smart with some Dixcel rotors.
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:11 am
by de Bounce
VTECMACHINE wrote:Also, are the calipers and rotors the same size as the NA NB's? Need to know if I can get a set of MX72's in their quick smart with some Dixcel rotors.
Welcome to the forum
The SE has the same brakes as the manual NB8B (01-05) also known as the sports or large brakes in the US
Front rotors are 270x22mm and rears 276x10mm
Only difference is Mazda painted the calipers silver hence a part number changed.
There is some info on the
MX5 Mania site HEREEnjoy
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:45 am
by VTECMACHINE
Thanks for the brakes sizes!! Heaps helpful. Now just need to find an Intake and order me a defi boost gauge.
This was my evo 8!


And this is my MX5


Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:24 pm
by MINX
Welcome and congratulations.
The Black Mica 05 SE is a very sought after beast in deed.
Hope you enjoy it.
Heaps of info at mazdaspeed.com (American SEs)
Feel free to ask if you have any modding questions, its a well worn path now.
But also tell us what you do in case you come at it from another angle.
Stu
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:08 pm
by two40
Congrats and welcome to the obsession. Car looks great.
Fill in your location and join in on your next local meet.

Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:27 pm
by VTECMACHINE
How the heck do I update my details

Also, first sortttt of mod/improvement today (apart from the gear knob) - 20% tints! YAY!!!
I've very happy with the handling TBH, just want a little bit more power and response.
I've heard the AEM intake is probably the best intake for the SE? Is this true? Also the Turbosmart Compact BOV was recommended to me aswell in another thread on this forum. I will get a Defi boost gauge aswell to monitor boost spike - wish I didn't let mine go with my the Evo.
Regarding cat back exhausts, I see magnaflow make one for the car. Anyone using one of these? The MF exhausts are generally fairly quiet from what i've heard - which is defianately something I want.
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:33 pm
by de Bounce
VTECMACHINE wrote:How the heck do I update my details

Assuming you are logged in
At the top of any page, click on 'User Control Panel' then select profile
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:38 pm
by Lokiel
VTECMACHINE wrote::
I've heard the AEM intake is probably the best intake for the SE? Is this true? Also the Turbosmart Compact BOV was recommended to me aswell in another thread on this forum. I will get a Defi boost gauge aswell to monitor boost spike - wish I didn't let mine go with my the :
:
Most of us here use the AEM intake and are happy with it. I read on miata.net that AEM have stopped producing this intake for our cars so it may be hard to track down. I imported mine from the US and it was much cheaper than purchasing locally, even allowing for S&H.
If you do have issues sourcing the AEM CAI, BEGi make one for our cars too:
http://www.bellengineering.net/product_ ... cts_id=146I don't know of anyone who has this though but it's probably the 2nd best/cheapest option.
A warning on importing exhausts: S&H is VERY expensive for these large+heavy items. I have the FM 2.5" exhaust system which I purchased as part of a Group Buy (US$100 cheaper) and the S&H was almost as much as exhaust system. FM may have found a cheaper transporter now so it's something to keep in mind. If I had to do it again, I'd probably purchase it locally or buy the COrksport 3" system (they have a local presence/supplier in Australia).
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:38 am
by VTECMACHINE
Thanks for the tips guys. This is a really helpful forum.
AEM intake I can get easily for really cheap aswell, as goes for the Magnaflow exhaust aswell.
Only thing is, I don't want to spend a heap of money on this car... well not yet anyways. Suppose to be saving for a deposit on a House haha - only reason why I sold the Evo. So I may have to hold off on some mods for a while - especially cos the stock ECU is crap. First thing first, I want to get a roll bar. So I will get a BD roll bar soon, and then see from there. If the Turbosmart DV is cheap, I will grab one of them. I don't want to be venting to atmo either so it seems like a good option.
Re: My 2005 NB SE
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:13 am
by StanTheMan
OMG, OMG, OMG.
now I've seen everything. Ricki in an Mx5.
Please be very welcome & enjoy your stay.