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Hi Guys and Gals,

Meet 'Tiny' SE.. cos she looks tiny on the road compared to other cars..

I thought I might start up my own garage thread after viewing alot of other people's garages. Found a lot of useful info on upgrades.
So I am also hoping I can contribute in someways for other people.

I will be going slow with my upgrades. I would like to experience the car in its original form before making any changes..
I also plan to start joining the driving courses or motorkhanas to improve my skills and have some fun on the track..

Picked her up last week from Melbourne and drove back to Sydney. She was washed oer the weekend but the paint has lost its glossiness and some noticeable swirl marks all over the body. I don't this previous owner washed it regularly enough and washing is incorrectly. I am kind of a cleaning freak so first few months will be a total clean up, buff and polish to bring the paint back tp life..

These are photos from the trip back.




I am looking at following items to upgrade/replace in near future. Mostly aesthetics first.
- Tyres (they are new but very noisy)
- Fix up the kurb rash on the wheels (if you know a good place please let me know)
- Tints
- Yellow fog lights (got the idea from And1)
- Spacers (bring the wheels out a little, they seem to be too deep under the guards, anyone know a good place to get spacers please share..)
- Lowering springs (if anyone can recommend a good brand please do so)

Other performance mods will follow later.. much later

cheers and thanks for viewing

Yemin

Yemin? Different name where u from?

And as for lowering there are a billion options checkiut the suspension & handling forum.

Spacers hobeatly ebay is the way to go...
If u want a good idea would be to get hub adapters whixh also act as spacers. as there are better options in other stud patterns. Good idea to get like a five stud adapter.

Gutter rash on rims isnt easy dpending on where its done n sh*t. But any place u know that can paint rims can fix that upto.


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You're a "cleaning freak" and you bought a black car? That's a full-time occupation right there just keeping it clean

One thing to consider BEFORE fixing the kurb rash and buying new tyres if you don't really need them is to consider "upgrading" to 15" rims and tyres instead. Every SE/MSM who has done this upgrade, myself included, agrees that it's a definite improvement - the OEM 17" rims are very heavy and uncomfortable, you feel every pothole and bump in the road. 15" tyres are cheaper too. I had to buy new tyres to obtain a RWC but purchased 15x8 6ULs and tyres within 18 months of owning the car so consider that wasted money since I'd only dríven about 1,000km on them.

Consider joining the http://www.mazda-speed.com community too since they have a lot of specific SE/MSM information there that is applicable to you and most SE owners here visit that site too.

It's a great "little" car and when you start modding it you'll appreciate how much Mazda "crippled it" from the factory - now go forth and unlock its potential!

Thanks guys

I am originally from Burma. Most people don't know where it is haha

Tell me about full time job, my other (family car) is also black. I do enjoy washing them. I am keeping Tiny in the garage. Just have to blow the dust off before taking out for a drive.

Yemin

Nice work! Love the black SEs.

Nice SE!
Is this the one with 50k?

Welcome Yemin! Nice car - I love these in black!

Just so you know, you have one of the rarest SE variants in Australia - there were only 13 black SE's that made it here. Enjoy, and keep us updated on the mods!

Also - add your name to the SE owner's register so the rest of the SE owners know who you are and can answer any questions you have and offer advice specific to our cars. We're all more than happy to help out and answer any questions you have.

Here's the link: http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=41980&p=609368&hilit=SE+Owners#p609368

Also - for more in depth information, check out http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php which is a US site, specialising in the American version of our cars which is the same, except it's badged the Mazdaspeed MX-5 over there and they have the steering wheel on the wrong side!

Thanks fellas..

The car is now 55K..1K alone from the drive back..

Thanks for removing the temptation
Can wait to see it in person one day

Carried out some cleaning Saturday morning..

High pressure spray under body, a lot of mud collecting under/inside of the bumper.
Very soapy wash, rinse..
Clay small areas at a time and final wash... some photos below..
Cleaned up the wheels, theres enough room to actually reach behind the rim so cleaned up the inner rim as well. Plan to remove the wheels totally and clean up under the wheel arches next wash.

The car was not washed regularly by PO and it shows with the clay bar result. Also because the car was garaged on the country side so alot of yellow colour dust/dirt collecting on the paint. Clay also removed all the dirt and now swirl marks are more visible.

Took Tiny out for a drive. Fixed up registration and put on personal plates.
Need frames, or maybe no frames, save weight??

It started raining so parked in garage. Next week will be buff, polish and wax.

Cheers

Yemin

Welcome to the club Yemin.

Come round my place next weekend and we'll detail together!

No Number plate frames to save weight?

My car has no windows

Dann

wassup wrote:Welcome to the club Yemin.

Come round my place next weekend and we'll detail together!

Yeap get your stuff ready.. got a few hours of window approved by minister of everything..

NitroDann wrote:No Number plate frames to save weight?

My car has no windows

Dann

LOL.. Dann you car is like anorexic model
I will definately use your weight lost program later..

Yemin

Went out on a cruise up to PITS meet up with other forum members today. Great to be out and really enjoying the top down driving. Really glad I picked up Tiny just in time with good weather coming up.

A few things done to Tiny.

Buff and Polish (with help from wassup) using RO and Menzerna cutting compound.
Took out a lot of small to medium swirls and brought back the shine. It was amazing to see how shiny the car is. Bigger swirls are still existing. Will try abit more abrasive pad next time buffing.


Yemin