Willstar's New Wheels

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 4:51 pm

My new ride!

Modifications
-Nil

Future Modifications
-Nil (will probably change soon down the track)

1.jpg

2.jpg

Old Dude · Postby **Old Dude** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:29 pm

Nice Willstar, welcome to the clan

Cheers
Dale

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:34 pm

Cheers!
Looking forward to meeting some of you at the Vic coffee nights. But I'm yet to work out what night they're on.

Amendment number 1:
Future modifications:
Novice1's wheels and semi slicks.

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:38 pm

Nice, I like black NB8B's. I'm sure you'll find a way to modify it, though your car already has a lot of the upgrades we add to the earlier ones =)

Thursday nights from about 7 - 730 at Garage Cafe in Carlton. viewtopic.php?f=64&t=17056&start=4965

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:42 am

Yesterday, all work troubles seemed so far away.

IMG_0565.JPG

PaulF · Postby **PaulF** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:04 pm

Willstar wrote:Yesterday, all work troubles seemed so far away.

Not sure if Beatles reference...

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 3:42 pm

Kinda!

de Bounce · Postby **de Bounce** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:16 pm

Welcome to the obsession Willstar.
Drive and enjoy

Garage Cafe is a good gathering - worth the effort on any Thursday night.

Novice1 · Postby **Novice1** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:34 pm

Looking good. Looking forward to further updates.
Cheers novice1

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:41 am

I had a few globes blown behind the dash cluster when i bought my 5.

IMG_0567.JPG

I bought a set of 5 white LEDs from eBay and was very happy with the improvement.

IMG_0570.JPG

Even though the forums had very mixed views on how hard and laborious a job it is to change these globes, i had it completed in about 15 minutes.
I recommend this change to anyone needing to replace any of these bulbs. Go for the LEDs. I'm not a fan of the crazy blues, pinks, purples, etc but am happy with the white.
The NB8Bs still will have the red needles and odometer as in the picture, whereas the SPs will change to whatever colour LEDs you choose.

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:52 am

I know, I know. I bought this car saying that i had no intention on changing anything from stock.
But trying not to play with an MX5 is like forcing back a yawn, or sneeze, or a 6'5" bodybuilding rapist. Like it or not, its going to happen.

I'll be swapping over to a fresh(er) set of struts and mazdaspeed springs on the weekend. Can anyone confirm that the NB8Bs suspension feels a little softer than the NB8As?
Hopefully the mazdaspeed springs make a big difference and wont wreck the stock bump stops.

I'm also looking for an exhaust.
Does anyone know if i will have noticeable increase in throttle response from a cat-back alone? I had a "sports" cat back done on a 180SX that made a very noticeable difference.
Or will i only see a performance increase after new headers and high flow cat?
This will be on a tight budget, on a car that will only do 5-10,000K max per year. so a used aftermarket system would suit.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:25 am

To my knowledge the springs and shocks were the same on NB8A and NB8B (well, visually they are, excluding the 10AE, SE, and SP)

The Mazdaspeed springs are about 30% Stiffer, adn about 25mm lower.

They are progressive rate so they don't feel much different to stock.
However unlike stock they stiffen as they load up, so the more weight, the stiffer they get (ie: hard cornering)

You shouldn't have bump stop issues with them, I have a set on mine and it only hits the bump stops on things like Large dips (the rollercoaster sort of ones)
Even when it does hit them, it's only softly, it's not like a punch in the back.

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:15 pm

Nice.

Cant wait.

After exhaust I'll be adding a fat set of sway bars to the list as well.

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:20 am

Just finished:

Fresh OEM struts and Eibach/Mazdaspeed springs. Much nicer ride height (35mm down) without feeling like a dog dragging its butt along the carpet, and stiffer feel in the corners. A bit more harsh on the bumps, but i can live with that.
The swap was basic on the rear and relatively easy on the front. The long inner bolt on the upper control arm looks a bit daunting, but i was surprised how easily it slipped out.

Miataroadster short throw shifter. My favourite mod so far. The stock shifter was great, but did feel a little sloppy compared to the NA boxes. I had miss shifted a few times, and ground on reverse too many times. I recommend a heavy gear knob if you do this swap. I'm using the blox 450 gram knob which makes the clunkyness (great word) of the short throw shifter less noticeable. An easy, but messy mod.

Aussie Stig · Postby **Aussie Stig** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:06 pm

Willstar wrote:I had a few globes blown behind the dash cluster when i bought my 5.
IMG_0567.JPG

I bought a set of 5 white LEDs from eBay and was very happy with the improvement.
IMG_0570.JPG

Even though the forums had very mixed views on how hard and laborious a job it is to change these globes, i had it completed in about 15 minutes.
I recommend this change to anyone needing to replace any of these bulbs. Go for the LEDs. I'm not a fan of the crazy blues, pinks, purples, etc but am happy with the white.
The NB8Bs still will have the red needles and odometer as in the picture, whereas the SPs will change to whatever colour LEDs you choose.

Nice, I wondered what white would look with the cream guages and now I know.
Looks like you have some SE seats (red inserts)
You need a big red knob to complete the red accents. :lol: