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I'm flying to Sydney on Saturday morning to commence my adventures with the replacement SE and the anticipation is the same as it was last time!

For those who didn't know, the last one was written off after being sideswiped by a red light runner. It was the 13th car I've owned, so hopefully number 14 will fare better in the long run, and I wanted a new thread to look back on in the coming years, so some info is repeated from the end of the last one.

This car comes with a few goodies included, as it was upgraded by MX5 Mania in Sydney (hence the name Maniac) to their stage 2 package, and I'm pretty happy with the list:

Large Intercoooler
AEM Intake
Catback 2.5" stainless exhaust
Hi flow cat
Magnaflow muffler
Adaptronic ECU
450cc injectors
Turbosmart Plumback BOV
Wiseco forged pistons
Carillo super A beam conrods
ACL bearings

Currently tuned for a daily driver friendly 152KW at the wheels.

This means I start out with a car that's a couple of steps ahead of where I left off, but with almost the same power so I'm really excited!

I managed to salvage a couple of bits off the last one, so have the following mods planned for the short term, some of which I've had to replace through either forgetting to remove, or parts not being salvageable:

Small side skirts
4200K HID kit
LED taillights as per the silver one
Clear side indicators & reflectors
Roberts Autosports grille
Custom Mazdaspeed mats

Then once I have the look back;

Tein SS coilovers (will be my first purchase once I get the car back to QLD!) for a little moar low
4 wheel alignment
Up the boost and tune for 160+KW at the wheels
....Profit?

Quite a change from the first post on the last one where the outside was going to remain stock!!

Oh, and this thread is worthless without pics, so here you go.

>Tein SS coilovers (will be my first purchase once I get the car back to QLD!) for a little moar low

I'd reconsider these and get something else if you ever plan on doing any track work, they're fine for the street only but not well suited for handling.

The "golden ratio" for handling is 3:2 according to Keith Tanner from FM (and many others) - 9Kg Front and 6Kg rear are ideal.

Tein SS have 7Kg Front springs and 6Kg Rear springs so produce a smooth ride but don't handle well.

My BC Racing BR series coilovers are a compromise between the two with 8Kg Front and 6 Kg Rear springs. You can actually order them with different spring rates and one day I may switch to 9Kg front springs.

Good luck Pete
Should be a great shake down run home to check it out.(jealous)

Didnt see a bar in your list? Time for an MX5 Plus Roll Bar me thinks.
At the Club Tech day recently Fulcrum were promoting some new Tein for MX5s - probably worth investigating.

Welcome to the Ti side

MINX wrote:....At the Club Tech day recently Fulcrum were promoting some new Tein for MX5s - probably worth investigating.

They'd shouldn't need to promote them too hard as they have a heap of my $$$$ from a revalue/rebuild with under 20K on them.
I'd look elsewhere, like the Billies at FatCat.

Day one, Sydney to Tamworth - it's a hoot!

Have a couple of rattles developed due to the M1 north of Sydney, what a disgrace that road is! And an ECU glitch to iron out, but other than that, the car is a pearler. Loving it to bits!

I'm glad its all coming together for you, does it feel similar?

Hjt wrote:I'm glad its all coming together for you, does it feel similar?

Thanks, it actually feels better!

Sorted out the rattle issue, the battery clamp was loose - fitted the chrome fuel lid & put my Mazdaspeed mats in, lots more work to do, so here's a reference shot having arrived home earlier this afternoon. Needs a wash, but Ti tends to hide the bugs well!

I like !

Novice1

Novice1 wrote:I like !

Novice1

So do I! This car is going to live up to it's name... Usually your first is your favourite, but Maniac has asserted her authority in a big way by proving that she's the better car, and has potential!

Unfortunately, the name gives me an earworm... "She's a maniac, maniac, on the floor and she's dancing like she never danced before..."

And that song is why the car is a she.

DAMN IT, now I'm humming that bloody song!



If you start wearing lycra, a headband and 80's leggings "Ima gonna thump you!".

Lokiel wrote:DAMN IT, now I'm humming that bloody song!



If you start wearing lycra, a headband and 80's leggings "Ima gonna thump you!".

Pay it forward as they say... I've had this bloody song in my head since I first saw the car and found out it was a Mania car.

As for the fashion, leggings are a no go, headband is a no go, lycra on the other hand...

Congrats on the replacement - looked & sounded like a nice SE when for sale in Sep-Oct.

Thanks 93_Clubman, I'm pretty happy!

The mods have started already - have done a little bit each day after work.

Headlights adjusted, now they're at the same level.
Plastic valve caps replaced with gunmetal aluminium ones.
Clear reflectors & side indicators put on, and I noticed that the pattern on them is the same as the front & rear indicators with vertical lines (I preferred that look without realising), as opposed to the circled lines that the standard ones, and one of the two options of clear on eBay have.

More pics to follow, it was too dark when I finished, and the car is still dirty.

I have to polish the 'lil red NA6 loan car before I return her to her home, so time may be an issue this weekend.

Had a safety check yesterday, only failed on tyres, which I expected. Car is running a soft compound currently, they've been rotated so that the worn areas are on the inside and new shoes are being fitted Wednesday.

Further cosmetic changes today - swapped out the blue bulb high beams (which gave the appearance of pretty blue eyes - do not want), installed HID kit, swapped standard taillights for my previous LED setup, and put some holes in the rear bumper (removed Aussie badges), which will be fixed when the skirts are fitted.

Also installed the Adaptronic software on the laptop, plugged in the USB cable that Mania thoughtfully put in the cabin and found out I have no idea what I'm doing! So I left it alone.

If anyone out there can teach me, I'll be a very grateful student!

Update photo - this is a mod I like in person, but am yet to get a photo that shows it how I see it, although this was a phone shot.

Hi Crap, I have to admire the way you have bounced back after having your baby crunched, after all the work you put into her. Unfortunately it played out as I suspected and she was written off. RIP.

Still you have gotten back on the horse very quickly and doing good stuff.

PS. for god's sake tint the rear lights and third brake light black.