Ben Sale's white 1990 NA6

[d-mag]

Nice Ben!
Are they on the 14s or the 16s?

[bensale]

They're on the 14's. I couldn't justify the additional $360 to put them on the 16's considering I would be doing so solely for looks and at the same time reducing the cars performance. Although I'm looking at getting some tyres for the 16's still so I can have two sets to use.

Next time I see you cheyne your welcome to take it for a quick blat

[bensale]

Took the car up to Winton for the mx5 club driver education day. What a great day! Nothing really compares to driving on a race track I will be doing probebly one or two track days a year from now on Tossing up between doing Sandown or Phillip Island.

As the below pics show the old (original) suspension is lacking a bit... The body roll is quite excessive, especially when compared to some other cars doing the same exercise. I'm thinking of putting new dampers/shocks in as at 207,000 they are probebly well gone. I want to keep the car stock so that when I do go onto the track I can be in the mx5 club's standard class and easily benchmark my own driving (not to mention I am far from made of money -no teins-). Suggestions on good options to take are apreciated!







(Credits to Damo for taking the above shots ) I've also added a few shots to the first post.

[CheyneX5]

Nice shots

[corners]

Nice shots.
Glad you enjoyed your first track day!

[bensale]

Well time for an update... Since the last post i've on and off been considering selling the car for something with a boot and back seat. I've thought about everything from a magna wagon and a go kart through to a Pug 205 gti or Alfa gtv. However, I've pretty much convinced myself to keep the car so yay me! The Polar Bear (the cars new nickname- thanks Keith-) has covered 7500 more kms, some fun, other moments definetly not...

I've recently gotten the interior to the point where I am extremly happy with the look of it. I've maid a fair few minor changes which have all in all made it pretty much perfect for me, definetly not Mazda original but looking like it could be. Most recent additions are a leather gear boot IH8 kindly gave to me, a new door card to replace my damged old one. I've also taken some foam out of the seats, then adding some for additional lumbor support. I also got some very nice floor mats from CheyneX5, although I wish that I got them some other way...





I've also fitted a rear sub frame brace which I got of davamb which made an amazing difference to the car! Really tightened up the rear end, improving both the handling and ride comfort. For the money its amazing value! I'm thinking of making up a front brace myself when I get the time, either copying the cusco 4 point brace or the racing beat / na8 style 2 point.



I've also taken the car on a few drives. There was the mx5 club Black Saturday run which was an amazing experience.






And a few drives up and around the yarra vally region. On the second trip we were lucky enough to go around a corner and find snow, perhaps the most amazing experience I've ever had in the mx5! However, sadly that trip ended up being eventful for an entierly different reason...





I also took these snaps down at Docklands

[corners]

Looking Good!!!

Glad you decided to keep it!!! Sounds like you have been bitten by the bug!

[1blue5]

Hey Ben, you have changed your wheels?, the wheels you had when you were on the run for the black saturday-what are they?, they dont look too dissimilar to mine.
Glad you are keeping the bear

[bensale]

The wheels in those photos are OEM Mazda nb8b 16's. I think they make the car look amazing. They need a new pair of rear tyres and I can't justify spending the money to get decent rubber at the moment so thats why I'm running the 14s.

[PSI-JET]

Good to see you're still looking after it mate

[rocka]

Whatever you do mate never wash the bear with a red sock..

I love this car. I think you've got it about right.

[bensale]

Hey Damien! Thanks for still following this thread mate, it really means a lot to me!

Thanks for the compliment Keith

[PSI-JET]

It's nice to follow the car's progress and to see you're enjoying it still. It's funny that I've seen you quite a few times driving it too

[bensale]

Haha, I remember seeing you on the westgate freeway a while back. I'll have to keep an eye out for you in your new beast.

[bensale]

Small update

The car has been lowered 30mm, the setup is Bilstein Shocks, kings springs and fat cat motorsport bumpstops. To say the transforation is amazing is an understatement! I'm really pleased with how the car drives and looks now. Its not too low, nor is it too stiff, about perfect for me

The car has also been fitted with an R spec front lip which gives the car a touch more aggression at the front without ruining the lines (IMO)

I've also re fitted my nb8b 16s and clear reflectors as they really suit the car perfectly at this height. I've never really wanted the car to look too modified as I think Mazda did a great job in the first place, personally I think slightly dropped with OEM wheels is a really good look and about all I want to do to it visually (except add a roll bar).

In addition to this I got a wheel alignment done by Phil Hughes who also lent me a hoist and helped me with getting the car perfectly level (it was a few mm off before playing with it). Thankfully I can now get the camber settings I've wanted to be able to run, slighly under -2 on the front with 6 deg castor, slightly over -2 on the back and fairly aggressive toe settings but still ok for daily driving.

I also got the air conditoning re gassed today (so much better!) a strut brace (helped balance the cars dynamics as the rear was much stiffer due to the subframe brace- still needs a front subframe brace though) and I'll be fitting a set of Lucas brake pads to the front this week.

Photos_ (don't really do it justice)











I also took the car for a run up the reefton and black spurs on the weekend to test it out (prior to fitting the 16s. What amazing roads for an amazing car!



Credits to Ryan for the suspension and fittment expertise, Jeff for the lip and fitment help, Nick for the brace and Bruce for recomending the pads.