Matt's MY08 NC Roadster.

[CoffeeBoss]

Nice meeting up with you on Tuesday, here are some of the pics I got. (hope you don't mind me sticking them in here)

Thanks Alex, not at all! I contribute photos to other people's threads all the time.

And besides, your camera makes my car look really good.

There was a small contingent of MX5's present, hopefully we can band together for a group shot at the next EOMM.

Maybe we should...*slower* maybe we should... -_-

Haha! Dammit man, i'm typing this from the office and about to head off to a family function. Anyway, i have the flu Adam was carrying at the last EOMM. Next one, next one!!

Perhaps i shall see you on Sunday? (hope i can make it!)

[CoffeeBoss]

Setting Things Right
Popped in to Spinning Wheel on Tuesday.
Spinning Wheel Tires used to be in Woolloomooloo, and have now relocated to much much larger premises in Waterloo, right around the corner from the Sydney City Toyota/Lexus.



Stu at Spinning Wheel is something of a legend amongst MX5 drivers in Sydney. He's been fettling MX5's for 15 years or more now and is quite handy at it. I first sampled his skills behind the wheel of a friend's NB along the Putty Rd. I was amazed at the transformation from the car i had dríven just a week before.

When i had the Lexus i had Stu fettle the alignment a few times. We had some success, but by his reckoning, it would be a while before he got the hang of the Altezza's geometery, as he hadn't worked with them much beforehand.

Anyway, finally took the NC in for Stu to play with. Luckily enough, they were not to busy, and it was up on the hoist almost immediately.

I just stood back and let Stu do his thing. In short, he dialled in a bit more castor in the front, and some more camber in the front as well. Rear was dialled back a bit.

When he was done, he announced: "I've set it up to handle." Well, it already does... so my expectations were high.

From the moment i drove out of Spinning Wheel, i could feel that everything was just working so much better! Suffice to say, a short time later, i was here:



Pie In the Sky, on the Old Pac.

The improvement is dramatic, particularly on a road like the old pac. The car is far more composed mid corner, and the improvement in balance when dealing with mid-corner bumps is exceptional. Really, Stu's handywork has exceeded my expectations.

Whilst getting re-aquainted with The Old Road, i came across a fellow MX5er out to test his new 5D. Nice piece of kit, that! Alex has posted some of his top images on the previous page, thanks Alex!

[CoffeeBoss]

Iceberg Run II - South Coast Chaos

So, after regretfully missing the Brass Monkey Run of a few weeks ago, last Sunday i managed to sake my thirst for some decent winter top-down motoring with the club - the Iceberg II Run.

Awoke on Sunday at 6AM to a crisp, clear 6 degree morning(!). Gave the car a quick bath... nice idea, had zero feeling in my hands afterwards.

I met the group at the base of Maquarie Pass - they had made a 6am sharp departure from Sydney, and were already nearing the bass of Macquarie Pass when i got there at 7:30 AM! One of the things i love about MX5 drivers, so many keen beans!

We drove down into Kangaroo Valley for a brief stopover.



That's Gavin's NB parked behind me, wearing his new set of 6UL's, complete with semi slicks. Looks well 'ard!



Also finally made Chris/Zawrilla's acquaintance. And was reaquainted with his SE... turns out it's the exact car i test drove at Eurocars before i settled on the NC! It's decidedly more interesting now, and sounds quite sporty with it's new exhaust.



Tried to get some on-the-go shots with my compact, not easy when your trying to keep up with these guys!



We made our way down to Berry for a breakkie stop. I had to part ways with the group here unfortunately, but that is the great thing about an early morning run, still have the remainder of the day to catch up with other commitments. A guilt-free drive!



More photos on in my Flickr album here.

[Hammer]

Seeing the pix of this Corolla, makes me wish I kept my old one. .... the replacement I got, a 2nd-hand 1985 Toyota Celica Supra, answered all that.

Alan - so your an old Toyota driver from way back! I had a suspicion you were a kindred spirit! You should get along to one of the Toymods meets some time - their annual Toymods Toyotafest is certainly worthwhile.

I guess you can say that.

[CoffeeBoss]

50K Service
Well my 50'000 service has come and gone. I can. not. stop. driving this thing.

Service went largely without a hitch. There is one niggling thing i have found with my NC. The NC's roof, unlike the NA and NB, folds forward to meet the windscreen, rather than up and over. When you have the roof down, it is secured by a latch. Pulling a latch between the seats releases the roof so you can pull it closed.
When i first got the car, pulling the latch would cause the roof to 'pop' up about an inch or two so you could easily grab it and pull it over your head. Like this:



However now it barely pops up at all. The service department assured me that there is no mechanism that causes the roof to pop up, it's simply the tension in the canvas, and this stretches over time.
It's, at worst, mildly annoying as occasionally it doesn't pop clear of the latch. But i'm used to it now anyhow.

Before my next service however, new front pads and discs will be needed. So looking around to see what people are using, and canvassing opinions. One thing i have discovered is that there are very little in the way of aftermarket discs for the NC. Apparently the stock ones are considered to be quite up to the task, as they should be, it's not a heavy car by modern standards. But even in Japan, where the aftermarket is turned to almost as a matter of course, most NC drivers are not changing their front discs even for competition.

They had an interesting car parked in the service foyer for a change. Quite well appointed these things. Would make an awesome daily IMHO. I love a car that's maligned and largely misunderstood like this one. Will have to have a drive of one at some stage. Like the lines of the new one, but prefer the sleeper-ness of the older model. This probably suits the 'boy-racer' target market better though.

[CoffeeBoss]

JDMST EOMM
A great JDMST End Of Month Meet yesterday. And a solid MX5 *ahem* Mazda Roadster turnout as well. It's the world's most popular sports car, this shouldn't be all that surprising. However it's good to see this car being embraced by a community that has a wide variety of tastes, but also a common thread of enthusiasm towards great cars and car ownership in general.









Nath's NA6, despite what he will tell you, this is one clean car





Zawrilla's SE at it's new sensible height and looking oh so right (in profile at least ). Chris has a spoiler suggestion for me which i am quite interested to see.



Blackster was there also, there's a glimpse of his SE which he parked up infront of mine. People who roll on RPF1s stick together



This was one of the show pieces of the event. And it's not even completed yet.



This afternoon went for a quick afternoon blat to get the milk (JDM Style milk actually. No really! Bonsoy. It's the bomb.) In Robertson i chance meeting with the Illawarra Sport Cars Club. Just a loose collective of enthusiasts from the region who do a drive once a month. Along with an immaculate MGA and Austin Healey 3000 were two NA's, two NB's (including a concours standard NB8A) and two NCs. Had a great chat to them, may go with a drive with them down the track. The couple in the MGA had another at home. And an NC at home as well

[sliq]

nice write up

[hks_kansei]

Matt, you really need to update this thread more often, it's always a real pleasure to read, you can really feel the passion you have for your car, and the car lifestyle in general.

[JBT]

That MGA looks very noice indeed.

[Regie]

ahh Matt i saw all those sports car club cars going through Kangaroo Valley about 1pm or so yesterday. Some nice cars in the convoy there

[CoffeeBoss]

Matt, you really need to update this thread more often, it's always a real pleasure to read, you can really feel the passion you have for your car, and the car lifestyle in general.

I'm glad to hear you enjoy reading it They are only two seaters afterall, so i try to share the enjoyment as best i can. Unfortunately, work does have to take precedence!

As far as being a fan of the car lifestyle, well, as they say: like father, like son.

That MGA looks very noice indeed.

ahh Matt i saw all those sports car club cars going through Kangaroo Valley about 1pm or so yesterday. Some nice cars in the convoy there

They were quite a tight knit group. I mainly chatted to the wife of the couple who were driving the MGA. When they told me they had a hard top variant at home, i replied, of course you have two, because one of them is always off the road, right? I don't think it went down to well...
She had an NC at home, Galaxy Grey as well. And her son was there in his white NA6. I thought this quote was the most telling:
"we started out mainly as a group of MG drivers, but now we're all getting MX5s"

[CoffeeBoss]

Fish And Chips Run
So, it has been a long standing joke between myself and a few of the esteemed members of this forum that i have never been along to a Fish & Chips runs, despite being constantly invited to them for many years now! Well, Stefan's persistance finally paid of this week, and i made it along to my first Fish & Chips run.



What a fantastic way to spend a "school night". Great weather, good food in Balmoral and genuinely nice coffee in Dee Why, and a top bunch of true enthusiasts. There is also a surprisingly entertaining little route that links it all together.

It was quite a momentus occasion, if i may be so bold. It was Jonno's birthday, and he was behind the wheel of his birthday present to himself, a delicious Marina blue NA6. It's good to have you back buddy, hopefully it's good to be back!

Also present was MX5Cartalk's favourite 'former' MX5 driver (and dare i say former PostBoss on these very forums ) with his 'new' toy. I like referring to the Hako as "That Car From The Internets" since it has gathered such a following on some forums that it's clogging the pipes.



Having now seen (and heard!!!) it in action, i can fully understand what all the fuss is about. I managed to slot in behind Kevin during the second part of the run over to Dee Why, and the way this thing squats and goes totally belies it's age! So much torque! It was awesome. I think for me, (and possibly for many?) I rationalise my excitement like this - it's gratifiying that this is a Japanese car from an age when they were generally maligned as a producer of cars (particularly in this country, and particularly with regards to sports cars). Watching it hammer out of corners had me thinking, this machine is definitely a feather in the Japanese car industries cap.
It looks fantastic on the road as well.

We finished up at Moltofino in Dee Why, who kindly took us in although they had begun packing down for the evening. I'm pleased to say, the coffee was excellent!

[CoffeeBoss]

So i've been a little lax updating my thread of late, just too busy - which is a good thing.

Anyhow a couple of updates to make, some new bits, some drives, and some tracktime.

For this post, a quick recount of the recent MX5 Breakfast Club's Tatler Winery Run



This was a fantastic run, and with the good graces of the organisers and the winery, it will be an annual event extended to other Roadsters as well.

The Breakfast Club idea is essentially a flavour of MX5 Club runs that suits the more enthusiastic drivers amongst us, who like to get up early and enjoy some great driving roads before the weekend traffic appears. In this case, we all met at Windsor for a 7AM run down the Putty Road to the Hunter Valley.











Once there, we converged with latecomers from Sydney, and the Hunter Valley Chapter of the MX5 Club for a genuinely quality breakfast at the Tatler Winery.



Since Mazda's MX5 is celebrating 20 years this year, we also did a model line-up for photos. Lighting and location were not ideal, but I'm sure everyone get's the idea: that's a 1989 NA on the left hand end, through to a new 2009 model NC2 on the right hand end.



All in all, i think we had around 50 MX5's present. We were also joined by some SR311 Fairlady Roadster's.... seriously cool cars, those. One of the MX5 Club guys was telling me how they used to run rings around the MGB's at trackdays when they were released. Good to see they are still in the hands of enthusiasts.









Headed back via the Old Pac, as you do - my car doesn't actually allow me to drive along the northern freeway, it threatens to stall repeatedly, and the wheel tugs violently towards the exit to the Old Pac. I think this should be a feature of all MX5s.

Came upon a group of bikes on the dual lanes being led by this nice old BMW. Ended up sitting in behind him to watch, as it was nice to see a rider on a reasonably classic bike who wasn't afraid to drop the knee through the bends. Put on quite a show once he saw us in the his mirrors.



Full gallery here

[JBT]

Mmmm, yes, the Datto 2000 was quite a weapon in its day.

[CoffeeBoss]

Front Brake Pad Upgrade Part 1 of 2: Carbotech Brake Pads

So, after much deliberation I have decided to try out the Carbotech Pads from the US. I picked them up from 949 Racing and ended up going with the entry level AX6 model. I settled on the Carbotechs for a few reasons:

- quite a few Hawk pad users in the States (Hawks seem quite popular amongst MX5 drivers) had switched to these and had glowing reports (no pun intended)
- Carbotech pads use a Ceramic-Kevlar compound which reportedly gives excellent "modulation and release" characteristics
- the ceramics also help reduce rotor wear over traditional pads
- braking torque is consistent over a wide temperature range (65°C - 650°C for the AX6 pads)
- price: the performance numbers seemed comparable to Japanese pads (Endless, Autoexe, Dixcel) that I was looking at which were a good 15-25% dearer and by most accounts would not last as long.

So, the sales bumf certainly worked

Mainly though, i was wanting to try out a near stock pad with good cold braking that could withstand the odd trackday.

The transaction with Emilio at 949 Racing was very smooth, and the pads arrived after about a fortnight.



I also took the liberty of ordering some of 949 Racing's braided lines for the NC. But those were not to be installed initially - I wanted to bed the pads in on their own first, and feel the difference from stock without any other changes.



So, new OEM front rotors were installed with the pads.

The bedding procedure for the Carbotech pads is very specific. The idea is to get the transfer layer down onto your new discs. Once this is done you get a better contact between pad and disc, and apparently this process is required to gain the full benefits that the Carbotech compound gives you. After a few decellerations from speed (100km/h - 40km/h) you can see the disc starts to take on a bluey-grey hue. TBH I didn't follow the brake in procedure to the letter, however I did take care to follow Indy's strict instructions which he recommends for ANY new pads, which is no hard braking for the first 300km. Indy's wisdom stipulates that you don't want to generate significant heat between a new pad and a new disc. This process worked wonders for the aftermarket pads I wore on the Lexus, so I'm continuing with this thought process here.

I'm very interested to see how the lifespan of these new pads (and the new stock discs) pans out as it should reveal just how good these pads are, and wether or not my bed in procedure was satisfactory!