billybunters - from a bmw z4 to a mx5 se

[Old Dude]

It'll go 10 Kmh faster now

Cheers
Dale

[Okibi]

I'm tempted to go stripes on my NB but was only going to do it a slightly different colour to the bodywork. How much of a PITA was it, especially over the "hump" in the middle of the bonnet?

[billybunter]

hi
bonnet wasn't too bad really - it was the rear bumper that was challenging.

[Lokiel]

I think dark grey stripes would look better than blue (but that's just my opinion):

[billybunter]

ebay intercooler installed

[Crapweasel]

Keep the mods going, you're going to have a blast!

There's a lot of options out there for more power now, my garage thread shows a new one available in the market, and believe me, just north of 150kw at the wheels in these cars is a hoot!\

Thanks for going down the path of the cars you have - saves me the trouble of wasting my hard earned, and I'd once aspired to a Boxster S, but agree with Lokiel, the badge isn't worth the extra $ and tears!

[bootz]

Hi all
On the other hand the Boxster was a very good car with great handling. All was well untill one morning i noticed a large patch of oil on the garage floor. So off i went and rang up the porshe dealership. Got onto the service centre and was told a common problem. All it required was a new oil seal but was a 6 to 8 hour job so while there good idea to replace the clutch and pressure plate. Total price of the quote was 4 to 5k.
Its a porsche i thought so that's fair -nothing for nothing.
While on the phone i was referred to the head mechanic who pointed out with oil leak in that particular location comes more problems. If the camshaft area etc is out of alignment unfortunately the seal won't bed in and the problem will get worse and you could have an engine failure. Should that occur then its a second hand replacement motor for 20k or 35k for a new one. .

I too "aspired" to this ultimate roadster and have read about the cost of fixing oil leaks "will bring tears to your eyes" but this would break many a person's heart. The worst thing is that it is quite common. Not something the motor magazines will tell you, thank god I could 'only' afford my mx5.

[billybunter]

not only that - the 911 are also plagued with the same problems. when i was in the boxster 968 forum you'd be surprised how may of these classics had oil leaks.
from the early 2.5 and the 2.7 ( mine) all the way up to 2009 models. buyers in that later model rage had total engine replacements under warranty. so had travelled under 10k
a bit of trivia a new boxster in aust costs about $130K. even if you bought one there is always the stigma attached that you couldn't afford the real one. aka ....911
i think the mx5 is a very good car.......why. i can go out jump in it ( maybe more like crawl) turn the key. it starts immediately and you can go for a run. come back home with a great smile on the dial.
its possitive points are very cheap to mod and extremely good value. im chasing 200 or a bit better rwhp to put me up power wise to a 3.0 litre Z3. i had one of these about 3 years ago and they run about 5.8 to 100kph
bit of european car trivia. everythings so expensive for example $2400 for a set of 18" runflat tyres
which toss the car about on corners and are totallt rubbish. most z4 drivers drop the runflats and settle for the good fashion stuff. plus none of the z3 and z4 ive had liked a corners. different story with the z3m though
not so in the se..........loves them corners. they like it even better with 15" wheels. just my opinion only
overall i think the more mods i do their is always more i want. so i will load a few of them tomorrow.
zoom zoom

[Crapweasel]

im chasing 200 or a bit better rwhp to put me up power wise to a 3.0 litre Z3. i had one of these about 3 years ago and they run about 5.8 to 100kph
zoom zoom

Here's a website for you: http://www.torquestats.com/modified/index.php?pid=calculator

Throw in your dríven wheels (RWD obviously), HP at the crank - add 13% to your rear wheel horsepowers for a rough guide, and then put in the kerb weight of the car - 1130kg is a good average for the SE.

This will give you a good idea of what's required to beat that Z3, and you'll be surprised. My 205 at the wheels is calculated to be around 5.3 to 100kph, and by the seat of the pants, it feels damn quick. I need to go back to the drags to try it out of course, but the butt dyno is full of confidence, let me tell you!

Added to that before the last round of updates, my 1/4 mile time was pretty damn close to the figures on the website, and I put in the figures for the 2004 C5 Vette for the manufacturers claim versus the stats (434 HP, 4.2 to 100), and on the website it was within 0.1 sec of the manufacturers claims, so I figure it's close enough!

[bootz]

ebay intercooler installed

I gotta say look at the size diff between the baby stock one and the aftermarket one.

[Lokiel]

ebay intercooler installed
:
I gotta say look at the size diff between the baby stock one and the aftermarket one.

Yeah, the stock intercooler seems almost token by comparison.

[billybunter]

i also bought new silicone tubing and t clamps to go with the install but the originals set came off the old intercooler quite easy so i just switched over.

[billybunter]

$100 ebay digital boost gauge and turbosmart mbc

[billybunter]

the build up to date. turbosmart plumb-back mx5 mania throttle body inlet and aem cold air intake.

[billybunter]

hi all
the dirty looking brown parts on the engine bay/sides are from privious owners factory rust preventive programme.
my mx5 now runs pretty good but even better now i have disconnected the tps. no more dead spots around the 4500rpm.
just straight get up and go and more power. it idles at 1100 and smells a bit rich. many guys in the usa do this quite regular - some have run it for 10,000 miles with no ill effect.
car throws a cel with it disconnected but once you reconnect unhook the battery for 10 minutes and its gone