Daily driving an MX5

[lizard]

Been riding motorbikes for 40+ years and when on a bike or in my MX5 I drive/ride like I'm invisible and always thinking 3 cars ahead. Bike riders always seem to be better car drivers

[Tezzax5]

4 simple things work for me

1...Never travel next to vehicles ( i either sit in front so i can be seen or back far enough so they see me in the mirrors )

2...When i'm behind i sit far enough back that i can look around or under the jacked-up pieces of _ _ _ _.

3...Always keep the windscreen washer bottle full... ( You never know when you might need to clean your windscreen )

4...Treat everyone like they are not concentrating on the task of Driving

[Lokiel]

Install an air horn!

This has saved me several times.

The factory horn is inaudible.



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[Magpie]

Bike riders always seem to be better car drivers

Just to establish that I was young and dumb once, when I was on my motorbike and would see a L plater on the road I would deliberatley put the bike (provided I had an 'out') into the L platers blind spot. When they moved into my space I would scare the poo poo out of them, I thought it was my duty to educate L platers to always look twice or three times for motorbikes.

When in my car and I see a bike I always make sure I know where it is in case I need to change lanes etc. By the way I no longer own motorbikes Check your mirrors (adjusted correctley), be situationaly aware, have peripheral vision, drive to conditions, obey the road rules, put 17" wheels on your MX5 (like Lokiel) and always have an 'out'. Oh to be young and dumb again

[hks_kansei]

Install an air horn!

This has saved me several times.

The factory horn is inaudible.

Between modern cars having so much sound insulation, and modern driver's insistance on wearing earphones for the ipod while driving (which I always look and think "what? you can afford a Mercedes but you're too poor to pay $20 for an ipod adapter?")

A loud air horn is a blessing.


Especially if you can track down a loud deep tone horn. People move very quickly when it sounds like a truck is about to hit them.

[green_comet]

I installed an old Astra/Vectra horn in my old Clubman, those things are seriously loud and cost nothing from a wreckers.

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[Lokiel]

:
People move very quickly when it sounds like a truck is about to hit them.

That's the reaction I got every time I've had to blast my air horn, they violently veer off in the opposite direction - it certainly wakes them up, hopefully making them better drivers in the long run (one woman in a 4WD at Bunnings nearly veered right into another 4WD coming the other way - she got "the evil eye" from everyone in the vicinity and it was a lesson she certainly wouldn't forget).

:
Check your mirrors (adjusted correctley), be situationaly aware, have peripheral vision, drive to conditions, obey the road rules, put 17" wheels on your MX5 (like Lokiel) and always have an 'out'. Oh to be young and dumb again

WHOAH, WHOAH, WHOAH,WHOAH!!!

Just to be clear, my car came with 17" rims - I got rid of the effing boat anchors as soon as I could afford to.


But back on track, one of the best bits of advice in an MX5 is to drive it like your on a motorbike rather than in a car - ie. always drive to be seen and avoid the blindspots of others at all costs because even if they do check, an MX5 is very hard to see (especially if it's a Ti, we're practically invisible it seems).

[davekmoore]

Nautilus horn works well.

How do 17" wheels help?

[22Silver]

Also note that since I put a really loud exhaust and fluorescent orange wheels on my car, people seem to "have a lot more respect for me" and give me plenty of room
Another healthy notice of your existence is Black Sabbath, very loud.

EDIT: safety wheels. I put these on for safety and visibility purposes only
Q: Who's boring, unadventurous and thinks I should powdercoat them in black?
A: Just about everyone. I'm getting sick of them myself.

[Nevyn72]

Used to ride motorbikes a lot myself (still want to get another bike), including being a postie for 7+ years..... Try riding a heavily loaded postie bike with an engine smaller than your average lawnmower in city traffic and then you'll know you're alive!

Riding a bike for years in Sydney traffic teaches you a great deal of respect for the ability of other road users to demonstrate a truly astonishing levels of stupidity. I described it to friends as an exersize in controlled paranoia and just found that working on the assumption that everyone else out there was trying to kill you worked out best.

I try to drive my MX5 using the same philosophy and have fitted DRLs to try and improve it's visibility to traffic pulling out in front from side streets which seems to be working well so far based on observed reactions from other drivers. That's something else that many current and former motorcyclists seem to have the knack of, reading other drivers on the road and being able to anticipate when they're about to do something a bit silly.....

[Magpie]

many current and former motorcyclists seem to have the knack of

It is because we are old and still alive that proves our logic works!

[TTT]

Wanna know how I know you don't run 25psi and semi slicks?

As for pressures Dann, 36psi all round on 36's, nice soft ride and corners

he said "and" not "in" semi slicks.

[Mr Morlock]

nearly everyone makes good points. A rant about 4wds might be order- just a little one- these behemoths often make little sense and underline that most people do not give a rats about sustainability. Caravans have got bigger so everyone needs a tank to pull them and many tradies pick 4wds over one of our utes - now going past tense . We know that a crash between a flyweight and a heavy weight is not good and if people really feel unsafe then its time to change. Take on board the tips and safe driving in our little cars.

[manga_blue]

I use mine as a daily for trips into town: 20-30kms on 80 and 100kmh roads which I share with mostly big cars, utes, trucks and 4WDs. I've been monstered only once in the last 5 years. It's just not an issue for me. Loud exhaust helps a lot too.

The real problem is that I can't safely use it at night. High numbers of roos, wallabies and wombats mean that I rarely make a trip without taking evasive action at least once. An MX5 is not a good battering ram. The risk is compounded by sitting very low facing the glare from all the crap headlights and foglights of oncoming high vehicles.

[davekmoore]

There does seem to be a trend for some ute buyers adding 4wd, bull/nudge/towbars etc when they are not needed and only add more weight and reduce safety. I blame the Toyota TV ad where the florist demands a tough ute to cope with his work.