Lachstock and Four Turbo Charged Cylinders ['04 NB SE]

[SKYHI]

Good work mate, looks good

[speed]

Some great progress since I've last visited.

That dipstick slug looks HUGE! Does it get hot to touch or is it ok due to the thickness of metal?

Great work on the frame rails, tiles, side skirts and of course that lovely zip down glass window soft top. The canvas looks so much better then vinyl.

Now I want one!
Up until now my car has been a weekender (ok so its spent more time off road then on of late), meaning that I usually only drive in good weather and my NB top is always down for such occasions.

On a recent drive I noticed how stuffy the cabin can get with no AC and roof up. Your zip down top addresses this perfectly.

My old Prestige NA top was fantastic once zipped down but the zipper itself would split in a certain part making it a pain to undo and do up again and I found this was exacerbated by a small style zip and zipper mechanism.

Does the Robin's style top have a chunky zipper? Also is there a double layer of material in the sides of the 'B' pillar section? I ask as my NB top is now wearing a hole through where that stupid part of the frame appears to have a bump for no other reason then to make a hole in the vinyl over time.

Keep up the good work mate

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[ManiacLachy]

Thanks Speed.

The dispstick slug isn't too big, I've certainly gotten used to it. I haven't noticed it hot, but I don't often check the oil with after a run, normally I'll check it before I head out.

The zip on the new roof is quite chunky, but over on the big forum they recommend unlatching the roof before operating the zip. This give a little slack to the material and takes tension of the zip, less chance of a rip. I do love dropping the glass, and if I'm feeling confident about the weather (and where I'm parking), I'll leave it down all day.

When I set out this morning it was spitting lightly, I already had the glass down and figured it would be fine. 500m later and it's showering properly and I have to pull over under a tree and quickly zip it up. You have to get out of the car to do it and go around to both sides of the car, but I got it done quite quickly, and this was at 4:15am!

Another option for some breeze is the quater glass vent windows that Beavis and Mania sell. Word is these move a heap of air and you can direct it at your face or chest. They close up a lot quicker than the roof too!
https://www.mx5mania.com.au/epages/mx5mania.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/mx5mania/Products/ventedwindow
https://beavismotorsport.com/store/nb/exterior/vented-windows-to-suit-the-quarter-wing-of-door-for-mazda-mx-5-na-nb-89-05.html

[speed]

Thanks Lachy. I used to do the same thing with my NA top to release the tension. My zipper was like that when I bought the car I also used to unzip it every time I dropped the top to protect the back window from creasing, as is necessary with a plastic window.
I almost purchased a set of the quarter window vents but now I think reconnecting the air con will provide me a better solution for my needs.
I hope to come up to sunny QLD in a few months and plan on catching up with Tony. Maybe we can organize a run and I can meet a few of you all at once
Take care and keep up the good work!

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[ManiacLachy]

I'd been keen for that. Let's hope Tony's car is back together by then, and that he hasn't broken yet another part!

[speed]

Haha. I'm sure his driveline will be sorted. Not so sure he will fight the temptation to not turn up the boost further

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[Daffy]

Haha. I'm sure his driveline will be sorted. Not so sure he will fight the temptation to not turn up the boost further

I'd been keen for that. Let's hope Tony's car is back together by then, and that he hasn't broken yet another part!

[ManiacLachy]

On Sunday I had a chance to drive 2 other MX-5s along side my SE, and I thought I'd dump my impressions here in case any one is interested.

A quick run down of the candidates:

My SE: Stock SE engine & turbo, NitroDann inake and 3" exhaust running on E85; stiff Xida coilovers; beefy sway bars; poly bushes everywhere including engine and diff; Lotus Elise seats worn thin on the padding; 3.6 torsen LSD
Near Stock NB8B Stock VVT engine, aftermarket intake, aftermarket muffler running on 98; stock shocks, bushes, etc; stock seats with leather covers; 3.6 2-way LSD.
Twist Mount NB8B Stock VVT engine, NitroDann Twist Mount 2860RS, intake and 3" exhaust running on 98; MCA Blue coilovers, stock bushes; stock seats w/ foamectomy and cloth cover; 3.6 open diff

All cars were dríven either to or from my house to my friend's about 10k away along suburban streets and highway, roads I know well.

First up, the Twist Mount! So soft! Softly sprung, cushy seat, rolly ride. Was my car ever this soft? Not sure how well the foamectomy was done, I can definitely feel the hole in the foam, not uncomfortable but noticeable, drops the seating height slightly. Fairly quiet cabin at cruise and idle, not much vibration. The turbo has a vent to atmosphere blow off valve, and makes a cool turbo flutter sound. Once the turbo spools, she went hard, but I would have liked the turbo to spool a little earlier, it wasn't super late by any means, it felt like it spooled about the same point as the SE's, you want to be >3k preferably >4k when you request drop the pedal. The diff is a clunky thing, turning corners you can feel it clunking a little, doing a U-turn people will wonder what's wrong with the car. The rear end felt a little squirmy, not sure if it was the diff or lack of alignment? Other than the diff it's a fun car, with a built motor and E85 it would be awesome. The diff is just too aggressive for a street car (luckily a T2 3.6 is waiting to be installed). Suspension could be a little firmer, maybe sway bars too, and an I think an alignment would benefit it greatly.

Next, the stock as a rock NB. Again, soooo soft, and quiet too. But without the foamectomy I was reminded what my stock seats were like, staring through the top of the windshield. Add that to stock ride height on stock shocks and I felt like I was in a monster truck! Again, the rear felt a little squirmy, maybe it needed an alignment too, or maybe this is how stock bushes feel to me now? Cruising around at low speed it felt very similar to the twist mount and to my SE, but when I put my right foot in .... nothing happened. How do you overtake anything in one of these?! The exhaust made a nice sound, not loud, but not church mouse either (it's actually the muffler that I got on my SE, but is not an OEM SE muffler). The clutch was super nice and forgiving, just a really easy car to drive. I could live with this car, but I would miss the power.

Back into my car. Wow, my seating position is low, getting in and out the car is much harder! The seat is harder, the ride is much firmer much more aggressive. But once you're settled it's firmer in a good sporty way, I can feel the wheels and the road, there's no body roll, gives confidence. There's more vibration and noise, this is much more sporty. I guess these others felt more GT? The power starts earlier than the twist mount, mostly because of the E85 I would think, but the twist mount overtakes it somewhere along the RPM band, you can't really lay into either of them for long on the public roads. I still want more power (POWA!) and sooner power, but I don't need it. The car is a little too "aggressive" (read: firm and noisy) for a daily street car, I need a proper daily driver I think. It's a great weekender and a fun car though.

Anyway, that was a fun day. Not quite the same as taking them for a mountain run or track day, but still a good comparison of differently modded NB8Bs. I think I need to make plans to buy a daily driver, will probably make me slow down on further mods to the SE, and let me enjoy the car more as it is, not have to rush when doing jobs on it either.

[Daffy]

The little black Getz I picked up for 3k last year was one of the best buys of late. Its great as a practical daily and makes for when I take the Problem Child out so much more enjoyable- having the daily makes the drives in the 5 much more an occasion and really appreciate what I’ve built!

[ManiacLachy]

I bought my MX-5 at 94,xxx km about 4 years and 8 months ago. Today I crossed over 194,000 kms! It's been a lot of fun putting on those 100k kms, and quite a journey of evolution and education. And despite my best efforts to sabotage myself the car has never let me down in all that time.

Here's to the next 100,000!

[SKYHI]

Great to see you clocking up the Ks and getting plenty of enjoyment along the way. That's what they're for

I'm still planning to do as many track days as I can afford to in mine, but I've also decided that I need to get it out more often. Hopefully get out for a few more weekend mountain runs, and might even drive it to work once a week if weather permits. 10000Ks in 3 years just isn't enough.

[ManiacLachy]

To be honest, the downside of driving it so much for daily duties is that I'm not so inspired to take it for fun drives on the weekend. It's been far too long since I've gone for a blast, let alone getting out on track.

A dedicated Daily Driver is in great need.

[SKYHI]

Yeah, much like Daffy said earlier, having a daily driver means that the drives you do get in the MX5 feel a bit more special.

[ManiacLachy]

I had a good "car" weekend.

On Saturday I went looking in car yards, test drove a manual Mk6 Golf GTI, and immediately ruled out hatchbacks as a daily driver solution. The rear seats just won't fit an adult human being, and my dog will not fit easily either. Also, even a car lauded as a fun sporty car such as a Golf GTI is immensity boring compared to an MX-5. Worrying too much about a fun DD car is no longer a priority because nothing will be even half as fun as the MX-5, so why stress on it?

I want, a station wagon with decent reliability and economy, a manual transmission, at around $15k. Every now and then E91 BMWs come up that fit the bill, but I'm leaning heavily towards Subaru Liberty GTs (though that's pushing the reliability and economy guidelines a bit!).

Then Sunday I had to do an oil change, easy-peasy. While I was at it I decided I should replace the faulty ABS sensor I've been running around with for the past, oh, maybe 9 months? I bought a second hand replacement from everyone's favourite Facebook MX-5 wrecker Jan, and it's been sitting in a bag on my pile of shame (parts waiting for install) for about 3 months. This was an easy job, don't know why it took me so long to get to it.

The only issue was to get the sensor out I had to remove the Nitro Dann intake airbox, and when I did I found this:


That's got to be restricting air flow!

I went out and bought a cleaning kit and before long I had this:


Who knew it was green Uni-filter?!

Back it all went. ABS light was gone from the dash. I assume the ABS works now, but I haven't tested it, should do that some point to make sure.

Unfortunately the cleaning solution I used was for K&N filters and I've since learned the foam uni-filter doesn't take well to the K&N solution, so I've ordered a new filter to replace it, so I guess I'll be back in there this weekend.

I also had a burned out parking light, so I replaced them both. That was super easy, easiest bulb change I've ever done. And I also washed, clayed and waxed the car. Man it looks good all shiny and smooth and clean! Shame it rained yesterday and now it's all dusty again.

So, yeah, a good day working on the car

[SKYHI]

Holy sh*t man, that filter!!

Better undo the cover on mine and check it at some stage