Ben’s 2006 MX5 (Bunzthemx5)

bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:19 pm

Got bitten by the driving sting so signed myself for two more events a few weeks after.

The first was a drift event at eastern creek on the skid pan. It was hosted by driving sports and got about 8 x 5 min sessions. They wet the floors with disgusting rain water so it is less demanding for the cars. Haven’t yet caught up on the art of drifting. Looking to go back again and learn. Apparently very few mx5 make these events. I wonder why..?

The next one was my first event with the mx5 club of nsw. Attended their mx5 driver training day. Heaps of fun and learnt a lot with some of the trainers. I was finally able to start understanding some of the key points of driving eg where to brake, when to accelerate, what lines to keep. Kept up with some supercharged nb.

Btw. Running all these events with hawk plus brakes. Dot 4 fluids.

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bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 11:17 am

Ooops haven't posted in a while..

Well.. after running the events with hawk HP+ I noticed that my stock rotors was too soft and bits of rotor metal was eating away my wheels when wet. So without hesitation upgraded them to DBA 4000 T3.

So the set up was fronts: hawk HP+ with DBA T3 4000. Rear stock brake and rotors.

During that time I also picked up a mazdaspeed rollcage. I fitted the half cage first and it required lots of fiddling and cutting with the OEM plastics. It did fit well with the factory bolt positions.

Signed up to another track day at Wakefield. Still testing out my alignment settings. Peter at road and race performance in Rydalmere insisted these specs below. Felt "loose" at first but did feel stable at higher speeds straights compared to my previous set up. What do you guys reckon?

Front
Caster 6 degrees
Camber -3.0 degrees
Toe 0

Rear
Camber -2.0 degrees
Toe 0

Took it to Wakefield for the first time with trackschool open pit lane days. Really just tried to absorb everything and learn about the track. Etc. Learnt to take the kink at full speed and braking right after. It was a pleasure having Harry Bates (from the Toyota rally) direct me and drive the car. He said the car was well set up i.e. suspensions and brakes. Harry only took it out for 2-3 laps and set the pb for my car. I was behind around 1:17-18. Though I did get my money's worth doing 109 laps.. hurhurhur

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Custardtart · Postby **Custardtart** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 11:49 am

Alignment looks ok, I run a bit less camber on the front but only cos I couldn't get more without the off set bushes and I'm running r compounds which benefit from more camber. I'm surprised you managed as much as 3 degree.

One small change which made a big difference was adding 1 degree of toe out. It got rid of that slight dead spot the NC has at the straight ahead position and made the initial turn in more precise.

The other thing to check is the rake front to rear, this has a fair amount of effect on the handling. I think I'm running 15% front to back ie 100mm front and 115mm rear.

bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 12:41 pm

Custardtart wrote:Alignment looks ok, I run a bit less camber on the front but only cos I couldn't get more without the off set bushes and I'm running r compounds which benefit from more camber. I'm surprised you managed as much as 3 degree.

One small change which made a big difference was adding 1 degree of toe out. It got rid of that slight dead spot the NC has at the straight ahead position and made the initial turn in more precise.

The other thing to check is the rake front to rear, this has a fair amount of effect on the handling. I think I'm running 15% front to back ie 100mm front and 115mm rear.

Ye truly not sure but that's the spec he gave me. I trust the man.. but I am also running it very low. The lip would not be able to go over anything more than a coke can if even that.

He did want to do the toe out.. but he said it's a road car so he suggests not to. I've ran 1 degree toe out before though. Felt very precise and stable at turn in.

This rake that you mention. Never considered it or heard of it. Let me look into it and get back to you.

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Custardtart · Postby **Custardtart** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:36 pm

Rake is just another word for difference in ride height front to back. Usually it’s used to alter the handling characteristics by shifting weight forwards or backwards. Too much rake can cause oversteer and too little can cause understeer. It can also affect the braking feel and performance. Any decent alignment shop should have this sorted as part of any alignment so i expect yours has been done.
Re. The toe out, mine’s a road car my wife daily’s and no probs with toe out feel or tyre wear.

bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 3:20 pm

A big catch up update.

Changes made:

1. Installed whitlelines sway bar with Whiteline endlink. It was a blooooody pain to put on. The bar is literally millimetres from the coilovers. Though I've checked that there's been no contact.

2. Installed the mazdaspeed fullcage. First time drilling holes in a car as it bolts to bottom of the car near the footrest. For the driver's side, it's annoying because you can't perform a proper heel toe. Rather I have to roll my feet.

3. Rolled my rear guards to fit in RS4 2354517. Think I'll go for 23540 or 22540 next time.

4. Rear brakes changed to hawk hps and fronts to HP+. Seriously hp+ has such a good feel for road but it's so sh*t for track. Suggestions?

Attended events:

1. MX5 club of NSW at Wakefield. This was combined with the victorian MX5 club. Time was 1:15.19 this was without the added cage which I reckon adds over 50kg of weight.

2. Trackschool track days at Wakefield. Time was 1:14.9495. with cage. I reckon without the weight I could have maybe got 1.13. but then again who knows. How to get a faster timeeeeee!!!?!!!!???

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Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:36 pm

bunzthemx5 wrote: How to get a faster timeeeeee!!!?!!!!???

Seat time... or do heaps of mods and setup changes over about 5 years and then realise that seat time is the best way to get faster :oops:

bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:34 pm

Magpie wrote:
bunzthemx5 wrote: How to get a faster timeeeeee!!!?!!!!???
Seat time... or do heaps of mods and setup changes over about 5 years and then realise that seat time is the best way to get faster

touché

Also, on another note. I've installed the jass performance 1 inch drop brackets. Allows me to clear the helmet and the seat hugs you tightly. Although my upper legs do feel funny (almost numb) in this position.. has anyone experienced this.

I've also received a revlimiter gauge and plan to install soon. I want to change the LEDs to a white light. Anyone know where I can buy these and what type to buy? I've got no idea...

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bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 11:07 am

I'm about to put down a payment on a focus rs. The MX5 is in my heart but the RS is haunting me in my mind. Still deciding whether I'm going to keep it or sell it.

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bunzthemx5 · Postby **bunzthemx5** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 2:22 pm

$16k ONO

An incredible journey with this companion over the past two years. Never had it once failed on me. Reason for sale is upgrade to a focus rs. But if I had the money I would keep both. Hit me up if you'd like more photos, test the car out or have any questions. I'll be sure to assist a smooth purchase for you.

Specifications:
2006 Mazda MX5 3rd generation NC (nc1). Manual transmission. Cloth seats. 2 litre engine. 3.7 LSD
115xxx km

Modifications (all new less than 20 months old):
- Goodwin racing Roadster sport max header ceramic coated. Installed by Chris from mx5parts. ($899)
- racing beat long and shot O2 sensor bunged to midpipe ($150)
- Goodwin roadster sport super q muffler ($869)
- MCA blue black coating 9kg/4kg ($1690)
- mx5parts ECU reflash($745)
- ENKEI rpf1 (17x8 et45) with enkei caps (2nd hand $1000)
- pilot sport 4 front (2154017) ($260) and Hankook RS4 (2354517) rear ($300)
- hawk hp+ ($274)
- jass performance seat lowering bracket ($109)
- mazdaspeed full cage (2nd hand $500)
- revlimiter sunstorm gauge ($150)
- Whiteline front and rear sways with end link ($629)
- ken auto door bushes ($95)
- mazdaspeed lug nuts ($88)
- barchetta tail lights only ones in Australia will be included. It is starting to crack and I have put silica to stop it but still cannot stop looking at it once it's installed. ($700)
-dba T3 4000 ($800)

Paint work 8.5/10 cut, polished, wax. Small mark in passenger door
Maintenance 10/10 alignment at road and race every 2 months, engine oil replaced every month penrite 5w40, brake fluid dot 4, transmission and coolant all changed within 6 months.

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