Let's chat - tell us about your most recent drive

[ManiacLachy]

You rarely see any old 5s on the road anymore.

I've noticed this a lot more lately as well. Used to be fairly common to see NAs and NBs, but these days they're a rare sight. I see plenty of NDs and a smattering of NCs though. Even when I go for a run up the local fun roads I rarely see any. I see way more GR Yarris than any type of MX-5 up there lately.

[rascal]

I think its because they are soooo rare and valuable now (check out the prices being asked) that everyone is too scared to put kms on them as it will drop the price by $50K..

Or it could be cos NAs & NBs are just not very nice to drive on the road compared to more modern vehicles. They are 20+ years old after all.
I know my NB8A is horrible to drive on the road (too loud, too uncomfortable) and the NB8B although stock as a rock isn't much better.

I'd much prefer to drive my '21 BRZ (even though its technically a cheaper class of car, built to a price, compared to equivalent ND) as being more modern means much quieter, smoother, nicer to drive.

Blasphemy I know on a MX5 forum, but meh, I'll call a spade a spade..

[bruce]

I agree. They are old clunky cars. Drive it for nostalgia. Drive the modern car as a daily.

[KevGoat]

Drove mine recently, just a short trip to friend's holiday house in Clayton Bay for a catch up and some good wine. This is always a nice drive, through the hills via Clarendon, Meadows, the Bull Creek Rd through Ashbourne (must stop at the pub one day!), then through Finnis (got told by our friends the burgers in Finnis are worth a stop) on to Clayton Bay. For a change I enjoyed a clear run along Bull Creek Rd in both directions, very rare these days!

I just don't enjoy driving as much these days. Apart from the amount of traffic, much if which don't seem to have or care about any driving focus or skills whatsoever, is the morons in their 4WD's and dual cabs (sorry Nevyn) being smartasses often creating dangerous situations. I often feel one needs to be driving one of the monolithic monsters just to protect one's self from them!

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[greenMachine]

Please stop posting here - my dash is still out, and I am in no shape to finish the job, not for another month or so. Reading about your runs is agony!

Only kidding, though the frustration levels are rising. Keep the posts coming, they are incentivising me to do what I can to get it finished as soon as possible.

[madmort]

To the ones complaining they are old machinery,(Rascal & Bruce) Come on... Get your arse down near the road and go for a blast. Get away from the traffic and into the twisties and have a go. If you didn't have an MX5 you would only know the mundane everyday transport, and be missing something special. You never know what you've got till it's gone!

[rascal]

To the ones complaining they are old machinery,(Rascal & Bruce) Come on... Get your arse down near the road and go for a blast. Get away from the traffic and into the twisties and have a go. If you didn't have an MX5 you would only know the mundane everyday transport, and be missing something special. You never know what you've got till it's gone!

I know exactly what I've got. a 20yo car that is still a distant second to a more modern car on the road, such that its keys are almost never the ones I choose for a drive down the shops, or through the twistys. The BRZ does a much better job than the mx5 at almost everything for these drives.

However you can put your pitchfork away. I am well aware of the MX5s handling capabilities, and employ them on a regular basis.
I just choose to use them in a environment, where I can completely utilise them and regularly embarrass pricier and more exotic vehicles. Where I dont have to worry about cars coming the other way, or (usually) gravel or dirt on the road surface, or the boys in blue relieving me of my licence, all whilst enjoying the g forces generated by a semi slick tyre properly up to temp.

[93_Clubman]

Drove some country backroads - still a lot of deadfall at the side of the road from the big winds last year making it quite narrow in places for vehicles to pass each other. Also, all the rain late last year meant there was a lot of very poor condition road surfaces. Fortunately used to the harrshness of the Clubman Bilsteins!

[yertimer]

Fortunately used to the harrshness of the Clubman Bilsteins!

Ha! yep agree, nothing quite like the body feeling every ripple with those Bilsteins on weather beaten roads.

[PaulF]

I still love driving my old, rattley, bumpy, noisy NA on the street. It gets a run to work and back pretty regularly, and every time it reminds me how much I love it. I wouldn't buy one for the prices people are asking these days, but that's a separate thread.

Most of my bigger drives recently have been in our HiAce camper. It doesn't quite have the handling prowess of the MX, but it's much more comfortable to sleep in.

[StanTheMan]

So I got my MX-5 out today, and went to meet Stefan and his partner for a coffee before they blew through town again. And F33nix was there! She's a rorty little beast! No epic drive, just from one parking lot to another for a coffee, a beer and a chat.

It was great to catch up, however briefly. And any excuse to go for a little drive in the car is worth taking. I even managed to drop the roof without getting rained on! (It's been intermittent downpours here today)

It was awesome to catch up,
our road trip was epic. It basically rained all the way up. when it did rain it was torrential. and lightening everywhere. It did stop here & there .

we took off Friday afternoon by 4pm and mad it to Coffs Habour. Had a really nice place in Coffs. Got lucky, cheap & last minute. It was a real joy. Wanted to walk around the Break Wall in Coffs but it was bucketing down

F33nix Port maqurie feb 2022.jpg

so we headed towards Brisbane rain didn't let off on sat either. This is near Ballina

F33nix near Ballina torrential rain Feb Bne road trip Fen 2.jpg

Once we crossed the QLD border the rain let off a little .But it was soooo bloody humid in true QLD form. the Freeway between surfers & Brisbane was chocker block.

We collected the seat installed it and headed towards meeting Lachlan. Somewhere in Brisbane. LOL
Lachlan then took us to a bakery brewery. Coffee was really good. I do recommend the coffee there . Coffee was excellent and it was pretty too

coffee art BNE road trip Feb 2022.jpg

The seat is a Mazdaspeed F type .
Its a sports seat that gives you good support. Not a racing seat. Perfect for long epic road trips.
wish I had a pair. But it is what it is.

mazspeed Tye F in F33nix.jpg

As far as old Mx5 on the road, F33nix is a handfull to drive in the city, particularity when cold & in peak hr traffic. Once on the open road. Shes an absolute dream, Freeway or mountain road. makes no difference . Shes be built for that. On ramps are a dream. Overtaking is rapid when required. whatever she has now is plenty. But shes dramatic & emotional

This coming weekend Shazam & i are joining the Brakfast club run. Down the south coast. It will be awesome.Shazam is taking an extra set of underwear
I will never allow anyone to say old cars are unreliable. These NA's or Mx5's in general are so easy to get reliable but mine is now been built for the open road. And I love it.

[bruce]

Shazam?

[StanTheMan]

sharon, Shaz, Shazam.

name of the GF. It auto corrected with a awesome friend, so it stuck

[ManiacLachy]

For sure my car isn't the most comfortable for commuting in anymore, but I have the Subaru Liberty wagon for longer trips, sitting in traffic and carrying the dog. TBH, even the Liberty is lacking is a lot of creature comforts of modern cars, it's 14 years old after all!

My MX-5 is now a fun car, it's the car I take when I want to feel the road, feel the wind, and really engage with the drive. And an old MX-5 does that better than any modern car you'll find for close to the money. I'd even use it to run out for simple errands if it were more accessible, but I have a tandem garage, and moving one car to get to another when you only want to run out to get dinner is a bit much.

That said, every now and then I think about selling, who doesn't in the current market? I like the look of the forth-coming GR-86/BRZ. But any time I go for a drive in my car I have a grin and I'm very happy with what I have!

[manga_blue]

I took my dog to the vet today. Same old NA8 that I've always had, just a bit quicker and a bit softer now than when it was doing track days. Dog likes to sit up with the top down and sniff the wind.

First section is down to the creek and over the bridge. Stop up the hill from the bridge for a sec to check the tides and the beach conditions. Then on through Mossy Pt along a tightly winding dipping little road through the village. Very slow but it's nice to be technical and get all the lines right anyway.

Through Mossy and turning right onto George Bass Drive. Can't give it any squirt onto GBD because the road's corrugated and the back just steps out if you try. So it's a gentle run down to Tomakin at 100 then backing down to 80 past the shop then run it past the roundabout in third with a bit of side g and gun it up the hill towards Mogo. Emerge at the top of the hill from forest into pasture land. Up to this point everything has been through the only unburnt section of our shire. After this we're travelling through the area of the 100 sq km inferno that swallowed Mogo, Malua Bay and all of the Mogo State Forest on NYE of Back Summer.

Turn into Dunns Creek Road and 80 limit. Still pasture land but most houses burnt out on either side with a few rebuilt. Slow for ducks beside the road after a few hundred meters, which is good because I pass the local copper there and give him a wave. He swims his dog in the same spot on the creek where I do so it's alright but it's better to pass him way under the limit anyway.

Cross Dunns Creek and begin the climb up to Ridge Rd. It's a steep run up a spur swinging left then right repeatedly as you cross the crest of the spur, third and fourth gear with some nice noise bouncing back off the trees. State Forest on the left and the spotted gums are returning to normal but the ironbarks are pretty cooked. Some of the spotted gums now cast shade over the road. The forest used to run right to the edge of the road but hundreds of damaged trees were taken from the edge here after the fire. Scrub to the right is still unrecovered. It used to be impenetrable but now you can see through to the valley below. It's all burnt out house blocks down there with some new sheds and caravans.

Reach the ridge at the top, a technical little left/right and then down a steep hill to the vet's place.

All our drives are like this. Sussing out who's rebuilding (not many) and who's struggling and seeing how the land is recovering, with a bit of bonus noise from a loud exhaust and airbox. Still pretty sad.

I'll do my daily run into Batemans Bay if anyone is interested