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

[rascal]

It looks like you have no glass in the rear window?
Do you have an aftermarket top on your car with zip down window?
Or is the glass just really clean…

[ManiacLachy]

It looks like you have no glass in the rear window?
Do you have an aftermarket top on your car with zip down window?
Or is the glass just really clean…

It's an aftermarket top by Robbins, canvas/mohair with a zip down glass rear window. It's excellent for use when the UV is high, keeps shade over your head, but with the side and rear window down you get lots of airflow.

[ManiacLachy]

Between Christmas and New Years, I went for a drive with some friends to get a steak sandwich

We met in Sanford, headed up over Mt Mee, then the Belthorpe Range up into Maleny and over to Mapleton - where we had an excellent steak sandwich the year before! We were a bit early, and lunch wouldn't be on for another hour or so, we looked over the menu and it had been yuppie-fied! Nothing so common as a steak sandwich any more How could you do this to an iconic Queensland pup up on the range?

So we struck west, down Obi Obi Road (half dirt track ), arriving in Kenilworth, home of the 1kg jam and cream donught! Had an excellent steak sandwich at the pub there, and picked up some donughts to take home.

The trip home was straight down the highway, it was getting warm by this point and an MX-5 with a dead AC isn't much fun in the Queensland summer!

It was a fun adventure in a quiet time of the year with good friends, need more drives like that in 2023.


Three Amigos

[bruce]

Darn yuppies. Nice pic.

[PaulF]

I got a motorbike last month (just a humble Honda VTR250) so I've been itching to get out on that whenever I can. Got a group of mates together just after Christmas and did a little run out to Wollombi. A few of us also did the old road to Pie In The Sky at Cowan yesterday, it was absolutely packed!

It's been a fun adventure getting back on a bike - I learned to ride years ago, and ran deliveries on a scooter for a while, but I've never owned one until now. It's a steep learning curve but very rewarding.

[KevGoat]

MXSE is doing some of the daily duties until we replace my wife's Echo that got written off. Drove in to the City on friday to wander the shops, have dinner and go to a show.



I don't enjoy driving the MX around metro roads. At least I wasn't as paranoid with the hard top on about leaving it parked, plus it had a friend ...

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[ManiacLachy]

You have to obey the law! (parking next to another MX-5 whenever possible)

I know what you mean about not liking to drive on metro roads, but even in a parking garage, she's beaut!

[MVZOOM]

Well, it's been a while since I had the MX5, but I did take the current fun car out on Sunday - numerous laps of the Old Pac - along with most of Sydney I reckon!





Great drive with a few mates.

Cheers - Mike

[Nevyn72]

Just quick spin in the Nasho, almost wore a low flying idiot in an Audi.

Couldn't believe they would be driving like this during the day in school holidays!

[PaulF]

Well, it's been a while since I had the MX5, but I did take the current fun car out on Sunday - numerous laps of the Old Pac - along with most of Sydney I reckon!

Yep, it was packed! Great day for it though. I heard there was an accident in the afternoon unfortunately.

Just quick spin in the Nasho, almost wore a low flying idiot in an Audi.

Couldn't believe they would be driving like this during the day in school holidays!

Yikes, and the traffic behind them would indicate they're not even going that fast - probably just distracted.

[bruce]

People seriously don't know how to drive.
I run a lot (no, I'm not being chased) so I'm out on the street doing kays. I see a lot of poor driving and even today I saw a few examples. Problem is the drivers don't even realise what they've done or even notice (thus will keep repeating it).
I once saw a car on its roof on a straight busy road, no obvious cause for it to flip (no trees, barriers to launch it). Put simply, completely stupid driving.

[Nevyn72]

Just quick spin in the Nasho, almost wore a low flying idiot in an Audi.

Couldn't believe they would be driving like this during the day in school holidays!

Yikes, and the traffic behind them would indicate they're not even going that fast - probably just distracted.

Unfortunately it wasn't anything that excusable...

He was overtaking two cars over a double line on a blind corner at high speed.

[KevGoat]

Unfortunately it wasn't anything that excusable...

He was overtaking two cars over a double line on a blind corner at high speed.

Re watched the video after reading that ... Holy $*^t that could have got ugly! Reckon I'd be handing the video in to Police for them to follow up.


Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[hamx5ter]

Chat at about my most recent drive? Sure! Why not?!

<rant>
Has been ages since I've done a club run and there was the evergreen Sliq Run Up The Putty Rd. Thought i'd head out and say hullo. A bit of rain but hey that should be ok... I mean almost every (other) time I've gone up the Putty I've had some issue or the other, but it's been ages and it's a fun run..

The drive up to Windsor was nice. The car was running well finally although i thought the exhaust and especially the intake sounded louder than i remembered...

Arrived at Maccas a few minutes before take off, needed to fuel up so off i went to 711. For some reason the thing kept clicking well before it filled. No worries, i can fill it perhaps around Broke or Wollombi... Bought a large $3 coffee but found the machine confusing (you had to press each button after the other???) and i wound up getting a regular $2 worth of the wrong coffee.... That's $1 gone. I should have got the hint and just turned around and gone home.... but nooooooo... i had to keep going!

Decided to be tail-end and take it easy. Wasn't such a bad drive until the meet-up at Grey Gums (which was closed). Drove up to the waypoint after been stuck at the roadworks traffic light. The rest of the giggle leave but Hamx5ter is properly dead. Battery. Dead. Fine one minit, and then dead. Anyway, got a push and it started with a lot of reluctance but then ran well. All good...

I mean i've been driving the car a fair bit more than in the last few years, but even that was only perhaps a couple of times since the club trackday. Understandable that the battery carked it. It will charge up as i drive anyway.

When we reached the Broke waypoint, i didn't turn the car off yayy... but when we set off again there was no fuelling. The car lurched and heaved and would basically die and catch as the car was already rolling downhill (pay attention, this part will become familiar soon). Anyway, i was on the little bridge so i just kept rollin' and eventually it caught enough that the engine would run if revs were kept to 4000+. Let go of the throttle and the engine would die. Instantly.

This choking between <3500 rpm seemed a lot like my previous issues with the MAF sensor (which happens to be somewhere near the intake which was making a pretty pronounced induction sound the last time i drove the car but i thought perhaps i was imagining it). Is the MAF playing up?

Anyway, thought to turn back but couldn't find a spot that i was confident of coming to a stop, while left foot braking and keeping the revs up. Got to Wollombi and the car was basically going to die unless revs were up to 5000. Is a very light flywheel apparently so it was like a wannabe rotary. Braap-braaap'd in front of all the shops as people stared and i lurched my way down the road. Managed to make a cool turn off someone's driveway quite a way out of town and headed back to Sydney.

Can't believe the intake/MAF is playing up at the same time as the battery. Maybe the battery is so dead, the ECU isn't getting any power??? dunno....

Better put on waze; i'm a little lost and the fuel tank is now reading about 15% maybe a little more!! Now i have 118kms to drive back on hopefully 10 litres of fuel. Might be doable except for the fact that i have to keep revs up above 4000 or it dies... Any traffic or grade needs a drop down to 4th and keep the revs above 4500. All i can hope for is to get closer to Sydney so that i can at least get a tow from a location i can describe.

(more than) a few stressful moments of fake-13B and super obnoxious revving whenever i came up to traffic or an intersection but finally got on the F3 to Sydney and it looks like i might make it! Does it run out when the needle hits the mark or when it hits E ?Is it true that the 3 horizontal lines of the E represent the last 3 litres in the tank? I don't know... is all good. Now i was close enough to pull over if i ran out of fuel and there were plenty of other cars broken down already anyway.

Looks like i might have made it... Last 3-4 kms. Do i park the car on the street and check it out later or put in the carport so i can charge the battery. I've been in this car for 5 hours now, driving actively, in the rain and i'm quite a lot more tired than 5 hours would indicate.. Nope, may as well try and do the sharp turn into the carport and park it there hethinks...

Managed to make the sharp turn all the while revving the engine like a madman and the clutch pack adding to the banging, avoided hitting the daily and parked the car. The car died as it rolled to a stop just inside the carport and of course it's dead. Exhausted, elated! I made it... popped the door open, popped the boot open so i could put the battery on tender. Walked away to get the charger.

Heard a dull thud.

Someone has forgotten to leave the car in gear or put the handbrake on and young hamx5ter has crept slowly back on the slight incline before the carport and run back until he hit the wall! Well, it looks like the tow bar took the impact because it was now folded over like a fortune cookie... that wasn't so bad then...

20230122_110855web.jpg

20230122_110859web.jpg

until i see that the towbar DID slow it down but the car DID hit the wall. The side of the bumper has bent a little... Well, i punched it and it seemed to have settled back straight enough... I can't believe i forgot to pull the handbrake!!!!

20230122_110903web.jpg

So that's the battery, MAF/Intake, Fuel and now bingle... Yeah so it wasn't such a fun day

20230122_110701a.jpg

</rant>

[greenMachine]

What a saga! Bummer!!

If it helps, I have a spare one of those exclusive collector's edition 'Bear' rear tow hooks ... LMK.