After using this site to do my pre-buy research on common faults (compared to the Z4 I had before, where the common faults section was like a book, it was refreshingly short for the NC!), I picked up an 06 2.0 NC in December… It stood out as it has the full mazdaspeed kit (front, back and sides), mint black wheels (looks awesome with the electric blue paint), eibach lowering springs (soon to be fitted) and a no-name stainless exhaust. After owning two Mk1s over the years i wasn’t expecting miracles with speed, but it’s surprisingly quick! The last owner had looked after it, but couldn’t tell me much about its background. I trawled the net to find out if a mazdaspeed factory kit was ever offered as this looks like the kind of perfect fit that a factory option has, but can’t find a single thing about it… Mazda were predictably pants when I asked.
I was wondering if anyone knows 1) If I just landed on a well fitted after-market kit, 2) if it could be a factory fitted one (if there is such a thing)… its the one on my avatar (can’t figure out how to load a pic!!)
Anyway, nice to be on here and already used the drainhole clean hack so money saved already! Thanks forum!
You will notice a big difference from the Z4 to the MX5. The Z seems so much bigger. Full of gadgets and electrics that don’t work. The upper electric steering column on mine went on my 2003. BMW quoted £2500 for a new part ! Had it six months before I got tired of it breaking so went back to a 5. Much cheaper to run but the only problem is the rust.
Totally agree - I’ve had a number of different cars (35 now) over the years… MR2s (mk1, 2 and 3! - turbo Mk2 was a loony machine), MX5s, 200sx’, supras, Celica’s, classics, etc… the z4 was my first non-jap sports car and, despite being beautiful to look at, was the most unreliable car I’ve ever owned… steering column, radiator, abs… engine management was the most used light on the dash!! Had a 3.2 v6 TT after that which was amazing but quite clinical as a driving experience… and then back to jap cars with this 5… I tried a few NCs, but loved how firm, responsive and agile this one was with the bilsteins, yokohama tyres and bracing… sound system is surprisingly good too and looks very cool / original with the kit! Overall i’m pretty happy with it but the OCD in me is sending it to the bodyshop to make it concours at the end of the month… cant wait!
The lower skirt section is supposed to be a dark grey all the way around the car. There was also a small Mazdaspeed badge fitted to the front, which you can just see in those pictures.
That’s interesting… mine was debadged at some point but found the original mazdaspeed badges on ebay. Useful to have the manual to compare against.
So a two-tone colour scheme… did think about painting the lower bumper section / diffuser black to match the wheels / roof… but I quite like the solid blue with the black grill and black wheels… three days with the bodyshop will hopefully have her looking perfect!
That’s interesting… mine was debadged at some point but found the original mazdaspeed badges on ebay. Useful to have the manual to compare against.
So a two-tone colour scheme… did think about painting the lower bumper section / diffuser black to match the wheels / roof… but I quite like the solid blue with the black grill and black wheels… three days with the bodyshop will hopefully have her looking perfect!