Hello all … not only am I a new MX5 owner, I am new to Japanese cars entirely.
I’ve had a history of weekend / fun cars and this time around I wanted to try something I’ve not had before.
I picked this up about a month ago, 2006 2.0 Sport with a hardtop.
The Mk3 seems to be the least favoured but being 6’4" it was really the only one I fitted.
While it has a decent history it needed the more unusual service items doing so I have changed the gearbox and diff oil, replaced spark plugs, coolant refresh.
The next things on my list are sorting out the handling which is a little odd. It has a lot of body roll on initial turn-in, instability / wooden-ness over bumps, tram lining and a general nervousness at anything over 50 mph … I suspect knackered shocks and worn bushes and the alignment is bound to be all over the place. I’m off to search through the technical area of the forum to get some tips and pointers.
Check both the age of the tyres and the tyre pressures!
When I bought mine the tyres had 6mm all round and were the original Bridgestones fitted by Mazda in Japan, but were 6 years old and had done 17,000 miles, and offered a resilience more akin to Bakelite than supple rubber. The DSC light kept flickering, almost without any provocation, and I felt I needed to tiptoe when cornering or braking or accelerating - definitely not a typical MX5. Four new Dunlop Maxx tyres (NOT run-flats) and the car was suddenly a planted MX5, almost glued to the road, a joy to drive and with no hint of a flicker from the DSC even when pushed very hard.
Others have experienced skittering, instability and steering too light, then discovered the pressures had been set at 36psi (or varied or more!) instead of the suggested 29-30psi. Correct pressure all round (see the label on the door shut) and a vast improvement.
With mine, because I did not know the history, I also invested in a four wheel alignment, done by Wheels In Motion in Chesham. When measured the car was already nearly (but not quite) spot on, and they suggested not to bother - no charge, but I insisted and they adjusted it slightly to make it exactly right. I did notice the improvement, especially as it corrected a slight tendency to drift to the left even on a flat road with no camber.
Welcome, Andy to the West London area. As John mentioned, there’s a good selection of us [WL] and the Solent area on display at Kempton Steam Museum this Sunday, so why not put your name down and come and join us, or visit the museum and say hello?
And as Richard said, the place to go to for MX5 alignment is Wheels in Motion in Chesham; what Tony Bones doesn’t know about MX5 alignment isn’t worth knowing!
Hopfully we’ll see you around soon - in fact our odd-numbered monthly meets will commence in January at The Oatlands Chaser pub, which can’t be too far from you in Walton.
All meets and events are advertised in the forum here.
I’ve just been investigating the rest of the forum a little more and found the West London area. I can’t make Sunday but The Chaser is just round the corner from me so I will put that in the diary.
Good suggestion on the tyres Richard, I’ll check the age markings and take it from there.
