I just bought a MX5 and this is my first rear-wheel drive car. My previous car was a Mitsubishi FTO, a front-wheel drive coupe with a V6 engine. In the FTO the front wheels got more work to do and both front brakes and tyres got worn quicker. What should I expect in my MX5? I’m not sure if the wear is due to transmission (front or rear) or due to weight, which was more front-biased in the FTO. MX5 weight is 50-50, as I heard. Does it mean that both axles get comparable weight?
Assuming that I don’t drive like a madman, which tyres/brakes do wear quicker?
A proper 4 wheel laser alignment by a reputable organisation who know their 5s Around £50/60.
Matching quality rubber…no odd balls front to rear please!
Depending on rubber, run between 26/27psi ( book for Mk1’s & 2’s) 29 for Mk3’.
If Toyos, run an extra 2/3psi as they have softer sidewalls.
The rears may wear a bit quicker depending on your driving style, nothing dramatic though,
If no LSD is fitted the nearside rear may feather a bit more over time.
Brakes? How long is a piece of string …how hard will you push them? Rear calipers can be troublesome…pistons jamming etc. Don’t apply handbrake at night IF the car is level..just leave it in 1st or reverse. Best advice I can give is “exercise” the brakes now and then with a good short caning somewhere safe. Unless you intend to track, stick to OEM pads.
No anorak lectures from me as to FWD to RWD driving advice.
Clearly the backside will step out in extremis if you are over enthusiastic on greasy bends or roundabouts but that’s about it. Common sense. Catching and balancing 50/50 weight dist. is helped by these chassis being lasered properly.
I’m presuming after a nice FTO you are a proper “driver”
Hi Fel Pretty much what ScottishFiver (Pupstar to me) said
The rears do go quicker due to power to the rear axle rather than weight over the fronts Certainly in my OP’s case I endeavour to change all four when they need changing so rotate fronts to back and, obviously, backs to front. Original Yokos lasted 18500 First Rainsports lasted 19500 Now using second Rainsports in warmer weather and Avon Ice Tourings through winter (a 5 is for all year not just for summer)
Brakes: first fronts lasted 23k - replaced with Ferodo and still going strong 28k later Rears lasted about 28k and now on Green EBCs which have comfortably reached 23k without issue… so far
Big agreement about making sure alignment is sorted and done by someone who understands twisted bush syndrome!
Mine’s lowered and subsequently re-aligned and is set for fast roads conditions Not everyone goes for fast but most seem to You do not have to have it lowered they just seem to look right at what should be their original height I was very kindly given Eibachs which dropped mine 30mm If i could make the choice i wouldn’t lower more than 25mm but, for the most part, 30 is not too much of an issue… until you get to speed humps/cushions
Away from the foremtnioned topics IF yours develops a leak in to the footwell (usually passenger side) then come back to us and we’ll tell you about gromit things relating to re-fitted windscreens
Indeed welcome, and can I be the first to suggest you need to be careful in snow/ice with rear wheel drive.
Until recently I lived in Manchester. Not a bad area for prolonged bad conditions. Although I have had my 5 for just over 5 years I have only on one occasion been out in snow. This was up in Bolton. Never again. Getting up hills is difficult!
Again, until recently only had experience with front wheel drive cars. Three years ago my wife bought a Mercedes C CLASS Sport Coupe. Front wheel drive dont you know. Returning to Manchester over the Peak District we ran into snow. Getting uphill was very difficult. We did eventually make it home that same night but again, never again!
We invested in WINTER tyres the next day as we make regular trips through the Peak District.
Currently we are renting a place in Derbyshire that does get quite a bit of snow and at a recent Club meeting I brought up the issue. The locals confirmed the unsuitability of 5’s in ice/snow.
So, be forewarned and perhaps look at threads for WINTER tyres. Not SNOW tyres or CHAINS.
I have not as yet considered WINTER tyres for the 5. I simply put the cover on and wait for better conditions.
Nor have we yet had the need to test out the WINTER tyres on the Mercedes, but I have it on good authority that they do make a positive difference. So I am afraid the best I can do is be forewarning. From the current weather forecast for the area perhaps I can be more informative in a couple days!
@Scottishfiver: Wheel alignment: I might actually do it. The car has 26k on the clock, and it is not lowered, so hopefully alignement should be OK, but I might check it at some point. I keep the car in the garage overnight, it is level and I never use handbrake there.
@VO5Jo: My MX5 came with a set of Pirelli’s P6000. I don’t have receipts for tyres, but the service record contains tread depth, so I can see between which services these were replaced. The original tyres did about 20,000 (rear) and 24,000 (front) miles. Rear pads were replaced at 20,000 miles, all discs and front pads, as far as I know, are still original at 26,000 miles. I don’t intend to modify this car. I drives very well as it is. My FTO was lowered and did handle very well. But the MX5 is in a class of its own.
@Drumtochty: I tried registering with the Scottish forum, but never get e-mail needed to confirm registration. Probably need to ask the webmaster to investigage.
@Mikec: I don’t indend to drive the MX5 in snow, but thanks for the warning. Fortunatelly, we have another car in the family (a humble Kia Cee’d), so we can share it when needed. This winter was rather genle so far…
General concensus about P6000’s is they are fine on heavier saloons, pretty good in fact and bloody widow makers on a 5 in wet & greasy conditions. I have personal experience of them on my Mk1 a few years back and they were utterly atrocious. Think Rainsports / ToyoTR / Federal Z’s as soon as is practical but please, please “caw canny” through this winter with your current rubber.
What model of 5 have you adopted? The “twisted bush syndrome”…(apart from a French tart running from the police & stuck astride a fence) is well documented and understood but basically with Mk3’s onwards.
Welcome Felisek, always good to see another FTO owner, great cars. I still have mine after 5 years of owning her, although shes been in storage since I bought my 5.Did you know that all FTO’s have a small degree of passive rear wheel steering? I found that out 2 years after I bought mine hehe.
I think the guys above have pretty much nailed everything you need to know about driving 5’s, good luck with the 5 and I hope it gives you far too many hours of fun and reliability.
Bonus piccy of my FTO (Suzzi) ((I name all my cars after ladies for some reason))
Oops. Thanks for this advice, I’ll try to be careful. I noticed once while going around a roundabaout in wet conditions the car “twitched” momentarily, as if the rear wheels were loosing grip. I eased off the throttle and it recovered immediately (perhaps with help of DSC), but it was a warning. I’m going to be super cautios in the wet.
How do P6000’s behave in the dry?
I have Mk3. If I understand correctly, the twisted bush syndrom can happen if the suspension is reassembled improperly. As far as I know, this car has never got any big job done, so the suspension is in its original state. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Cheers, Kit kat, it is a very nice looking FTO. Did you paint it yourself? There are very few yellows around. I had two FTO’s. A silver tiptronic GPX and a black manual GPX.
Its colour is the only reason I might one day actually fix it rather than sell it hehe , its one of the ‘car of the year’ editions that mitsubishi released in '94 and '95 they came in ‘dandelion yellow’ only and have the GPX trim level with the really fun Mivec system and a manual gearbox. Not many around now from the very small number that got built (500 I think) so I might be holding onto a very rare car. Hopefully it’ll be back on the road over summer and as tidy as your silver one.
Ah, a quick read of the FTO wiki page reveals : GPX Limited Edition. In commemoration of its win at the Car of the Year Japan
awards in 1994, Mitsubishi produced a Limited Edition of their GPX
model. This model was finished in a unique dandelion yellow paint scheme
with “'94–95 Japan Car of the Year” emblems on the car’s c-pillar. It was also installed with a rear screen wash/wipe, rear strut brace and limited slip differential as standard. 207 GPX Limited Edition models were produced during April 1995, 20 manuals and 187 autos.
Looks like Ive got one of the 20 then, very very pleased now hehe.
Being more cautios now. Just a bit…
