MX5 NC - What do you keep in your Cubby Holes?

Technical Area Body, Interior & Styling
2

I made this NC specific as I’m not sure of the layout for NA, NB & ND.  I was wondering if there was an optimum set up for storing all those bits you need but don’t want on show in the less than capacious NC Storage area? I’m not a fan of lots of trailing wires, so all of my Gadgets are hard wired out of the way.

  • Is it better to keep your current hats in the Glove box or in the Central Cubby Hole? You've all got Summer and Winter Hats right?
  • What about that tin of travel sweets?
  • Sunglasses? Got to be easily reachable, so central console or glove box?
  • Phone Charger Wires? Hanging loose out of the Dash board 12v supply or tucked up snug?
  • Parking Change? Rattling around the bottom of the glove box or in a neat tin or dedicated coin tidy (I DO NOT have one of these!).
  • What about those 3 odd screws that appeared when you took the radio out?
  • Where do you keep rubbish? Not on show surely? Please, no crisp packets in the door card cup holders (Oooops. guilty of that one)
  • Maps? Back of seat? And yes I still keep a current paper map despite having Sat Nav in my Android Head unit AND on my Smartphone.
 So here's my set up... Copy this, paste it into your reply and tell us all how yours is set up!

Central Cubby Hole (Petrol Cap Release)

  • 2 x Seasonal Hats (currently baseball type for shade and glare, in Winter 2 x Warm Beanie hats)
  • 2 x Sunglasses
Gear Stick Cubby Hole (Cup Holder or Modded Coimpartment)

I’ve taken out the coffee cup holders and installed the Central Console Storage Lid from MX5 Parts and then modded it to take out the cigarette lighter socket which I replaced with 2 x USB Charging points.

  • 3 x fragments of unidentifiable food material.
  • 1 x Phone Charger lead
  • 1 x Tin of Travel Sweets
  • 1 x Memory Card case (Micro SD cards are so easy to lose)
  • Parking Change
  • Phone (if it's charging, but usually it's in the glove box out of temptation's way).
Glove Box
  • Wallet
  • Phone
  • Driving Glasses Case
And currently a snake's wedding of wires from;
  • 2 x USB Cables with memory sticks plugged in holding all of my music for my Android Head Unit
  • 1 x iPod  Cables (unused) from my Android Head Unit
  • Control and recording unit from my Koolung KS1 Twin camera dash cam
Driver's Cubby Hole
  • Small lightweight fleecy rug for the passenger very cold Winter days (The hood's down 12/12 unless it's piddling down).
Driver's Knee Hole
  • Empty
Passenger's Cubby Hole
  • 2 x Seasonal Hats (currently Fleecy Beanie type for winter snugness).
  • 2 x Gloves. I don't wear them to drive but in winter it's good to have a pair in the car.
Boot
  • Warning Triangle
  • Mazda Puncture Kit
  • Anti Mist Glass Wipes
  • 2 x Microfibre Cloths
Inside Boot Cubby
  • Mazda Jack kit
  • Mini Brolly
  • Ice Scraper
  • Disposable plastic gloves
 
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Glovebox

A whole riff-raff of stuff including, but not limited to, a microfibre cloth, two eau de colognes, a microfibre cloth, some paperwork.

Driver and passenger cubby

Nothing! Currently…

Centre cubby

Broken sunglasses and a big microfibre which requires a desperate clean.

Centre cup holders

A 20A fuse, 20p, sunglasses, a double decker wrapper, various crumbs.

Little cubby driver-front

Dog mess bags, a small tennis ball and, often, my wallet.

 

Phone stays in my pocket as I can do everything I need whilst driving through hands-free, music etc. gets put on prior to setting off. My car is desperately unclean inside, let’s not get started on the boot… It might be having a vacuum tonight as it goes. I don’t ever drive with hats - sunglasses are my protection of choice. Don’t have a phone-charger in the car, but have a portable phone charger in the house so might retire that to the glovebox in case of emergency. No parking change of any sort, I’m terrible for not carrying physical cash with me…

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Central Cubby Hole (Petrol Cap Release)

  • Assorted hats M&F
Gear Stick Cubby Hole (Cup Holder or Modded Coimpartment)

Still standard with cup holders

  • Sunglasses case
  • Pen
No other cubbys with a PRHT

Passenger seat back

  • A3 Map book of UK
  • Empty cloth shopping bag
Passenger seat
  • more hats
  • swim bag
  • more empty cloth shopping bags
  • sometimes a passenger
Glove Box
  • Garmin, normally not in use
  • Dashcam, normally not in use
  • Phone charger leads
  • IPod connector lead - except the promised IPod has yet to appear
Driver's Knee Hole
  • Work light
  • Microfibre for windscreen
Driver's Door Cup Holder
  • Wad of kitchen roll (for cleaning mirrors headlights tail lights and windows)
  • Sometimes keys
Passenger door cup holder
  • usually a thermos type thingy
Boot

All the standard stuff plus

  • Steering lock bar
  • Rug
  • Spare bulb kit
  • Snowsocks (work on wet grass too)
  • Tyre plug kit
1 Like
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Central Cubby Hole (Petrol Cap Release)

  • Baseball cap and fleece beanie
Gear Stick Cubby Hole (Cup Holder or Modded Compartment)

Still standard with cup holders

  • Extra chewing gum stick
  • dual USB charge adapter
  • key fob for electric gates
Passenger seat back cubby
  • No idea, never looked since I got the car
Driver seat back cubby
  • No idea, never looked since I got the car
Glove Box
  • Garmin Nav, power lead, suction mount
  • Handbook etc in original wallet
  • Aux lead
  • Phone USB charger leads
  • A5 size Road atlas
  • Biro
  • Various CD's not is cases
Driver's Knee Hole
  • Not sure, must take a look
Passenger side small cargo net
  • Dual 12v cigarette socket adaptor
Boot
  • Petrol can with 5 litres Momentum 99
  • Rug
  • Mazda std puncture kit
  • Can of tyre weld (in side compartment)
  • Tyre plug kit (in side compartment)
  • Scissor jack (in side compartment)
  • Standard tools in wallet(lock nut, wheel brace, jack handle)
  • 2Lt oil
  • Maguires detail spray, couple of cloths
  • Mini tool kit in small plastic box
6

Blimey, don’t you lot carry oodles of stuff in your 5s ?

I travel quite light by comparison - the drivers handbook with breakdown info, a couple of baseball caps, a packet of Werthers, and a lipsalve !

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In fairness, mine will be considerably lighter as of this evening!   

8

I seemed to have missed where you keep your hi-viz gilet. I thought it had to be accessible in the cabin.

9

I drive in the UK

 

10

I have very similar uses for major cubby’s as above , but would mention tyre pressure gauge and headstrap LED light in drivers cubby, and birds**t wipes in drivers door net.  Not having scissor jack, I store drivers manual (wrapped in poly bag) in boot cubby + PRHT emergency tools. 

 

11

As I haven’t mastered copy and paste on this new fangled Android phone yet I’ll just list what’s kept where below.

Glove box - Owners handbook, spare reading specs, pen & sticky notepad, parking disc, compass, calculator.

Map net on passenger side - Small umbrella.

Centre Coin Tray - House keys. Twin aux splitter screwed under the overhang with a tyre pressure monitor plugged into one and a combined digital volt / interior temp gauge / USB port in the other.

Coin holder above drivers knee - Empty because things fly out under the massive acceleration .

Drivers door cup holder - Sunglasses and a yellow duster.

Centre console cup holders - Mints, phone charging cable. A lift off padded arm rest sits on top when the sliding lid is pushed back. Highly recommended for comfort and a better gear changing position.

Cubby boxes directly behind the seats - First aid kit, other empty,

Centre cubby box - Sat Nav, microfibre covered sponge, a few CDs and an emergency T shaped tool to break glass, cut through seatbelts and has a built in torch.

Boot - In addition to the jack, tyre repair kit, tools and electric pump -Comprehensive plastic tool case fits perfectly in the square floor well with a waterproof backed tartan picnic blanket on top. The rear and drivers side have carpeting bags Velcroed to the plastic panel. These contain the following items…

De ICER, ice scraper, a squeegee made from a wiper blade, microfibre cloth, baby wipes, fault code reader, tyre pressure gauge, tyre plugging kit, Holts tyre weld, spare serpentine belt, brake fluid, washer fluid, radiator seal, engine oil and antifreeze top up bottles, fire extinguisher, spare bulbs & fuses, cable ties, insulation tape, jubilee clips, various odds n sods in a box, a block of wood, tow rope, jump leads, plug in work light,  GT 85 aerosol, foldable plastic snow shovel, Haynes manual, empty cloth shopping bag, waterproof jacket, small waterproof tarpaulin, nitrile gloves. There’s probably more but I can’t remember what without looking and it’s chucking down with rain at the moment.

All this and there’s still room for the weekly shopping 

 

Boy scouts motto - BE PREPARED !!! 

 

 

12

I thought my list was big…

 

13

 

Hey Chris, if you’re packing Werther’s Originals you don’t need anything else.

14

I hadn’t even realised there was a storage pocket in the back of the passenger seat! I will have to go buy a road atlas to go in there…

As for the other cubbies - I have the owners manual in the glovebox along with some windscreen wipes. The emergency hardtop tools are in the boot along with the wheelbrace etc. I have replaced the OE centre console cupholders with an aftermarket cubby which incorporates a 12V socket so I have a phone charger in there along with a packet of paper tissues, a biro and a small notepad. I have another cubby under the (aftermarket) stereo, but for now it remains empty. I generally put my sunglasses in the rear centre compartment and my Green Flag breakdown card in the holder in the door of said compartment. I refuse to carry or wear a hat because I really don’t want to look a complete knob…

The passenger footwell net is ideal for keeping SWMBO’s “Blue badge” to hand. We have purchased a couple of small Thermos branded drink bottles that fit in the door-mounted beverage holders and these are ideal for longer journeys.

1 Like
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Central Cubby Hole (Petrol Cap Release)

  • A piece of non-slip mat
Gear Stick Cubby Hole (Cup Holder or Modded Compartment)
  • Pen
  • Cup of coffee (occasionally)
Glove Box
  • Piece of non-slip mat
  • Empty tub of chewing gum
Driver's Cubby Hole
  • There's a driver's cubby hole?? If it's the one behind the seat then.... nothing.
Driver's Knee Hole
  • My knees don't have any holes.... 
Passenger's Cubby Hole
  • As per the driver's cubby hole
Boot
  • Detailing bag
  • Umbrella
  • Tool kit
  • Club door magnets
Looking at some people's lists it got me wondering if they live in their car.....
16

Hi, The centre storage bin looks great but evidently MX5 Parts say it is only for models up to 2008. My Mk3.75 is not included. 

Question - Has anyone fitted this to a 3.75 and if so was it easy?

Help please as, for me , it would appear to be the answer to my storage problems.

Nick

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18

   OOPS1111 Don’t know what happened with my last post. Gtnick…I assume you hve removed the cup holder insert which clips inside the mk3.something center console? not ideal but it helps.!!  

Regards JohnD

19

John, No i haven’t but this weekend I’ll have a go. I have checked the IL.de website but no joy.
Thanks for the reply.
Cheers. Nick