Big Update 2: Track Attack Prep.Where was I?
Oh that's right, some pikeys tried their hand at crime, and failed miserably, I fixed my floppy knob, and I gave the car a decent spit-shine.
I booked the Mighty5's track day at Llandow Circuit so I was mostly concentrating on getting the car ready to take a rollover, and not kill me when I inevitably spin-out and crash.
Grip required.The OZ SuperLeggera's were to be fitted to the car, wrapped in Yokohama AD08R tyres in 195/50/15. Aesthetics-wise the wheels are alright. They're nothing special really but as a functional set of motorsport orientated alloys, they're perfect. Very lightweight, strong, straight, and IMO the perfect fitment for an MX5.
15x7 et35. You still retain the spritely handling that the car is supposed to have, with heaps more grip thanks to the wider track and stickier tyres, however you're still able to have fun on, and beyond the limits of grip. It's great!
I took the car to Ruislip Tyres in... Ruislip. They're a great bunch of guys who are all petrolheads, they have Hunter 4 wheel alignment, have excellent prices on tyres usually beating most online retailers, and treat your car with respect when working on it.
They tend to always have cool stuff there as well.
Mmm... dat tread pattern tho.
Yeah, alright the wheels do look great. Maybe a refurb in Bronze / Gold might be on the cards at some point soon! Unless a set of Gold 6UL's come up for sale then ohlerd!
Seats, Harnesses, discoveries and preventative maintenanceThe next port of call was keeping me in my seat at the trackday. I know it's perfectly fine to use the standard seat but being strapped into a proper bucket that fits you well makes a WORLD of difference both on the road and on track - Especially if you're really pushing it, which I was fully intent on doing.
I gave Dan @ BOFI Racing a shout to assist me in picking the right seat for my needs, and fortunately they already have a Seat / Rail / Harness package available on their website ready to order. The Motamec MRX seat was built to fit both the Mazda MX5 and the SW20 Toyota MR2 - Hence the name! I've used and fitted a few bucket seats in my old car and this seat is by far the easiest to fit, most comfortable, and supportive seat I've used. to mount the seat, the Skid Nation rails are used, which again are incredibly easy to fit, have the holes drilled in the right places and are compatible with a multitude of seats. The Motamec 6 Point Harness installation is just like any other 6 point, they feel substantial, and price > performance they can't really be beat. Quality-wise they're top notch and the fact they're FIA Approved is an added bonus, especially if you're interested in getting in to sprint / amateur race events.
To mount the harness I settled with the GCF Fabrications harness bar. Big, beefy, and worked perfectly with my Carbing / Cusco 6-Point half-cage. It mounts by the seatbelt towers, tying the cabin together and giving an OEM+ feel and finish to the interior of the car.
Dan and Matt from BOFI were kind enough to help me with the install and we spend the best part of an afternoon prepping my car and fitting the gear in their workshop.
We also had a helping hand <3
The seat fits perfectly with my door bars, and AFAIK they also work well with the GCF door bars too.
Black / Tan is a winning combination - Definitely want to explore this further with the rest of the cabin.
6 Months later, and the seat still looks brand new. I drive my car nearly every day and the cushions are still plump, supportive and comfortable.
So, now that I won't crush my head and have my butt firmly planted in the seat, it's time to start some further preventative maintenance.
I wasn't sure if / when the cambelt has ever been changed (pretty much little to no service history), and the car barely ticked over 80,000KM! Due to the low mileage and how the previous owner treated the car, it's safe to assume that this probably wasn't done. Regardless it's always good to do the cambelt anyways. It's just better peace of mind.
Went to Rob's, as is tradition, and he wanted me to tackle it mostly by myself with him on stand-by if something goes wrong. Like a camshaft in my exhaust or whatnot. I've done a cambelt before, but it was a few years ago so I basically forgot. Well, Best to start stripping the car then I guess!
A daunting task, but fairly straight forward. I think I had the most difficulty replacing the Water-pump as it's just a little fiddly. I opted to use an Aisin branded waterpump as I believe they're a supplier for OEM parts, and the quality of the unit is A1+. Smooth turning pulley, a beefy impeller (beefier than the OEM pump) and nice casting. I highly recommend this alternative. It fit fine - However I will say to obtain an OEM Waterpump gaskeet as the one provided was frankly a bit crap.
It was also great to confirm that the cams were indeed the Original Mazdaspeed 9B1A camshafts and not re-grinds or an aftermarket alternative. Weirdly enough, if you look at the tip of the lobes, they're scalloped for some reason -
If anyone knows why, please update! 
Another interesting point is the Mazdaspeed head has reliefs machined just around the HLA's (I'm sure this isn't there on the OEM B6 Head). Again, not quite sure what this is for, as the lift isn't *that* aggressive compared to some other "Fast-Road" cams available. Again, if anyone knows what that's for then please let me know! It would be great to understand why.
nice.
I whipped this up on my lunch break, so I'll leave it at this for now. But I'll probably jump on again later when I finish for the day and update with what happened with the rest of last year, where I am now, and where I want the car to be by the end of summer this year.
Peace haout x
(NOT a sales pitch, genuine intrest.......)
le sigh