Breaking the mould - Modding an MX5

There's plenty of other options but the Meisters are tried and tested. I run GAZs on both my Mx5s though as I prefer them. BC coilovers are also popular or you can go budget crazy and buy some Ohlins.

The Mx5 has had a lot of development through club racing which has ended up with a pretty well defined short list of the best bits to fit for handling. The same is true of the classic mini scene with even more years of development. The VW scene I love, had many dubs, but a lot of it used to be being different for the sake of it. These days sadly it's all about brand new cars on air ride with financed wheels. Not really my cup of tea.

Not really sure what the question is. Are you looking for cheaper options?

I suppose one of the problems with wanting to modify/restore an old car is the initial outlay is small but the parts prices don't follow suit. This makes it hard to justify spending 1000s on a car that only costs a few hundred pounds.

Apologies to everyone, as usual my ramblings have left a wake of confusion!

I guess there never was a question, just a conversation starter really. You have all made some great points though. I was just curious if there was a different direction.

There are some bargains out there, the Cobalt exhausts seem to be very reasonable.

As you've said, you get what you pay for and you can pay good money for a race proven and tested product.

I don't really have a yard stick to judge anything by, other than the slightly skewed VW scene as was rightly pointed out. I do have a good friend with a serious supercharged VX220 but that's in another league. I bet it's cheaper to charge an MX5 than one of those though!

Great point on the value thing, that's probably only because time hasn't kept up with the MX5 yet.

I will say though, there can't be many more cars out there though that have as many experts as us to hand!

Because marketing conditions us to think that moooaaarrr is betterer!  lol

After all, Mazda spending millions of yen on developing the MX5 were bound to have got it wrong when compared to some bloke working something up in a garage in Sunderland or wherever  lol



(Not to say that time and technology and the application of knowledge hasn't developed better products than OEM kit, but you get my point )

I do remember (albeit on the OC forum) that a member who was formerly a motoring journalist for many years, returned his 80+ thousand mile mx5 to entirely standard OEM suspension. New bushes, new springs, new shocks, standard wheels and I remember how impressed he was with the package as a whole. Visually, renovating rather than modifying, outwardly may not appear to be the most exciting of changes but it is quite possible that Mazda knew a thing or two...

I'm a big fan of standard bushes. I'm also a big fan of BC coilovers. Together they are perfect for me.

I never understood the craze behind big wheels and low profile tyres, everything's just more comfortable and predictable (and lighter) with smaller wheels. There are limitations in terms of tyre choice though, of course...

I've never done anything that hasn't been done before I don't think on any of my cars. But I do do a lot of research on what I should do. Generally my focus is on cost effectiveness

I like tinkering. As long as I'm having fun, or helping others, I'm happy.

I'll stick my more than pointless 2pence in

It also depends on what you want to use the car for and how hard you push the car, are you a steady eddy or like to think you turn into Ari vatanen when a good set of backroads unwinds infront of you (I know I like to think i'm the latter    )

For me, the Mx5/eunos is one of the best cars that I have ever bought, also one of the cheapest.#

 I won't bore you with the countless cars i've had but hey, i've had Dc2's/S2k and can honestly say my £660 Mx5 is up there punching well above it's weight with both of those cars... the suspension set up I put on my teg cost over double what my whole mx5 did.

I consider myself to be a pretty keen, balanced, competent driver not scared of that loud pedal when it comes to some back road blasting, Would I spend that much on shocks again for a road/track car? Not a chance. Ok, I only have Minimal track experience, but surely bounding down some undulating knackered old Lincolnshire B roads is more of a test for good suspension than a silky smooth track?  (i'm already going off on a tangent here I know, but hey, if you're bored carry on reading!) And i'd like to meet another person around here who has spent more time on the twisties than I have. 

When I picked my mx5 up it had stock shocks/springs, budget tyres. It handled great considering.
I replaced the setup with the OEM bilstiens/20mm eibach lowered springs, fitted a roll bar at the same time, result? Stiff as a dead badger. 
I can honestly say I don't think i've found one thread on mx5 nutz praising these shocks, every man and his dog seems to think them way to harsh, maybe they are just zimmer frame bound casualties.

I think they're great, more than adequate for a sub grand motor. The are stiffer than stock, The damping in my opinion is spot on. I don't find the car jumping over bumps and lumps in the road, ok so you've got to hang onto the wheel a bit but they give me full confidence in the car, it's never bottomed out and It hasn't bump steered me anywhere. Maybe i'm just an animal that likes to be shook about, I like to know i'm driving hard when I do!  There's a humpback bridge local to me which I regularly see airtime over and they are showing no signs off abuse! I had Tein master flex on my Teg, 32 way settings this and that, springs this and that. Hell, I aint competing in the WRC, do I really need this on my cheapo road car?! They were crashy uncomfy and i'd never buy another set again. For the 2 minutes I was on perfectly smooth asphalt they were good, but besides that, a nightmare.

As for Chassis flex. I can't really feel any chassis flex in my car with the billies/Rollbar. My bushes (far as i'm aware) are stock, no under chassis bracing. Granted, I think bushes would taughten it up a bit, but I wouldn't want the chassis to be any stiffer, I don't think it would cope as a fast road car, maybe as a designated track car. 

It amazes me, you'll see people on forums banging on about this setup, that set up, go watch them on a track day or watch some videos on you tube and see that my mother would push a car harder, So you can't ALWAYS listen to what people have to say. Advice is good, it stops you buying utter Log Canoe, but first hand experience of driving cars with certain set ups is a much better way to help decide what you want from you're own car. Unless you have one million Ugandan dollars in your bank and can afford to test, trial and brake numerous set ups!

I realise i've just rambled, lots of which probably makes no sense. But in my opinion, unless you are a big time racer or serious track junkie, you don't need to fork out big for an MX5. They are light, simple, well balanced from the factory and don't need major suspension upgrades.

This is probably the only car I have had and ever will, that I have left budget tyres on until they have worn out, because only after 80/90% maximum attack have I found the front to understeer slightly, depending on road conditions. And the front tyres on my car are cheaper than lidl bargain booze. The rear may as well be welded to the road. It only has 115 lazy bhp stock, you'd do well to out drive a nearly stock mx5 chassis with nearly stock power.