New car :)

[Howard]

Copied this from another forum

Today I picked up my MX5, a 1990 1.6i UK model with only 39,000 miles (omg low mileage lol).

The condition is great for the year, the odd dink in the bodywork but nothing that you really notice without scrutiny, and the interior is very clean.

And most importantly, it's fantastic to drive I'm not used to RWD, and of course I'm not getting carried away with myself, but it really does handle very well. Precise steering and turn in, precise chassis with little roll, and a superb gearbox and pedal set that I really did feel right at home with after 5 minutes of driving it home.

Roofless motoring is also fantastic. Stopped at lights, it's great to just be able to look around/above at the world around you

All in all, I love it


I'll let some pictures do the talking:
(Yes, the camera overexaggerates the orange in the paint, it's red'er in real life )

[Shad]

I'll have a short back and sides please.

But seriously, nice car mate, enjoy

[GoNz0]

I'll have a short back and sides please.

But seriously, nice car mate, enjoy

nice car m8, take it to your local dent/chip master, they may be able to get it sorted for a small fee

[digit]

Very nice, bet it was a bargain price considering its age??

I drove the 2008 MX5 at the motorshow, pedals were a bit to close together for my liking but was a fantastic car none the less! I can only imagine your mx 5 is very similar!

[Vimeous]

She looks very tidy, a fine choice sir!

Loving the original Mazda sticker on the front bumper

[darxide]

The mx5 is a proper roadster

looks in good nick too

[Guy]

Thats in a very nice condition

Whats the underside like? Any signs of rust?

+ From old man, to hairdresser, thats a bit of a jump!

[Howard]

I'm still an old man, Honda's staying

I paid £1900 for it. Worth it for the condition IMO

The underside is surprisingly free of rust, only the usual surface stuff you see on most cars, and there's no signs of bubbling on or under the arches whatsoever (touch wood).

The only mechanical issue is a slight misfire at low revs when cold/engine hasn't been running for a while, but it goes away fairly quickly. Should be something simple like plugs and leads (checking these tonight) or an O2 sensor or something

It's just such a hoot to drive

[idimmu]

nice car, they drive great! but i just really cant get myself to like the way they look! sorry

[Betty_Swallocks]

An excellent price for one with such low mileage.
They just go on forever. My 1991 Mk1 has done over 140,000 miles with just routine servicing and the odd thing for the MOT.
I've heard of 5s with over 250,000 miles still running happily.
I'm sure this one will give you many happy miles.

Lol @ the hairdresser comment. In my experience the only people who say that are people who have never driven one.

The MX5 isn't just a rebodied saloon car like most other "sports" cars. It was designed from the ground up to be what it is and it shows.

The steering and suspension geometry for example is fully 3d adjustable just like a race car. If you take it to someone who knows what he's doing and has the proper laser alignment kit you can get it set up exactly how you want it. I don't know of any other sports car that has that.

The engines are just about unburstable with regular servicing. As standard it's very understressed, developing as it does 115bhp for the 1.6 like mine or 130bhp for a 1.8 like yours.
I know a number of people with turbos and supercharged engines putting out in excess of 200bhp with no other engine modifications. Let me tell you, 200+ bhp in a car that weighs under 1000kg makes for a seriously rapid car.

I think one of the things I like best about it is the way it rewards good driving. You can just potter about, changing up early if you want to but if you want to have some fun being in the right gear for a corner and actually thinking about how you drive really makes a difference. I've never had that in a car before. Only on bikes.

If you haven't joined already it's worth checking out the MX5 owners club.

Another good forum is MX5Nutz.

Both good forums with loads of useful information. Different in character to each other but both very good with a lot of very helpful people.

[Howard]

Mine's the 1.6

Makes a great noise though

Yep I'e joined the MX5 OC forums, so much information!

[Betty_Swallocks]

Of course it is. It's early and my alphabet temporarily deserted me. Mine's a J reg.

Has it got an aftermarket pipe on it? They sound soooo good with a well designed exhaust. Mine has a Larini.

[burble]

I've always had a soft spot for the MX5 because they're such good fun to drive. A friend of mine turbo'd his 1.8is and it turned into a bit of an animal. 240bhp, rwd and lsd made for some huge, huge grins. The pipework for the turbo was very short so it spooled up almost instantaneously meaning next to no turbo lag.

I miss that car.

[Howard]

Of course it is. It's early and my alphabet temporarily deserted me. Mine's a J reg.

Has it got an aftermarket pipe on it? They sound soooo good with a well designed exhaust. Mine has a Larini.

I don't believe it's aftermarket, no.

Am I right in thinking the pre-94 1.6s don't have Cats? (I know they reduced the power of the 1.6 after then when they released the 1.8)

[kalniel]

*jealous*

The only thing saving me from eating my own hand is that uposltry.

I don't believe it's aftermarket, no.

Am I right in thinking the pre-94 1.6s don't have Cats? (I know they reduced the power of the 1.6 after then when they released the 1.8)

They'll have cats I expect. The reduction in power is more electronical and just to make the 1.8 stand out more. (Same with my '85 mkII GTI - the 8v then was better than the 8v once they'd introduced the 16v model.)

edit: nope, I was wrong - pre 95's don't have cats.

[Howard]

If they do have cats, I presume the fact that they were only mandatory after 92 or 93 means I won't have too many issues if I put it through the MOT with a decatted stainless system?