JimR123

Mystery solved! This sounds exactly like the problem... http://www.mx-5.com/Forum/Room/Topic/?topicId=1819 Looks like I'll be visiting my Mazda dealer shortly...

Last Mk3 was a 5 speed, so you may be onto something there. If the 6 speed was made deliberately to make a different noise, I wonder why? ...as it certainly doesn't make it sound any sportier. What do you know about this resonation thing? Don't suppose you have any links to sites that go into excrutiating detail, so I can at least try and understand it.

Not worried now Thanks for the advice guys.

I do manage to hit a lot of potholes, allthough that's more because there are a lot of potholes to hit, I like to think

Do you think it needs repairing, or is it safe as is?

Ah, ok. And is timing something that is easily adjustable?

Can you see the image in my previous post?

Would bad timing not be noticable at higher revs too? To my untrained ear it seems to sound ok at higher revs. ...allthough different to my old Mk3. I put that down to the fact that it always feels like I have to rev it higher.

There's not an obvious bulge. I've tried not to pull the cut apart too much for fear of making it worse, but I couldn't see any cords. Hopefully you can see a photo of it below (if I've managed to attach it right)...

Hi, I've somehow managed to get a cut in the sidewall of my tyre. I can't figure out how, but the alloy wheel is also scuffed right next to it, so I'm guessing I somehow must have wacked something. Suprising thing is, it's on the driver's side rear tyre. The only time I can recall that tyre getting close to a curb is when I'm overtaking something, and I think I would've noticed clipping the curb if I had hit it at that speed! I think the cut is probably about 4 or 5mm deep, but the tyre hasn't shown any obvious signs of losing air yet. I noticed the cut about 3 days ago. I'm worried that its dangerous to be driving on it, as maybe a hard hit through a suprise bump could maybe blow the tyre? My question is, can you repair a tyre with a cut on the sidewall? I've checked out a few tyre repair websites, and some call it a "major repair", and others say "repair not possible" for that area. Also, if it is repairable, is a repair expensive enough to consider just replacing it with a new tyre? And... if I should be replacing the tyre... I've always replaced 2 at a time, so they have the same level of tread on the same axis, as I remember hearing somewhere that this is a good idea for handling and safety. Might have been from a garage selling tyres though! Is this good advice or would replacing just one not making any difference in handling at all?

I'm on my second MX5 Mk3 now, and tyres defintely make a difference. Had a set of 4 Vredesteins [sp?] put on my old '5 and I got rid of them after about 3 months because it made the car feel like I was always driving on ice! Toyo Proxes T1R's have been good to me on my old '5. They seem to have good grip in all conditions, and also when there's not so much grip it seems to lose traction quite gradually, so you don't get so many suprises. My latest '5 came with Bridgestone Potenzas which seem to have good handling too, although I think the suspension is a bit more "pro" on this model so it might be that making them feel good

Hi, I'm on my third Mazda MX5 now, my second Mk3 version, but bought this one at only 3.5k miles. I'm getting an undesirable noise when at low revs, mostly when accelerating, even very slightly. I also get the same noise sometimes when changing gear. If I try driving at 10mph, which is 1st gear at about 2k revs, I get the noise constantly. My OH says it sounds like it's a deisel when it makes the noise, but as I've never had a deisel, I couldn't say. To me it kind of sounds like something's rattling, but only in those certain circumstances. It sounds like the noise is coming from underneath rather than in the engine area. I had noticed the noise a little when I took the car for a test drive, but when I mentioned it to the sales guy, he just said he didn't notice anything unusual, but he'd get the guys in the garage to check it over before handing it over. I assumed that it was perhaps just because it only had a few miles on the clock, and just needed running in or something. Well, 5k miles later, and still the same noise. The car is a MX5 Mk3 Coupe Sport Tech 6speed... http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/mazda/m...r/summary/56840 Can anybody please suggest what might be the trouble here? Is it normal? ...because if it is, I wish hadn't bought the car as it sounds really cheap and nasty, which I don't expect for the £18k I paid for it. Annoyingly, my old MX5 Mk3, which I replaced with this, didn't make any such noises, but instead at low revs made a satisfying growling noise to remind you to shift down.

16" Writing on tyres is: 205/50ZR16 87Y It would help to have XL (extra load) tyres then since there's less slip angle... problem there though is they may then tramline. Have you checked out this superb site> http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/ Thanks for your help so far... www.tyrereviews.co.uk don't list the T1R's under the MX5... http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Mazda/MX5.htm ...but I know you can get T1R's in my size. Checking the individual reviews of the Toyo TR1's, Goodyear F1's, and the Toyo CF1's, the CF1's come out on top by a long way. If I understand right, "directional" means that you get chevron look on the tread pattern, is this right? If that's right, then the CF1's are not directional, whereas the other 2 designs are. I'm wondering if my wobbliness [sp?] is due to the directional pattern, and maybe the CF1's would help matters. Do you have an opinion on the CF1's? Can you see any reason why going from the Goodyear F1's to the Toyo CF1's would be "downgrading"?

16" Writing on tyres is: 205/50ZR16 87Y

Hi Tony, Thanks for the quick reply, and clearing up that TWI thing. Can tyre choice affect the handling charactaristics as well as the grip of a car? The handling of my car definitely became more "wobbly" after getting the F1's fitted. I put it down to it just feeling different because the tyres were much newer than my old Pirelli P5000's (or were they P6000s?) and assumed that's just how new tyres felt. However, they're now on their last legs, and the handling still feels wobbly. I'm thinking it's either down to the tyres being a much different design to my previous ones, or the "percussion engineering" applied by the garage that fitted them. I'll hopefully be bringing the car down to your good self sometime in the very near future for tyres and full geometry check, but I've just gotta decide on what tyres first...