Steve-O

Thanks tony:) how you set saturday to bring it over and see what state she is in? Would be good to to get under her myself and have a good look poke around and see what the score is! Steve Late afternoon we should have time just to look her over..... I've got some coilovers in the centre now for you to play with. Coilovers - niiice Those will have to wait a bit until funds replenish a bit, Will give me time to enjoy her as mazda intended anyway so its not all bad Was thinking about getting her wheels rebalanced and chassis calibrated so i am more than happy to wait until you have a slot whenever that may be ? Does it need to be on a Sat? Its nice but not strictly necessary - i can swap shifts during the week and come on a quiet afternoon ? That would work out better..... the next Sat is not for three weeks. Suits me mate - i'll check the calendar at work and let you know tomorrow but i think anythings possible as long as i give my workmates a bit of warning

Thanks tony:) how you set saturday to bring it over and see what state she is in? Would be good to to get under her myself and have a good look poke around and see what the score is! Steve Late afternoon we should have time just to look her over..... I've got some coilovers in the centre now for you to play with. Coilovers - niiice Those will have to wait a bit until funds replenish a bit, Will give me time to enjoy her as mazda intended anyway so its not all bad Was thinking about getting her wheels rebalanced and chassis calibrated so i am more than happy to wait until you have a slot whenever that may be ? Does it need to be on a Sat? Its nice but not strictly necessary - i can swap shifts during the week and come on a quiet afternoon ?

Thanks tony:) how you set saturday to bring it over and see what state she is in? Would be good to to get under her myself and have a good look poke around and see what the score is! Steve Late afternoon we should have time just to look her over..... I've got some coilovers in the centre now for you to play with. Coilovers - niiice Those will have to wait a bit until funds replenish a bit, Will give me time to enjoy her as mazda intended anyway so its not all bad Was thinking about getting her wheels rebalanced and chassis calibrated so i am more than happy to wait until you have a slot whenever that may be ?

Thanks tony:) how you set saturday to bring it over and see what state she is in? Would be good to to get under her myself and have a good look poke around and see what the score is! Steve

BLASPHEMER !!

Yet to take some of my own pics so heres the autotrader one for now : UK 1.8i, 1997 (P), 84k, and absolutely standard apart from the 15's on yokohama rubber. Sills are mint! There are a couple of bits that need sorting like new air filter, rocker cover gasket and rear discs (corroded)I think the wheel balancing needs looking at as well but otherwise the car is mint. New hood recently, has a tonneau cover, spare wheel and jack present... The drive back yesterday in 24 degree heat was a defining moment for me - what better day to have my first soft top experience..and my first case of driving related sun burn bombing round the b roads of ashridge/berkhamstead lol!, that and the cornering on the high speed slip road onto the m25 - great fun !! Oh and best part is the insurance - £220 fully comp !! RESULT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Tony Is the WIM/GAZ demo car running one of the standard WIM fast road 'templates' or was it a special config ? I'm aiming for the gaz coilover solution (on the basis i can stay close to a OEM ride confort) but in the mean time is it reasonable to think we could get somewhere roundabout the demo setup on stock suspension and 15 inch rims ? I am guessing there are benefits regardless on getting the wagon on the ramp and see where we stand! Got my MX5 now you will be pleased to hear anyway - fast mover me !! Cheers Steve

Nice one mate I am liking this one !:

Not got it....... can you go again e-mail turned back as the attachement was too large. I'll burn a copy and try and get it to you at the weekend. h What about a youtube upload or something ?

Superb - good photo of us on the arse of the impreza!

Hi H Cheers for the link ! will look into the meets once i get hold of one methinks! This was my next step - scour the OC forums and read up on them all and find a list of common problem areas etc... i am keen on a mk1 purely for looks but if rust is an issue maybe i will have to choose carefully as i cant be doing with welding sills and that kind of caper ! The idea was this is going to be a track toy/weekend b road blaster but can stand the state of the roads round here. Not sure if the engine weight plays into the 5's and wehther the 1.6 is better balanced over the 1.8... all these things i bet are answered on the forums.. no doubt there will be a load of posts coming from me shortly ! Cheers Steve

Yay...... Welcome to the MX5 community, tell you what mate you will not regret it!!.... As you know i work on all manner of chassis and the 5 in my opinion is the best I am quite stunned how strongly i feel on the subject if i am honest... but the heart never lies and that drive was stunning... i'm in I'll be over to you with it as soon as i get it

You guys have really thrown a spanner in the works now. The 200 is for sale as we speak. I am getting an MX5......

You got to do it - its awesome. The track is the best place to explore the limits and see how chuckable it is

Oh yes... you might just see me in a mx5 turn up soon for some choice upgrades and alignment real eye opener. Didnt think such a small car could have a big impact on me:D you should come along next year its a good day

Hi Guys Top day out - another casualty from sunburn - not quite sure how that happened lol I was lucky enough to take one of your MX'5s out for a track session around lunchtime and i wasnt quite prepared to be completley blown away by how good it was, and managed to keep pace with an impreza turbo for the session and held off an integra for a bit! I am actually considering getting one now since the girlfriend has effectively given me the green light - she absolutely loved it. Its a pity the track manners of some in the public sessions was non-existent - constantly having to watch out for evos's coming up the left side of me (against the track rules) at completely the wrong time...whether thats just impatience or incompetance i dont know...Many thanks to you Tony, and of course Mark and Derek of Gaz shocks who kindly brought the car along. Marquee died a death even before things got started due to the high winds which was bad news - luckily the weather turned a bit better later in the day to save the guys getting drowned only for it to start raining again later... I took mine out on a morning session when it was p**sing with rain - i think i stretched myself as far as i'd dare given in the conditions but in hindsight driving the mx5 has completely adjust my perception on how well my car is running (in terms of handling), which is a good thing i suppose as the session did highlight where i have comprimised the car in areas...namely stretched rubber on the front.. whether or not this was the sole reason i was getting vague frontend/huge understeer and not much grip at all at not an unreasonable entry speed... but i guess this should be a seperate discussion in the other forum area Thanks again Steve

Hi Daaave, Looks like you aren't having much luck with the alignment. Speaking as an existing and future customer of Tony's - i would say you will save money in the long run sorting this issue if you make a day of it and drive down and let Tony work his magic on it. As he said before he has the best of the best in terms of equipment, and has the knowledge and enthusiasm to use it in anger (as do the rest of his guys) If you look around the forum you will see people come from all over the place - because they know he is the best. I dont think i could trust anyone else with my car now to be Honest - particularly as the normal settings/rules dont apply. Thats when the skill comes in. But whatever you decide hope you get it sorted ! I'll keep an eye on the thread :angry: Cheers Steve

Well thats good to hear from someone who actually knows what they are talking about ! If i opt for a 245/45/18 over the current 235/45/18 do i need to worry about the extra width having a bearing on the sidewall height thus affecting the rolling circumference ? In which case would i need to compensate by going a sidewall size down in this instance ? Cheers Steve

Yep i hear you loud and clear mate. It is too stretched for my liking as well but i went on the forums usual fitment - just goes to show not everyone knows what they are doing. I've learned a lot since fitting the wheels so its plain to see its not the best setup. I also worry about the tyre safety point of view - lateral loads on the side wall on a stretched tyre - an unknown quantity ? A possible risk of the tyre coming off the wheel in high grip situations even !? Will definately move up to a 245 - wont be a snug fit like the rears are but will certainly offer more slip angle which should help neutralise the road profile sensitivity. I spoke to mark about taking on the fitment job for the shocks and springs when i am ready and he seemed keen, so i'll give you a buzz when i have sourced the gear (unless you can quote me happy ? I'll do the lot through you? ) Steve

Ok well its been a few days since my latest adjustment, and i think the problem has been neutralised to the best of the cars/equipment's abilities. Thanks to Mark and the gang for the help and banter/technical chat whilst waiting ! The car will now follow the roads camber quite agressively. It will pull left if to the left of the road and it will pull right if on the right of the road. So regular correction is required. I think thats the penalty for running stretched tyres on coilovers on imperfect UK roads ! So i am happy with it as it stands I'd say the turn in and deadzone is a bit better now (more to my liking). I think the camber was evened out and toe etc adjusted to compensate and that was about it. Nothing major than that other than getting the fronts balanced also - i hit a fookin great pothole (at least half a foot deep) on the way into the estate and i thought i bent the wheel to be honest. Biggest bang i ever heard. BEWARE when in the area !! My next plan of action with the 200 is to move from coilovers to KYB Agx's and Eibach springs for better fast road compliance. Also move from a stretched 235 (on 9.5 wheels) to a lesser stretched 245 tyre. Then the games start all over again i guess !! Steve

Ok cool. Can you book me in for the 25th Oct at all to take a look ? Steve Yep, what sort of time note (10 till 11 has gone) Anything earlier is cool Or asap after that is good also. 9am? 9am on the 25th Oct is great. See you then !

Ok cool. Can you book me in for the 25th Oct at all to take a look ? Steve Yep, what sort of time note (10 till 11 has gone) Anything earlier is cool Or asap after that is good also.

Ok cool. Can you book me in for the 25th Oct at all to take a look ? Steve

Hi Tony, Right i managed to finally swap the fronts over this weekend and took it for a fairly decent drive up to snetterton track for a car show... My conclusion is - i still am not entirely sure, although the symptoms appear to be reduced (less pull to the left). I need to swap back again just to be sure. I can't tell if its the road's natural camber thats pulling the car, as it can pull to the right at times. I sat on the motorway and i would find myself having to have the wheel ever so slightly turned right to correct a pull to the left. Then later it would want to pull right also. I definately think there is a pull to the left in one way or another but there might be something else going on thats making the car follow the road profile (ruts/camber) a bit too well and make it an effort to keep the car in a straight line. When we did the alignment you found that the front was well out for whatever reason (my money is on speedhumps), and adjusted everything and it looked pretty sweet. I cannot recall anything of significance being done on the rear. I am assuming as part of a normal alignment the machine would have flagged up if there were serious issues on the rear might cause such issues ? The car definately needs some more attention though in one way or another Cheers Steve

We will get it flat .... Please give us a call when you are ready, it will be an interesting calibration. Well that's the other thing I was going to suggest, we should give the car a good measure up and check it is actually sitting flat. I don't trust my dodgy measuring. I will give you a call tomorow afternoon. "Dodgy measuring" ...... wobbly ruler or something ..... Lets have her back and put the body audit kit on and see exactly how wobbly see is Please do post back - i'd be interested to hear how it went ! Steve