hms

No, I think she got the buzz out of him doing that! h

Steve-O is yours UK or import? If import it is not unusual for the ARB's to be upgraded. Measure the diameter of ARB and check the size when you buy them. MX5 parts sell front ARB bushes for the NA in two sizes but do not give them, one is standard and the other is for the S Special and those models based on the S Special that has Bilstien shocks. hth h

Good luck Mark h

What's that Tony? h

Seized piston, glazed pads will affect the braking. h

Food for thought. has the car been modified? Does it have ABS Usually the manufacturer will specify brake size to suit the car, over specifying pot size/friction material will cause wheel lock ups. In short, I have no idea! h

Plus some arb's are solid and some hollow, plus maybe possible to have varying torisional stiffness in the same dia bar? h

Nice write up, you lucky so and so! Hope to do the ring next year. h

Thanks for the comments guys. Didn't hit most of the turn in points/apex's though due to being off line due the the faster stuff. See how much time I spend looking in the mirrors watching what's behind me! Camera position wasn't great, I forgot part of the mounting kit that would have raised the camera slightly. If the camera is too high though all you'll see is the rearview mirror! h

Anyway... back on topic. The video of the Hornet is here: h

BB 512, an interesting car for a track novice! h

I remember the first time we took Hornet out to Woodbridge, on the first lap, and before we were out, a car rolled! One of the chicanes was formed where two parts of the runway met, this car went off the track into the corner of the junction of the tarmac, wheel dug in and game over!. Driver wasn't too concerned, he just used his R8 for the rest of the day! Out in the Hornet I do push the car once I know the track, but make sure there's plenty of run off! I Don't think the Hornet is that low, it's the right height with the wishbones parallel to the ground. (As set up by Tony.) Have no real problem with sleeping Policemen, I'm sure Lexie started lower, grounding everytime I ran over a matchstick! h

Roll bar is the next in line. Hord Dog from the US are in effect not available due to the exchange rates, no one's importing them! Jap one's come up occassionally, but they won't work with a glass rear screen. There is a company called TJ Lane who has started making roll bars for the 5, just waiting for them to finalise the method of fitment and confirm they will work with a glass screen The windscreen is buitl to withstand one and a half times the weight of the car on it. Not really useful as in a roll the car does not get carefully placed rubber side up! The drivers seat is also too high. It was fitted onto the normal seat runners as we need the seat to be adjustable due to the varying size of the Hornets owners. Now sitting higher than the normal seat! It's still work in progress, but in the meantime still having lots of fun! h

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 ? Tried photobucket, youtube and e-mail none of which worked h

Not sure if it was you then as the hornet wasn't at the stand when I got there. Did you drive it home as I was waiting to cross at the lights when someone in one of the 5's shot me a 'do I know you' look, or maybe I looked flushed carrying 14 litres of oil! I know the other 5 was on a trailer as I saw Mark and I assume Derek loading it up. I didn't think to come back and ask for me ride, went to watch some track action, maybe next time! Who's the guy in this link under 'One of the last men standing (or sitting)'...I think he was the one I spoke to? Last man sitting was Andrew, (Blacknbuk). I must have been out on track in the Hornet at the time. Yep drove her home, keep the Hornet road legal to cut down the costs of a trailer and having to find someone with a car to take her to and from the track! Next time get your priorities right and get a ride first, then you can spend the rest of the day ogleing the totty and watching the cars and wondering why do I not have a 5? h

Double post! h

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

Cannot seem to edit my last post again. anyway, for Steve-O Photo's of you in the GAZ/WIM car here. Scroll down the page a bit! http://www.planetmx5.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4287 h

Not got it....... can you go again Is that an offer?

Steve-O, I'm was there when you came back in. from the drive. Couple of things. Early 1.6's had what is known as a short nose crank, identifiable as the crank pulley has 4 holes in it. There is a weakness there with the woodruff key, if it's taken off and not put on back correctly then you can have problems. Later 1.6's were redesigned to overcome that problem. 1.8's never had this problem. (Only known weakness.) Can't remember the exact details but some of the UK 1.6's were depowered to increase the difference between the 1.8 and 1.6. I think is 96 hp against 119 or something like that. Imported 5's usually have less rust and tend to come better spec'd than UK cars of the same age. MX5 clubs. There is a branch of the MX5 Owners Club in Hemel, cannot remember where or when they meet but can find out for you if you want. The Cobham Commoners, also known as Planet MX5 meets on the last tuesday of the month, normally 20 + 5's in attendance. Check out www.planetmx5.com. (Some of us are off to Le Mans to drive the course next week.) The Hornet, the second 5 on the WIM/GAZ stand is run by Planet Motorsports, the motorsports arm of Planet. Welcome to the wonderful world of 5's. I'm in North London, if you need any help or advice, pm me here or on Planetmx5.com (hs on the forum). I have a supercharged 1.8 NA (Mk1) Absolutely Shocks suspension with a WIM fast road/Track alignment. h (Howard)

Still cannot upload the video for some reason! Anyway there's a copy been e-mailed to you. h

Blue bucket seat with the roof down is the Hornet. I was driving in a silver helmet. Sorry ER, probably was me you spoke too as I seemed to spend most of the day on the stand, (I'm short, fat, grey with glasses, with a description like that, how can the girls resist!), with planet polo and jacket. I knew you were wanting a ride from one of your earlier posts, and was waiting for you to appear. Coombe is not a great track fo a 5, long straights do not suit a low powered 5. Give it corners then it becomes a different matter. Was still fun though! Now back to trying to upload video! h

Glad to see we had another convert to the 5's. I think the passenger in the drift car was nickd? of Mazda on Track. He seemed to be well shaken up after, hardly surprising as he seems to break the side window with his helmet! I took the Hornet out for a couple of sessions, first one with a passenger. First time on track at Combe, and first time with such a horsepower disparity in the cars on the track. First time was getting to know the track layout and get used to cars that were far faster than the Hornet. Took it fairly cautiously. Second session I was out on my own, Derek from GAZ wanted to follow me around and watch how the Hornet handled. Anyway Derek dissappeared but the second outing was a lot better, less missed changes, (and missed corners) due to watching the mirrors for the overtakers on either side! More confidence as I had a feeling for the track and lines. Still had to keep off line for the faster cars, which didn't make for quick laps. (Quick is relative by the way!) Anyway, good fun, enjoyable day, thanks to Tony, Derek and Mark. h ps will post some in car vid up once I can upload it.

Do you just use the car to pootle around or do you enjoy driving?. If you are the latter, then definately WIM. If you are driving 'fast' then you should have the car aligned so it handles safely at speed. Tony will be able to adjust the chassis to suit your driving style if you so want. A full geometric alignment will improve the cars handling, reduce tyre wear, providing you don't go for some alignments that trade grip for tyre wear, and give you even tryre wear, allowing the tyres to last longer. (Especially if you have new tyres, old tyres will carry the wear from the current alignment.) Tony will explain to you what he is doing, why, the benefits of and any drawbacks. Alignment is not for the expensive cars, I drive a 13 year old MX5, I enjoy driving it, every time I have been there Tony has given me a different car. The first time it was aligned was after I bought it, it was returned to the standard Mazda settings. It was very jumpy at the back prior to this due to having very agressive track settings on the rear. Once that was done the improvement in handling was huge. Over time, my experience of handling a rear wheel drive car grew, so the next time I had it aligned to fast road/track. Suits me and my style of driving both on and off track. Also have a look at this post by Tony explaining the differences between the types of alignment. http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/ind...hp?showtopic=49 At this point I'll admit to a link with WIM. WIM sponsor the PlanetMotorsports car aka The Hornet, in which I have a 1/8th share. Other than that, I pay for the alignments on my own car and as you may have noticed, am a very satisfied customer. h

Escaped the Planet compound Eh!. Waxoil doesn't dry hard, dries to a softish waxy finish. Tony should have no problems removing it or just pushing the spanners on to the adjusters should clear it. (At least I hope so! My GAZ shocks were coated in it to give them a bit more protection.) h