What car to Get ?

[Tony]

but the understeer can be dialled out, if its a track car.

 

biggest issue is its amazing ability to snap from under steer, to massive oversteer.........usually resulting in a trip, of the Road/Track.....cliff

 

Agreed, jon wanted over on his sw20 and if anything i gave it to much

[Gordon]

why does it have to be jap.....

 

maestro 2.0 mg, infact you could get a maestro turbo for a little more than 1k

 

rover coupe, make great track cars, again go for the 2.0 l...infact

 

i can personally vouch for the rover 216gti...as a very good track machine....i raced them for a few years

 

the coupe and gti are japanese cars....the gti even has the honda engine, but there both just badged as Rovers

 

for old japanese metal you will pay considerably more

 

trust me

When did you race the Rovers Mat ? Steve (from Charlesworth motors) uncle used to race Rovers some yrs ago, In fact he still has Metro 6r4 and other rovers of that age

[Mat]

96/97 super coupe car it wasn't competitive,as it was an ex LHD road car, converted to track,parts were drying up at Rover motorsport at Oxford... and i was still novice(poop), till end of season, coupled with travelling costs back to uk, and a 6 month stint in bosnia. tried to use the car in ADAC saloon, but couldnt get homologation, car was stripped in 2001/2, and sold to 2 drivers in the UK, lots of the stuff went to an ex member on LOC..who was admin of honda revolutions, they took the engine and wheels, and the shell was sold to a guy in Holland, who, i believe built it back up and uses it in holland........the engine oil cooler was used on the original drift car, and now used on the monster as the power steering cooler

 

 

was going to get a Coupe, to use, in super coupe cup, with the vento vr6, gti,honda crx, but got the Black lexus.....and realised my dreams of a saloon racer went down the pan, as i was going to be staying in germany , then...i got hooked on trying to build the lexus for something.....

 

was steve's uncle in the GTI cup, or super coupe cup, the gti cup, which used the rover gti amalgamated with the vento cup, rover coupe cup, honda crx and clio cup in 97,basically drawing the sub 2 liter and 2 litre saloon and coupes together in a new seris run by BRSCC and i think is still running today, albeit with a very much reduced grid now as the cars are getting old

 

wow what year 6r4...love em, there was one for sale on piston heads a short while back

[Gordon]

96/97 super coupe car it wasn't competitive,as it was an ex LHD road car, converted to track,parts were drying up at Rover motorsport at Oxford... and i was still novice(poop), till end of season, coupled with travelling costs back to uk, and a 6 month stint in bosnia. tried to use the car in ADAC saloon, but couldnt get homologation, car was stripped in 2001/2, and sold to 2 drivers in the UK, lots of the stuff went to an ex member on LOC..who was admin of honda revolutions, they took the engine and wheels, and the shell was sold to a guy in Holland, who, i believe built it back up and uses it in holland........the engine oil cooler was used on the original drift car, and now used on the monster as the power steering cooler

 

 

was going to get a Coupe, to use, in super coupe cup, with the vento vr6, gti,honda crx, but got the Black lexus.....and realised my dreams of a saloon racer went down the pan, as i was going to be staying in germany , then...i got hooked on trying to build the lexus for something.....

 

was steve's uncle in the GTI cup, or super coupe cup, the gti cup, which used the rover gti amalgamated with the vento cup, rover coupe cup, honda crx and clio cup in 97,basically drawing the sub 2 liter and 2 litre saloon and coupes together in a new seris run by BRSCC and i think is still running today, albeit with a very much reduced grid now as the cars are getting old

 

wow what year 6r4...love em, there was one for sale on piston heads a short while back

Dont know what class or type he was in, but will ask next time i see him, remember going to see him in Scotland to see him race, was Vento's their at the time, as i used to have vento Vr6 also, the metro, well i dont think its road going, dont remember ever seeing number plate for it, only used on the track as far as i know, again can find out.

[CIH]

I found out today a Eunos isn't compatable with my insurance. That is, it would cost almost twice as much.

It's not massive at £750 per annum but a uk model >10 years old is deemed a classic and would cost nearer £300 so that'll make getting a cheap MX5 tricky.

 

Having said that, a work mate is big on repairing Cat C/D write-offs and sees MX5s all the time. Apparantly. there was a local, early-90s 1.6 needing a door and wing which had sat around for months. They only wanted about £400 for it.

 

Incidentally, Cat D is written off on economic grounds with damage costing <60% of the car total value, Cat C >60%.

[Tony]

It reads like you are smitten with the MX5 logic then

[CIH]

Not really, but I saw a slammed, white mk1 yesterday with a hardtop and it looked pretty cool.

[Tony]

Not really, but I saw a slammed, white mk1 yesterday with a hardtop and it looked pretty cool.

 

So you are on the turn ..... I can assure you a track calibrated 5 on a turn forces blood out of your ears

[CIH]

Had an '04 MX5 in for brake-work so poor old me was forced to test drive it.

 

 

Twice.

[Tony]

Had an '04 MX5 in for brake-work so poor old me was forced to test drive it.

 

 

Twice.

 

Lower it, calibrate it, love it

[CIH]

Had an '04 MX5 in for brake-work so poor old me was forced to test drive it.

 

 

Twice.

 

Lower it, calibrate it, love it

 

I've seen one for sal on Autotrader near where I work.

1.6

P-reg/96

Uk model

97k miles

White

looks tidy enough

 

Would that be a 90bhp model ? Doesn't appear to be a special edition.

On for £1200. I reckon £1k would be enough. Well, it would have to be as I don't want to spend anymore and would prefer an earlier model anyways.

[Tony]

Uk has the lower bhp but 1k is an attractive price don't you think.

[CIH]

How about the earlier Mk1 1600 MR2 ?

 

 

Pretty sure the 4AGE wasn't detuned to 90bhp at any time during it's lifetime.....

[Tony]

No

[Janey]

I've seen one for sal on Autotrader near where I work.

1.6

P-reg/96

Uk model

97k miles

White

looks tidy enough

 

Would that be a 90bhp model ? Doesn't appear to be a special edition.

On for £1200. I reckon £1k would be enough. Well, it would have to be as I don't want to spend anymore and would prefer an earlier model anyways.

 

Only just caught this one

 

Give it a month or so & the prices will be down even further

 

TBH I'd go for a Eunos if you could, get extra's like lekky, air con & usually a LSD - but guess if you're going to strip & uprate everything then a UK model is passable. The UK 1.6 will be 90bhp & the 'i' is 103 or 115 as a rule on an Eunos or some UK special editions (depending on who's figures you read ) if you went for 1.8 although its a little heavier you get 133bhp but in my opinion the 1.6 is just a quick and the lighter the better.

 

Main things to check for are:

Sills, arches, dodgy mods, panel gaps, tick,tick,ticking after warm up or just being a bit too loud for comfort - check oil if ok then walk away unless you fancy paying out lots of £££££

Check how high up the clutch biting point is, as it could be a sign that it is on it's way out

Boot - check for leakage and/or evidence (mould and/or smell etc) of puddles, same for foot wells, doors etc as having to redo the seals is a PITA. 5's have which can get bunged up which means that you'll get water inside - generally easily cleaned out with a bit of thin flex/wire - feel under the sill just in front of the rear arches - there will be a small hole - stick finger up it - if it comes out clean then theyre ok if you get a muddy smelly finger they need clearing out

Check roof & rear window for cracks/splits - best to put the roof up and down & make sure all is right and dandy with the fixings

 

Best forum for advice & to see what's what (and unlike the officical MX5 club who are NOT modification friendly) is MX5Nutz. For track/drift/sprint days go to the motorsport section on the MX5Owners club where you'll find like minded loons

 

The 5 is a great little car & loads of fun too on road or track.....and geometry wise a total dream

[CIH]

Might leave it a couple of months as the extra £400-£500 looks to make the difference. Plus the show season is over and I don't need a car day-in, day-out.

 

Having said that, I'm getting really bored without one and it's really tricky trying new things on the Hunter Rig with customer's cars

 

No

 

why not ? It's such a funky, crazy looking little wedgy thing. And it's sounds really good with the motor buzzing away behind your shoulder.

[CIH]

This is my kind of car. Jap, cheap and a bit quick. FWD and RED but what the hell.

 

 

Sunny GTiR suspension stuff fits so there are loads of kits for it.

Just look at the area above the rear wheel arch. Screaming for a Redsuns sticker.

[Tony]

FWD?

[CIH]

Front wheel drive.

[Tony]

But why... FWD washes out at the best of times, on the track you will end up watching the race from the field.

 

Bazza's Starlet needed loads and loads of mods to get that car to turn in, it really is a challenge.

[Prolex-UK]

96/97 super coupe car it wasn't competitive,as it was an ex LHD road car, converted to track,parts were drying up at Rover motorsport at Oxford... and i was still novice(poop), till end of season, coupled with travelling costs back to uk, and a 6 month stint in bosnia. tried to use the car in ADAC saloon, but couldnt get homologation, car was stripped in 2001/2, and sold to 2 drivers in the UK, lots of the stuff went to an ex member on LOC..who was admin of honda revolutions, they took the engine and wheels, and the shell was sold to a guy in Holland, who, i believe built it back up and uses it in holland........the engine oil cooler was used on the original drift car, and now used on the monster as the power steering cooler

 

 

was going to get a Coupe, to use, in super coupe cup, with the vento vr6, gti,honda crx, but got the Black lexus.....and realised my dreams of a saloon racer went down the pan, as i was going to be staying in germany , then...i got hooked on trying to build the lexus for something.....

 

was steve's uncle in the GTI cup, or super coupe cup, the gti cup, which used the rover gti amalgamated with the vento cup, rover coupe cup, honda crx and clio cup in 97,basically drawing the sub 2 liter and 2 litre saloon and coupes together in a new seris run by BRSCC and i think is still running today, albeit with a very much reduced grid now as the cars are getting old

 

wow what year 6r4...love em, there was one for sale on piston heads a short while back

 

so you actually raced this ?

 

when you were part of prolex you told me you never raced it just did some practice events............

[CIH]

But why... FWD washes out at the best of times, on the track you will end up watching the race from the field.

 

Bazza's Starlet needed loads and loads of mods to get that car to turn in, it really is a challenge.

 

more of a challenge ?

 

Anyway, you'll be glad to know that, weather permitting, I'm gonna view an MX5 tomorrow. I go past a dealers everyday on the bus to work and it's been sat there for nearly a month.

[Tony]

But why... FWD washes out at the best of times, on the track you will end up watching the race from the field.

 

Bazza's Starlet needed loads and loads of mods to get that car to turn in, it really is a challenge.

 

more of a challenge ?

 

Anyway, you'll be glad to know that, weather permitting, I'm gonna view an MX5 tomorrow. I go past a dealers everyday on the bus to work and it's been sat there for nearly a month.

 

Excellent..... remember it's a buyers market at the moment

[Prolex-UK]

MX5 is a good track car

[Tony]

I keep telling him ..... the 5NA is as cheap as chips, has a near perfect weight distribution and is 3D chassis adjustable off the shelf...... plus you can get loads of mods for them.