Matt's MY08 NC Roadster.

[Guran]

A rather trick NatMeet/Mazda umbrella, vouchers from Club partners, even a Mazda MX-5 branded picnic set!

Portable wine glasses and cheese board! The irony is delicious. Kidding . I loved this picnic set and all the other goodies too. It was a very impressive welcome pack.

[CoffeeBoss]

Great to see your name next to a 1:XX time. New pbs for everyone. You just missed out on a class win...

*grin* tell me about it!
But don't spoil the damn story Hayden, I'm getting to that bit!

[CoffeeBoss]

NatMeet X - Day 2
MX-5 Drivers are keen beans. Particularly those of the club persuasion.
This means you are on the road as early as possible each day.
730 AM breakfast and 9AM departure didn't seem conceivable to me when there were so many cars to travel from one place to the next
(over 75 MX-5s in the official convoy).



I underestimated the organisation of the club, once again.
With all the cars numbered, there were 6 groups, each with a local, Canberra based club member at the helm, and at least one other to tail the group.

Furthermore, each group then took different designated paths to the destination, all with a slight variation so large queues at traffic lights and at the arrival spot were avoided.
Seriously meticulous planning.



Seriously great weather, too. Canberra was really putting on a show for us.

First stop was the back of Old Parliament House, where a photographer was waiting to photograph each car in the convoy with new Parliament House as the backdrop.
They had marked the road, so it was simply drive up, snap, and drive off. So simple!



Then we proceeded down to the back of the National Library, where we were permitted on to the bicycle path to drive to a grass area by the lake for the Concours.



A Concours and Show & Shine by Lake Burley Griffin was a great way to spend the morning.
Complete with a picnic of course.
It was also a good chance to start to meet some of the many attendants, and to check out their cars.

It's amazing to see mint condition NA Roadsters that have travelled thousands of kilometres to attend NatMeet.



The Concours organisers had also implemented a Reverse Concours category, where those with modified cars were permitted to list all the modications they had made.
Particularly with the glacial rate at which I modify my cars, it was surprising to see it all listed down together.



There was also plenty of modified Roadsters as well, including this Supercharged Bullet Roadster - yes, barely an MX-5 anymore, but still nice to see them participating.



The Carco Rally SE - turbo, custom rally-prepped chassis, anti-lag!



John's NC - the NC's 2L head on a Mazda 6 2.5L block, and the full complement of footwork and driveline mods.



The numbers were also complimented by other Club Members who joined in for the day.
Jay being one of them, on his newly acquired 6ULs:



After the Concours, we seperated into our groups and headed out for a very nice drive out to the NASA Deep Space Tracking Station at Tidbinbilla.



This station is one of only three, worldwide, that send and receive communcations with the NASA missions currently in operation in (and now outside) our Solar System.
The two Astronomers who were on hand were also fascinating to talk to, and happy to answer questions, and point out the best places to take photos of the dishes.



This is a great drive, and a fascinating destination for anyone into space exploration.



That should be everyone!



Paul, one of the local Canberra Club members hung around as we were the last to depart.
We had a cracking run back via Cotter Dam.



This is a great drive - I've heard mention made of it by Canberra locals, and it's well worth doing the loop if you are in the area.



We were of course fortunate to have a gracious host who was quite familiar with the road.
It was a virtually clean run all the way back to Canberra.



That night we were in for a real treat - the Club had booked out the Australian War Memorial.



We were treated to an hour tour through some of the highlights.



We finished up in the Hanger, where we saw the new Western Front film feature, directed by none other than Peter Jackson.



Following this was dinner under the wings of the famous Avro Lancaster "G For George"



To truly mark the occasion, one of the club members spoke briefly of his Mum, who had worked in the Lancaster factory right through the wall, and had therefore contributed to the construction of the very Lanc that we were sitting beneath.

It's been years since I've been to the Australian War Memorial.
My wife and I are very keen to go back, the updates they have made to the Memorial mean you could spend days there and still not take everything in.

Lest We Forget.

[CoffeeBoss]

NatMeet X - Day 3
Day 3 began with an early start and a glorious morning blast down the freeway to Goulburn for the track day at Wakefield Park.

This was to be my first track day in a while, and it showed - I was the first competitor to arrive (and the last to leave, haha!)



There were just over 50 cars in attendance, meaning 5 groups running in constant rotation.
All NatMeet competitors were required to be on road tires. No R-Comps.
Remember, competitors were from every state in Australia, with the exception of NT.

The club's track day operations ran exceptionally smoothly as always, and despite the shorter session format, I still ended up with just under 100kms in total distance covered on the track by the end of the day.



My first few sessions were mainly getting re-acquainted with the car, and sussing out the new settings Stu had dialled in, as well as the strut braces. Certainly at the limit you can feel improved communication from the front and the rear of the car with these braces.



The great thing about doing a track day with the MX-5 Club, in an MX-5, is that you have a host of experienced drivers to watch, bounce ideas off, and learn from.



As the day progressed, the ordering on the grid was adjusted so that the faster drivers were at the front of each grid. This results in more and more clear track during each session. I was also gaining lots of confidence with the new setup - the reduced camber in the rear was contributing to better power-down out of the fishhook, for example. As such I began to pickup up time in the afternoon. By the last two sessions, I was putting out a number of laps under my old PB, with my fastest lap coming in the second last session, a 1:13:72. Being that this was on my road tires (Michelin Pilot Sport 3), I'm very pleased with this result!

In NC land, Phil is one of the drivers to watch - that's his blue NC there.



However John ended up pipping him at the post in his beast, which he had dríven down from QLD.
We're talking Mazda 6 2.5L block, folks. Among a host of other upgrades. Not to mention those 17x9 Enkei RPF1s...
A great effort by John who had not lapped Wakefield in anger for many years.



Simon was there also, our intrepid adventurer all the way from WA.
Yes - Simon drove to NatMeet X from Perth. In his SE with aftermarket turbo, ECU, forged internals, coilovers...



And a host of other NA's, NB's, and NC's.
Some from NatMeet, others like Deen here just club members out for the track day.



Then it was a quick blast back down the freeway to get changed and head to the National Film & Sound Archives at the ANU for dinner. This was a fancy dress affair, the theme being stars of stage and screen. Our costumes we had donned for the Cosplay Trackday would have been perfect, but we were unable to procure them from storage before this weekend.

Nonetheless it was awesome seeing the lengths some had gone to, particularly given many couples had a week (or more) worth of packing in the boots of their Roadsters. Nonetheless it was awesome seeing the lengths some had gone to, particularly given many couples had a week (or more) worth of packing in the boots of their Roadsters. Make no mistake, we are talking about seasoned road trip professionals here.

[Gmi]

Matt!

What's that lip and wheel arc on that 2.5 red nc? So nice..

[kris]

Great write up Matt, really enjoyed the read, can't believe what the Nat Meet turned out to be- pretty classy affair !

[CoffeeBoss]

Matt!

What's that lip and wheel arc on that 2.5 red nc? So nice..

Haha! It's just the Goodwin Racing fender flares and the 17x9 +45 RPF1s.
Same as the supercharged Goodwin Racing AutoX NC.

Here's a few shots of the NatMeet X track day, taken by John from PhotosNThings.





The kind of traffic I enjoy being in!


Trying to get my dori-dori on, oversteering at the entry to turn 10.
Car felt really good, so was having some success with this.


Also had a somewhat unintentional oversteer through turn 9, when I put the passenger rear wheel onto the curb as I turned in...
that was fun! When your car is set up nicely, you tend to catch those moments and drive through them. I love being in that zone.

[CoffeeBoss]

NatMeet X - Day 4
The day started with a quick coffee, then we formed up and headed out to Bungendore.



Bungendore is one of those small rural towns that comes alive with the tourist trade on the weekends.
As such, it's an eclectic mix of rural NSW primary industry, a classic pub, art gallerys, an amazing leather shop, and even this Mingei (traditional 'rural' Japanese fabric and pottery) store.



And on this particular day, a LOT of Mazda Roadsters.



From Bungendore we back-tracked toward the freeway, which took us back up through this climb.



An official photographer was set up to catch every entrant as they peeled through the curves.
We then crossed the freeway and headed out on the old highway.



Just like the Old Pac - an empty road, largely forgotten thanks to the adjacent freeway that has replaced it.





Turning off this road we headed out to the even smaller rural town of Gundaroo.



Our specific destination was Grazing at Gundaroo - a lovely boutique restaurant with a strong focus on fresh regional produce.



Sadly, work commitments meant that my wife and I had to depart from Sydney from Gundaroo.
It was genuinely a reluctant farewell, as we had made many new friends, from a number of states.

Not to waste the remainder of the day though, we headed back to Goulburn via Gunning and Breadalbane, a great back-road route.



In summation... well, difficult to sum up an event which packed in so much.
Mostly, I'm bowled over by just how exceptionally well organised the event was.
It's difficult enough to organise a local cruise for a dozen cars through the National Park.
This event incorporated so many large scale events, and at any given time, no one was left astray, everyone knew what was happening, and there was always someone at hand to answer any questions.

Furthermore, the events really did incorporate something for everybody, drivers and passengers alike.
It's a huge credit to all those club members who contribute to running of these events.
It takes them over 18 months to put NatMeet events together, and after experiencing such an event firsthand, I'm not at all surprised.

The cost was understandably a barrier to some. However, it must for a weekend away with this many features, genuinely great food, the show bag, not to mention the access to some unique locations and events... it was well worth the price of admission.

Lastly though, we were taken aback by the genuine warmth of every entrant, young and old.
Age should not be a barrier to enjoying a social event such as this, but more than that, it's a salient reminder in this day and age that true driving spirit is alive and well. We met Roadster drivers like Simon, who not only drove to this NatMeet from his hometown of Perth in his highly modified SE, but attended the 2008 NatMeet also, which was held in Brisbane. Following which he then drove home, via the Top End/Darwin.



Almost a week later, we were trading emails with some of the Queensland crew who were still on their way home, having taken in the Snowy Mountains, some more of the coast, even the Oxley Highway!

Thanks to the passion of organisers and members of clubs such as the MX-5 Clubs of Australia, Roadster Life is alive and well!

Epic.

[Guran]

Well said Matt! We've already decided we'll be there for NatMeet XI on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.

[Zohxoco]

Nice report! So many cool events at NatMeet. I had no idea- probably didn't read too closely. As you say, I think the entrance fee was the main reason I was put off, but based on your report, definitely worth it. I'll be keen to participate in XI.

[CoffeeBoss]

Nice report! So many cool events at NatMeet. I had no idea- probably didn't read too closely. As you say, I think the entrance fee was the main reason I was put off, but based on your report, definitely worth it. I'll be keen to participate in XI.

Indeed, it felt like a bit of a 'leap of faith' in putting all that cash down, but then the weekend progresses, and there's just so many great events, so many little details, not to mention all the Mazda and Club SWAG.

It's also such an exceptionally well organised event - seemingly every little detail has been catered for. You are acutely aware of just how much planning has gone into it all.

Highly recommend it.

86 Meets Roadster



Well, finally got my mitts on one of these last night, many thanks to my 'hook-up' you know who you are.
I gave it a good strap along a familiar B-Road with my NC along to compare.

After a healthy dose of late night cocoa, it was a nice night of driving, rest stop, pour over the details, drive some more, rest stop, compare and contrast.
I made a concerted effort, in my mind, to try and reference the 86 as much as possible to my memories of my NC (and NA and NB experiences) when the Roadster in question was completely stock.

So yeah: Believe the hype - it's a great car. Really fun to drive.
Instantly familiar, just like the MX-5 you can just get in it and go quickly.

The gear shift is exceptional, a real stand-out - going across the gate (2nd-3rd, 4th-5th) it feels better than the NC, in my opinion.
Very similar in throw and shifter height to my old IS200 gearbox (also by Aisin) when it was fitted with the TRD Quickshift kit.
The rest of the controls are lighter than the Mazda, unsurprisingly more Toyota. Steering feel is still great though, turn in is excellent.
Throttle is dull on initial tip in, much more so than my car, but is good once you're up in it.
It's noticeably a bit quicker pulling through 2nd and 3rd between corners.
The induction noise under WOT sounds good, but then there's nothing when you step off the throttle... good for stock, but feels incomplete.
Brakes were definitely miles apart, although my NC has had aftermarket pads in it for a while now. Even still, it would probably be the first thing I did (along with an induction kit).
It's also not quite as telepathic from the rear of the car as an MX-5. But still plenty rear wheel drivey, and perhaps a little more willing to coax into oversteer.

In comparison yes, it does lack that last detail in finesse, and it doesn't quite change direction like the MX-5.
It's not quite as fun to drive slowly as the MX-5.
Driving home in the NC, there wasn't an aspect of the car that left me felt wanting.
Sure, it's more usable than the NC though, and throw that into any comparison and you'll be all at sea... the lines become very blurred!
But I was out purely to appraise the car on it's driver appeal, to me.

Certainly, the differences here are 10ths. The 86 is definitely a genuine competitor to the Roadster.
Open top or not, Mazda will have to sharpen their game with the ND. I await with great anticipation!!

I can also see the seemingly endless threads on the 86 in future over the usual topics:
Does the 86 'need' a turbo?
Thinking about wider wheels for my 86, how wide should I go?
It's so nicely balanced in all these aspects from the factory, that it will be a car that encourages this debate.
That's a good thing.

My approach would be the same as for the MX-5 - adhere closely to OEM+
I'd be very reluctant to go too much wider in wheel and tire, for example.
Increasing the lateral grip and potentially numbing the steering some more would, for me, reduce the on-road appeal.

Like Mazda's Roadster, it has the feel of a car made with a formula and balance that it would be easy to mess up.
The dialogue you can have with the car speaks of something that is 'real world', yet has been bought to market by real enthusiasts with as little compromise as possible.

All in all, it ticks the fun box in a big way.
I came away from it with an impression that felt similar to the first time I drove an MX-5. I wanted to drive it lots more.
Especially around Wakefield!

[Hjt]

Great write-up Matt, I had the opportunity to test drive both GTS and GT (Manual was the GT). Noticed the shifting was really simple compared to my NB 6 Speed. The clutch itself was easy to move, I thought I would kick the whole pedal assembly out by my pressure applied.

It's a great car no doubt, but still i'm not persuaded.

[CoffeeBoss]

A quick snapshot from the weekend's Highland fling.

Over 4 years and 120,000kms and it's still as enjoyable as ever, even on very familiar roads.

[CoffeeBoss]

It's been quiet in here, and here is one of the reasons why.

Perhaps not all that surprisingly, I've discovered a number of cyclists exist amongst the members of the MX-5 Club, and a big hello goes to some of you whom I've chanced upon out on the roads early on a Saturday and Sunday morning Haha!

Another observation utterly relevant here. It may seem like a long bow, however I attribute my new PB at Natmeet in Easter last year to my much improved levels of fitness on the back of all the cycling I've been doing. Seat time is IMHO the most important tool for the amateur track-day enthusiast wanting quicker lap times, and I don't get much of that at all lately. However Easter last year saw me getting up to speed and maintaining alertness right throughout the day, whereas I'd normally be starting to fatigue and taper off.

The car was washed for the first time in a while last weekend though.
When you don't drive your sports car regularly, those drives you do take, even just to get milk, become a whole lot more enjoyable again.
Like those first months of owning an MX-5.

[CoffeeBoss]

Wow - and over a year goes past!

That's what becoming a Dad will do

The Roadster has somehow survived this life-changing event. Thus far anyway!

Part of me figures that one day the car will be as washed-up as it's owner.
But it might also be a curious and rare connection to the by-gone world of piston engines and manual gearboxes, too.

For now, it still represents everything I've shown it to be in this thread over the years, even though I don't get to enjoy it as often.

Also, there are some upshots to driving your sports car sparingly:
- It becomes more of a treat. There's a bit more of an occasion to simply turning the key and slotting it into 1st gear when it's something you don't do every day.
- Insurance is WAY cheaper (Thanks Shannons!)
- You are reminded of aspects of the car you may have started to take for granted. The superlative handling of the little Mazda comes into sharp focus when you've just stepped out of an SUV!

The other way to keep things fresh, of course, is changing things up.
I've done one mod in the past 12 months which was a long time coming - Mazdaspeed front bar.
Sure, it's purely cosmetic. And yet, even just walking toward the car crouched in the corner of a carpark is now that little bit more exciting.



My OEM front bar has taken some serious abuse over the past 12x xxx kms, and so some time ago the hunt began for a suitable replacement.

A massive thank you has to go to my good friend Dan, who was tireless in assisting me with fulfilling this dream.
JDM Parts for everyone, but particularly the Mazda enthusiast.
Many candidates came and went through the usual .jp sites, either overpriced, or the wrong colour, or seriously damaged.
Then, one day, a message which simply read: "no more excuses"
I clicked through. Dan was right. We bid... and the price was right, too.

The colour match ISN'T perfect - this bar has very few miles on it, and so the paint on my car is not quite the same hue.
However it's close enough for me, and in far far better condition than the bar it replaces.
It also came with the fill-in pieces for the fog-lights, they are a separate part number, and I really wanted them.
So, all that and being the right colour and condition means it was simply a bolt-on affair.

I've also managed to get along to one of the semi-regular Coffee & Car Wash days that Rob Forsyth has been holding for the club.
I urge Sydney-siders to get along to one of these days, very casual affair, and a clean car and exceptional coffee are assured.
Karcher plus foaming attachment makes for a dramatic photo.



What's in this car's future? I'm not sure, however as it is now much more of a "garage queen", there's some more changes I'd like to make... at my typically glacial pace