mx5cartalk.com

should be an faq thread =P

So after a brief flirt with a na6 almost 2 years ago I've come back and satisfied the itch with my new acqusition.

(pics to follow)

I picked up this car up on the cheap since. The previous owner was an absolute dud, had no idea when servicing was done or what kind of servicing.. only knew that it had a doof doof system in there with a sub in the boot. Oil seemed ok. not sludgy and coolant/water was brown... i think it was complete water...

Anyway... to the point, I've done a major service, and have a few q's.

1. The woodruff key, was protuding out a bit when the crank pulley was.. I was tentative to change it as it was really tightly fixed in there.

2. The thermo stat housing issue which is now fixed

3. I now have issues with pinging/knock... it was predominant yesterday whilst it was warm.. but this morning on cold start it was gone... came back when it was normal operating temps. I've got 98ron + octane booster in there to help with no luck...

I made sure everything was tdc and double checked with a 2nd pair of eyes... 19 teeth between the I and E markings on cam gears when everything went back on..

I did note on the crank pulley a white mark(probably from the previous change... maybe?) but it was way off TDC....

It sounds like a ping.. its a fairly consistent sound around 2000-2750 rpm every gear.. It feels a little gutless, but its been a while since and I've been spoilt with an audi turbo in the mean time.. so I wouldnt know performance...

Ive rattled the exhaust covers and it moves slightly but i've got to make a decent shake before it moves..

Help please...

pics will follow!!!

Can you make the sound at an exact RPM in neutral while slowly going through the rev range?

My old NA6 started doing this, turned out to be a heat shield near the downpipe.
I found it at just over 3000rpm it buzzed/crackled.
I do not think the car will ping while not under load unless something major is wrong.
Though a mechanic i am not

Yeh i've tried.. I had it on the stands yesterday and revved it pants off in neutral and couldnt hear it..

I've even tried pressing the clutch on the fly(no dori action =P) and revving it and it doesnt seem to do it.. that was this morning..

More project related, I have a Mazdaspeed Bucket Seat and Strut brace coming thru... the latter to stiffen things up and the former to kick start the diet to get back down a pant size hehehe.

So I decided to pull every off again and start from the beginning.

Found TDC on the crank pulley only to realise that the cam gear marks + cam was off.. explains why I thought timing felt too far advanced and was pinging + overheating.(Also one of the bolts that hold the plate behind the cam gears were loose and had started to skim against the actual gear. Is there any harm in leaving it removed?)

Reset the cam + cam gear to where it should be, did the standard 19 teeth between marks and bolted everything back on.

as borat would say. wah wah wee wah.. There is so much pull compared to past days and it didnt feel as perky from when I purchased... I did have the notch set just over the 10deg mark ( i think timing is advanced like this?) and I've yet to figure out how to connect my timing gun to measure timing so I know where everything is set.

bum dyno says 100kw atw lol so I hope it stays this way until I get my side build going. More than likely I will build a 1.6.. even though every one says 1.8, no replacement for displacement... I'd like it to be minimum fuss as possible and I'm not interested in chasing numbers.. id rather focus on stopping and turning and upgrade to an SE or NC at a later date.

So as promised I did say pics would follow.

1st day:


Also went on the mx5 breakfast run so I'll be trolling for pics off other forumites as well. What an awesome drive.

Mods done so far:
Foamectomy


Nardi steering wheel + works bell bosskit.


NB wheels + El cheapo max downforce stick on front lip


Mazdaspeed front strut brace



I've been trying to organise some garage space and finances to build a 1.6 on the side (thanks for your patience @nitrodann). Not too sure if I want to go down the turbo route or just a more perkier 1.6... still a work in progress...


Mofo that gave me much grief. Thank you mx5 plus in qld for getting the parts out to me so quickly!!!!!

So ive made a big decision to keep my car!!! No longer f/s and i would regret the day I sell this car forever. I've modified and upgraded everything to further improve the feel of the car.

Skunk2 gearknob installed. Best mod you cam do to improve shift feel. It weighs about 600g and feels much nicer than the stock rubber knob.

Clubman Bilsteins + pedders lowered springs. As for aesthetics they have yet to settle but there is a nice amount of low compared to stock. Been in the car just over a week. Installed everything myself. It was fairly straight forward procedure.

I will do a detailed write up if people request it.

Sparco sprint junior went in this morning. Its not clean, but it fits me nicely and bolted into the stock rail with the addition of 2 new holes needing to be drilled. Its a very simple install.. its a bottom mount so im unsure how different it is to a new model sprint but i managed to get by with a cordless drill and the biggest drill bit that fit inside the original mounting holes.