Newbie

[mxv]

Afternoon everyone!

My name is Maki and I just picked up a 1999 nb mx5 5spd a few weeks ago and I have been so overwhelmed by the amount of information there is and where to even begin looking! I hope I am not breaking any in-house rules if I am writing this in the wrong section (if so, I do apologize as I am new to the car scene and forums).

Without stepping on anyone's toes could someone please kindly direct me to the following pages

Servicing an mx5 nb - what parts/brands to use
Transmission fluid - can it be done by me or does need to go mechanics, if so what is a rough cost
Soft top maintenance - How do I clean it? and I have had somewhat of a leak but I'm only finding water underneath the carpet on drivers side
Coilovers - What brand to go for and how much to spend
Wheels - What fits on this car haha!? other examples from other nb's, what tyres are good on a budget
Exhaust - To get a great note without buying a full exhaust what would you suggest
Window tint - Is it worth it?

Thanks in advance
Anyone who can assist me with some guiding or mentoring, know that I am all ears and I will listen and act accordingly. I've also added some photos of what it looks like now!

Cheers
Maki

[Magpie]

Servicing an mx5 nb - Are you mechanically minded or would you prefer it done by a workshop?
Transmission fluid - Can be done by the owner, make sure you remove the filling plug before the drain plug as the filling plug can be a bitch. Further you will need a way of getting the fluid into the box. http://forum.miata.net/vb/showpost.php?p=3936521&postcount=1
Soft top maintenance - Water under the carpet could be from blocked drains http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=461782#p461782
Coilovers - Budget? Money could be spent on a decent alignment first then coilovers. MCA have good reviews and so do BC's.
Wheels - What is the use of the car? If as a daily look for a 4 for the price of 3 offer. MX5's do not like having heavy wheels installed on them. Tray and not increase the unsprung weight.
Exhaust - PASS
Window tint - Are you mainly having the top up or down? It does help keep the car cooler when left parked closed in the sun.

Welcome to the obsession.

[mxv]

Servicing an mx5 nb - Are you mechanically minded or would you prefer it done by a workshop? My father will be doing the work what's done now is spark plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter. Coolant will be next however, that's as probably as far we can go without donating more time. So then we will have a workshop do other work.


Transmission fluid - Can be done by the owner, make sure you remove the filling plug before the drain plug as the filling plug can be a bitch. Further you will need a way of getting the fluid into the box. http://forum.miata.net/vb/showpost.php? ... ostcount=1We might give this a go!

Soft top maintenance - Water under the carpet could be from blocked drains viewtopic.php?p=461782#p461782 Awesome we will check this out also
Coilovers - Budget? Money could be spent on a decent alignment first then coilovers. MCA have good reviews and so do BC's. Cool we'll do an alignment soon - coilovers will be purchased in the next 3 months
Wheels - What is the use of the car? If as a daily look for a 4 for the price of 3 offer. MX5's do not like having heavy wheels installed on them. Tray and not increase the unsprung weight. I'ts my daily yes haha ok cool, would love some work ewing mesh wheels or something similar
Exhaust - PASS
Window tint - Are you mainly having the top up or down? It does help keep the car cooler when left parked closed in the sun. For the next 4 months I'll be top down as it's freezing in melbourne atm

Welcome to the obsession. Cheers

[Alex 2550]

Hey Maki welcome to the addiction.
in answer to some of your questions quickly as im at work but....
Servicing an mx5 nb - what parts/brands to use. this is one of those things that if you ask 50 people you will probably get 50 different answers, depends on intended use engine condition ect but use good quality known fluids and filters. For example I just did my engine and used genuine mazda oil filter, repco sump plug washer, cleaned K&N panel filter and used castrol edge oil as it was on special. fuel filter ill do next couple weeks
Transmission fluid - can it be done by me or does need to go mechanics, if so what is a rough cost. yes it can be done at home with jack stands but different people like different oil. ill be going redline MT90 on next change, had it in my S5 rx-7 and aw11 and liked it but there are cheaper options. always remember to undo the fill plug before the drain so you dont end up with an empty transmission you cant fill back up
Soft top maintenance - How do I clean it? and I have had somewhat of a leak but I'm only finding water underneath the carpet on drivers side. i use 303 on my soft top and brings it up like new, as for leak google mx5 or miata drain hole cleaning and there is heaps of info, it might be blocked causing water to go on carpet.
Coilovers - What brand to go for and how much to spend depends on use as some coilovers are better for road than track but the MCA range is getting great reviews for product and service plus they are Australian and i will go that way i think or TEINS, price changes on model
Wheels - What fits on this car haha!? other examples from other nb's, what tyres are good on a budget get a (lightweight) 15 x 7 or 15 x8 rim as it gives a better range of tyres, have a look at the MX5 Wheels, Suspension, Brakes & Tyres section of this forum and at NB's show off your rims! would give you some ideas
Exhaust - To get a great note without buying a full exhaust what would you suggest lots of info out there but im getting Nitro dann to do me a system maybe ask him about a cat back either way he is the man to speak to
Window tint - Is it worth it? personal choice but i think it is just to protect the interior a little (i usually have my hardtop on) and i think it looks good IMO but don't go to dark i did that once and driving at night was dangerous it was on a 4 door and i had the fronts made lighter because of it

this is probably the friendliest forum out there period and there is some great people on here that know an incredible amount about these cars (far far more than me), after being on here for a while you will pick up on who they are and generally the amount of time with us is a good indication.

not a bad looking car either Maki ..... for an NB lol
again welcome and Enjoy.
Alex

[mxv]

Thanks brother
Going to get the transmission fluids done by mechanic along with coolant, hoses, and drain blockage.
Keep you guys posted

[LiteIsRite]

Welcome, Maki, to a great forum and an awesome driving experience! I like your username - surprised it wasn't already taken.

Servicing an mx5 nb - what parts/brands to use lots of choices, I tend to go with whatever is on special at the time, buying Aussie whenever possible
Coilovers - What brand to go for and how much to spend I agree with Alex about MCA or Tein. As I use my 5 strictly as a street car, and like driving country roads, it would be MCA Blue for a bit over $1500 or Tein Flex Z for a bit less
Wheels - What fits on this car haha!? other examples from other nb's, what tyres are good on a budget 15" x 7" seems to be the most popular size (and what I have) with a good range of tyres available. I got a set of Bridgestone RE-003 late last year on special for $111 each, so it pays to shop around
Window tint - Is it worth it? i almost never drive mine with the top up so, for me, it makes no sense - but your situation may well be different

[davekmoore]

Welcome. Great choice of colour.

[captaincabinets]

Welcome Maki

We are in a very similar boat! I bought a green 98 NB8A Auto a month or so ago. So far my changes include: New windshield, new cloth soft top, new muffler, respray front and rear bumpers, headlight restoration. Got a midpipe waiting to go in, but I've had a hell of a time getting the OEM midpipe off so I'm going to order headers and get them both professionally installed at the same time.

FYI I went with the Roadstersport 3 exhaust (~$600 http://www.mx5parts.com.au/product/na-nb-mx5-exhaust-special-roadstersport-3, free shipping at the moment) as it is adjustable. I bought this car as a present for myself and my fiance so am modifying it with her in mind. It comes with a baffle that you can take in and out for volume adjustment. Once the midpipe and header are in I will probably buy the packed glass baffle so we can use it for road trips without it getting annoying.

I have been researching wheels a lot. Really depends what you're going for. NBs have the 4x100 stud pattern, and you will really want to go with 15 or 16 inch wheels. The width is also debatable but most people seem to go with 7 or 8 inch. The most popular wheel seems to be the Enkei RPF01. Changing the exhaust and suspension will have a greater positive impact / fun factor on your driving though as the stock wheels tend to be quite light already. Not sure if you have stock wheels or aftermarket, looks like a thread I posted earlier http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=71950.

As for coilovers / shocks there is a lot of debate. I spent a bunch of time just last night looking into it. Here are a handful of coilover / shock options and AU$ prices. Gets a bit complicated but this is a rough starting point:
KYB $550
VMAXX $689
Tokico $1,100
Yellowspeed $1,200
Bilstein B6 $1,230
Koni $1,250

Anyway, essay ends here. I'm excited that there's someone else in my boat with similar interests at the moment!

Cheers

James

[Jeo]

Welcome!


Servicing - Despite what some here may think, the MX5 isn't an overly special vehicle. The engine is from a 323 remember. Stick the the basic principals of servicing in any other car and you'll be fine.

Transmission fluid - As Alex said, remember to undo the fill plug before removing the drain plug and you can't really go wrong.

Soft top leaks - Almost certainly blocked drains. Jump under the car, have a look roughly in-line with the back of the door, and you'll find a plastic tube about 20mm in diameter on both sides. Poke something up there and dislodge the gunk that has accumulated. Close the roof and pour a little water over it; if it pours out those drains, they're doing their job. If it's still getting in, you may have bigger problems, but those are pretty rare.

Coilovers - What do you want to do with the car? What do you consider a reasonable price to pay? There's some people who swear by the value of some of the cheaper coilover brands, there's others who wouldn't touch a set that wasn't $3k. All depends on what you want to achieve and what your budget is.

Wheels - Again, what do you want to do with the car? Can't go wrong with a generic set of 15x7 +35-40ish for just driving around, but at that point, what's wrong with the stock wheels. If you want a specific look, go find that look and do that. If you want performance, how much performance/what else do you plan on changing? general concept is not to skimp on tyres though. Is a cliche but they are literally the only thing connecting your car to the raod, unless something has gone horribly wrong.

Exhaust - Just swapping the muffler will get you the biggest change per dollar spent, but I'm guessing most will recommend a cat-back. Either or really.

Window tint - Eh. How often are your windows up?


Generally though you sound as though you're on the right path. Get out there and enjoy it is the main thing I'd suggest.