Paging Timo and Krusty - SOC sig change

I like them.

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185/60 x 14

Given the mileage the car will be doing it will take ages to wear them
out, and something a little more extreme would be OK.
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| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
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But it's the 21st century now, Pete

Toyo Proxes T1-R's is what you want - I've got them on the 330 after
unexpectedly needing a whole set (don't ask), and then found out that
Pat Sefton runs the same tyres on his Lotus Elise. Which I had a
drive in last week - what a phenomenal car!

Mind you, I then had to be a passenger in my own car when Pat showed
me the fast line down the Lythe Valley road. I managed not to throw
up.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

Oi! Consider yourself asked.

 

Ha ! I admit I did first use them two decades ago.

They seem to be the tyre of choice for serious MX5 use. Bizarrely, the
ancient 306 diesel which accumulated the NCB used to keep the insurance
reasonable on the new toy came with Toyos. Would you believe on 17 inch
alloys - with no power steering. Thaey were quickly Niged out on Ebay
and replaced with standard steel wheels and utilitarian rubber. During
the brief period they were on they did impress me with their shit to a
blanket impression though.

'Nuff said. I remember Pat driving one of his mates, our mutual mate
Toby, plus me and my rally navigator (of the Welsh Alfa incident)
companion to watch an RAC rally stage somewhere near Shap in a borrowed
Range Rover.
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| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
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Weirdly enough I had Toyos on my 323i - also about two decades ago.
Nobody had heard of them back then.

Even more weirdly, I had to replace my Toyos with something else after
some **** slashed them all.


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Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

heh. I think I might have mentioned it on here at the time.

I got punctures simultaneously on the right hand front and rear
wheels. One would just hold some air, so I slung the spare on the
other one, and headed off to Protyre in deep dudgeon. They did their
usual helpful thing of telling me that the other rear tyre was nearly
worn out anyway, and they could do me four tyres for less than the
price of three.

That was 600 quid I hadn't banked on spending that morning.

 

I'd not heard of them before Protyre tucked me up with a set, but some
post-purchase research calmed my mind, and I have to say they've been
excellent on my car.

It's been said that the only advantage to being a passenger with Pat
is that it means you won't meet him coming the other way.

 

heh

 

Those stingers are a bitch, aren't they?

 

There are a few twiddly bits. The control arms have got eccentric
mountings which I accidentally changed whilst removing a front shock.
I'm planning to get it down to Micheldever to get it aligned soon.

 

Hmm, reading the forum stuff has convinced me that a high tech four
wheel alignment session would be a good investment before giving up on
the P6000s. Judging by some other service frequency 'indicators' I doubt
if it has been checked properly for ages.

Luckily there is a place within 10 miles or so that seems to know about
MX5s and has a good reputation.


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| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
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I think you should stick to giving advice on bikes .

They need very regular oil changes if you don't want to get a rattly
top end because the because the hydraulic tappet adjusters tend to clog
up on engines that should have had a few more oil changes than they got.

Not a massive issue but it's a few hundred that you can save yourself
by sticking decent oil in and changing it regularly.

The suspension is fully adjustable on all four corners.

No. Get the suspension checked out by SWK and *then* barrel around
corners. A lot of them aren't set up very well and it does make a
massive difference. As in "**** me is this thing unstable" type
difference.

 

Looks quite clean, that.

Heh. I just got the mileage cap removed on the insurance for mine, then
happily rattled down to the easternmost part of Switzerland where my
mum lives. Just came back a couple of hours ago, actually...

Ewwww. I have them on the Porker and I'm not exactly thrilled, so I
know what you mean.

The weight of the wheels also makes a difference the ones on your car
look like Mk2 wheels to me, you might want to see if you can find any
of the following as those would probably be an improvement:

- 14" BBS as fitted to some Mk1s (there are also 15" kicking around,
but
they're a lot more expensive)
- Watanabe RS-8 in 14" - they look a little more 'Minilite' than the
originals, are very similar weight, too. Instant JDM kudos as well .
- The original Minilite style wheel - AFAIK they're very light, possibly
the lightest of the bunch.

I'd stay away from 15" wheels (which I've got on mine) for day-to-day
usage as they can make the car feel harsher than necessary.

There were a few for sale on mx5nutz recently for very reasonable
money. It's a very worthwhile investment (stiffens up the chassis as
well). Just make sure that you've also got the striker plates on the
B-post.

As to the pikey roof, make sure it isn't too pikey - the first one I
had had a very pikey roof that was a lot noisier than the OEM one and
wouldn't adjust properly.

Heh. They all do that, sir .

 

Wot 'e said. For road use, that is - the sidewalls on these are a bit
soft compared to the more track-oriented tyre like the Hankook RS2s
that seem to be the trackday tyre of choice if they aren't sold out
(again..).

 

I was fully aware that there was no service history with it appart from
the last 5 MoT certificates. Doesn't seem too tappety on start up, but
on cranking it up again this afternoon there was a very brief bit of
belt squeal. The auxiliary belt looks a bit old so I will popping a new
one on. No power steering or A/C so should be within my capabilities.
The oil looks pretty black and the filler cap has resisted simple hand
pressure to remove it The dip stick pull ring has snapped of, but
that seems to be common.

I aim to get the oil and filters changed before the weekend. Having
shuffled three SOBs in to the new shed I can get at least the business
end of the MX5 in to the garage.

See my reply to Simon.

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| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Ah, I was wondering about those. Could they even be non=Mazda ones with
Mazda centres, or is that not possible?

Having no power steering is giving a nice seat of the pants feel anyway
so I will stick to 14s. A quick google suggests that Toyo T1Rs may not
be available for them though.

If you mean funny metal plates with sort of notches in them - yes.

I'll bear that in mind. At least the new window means you can see out of
the back, but there are cracks on the ends of the folds IYSWIM. Doesn't
seem to leak though.

Long may it continue.


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| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

That's certainly possible and wouldn't be a good thing as most
aftermarket wheels are a lot heavier than the Mazda originals.

Yeah, I just noticed that camskill only seem to have CF1s in that size.
BTW, the 15" improve the feel (especially with stiffer sidewalls) but
they obviously make the steering heavier.

Especially if they're notches like the ones used as counterparts for
the roof locks. The same locks are used at the sides of the HT as well.

Cracks on the window? Both you and the PO know that you're supposed to
unzip the window before you lower the roof to prevent that from
happening, right?

 

I do, perhaps the previous owner didn't. The cracks are in the roof
itself right at the outer edge 'bead'. I assume they are where the roof
concertinas when folded. Not that have dared to try folding it down
yet. I once had a very nasty experience with a MKII Honda Civic sliding
sun roof.
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+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Ah, OK. The cracks in the beading are indeed a sign that you'd want a
new roof...