MX5Ireland

Hello all
I've a 10AE and am looking to cut down on the cabin heat as much as possible as I'm bringing it to France in the middle of the summer and in don't wish to be fried!
I have a full used AC kit that I'm planning to fit but what are the easier and more basic steps I can take ?
I know the the gearstick to body gator is a common cause so is there a better and insulated version available as the Oem seems fairly poor .
I assume fitting insulation is going to be part of the solution and if so what type do people recommend and what location ?
Any help /advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Brian

I'm also interested in this for the mk1. I have read that people are happy with the dynamat stuff. But I have no experience with it and I'd like to hear if anyone has used it and would they recommend it.

Thanks ray
As I understand it the dynamat products are one of the best on the market but also the most expensive!
Steve has a friend how does this type of thing everyday IE fitting sound and thermal deadening , fitting car sound systems etc so I must get onto him to get his advice on where and what product to apply .
It makes sense to do the underside of the tunnel to reflect the heat away from the interior before it gets a chance to soak in . In my car at least the tunnel gets very warm, you can't put your hand between it and the seat after it gets up to temperature, and that's in Ireland !
Also I see jass performance do an improved gearstick to body gator and I was wondering if it had improved thermal insulating properties ?
More research is needed I'm afraid !
Thanks again
Brian

Hi Brian ,dont touch the aluminium /silicone gear lever bottom boots are they are shit quality.I bought few from Doctor Mx5 ?? and never again.Sales pitch is great but quality is poor.OE ones are probably good enough for 5/6 years anyway??

I just happened to be in dunes stores today and happened across this stuff..

It's camping bed roll... foam on one side and a silver side. I'd assume the silver side is to keep damp out while camping. When I saw it I thought of this thread and thought "you know what that might just fecking work" I picked up 3 rolls of it. At €5 a roll I might as well give it a try.. you never know.

Hello Ray
Ya that's a good and cheap idea you got there , I actually have a couple of those in the garage form camping years ago !
I wonder if it would compromise the carpet shape and I think I would prefer the type that sticks to the body .
There's a company in Monaghan that supplies this type of suff as well , still must talk to Steves friend
I found an tread on an American site about " fully closing " the heaters temperature dial off ,I must post it up here
We must be the only people in Ireland that are not looking for heat !
Talk soon and thanks for your ideas
Brian
This is the heat and sound insulation
http://www.soundinsulation.ie/car-van-s ... orber.html
And this is the heater cable fix
http://www.miata.net/garage/heater_cable.html

Hello again
I've Been doing a it more research and I came up with this product ;
https://www.designengineering.com//cate ... nd-insulat
It's a floor and tunnel reflective insulation that can be used on the outside under the car and I feel this could be a good job for my application IE reflect the heat away form the floor before its gets a chance the soak into the body .
The only problem is the shipping cost , does anyone know of a similar product closer to home ? This is alluminium faced with fibre glass on the underside and is self adhesive .
It will help to prevent the "hot foot" effect on hot days which drives me mad ! Also the cabin should be cooler and more comfortable on those days , ya I know what's this hot day thing But they will come
Thanks for reading this
Brian

Hi Brian,

You can get the foil with different thickness of fibreglass in most building providers. It's not self adhesive though.
That's if I'm thinking of the right stuff. They use it for insulation air ducts.

Alan

Thanks Alan I'm going to have to look into that stuff , it could be fixed using spray on adhesive
Brian

Hello all
Well I've decided that one of the key moves on this project is to insulate the tunnel on the inside which means that the dash and heater unit must come out to fully remove the carpet and get insulation over the full tunnel
Any tips/tricks on getting this job knocked out as I suspect that it's going to be a bit of a pig , I'm hoping to have some help on the day, so a bit of a tech day !
Just to clarify its a mk2 . Does the dash need to be removed to remove the heater ?
Thanks in advance
Brian

Let me know when you are planning to attack this, I'll try get down to you.

How OCD do you want to be about it? I'd be worried if you went up and over under the dash that the heater etc won't sit back down correctly.
Anywho, worth printing this for that day : http://www.miata.net/garage/DashRmv_89_93.pdf

I took the dash out of the mk1 in about an hour on my own.. it's not that bad a job really.

Thanks for the replies gents
I did think about the problem of the Heater sitting down correctly alright Steve and I don't know the answer to it . for the insulation to fit it needs about 2-3 mm clearance ,it's a heat and acoustic suppresser from thermo Tec , cool-it is the product name .
Is it possible to just lift the heater up that much and slide the material under ? The only reason I'm talking about removing the dash is to move the heater up a small bit , but being honest if it's too much work I'll simply work around it . I'm putting DEI tunnel shield underneath as well so you may be right Steve my OCD might be taking over again
I'm planning on doing the job this Wednesday and Ian is coming down to help out as well so if your free great but don't sweat it if you can't , some people have normal jobs on Wednesdays !
Ray you might know if the dashboard must come out for to move the heater ? and Ray ,as I've seen from your build tread ,one of your hours is like ten of mine
Thanks again
Brian

Hi Brian ,yes heater unit itself is bolted with 3 x 10mm bolts /nuts but two are impossible to get at with dash in place.The existing carpet runs all the way to firewall/bulkhead panel UNDER the heater so I think you may have to trim around heater rather than tring to get under it. It not too bad to remove dash etc but takes couple hours out and couple in .Personally I would cut around heater unit..Also wiil the carpets fit neatly over the insulation? I have seen lads cutting the carpet in the area under the heater BUT be carful not to trim carpet TOO short as it needs to tuck in under the dash ,both sides of the tunnel.I have done it few times without any problems.Leave trimming long and trim few times rather than 1 full cut first time. Good stanley knife rips through the carpet , no problem. Seats out and chrome door sill covers etc and its easy peasy.

gah, wednesday as in yesterday? How did you get on?