New Owners Guide to the MX5
(OK, this
mainly concerns the Mk1, but some applies to the Mk2)
You’ve
scoured the Buy and Sell, the Autotrader and the ‘Net. You’ve dragged your mate
who’s got more experience in engines that the average Formula 1 team. You’ve
seen dozens of cars and now you have it. Your very own modern classic. You’ve
driven more miles in the last week than you have in the last month. Your cheeks
hurt from grinning so much. You’re now the proud owner of an MX5, and welcome
aboard!
Now the fun
starts. You know it’s not a new car, even though it’s lines and looks are
timeless. You have a dozen questions that need answering, and here’s the place
to have them answered!
What
does that oil gauge do? All I ever had before was a warning light!
If you have
a Mk1 (with the flip-up headlights), it does exactly what it says on the tin-
it tells you what the oil pressure is. It will start off high (over to the
right) when started up from cold. This is because the oil is cold and heavy (or
thick, if you like). As the oil heats up, the pressure drops. It should fall to
below 2 kg/cm2 (on a Japanese import, it’s marked in metric) when the engine is
warm and at idle. It will rise the higher you run the revs. The oil will take
longer to warm up than the water, this is normal. The exact pressures at
start-up and idle will vary slightly from car to car, depending on the oil used
and the condition of the engine.
There are
two readings that you never want to see on the oil gauge- full pressure and
zero. Full pressure will indicate a blockage in the engine oil somewhere, and
zero means that there is no oil running through your engine. Stop immediately
and seek help.
What is
normal temperature for the engine?
Normal
(warm) temperature for the engine is just to the left of halfway. The
temperature gauge is not the greatest, if the temperature goes too high, it’ll
zip over to fully hot in a matter of seconds, and you won’t have time to notice
it creeping up if there’s a problem. Any higher than halfway, then you’ll want to
pull over and check your water levels.
Due to the
age of the average Mk1, a common cause of overheating is actually a dodgy
radiator cap! If the cap is old, then the spring doesn’t work properly to allow
water from the overflow bottle back into the radiator.
It’s a
sports car, how much can I abuse the engine?
As much as
you like! Wait until the engine is warm for doing it, though. Once the oil is
up to temperature, fire ahead and have fun! If you meet the group for a run,
you might notice us start the cars and let them idle well before we head off,
and this is the reason!
How high
can I let the engine rev?
As high as
you like, the MX5 is fitted with a rev limiter, if you go off the scale, it
will cut out the fuel until the revs drop to a safe zone. As far as changing
gears go, the MX5 is designed to expect a gear change above 5,500 RPM, so Zoom
Zoom! There is no harm done at all changing below this, the engine and gearbox
are just designed to be driven! Many modern cars are not used to gear changes
at high RPM, but the MX5 is!
What’s
this four wheel alignment all about?
Welcome to
the world of the sports car! The sublime handling of the MX5 is due to the
geometry of the chassis, the set-up of the suspension and the rigidity of the
“power plant frame”. That, and which way the wheels point! The wheels are fully
adjustable in at least two directions- Camber (the lean over to the side) and
toe (twist in or out towards the car body). The set up of the MX5 allows fine
adjustment to suit different driving styles, probably more so than any “modern”
car. There are two main settings used- stock and “lanny” settings. Over time,
depending on how enthusiastically you drive the car, the wheels will move away
from the original settings. It’s recommended that once a year, you get these
settings restored at a decent wheel alignment place. Ask the members for your
local four wheel alignment centre. It is as important to get the wheels aligned
as to get the car serviced, in order to maintain the fun driving available from
the MX5.
OK, what
are “lanny” settings then?
A track
driver called Lanny (figures, really!) developed an alternative set of wheel
settings for people who really like driving. The settings tighten up the
handling on the MX5 (and you thought it handled great already!), but at the
expense of tyre wear during normal driving, and a tendency for the back end of
the car to want to overtake the front! For experienced an enthusiastic drivers
only.
What
petrol does the car need?
Bog
standard petrol does the job just nicely, thank you very much! Some people use
a fill of “super” every now and then, just to clean out the engine of any
carbon deposits.
How often
does it need to be serviced?
The down
side of having a sports car, is that it has a sports engine. If you’re using
the MX5 they way it was designed to be used, then you’ll want to change the
oil, oil filter and spark plugs every 6,000 miles or so (twice a year under
normal driving conditions). Get really enthusiastic, and you’ll know when it
needs servicing!
How much
does a service cost?
Go to a
garage, and it’ll cost €60 or €70, and that’s with cheap oil. They aren’t
charities! However, all is not lost. You can very, very easily do it yourself.
Come along to a tech day, and the world is your oyster! Well, maybe not, but
you’ll easily learn how to do a service yourself! Even the most fumble thumbed
individual can do a service. It’s also very, very satisfying to be able to
service your own car. The MX5 is a very easy car to work with.
Wow!
What’s a “Tech day”?
We gather
together to do bits and pieces with our cars. Between the different members,
just about everything that is possible to do to a car has been done at a tech
day. Come along, drink tea, and have fun!
What
tyres should I have?
You now own
a sports car, you now need sports tyres. Toyo Proxes, Bridgstone Potenza,
Yokohama Advan, Goodyear Eagle F1s, Pirelli P6000. All expensive tyres, but
very good tyres. These tyres all behave slightly differently, so chat to other
owners to get a feel for what you want your tyres to do, and which tyre does
what. They are your only contact with the road, so the better the tyre, the
more fun you’ll have! The real good news is that the MX5 is so light, the tyres
don’t wear half as quick as they would on a typical family saloon!
I have real good tyres, but when I went around a roundabout recently, I kept going around, and I didn’t expect that from a car with such good handling- what’s the story?
The road
was wet, wasn’t it? Welcome to the world of light-weight sports cars! The MX5
is rear wheel driven, and if you get too excited with the accelerator, the car
will spin. You’ll get used to knowing when the back end is too “frisky”. With
decent tyres in dry weather, it won’t be a problem. The MX5 is a sports car and
acts like one. After a while, you’ll actually be trying to get the back end to
do it! If you’re used to front wheel drive cars, it’ll take a while to “learn”
how to drive, but it’ll be fun doing it!
How
should I be putting up and down the roof?
If you are
taking down the roof, undo the two catches, unzip the window, lay it flat, and
push back the roof. To put it up, pull the roof up, zip up the window, and do
the two catches. After a while, you’ll get so used to it that you’ll be able to
do this almost with one hand! The beauty of the type of roof that the MX5 has,
it’s easy to put the roof up or down to suit the weather. You can be halfway
home, stopped at the lights, decide it’s too nice to have the roof up, and down
the hood goes!
OK, is
there anything oddball about the MX5 I should know about?
Yeah,
they’re addictive, but I guess you already found that out! There isn’t really
anything that is vastly different from other cars, if you’re in doubt just ask!
Many people
end up doing little bits and pieces to make their car their own, so hide your
credit card! Parts are relatively cheap, and there are many specialist
suppliers out there. All MX5 owners are fans, and anyone who has to sell their
“baby” is only going to do it under duress! Welcome to the club!
