While I'm sure you want to replace the one you've broken/mangled/whatever...

The need may not be quite as urgent as you think...

Many cars have been running for years without them.

Fletch.

I bought a top from Duetto many years ago.... when they were a brand new company... maybe 8 or 10 years ago? They were easy to deal with. For what it's worth, I got the zippered glass window for my '90 and I love it. Anyone who's seen my top recently will know it needs replacement again. I'm reasona...

I'll bet it was Steve Hung you bought it from... I've got his JR header and exhaust from before he had the turbo, and also he's who I got the Hawk Blue race-pads from. He moved back out of NZ quite some years ago, but he gave me a ride in his car here in Auckland after he'd fitted an AVO turbo (from...

No, dont paint your MX-5 orange... your MX-5 will look really bad in orange... its a bad idea.


On the other hand, once I get the money to repaint my car, mine will look fantastic in orange. ( on the to-do list for over 5 years )


Fletch.

A couple of years back, my father phoned up to "dispute" whether the car in the photo was actually ours.... what we'd been sent was fairly blurry, and although you could infer what letters/numbers were on the plate, it involved a bit of guessing.... The officer on the phone assured us what they have...

The oil-pump is driven by the crank-shaft..... as rpm increases, the pump spins faster, and oil-pressure increases. Also, oil's viscosity (thickness) reduces with temperature... when cold, idle RPM will give a higher pressure reading, than idling when warm.... Those two facts should account for all ...

With the altenator belt off, the water-pump pulley should spin freely and noise-less-ly... just give it a whirl.... Thats not a 100% conclusive test... but any sticking or noise is cause for concern. Also, check the tightness (or even presence!) of the lower bolt on the altenator that the unit pivot...

1.6's take about 3.5 litres, and 1.8's take about 3.8. Most oils come in a 4 or occasionally 5 litre bottle, so just buy one of those in the brand you prefer and keep the balance for top-ups. Any oil that costs more than $20-$25 is probably "good enough" (ie, anything but the cheapest rubbish).... b...

Hmmm.... I've never seen an MX-5 cam-cover gasket that didnt have the spark-plug apeture holes built into it....

I suspect you would have ended up with the right thing from them, even if their computer didnt list it as included?

Fletch.

I was under the impression they werent supposed to have cameras too close to a change in speed zone... I mean, you can only reasonabl;y slow at a certain rate... if it was right next to a 100-50 change (and it was the first 50 sign, not another one before that you over-looked) then you'll probably g...

http://www.georgestock.co.nz/ is the NewZealand importer/agent for both Koni and KYB.

Give them a call.

Fletch.

Although the one-quarter and three-quarter marks on the gauge seem poorly calibrated, and the "empty" and "full" ones are a complete joke... the half-full one seems pretty good to me. From a topped-off fil and zero'd trip-meterl... you can safely double however many k's are showing at half-full (ass...

I also seemed to think it was a little more than I was expecting... This place does use "thick wall tubing" for longer life and a less tinny sound. It may be cheaper to go with thinner walled tube? Oh yeah, and that included a resonator in the straight section between the cat and the diff... Fletch.

I recently got a quote for a 2.25 inch cat-back with generic "turbo" muffler... that was $400 in mild steel...

This from a small independant shop where I've had good and cheap work done before (he's actually welded up cracked bits (not his) for me three times for free).

Fletch.

I would suggest replacing the bolt and using loctite BEFORE you detect any pulley wobble.

Fletch.

I've been hanging around the US mailing list and forum for about ten years now.... That 1% number was only ever a wild guess, and it was a wild guess over 8 years ago when the artical originally appeared. Since then, only more have failed. How many? Who knows? I know of at least 5 short-nose failure...

You were operating a cell-phone while re-fuelling

Dont you know, the whole world will implode, or something....

Fletch.

Back before I got more modified.... I had no problems running 14 degrees on 91 and 18 degrees on 96. 14 degrees was a little better at the top of the RPM range, but 18 degrees gave a bigger kick down low where you use it commuting in Auckland... As others have said, what each engine can cope with va...

If the car has its original panasonic AGM battery (or a genuine Mazda replacement), the following comments apply.... if its been replaced with a standard wet-cell, then ignore them. Its not the jump-start, per say, but the running flat just before that.... The AGM batteries dont like to charge of th...

No, I did not see...
So, what was it they did that was a shame?

Fletch.

Fletch what sequence have you done your mods and did anything give you a real step lift in performance? What cams have you? Ok... a long time ago, in a land far far away.... For quite a while, I had just Jackson Racing Header and cat-back, and a greddy foam-cone intake filter. At that time, my car ...

Personally, I prefer top-posting to bottom-posting.... but he who owns the board make the rules... so be it. But I think you'll find, that if you're using e-mail to access the board.... then its probably more to do with the settings of your own email client, rather than what Howards done at the web-...

Seeing as this power-mods forum is completely empty, I thought I'd start the ball rolling, and just ask... what have you done to your MX-5 to increase its power, how much does it have (if known), and are you happy with it.... I've been slowly doing normally aspirated mods to my '90 since shortly aft...

I'm currently using Penrite HPR5 from Supercheap, its 5W-40 semi-synthetic. I've been very happy with it... It still pegs the pressure gauge when stone cold, but it takes 3500 rpm to do it instead of 2500 when I was using 15W-40 mineral oil. And the lifters tick tess on start-up. I think you should ...

Have never seen 'envron' anywhere. All BP stations that have the 98 octane petrol have an 'Ultimate" sign on there main roadside signage as far as I know. There is no 96 petrol now either; it is 95. Didn't drop the price though when they quietly brought it in almost a year ago. Grant. Yeah... I edi...