Mazda MX5 Mk2.5

[Gaz86]

I took a non-VVT engine out of mine, then bought a VVT thinking it would be much more fun having a turbo'd VVT than non. Think that was a bad move. From doing the research (which I should have done first, rather than just taking peoples word) the VVT uses new rods which are much weaker, and people don't like to even push them as far as 220bhp. Also is going to require me to buy a new ECU at around £700 which I didn't want to do.

General consensus online seems to be if you're wanting forced induction, use a non-VVT engine.

That thought has crossed my mind to be honest. Would be more cost effective to buy a non VVT 1800 and work off that than strengthen the rods etc in mine. I'm a long way off doing that yet though. In the meantime I'll make do with what I've got. If I come across a low milage 1800 over the coming months I may well take it. In fact I might even know of one going cheap if it's still there. Having the VVT does add complications when it comes down to ECU choices too

 

[Father Stack]

In fact I might even know of one going cheap if it's still there.

If you do can you let me know? And would you like a VVT engine with around 80k on it?

 

[FM155]

The torque from forced induction is the problem with all the mx5 rods. ITB's would put less torque loads into them and would suit the car too..
#notbiasedatall ;-)

Putting my own bias towards N/A aside, theres some really good info about the various engines and their weaknesses.

Building a Naturally Aspirated Mazda BP Engine

Building a killer Mazda BP engine that produces power without a turbo or supercharger is a black art. In this article, we explore how to do it right.

gwracing.altervista.org

Just for the craic, here's me titting about at an autotest last weekend.

 

[Gaz86]

If you do can you let me know? And would you like a VVT engine with around 80k on it?

If I was swapping mine out it would be for a non-VVT engine though.

The torque from forced induction is the problem with all the mx5 rods. ITB's would put less torque loads into them and would suit the car too..
#notbiasedatall ;-)

Putting my own bias towards N/A aside, theres some really good info about the various engines and their weaknesses.

Building a Naturally Aspirated Mazda BP Engine

Building a killer Mazda BP engine that produces power without a turbo or supercharger is a black art. In this article, we explore how to do it right.

gwracing.altervista.org

Just for the craic, here's me titting about at an autotest last weekend.

I love the idea of ITB’s lol love the sound too but bang per buck they’re just not what I’m looking for. I’m almost half way there with the turbo setup, I just need an ECU, downpipe and a few other things and I’m good to go

 

[FM155]

You can get BP4W non VVT engines for £225 ish from John Evans in Empingham. It cost me £75 to get 2 engines sent on a euro pallet. If you are willing to share the pallet with someone, it's pretty good value.

I'll drop my N/A quest for now lol..





Naturally aspirated is the best yeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

[Gaz86]

You can get BP4W non VVT engines for £225 ish from John Evans in Empingham. It cost me £75 to get 2 engines sent on a euro pallet. If you are willing to share the pallet with someone, it's pretty good value.

I'll drop my N/A quest for now lol..

Naturally aspirated is the best yeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Good to know! That would certainly bring the whole thing forward a fair bit, the cost of the ECU was the biggest set back. I anticipate all this to happen around this time next year so I've still plenty of time to weigh it all up.

The guy from Garage Quinn on Youtube has a lovely white NB on ITB's, along with quite a few other very nice cars lol Check it out



Turbocharged is the best yeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[Gaz86]

Almost forgot I bought this as it took that long to arrive. Polished stainless Jass Performance engine hook.... couldn’t be putting the tatty old one back on when the cam cover goes on now could I this week I’ve mostly been tidying up the engine bay replacing crusty old nuts and bolts with nice shiny new ones, painting any exposed surfaces such as chassis rails and wrapping and tying back wiring harnesses. Basically loads of tarting it up. Will get the new wheels on next week hopefully. Also painted the rear brakes to match the front. On the downside I have a dead battery

I'm having a custom washer bottle and power steering reservoir fabricated by BrookFab, hopefully he'll be making a start on them this week. Washer bottle will sit in the scuttle panel and the power steering reservoir will fit between the webbing on the passenger side strut tower. The standard one is looking a bit worse for wear and with everything else on this project, if it's old and crusty, bin it and replace with new

 

[Gaz86]

This evening I finally got around to swapping the tyres over onto the new wheels and gave them a couple of coats of Carbon Collective Platinum Wheels. Time will tell if it’s half as good as the reviews I’ve read but if it makes wheel cleaning any easier I’ll be happy! At £20 it was worth a punt. Looking forward to firing these on tomorrow evening

Also my DaveFab radiator cooling panel arrived. Bit of under bonnet bling really, doubt it’ll have any noticeable effect on cooling but it looks the dogs danglies

 

[Gaz86]

Think I got the offset bang on with these

 

[warren]

I think your right. Bit much arch gap for my liking though

 

[Gaz86]

Can't wait to get this pulled out of the garage for a good wash and polish! After it was painted last year I thought it would be on the road in no time but it got put on the back burner when I started having problems with the golf. It had been resprayed long before I bought it and quite badly at that too!! Last years heatwave brought out all kinds of cracks and shrinkage in the paint And me being me wouldn't rest until it was put right. I spent around £1400 getting it resprayed again (only to sell it 2 months later for the GT86). That £1400 would've gone a long way to finishing this thing and putting it on the road. Nevertheless, I still enjoy tinkering with it in my man cave, gives me something to focus on and keeps me sane. I'm scared to admit what has been spent on this so far in case some men turn up outside my house in a padded out van and carry me away in a straight jacket! It's getting very very close to ready now and we're hopefully taking it on the road trip across Scotland this summer, Cairnryan to Pitlochry then on up to Skye. I imagine that will be bloody immense!!

 

[warren]

That should be incredible make sure its well documented! Would love to do something similar in mine but I'm not sure I could tolerate mine with those new springs for that long lol

I think thats half the fun of owning an MX5, infinate supply of little things to renew/change/adjust. I *think* I intend to change mine for a boxter/cayman in a year or 2 but I worry ill get bored because Ill only really have to drive that rather than tinker with it!

 

[Gaz86]

I'll take plenty of photo's along the way.

I honestly wouldn't change for either of those. They won't have the same character the MX5 has. I'll just leave this here... I know which one I'd rather have



Are the Eibach springs really that harsh? I'd say mine's a pretty hard setup, coilovers, Powerflex bushes throughout plus strut brace and roll bar also stiffen the chassis up. I'm hoping a good road trip will help break it in a bit. They're all fresh parts and have done a grand total of 10 miles since fitting lol

 

[warren]

I have actually watched that video before lol Quite satisfying I must say!

Yeah they are rock hard, Really upset with myself that I didnt just go coilovers to start with now. It sits quite nose down on them too, but to the point were I dont think I could safely put spacers on the front wheels without wrecking the arches! Sadly I spent a good amount of time and money renewing the entire setup so to rip them out now as well as the extra cost of coilovers would upset me greatly lol.

Its coming into the summer now anyway, try your best to live in it

 

[Gaz86]

The underdog gets my vote every time! I'd love to see the look on a Porsche owners face after demolishing them on track in a properly tuned Mx5. It would be hilarious!!

I did try to persuade you into getting coilovers lol I had that very same dilemma, couldn't find a spring/shock combo that just looked right. Yes mine didn't cost a thousand pounds, they're basic height adjustable coilovers, but.... I know people who use these exact same ones on road and on track and they serve their purpose just fine. I'd just pull them out and sell them on, you'll probably recoup half of your money when you sell them. Mine will be changed for a decent set of HSD's or something similar at some point, I just needed a setup to get me up and running.

I plan to do my daily commute to and from work in this, keep the miles off the GT86, for the next 6 months or so anyway.

 

[Gaz86]

Looking very Japanese this morning with the cherry blossom petals all over it Going to give it a good wash and polish tonight when I get home.

 

[Simon998]

That's pretty much perfect. Well done man.

Only thing I'd possibly do would be remove the plate holder and just put the plate directly on the bumper

 

[Gaz86]

Thanks Simon

I did used to have the plate fixed that way but it means the plate bends quite a bit and was worried about the screws popping out. I don't trust stickies to hold the plate on either.

I'm quite pleased it actually looks orange for once In most of the other photo's I have it mostly looks red!
I recently bought myself a DA polisher and got some 3M Ultrafina SE polish, will give it a good going over tonight and apply some wax. Hoping the colour will really come out then! The paint hasn't been touched in any way since last summer and is currently covered in dust.

The to-do list is getting smaller.... headlight alignment needed, Pete at Brookfab is making me new alloy washer bottle and power steering reservoir, and have to finish wiring in the fog lights. I think that's about it.

 

[Gaz86]

As soon as I got home from work I started washing and polishing. A good pre-wash rinse, followed by Bilt Hamber snow foam, and the usual AG shampoo, then set about polishing with the 3m Ultrafina SE. Only got the roof done this evening but it looks so much better already. Hopefully I'll have the whole car finished off tomorrow night

 

[warren]

That looks absolutely incredible. I would love a ducktail on mine.

Will you have it at any meets over the summer?

 

[Gaz86]

Thanks Warren. The duck tail was only £50 lol technically free as I ended up with two and sold one

Yes it'll be out all the time over the summer. The GT86 will likely be garaged most of the summer

 

[TheDaniel]

Theres so much aftermarket parts available for these wee cars and hardly any for mine. I'm still struggling to find a ducktail

The wheels where a good finishing touch. Looks brilliant

 

[Gaz86]

Yeah there is definitely much more out there for the Mk1 & 2. Probably because they're the most popular models. I do like the Mk3, especially in white with hard top and the right wheels, saw a lovely one in Mallusk the other day. Yes I'm really glad I went for these wheels, suits the rest of the car to a tee and not common as muck either.

 

[mr_s81]

Love this car. Easy to go over the top with body kits, spoilers and the like, but you've hit the perfect balance imo. Colour is brilliant and the new alloys look class.

 

[Gaz86]

Thanks for all the comments guys, really appreciate it, makes it all worthwhile