Spending some cash on my 5

[alephnull]

Hi all, I have a very nice mk2 with 65000 miles on the clock. I cant really see myself wanting anything else between now and a time when I have a house with a garage, so I was thinking of fixing a few niggles.

1) Soft brake pedal. Can this be fixed by fitting braided brake lines? How much does this cost (estimates)?

2) Do dampers go after a certain milage? I have never driven a low milage mx-5, so I have nothing to compare the handling of my current car to. Are dampers likely to be tired after 65k miles?

3) How often would you recommend getting the geometry checked? It got done a few years ago, so I assume it is fine.

Cheers all!

[Legend83]

alephnull said:

Hi all, I have a very nice mk2 with 65000 miles on the clock. I cant really see myself wanting anything else between now and a time when I have a house with a garage, so I was thinking of fixing a few niggles.

1) Soft brake pedal. Can this be fixed by fitting braided brake lines? How much does this cost (estimates)?

2) Do dampers go after a certain milage? I have never driven a low milage mx-5, so I have nothing to compare the handling of my current car to. Are dampers likely to be tired after 65k miles?

3) How often would you recommend getting the geometry checked? It got done a few years ago, so I assume it is fine.

Cheers all!

1) Before shelling out on braided hoses, spend a couple of quid on some decent brake fluid and bleed the brakes - this should stiffen the pedal up.

2) I guess it depends how it has been driven. Check for leaks from the shocks and whether your teeth are falling out over potholes....

3) FWIU the geo should be checked after suspension changes are made - I would imagine if you had it done a few years ago it should be ok. Check out Wheels-In-Motion if you do want to get it checked.

4) Buy a supercharger

[BCA]

65k is low mileage for these cars!

1) Alignment
2) rustproofing
3) trackdays

Done.

[Legend83]

BCA said:

2) rustproofing

Good one.

Make sure you get a proper job done too - not just to make the metal bits nice and black. You need to get in the box sections and cavities, particularly the arches and sills.

[alephnull]

Rustproofing eh. Any recommendations in the South? Hampshire or Surrey pref. Also, I have seen a wide range of prices - what is the minimum for a proper job?

I was just tempted by some 15" standard alloys...Hmmm

[alephnull]

Legend83 said:

1) Before shelling out on braided hoses, spend a couple of quid on some decent brake fluid and bleed the brakes - this should stiffen the pedal up.

2) I guess it depends how it has been driven. Check for leaks from the shocks and whether your teeth are falling out over potholes....

3) FWIU the geo should be checked after suspension changes are made - I would imagine if you had it done a few years ago it should be ok. Check out Wheels-In-Motion if you do want to get it checked.

4) Buy a supercharger

I had a new set of discs and pads fitted on the front, so I imagine the brake fluid would have been renewed then. The pedal is still soft after this...


Also, I just went through my receipts, and I must have daydreamed about the previous owner getting the geom checked. Any recommendations for where to get this done in the south? I'll give that search function a go right now I think...

[BCA]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Do it yourself, I will be doing this to my mk2 shortly too..


For alignment, in the south - make the trip up to WIM. I've had a few little arguments with the guy(s?) over the past few months over little things they have said on another forum, but have been utterly astounded with the levels of customer service they have given to everyone. So hats off to them, they get my recommendation based upon this service. Mine was aligned ooop north by the previous owner, but next time it needs doing I'll probably head down to Tony @ WIM if they are willing to do it/ tolerate me.

Edited by BCA on Thursday 25th March 12:20

[MX7]

alephnull said:

I had a new set of discs and pads fitted on the front, so I imagine the brake fluid would have been renewed then.

To be honest, I doubt it. Brake fluid should be changed every two or three years, but most people don't bother. I'd change the fluid first, make sure you bleed it well, and then see how it feels.

[maz8062]

alephnull said:

Hi all, I have a very nice mk2 with 65000 miles on the clock. I cant really see myself wanting anything else between now and a time when I have a house with a garage, so I was thinking of fixing a few niggles.

1) Soft brake pedal. Can this be fixed by fitting braided brake lines? How much does this cost (estimates)?

2) Do dampers go after a certain milage? I have never driven a low milage mx-5, so I have nothing to compare the handling of my current car to. Are dampers likely to be tired after 65k miles?

3) How often would you recommend getting the geometry checked? It got done a few years ago, so I assume it is fine.

Cheers all!

1) Braided lines make a huge difference and are worth the spend
2) Lots of choice for dampers out there and worth the spend.
3) Geometry should be done when you make changes to the suspension like dampers, ride height etc or you feel that it is out of whack

[MX-5 Lazza]

maz8062 said:

1) Braided lines make a huge difference and are worth the spend

Maybe but changing the fluid is more likely to be a fix for a soft brake pedal

[alephnull]

My brake fluid was renewed in september 2009, so unless the mechanic did a lousy job (he seemed like a nice bloke! Furze Motors in Southampton) I can only assume it is something else that is causing the soft pedal...

[HereBeMonsters]

alephnull said:

My brake fluid was renewed in september 2009, so unless the mechanic did a lousy job (he seemed like a nice bloke! Furze Motors in Southampton) I can only assume it is something else that is causing the soft pedal...

Have you found they are the best for Mazda in Southampton? I'm always dubious because of their location...

[alephnull]

HereBeMonsters said:

alephnull said:

My brake fluid was renewed in september 2009, so unless the mechanic did a lousy job (he seemed like a nice bloke! Furze Motors in Southampton) I can only assume it is something else that is causing the soft pedal...

Have you found they are the best for Mazda in Southampton? I'm always dubious because of their location...

Well he seemed like a nice guy, prices are reasonable - however I do have a soft pedal issue that i'd like to resolve!

[MX-5 Lazza]

Well changing your brake fluid is quick cheap & easy. If that fixes it you've saved yourself the cost of braided hoses.

[youngsyr]

I'm a bit of a noob to MX-5s, but I understand that the brake cylinder is prone to failure, could this be the reason for the soft pedal, despite the change of fluid?

Could also be the hoses, I'm guessing?

[MX7]

youngsyr said:

I'm a bit of a noob to MX-5s, but I understand that the brake cylinder is prone to failure

Are you sure you don't meant the clutch cylinders? I haven't seen that the brake cylinder is particularly delicate. The calipers can play up a bit, but that's it as far as I know.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Brake master & slave cylinder are both weak points on these cars, especially older cars. It would usually affect pedal travel & bite-point though, not sure how it could cause a soft brake pedal.

[dylan0451]

check to see if someones put those blasted greenstuff pads on, that'll be your source of jelly pedal

seriously though, a fluid change would be worthwhile as it probably wasn't done when the pads and discs went on

i was looking at those 'speedbleeders' P5 are selling. if they work, they could really speed up brake bleeding