Hi all ! I've done my first drift day at Santa Pod yesterday, so I thought I'd put my car up here. So it's an early mazda mx5, with Sierra sapphire cosworth 2wd engine (and gearbox, and diff). It was built about 4 years ago and I bought it last summer. I've had another track mx5 before this one and done many trackdays but not much drifting. This was a pure track car but I've put it back on the road. It was destined to be mainly for grip use but I got more and more interested in drifting and decided to give it a go. My day at Santa Pod has been quite eventful... First, I arrived at 12.30 after not waking up Very relaxed atmosphere. Lots of cool people and cool cars. I went to the first play pen for a bit of fun. I then decided to move to the other one for a tiny bit more speed. It was so much fun! But I soon realised it requires skills I don't really have so I asked around for some help. Lex kindly jumped in to give me some pointers. Very helpful, many thanks !! His conclusions: more aggressive, more throttle, more speed. We swapped seats so he could show me what the car could do. AMAZING! really impressed. He then took me in his car on the big track to show me what it's all about. Absolutely AWESOME. Impressive skills! We spent the last two laps closely following 2 cars while avoiding the others that had spun. Mental. Now I understand why people get addicted! Anyway. My engine had developed a worrying knock so I left it to cool down completely. I checked oil (and water) and started it again "tac-tac-tac-tac-tac" Sounded like a tappet noise but a bit louder. After few more checks and re-start, the engine was still quite noisy so I decided it wasn't a good idea to take it out on track more (had to drive back home with it) I spent the following couple of hours watching the other cars. I decided to leave at around 3.30. The engine was noisy and running quite rough, vibrating more than usual I drove very carefully but 200m after the gate the engine died. Impossible to start it again. The starter would crank the engine but it wouldn't fire up. Many thanks to the people who stopped to give me a hand. Very much appreciated After checking sparks,fuel, distributor and WD40ing everything I could I tried a couple of times more but no luck If it sparks OK and fuels OK then it must be timing... or something internal. No way to get it started. Ian stopped to help and told me about Chunk and his garage just up the road. And then dropped me there. Many thanks ! (I've tried to drop you a PM but your inbox is full...) Chunk and the guys at DB Automotive have been extraordinarily helpful and towed the car to their workshop to have a look. After a few checks and cleaning the plugs, we tried again but no luck. The engine was really not happy. Either something is VERY wrong with the timing or something is broken inside I left the car with him and we'll see next week after a compression test. I hope it's not too bad... I hope to see some of you at another drift day once the car is fixed! Nico. PS: A massive thank you to all who stopped to help. And an even bigger thanks to Chunk and the guys at DB Automotive
Hey dude, I was the guy that sat in your car while it was being towed I really do hope it is nothing too serious, fantastic car you have there and was genuinely amazed at opening the bonnet and seeing a cosworth motor staring back at me! Nice to meet you too, hope to see you in action again in the near future.
I saw this car on pistonheads and wish I could have bought it but I'd just bought a Mr2. If I remember it needed a bit of work to get it on the road but the engine and drivetrain were all sorted. It must be very quick, how does it handle the power? I hope you get the engine problem sorted.
Awesome car. If you decide to sell it with the broken engine, ill be interested. YBs are about the only 4cyl i trust.
So you are "the guys at DB Automotive" then Nice to meet you and thanks again ! Yes I bought it from Pistonheads. It was like that : It had no headlights or seats or windows and a cage to tall to fit a hardtop. I took the cage out Put some seats and headlights (had to relocate the coolant tank) I got it MOTed and drove it for a bit before realising the diff was dead. Had to replace it as I had a trackday the following week. It's IMMENSELY fun to drive !
Looks like you have had to do a bit more work on it than expected but I think even if you have to rebuild your engine it will be worth it. I know you got it very cheap so if you have to spend a bit more on it, it will all balance out.
Yeah I also had to change a wheel bearing the day before that trackday... Yes I bought it as a project car and knew it was a bit tired. I just hoped it would have lasted longer before giving me problems...
Cool car. Unfortunately from your description of the noises from the car I suspect you have spun a big end. Then by driving it, it has thrown a rod (maybe not out the block but enough to jam it up). Get the sump off to prove what is wrong with it and go from there
Nico don't you dare sell it. if it is rebuild time then you don't need extra power so should be low cost rebuild.
glad u got back ok, i stopped by u to see if i could help but by wat u were saying it was already game over! i was in the greeny/blue S14 with purple kit
I was the guy that gave you a lift to DB Automotive, I hope the guys looked after you there? Did you cancel the AA? Cool car, I look forward to seeing you out in it a Pod again soon! Ian.
Sorry to hear about the car woes. This is an excellent little car, and it's in good hands if it's with Chunk. I'm interested in knowing about the conversion if you feel like talking about it. Particularly how the diff is mounted and whether there's any strengthening of the frame rails etc. Hope they get it sorted and it's not too much hassle. Even if it's a popped engine, a replacement isn't going to cost the absolute earth, so it might be worth persevering.
Whatever you do, get the engine sorted by someone good. So many shit tuners about. A YB is as strong as 4cyls get, if it breaks easy its not the engine, its the person who's done it. Bluesprint, Reyland, SCS, are probably the only 3 I can think of that I'd trust without paying rape money. But a GOOD used lump is probably the best solution. Chances are most the parts of your engine are still good, and can sell head, crank, rods, etc etc for really good money, as most the standard bits are good for 500bhp+ anyhow.
Not heard of anyone using them for engines for years, so dunno. Jus going from my experience. Tickle Sues balls and she might do you a good deal.
Sweet Mx5!!, If you need a decent well specced second hand engine gimmie a shout. And I would recommend msd in blackpool for the mapping side of things so it dont go pop again
I'm pretty sure Ant at DB Automotive will do a top job Stav, he did an awesome job on the DWS15 2JZ rebuild.
