W124 Newbie

[Guest qes78]

Hi,

Finally got another car cause my baby is on the way. Bought 1991 200e (facelifted) 8V about a month ago.

Car's great cept for the fuel comsumption, and some niggling issues.

Anyone know where I can get the sun visor clips in Singapore? The original one from the driver's side has shattered into smithereens. Also my rear view mirror's quite busted.

Merc124, think you're the guy i met at Man's exhaust the other day who told me about this forum? I drove the mx-5 that day. BTW, you stay around Kovan area? Thinnk I saw you driving around here.

[g8crasher]

Heyyyy congratulations on your purchase!! Sort the niggling issues and I'm sure you will enjoy the ownership for years to come. Try Propel Auto Parts (28 Kranji Road - look for Jonathan the manager) for the sun visor clips and other parts.

My wife and I miss our old MX-5! It was a '91 NA6 Eunos Roadster. Miss it to bits.... sniff

You drive an NA/NB/NC ?

[keltanky]

Hi,

Finally got another car cause my baby is on the way. Bought 1991 200e (facelifted) 8V about a month ago.

Car's great cept for the fuel comsumption, and some niggling issues.

Anyone know where I can get the sun visor clips in Singapore? The original one from the driver's side has shattered into smithereens. Also my rear view mirror's quite busted.

Merc124, think you're the guy i met at Man's exhaust the other day who told me about this forum? I drove the mx-5 that day. BTW, you stay around Kovan area? Thinnk I saw you driving around here.

bro its me that you met @ Man'x exhaust.

yes Mercw124 is staying ard kovan area.

both of our cars got same grille! but differents lights!

anyway hope you have fun doing up your W124

[Guest qes78]

G8crasher, I'm driving a 1993 NA6. Love it to bits. Have driven it for 6 years. Now considering to keep or sell.

Keltanky! great to see you online. Found my KNN filter today @ speedworks for $100. Not planning to do too much to the merc. After all, it's meant for me to transport the family arnd. Most of the money goes to the Miata for the time being.

[keltanky]

G8crasher, I'm driving a 1993 NA6. Love it to bits. Have driven it for 6 years. Now considering to keep or sell.

Keltanky! great to see you online. Found my KNN filter today @ speedworks for $100. Not planning to do too much to the merc. After all, it's meant for me to transport the family arnd. Most of the money goes to the Miata for the time being.

seriously, i dun think there would be any difference in putting in the KNN filter?? can someone enlighten me abt this??

heehee g8crasher maybe you should get the Miata as 2nd car, do up as track car!?! :censored:

[g8crasher]

:offtopic:

Cannot lah bro. Throw $$$ at the Miata to get it up to track spec - I think might as well get a Type R in the end in Singapore context. I miss the car. Sublime handling but the 1.6 a little anaemic. I never believed in an MX-5 until I was asked to test drive a nice example that my friend was buying - which I eventually bought a few months later. The car makes you feel like a hero around corners. Seriously.

Mazda Australia officially brought in SE edition (for the NB series) which comes factory turbocharged with racing hart rims. Just need to swap out a set of Tein street suspension, a slightly more responsive HKS turbo and fuel computer. Unfortunately parallel importers here tried to sell this car at 120k!!

W124 spares are fairly common. If there is something specific you are after, just put your request thru to Jonathan of Propel and he will sort you out easy.

[Guest qes78]

Keltanky.

Changed to the KNN cause it makes more economic sense. 100 for a lifelong filter as opposed to changing the filter every year at $30. No difference in power whatsoever.

g8crasher. Ur welcome to take a ride in mine. It's done up to track spec (or so I think). PU/Mazdaspeed bushings all round, Tein coilovers, Cusco LSD, TE37s, blah blah blah. Might not be the fastest in Singapore but I sure am proud of it. Now figuring out if i should let go of it, or keep it. Got a buyer lined up but really cant bear to let it go. 6 years of memories and lotsa blood and sweat. Big difference between Type R and the miata is FF vs FR. You can get tons of fun out of a 115bhp FR miata, that you could only perhaps draw parallel with in a 300bhp monster FF. Anyhow, I'm stuck on FR after the miata, which is why i had a limited choice of a second car.....

Thanks for the lead on the spares. I'm trying to keep expenditure on the Merc low till i figure out to sell the miata and keep the 124, or sell both and replace with another car, or just keep the miata and 124.

[g8crasher]

g8crasher. Ur welcome to take a ride in mine. It's done up to track spec (or so I think). PU/Mazdaspeed bushings all round, Tein coilovers, Cusco LSD, TE37s, blah blah blah. Might not be the fastest in Singapore but I sure am proud of it. Now figuring out if i should let go of it, or keep it. Got a buyer lined up but really cant bear to let it go. 6 years of memories and lotsa blood and sweat. Big difference between Type R and the miata is FF vs FR. You can get tons of fun out of a 115bhp FR miata, that you could only perhaps draw parallel with in a 300bhp monster FF. Anyhow, I'm stuck on FR after the miata, which is why i had a limited choice of a second car.....

KEEP LAH WAH LAU EH!! Looking at your mod list, I feel you bro!! NA6's only weakness is once you start turbocharging it, you'll identify the tranny as the weak link and possibly the diff (but you got a Cusco one so that's okay!). Tranny can handle max range 220 - 240 horses before spewing teeth. Best hybrid = VTEC engine in a MX-5 haha sacrilegious

NB Special Edition spec'd engine bay. HKS 2530 turbo, Teins, some aftermarket fuel computer. Boost starts 2,000rpm = fantastic midrange usable power, linear response like supercharger!

[g8crasher]

I think you can safely keep both cars as the 124 is relatively low maintenance and spares are cheap! Just a thought

[Guest qes78]

Actually, I'm pushing a few more horses than stock, with a Flyin Miata Standalone ECU and an Innovate LC1 WBO2 sensor. You're right, the tranny starts to give way, usually in the region of 280 or so. The Gearbox internals are actually inherited from the RX-7 (FC), so it's quite able to take the abuse. The differential is the weakest link with it known to blow in the 280 or so region, with the gear teeth mashing into pieces.

With all due respect, I would beg to differ wrt the VTEC. The stock NA develops 85% of max torque at 3.5K. After all, the miata is all about driveability and usable power. As powerful as the Hondas are, I think, in the miata, coupled with the close ratio gearbox, it would make the car ultimately more powerful, but most probably, on the track and not for day to day use on the street. After all, it takes awhile to get the revs up, and it's difficult to keep the revs high on the street without looking like a clown.

Anyways, it's easy to make power from a B6P block. After all, it was inherited from the Mazda GTX, which was blown, and the stock engine only has a compression of about 9.3 (offhand, that's the figure i remember). I've got buddies with very nicely done up Super charged engines that would surprise many cars on the road, and on the track. After all, the handling of the NA is legendary. Coupled with a decent increase in power, it'll make a very good track car. Actually, even without the power, it's a good car to learn basic driving skills in. I personally find, it's already hard to maximise the true potential of the car and push it to its maximum. It's only after learning and honing your own driving ability should the owner actually then bother to increase the power of the car. After all, Tsuchiya has publicly made known many times that many drivers who can drift in a high power car (like the Supra, S14 etc) may not be able to do so well in a underpowered car (like the AE86). The miata, like the levin and trueno, is actually able to let you maximise your potential, and not rely on fancy electronics or a powerful car. I actually enjoyed myself tremendously for the first 5 years of ownership, all with just a drop in KNN filter, decent plugs and cables for my very very very stock engine. Most of my money went to making the car handle well, as well as restoring the car to it's original glory.

I'm actually quite comfy with the 124 though, it actually feels quite driveable. After getting used to it's chunkiness, i've found that it handles pretty well, and that the dreaded understeer is not there. Unlike some of the BMWs i've tried before, the steering is not featherlight and the gearbox is relatively responsive. I've tried, with very limited success, to drift the 124, but it seems to grip pretty well, and without a LSD at the rear, i think it's gna take a scandinavian flick to drift the 1.3 tons mammoth. Ah well, that's another story. One thing that really gets to me now is the driver's seat seems very uncomfortable. Am looking for a replacement for it.

Curiously, why did u sell ur NA?

[g8crasher]

With all due respect, I would beg to differ wrt the VTEC. The stock NA develops 85% of max torque at 3.5K. After all, the miata is all about driveability and usable power. As powerful as the Hondas are, I think, in the miata, coupled with the close ratio gearbox, it would make the car ultimately more powerful, but most probably, on the track and not for day to day use on the street. After all, it takes awhile to get the revs up, and it's difficult to keep the revs high on the street without looking like a clown.

I'll answer your last query first. We sold our MX-5 because the wife and I were returning to Singapore. Prior to that we were in Perth.

I met lots of MX-5 enthusiasts during my tenure there and perhaps their philosophy when it comes to modifying the NA platform is not exactly purist? Within the local club itself, there are many experiments! I dub them experiments because they have either been transplanted with other engine types or are frankenstein builds with parts from the local Mazda wrecking yard.

- SR20DET mated with S14 tranny

- 13B from a series 5

- B6 bottom end mated with BPT head (theory is that the head flows better yadda yadda)

The list goes on.....

So yes, it's a wonderful track car especially if its turbo/supercharged. Alot of the club boys use it for autokhana more often than track driving. I was barred from modifying the car so it was virtually stock save for the upgraded stereo. The wife really enjoyed driving it in stock form. Easy to handle, easy to park etc. I like the fact that it takes alot of hard driving to actually get it twitchy. Very difficult to coax bad behaviour on a stock motor.

I've grown accustomed to the 124 and so has my brain. Comfortable cruiser! I guess you're likely to have more fun in an E30. Family practicality isn't sacrificed, has old world mechanical reliability and extremely chuckable when setup right.

Was just browsing through SGCarmart and found a few NBs on sale. I know next to nothing about the depreciation for the NBs - would you happen to know if 7ish grand is about right for a manual 2005 ? Might have to go down the autotrans route if we ever should decide to buy one.

Great to meet another enthusiast! :thumbsup:

[Guest qes78]

Ah.... Perth. The down under city where underground racing is rampant Makes sense now.

Have seen and heard weird transplants, like the RB26DETT. Gotta knock the firewall for that one. Americans typically go large V8s, like the Monster Miata with their 5L supercharged V8s. A buddy of mine was actually running a GTX egine in the Miata, with 1.5 Bar boost.

For me, the miata was always about balance. Didn't want to screw up the finely designed balance of the car by swopping engines around. Anyways, Power is always easy to obtain. Suspension geometry, balance, brake bias, coolong, blah blah blah... are the components that need to be in balance to match the power, and those are the ones that cost lotsa money.

Autokana is where it reigns and has the most competitive advantage. And on a technical Track like PG.

7K is about right. Join the miata group, think there are a few for sale there.

Great to meet another fellow car nut. Hope I don't piss too many ppl off talking miata in a merc forum

[g8crasher]

OMG RB26 just doesn't make sense anymore now does it ? Haha. Nutters. I think over in the easter states of Ozland there was a bunch of guys manufacturing Bullet Roadsters. Based largely on the NB with the front end swapped out for a space frame. It comes in a variety of engine configurations most notably fitted with the Lexus derived 1UZ-FE V8. Smooth as butter but I'm not too sure whether it still retains the 50:50 balance.

Yanks and their "there's no replacement for displacement" theory. It can get pretty tiring listing to that mantra over and over and over! You're certainly adhering to Jinba Ittai philosophy - All about the fine balance with the rider and horse as one!

Indeed power is easily obtainable. Just look at the slew of aftermaket turbo kits available! AVO Turbo World in Australia has a couple of reliable Stage kits, Trust got in on the act pretty early. You're obviously more well read and experienced in the area of modifying MX-5s - now I know who to refer to when I have doubts :thumbsup: Sensible enthusiasts are hard to come by especially when most out there are powermongers.

Speaking of power, here's the new Cosworth supercharger kit for the NC

http://www.chromjuwelen.com/de/partner-und-mitglieder-blogs/jpcnews.blogspot.com/cosworth-supercharger-kit-for-nc-mx-5-just-around-the-corner.html

BTW have you test driven the NC ? Any feedback ?

Great to meet another fellow car nut. Hope I don't piss too many ppl off talking miata in a merc forum

Who cares. :la: :la: :la: :la:

[Guest qes78]

I seriously doubt the 50/50 wld be maintained. lol. Keith Tanner did some similar work too.

Yes. I like to understand why the car was designed as such, what were the possible reasons parts were pieced together. In modding the car, I also tried not to screw up too many things that it already had going for it.

Lotsa Power mongers and poseurs. Nothing wrong, it always depends on what exactly you want out of your car. Afterall, each of us is entitled to our own opinion and wishes.. Sad fact is that many people dun begin with the end in mind - they duno what they want to do with the car.

I've not tested the NC, but my instincts tell me:

double wishbone and light weight = good

multi link and weight = not so good

That being said, i was recently at PG with 2 NCs and I couldn't shake them off. They were great drivers though, and I'm sure 17" or 18" semi slicks helped a whole load. I was on 15" road tires. Your choice buddy, to each his own. As for me, no other miata could ever replace the NA.

[Guest qes78]

strangely, nobody else seems to be replying here. lol

btw, any of the 124 owners gng for this months meetup?

[Guest mr w124]

Hi. i got a 92 w124. i hope to make it this sun for the meet up. i try every month. but something always seems to crop up at the last minute. anyways, welcome to the club.

[Guest qes78]

Thanks for the welcome.

I'll try to make it down as well, just to try and put faces to the nicks I see here.

[keltanky]

Hi. i got a 92 w124. i hope to make it this sun for the meet up. i try every month. but something always seems to crop up at the last minute. anyways, welcome to the club.

bro its next sunday, 29th June la,

[keltanky]

Thanks for the welcome.

I'll try to make it down as well, just to try and put faces to the nicks I see here.

well, bro, surely there will be 2 W124 always there!

[Guest mr w124]

Oh ya. sorry for the mix up kel. really hope i can make it next sun man

[Guest qes78]

keltanky ]

Thanks for the welcome.

I' wrote:

well, bro, surely there will be 2 W124 always there!

Sounds good. I'll try to make it there too. Might drive the other car though, weekends are when I reunite with my mistress.....

[Guest Mike]

yeah its always gd to meet more W124 owners =)

[Guest qes78]

just realised i cld easily be misunderstood...

I meant to say, it's usually during the weekends that I get to drive my other car - the mistress.