I have been enjoying this amazing automobile. I’ve also recently added an AEM cold air intake, Smarttop mod, cg-lock and  I have lowered the number plate.

Comments
AEM CAI : With a full aftermarket exhaust already on, there was no noticeable difference at all. Maybe slightly louder, but hard to tell.
Smarttop Mod: Now I can put the top down on the go or with one touch of the button. A++ Priceless!
CG-lock: Locks your buttocks into the seat. So far so good, still need to test on track.

I finally made an effort to film my exhaust; Roadstersport headers, mid-pipe and Q muffler. This shows the MX5 NC Stock Exhaust vs GWR Roadstersport midpipe and Q muffler vs Full GWR Roadstersport headers, midpipe and Q muffler!
Hear the full exhaust while I drive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_kvhsQHneE

An amazing run with the MX5 crew. Over 20 topless roadsters cruising around one of the most beautiful locations in Australia. We went to places I didn’t even know existed! This run was definitely a favourite.

Video Time Stamps

PART 1 [also shown above]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okBkO1zNYN4
[start] Leaving Jenolan > [4:30] amazing scenery > [5:50] in town > [8:15] breakfast > [9:27] playing catch-up on mountain > [11:03] through forest > [13:32] Rest stop

PART2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PrW1l__ziE
[start] Climb Mount Wilson > [10:03] arrive and leave Nutwood Farm – off road > [12:12] heading to Mount Tomah for lunch > [13:39] arrive for lunch

Playing Catch-up Through The Fog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_kvhsQHneE 
This red NC and I had to play catch-up at the beginning of the Breakfast Club – Walnut Run. A nice little spurt through the morning fog, wouldn’t you agree?

[Google Map Route]
[More Photos]
[Forum thread]

Wowee what a great track day! This was my third time at the track and the first time I had experienced a really hot track. It was really great to see everyone pushing their cars to the limits. To everyone’s delight there was absolutely no rain. My PB was 1:17:72 set at Circuit Club in February and. I was hoping to get a 1:17 flat. After analysing turn 2 in particular I managed to smash my PB to a 1:16:03! That is amazing and I am still not entirely sure what I did to get that time

I’ll have some more photos and lap videos up soon enough.

My MX5 at the time:
Full Goodwin Racing Roadstersport Exhaust
Yellowspeed coilovers
4.1 Final Gear Ratio
Enkei RPF-01 Wheels
Goodyear F1 Eagle Directional 5

Lap Videos:
http://youtu.be/d9vHdf_9sws

My Lap Times:
RUN2:  1:19.15   1:17.93   1:16.87   1:16.94   1:19:33
RUN3: 1:17.67   1:17.00   1:17.39   1:18.39   1:18:38
RUN4: 1:17.78   1:18.30   1:17.20   1:17.20   1:16:03   1:17:41
RUN5:  1:18.09   1:16.52   1:17.08   1:17.22  1:16:76
RUN6:  1:17.76   1:20.53   1:17.92   1:18.08  1:18:21 

CLASS 3: Stock NC’s
Stewart Temasvary 1:15.22
Bob Pimm 1:16.54
Jason Atkins 1:17.82
Chris Flak 1:21.13
Eric Hardas 1:27.72

CLASS 7: Modified NC’s
Ralph Thompson 1:10.81
Peter Feutrill 1:13.57
Russell Maxwell 1:13.86
Robert Young 1:13.99
Neil HR 1:16.03
Roger Palfreyman 1:16.23
Guy Coles 1:17.55
Kristian Van Mourik 1:18.92
Stuart Plascott 1:23:41

FULL LAP TIME RESULTS

Personal Best: 1:16:03

Improved by -0:01:69

Photos by Tiit Saul

Personal Best: 1:17:72 

Improved by -0:00:52

Next MX5 Club Track Day: Sunday 19th February 2012

See more photos and lap times here

A nice drive up Putty road with 20+ MX’5 roadsters and Breakfast at Pokolbin.
Video: Continue onto part 2
Google map route

Talk about more power. I’ve added the Goodwin Racing Roadstersport (RS) Header (completing the exhaust system now) and 4.1 final gear ratio (same as USA and JPN markets). I was able to test it on the track the following day. The increase in acceleration has been very nice indeed!

Full RS Exhaust Review

Let try describe the sounds shall we?
Stock exhaust: Sounds like the car has asthma. If the exhaust get really hot it can grumble a little.
RS Midpipe > Q Muffler: Deep sound in lower rev range, with a nice grumble as the revs come down. As the revs go up, the exhaust sounds more like stock but maybe slightly deeper. While driving you do notice the exhaust but it is not overly loud at all. You do notice a pop every now and then but it is very muffled and feint. There was a noticeable increase in torque from stock, but nothing to brag about. A good upgrade for someone looking for a nice sound but not too much.
RS Header > Midpipe > Q Muffler: A good increase in noise. In the lower revs it is very deep. As the revs increase it becomes very rowdy. From there it is a bit like a trumpet almost with some rasp to it. ‘Here I come’, it says. There are occasional sharp pops on overruns… very nice  The power increase is great, the car pulls hard now. You can feel a nice surge of power, especially in 2nd and 3rd. It is hardly noticeable during idle and quiet enough for daily driving.

4.1 Final Gear Ratio Change

Australian and European NC’s were stuck with a useless 3.7 final gear ratio. Well this is especially useless for Aussies. Where is our Autobahn Mazda Australia? The highest common speed limit in AUS is 110km/h for crying out loud!

This made the 6th gear a bit useless most of the time. The car always felt like it was towing something. There was always a delay from when the power kicked in, as usually in daily driving the gear would sit at 2,500rpm and would need to climb to 3,000rpm first. This affected the driving experience for me; the car felt weak.

So in goes a new differential, ripped from a totaled Japanese model. Now the car feels strong! After every gear change it sits on 3,000rpm. Instant acceleration! Coupled with the full exhaust it is great! Which by the way if you did get the turbo you might want the 3.7 ratio instead.

I had my first track day on the weekend. As they all say, once you start you won’t stop.
I can officially say I have the track bug!

The day started with an early 4am start for a 2 hour trip to the Wakefield Park. I caught up with Bryan, Hayden and Jimmy to convoy down. Overall is was a gloomy cold day. It did rain a little in the morning but the track soon dried up for the rest of the day. The whole event was run extremely efficiently, I was very impressed. It was great as it meant more time spent on the track. All the first timers received expert guidance from the track veterans. Paul Browning showed me the lines through the track.

I managed a nice 1:19:41 on my first timed run, which put me at the front of my class. I progressively improved my times and finished the day with my new P.B. 1:18:24. Very happy with this time. I can see a lot of mistakes I could avoid to improve next time. In particular I have problems with turns 2, 7 and 10. Mainly finding the right turn-in speed is tricky.

I had 2 Gopro cameras mounted on the car. A rollbar cam, helmet cam and cockpit cam. It worked really well so expect more! I really like the helmet cam view. Next time I will also try a reverse camera view as well. When I get some time I really need to study these videos to see what needs improving.

My MX5 at the time:
Full Goodwin Racing Roadstersport Exhaust
Yellowspeed coilovers
4.1 Final Gear Ratio
Enkei RPF-01 Wheels
Goodyear F1 Eagle Directional 5

Lap Videos:
http://youtu.be/lyPILTrslzs?hd=1
http://youtu.be/Dp9jRBccqSk?hd=1

My Lap Times:
RUN2:  1:21.75   1:19.41   1:22.03   1:24.34
RUN3: 1:21.29   1:21.21   1:20.95   1:20.19
RUN4: 1:20.76   1:21.03   1:22.04   1:21.15
RUN5:  1:21.72   1:20.17   1:18.56   1:20.05  1:19:81
RUN6:  1:22.25   1:18.54   1:18.24   1:18.6  1:19:15 

CLASS 3: Stock NC’s
13 Luke Kovacic 1:15.23
11 Robert Pimm 1:16.41
49 Ian Miller 1:19.00
31 Christophe Flak 1:21.70
16 Vanessa McBride 1:39.72

CLASS 7: Modified NC’s
76 Ralph Thompson 1:11.58
21 Russell Maxwell 1:13.03
52 Stuart James Mazda 1:13.53
2 Bill Dougall 1:15.44
59 Jimmy Hsiang 1:17.59
9 Guy Coles 1:17.76
46 Neil HR 1:18.24

TOP 10 BEST LAP TIMES:
20 George Vergotis Mazda MX-5 1990 SLICKS 1:05.87
60 Val Stewart Mazda RX7 2000 SLICKS 1:08.0
27 Cameron Macarthur Mazda MX-5 SE 2004 Turbo/Supercharged 1:10.0
54 David Hammon Mazda MX-5 SE 2004 Turbo/Supercharged  1:10.3
12 Keith Bridgement Impreza WRX 2008 1:10.3
26 Mark Hellmund Mazda MX-5 2001 Non Road Reg &/or Turbo 1:10.8
771 Chris Ballard Mazda MX-5 SE 2004 Non Road Reg &/or Turbo 1:10.9
118 Will Rugg Mazda MX-5 1990 Non Road Reg &/or Turbo 1:11.2
91 Steve Green Mazda MX-5 Non Road Reg &/or Turbo 1:11.3
76 Ralph Thompson Mazda MX-5 2005 NC Red 1:11.58

Personal Best: 1:18:24 

Next MX5 Club Track Day: Sunday 19th February 2012

The last club run for the year. It was a nice run down south, including the amazing Macquaries Pass. A huge turn out too, around 27 cars total!

I’ve put together a quick video of part of the journey.

Route:
Stage 1, Heathcote to Robinson
Stage 2 : Robertson to Bulli Tops: 

I’ve added a few quick upgrades to the MX lately:
Clear side indicators
Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades
Arkon GPS Dash Mount
Front Billet Grille
Racing Helmet and Gloves
GoPro Hero 2

Schedule next week:
1st Dec – Skid pan at Eastern Creek
2nd Dec – MX5 Mania Install: 3.7 to 4.1 Final Gear Ratio Change,
GWR Roadstersport Header and General Track Preparation
3rd Dec – MX5 Club South Run
4th Dec – MX5 Trackday at Wakefield Park