Road + Track NC MX5 //Caterham Chase On!

[@reggieroar1]

I've watched few of your vids now and I have to say YOU CERTAINLY CAN BOOGIE your MX5's. I have an '07 NC1 and it's been mildly breathed on with IL4-1, 200 cell mid cat, BLiNK applied ECUTEK remap, panel filter and Meister CRD's and you seem to be going faster in the wet than I can manage in the dry FFS !!! I been watching your gear selection and appreciate your comments about 6 spd box/final drive vs the 5 spd and the associated diff. Another guy I've spoken to, James Fox, has a 2 litre 5 spd diff on his 6 spd and that appears to also show better pickup and acceleration. I've got LOTS to learn and by watching you, it really helps in trying to do so. Keep up the good work and keep having fun. One day our paths may cross at a track day, I'll be throwing questions at you 10 to the dozen hahaha. Cheers, Greg

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Haha! Thanks for the kind words mate. I bet that is a lovely car, great list of mods and similar to what I would love to do to mine moving forward. Such a shame Blink are no more, we’ve rated and used them on many projects over the years. I too hope we share some track time soon! We are out at oulton again Nov 13 if you are about 👍👍.

[@reggieroar1]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS Thank you too. We're at Donington 17th Nov, Oulton 26th Nov and Anglesey on 4th Dec but given your'e there on a Saturday, I might just scoot along for an eyeball. I'll deffo keep my eyes open in 2022 because we got plenty more play time to entertain in this life. And yes, very sad that the BLiNK crew are not operating currently, They were my "go to" being a mere 35 mins from my manor....

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Brilliant! Likewise I will get over and say hello on your Oulton day as I am only 20 mins away 🙌. Awesome to see how many track days you book up! Must be changing brake pads out every few months haha! Yes, same re Blink, was always a good day going over to see them 😓

[@reggieroar1]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS Yeah, Roddo's pads go in fresh after about 3 events and an oil and filter every other one. Gotta keep that "lifeblood" clean !! I'll look forward to catching up with you, it's always great to hear good chat about the cars. I'm a relative track virgin, only had the car since June '20 but we've been out about 9 times with it. Love it 😁👍

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

That’s so damn awesome! All about lots of seat time! I bought the NC because of how many I’d missed due to the mk1 turbo failures! I think I will try those pads next, have some horrid project mus in at moment that fell like blocks of wood!

[@jujuwestfield3108]

Je suis très impressionné par ton pilotage sous la pluie, très propre et très rapide malgré la mauvaise météo ! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Merci! c'est une voiture très conviviale, surtout avec les pneus ps4 ! tout est très amusant ! J'ai hâte d'en savoir plus pendant l'hiver !

[@philjones5728]

Nice bit of wet driving Will - shame about the driver of the BM (there's always one on track). The mk3 seems quiet and very civilized (although a bit slower) compared to your mk1 turbo beast!! What mods are next for the NC?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Haha totally! There was no way he was letting a measly 150hp mx5 past his ultimate driving machine 🤣. That’s the best thing about it and why it fits in so well with the other cars. So easy to enjoy in comfort! I really hope to keep this one easy to enjoy 😅. I’ve got a few more vids to do on current mods but not too sure how far I will take this one! I’d like to do a 6 speed gearbox next, the oem 6 speed cars use a 3.7 final drive so fitted to my car which has a 4.1 and add a nice light flywheel at same time should see some nicer peppier gearing! I’ve done backbox and intake already to add a bit of character but in all honesty it’s not done much... the noise reminds me of the old gran turismo games when all the engine noises were the same drone 😅😅. Maybe further down the line I will do the manifold, cams and a remap... itbs are a dream tbh but hard to justify! I already knew what car I’d like to replace this one with before I bought it 😅😅

[@dangreenwood6755]

I was just jumping in the comment to say that everytime I've been on the track in mine I wish it had a higher ratio final drive. I don't know anyone that's done it, so would love to see a video on this!!! I've got a generic manifold and remap on mine certainly not optimised but for a net £300 (at the time) it was well worth it. Fitting isn't fun mind.

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

@@dangreenwood6755 Ahh awesome!! Yess, gearing is sooo damn important isn't it, even more so when we don't have huge power figures lol! Can make an engine feel lazy or totally inspired! Really look forward to sorting it out on mine when I can! Ahhh brilliant, what did you use to remap? As that's a great price, the ecuteks look great but a good chunk of money.

[@JulianValentini]

Great car and great driving. A question, it’s just me or the steering wheel looks a little too big?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Thanks Julian! It may appear a little bigger as I use a DDM Steering wheel spacer so it's a bit closer :). It's not a bad size wheel but the only thing I did struggle with a bit is not being able to rake the seat back enough on the mounts so when things go a little sideways I'd have to support my weight on the wheel a little bit. I'll be trying to sort that out asap and have harnesses to fit which should get rid of the problem :).

[@stewynew]

Nice video mate, I’ve got my first two tracks days booked up. What helmet are you using please? Can I also ask, do you have a harness with the seat, or seat belt?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Awesome! Which tracks have you booked bud? I use a v2 helmet, great for the money! Mine is bloody old now mind! I’ve managed to fit the 3 point oem belt with these corbeau seats but also have a pair of harnesses to fit asap using the cybul roll bar. I didn’t actually plan to track the car so soon so it wasn’t quite ready. I do think the harnesses will help as the seats aren’t that supportive 👍

[@stewynew]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS Nice, I can’t find any Alpinestar Car helmets anymore - love them from my MX days. I’ve booked Snett and Bedford. Wanted nice run off areas for my first two days out. Is your seat fixed on brackets or did you opt for one of those expensive sliding sun frames?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Ahh brilliant! Yep perfect 👌! Bedford is a bloody long track isn’t it!! I would of liked the slider ones but as you say... damn expensive! I’ve put a vid together on the bits used in seating position in this playlist. Still a few vids to add yet on adding character and the coilovers etc... kzbin.info/aero/PL0NyyXFCy427Qjnw6QY8WeP1Q7F8Q-HYS

[@MRS-2ZZ]

Few BMW ball bags that day! Smooth driving for you mate. No Lodge drifts? Maybe needs more induction noise in the cabin?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Hehe cheers dude! If I have something to chase I’ll knuckle down and drive ‘properly’ 🤣. I’d been chipping away at that Caterham for 4 or 5 laps prior to the start of the vid 😂. A few lodge slides still, the very first 10 secs of the vid is a slide round lodge 😅. Too right, I’ve fitted an intake but it did very little, even got one of the mazda sound tubes that pipe noise in direct from the intake manifold but it’s not really done a great deal has it! Maybe ITBs are the only answer 🤣. Let’s not forget you are mad spoilt with the noise that glorious 2zz makes!!

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Think it's probs because the car isn't super aggressive on the limit too lol. It's on road tyres and has 150hp so the limit is pretty soft and much easier to be smooth with over the other cars which kind of bite 😂

[@MRS-2ZZ]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS your having a go of mine next time, not taking no for an answer. We could have a swap of cars and go out together for some gentle laps as I'm desperate to try that NC 😁

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

​@@MRS-2ZZ haha awesome... I must admit it took everything I had not to jump in it lol! Yess, I wanted you to have a go of the NC too, the offer was there as you know pal but you suddenly had bigger things to sort out :(. Was bloody gutted!

[@jandsmx5]

Going nicely here mate, what tyres were you running out of interest? We’ve been using Rainsports for the wet and we’re relatively happy with them. I’m in oulton at the end of next month, looking forward to it.

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Thanks bud, yeah the Rainsports are highly rated aren't they. I'm using PS4 Michi's on mine and love them! Have noticed a fair few teams/drivers switching to them for their wets now too.

[@ItsVerifyHD]

looks like fun

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

It's such a little belter of a thing!! Just the right level to feel like you can have real fun while pushing without overtaxing yourself. So rewarding slowly reeling the Caterham in. We had a long chat afterwards and he said 'I let you passed so I could see how the hell you had caught me up in an mx5 road car haha'. Brilliant drives I won't forget!

[@dimitarchardakliev5351]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS Awesome driving mate. I've recently sold my BRZ and now looking at NCs wondering if they can match or exceed the fun-having potential and balance on the limit of the BRZ. I don't want to spend too much so do you think the NC2 and NC3s premium over the NC1 is worth it? Also, how's the gearing in the 5 speed cars isn't it too long? Would you recommend the BBR 200 Kit because I really want to stay N/A. Are the stock brakes sufficient for light track duty? Thank you in advance.

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

​@@dimitarchardakliev5351 Thanks Dimitar! It's a very fun and honest platform! I can imagine it being fairly similar experience to the BRZ in many ways... makes you work for the reward! Very tricky in terms of NC1/2/3.... If it's a pure track tool you want I guess it makes sense to go for the NC1 but I am glad I went for a later model as it's just a bit of a nicer car and I wanted something a little plush for road drives etc and I really prefer the styling on the newer ones. I will admit though the stronger bottom end allowing the engine to rev higher is something I didn't realise I'd enjoy so much, those last 500rpm really sound great! You've asked so many brilliant questions tbh, all ones I have been asking myself and many I am going into fully on the next vid in the little series of mods. The 5 speed as you say is a little long, but I also thought the 6 speed I have driven was long too.... most oem cars are tbh. But... the 5 speeds came with 4.1 final drives, the 6 speeds come with 3.7s... so I plan to fit the 6 speed, coupled with the 4.1 final drive and add a lightweight flywheel at same time should wake things up a bit! In terms of the bbr200 kit, I would absolutely LOVE to give this the full 225 kit with ITBs, cams etc but it's such a difficult one. The longer I keep the car, the more likely I am to do so. I will say that adding the decat manifold on it's own does give the potential to release a chunk of performance BUT we have found without also doing a remap it doesn't have the same rewards you would expect. The best thing about these is just like any mx5.... doesn't matter what you do to them... they will always be fun!

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

@@dimitarchardakliev5351 kzbin.info/aero/PL0NyyXFCy427Qjnw6QY8WeP1Q7F8Q-HYS

[@dimitarchardakliev5351]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS Thanks a lot for the detailed response, rarely anyone on YT does it these days. I subscribed instantly after seeing your NA mx5 race car. Regarding the full fat BBR 225 I'd love to have it for the sound only but given that fact the for 50% of the 225 kit cost you get 80% of the performance (200 kit) I really can't see myself spending that much. Also, I'd like to road trip the car is the NC2 really that better interior wise?

[@becauseiwasinverted7971]

Any mods?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

PMSL at the user name! Just a couple basic ones mate. MeisterR Clubrace coilovers, cybul roll bar, corbaeu seats and a DDM steering wheel spacer. It's a very fun little car on michi PS4 tyres, project mu pads front (which I don't recommend) and oem spec rear pads. I'm slowly doing a vid series on the car and mods if you are interested... kzbin.info/aero/PL0NyyXFCy427Qjnw6QY8WeP1Q7F8Q-HYS

[@becauseiwasinverted7971]

Its not just a user name, its a way of life! just bought a 2013 NC and have some plans for mods. MeisterR clubrace plus a fast road alignment are first on the shopping list for me. Would you recommend them to dial out that slightly floaty feel from the OE bilstein and springs? Do they make a big difference?

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

@@becauseiwasinverted7971 Ohhh brilliant! Absolutely 100% what they need and deserve! You will love them! They control the cars weight so well but without the crashy feel of the older more basic harsh coilovers. They flatten out bumps and curbs very well and give great confidence.... to the point where they totally showed the weaknesses of my protech dual adjustable coilovers on the mk1 turbo race car... which I will now be fitting the clubrace to asap.

[@becauseiwasinverted7971]

@@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS Excellent. I'll subscribe and follow your build with interest. Did you consider the zeta CRD or just go straight to clubrace because you're planning to track it a fair bit? I will only probably do the occasional track day in it so wondered if the Zeta CRD would be the better compromise for road.

[@CIRCUITDRIVERCARS]

Thanks bud! I actually think the clubrace might be more suited to that as they are just a higher quality product. I think the CRDs won’t be as well rounded in many ways. I’ve been shocked (pardon the pun) at how well they control the car and can be supple and compliant enough to smooth out some really nasty pot holes etc on b roads.