Varelco

Any increase of vibration through the steering wheel with the steering rack braces? I am tempted by some bracing up there but heard over on FT86 of owners getting numb hands from sitting at motorway speeds for a while!

Oh boy, This is a GT86 forum what do you think the answer is going to be? Ask this queation on pistonheads or such like if you want an unbiased opinion. But since you are asking... buy a GT86, it's better because I said so

What option did you go for the UEL or EL? I take it you have retained the stock front pipe?

That looks really smart. I've not seen anybody hydrodip their interior yet.

When I commute in mine I get 36-38mpg. Thats a 64 miles round trip mostly motorway on V-power.

It won't affect audio quality as such but it will definitely quieten down the road noise. The rear of the car is easy to do, 1 bolt holds each seat in, the quarters are just held in with clips and poppers. You will want a bulk pack to cover that area. If you have any left over double up on the wheel arches. I also used acoustic insulation to block noise (it looks like a bit of duvet)

I will add that if you don't want this problem to manifest itself again glue the pin in, then you aren't just relying on a press fit. I had the same issue, for those who do this don't go mad with pushing the pin back in either, being tapered and made of metal it will split the plastic case of the arm rest! I just noticed mine had a crack in it before I went any further. Superglue works just fine.

No you will need 2. One large sheet is 980x600.

I would use that yeah, feel free to use another material, as long as its water resistant. I used this because its easy to work with and the self adhesive backing means its also easy to apply (no need for spray glue). You will need to cut out slots for the door cables and obviously the speaker. I cant see why anyone would refit a plastic sheet when you can add a material which will help block/absorb sound. Funnily enough that's the thread I used as guidance. He uses alot of MLV which is heavy, I compromised and didn't use any, my results wont be as good but its a great thread for getting an idea of what can be done. No problem! I'm definitely not an expert, just sharing my experiences in doing it and what Ive researched. If you feel like going the whole hog I would seal the door panels too. By that I mean stick a plastic or metal sheet material over the big holes in the doors inner skin, this seals the inner and outer skin, in theory putting the speaker in a box like you would at home, this help with bass/ mid-bass.

Well thats a result I suppose, I know i'd much rather it be a wheel bearing than diff issues

Around 40 of your British pounds and 20-40 minutes on your back fitting them.

Apparently fitting the MTEC shifter springs helps alleviate this. Even if they don't it's still a great mod.

Fantastic cars the MX5. Never driven a Mk1 but I have a Mk2 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have one or a small sporty hatch to hoon around track. Given the cost of owning one, maintaining it, the level of parts support and knowledge I think it would be ideal.

Only of the back of the car unfortunately I took some of the front but they were on an old phone I'll look through my backups to see If I can find them.

This... I used more than 8 sheets for both doors but I did go all out. If you are trying to stick to a budget that should cover it.

I wouldn't bother with the 'starter kit' the absorber and isolator foam sheet you get aren't big enough to be of any use.

I got mine from https://www.deadening.co.uk/ They sell a door pack for £30 which contains 8 sheets of 2mm x 375mm x 265mm sheets. That would be ample on a pair of GT86 doors. I spend £140 in materials in total and that was to do the whole car (floor pan, transmission tunnel, doors, quarters, rear seats). £100 of that was on silent coat products. For what it achieved it was well worth it, I mean I would still have been satisfied if it cost me double that. You can expect to pay silly money if you was to get a firm to do it.

I used: 4mm silent coat directly behind the speaker on the outer door skin 2mm silent coat everywhere else 1 large sheet of Silent Coat Isolator 10mm (sorry i said absorber in my other post it wasnt that) to replace the plastic membrane. So that went between the door and the plastic door card.

+1 As a rule of thumb, if you run your fingernail over it and it catches its too deep to polish out. If you can't feel it you are all good.

Inferno, you will want to remove the plastic membrane/water shedder yes. It does not go back on as you will wreck it getting it off, you will either want to replace it or fit an alternative. What I did was apply a self-adhesive foam sheet over the top of the inner door skin where the membrane was (Silent coat absorber 15mm). The foam acts like the membrane as its water resistant, it also adds to the sound deadening and compresses against the plastic door card which will help reduce rattles.. In terms of applying the stuff you will want to apply it to both the inner and outer door skin, the key places are any flat sheet metal areas, anywhere you will feel could vibrate, creases, corners and bends tend to be stiffer and won't necessarily need coverage. Use your knuckle to tap areas to get an idea of where to put it. The other option is complete coverage. It will take less time to completely cover the door but you will use alot more material and as a result add more weight, consider it the ultimate option. I’m no expert, as I’ve only done this to 2 cars but it seems to work well.

Silent coat is also what I used. Good stuff and well priced.

Definitely the doors. Removing the door card requires a bit more of an effort compared to the rear quarters but I'd say if you can build flat pack furniture you can strip it apart. There are some detailed guides of stripping these apart over on FT86Club. If you accomplish this and feel like you can tackle more, address the rear quarters and under the rear seats. This was the most effective area to reduce road noise. Anything else seems to have less of an effect, (the floor pan and transmission tunnel). I didn't waste time, money and weight on doing the boot as the rear seats do a great job of keeping noise out of the cabin, especially if you have done the rear quarters.

You could spend thousands on the best audio gear but unless you address the environment its mounted in its pointless. The 86 is by far the worst in terms of audio quality. Even against budget hatchbacks. Sealing and deadening the interior makes a massive difference. Fortunately for us you just have to sneeze and the interior falls apart. You can strip the interior out in an afternoon that includes the seats and carpets if you go the whole hog! I added 11kg of sound deadening and that proved to be perfect. In the scheme of things its nothing.

My Perrin resonated is the best exhaust. Close the thread. Seriously though, go on YouTube stick your headphones on an go a binge listening to various setups. I disagree with Lowe, sound videos are a great way to figure out what is best for you. I picked my exhaust based on this and I love the way it sounds. The Cobra does should be on your shortlist its got a nice deep soundtrack but doesn't seem too loud.

What's to suggest the measurement point for the oil temperature is the hottest? A bit risky letting it get that hot IMO.