Midlife of the road

After a long search I finally picked up my MX5 up yesterday after delays due to horrendous weather both here in Bath and in Yorkshire (had to abort one attempt). Drove home from Knaresborough to Bath no problems, car is great with a high spec. Will take a little while to find my best driving style but was surprisingly comfortable and economical after the long journey. Ride was a little harsh on some types of motorway surfaces (notably the "sandy" coloured surfaces) but I expected that after reading reviews of other MX5 motorway driving experiences. Wheels / Tyres are 205/45 ZR 16 Pirellis. Need to get used to gearbox / clutch after my Avensis (had 7 years and has been a brilliant car and am keeping, but at 59 years old needed some excitement before the end of my innings). I found I had to be careful from 5th to 6th not to slip back into 4th (box feels spring loaded with a tendency to go "left" into 4th if that makes sense?). Also have to be careful with the clutch, which felt a little bit sharp sometimes (e.g. pulling away on slight or pronounced incline where I had to "hold" it to avoid judder) but I think that's just getting used to it i.e. it's me rather than a problem (my Avensis clutch has always been heavy but never a problem over the years). As the hardtop is factory fitted it's really easy to swap over. The seller demonstrated the mechanism and reminded me to disconnect the heated rear screen plug and connect up again for the soft-top. Will need to check oil for top up if required. Handbook says 5W30 or 10W40 but doesn't say whether fully or semi-synthetic or other. I use 10W40 semi-synthetic on my Avensis as recommended by the local Toyota main dealer. The one worry is that my wife is also very excited by it (it's a great looking car).

Asked on 27 March 2010 by S.G., Bath

Answered by Honest John
Yes, MX-5s are like dog food in the snow. They spinalot. Of course the ride is hard. It's a sports car, not a limo. Yes, drive is direct. Very short propshaft. Use semi synthetic. 5w30 better.
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