MS 200 fun road and track car - and other car stuff!

[Matt Scarbro]

Now booked in for 29th Mar for the exhaust manifold and engine mounts.

Total cost with labour quote so far:
Manifold (eBay) £175
Engine mount insert (eBay) £25
Gearbox mount insert (eBay) £25
Labour (Birchdown Autos) £145
Total: £370

So a much more cost effective repair than I had initially expected.

Whilst it's there I've also booked the following:
Engine oil change (only 5k since I did it but it can't hurt)
Gear oil change
Front pads with R-clip pins
Brake fluid change

So it should be in fine fettle when I collect it!

Just need to source some of these caliper pins and buy some brake fluid.

 

[suj]

@mrpink is your man for the R-Clips, he posts out quickly and they look the part.

Good work on the exhaust, I have a Toyosport to go onto my car (weirdly I managed to get the one that was on my old R27 that got rear ended).

Rest of the plans sound good too, will hopefully help your braking feel (that you said about earlier).

 

[Big Ben]

Will feel much better after all those bits done on 29th.

Labour cost for manifold is really low!

They're obviously not in the SE

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Will feel much better after all those bits done on 29th.

Labour cost for manifold is really low!

They're obviously not in the SE

Can't wait to have it done! Should be lovely then!

Thankfully I'm in the north west, houses are a bit less here too!!
Though I was pleasantly surprised by the quote.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

@mrpink is your man for the R-Clips, he posts out quickly and they look the part.

Good work on the exhaust, I have a Toyosport to go onto my car (weirdly I managed to get the one that was on my old R27 that got rear ended).

Rest of the plans sound good too, will hopefully help your braking feel (that you said about earlier).

Thanks Suj, I've been in touch with Ian and sorted the pins.

I've got a bit of a dilemma on the brake front...

The lease is up on our BM shortly and as the missus is working in Spain at the moment it would be foolish to get another one just for me with the Clio here as well.

But that means no trackdays in the Clio for at least a few months (I don't want to tempt fate if I rely on it as my daily). I have a set of Pagid oem pads to go in for road use but the discs have seen better days too.

Do I pop new discs on now too or make do with the current discs and put new ones on at the same time as track capable pads in a few months?

 

[Sean197]

You could fit something like MTec discs and DS2500 pads, a good combo for both road and track.

 

[Johnny 99]

As @Sean197 said that would be a good solution. I use Brembo HC discs with DS2500 pads & they work fine from cold & I've not had issues on track either. You can use the car daily for now & it's ready for when you track it.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

You could fit something like MTec discs and DS2500 pads, a good combo for both road and track.

I wouldn't want to poo poo advice from those with experience on these cars, but I've had poor experiences with MTec and DS2500s on other cars so would rather steer clear.
I'll stick with Brembo discs as they've always stood up to horrific abuse on the MX5s and I'm tempted by CL RC5+ pads. I don't want to waste posh CL pads on the road until I need them though!

 

[suj]

Thanks Suj, I've been in touch with Ian and sorted the pins.

I've got a bit of a dilemma on the brake front...

The lease is up on our BM shortly and as the missus is working in Spain at the moment it would be foolish to get another one just for me with the Clio here as well.

But that means no trackdays in the Clio for at least a few months (I don't want to tempt fate if I rely on it as my daily). I have a set of Pagid oem pads to go in for road use but the discs have seen better days too.

Do I pop new discs on now too or make do with the current discs and put new ones on at the same time as track capable pads in a few months?

What I am planning on doing is putting all new Brembo discs and pads on soon (I have bought everything).
Then before a track day just slot in the pads (even easier with the R-Clip pins).
I did the same with my 200sx, I drove many times to trackdays / Nürburgring, then swapped over when needed.

EDIT: I'm with you, I don't like DS2500 pads at all, I am probably planning RC5+ (but I have been told about DS1.11 pads a lot, but I have good experience of the RC5+ pads).

 

[Matt Scarbro]

That's the master plan with this car Suj, track use will only be ocassional so I don't want to be wearing through more expensive pads on a daily basis.

You're nudging me towards getting the discs bought!

 

[Sean197]

I wouldn't want to poo poo advice from those with experience on these cars, but I've had poor experiences with MTec and DS2500s on other cars so would rather steer clear.
I'll stick with Brembo discs as they've always stood up to horrific abuse on the MX5s and I'm tempted by CL RC5+ pads. I don't want to waste posh CL pads on the road until I need them though!

No worries. I think CL pads may be a bit overkill for the road though, not 100% as I've never used them but I've always thought they are more track-orientated than for road use.
There's actually not a lot wrong with the standard set-up, I think it's only really for prolonged track sessions that you need to think about upgrades.

 

[suj]

That's the master plan with this car Suj, track use will only be ocassional so I don't want to be wearing through more expensive pads on a daily basis.

You're nudging me towards getting the discs bought!

Haha, I think you'll benefit with all the changes at once, it will give you better braking for the road alone, then when you decide to you can change to the RC5+ pads.

No worries. I think CL pads may be a bit overkill for the road though, not 100% as I've never used them but I've always thought they are more track-orientated than for road use.
There's actually not a lot wrong with the standard set-up, I think it's only really for prolonged track sessions that you need to think about upgrades.

RC5+ pads are more road and track (maybe a bit more biased towards track), RC6 or RC6e are more track orientated.

But RC5+ still squeal like a race car....so not the most subtle haha.

 

[Big Ben]

As @Sean197 said that would be a good solution. I use Brembo HC discs with DS2500 pads & they work fine from cold & I've not had issues on track either. You can use the car daily for now & it's ready for when you track it.

+1 for this set up. Good fast road /track combo

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Just realised my Powerflex torque arm insert is missing on the engine side... God only knows how someone has managed to do that.
Got the larger yellow half but the purple insert is missing. No wonder it's done the manifold flexi.

Looks like I'll be ordering a torque arm insert set too then!!

 

[DS197]

I had a look at your engine bay pic on CS and thought perhaps you already knew about it so I didn't mention it, but I do wonder why someone would do that!

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Two pieces in the jigsaw puzzle were obviously too many for someone!

 

[trackspec197]

I had been considering a seat refurb so when these stunners popped up I couldn't resist. They really are lovely, I'm delighted with them.

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I have also bought a spare steering wheel that I have dropped off at Snappy's for him to work his magic. I'm going for plain leather with silver stitching and a black alcantara centre marker to match the seats.

Glad to see my old seats get some use mate!

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Uh oh, well this is a slippery slope...

My current insurer wouldn't cover the manifold change and inserts so I'm now with Greenlight.

Track cover is £150 for 5 days.

There's a Blyton afternoon I fancy on the 8th April.

Only going to end one way!...

 

[Sean197]

Uh oh, well this is a slippery slope...

My current insurer wouldn't cover the manifold change and inserts so I'm now with Greenlight.

Track cover is £150 for 5 days.

There's a Blyton afternoon I fancy on the 8th April.

Only going to end one way!...

Haha we've all been there, especially on here with so many different ideas to choose from.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Aaaaaand I've booked the trackday!