3 Wheels on my wagon...

[greenwoo]

So when I bought the mx5 it was 'in haste'; I needed a car to take away the following week to the Alps. Obvs i did all the right things as a buyer of a secondhand car - i fueled it, git a tiscky brake caliper changed and set off.

Yep i know...i should have checked the water and oil, and maybe even the tyre pressures....but hey, i was busy!

Through the trip i was less than confident in the handling. I had no reference point other than the Tiger R6, which obvs felt like a GoKart compared to this 'so called' sportscar which just felt wallowy and imprecise.

At times I looked in the rearview to see the Fiesta ST or Golf GTI ( from our group) sticking like glue to the road, and waved them past; I put it down to only having covered a handful of miles and that i'd feel better by the end of the trip.

Hmm....or maybe not. Accelerating hard took the car to the right, back off hard and - yep, the opposite. I've done 2 run outs up here, the first was pretty slippery/damp which masked the fact that I was struggling to drive 'at a fair' speed. The 2nd, well, the guy behind was 'tentative' and stopped me bing the cork in the bottle.

I found a garage that was recommended on an MX5 site which is about 40 mins away and dropped in. Reminded me of 'Snodhurst', well the interest & knowledge in cars....as for their operation. Small unit in the middle of nowhere and 2 ramps....but a ton of knowledge.

The owner explained that 'maybe' i wasn't comfortable with the handling as 3 wheels were pointing in slightly different directions (never helpful) and that the standard ride height on that variant is wrong out of the factory. Seems like a good guy, didn't push the ususal ' you'll need coilovers and a hokeycokey2000 to make it better'.
(Oh and the tyres were shot, obvs due to trying to run north east and west at the same time).

All booked in, and fingers crossed I feel more confident when it's done. Have decided against the coilovers, unless i find the right set cheap'ish/2ndhand, as not sure i can warrant the extra outlay on that particular car. Especially as the garage guy wasn't sure how noticeable/ 'vs cost' the difference would be. As the opportunities to properly drive it are currently limited, didn't make much sense to throw unncessary dosh.

Getting them to do some rust prevention too....

moral of the story:
1/ i'm a lazy muppet who should have had a few things checked ahead of driving it some distance
2/ if you're getting a new kit, worth checking alignment/geo....

and the Brucie Bonus Giggle.
Sue bought me a wireless phone charger with mount for that car; i've tended to use my phone for local navigation, and only have a proper mount in the main car.

'Err, my phone doesn't have wireless charging, but thanks anyway'

'Really? i thought all new phones are wireless these days, i asked 'x' and they said your phone must be wireless'

'well one of my new phones might be, but i've been kind of busy the last year+, and have 2 upgrades that are brand new sitting in a drawer...yeah, ok, i;ll spark one of those up, you're right, thanks so much for a thoughtful gift; Hang on though, how the 'uck is it a wireless charger, where does it get its power from'

'Oh, you plug it with a usb cable into the car'

'FFS, you could have bought a bloody phone holder and i could have used a USB to the phone and not the 'king charger thingy - so its wireless, but needs a wire....hmmmm'

[DJ.]

wireless!

[Wingco]

Blimey M, bet that was quite harry driving the car on those wheels

Wireless charging

[greenwoo]

yep, i'm still wryly grinning at the 'wireless' charging.....honestly, you couldn't make that up!

[b33fy]

yep, i'm still wryly grinning at the 'wireless' charging.....honestly, you couldn't make that up!

prepares for incoming, puts flak jacket on.

iPhone 14 is wireless charging. Doesn’t come with a wire, extra £45 from Argos, that’s just the “wire” the charger is extra.

[greenwoo]

@ Mike, now why am i not surprised at that!

BTW - had a lovely person from Currys PC World ( Bangalore branch) call me today to offer me a fantastic deal on a new I-Phone, didn't quite understand the concept of me cutting off my left testicle before i'd ever own let alone buy any Apple products.