After years of frustration with sometimes poor handling and no real success with wheel alignment at a number of garages I took the plunge yesterday and drove the Cobra over to Amersham to take it to Wheels InMotion for them to look at.
I'd heard from a friend who is into MX5s that they are the premier place in the country for deriving custom geometry setups and really improving handling. I have to admit I was a little unsure that they would be able to help much and was worried that they'd find the chassis wasnt straight and couldnt be adjusted (it is a kit car after all).
I couldn't have been more wrong; they were clearly experts and talked me through all the adjustments, how they affected feel and drivability and how they were going to modify them. They pointed out that the back axle wasnt quite straight and how to make up some plates to make it adjustable so that they could correct that too. The castor was way out, the toe was way out and the camber was fine (which was lucky as that wasnt adjustable).
When they'd finished they warned me to be very careful when I drove away. What a complete transformation, no longer is it twitchy or hard to handle - it just rides across uneven surfaces without any fuss and boy oh boy does it grip better in corners. It is nothing short of a new car! I'll definitely be taking the Stag there when I've got it running again, and I can't recommend them more.
I think their advantage is that they not only have a very good machine but years of experience and will deviate from factory settings where the measurements indicate that this is the correct thing to do.
Off for (yet) another drive in it now!!
I'd heard from a friend who is into MX5s that they are the premier place in the country for deriving custom geometry setups and really improving handling. I have to admit I was a little unsure that they would be able to help much and was worried that they'd find the chassis wasnt straight and couldnt be adjusted (it is a kit car after all).
I couldn't have been more wrong; they were clearly experts and talked me through all the adjustments, how they affected feel and drivability and how they were going to modify them. They pointed out that the back axle wasnt quite straight and how to make up some plates to make it adjustable so that they could correct that too. The castor was way out, the toe was way out and the camber was fine (which was lucky as that wasnt adjustable).
When they'd finished they warned me to be very careful when I drove away. What a complete transformation, no longer is it twitchy or hard to handle - it just rides across uneven surfaces without any fuss and boy oh boy does it grip better in corners. It is nothing short of a new car! I'll definitely be taking the Stag there when I've got it running again, and I can't recommend them more.
I think their advantage is that they not only have a very good machine but years of experience and will deviate from factory settings where the measurements indicate that this is the correct thing to do.
Off for (yet) another drive in it now!!
Comment