WallerZ

So, here is the latest picture of my car. "What a strange and dangerous place to park for a photo?!" I hear you say? Well...it was not by choice..... Ah. Well. I'm sure that used to be attached to something..... Far from ideal. Inside lane on the A444 and M6 roundabout in the dark, with speeding cars, tired truckers and general muppets on the road. Needless to say, hazards were on and I was 10m up the road warning road users of my predicament! Thankfully, Gaz lives round the corner and was able to come rescue me with a tow rope, again. Big thanks to Gaz! Here are some more photos of the issue.... So there we have it, a snapped driveshaft....anyone done that in their Zero before?! I have already made my own conclusions on the matter however I have requested some further information from GBS (long shot I know) with regards to the process that goes into manufacturing these. As you can clearly see, this is two different shafts friction welded together (which is common for shafts) however having spoken with a driveshaft specialist, they find it hard to see if it has been friction welded properly and suggested it was a single shaft that has a step. As I know the MX5 shafts are not stepped and there are 2 diameters depending on the car, plus GBS having the shafts to "modify" under cloak and dagger, it was disregarded and refocused on the friction weld. Common shaft failures from friction welds occur 3-4mm away from the weld in the weakened HAZ (Heat Affected Zone) from the welding process. To see one fail so cleanly on the weld raised concerns over the original weld, hence the required information from GBS. Initial viewing by eye says the outside failed (potentially due to the weld quality) which caused the centre to fatigue due to the reduced diameter and torsional movement of the shaft. As such, this polished the outside faces and left the centre to break. I'm hoping to squeeze in some time with the Metallurgy expert at work to confirm under a microscope the likely series of events and during that time I hope to at least open some discussion with GBS...other than their usual "out of warranty" statement when things go wrong....I'll keep you posted on those fronts.... It will not however keep me down. Plans are already in motion to get the car back up and running, avoiding the GBS option and a recurrence of this failure (I like to make my own problems!). Watch this space!

To go back to your original question Marlin, I'd stick 1840cc in and have done. Its common that MX5 engines get rebored and used on the stock ECU. As you mentioned, you will be monitoring and driving parameters from you AFR, MAP and TPS rather than cc. Having that rebore and a few cc missing from the ECU isn't going to harm you

https://www.venhill.co.uk/cables-amp-components/universal-cable-kits/throttle-cable-kits.html I found these guys originally on eBay. I've used them since IVA and never had any cable issues. The universal kit has all the bits needed to suit your carbs/throttle body and more than enough cable for you to suit your own length. Pedal end, I currently loop it though some brake pipe bent at 180deg through the pedal and a cable clamp however looking to go for a more robust clevis pin with proper cable fixing. Saying that, its worked since IVA so probably wait until it fails lol. From my experience recently running a twin cable for my throttle bodies, I would strongly suggest a single cable. It will take a lot of effort to get the two cables acting perfectly together, especially if one is under more tension than the other, they can stretch at different rates meaning more problems.

Already had a pair! They helped but its still one hell of a noise when you sneeze on the loud pedal!

Yeah should be there or there abouts once I take all the tools out Managed 500+ miles in it on the Wales trip and despite an oil leak, dodgy wipers and instability at 60mph on the bumpy country roads its all good! Just need to decide what to do about the exhausts....my ears are still ringing this morning! Thanks just need to refurb them and decide if I keep the blue or go a different colour. I kinda like the contrast though

Big thanks again to Richy and Jackie for organising this yet again! Despite using around 6 litres of oil, the car still plodded on and made it home on its own! Got a few things to spanner check and sort out but its all still in one piece for now! Looking forward to next weekend and hopefully in another years time I'll not have any fears of it suddenly breaking down

1x Beef & Ale Pie 1x Lasagne 2x Profiteroles Please and thank you!

Indeed, up from 113bhp and 96lb-ft and can already feel it with a basic map. Yeah 164bhp from factory....20 years ago lol. Never did a side by side so no clue if it was already down 50bhp or not. Eitherway, easily more to come as it was very restricted towards the top end, most likely from the thrown together intake manifold. If I decide to head back on to individual throttle bodies and get them done right, I should be looking closer to 200bhp. But for now, this gets me going and I can ease into the new found power...but more importantly, double the torque

As some of you may have already seen, the Mazda Zero V6 made it to a rolling road session in a dash to get it ready for the Annual Wales trip. Well, in short, after a variety of issues and numerous bodges, it now works! And supposedly on all 6 cylinders this time! Anyway, here is the video of one of the runs: And if you have a bit more time, watch the video theDuck put together for his YouTube Channel! The important bit....the results: 156bhp 188lb-ft Its not astronomical nor the end product however its a starting point for me to stick some mileage on the car. It also allows me to make the most of the remaining summer with a healthy list of winter mods to do as funds rebuild and takes away the pressure of having a sizeable paperweight in the garage. I'll be looking to update my blog with more info soon however even that has fallen very far behind.... Onwards to summer.....or whats left at least!

Solid plan, more people makes pushing my car easier!

I believe kit cars still fall under the under/over 1549cc tax bracket as they don't have Co2 g/km figures. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables/rates-for-cars-and-light-goods-vehicles-registered-before-1-march-2001

Simplify it down to a hypothetical scenario, lets pretend its a Registered Zero that the chassis has rusted away on. You can all GBS and get a brand new, like for like replacement chassis to swap as per the link Duck has posted: "A rebuilt vehicle can keep its original registration number if you can prove you’ve used: a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original (car or light van)" This would not need an IVA. However, if you were to approach Westfield Sportscars for a new chassis, and rebuild it using that, then yes, it would need an IVA with the Zero as a single vehicle donor and hence an age related plate would be awarded after IVA. Now back to your situation, can you prove the new 2b chassis is brand new and unused? Any receipts from Robin Hood etc? But then who would check them.....? Equally for consideration as suggested, is just buying a new car with insurance money if that route has been used for the damage. Personally I'd go with the 2b chassis.....

To be fair, "cheap" and "done right" aren't mutually exclusive. If you play it right, and have patience, you can still pick up decent stuff cheaply or put that extra effort in yourself to save £££. Equally, ff you choose a well trodden path, you will find most the issues have already been ironed out and you can get away with "simply bolting on" as these bolt ons have been proven to work. I know my 20 year old driveline will happily sustain my V6, despite being bolted to a car with half the power and torque #japoverengineering. So I didn't need to do any maths. Furthermore, I know my old MX5 engine I could bolt on a specific turbo etc, drop in a specific ECU and associated map and I'm off to a good start. Bolt on kit basically with a bit of fine tuning. And it would have cost less than my V6 swap - however this is what I wanted, the concept was proven and so are further modifications to up the power again if I so desire - as this is also proven. Point is, speak to those who have done what you want and there is no shame in following them, like I said, plenty of people will share their experiences, saving you the cost or effort of finding it yourself. If your aim is to reach 200bhp with as little spent as possible on your pinto, theDuck is your man End of the day you put your money where you want it and I think we can all agree these cars make us happy and we will irresponsibly throw more and more money at them for the exact same result - a bloody huge grin! Our threshold and routes for that result are different.

I'll follow you then Jez.....maybe... still 50/50 til next weekend lol. Love the last minute i do!

Cheap and easy - turbo Expensive and hard - engine swap. Ask me how I know lol

Yeah I won't be ready by 10am lol, maybe Sunday...I will try venture out then and break something else......

Just read that hybrids are going to be exempt....so basically every car will get an F1 style KERS button suddenly this electrickery stuff doesn't sound so bad!

Sounds like the basis for many projects! How hard can it be?! What could go wrong?! Lol, crack on I say!

Anyone else for Carvery? I'm going to pig out at 6ish

Children will be put to work on giant hamster wheels. This not only produces electricity but also reduces childhood obesity. Win-win, no?

Thats all I see GBS doing. Flat floor, load of batteries, either a motor through a gearbox so conventional rear end or just motor in the rear and batteries filling the engine bay. Not £2million worth of work needed

True, task a private enterprise, they aim to hike profits, government tax said company. No cost but all the money! How many times have you electrocuted yourself Richard? lol. I've done that more than I've doused myself in petrol and caught fire haha. There already is, Westfield/Potenza Sports cars made an electric version a good 6/7 years ago and also in collaboration with Warwick University, made a hybrid too back in 2010: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/mediacentre/wmgnews/?newsItem=094d43cd295b02f701298d2008965d6f GBS are way behind the times lol. Shame neither really took off though, hence I feel this is going to be more a publicity stunt for GBS rather than added kit line up....

Far too many questions and lack of detail. Who pays for homecharging? It is part of the car purchase or will then become standard equipment in houses? What about the places without a parking space, or street parking is the only option and highly contested? What are the government going to do about the infrastructure? To me, its a ridiculous statement. None of those in power in government are likely to still be there when 2040 comes around so who cares about detail? Kit market/amateur build will be killed off when amateur builders burn their house down or fry themselves playing with electric vehicles. There's a reason JLR send you on a EV awareness course before you're even allowed within 5 metres of one! lol

I've not got enough space in the car lol

I'll be there....one way or another....