Magnificent MX5 days

Archives of Posts to the NZ MX5 List back in 2002
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Simon Lord
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 98
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:09 pm
Location: Albany

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by Simon Lord » Fri Nov 08, 2002 12:12 am

Good to hear about some worthwhile MX5 roads. A colleague and I have, for
the past four years, been treating ourselves once a year to the occasional
trip away from wives and families by hiring a sports car, choosing a
business meeting a long way away to attend, then driving there in the most
roundabout fashion. The first year we hired an MGF and did 750 kms in 23
hours round Northland (allowing for dinner, a full night's sleep and a
business breakfast), and since then we have had a variety of 1600 MX5's for
three days at a time. In September this year I finally succumbed to
temptation and bought my own 1800 MX5 - he had to accept the restrictions of
family and bought a new-model Nissan 200SX. Since the we have made a decent
trip in each car, one to Taupo and one to Waiouru.

We are gradually getting a list of good roads to drive, and I keep meaning
to take a highlighter and an overlay sheet for the map book, as NZ maps seem
to be a little inconsistent in grading roads (there speaks a pom brought up
with the Ordnance Survey one-inch series). However, suggestions for good
places to drive would be warmly welcomed. North Island only at this stage,
alas.

Our greatest contribution to enjoyable and friction-free driving trips,
however, has been the invention of the corner-counter. When you have two
enthusiastic drivers sharing the wheel on such trips, you have to work out a
system of who drives which roads (some, such as the Mangamuka Gorge, are so
good that you just go back and do it again of course). You can't do it on
distance, as some roads are far more enjoyable than others. Even if you
agree that a road is A-class, you still can't necessarily just work on the
mileage or the number of bends, as roadworks, caravan, logging trucks or any
number of factors may spoil the enjoyment of the driver.

We therefore agreed that the only realistic measure of driving enjoyment
would be the G-forces generated at each corner, and after much cogitation
Paul (an industrial designer by training) came up with the corner-counter
(trade mark registration and patents pending!!). This consists or two lead
fishing weights mounted on a pendulum which is hinged at the base. When
lateral forces cause the pendulum to swing to either side beyond a certain
point, a cam on the base depresses the plunger of an old-fashioned manual
click-counter. Two springs (from an old video recorder) attached to arms
made from Meccano return the pendulum to the upright position after each
bend. The weights can be screwed up and down the pendulum to adjust the
force necessary to depress the plunger. Sorry if this description is a
little hard to follow, but we will circulate some photo's eventually.

After a short calibration trip, we took this new device on a trip to Waiouru
mounted on a breadboard in the back of the 200 and it performed superbly.
After, say, 75 worthwhile bends, the navigator was able to say 'Time to
Change' without any possibility of argument - a totally objective measure.

Ideally, of course, the corner-counter would be made of polished brass and
mounted on the dashboard in front of the navigator, rather like a sextant or
something. However, this has certain safety implications (even more than
lead weights and Meccano on a breadboard) so a less dangerous version might
need to be developed. We do have thoughts of an electronic version
incorporating curved tubes, ballbearings and micro-switches, but that will
have to wait until we are both less busy.

We are actually thinking of marketing this as an aid to better driving. The
easiest way to make the counter tick over, of course, is to take a corner
suddenly rather than smoothly, so the better you drive the fewer corners the
counter registers. In fact, this has led to some debate amongst us already
as to whether my being more economical in clocking up the corners was caused
by smoother driving or lower speed...

Love to hear suggestions for more routes where we can test out our new
brainchild.

Simon Lord
'97 SR Ltd
97 SR Ltd (sparkle green)
Email: simon@franchise.co.nz

lou Girardin

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by lou Girardin » Fri Nov 08, 2002 7:55 am

750 km's in an MGF? Good God, the last of the pioneers!
Lou

lou Girardin

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by lou Girardin » Fri Nov 08, 2002 7:55 am

750 km's in an MGF? Good God, the last of the pioneers!
Lou

Simon Lord
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 98
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:09 pm
Location: Albany

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by Simon Lord » Fri Nov 08, 2002 7:59 am

Several people expressed some surprise that an MGF could actually keep going
for 750 kms (including an MG mechanic). That was why I ended up buying an
MX5...
Simon
97 SR Ltd (sparkle green)
Email: simon@franchise.co.nz

jeff

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by jeff » Fri Nov 08, 2002 11:39 am

SH2 between Mercer and Clevedon is fantastic! Empty, twisty, scenic, and makes a nice long-cut between Auckland and Meremere. If the SO gets too tense you can stop at Miranda for a soak :)

are you going to share your finds Simon ?

Franchise New Zealand magazine & website <Simon@franchise.co.nz> wrote:Good to hear about some worthwhile MX5 roads. A colleague and I have, for
the past four years, been treating ourselves once a year to the occasional
trip away from wives and families by hiring a sports car, choosing a
business meeting a long way away to attend, then driving there in the most
roundabout fashion. The first year we hired an MGF and did 750 kms in 23
hours round Northland (allowing for dinner, a full night's sleep and a
business breakfast), and since then we have had a variety of 1600 MX5's for
three days at a time. In September this year I finally succumbed to
temptation and bought my own 1800 MX5 - he had to accept the restrictions of
family and bought a new-model Nissan 200SX. Since the we have made a decent
trip in each car, one to Taupo and one to Waiouru.

We are gradually getting a list of good roads to drive, and I keep meaning
to take a highlighter and an overlay sheet for the map book, as NZ maps seem
to be a little inconsistent in grading roads (there speaks a pom brought up
with the Ordnance Survey one-inch series). However, suggestions for good
places to drive would be warmly welcomed. North Island only at this stage,
alas.

Our greatest contribution to enjoyable and friction-free driving trips,
however, has been the invention of the corner-counter. When you have two
enthusiastic drivers sharing the wheel on such trips, you have to work out a
system of who drives which roads (some, such as the Mangamuka Gorge, are so
good that you just go back and do it again of course). You can't do it on
distance, as some roads are far more enjoyable than others. Even if you
agree that a road is A-class, you still can't necessarily just work on the
mileage or the number of bends, as roadworks, caravan, logging trucks or any
number of factors may spoil the enjoyment of the driver.

We therefore agreed that the only realistic measure of driving enjoyment
would be the G-forces generated at each corner, and after much cogitation
Paul (an industrial designer by training) came up with the corner-counter
(trade mark registration and patents pending!!). This consists or two lead
fishing weights mounted on a pendulum which is hinged at the base. When
lateral forces cause the pendulum to swing to either side beyond a certain
point, a cam on the base depresses the plunger of an old-fashioned manual
click-counter. Two springs (from an old video recorder) attached to arms
made from Meccano return the pendulum to the upright position after each
bend. The weights can be screwed up and down the pendulum to adjust the
force necessary to depress the plunger. Sorry if this description is a
little hard to follow, but we will circulate some photo's eventually.

After a short calibration trip, we took this new device on a trip to Waiouru
mounted on a breadboard in the back of the 200 and it performed superbly.
After, say, 75 worthwhile bends, the navigator was able to say 'Time to
Change' without any possibility of argument - a totally objective measure.

Ideally, of course, the corner-counter would be made of polished brass and
mounted on the dashboard in front of the navigator, rather like a sextant or
something. However, this has certain safety implications (even more than
lead weights and Meccano on a breadboard) so a less dangerous version might
need to be developed. We do have thoughts of an electronic version
incorporating curved tubes, ballbearings and micro-switches, but that will
have to wait until we are both less busy.

We are actually thinking of marketing this as an aid to better driving. The
easiest way to make the counter tick over, of course, is to take a corner
suddenly rather than smoothly, so the better you drive the fewer corners the
counter registers. In fact, this has led to some debate amongst us already
as to whether my being more economical in clocking up the corners was caused
by smoother driving or lower speed...

Love to hear suggestions for more routes where we can test out our new
brainchild.

Simon Lord
'97 SR Ltd

jeff

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by jeff » Fri Nov 08, 2002 11:39 am

SH2 between Mercer and Clevedon is fantastic! Empty, twisty, scenic, and makes a nice long-cut between Auckland and Meremere. If the SO gets too tense you can stop at Miranda for a soak :)

are you going to share your finds Simon ?

Franchise New Zealand magazine & website <Simon@franchise.co.nz> wrote:Good to hear about some worthwhile MX5 roads. A colleague and I have, for
the past four years, been treating ourselves once a year to the occasional
trip away from wives and families by hiring a sports car, choosing a
business meeting a long way away to attend, then driving there in the most
roundabout fashion. The first year we hired an MGF and did 750 kms in 23
hours round Northland (allowing for dinner, a full night's sleep and a
business breakfast), and since then we have had a variety of 1600 MX5's for
three days at a time. In September this year I finally succumbed to
temptation and bought my own 1800 MX5 - he had to accept the restrictions of
family and bought a new-model Nissan 200SX. Since the we have made a decent
trip in each car, one to Taupo and one to Waiouru.

We are gradually getting a list of good roads to drive, and I keep meaning
to take a highlighter and an overlay sheet for the map book, as NZ maps seem
to be a little inconsistent in grading roads (there speaks a pom brought up
with the Ordnance Survey one-inch series). However, suggestions for good
places to drive would be warmly welcomed. North Island only at this stage,
alas.

Our greatest contribution to enjoyable and friction-free driving trips,
however, has been the invention of the corner-counter. When you have two
enthusiastic drivers sharing the wheel on such trips, you have to work out a
system of who drives which roads (some, such as the Mangamuka Gorge, are so
good that you just go back and do it again of course). You can't do it on
distance, as some roads are far more enjoyable than others. Even if you
agree that a road is A-class, you still can't necessarily just work on the
mileage or the number of bends, as roadworks, caravan, logging trucks or any
number of factors may spoil the enjoyment of the driver.

We therefore agreed that the only realistic measure of driving enjoyment
would be the G-forces generated at each corner, and after much cogitation
Paul (an industrial designer by training) came up with the corner-counter
(trade mark registration and patents pending!!). This consists or two lead
fishing weights mounted on a pendulum which is hinged at the base. When
lateral forces cause the pendulum to swing to either side beyond a certain
point, a cam on the base depresses the plunger of an old-fashioned manual
click-counter. Two springs (from an old video recorder) attached to arms
made from Meccano return the pendulum to the upright position after each
bend. The weights can be screwed up and down the pendulum to adjust the
force necessary to depress the plunger. Sorry if this description is a
little hard to follow, but we will circulate some photo's eventually.

After a short calibration trip, we took this new device on a trip to Waiouru
mounted on a breadboard in the back of the 200 and it performed superbly.
After, say, 75 worthwhile bends, the navigator was able to say 'Time to
Change' without any possibility of argument - a totally objective measure.

Ideally, of course, the corner-counter would be made of polished brass and
mounted on the dashboard in front of the navigator, rather like a sextant or
something. However, this has certain safety implications (even more than
lead weights and Meccano on a breadboard) so a less dangerous version might
need to be developed. We do have thoughts of an electronic version
incorporating curved tubes, ballbearings and micro-switches, but that will
have to wait until we are both less busy.

We are actually thinking of marketing this as an aid to better driving. The
easiest way to make the counter tick over, of course, is to take a corner
suddenly rather than smoothly, so the better you drive the fewer corners the
counter registers. In fact, this has led to some debate amongst us already
as to whether my being more economical in clocking up the corners was caused
by smoother driving or lower speed...

Love to hear suggestions for more routes where we can test out our new
brainchild.

Simon Lord
'97 SR Ltd

Simon Lord
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 98
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:09 pm
Location: Albany

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by Simon Lord » Fri Nov 08, 2002 12:07 pm

Just been discussing that with Paul - we wouldn't want the tax collectors to
start haunting our favourite spots, would we? Perhaps this email group is a
better option for sharing the info than posting them on a website for exactly
that reason.

By the way, I wouldn't want you to think that we are anti-social hoons. We're
both sensible family men, set a maximum speed limit beyond which the navigator
shouts, don't take risks, don't cut blind bends, but do enjoy using the
handling potential of our cars. The MX5 is much better for that than the 200
in my opinion, because you get the fun and sensation without the excessive
speed which the Nissan rapidly achieves when you accelerate out of bends. Too
easy to reach 160 and embarrass yourself.

Accordingly, over the years we have developed rules such as always obeying
50kph limits and roadworks limits to the letter, slowing down at school bus
times and so on. Touch wood, in thousands of enjoyable kilometres we have
never attracted any attention whatsoever - in fact, on the last trip it was
the lady in the Honda CRV who overtook us at 130 on SH1 who was pulled over
two minutes later. She was travelling above our maximum speed so although it
would have been easy to follow we kept to our own discipline.

Yes, we know that bit of road well - quite delightful. Our best trip ever was
to New Plymouth for a meeting (the book said 390 kms from Auckland, we took
790 getting there), then across to Tauranga to catch up with the Targa rally,
then back to Auckland via the Coromandel. Napier is on the list as a future
excuse when I can time a meeting there to fit in with other business
commitments.

Cheers
Simno
97 SR Ltd (sparkle green)
Email: simon@franchise.co.nz

lou Girardin

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by lou Girardin » Fri Nov 08, 2002 1:46 pm

MGF = Mazda Goes Further/faster.
Lou

lou Girardin

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by lou Girardin » Fri Nov 08, 2002 1:46 pm

MGF = Mazda Goes Further/faster.
Lou

my2cta
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Posts: 102
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 12:43 pm
Location: Upper Hutt

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by my2cta » Fri Nov 08, 2002 6:52 pm

It's hard to beat the Rimutaka Hill Road, part of SH2 between Featherston
and Upper Hutt. Around 80 bends in just 13 kms. However, to make the most
of it you need to do this road before 6:00 AM in the summer (i.e. in
daylight when there is no traffic). The road can get pretty busy and almost
every other vehicle on the road is going to hold up an MX5 that is being
driven on this road in a spirited fashion.

Once you've driven it in one direction you obviously then have to turn
around and do it again in the other.

Tim Dutton
MY2CTA
Tim
MY2CTA

my2cta
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Posts: 102
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 12:43 pm
Location: Upper Hutt

Magnificent MX5 days

Post by my2cta » Fri Nov 08, 2002 6:52 pm

It's hard to beat the Rimutaka Hill Road, part of SH2 between Featherston
and Upper Hutt. Around 80 bends in just 13 kms. However, to make the most
of it you need to do this road before 6:00 AM in the summer (i.e. in
daylight when there is no traffic). The road can get pretty busy and almost
every other vehicle on the road is going to hold up an MX5 that is being
driven on this road in a spirited fashion.

Once you've driven it in one direction you obviously then have to turn
around and do it again in the other.

Tim Dutton
MY2CTA
Tim
MY2CTA

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