Looking to get the Mrs a nice little sports coupe obvioulsy looking at the usual players, preludes, celica\'s, fto\'s, e36 coupe etc but have always be fond on the Mazda MX6 anyone had or know someone who has owned one, would be great to get a heads up on what they are like. Looking at the v6 version tomor, much thanks James?
It\'s basically a Ford Probe underneath but it\'s a nice enough car. V6 engines are good, UK ones are detuned to 170 bhp ish but JDM stuff is close to 200bhp.
I had a V6 Probe, which is t\'other way round to what Will says, the Ford was a rebadged Mazda. IIRC the MX was a good bit lighter than the Probe, but didn\'t have pop-up headlights which is a bit sucky :rollin Very good engine, variable throttle valve stuff goes on so there should be a definite power step up halfway round the revs. Throttle Position Sensors suck big style and can be a bugger to fix but largely bullet proof engines. Check if you can the Hose From Hell isn\'t perished (it\'s a rubber coolant hose that runs in the V of the cylinders, almost impossible to see but worth checking, it\'s an utter PITA to fix).
The Ford Probe OC is good, and caters for MX-6s too and the Probe Store carries loads of aftermarket and OE upgrade parts. I\'d have an MX-6 as a second daily driver without hesitation, I rate them very highly
What Nik said. I should have said it\'s the same as the Ford Probe underneath. The motor is a Mazda one, not the Ford Duratec.
Sounds pretty alright then, thanks for the advice guys... the one im looking at looks very tidy in Jap red (surprisingly unfaded), 99k on the clock, loads of history, years mot, full leather trim, air con, electric everything & very tidy alloys.
Anyway of telling if she is an import, take it would be the usaul tell tell signs like kilometers on the speedo etc?
What they like for fuel?? Compared with an everyday car not an RX7 (thats just cheating ;))
No idea about the import thing, sorry. I could get fuel economy down to low 20s on the Probe with spirited driving, but it was thirties on a run. Certainly nothing like an RX-7! The engine sounds fantastic on a decent exhaust, I had a Scorpion midpipe and backbox on mine and it had a beautiful burble on idle but use to totally howl on full honk. It only needed to be a) lighter and b) rear wheel drive to be a really good car. People who mock them have clearly never driven one, although I would certainly agree the Probe had a serious image problem, the MX-6 was always sort of ignored. Which is a bit of a shame really
I had an MX-6 for 4 and a half years, 60,000 miles from new in 1995, averaged 31mpg, I don\'t recall anything going wrong with it other than a problem with the boot lock that was sorted under warranty. It was a good car to drive, fairly brisk but being front wheel drive, didn\'t handle anything like an MX-5 or RX-7, comfortable cruiser on the motorway. As it has "loads of history" you should be able to find out whether it was originally sold by a franchised UK dealer or if it is an import.
Kevin
Cheers guys, you have been much help :) !!
I\'m with Nik, had two 24Vs myself and loved them, just check the vacuum piping for the VRIS (variable timing thing), I thought it was bad until I saw the diagram for the twins on an FD :)
Very reliable car too.
If ref to this
Quotevacuum piping for the VRIS (variable timing thing)
would one of you be super nice & just put a picture up of a big arrow pointing to it in the engine bay, so when i go have another look i know where to find it? Many thanks James.
http://www.mx6.com/forums/2g-faq-general/162593-faq-what-vris-everything-you-wanted-know-more.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK5_NKmPsP8
Basically at the back of the intake manifold there are two acutators I think. You\'d have to go for a drive to make sure it\'s working though.
I went in a mate of mine years back and it felt rapid
im sure in either USA or Japan they do a turbo one - i bet thats a hoot :D
I\'ve had a UK one for just over a year as my daily driver and I\'m really happy with it. It\'s a good size, quite quick, good on the motorway etc.
It\'s a bit less economic on fuel around town like many sports coupes.
They do have a few niggley problems like every car does. The rear boots gas struts tend to fail as the boot is very heavy, but these are about £60 to replace.
The thing to look for being a V6 is any gasket leakage around the rocker covers as this then can flood the plugs and is a commonish problem on them. But you need to make sure that it\'s not from careless oil filling. There are some really good Mx6 forums online and I\'m sure that you\'ll find a buying guide on there.
The Japanese version has more horses, so I\'m sure it would be even more fun! :)
One thing I just remembered is #6 cylinder can suffer from fuel-starvation under heavier loads, best way is to split the feed so rather than going through the upper bank then the lower it goes through the upper and lower banks at the same time.
My friend now has a turboed 2.5 lump in his 16V, talk about a sleeper ;)
I have had a UK model and now running an import with the higher bhp.
Its an auto and a great cruiser with the V6 24v. The ac is very good also.
You should not regret buying one - I have been driving my car every day for 9/10 years now.
Its quick enough for every day use and will cruise on the motorway at whatever speed you can safely handle.
Starts every time (except for last week) when the battwery was flat and I had to replace it - not bad for an original battery on an M plate car that is parked outside every day.
When I got the import version I thought that rusting may be a problem, but as I say, it has been parked outside and no rust that I can see.
This current car is up to about 80k now and runs as smooth as ever and still gets comments on what a nice car it is from people that I give a lift to. The mechanic at the mazda garage will buy it from me whenever I am ready.
In fact, as it has been so reliable I have been able to run an RX 7 :rollin
Anyhow good luck and if you need any tech back up, go onto MX6.com
Keith
Cheers for the info, sadly my partner didn\'t like the MX6 enough & seeing as the car is mainly hers as I have the rex as my car then I had to let her get her other choice which was a 5th gen Honda Prelude, shame but hey ho. Thanks for all the help & advice guys :)
2.2 Vtec, awesome engine! Prelude ftw!
Love the Prelude\'s too! My Mx-6 replaced a Prelude! LOL! I\'m sure she\'ll love it! :D