There are few things less inviting than a damp, musty convertible, and it's amazing how fast your summer love for your MX-5 can turn to autumnal loathing – just add water! To help prevent your lifelong love affair with your Roadster from turning into a summer romance, we've put together another top 10 list, this time detailing the parts available through the MX5parts website which will help make your car a far more practical, usable proposition when the weather closes in. Click the heading titles to be taken to the relevant section of our website.
Don't subject your MX5's alloys to needless winter abuse, swap them for one of our hardy steel and tyre packages
1) 14in Winter Wheel & Tyre Package, NA/NB
No, we're not going to pretend that Britain in mid-winter is going to approach Siberia in terms of snowfall and sub-zero temperatures, but, as ever in this country, there's always a chance of snow. If it winter does decide to play hard-ball then it pays to be prepared, and there's no better way being prepared for the worst of the British weather than with a set of winter tyres!
Our winter wheel and tyre package makes your NA/NB a far, far more practical winter proposition at a stroke; the 14in steels come supplied with brand new, valved and balanced 185/60H/14 budget tyres designed to excel in snow and mud. Not only do these have the potential to transform your MX5's winter performance, they allow you to keep your summer or 'show' wheels locked away until spring.
A car cover will enable your Roadster to whether the worst of the British Weather
2) Stormforce Car Cover, all models
The Stormforce is an all season cover from Coverzone with versions available for the NA, NB/NC and ND, simply select your model from the drop-down menu and you’re away. It's large and versatile enough to be fitted to all four models of MX-5 in moments, while also providing impressive levels of protection from the elements, dust, dirt, bird mess, sap, salt and UV light. This means that it's capable of weathering the kind of contaminants that have the potential to damage your car's paintwork and hood.
The Stormforce is able to provide such complete and comprehensive protection from the vagaries of the British weather thanks to its innovative, 4-layer construction. As you might expect, the outer later is made from a specially developed material that's strong, robust and waterproof. The next layer down is padded in order to provide a physical barrier against damage, while the inner layer, the one in contact with your paintwork, is wonderfully soft and smooth. The Stormforce has a fourth layer that's able to repel rain water without generating or withholding a layer of potentially harmful moisture within its layers, something that cannot be said for lesser offerings from rivals.
New seals will helped prevent your MX5 from turning into a swimming pool!
3) Genuine Mazda Replacement Seals
The MX5 might have been the first sports car you could genuinely use all year when launched at the end of the '80s, but let's face it, the likes of the NA and the NB are hardly immune from the problems of water ingress, and failed seals are all too often the root cause. Rubber seals harden, dry and eventually fail, allowing water to seep through, pool, and, well, you know the rest. We can supply all manner of seals for the first three generations of MX5, including the all too troublesome rear seal weatherstrip located at the bottom rear edge of the hardtop.
It's surprising how much you can fit in one of these handy storage bags
This handy storage bag won't be able to swallow golf clubs and the kitchen sink, sadly, but it is ridiculously handy – so much that you'll wonder how you ever did without out it! It fits neatly behind the seats, and consists of a solid zip-up compartment and a pair of netted zipped compartments. It's been designed to fasten to the edge of the parcel shelf using the poppers already on the car, and provides space for last minute weekend breaks, not to mention all those odds and ends that inevitably make their way out of the door compartments and into the wilds of your interior!
Chrome has been a favourite amongst the UK MX5 community for decades
5) Chrome
There's no better time to treat your car to some new styling parts than the long, cold British winter, and we can supply a staggering array of said parts for the NA, right through to the latest ND. Head over to the website to check out an array of interior chrome parts, not to mention under-bonnet components, dressings and much else besides. We've opted to highlight these chrome bonnet lifters for the NC as they're one of our best-selling parts, and because they have the ability to transform the under-bonnet area of any car they're fitted to.
You'll struggle to find a firm with better chassis-control credentials than H&R
You don't get very many chances to enjoy your MX-5 on dry roads once autumn rolls in, so the way we see it you may as well make the most of those rare, crisp late season days by ensuring that your car handles like its on the proverbial rails! The H&R ARB kit for the ND is a superb place to start, not least because it comes from one of the very best in the business. It boasts vastly increased stiffness compared to the OEM equivalent, comes with bespoke polyurethane bushes, and adjusts 25mm at the front and 16mm at the rear. Most importantly of all, it reduces oversteer and understeer and can transform your ND's handling.
IL Motorsport's aftermarket exhausts both look and sound the part
7) IL Motorsport Twin-Centre Exhaust, NA
Much like the Anti-Roll Bar mentioned above, there can are few parts more likely to make you grin from ear-to-ear than a high-quality aftermarket exhaust, especially if you happen to be blatting along a B-road on a crisp, early autumn morning. We consider this dual exit offering for the NA to be among the best on the market thanks to its exemplary gas flow properties, not to mention the intoxicating noise it makes, one filled with crackles, pops and bangs!
Regular servicing is the best way of keeping on top of your car's maintenance
It won't win you pub bragging rights in the same way aftermarket wheels and turbo conversions will, but there's a lot to be said for keeping a beady eye on your MX5's health, and there's no better way of ensuring this than through regular servicing with high quality parts. We can help out; we're able to supply any and every service item you could ever require, perfect for those long winter evenings spent up to your elbows in an engine bay.
Never entrust your life to a wobbly jack, especially when these axle stands are so well priced
9) Axle Stands
Being able to work on your own car with relative ease is one of the best things about MX-5, particularly the NA and NB, but there's little more foolish than doing so without ensuring that the car is properly secured, hence the need for high quality axle stands. These 2-ton stands are of the ratchet design and have a height range of between 280mm-405mm, making them more than enough for the average home mechanic.
These slip-on pedals are gripper than their OEM equivalents
10) Aluminium Pedal Set, NA-ND
This product is one of those buys that makes far more of a difference than you might first have thought. Available for the NA, NB, NC and ND, the 4-high quality aluminium pedals (and 1 footrest) have been engineered to slide on in place of the original, while the accelerator screws into place using the holes already in place. They're easier to use than the OEM parts they replace, and come with raised pads for extra grip when driving with wet shoes.