The Spares Debate

Please, Please, Please - if you have anything to add to this debate, get in touch...

Mazda decided that it would be a realy good idea to market their new car (this was way back in 1989 when the '5 first came out) under three different names;

In it's home town of Japan, it's a Eunos Roadster (like mine)
In the USA it's a Miata
In Europe it's an MX-5
With me so far ?

Now for the fun part; rather than have one set of part numbers right across the board, they're different between the three different types !

Oh the fun. My local dealer says that he's quite happy to service Eunos Roadsters, but that some of the parts are different between my car and a Euro spec MX-5.
Get this; he says the door panels are different ! I find this so hard to believe that I just don't. Why would Mazda make a car that had to have different tooling for it's major body panels in different countries ? It would make no commercial sense.

Data will now be in a table to make it more legible, new stuff in bold;

Here's what I have so far;
Part / Difference In Question	Same / Different	Comments
Flare Holder	Different !	Apparently, that's what the plastic clips in the passenger footwell are for !
High (!) Level Stop Light	Different	Only recent European models sport these
ECU	Possibly Different	No firm evidence here, just heresay, but lots of it. Error codes are meant to be different.
Steering wheel	Different	It's on the wrong side in a Miata !
Steering wheel	Same	Confirmed sighting - Momo wheels on imports are the same as Euro spec cars
Headlamps	Different	Some Eunoses have a sealed beam unit
Windscreen Washer Bottle	May be different	Power steering, air-con and ABS conspire to move this in some cases
Throttle Cable	Different	Eunos has different shaped connector at pedal end, but can be modified (allegedly)
Back End	Different	Narrower number plate opening
Front End	Different	Different badge, some models have mounting holes behind holder, some don't; Year dependant ? I'm coming to the conclusion that this is not an import issure, more a year difference
Radio	Different	Won't tune to UK FM frquencies without a 'dongle'
Headrest Speakers	Different	Eunos has 'em, Euro cars don't
Temperature sensor on the cat	Different	Eunos has 'em, Euro cars don't (can be safely disconnected if needed)
Brake pads	Same	And don't let anyone tell you different !
All service parts	Same	Just make sure you get the year right !

Now please - if you know any facts about the differences between the models, please get in touch, and I'll add it to this page. I am especialy interested in Mazda part numbers, eg I want to be able to tell my dealer that I definitely want the same brake pads as a European spec car.
Of course, if you disagree with whatever I've just said, please let me know too, but please remember that I intend to publish any emails I get on the subject (unless you ask me not to, in which case of course I won't)