mx5cartalk.com

Hey all,

So I'm making a return to buy an mx5 again, its only a question of which model that will suit my needs.
I'm after a daily driver with occasional on-track/ hill climb or even gymkhana on the weekends. I used to own an NB and I will end up going for one with the VVTI motor as I like the smooth power delivery. I'm very interested in an NC model as well with the slightly bigger motor and stronger stiffer chassis in my mind will aid it on the track. I'm looking to buy as stock as possible so I can do all the mods myself and I feel more comfortable knowing if my car has only been daily dríven in its life before I get a hold of it.

So what are peoples verdict on the better platform? I have never dríven an NC before so that may be a good place too start. Either car I do plan on moding with suspension/wheels/air intake and exhaust. I feel the NB is a slightly cheaper option to find so is it worth going for an NC? or just spend a bit extra on an NB to get it a little stiffer and nimbler?

I’m a bit biased but I’d say the NC is the better car for daily duties and on the track.

For daily duties the NC is comfortable to drive around and has more room than the NB.

Like you already know the NC has a better chassis being the first ground up redesign since the 80’s and I don’t think stiffening up a NB with bracing is close to getting a car that was built with a better design (the NC also has a wider track width which helps handling).

Other advantages of the NC are bigger brakes, a more powerful engine (Just a header + exhaust + tune will get you around 105kw), easier to fit big wheel/tyre combos, tunability of the stock ECU etc..

The downside of the NC is that it's heavier but in my opinion it makes up for that with the rest of the package. The ‘proof' of this is in the track times similarly modified NB & NC’s do.

NC if it's dual purpose. You'd probably spend the cost difference between the two just finding the extra power.


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You'll only pay another $5,000 for a NC so it's a no brainer.
15+ year old technology vs 10 year old.

00-01 nb8b low km is the best option

The ( NC) chief advantage is that you get a later model car with probably less KLM's. Thats not to say ones preference could be for an NB because the cars are simply not the same and the older car is just that much closer to a traditional classic sports car and the NC does not have the same character. Just basing every decision on what performs better is not really the point. Drive an NC and see if it is quite the fun of an NB.There are plenty of NA and Nb being dríven daily. You can probably get parts more easily for Nb as well??

I definitely think you should just go and drive a NC and see what you think. You already have a connection to the NB so you may end up preferring to return to that familiar feeling.

I think they both balance out pretty evenly - you can get a nice low KM '00/'01 NB8B for around $7-8k, and a similar km '05-06 NC for around $12k. I didn't have any immediate track intentions so the slight extra power wasn't really an issue (shorter ratios in the NB makes a big difference) and my first MX5 experience was in a NB and I just fell in love with that exact feeling so I went with the NB8B, even though the NC would probably suit being a daily a bit better.

The NC is arguably better, but by all accounts it has a different feel. On the track I'd probably go NC (just), on the road to put around in NC would be more civilised but for weekend drives and enjoyment I'd definitely think I'd prefer a NB.

Just try one

As others have said you need to try one, for not much more than an NC you can get an NB SE and for the money that's the better buy.

I just recently bought another NB8B (so my second now) and I drove an NC at a dealer years ago when I had my first NB and it just felt soft compared to the NB; but each to their own.