Will I be happy with the MX 5?

[booki89]

Hey all - new to the forum and the MX 5 in general.

I am contemplating getting a MX5, I would be using it just for driving to work and weekend drives.

Are these things still fun in stock form? Or do they really need a turbo kit to have some fun? I am a little skeptical because my current weekend car is a R33 GTR. But like the idea of something manual, small, enough power to have some fun. And a convertible.

Are these things expensive to maintain? Or no different to the old holden/fords?
How is parts availability?

Currently looking at the NA Series, not many 1.8's for sale, most are 1.6. They all seem to hold there value too....most sellers asking about 7k for a clean example.

This thread has probably started bad, with me making no sense. But just looking for some opinion's;
Do you like/love your car?
Has it been reliable?
What performance mods have you done to it?
Where you happy with it standard?

[M1474]

They are a blast to drive stock. You won't look back.

[Black_Penguin]

They are plenty of fun in stock form, more power can be nice but most people will be content with stock power levels or small improvements over stock. MX-5's are more about the corners than the straights in-between.
Cost no more to service than any other small car.
Most parts are readily available from Mazda, speciality MX-5 retailers or overseas vendors.

To answer the questions I love my car.
Has been reliable as a Swiss watch.
I've done full exhaust system, CAI, suspension, race seat and sway bars.
I was happy with it stock but a man has to have a hobby right?

[itrungs]

The only downside with an MX5 is that it is a slow accelerating car. The upside is that it's fun, reliable, cheap to maintain and easy to live with everyday.

I've had some guys in WRX's and Skyline's tailgate me all the way up until a corner, to disappear from my rear view mirror whilst I go around the corner. The thing with an MX5 is that it will teach you how to drive, and I find myself learning new things everyday.

An MX5 will show you what driving is all about and it rewards you as you progress as a driver. A great car hands down.

[Craig]

Road registered go cart...say no more!

[taminga16]

A better question may have been "ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR MX-5"?
You will love it, have a look through here for purchasing advice and drive a few because even a 'roughy' will feel good.
Greg.

[Dehamsta]

Try to find one selling on this forum. I find the prices on carsales to be slightly on the high side. Usually I find that a $7k car on carsales is equivalent to a $5k car on here. That's just what I've noticed. Others may not agree.

[Nevyn72]

Try to find one selling on this forum. I find the prices on carsales to be slightly on the high side. Usually I find that a $7k car on carsales is equivalent to a $5k car on here. That's just what I've noticed. Others may not agree.

Think of carsales listings as the 'wish' price, you rarely ever end up paying that much!

To answer the original question, if you enjoy driving rather than traffic light drag strips, and don't feel the need to carry too much stuff around with you you'll be very happy with the MX5!

[NitroDann]

A 250hp mx5 with suspension and tyres is literally a supercar. Thats why you see a lot of turbo ones, this doesnt mean that a stock or stockish one isnt a lot of fun.

You will find yourself disappointed in a lot of the characteristics of your GTR after owning an MX5.

Dann

[TTT]

I went from an rb25 r32 gtst to my 1.6 mx5.
You won't miss the power after your first mountain drive.

Suspension and tyres and they are perfect.

[Lokiel]

I have a modified/turbocharged MX5 which is currently getting an engine build at MX5 Plus so I don't have it over the Xmas break.
A co-worker lent me his 1.6L Eunos roadster over the break and I still find it a blast to drive. The car looks quite beat up with a dodgy fluorescent yellow/green respray and no paint on the bonnet but it runs and handles well and still puts a smile on my face.

As others have said, they're not much off the line but on the twisty stuff they're phenomenal and make you feel like a little kid.

Also, there's something about a low convertible that just makes it so much more fun than it should be, even in slow DD traffic; 60kph feels like 100kph in most cars, who doesn't want that?

Reliability? The stock engine is bulletproof, easily capable of 300,000kms.

[booki89]

Thanks for the responses everyone!
Good too know the prices on carsales are a bit high.

Is it worth paying more for a 1.8 NA?
Considering I may end up turboing it later down the line if I sell the gtr.

[Lokiel]

Thanks for the responses everyone!
Good too know the prices on carsales are a bit high.

Is it worth paying more for a 1.8 NA?
Considering I may end up turboing it later down the line if I sell the gtr.

Yup - just do a few searches on http://www.miataturbo.net/ for additional confirmation (DO NOT ASK NOOB QUESTIONS WITHOUT SEARCHING FIRST THOUGH!)

The 1.6 revs free-er but the 1.8 has more torque.

[NMX516]

Is it worth paying more for a 1.8 NA?
Considering I may end up turboing it later down the line if I sell the gtr.

Yes.

Or these days you can find NB's for under $10k, which have bigger brakes, stiffer chassis, all 1.8's. Later NB's add 6spd, bigger brakes again, ABS, VVT, more chassis bracing... The NB8A head is the best to use for turbo'ing as it has the largest ports of any of the NA/NB heads, so might be worth looking at NB8A's for starters.

The NA's are more 'bare bones' and raw, with potentially more DIY modding appeal than NB's.

[Zej]

Are these things still fun in stock form? Or do they really need a turbo kit to have some fun? I am a little skeptical because my current weekend car is a R33 GTR. But like the idea of something manual, small, enough power to have some fun. And a convertible.

Do you like/love your car?

Hell yes! I just replaced a 320bhp supercharged Jaguar XJR with an '02 NB MX5. Heaps of fun to have, as long as your idea of fun isn't the traffic-light grand-prix. The handling and feedback of these cars is out of this world - you can feel exactly what each corner of the car is doing, even when changing lanes. It rewards good driving, and forgiving with ham-fistedness.

Downsides - didn't realize quite how much I'd miss the bootspace of a normal sedan - even small boxes use the passenger seat as the boot is very shallow, having trouble locating a tow-bar to transport my bicycle and road-noise can get tiring on long trips. But all is forgiven at 1am, top down, heater on, swinging from bend-to-bend up and down Mt Dandenong tourist Rd.