4th gen ND Mazda MX-5 Miata

[Rampage]

Originally Posted by tahdizzle

A manual twin is not a 7.6 second 0-60.

So are you quoting estimates?

I never said 0-60. I said 0-100KPH. Those times are the times that the Toyota, Subaru and Mazda gave to the European press at the time of intro or pre-intro when all the hype was(is) flying around. 0-60MPH is an American thing and only requires one shift so it is significantly faster.

[Rampage]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

I definitely want to test drive the '16 MX-5 "just because." I'm perfectly happy with my BRZ and have no desire for any other car. Doesn't mean I don't want to give the new MX-5 a spin just to see what its like, though.

Yeah, I know where you are coming from. I followed the twins from inception and even drove up to the intro at NAIAS in Detroit to see them before release. Same thing with the new MX-5. I have seen one in metal at Daytona.

I love lightweight sports cars and get excited when a new one comes along. I did not buy a twin (did talk my son into buying a FR-S though) and I will not buy a MX-5. I am perfectly happy with my MR2 Spyder and all the mods I have done to it but I am also still a huge fan of these new entries into the market. And yes, I will drive one too.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Except the entire chassis design is evolutionary from the old Miata meaning COG is not going to lower than our cars. If it was, Mazda would be preaching from the rooftops about it.

Mileage, the Miata has always gotten "crap" mileage given it's engine size and weight. It's just geared too aggressively to get the RPM down for highway use.

I was hoping this car would be quite a bit faster than our cars so maybe it would light a fire under Subaru/Toyota's asses to compete...

Old miatas have a lower cog than the frs. All mazdas had poor gas mileage before they got the skyactiv treatment which this miata has.

[Levi]

COG!!! Lol, that is marketing.

I prefer proper balance like the MX-5 (50:50) thanks to mid-front layout rather than low COG of the Twins with front biased balance.

[EAGLE5]

I prefer having rear seats.

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

I own a Miata and a BRZ. The Miata is more fun in most settings, other than a boring straight road where the s/c on my BRZ obviously makes it more fun. I drive the Miata daily and at auto x, sometimes I go weeks without thinking about driving the BRZ.

I can't wait to get a newer Miata in a few years, they are just such honest fun little cars that love being thrashed around.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Levi

COG!!! Lol, that is marketing.

I prefer proper balance like the MX-5 (50:50) thanks to mid-front layout rather than low COG of the Twins with front biased balance.

The MX-5 is actually slightly front-biased, similar to the FR-S.

http://media.caranddriver.com/files/...icle-chart.pdf

Even the NA and NB Miatas were front-biased.

Originally Posted by BRZZZZZZZZZZ

I own a Miata and a BRZ. The Miata is more fun in most settings, other than a boring straight road where the s/c on my BRZ obviously makes it more fun. I drive the Miata daily and at auto x, sometimes I go weeks without thinking about driving the BRZ.

I can't wait to get a newer Miata in a few years, they are just such honest fun little cars that love being thrashed around.

How much of that would you say is due to top-down motoring? I've always enjoyed driving my friend's various Miatas (NA and NC) and thought about getting one myself, but I'll probably only drop the top a few times per year. When I think about driving both cars with the top up, I think I'd enjoy driving the FR-S more, but it's hard to say.

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

The MX-5 is actually slightly front-biased, similar to the FR-S.

http://media.caranddriver.com/files/...icle-chart.pdf

Even the NA and NB Miatas were front-biased.



How much of that would you say is due to top-down motoring? I've always enjoyed driving my friend's various Miatas (NA and NC) and thought about getting one myself, but I'll probably only drop the top a few times per year. When I think about driving both cars with the top up, I think I'd enjoy driving the FR-S more, but it's hard to say.

With my other Miata a lot of it was top down balls to the wall (it also had a JRSC on it though), but this one I actually have a hardtop on it and nowhere to store it so I don't get a lot of top down days sadly. I love having the top down though, I go for blats with my dad in his Caterham a lot, and we just run it with no doors just wind deflectors which is awesome.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by BRZZZZZZZZZZ

With my other Miata a lot of it was top down balls to the wall (it also had a JRSC on it though), but this one I actually have a hardtop on it and nowhere to store it so I don't get a lot of top down days sadly. I love having the top down though, I go for blats with my dad in his Caterham a lot, and we just run it with no doors just wind deflectors which is awesome.

Yeah I love all the additional sights/sounds/smells you get with the top down. Makes for a very different experience. Hmm maybe I can justify buying a Miata as a third car

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Yeah I love all the additional sights/sounds/smells you get with the top down. Makes for a very different experience. Hmm maybe I can justify buying a Miata as a third car

Do it. I have so much fun in mine. Consumables and parts are incredibly cheap, not terrible on fuel (takes regular as a bonus), top is easy to put up and down, and its basically the whole principle of the twins just better, you get that feeling of fun and working the car without having to go extreme speeds.

I am on the fence about trying to keep mine on the road as long as possible or turning it into a Exocet in a couple years.

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by funwheeldrive

Since when has the Miata ever been about speed? They made a car that weighs 100lbs less than the 4C and it costs half as much. That's pretty damn impressive.

I don't wish the GT86 had more power, I wish it weighed less.

Mmmm the 4C has been called overpriced quite a lot. It's also been called overhyped.


Weighing less leads to durability issues down the line, and/or a significant increase in price because of more expensive materials used.

Originally Posted by Rampage

The new MX-5's mileage is pretty good.

Auto
27 city 36 highway
Manual
27 city 34 highway

I am not sure anyone really buys the MX-5 or the Twins for fuel economy.

As far as performance, I am sure the head to head with the twins will come but right not the MX-5 is reported to do 0-100KPH in 7.3 seconds and the twins in 7.6 seconds. Until the actual independent test comes we will not know but it looks like performance wise they are going to be close. I doubt that Toyota or Subaru will feel the need to up the power in the twins due to the 2016 MX-5. Toyota never gave their last sports, the MR-S, a power boost in response to Mazda upping the power and displacement of the Miata. None of these cars are made to compete in the HP arms race.

I bought the BRZ over the WRX because of the massive difference in MPG...


Still think final drive ratios are why the two cars feel so different. Miatas generally came with 4.30 when we're running a 4.1.


I seem to remember the MR-S being faster than the Miata until the Mazdaspeed came out, but my memory is a bit foggy.

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

Will I still find it uncomfortably small inside?

From photos and it's stated dimensions, probably. Realistically, people complaining about the BRZ being heavy compared to the Miata are forgetting it's a hell of an achievement given the interior volume and trunk space of the car compared to the Miata.

Originally Posted by fatoni

Old miatas have a lower cog than the frs. All mazdas had poor gas mileage before they got the skyactiv treatment which this miata has.

Only the NA and it's progressively gotten higher through the years as the car has grown in size. I will be curious what it's real world MPG numbers will be though given the skyactive treatment.

Originally Posted by Levi

COG!!! Lol, that is marketing.

I prefer proper balance like the MX-5 (50:50) thanks to mid-front layout rather than low COG of the Twins with front biased balance.

Bashing the twins again, why am I not surprised...

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

How much of that would you say is due to top-down motoring? I've always enjoyed driving my friend's various Miatas (NA and NC) and thought about getting one myself, but I'll probably only drop the top a few times per year. When I think about driving both cars with the top up, I think I'd enjoy driving the FR-S more, but it's hard to say.

I can't tell you how many times I wish my BRZ was a targa top like my old Supra... Open air motoring is fun and there isn't enough fun cars to have it in.

[Levi]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Bashing the twins again, why am I not surprised...

No, just defending the MX-5 from you bashing it. I don't get this rivalry, makes no sense, on the contrary it is good to have three options today.

[funwheeldrive]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Weighing less leads to durability issues down the line

That's the first I've heard of this. Do you have any sources for that?

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by funwheeldrive

That's the first I've heard of this. Do you have any sources for that?

Generally speaking any part that sees a load will experience a measurable stress. Most materials have a fatigue limit where given enough stress cycles the part is statistically doomed. However, a part that is over-designed can be strong enough that the expected stress is so small it theoretically never wears and fails, this part is either A. heavy because extra mass was added to reduce the stress at the critical area or B. expensive because high quality materials that are stronger or more durable were used.

This is not easy to find in a source but rather obvious after several courses in material science, design, and stress analysis.