FT-86 v.s. MX-5

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by chackoc

To be fair they commented on the soft MX-5 suspension and I think most enthusiast drivers quickly upgrade the Mazda's suspension. Hopefully once these cars get into owners' hands we'll hear someone comment on the fun factor of a suspension modded MX-5 vs. suspension modded BRZ.

Yeah, the stock suspension on the NC, even the Suspension Package on the 2009+ cars, which is the firmest, is inexcusably high and soft. It really takes an otherwise wonderful car and makes it only very good. I ordered new dampers and springs within 24 hours of bringing the car home.

New dampers, springs, and sways really transform the car. You can get a decent setup for 800 dollars and have one of the best handling, most balance, most engaging cars around.

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by fatoni

i dont know where you are getting your info from but it had more than 170 hp. im not sure if you are surprised that whoever you are quoting is saying a turbo car is less responsive than a naturally aspirated car but that sounds to be par for the course. we can speculate all we want but i really do think mazda knows what people want considering they have had the miata in production for over 20 years.

I owned and MSM for several years.

The MSM has 178 BHP from the factory. The ECU programming was poor, and response was slow.

I agree that Mazda is the only company that has successfully built an affordable roadster for many years. The S2000 was the closest in terms of success: It was ~10 k$ more expensive and lasted about 10 years. The Sky/Solstice lasted just a few, and the MR2 Spyder is gone now, as well.

[Nambo]

Probably a repost but if you haven't seen it Popular Mechanics - 2013 BRZ vs 2012 Miata