86 Engine Failure, typical reasons?

[alex87f]

I was thinking I know three people who killed 86 engines:
-one died after 30+ laps at Spa on a hot day, without an oil cooler
-one was supercharged and putting out in excess of 400hp
-the last had its oil filter pop off the oil cooler sandwich plate. By the time the oil pressure light came on, it was -as expected- too late

So: heavy track use without supporting mods, heavy modding and bad modding.

[Asura]

Thanks for the info on this everyone. I’ll definitely consider the 86. I think its now down to a test drive.

I mean seeing the drift king having the 86 also kind of made em consider it too although its logically stupid in an cost kind of perspective. But when your an enthusiast, that means fuck all lol.

I’ll definitely will baby the car whichever I end up getting.

[Qwimby1]

I'm surprised at the comment about ND steering. The thing I like least about my 86 is the steering, which I don't care much for. I put 200,000 miles on a pair of Miatas,one a 94 NA and the other in 05 NB Mazdaspeed turbo with all the Flyin' Miata mods. The steering was fantastic on both. You could feel every grain of sand in the road. I think I've only briefly driven 2 NDs, but I don't recall the steering being subpar.


As for reliability, I have a 2014 Monogram edition. The extras make a big difference, or I would prefer a later model. I bought mine with 27,000 miles on it and it now has 60,000. Changed the spark plugs a short time ago and they didn't need it. Have been running E 85 for about the last 20,000 miles. Change oil at 5000 miles and Blackstone tells me it's perfect. However I got careless the last time and went about 7500 miles and had a slightly high aluminum reading. I'll keep changes at 5 thousand max from now on. I've run 0W30 or 5W30 Mobil One ever since I've had the car.


I also have a Phantom electric supercharger, and have the warning light set at 6K. It's winding so fast at that point I have to get off it quickly to keep from going much higher. Seems to me that's a way to avoid a lot of stress on that engine. With any upshift at that RPM, I'm still well into the ESC boost.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

I'm surprised at the comment about ND steering. The thing I like least about my 86 is the steering, which I don't care much for.

From my reading most people (on forums and in professional reviews) find the Twins' steering to be great, often touted as one of the best EPS units for any price range. I find that there is a similar (although somewhat less strong) consensus that the ND steering is pretty numb. I agree with these assessments for both cars (own a BRZ and driven an ND2).
However, there are people that find the ND steering good (and comparable to NA/NB steering, just read some ND steering discussions on miata.net) and people that find the Twins steering to be poor. I guess it's a matter of personal preference and what you are looking for in steering feel.