MX5/Miata Thread
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DanRoM
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The NA is way better suited for this kind of duty than the ND because of the roof leaving some space when opened.
public
Captain Slow Charging
Yeah, and the interior is far more kickable without the threat of leaving scuffs.
Saw a red and a white 124 Spider yesterday. It looks bigger on pictures than it really is. But a handsome, good looking car. I still prefer the size of the MX-5 and the car itself over the 124, mainly because I don't like it when they make it artificially bigger, and I think the styling of the MX-5 is still better.
DanRoM
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Back on the summer tyres with the abysmal grip on wet roads. Oversteering on corner exit is almost mandatory. Mazda really made a bad choice with the OEM supplier on the ND.
Serious warning: Bridgestone Potenza S001. Do not buy.
Serious warning: Bridgestone Potenza S001. Do not buy.
altoid
I donated for the custom title. Suck it.
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Don't know if this has been posted here, but here it is anyway:
Lastsoul
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Slight rant about RHD: I bought a spare engine for my NA. This 1.6 came from UK, where it was removed from a rolled wreck. Only after purchasing it I learnt it was from a turbocharged car, and on close inspection I learnt it was from semi-official batch produced by BBR in early 90s. Yeah, the same BBR producing NA and forced induction kits for NA.
It got better: the engine came with few BBR goodies. I was happy to learn it was fitted with oil-to-coolant heat exchanger and modified intake brace ? this was great news, since I'm pretty sure the removal of that brace cause my intake to vibrate at a frequency where the throttle body shaft started to resonate, which in turn led to the failure of the shaft. Instead of modifying OEM brace to clear my current oil cooler I just bolted on the BBR part.
The engine also came with BBR modified oil pan, which had a welded pipe for oil return line. This is much better than my current tapered and glued return, so I happily kept the BBR oil pan in my new engine. I cleaned it, checked the bottom end bearings, installed and sealed the oil pan, fitted all auxiliary devices, new timing belt, all seals etc.
Just before I proceeded to lift the new engine to my car I realized one thing I should've done at the beginning: the oil pan is from the UK. The car was RHD. Mine is LHD.
My beloved oil return line has been welded directly into a place which is taken by the steering column in LHD car.
So lesson learned: always thing clearly which kind of effect RHD parts might have on your LHD car.
Now my car is only oil pan change away from being back on the road. :lol:
It got better: the engine came with few BBR goodies. I was happy to learn it was fitted with oil-to-coolant heat exchanger and modified intake brace ? this was great news, since I'm pretty sure the removal of that brace cause my intake to vibrate at a frequency where the throttle body shaft started to resonate, which in turn led to the failure of the shaft. Instead of modifying OEM brace to clear my current oil cooler I just bolted on the BBR part.
The engine also came with BBR modified oil pan, which had a welded pipe for oil return line. This is much better than my current tapered and glued return, so I happily kept the BBR oil pan in my new engine. I cleaned it, checked the bottom end bearings, installed and sealed the oil pan, fitted all auxiliary devices, new timing belt, all seals etc.
Just before I proceeded to lift the new engine to my car I realized one thing I should've done at the beginning: the oil pan is from the UK. The car was RHD. Mine is LHD.
My beloved oil return line has been welded directly into a place which is taken by the steering column in LHD car.
So lesson learned: always thing clearly which kind of effect RHD parts might have on your LHD car.
Now my car is only oil pan change away from being back on the road. :lol:
A friend is looking to pick up an NC. Naturally, I get to do inspections and such.
Guidance for what I should look for?
Guidance for what I should look for?
equiraptor
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This is not true for all NCs in all situations. My NC has had the battery out and/or disconnected multiple times and has had no issues with idling. I know the ECU reset as I had to reinitialize the DSC (which is easy to do from inside the car), but the car idled fine. I've heard others mention that their cars initially had troubles idling after a battery disconnect, but simply running the car for a time resolved it - the ECU just had to relearn parameters. It didn't need a reflash. Maybe some software versions need the reflash, but it's definitely not something constant on all NCs.
The rubber in the top seals can age and start to leak. Additionally, there are drains for areas near the top where water can collect. These drains can be clogged by debris and may need cleaning at times. The frequency of cleaning seems to vary by how the car was stored - mine's never needed cleaning and has been garaged essentially its entire life. But learning where these drains are and checking them can give you insight into the car's past.
There are other things that vary by year and option. What years and what options would your friend be looking for, EyeMWing?
Any year NC (though 07 is the earliest for practical financing)
Removable hardtop permissible but will not be retained.
Other than that, nothing special aside from some abstract prohibition of 'shitty colors'.
Will be in the sub-$10k price range, so I expect to be dealing with more crap than not-crap.
Removable hardtop permissible but will not be retained.
Other than that, nothing special aside from some abstract prohibition of 'shitty colors'.
Will be in the sub-$10k price range, so I expect to be dealing with more crap than not-crap.
Last edited:
equiraptor
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Yeah, that price range will be old and/or crap. A while ago a friend would looking and could find NC1s (so 2006-2008) in the 80k mile range for around $8,000, but that's in Texas markets. Most of the cars were in pretty bad shape. One was moderately modified, but actually in decent shape, and the mods were quality parts installed properly. The mods scared off other buyers, so it was a relatively good car for its price.
If you're looking at 6MTs, expect the transmission to be notchy. It is. This is normal. Particularly 2nd gear when cold. I really like the feel, but some don't. If it's a bit more notchy than your friend would like, a different transmission fluid can help. If it's significantly too notchy, look to the 5MT (which is much smoother). The notchiness isn't a sign of a problem with the transmission, though. If you don't already know this, both 5MT and 6MT in the NC1 rev quite high on the freeway. As I approach 80 mph, I approach 4,000 rpm in 6th gear. Again, it's normal, not a sign of issues.
If the 6MT feels odd, grinds, or is stubborn about going into 4th gear (specifically), this is probably a misalignment of the 3/4 shift fork (it can affect 3rd as well, but it typically shows up on 4th gear first). It's an easy alignment to do, but your friend may not want to deal with it.
Take a good look at the top. There are a few potential issues. There are straps on the inside of the top, in the rear, near the rear window. These can fray or otherwise be damaged. On the tan cloth top, wear points can appear on the outside top corners. These are just discoloration (it happened to mine), but they're unsightly.
The seat belts may not retract well. There are retainer clips on the seats, and these grab the belts a bit too strongly. If you just... take off the belt, it retracts slowly. If you help it go through the clip, it should still retract fine. That probably doesn't make much sense without seeing the seats, but when you see the car, it'll make sense.
I don't remember any other NC specific concerns off the top of my head, but my car's been well behaved (other than some early warranty issues), so there may be things I don't know about.
If you're looking at 6MTs, expect the transmission to be notchy. It is. This is normal. Particularly 2nd gear when cold. I really like the feel, but some don't. If it's a bit more notchy than your friend would like, a different transmission fluid can help. If it's significantly too notchy, look to the 5MT (which is much smoother). The notchiness isn't a sign of a problem with the transmission, though. If you don't already know this, both 5MT and 6MT in the NC1 rev quite high on the freeway. As I approach 80 mph, I approach 4,000 rpm in 6th gear. Again, it's normal, not a sign of issues.
If the 6MT feels odd, grinds, or is stubborn about going into 4th gear (specifically), this is probably a misalignment of the 3/4 shift fork (it can affect 3rd as well, but it typically shows up on 4th gear first). It's an easy alignment to do, but your friend may not want to deal with it.
Take a good look at the top. There are a few potential issues. There are straps on the inside of the top, in the rear, near the rear window. These can fray or otherwise be damaged. On the tan cloth top, wear points can appear on the outside top corners. These are just discoloration (it happened to mine), but they're unsightly.
The seat belts may not retract well. There are retainer clips on the seats, and these grab the belts a bit too strongly. If you just... take off the belt, it retracts slowly. If you help it go through the clip, it should still retract fine. That probably doesn't make much sense without seeing the seats, but when you see the car, it'll make sense.
I don't remember any other NC specific concerns off the top of my head, but my car's been well behaved (other than some early warranty issues), so there may be things I don't know about.