back in the Miata game... third time is a charm?

First Miata was a 1992 NA6.  I basically bought it as a wrench toy and threw every mod in the book at it, including turbo.  Was an amazingly fun car, but unfortunately it also got me hooked on the track.  As I got faster I started to realize that I had a car that lacked the reliability that I wanted for track use, and lacked the comfort I wanted for street use.  Off it went.

Second Miata was also a red NA6.  I bought this one fully caged and maybe 60% of the way to being a Spec Miata.  I put the work in to finish preparing it, took it to race school and got it through SCCA tech, and raced it for a year.  It was great for my needs at the time, but I soon realized that it wasn't anywhere close to competitive and truly competitive SM's are pretty expensive.  Off it went... and I moved to Spec Racer Ford.

My only vehicle for the last year has been the F-150 I use to pull the race trailer.  I really missed having a fun, comfortable street car and something I can do a casual track day with once in a while.  The RF Miatas have had my full attention, and the numerous threads here at GRM haven't dissuaded me. 

So this week I noticed that a local dealership had a 2019 RF Club in ceramic metallic that was suspiciously underpriced.  When I stopped by to look at it, I found that the price was low because it had a minor incident on the Carfax, and had been "modified" by the previous owner and they couldn't do Certified Pre Owned.  Well, as I looked it over I found that the previous owner had put $5k+ of mods into the car, and mostly the same ones that I would have done anyway.  Ohlins R&T suspension, Progress sway bars, Roadstersport exhaust, chassis braces, brand new Michelin tires.  Long story short... made a fairly lowball offer and she is mine.  Early report... I am in love.

Nice! They look remarkably good in white and I've never figured out what it is that's different. It's just more coupe-like.

I'm usually not a huge fan of white for curvy sports cars, but the metal flake really helps pick up the body lines.  It's a really nice paint color, looks different in every light.  I love the contrast of the black wheels, mirrors and trim.  Could use a tiny splash of color somewhere... maybe I'll paint the calipers at some point.

OOOH -- so hot!  Enjoy . . .

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm usually not a huge fan of white for curvy sports cars, but the metal flake really helps pick up the body lines.  It's a really nice paint color, looks different in every light.  I love the contrast of the black wheels, mirrors and trim.  Could use a tiny splash of color somewhere... maybe I'll paint the calipers at some point.

A set of white side markers to clean things up and install a set of the factory aero bits painted in a contrasting color? Stripes options. Fun fact: I designed and cut those stripes by hand for this car when it went to SEMA, and they've now been knocked off and are showing up on NDs all over the place :)

Have you had a chance to get the revs over 6k yet? That's where the ND2 separates itself from the ND1. Wonderful little engine.

I want to try one of these. I hated the soft top on my na8. This might be the way to go. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Hmmm... I own a vinyl cutter. This has me thinking some things...

Nicely done sir.

I have a supercharged nb 

took a ride in a car like yours and was VERY impressed 

well done!

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Here are some variations on the theme - this was the FM ND fleet at Miata Reunion 2017. All hand-cut stripes, I never did get around to digitizing the design.

More of the white.

Had to drive from Atlanta to Charlotte for work today, so figured why not take the new whip?  Initial driving report:

- got 40 mpg on the highway!  Spent a good amount of that time at 80+ mph

- The ND chassis and the Ohlins suspension is really, really good.  The highway in SC has been under construction forever and the road quality is roughly equivalent to Kabul.  Car was very composed through all that.

- It's noisy.  Not NA Miata noisy, but there's a good amount of road noise.  Tolerable for long trips but definitely not a Lexus

- I'm not really a loud exhaust guy and I was worried about the RoadsterSport Race exhaust- basically a straight pipe with a Hemholtz resonator to cut drone.  My fears were unfounded, the exhaust noise on the highway is not noticeable over the road noise and the sounds around town are delicious.

- The drivetrain is magnificent.  Best shifter I've ever felt, and there's not a close 2nd.  The motor is wonderful and perfectly matched to the chassis.  People who complain about power based on published numbers without driving the thing are misinformed.  It has great torque down low and really rips on the top end.

- Bose stereo is surprisingly good and Apple Carplay is a game changer.

- Seats get a C-, maybe a D.  The bottom is hard as a rock and there's no lumbar support at all.  I need to figure out a solution for this if I'm going to take long trips.  I'm six feet tall and I probably need to look into one of those seat lowering kits, my head is an inch from the roof.

Overall, it's an utterly fantastic car.  

Okay so which one is the better daily car, the turbo, supercharger or the V8? 

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

We have taken all of them on cross-country road trips - and when I think about it, the cars have the same suspension and rolling stock so they're a pretty good match. The only real difference is the brakes. I've done thousand-mile days in both the turbo and the V8, not that long in the SC.

I'm partial to the turbo for its ability to disappear into the background and just get out of the way. It's got more mid-range torque than this particular supercharger as well, which is counter to everything your daddy told you about turbos and superchargers - but you can't play games with the boost curve using cam timing on a super. Better fuel economy too, slightly.

Personally, I will always grab the keys to the V8 because it speaks to my soul. Sure, you'll spend more on gasoline if you're doing stop and go - but that gasoline is going to a good cause.

40 MPG is great, I'm happy to get 25 with my NB1 at interstate speeds (and usually don't).

I've said it before, the ND is the first truly modern Miata. They've always used tech that was a little behind the times, but the ND is up to the minute. The difference in torque and efficiency on the Skyactive engine is amazing when compared to the antique BP, and it's crazy light to boot.

Keith Tanner said:

I've said it before, the ND is the first truly modern Miata. They've always used tech that was a little behind the times, but the ND is up to the minute. The difference in torque and efficiency on the Skyactive engine is amazing when compared to the antique BP, and it's crazy light to boot.

I probably expected this motor to be basically a more powerful BP, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  Totally different character- revs like crazy, great midrange torque, happy all the way to the redline.  My turbo NA6 was running an honest 200hp at the wheels on a Mustang dyno, and I'm 100% sure this is the faster car because of the low/mid range torque.  

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

The willingness to rev is what's impressed me most about the engine in the ND2. It revs like it has a really light flywheel, but with none of the trade-offs. I've been really happy with mine.

Your comment on the exhaust is interesting. Exhaust and sway bars are the only two things I've considered as possible future upgrades, and the Helmholtz-type systems are intriguing. 

02Pilot said:

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

The willingness to rev is what's impressed me most about the engine in the ND2. It revs like it has a really light flywheel, but with none of the trade-offs. I've been really happy with mine.

Your comment on the exhaust is interesting. Exhaust and sway bars are the only two things I've considered as possible future upgrades, and the Helmholtz-type systems are intriguing. 

It surprised me too, I NEVER would have picked the RS Race based on descriptions and videos, it's basically just an open pipe with the resonator in parallel.  I had a Roadstersport 3 on my NA6, which should have been more quiet than this, and hated it- way too boomy.  The only explanation I can think of is that the resonator works as advertised to kill the drone around 3k RPM.

Nice! I've been afraid to go drive one because I'm afraid I'll sign the papers right there. Which would make Miata #4 if I were to do such a thing. 

Picked up an NB1 for the 4th Miata.  Had to do a ton of deferred maintenance from previous park and clean owners.  It's fought me every step of the way (4 broken wheel studs, anyone?) but it's been fun to drive.  I rented it to film companies 5 times for background.  we call it "Carmilla" because of the British racing green and the total bitch it has been. Aftrer 3 NA's I wanted something a little more civilized.

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

02Pilot said:

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

The willingness to rev is what's impressed me most about the engine in the ND2. It revs like it has a really light flywheel, but with none of the trade-offs. I've been really happy with mine.

Your comment on the exhaust is interesting. Exhaust and sway bars are the only two things I've considered as possible future upgrades, and the Helmholtz-type systems are intriguing. 

It surprised me too, I NEVER would have picked the RS Race based on descriptions and videos, it's basically just an open pipe with the resonator in parallel.  I had a Roadstersport 3 on my NA6, which should have been more quiet than this, and hated it- way too boomy.  The only explanation I can think of is that the resonator works as advertised to kill the drone around 3k RPM.

It's nice to know. I plan to use mine for road trips, and a booming or otherwise harsh exhaust is a non-starter.

As far as the seats, I wouldn't rate them quite as low as you did, but they aren't great (I'm spoiled by the sport seats in my 128i, but still...). Mazda recently sent me a detailed ownership survey, and I did mention the seats as an area of concern, both for comfort and range of adjustment. That said, I've done 300+ mile days in them without any real discomfort at the end of the day.

Day 2 report- drove home from Charlotte, for a total of 500+ miles in two days.  MPG for the whole trip (highway and city) was 38.6.  I tried a different seat position, moving the seat one click closer to the steering wheel and reclining it one more click.  This helped a lot with comfort.  I'm thinking if I can drop the seat a bit it will put my legs a bit higher, which will further improve comfort.  I just ordered the Aurora seat lowering kit, which was not cheap but if it were a factory option I would have gladly paid it so...

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Here are some variations on the theme - this was the FM ND fleet at Miata Reunion 2017. All hand-cut stripes, I never did get around to digitizing the design.

I was re-reading this thread and realized my car is the ceramic color on the left of Keith's photo, not the white in the center.  It's interesting to see them side by side, definitely easier to see the body lines on the ceramic.  I love the color!

It's a weird color to photograph, comes out very different depending on the light. I agree it shows off the lines better, and your comments about the metal flake had me wondering if this was the case. 

Our famous ND V8 is that color, so there are no shortage of pictures showing how it looks with the factory aero and the stripes :)

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

Day 2 report- drove home from Charlotte, for a total of 500+ miles in two days.  MPG for the whole trip (highway and city) was 38.6.  I tried a different seat position, moving the seat one click closer to the steering wheel and reclining it one more click.  This helped a lot with comfort.  I'm thinking if I can drop the seat a bit it will put my legs a bit higher, which will further improve comfort.  I just ordered the Aurora seat lowering kit, which was not cheap but if it were a factory option I would have gladly paid it so...

WHOA! No joke, just looked up the seat lowering kit. I've only sat in an ND and even though I'm not tall, I wanted to be lower in the car.