NC Miata Question

Hello. New here...sort of. I haven't been on GRM in so long my account was deleted. I need a second car to back up the Civic since it's misbehaving a little (and at some point I'd like to do some work that requires taking it off the road a while), and I've settled on a NC Miata (used). I can live with the premium fuel requirement. My question is, what are the thoughts/opinions on getting the sport package with the 6-speed, bilsteins, and performance differential? Is it worth the extra cost/effort to find one considering it's going to be a road car? I've seen an msr package mentioned online during my research. Would that be a reasonable alternative down the road if I decide to use the NC for more than just normal driving? Thanks for any feedback.

Paul

This discussion started a few days ago, so may be worth a look.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-nc-mx5s/57599/page1/

I have the sport pkg NC. The six speed tends to be a little short for autocross in my experience. The LSD works great though.

Downsides, the OEM clutch is not long for this world under track conditions and the brakes and the clutch share a common reseviour, so upgrade to good fluid. If you don't, shifting can get chunky after a few hot laps.

I can't for the life of me understand how boiled brake fluid makes the clutch spongy just by sharing a common reseviour. The hard lines are (obviously) seperate so I don't see a bubble getting in, but there it is.

The MSR kit may make sense if you want to race in stock classes, but the aftermarket can also provide some options.

You'll probably find that the 5-speed cars aren't all that common. I'd certainly try to get a car with the LSD if you can.

colaboy wrote: the brakes and the clutch share a common reseviour, so upgrade to good fluid. If you don't, shifting can get chunky after a few hot laps.

Wow who's the genius who thought that up? I bet it knocked a whole dollar off the production cost of each car.

GameboyRMH wrote:

colaboy wrote: the brakes and the clutch share a common reseviour, so upgrade to good fluid. If you don't, shifting can get chunky after a few hot laps.

Wow who's the genius who thought that up? I bet it knocked a whole dollar off the production cost of each car.

Someone a couple or few decades ago. Mazda has been doing it for awhile, and it's not uncommon overall.

Curious: What changes, exactly, were made for 2009? Is it worth it in spite of the uglier smiley face front fascia?

Some suspension tweaks. The manual trans cars also got forged rods and crank, stiffer valve springs and some piston design changes that let Mazda bump the redline by 500 rpm. It's also got an intake pipe that's designed to funnel engine noise into the cockpit as well as an oil cooler. There was some dinking around inside the transmission case as well - synchros, I think.

I actually think the smiley face is a slight improvement on the original Doughboy design.

GameboyRMH wrote: I actually think the smiley face is a slight improvement on the original Doughboy design.

Ewwwwww.....

Either way, they both suck compared to the 2013 model. OH BABY ME LIKEY.

Thanks for the info guys. That's exactly what I was looking for. Oddly, I'm finding about 2:1 5-spd vs 6. If everything goes to plan, I should be driving a new (to me) Miata home this weekend. Thanks again.