MX5 mk2 std spec OK for track?
Discussion
upsidedownmark said:
Yes
Definitely, I have one (fairly standard) that performs brilliantly on track. You can bang round all day in an MX5 and it won't miss a beat. I find the standard shocks and springs are fine - I have tried both standard and GG Pros and actually prefer standard - a bit more body roll but a better compromise on the road.
The only other non standard items in mine are bucket seats and a 1/2 roll cage (£250) as well as harnesses (alongside the standard belts). The seats and belts do make a big difference imho as otherwise you find yourself hanging on with the standard belts.
In standard form, you'll have epic fun on most tracks. Never the fastest in a straight line, but through the twisty stuff you can keep up with most is my experience.
We do Snetterton a fair bit and it's a perfect MX5 track even with the 2 long straights, I use them as cool down time (for me and the car) and then press on through the twisty bits. Time flies this way and 40 min stints are easily do-able. I always come away thinking I've had more fun in the MX5 than everyone else.
Bob
Use the brakes less (carry more speed). The car isn't particularly powerful and fairly light, so you don't need to shed massive amounts of speed on a regular basis, therefore it doesn't stress the brakes too much.
I'd also skip sticky tyres. It's not massively powerful, and if you add stick all you'll do is exacerbate that, and make it roll more leading you to fit coilovers.. and so on. Just enjoy sliding around a bit.
To expand slightly on my earlier answer - the mx5 is the usual answer for a cheapish track car, and there's a reason you see a lot of them on track. Just get on with it
I'd also skip sticky tyres. It's not massively powerful, and if you add stick all you'll do is exacerbate that, and make it roll more leading you to fit coilovers.. and so on. Just enjoy sliding around a bit.
To expand slightly on my earlier answer - the mx5 is the usual answer for a cheapish track car, and there's a reason you see a lot of them on track. Just get on with it
Originally I had thought the title said MX5 or MR2 and I was going to plug the MR2. Tracking one 4 years and have only needed to spend on consumables. More or less standard N/A mk2 with wider exhaust and cat removed. We put braided hoses on the front and use yellow stuff brake pads with racing break fluid (brakes would begin to fade after about 10 minutes). I know everyone raves about the mx5 and rightly so, but don't overlook the MR2.
https://youtu.be/UJh-reosyOI
https://youtu.be/UJh-reosyOI
If the aim is just fun then a bog standard MX-5 is ready out of the box. The body roll and sliding around adds to the fun. The guy or girl with the biggest smile is the one winning at a track day. Not some steely eyed Nomex warrior in a race prepped 'track car' living out a racing fantasy versus people in road cars.
It's painful to admit that the three pretty much standard MX-5's of friends or family I've driven over the last few years at different track days have given me a faaaaaaaaaar bigger grin than my substantially faster RX-7. They are pure fun. They have a perfect amount of power to make it all about maintaining speed. They're cheap to maintain and light on the brakes. The tyres are cheap and skinny and the sliding around, and How they slide around so progressively and with a great balance just makes them excellent fun.
In my RX-7 I thinking about tyres, fuel, brakes, temperatures, trying to pitch the car in, really laying on the brakes. It's an adrenaline rush and exciting, but when I jump in a friends MX-5, it's a whole different challenge with none of the negatives, and the cars I've driven 2xNA 1xNB have been extremely rewarding to drive.
On the last track day I did, the last lap I did was in my dad's MX-5, I felt a bit braver, and had a lot more confidence and just threw the thing around and went way quicker than I thought the car could go. 7 seconds quicker than my dad's fastest lap of the day. The fun is in the limit, NOT in the lap time, and a lot of cars that feel great on the road or below the limit, become painful on it. The MX-5 is perfectly balanced even at the limit so it really inspires you to just throw the thing around. I love them. I want one at some point.
It's painful to admit that the three pretty much standard MX-5's of friends or family I've driven over the last few years at different track days have given me a faaaaaaaaaar bigger grin than my substantially faster RX-7. They are pure fun. They have a perfect amount of power to make it all about maintaining speed. They're cheap to maintain and light on the brakes. The tyres are cheap and skinny and the sliding around, and How they slide around so progressively and with a great balance just makes them excellent fun.
In my RX-7 I thinking about tyres, fuel, brakes, temperatures, trying to pitch the car in, really laying on the brakes. It's an adrenaline rush and exciting, but when I jump in a friends MX-5, it's a whole different challenge with none of the negatives, and the cars I've driven 2xNA 1xNB have been extremely rewarding to drive.
On the last track day I did, the last lap I did was in my dad's MX-5, I felt a bit braver, and had a lot more confidence and just threw the thing around and went way quicker than I thought the car could go. 7 seconds quicker than my dad's fastest lap of the day. The fun is in the limit, NOT in the lap time, and a lot of cars that feel great on the road or below the limit, become painful on it. The MX-5 is perfectly balanced even at the limit so it really inspires you to just throw the thing around. I love them. I want one at some point.
I've always found the Mk 2 to be a bit softer than the Mk 1, also it probably weighs a little more (I confess I haven't looked that up), and don't forget the rust problem. On the other hand it has a little more power so it's swings and roundabouts. I nearly bought a Mk 2 a few months ago, then got the chance to buy back my old Mk 1 so went for that.
Can't emphasise how much fun they are on track. True, a set of semi-slicks will take a second or two off your lap time but you don't really need them. Just drive it like you stole it. A well-sorted MX-5 (just get the geometry done) will take you round a corner faster than anything else on four wheels, and nothing on the planet will give you more smiles per gallon.
Can't emphasise how much fun they are on track. True, a set of semi-slicks will take a second or two off your lap time but you don't really need them. Just drive it like you stole it. A well-sorted MX-5 (just get the geometry done) will take you round a corner faster than anything else on four wheels, and nothing on the planet will give you more smiles per gallon.
You can have fun on track in absolutely anything. I did a trackday in a diesel vectra, it was hilarious!
The brakes faded after 2 fast(slow) laps and after 10 mins the ABS light came on and never, ever went off again. No mechanical sympathy was used that day.
A bog stock MX5 will be perfectly fine.
The brakes faded after 2 fast(slow) laps and after 10 mins the ABS light came on and never, ever went off again. No mechanical sympathy was used that day.A bog stock MX5 will be perfectly fine.
You can have fun in anything, but some cars are just more fun in my opinion. I took my dad's chipped A6 Avant 3.0TDI around and exactly because the brakes gave up so soon it wasn't fun. The Mk2 MX-5 that also went was passed around like a tray of soft biscuits at an old folks home and drove consistently all day, sliding and bobbing around like you just can't do in an average hatchback.
routari said:
You can have fun in anything, but some cars are just more fun in my opinion. I took my dad's chipped A6 Avant 3.0TDI around and exactly because the brakes gave up so soon it wasn't fun. The Mk2 MX-5 that also went was passed around like a tray of soft biscuits at an old folks home and drove consistently all day, sliding and bobbing around like you just can't do in an average hatchback.
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