RE: BBR spices up MX-5 1.8
Discussion
Like everyone else i would say that over 10k is stretching even man maths to breaking point.
where as this.... http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C337830 will work for a second car
where as this.... http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C337830 will work for a second car
F1GTRUeno said:
That really looks fantastic to me.
But standard
Just look at that arch gap combined with those alloys - not good at all!
I'm a huge MX5 fan and run a Mk1 Supercharged car with 210bhp that is worth perhaps £4,500, to me that makes sense but a supercharged MX5 at £12k - no - you are against a LOT of good cars.
Albeit I'd suggest none are more fun AND reliable, practical and well built.
IE a TVR is as much fun but isn't reliable nor well built (yes I've had loads)
A Boxster / Z4 are better built but not as much fun.
Albeit I'd suggest none are more fun AND reliable, practical and well built.
IE a TVR is as much fun but isn't reliable nor well built (yes I've had loads)
A Boxster / Z4 are better built but not as much fun.
The market for this conversion is obviously people who already own an MX-5 and have done some wheel suspension and exhaust and maybe brake upgrades already and who have thought a lot about a power upgrade but didn't want a turbo. So what a used MX-5 base car costs on the market is rather irrelevant. If you've had an MX-5 for a long time, you don't care about any negative image perception, and no doubt the price for this conversion will not be all that outrageous because your initial investment is effectively zero in a typical pistonhead man mind trick.
JudgeMental said:
986 Boxster S. 6 sp manual 252BHP 0-60 5.8 162mph, Standard insurance. £6k
Fast but not really fun though, you can't get the back out with a dab of the throttle nor throw it around an island etcCompletely different kind of car - also an MX5 engine will cost you maybe £1k a Boxster could cost you 7x that - and far more have let go compared to MX5s.
Prawnboy said:
Like everyone else i would say that over 10k is stretching even man maths to breaking point.
where as this.... http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C337830 will work for a second car
Now that, with the fensport big pulley kit and/or the rare hks 'twincharge' kit would REALLY work for me. I had a NA mk1mr2 and it was loads of fun and I always lusted after the SC version.where as this.... http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C337830 will work for a second car
mmm, supercharger..... [/homer]
I own a bog standard 1.8 MX-5 MKIII Hard Top (Coupe) - that's a slow as they come. Good job I don't take offence with BBR calling it tedious! Admittedly it's no rocket...(my partner's BMW 120d could wipe the floor with it) but there is something about the 1.8 - it is smoother than the 2.0 and it does respond well to revs - you feel and hear much more than in other modern cars - it always feels fast enough and responsive... On the std. suspension, wheels and tyres, it does look a bit high and the wheel arches could do with filling a bit more, but the trade off is an extremely decent ride on the UK's crappy surfaced roads - it always keeps it's composure well on bumpy corners and tackles speed-humps 100 times better than my frequently grounded previous car (RX-8 231). I did 'upgrade' my MX-5 with a pro- alignment session (Wheels in Motion) to make sure it was set up right (a lot were not) - that seemed to make it feel even better. The gear change is, of course the usual MX-5 delight - and that's good as you use it a lot to keep it on-song.
Summary - on a day to day - whatever you throw at it - wherever you need to drive to basis, the std. MX-5 1.8 Coupe is almost perfect.
Tempting as it is to go from 124BHP to well over 200BHP I wouldn't do it without beefing up the suspension, brakes, wheels, rubber, (not sure about an LSD - mine certainly hasn't got one as std. and no traction control either) ... so there's a lot more cost involved therefore. I also think some of the things I like about my back to basics car would be lost. I agree with some of the others, I think a used Boxster would be a much better thing to buy for more power - it's already specc'ed up for this sort of thing. I'd choose that over an S2000 - based purely on armchair speculation and looks having never driven either.
If money was not an issue, I reckon the BBR MX5 with the right mods would make a superb track day car....
Summary - on a day to day - whatever you throw at it - wherever you need to drive to basis, the std. MX-5 1.8 Coupe is almost perfect.
Tempting as it is to go from 124BHP to well over 200BHP I wouldn't do it without beefing up the suspension, brakes, wheels, rubber, (not sure about an LSD - mine certainly hasn't got one as std. and no traction control either) ... so there's a lot more cost involved therefore. I also think some of the things I like about my back to basics car would be lost. I agree with some of the others, I think a used Boxster would be a much better thing to buy for more power - it's already specc'ed up for this sort of thing. I'd choose that over an S2000 - based purely on armchair speculation and looks having never driven either.
If money was not an issue, I reckon the BBR MX5 with the right mods would make a superb track day car....
The image of any lesser car is dashed, when you pass a Vette, Porker, or Beemer on the track or a country road.
So many drive high-powered, well-handling cars, designed to compensate for a predominant lack of driver talent, that it brings me tears of joy as I drive around around them in my '97 MX5 (with a stock 1.8 engine). Because of its rigid and predictable chassis, adding 100 HP would make the MX5 faster and more capable than 90% of drivers' abilities.
Seriously, real-life driving ought to be more like flying...you would have to be certified to travel certain roads, at certain speeds, in certain cars. If that were the case, you would see a lot more folks driving 1966 VW Bugs at 50 mph.
Pardon the off-topic rant, but the little MX5 has really changed my mind about cars and proper driver knowledge. Drive one flat-out through the esses and you'll be astounded at the fun you've been missing. That said, of course I would rather drive a 458 Challenge and need to slow for the esses.
My Miata is fairly well set up for the track, with a hardtop, roll-bar, chassis bracing, anti-sway, 1" bigger front rotors (stock calipers), great pads, wheels and tires, cheap but adjustable coil-overs, brake bias control, cold air, header, seats and 6-points. It's a road-legal, OBD-2 car and gets 32 mpg.
I purchased the car two years ago next month for US$4k, with 108k miles on it, and it now has 132k miles. My mods were another $4k and I did all the labor. Since purchase, I have participated in approximately 45 track days as coach and driver. I shift at 7,200 redline all day long at the track and the only thing I do is change the oils regularly. I've gone through two sets of $700 tires (with aggressive alignment), two sets of $150 pads and one set of $120 rotors each year. Tires are Nitto NT01 225/45-15 and I like Carbotech XP8 front pads for street and track with stock rears. Trans and diff oils are changed twice per year...engine oil every two track days.
Bullet-proof dependability, excellent handling, drop-top enjoyment, great MPG, low cost-of-ownership...how do you beat that kind of bang-for-the-buck (pound)?
I would consider adding boost, but haven't seen any that don't suffer dependability issues soon after. The engine can handle it, but the trans and diff struggle. I have been seriously considering the 180HP turbo kit from Flyn'Miata.
In addition to PistonHeads, there's a very large Miata community at Miata.net, miataturbo.net, and v8miata.net with lots of great knowledge.
So many drive high-powered, well-handling cars, designed to compensate for a predominant lack of driver talent, that it brings me tears of joy as I drive around around them in my '97 MX5 (with a stock 1.8 engine). Because of its rigid and predictable chassis, adding 100 HP would make the MX5 faster and more capable than 90% of drivers' abilities.
Seriously, real-life driving ought to be more like flying...you would have to be certified to travel certain roads, at certain speeds, in certain cars. If that were the case, you would see a lot more folks driving 1966 VW Bugs at 50 mph.
Pardon the off-topic rant, but the little MX5 has really changed my mind about cars and proper driver knowledge. Drive one flat-out through the esses and you'll be astounded at the fun you've been missing. That said, of course I would rather drive a 458 Challenge and need to slow for the esses.
My Miata is fairly well set up for the track, with a hardtop, roll-bar, chassis bracing, anti-sway, 1" bigger front rotors (stock calipers), great pads, wheels and tires, cheap but adjustable coil-overs, brake bias control, cold air, header, seats and 6-points. It's a road-legal, OBD-2 car and gets 32 mpg.
I purchased the car two years ago next month for US$4k, with 108k miles on it, and it now has 132k miles. My mods were another $4k and I did all the labor. Since purchase, I have participated in approximately 45 track days as coach and driver. I shift at 7,200 redline all day long at the track and the only thing I do is change the oils regularly. I've gone through two sets of $700 tires (with aggressive alignment), two sets of $150 pads and one set of $120 rotors each year. Tires are Nitto NT01 225/45-15 and I like Carbotech XP8 front pads for street and track with stock rears. Trans and diff oils are changed twice per year...engine oil every two track days.
Bullet-proof dependability, excellent handling, drop-top enjoyment, great MPG, low cost-of-ownership...how do you beat that kind of bang-for-the-buck (pound)?
I would consider adding boost, but haven't seen any that don't suffer dependability issues soon after. The engine can handle it, but the trans and diff struggle. I have been seriously considering the 180HP turbo kit from Flyn'Miata.
In addition to PistonHeads, there's a very large Miata community at Miata.net, miataturbo.net, and v8miata.net with lots of great knowledge.
Edited by Builder on Tuesday 9th October 19:06
Edited by Builder on Tuesday 9th October 19:08
V8RX7 said:
JudgeMental said:
986 Boxster S. 6 sp manual 252BHP 0-60 5.8 162mph, Standard insurance. £6k
Fast but not really fun though, you can't get the back out with a dab of the throttle nor throw it around an island etcCompletely different kind of car - also an MX5 engine will cost you maybe £1k a Boxster could cost you 7x that - and far more have let go compared to MX5s.
I'd go 987 Boxster every day of the week. You'd be an idiot not to even entertain the idea of owning one over a fettled MX5. Which, as pointed out, would be like throwing £5k down a well over two years of ownership.
Plus you're not even factoring in the ownership benefits of driving a Porsche. Jokes aside of it being a Boxster (although mute compared with an MX5!), there has to be a quantifiable benefit to having a premium badge over a Mazda.
Edited by Hellbound on Tuesday 9th October 19:31
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