MX5 mk4 2.0 Track Use

[vanman1936]

Hi all

I know MX5s are one of the default track cars if you don’t want to go too mad £££ wise.

I find the Mk4s quite appealing as a car in general, much more modern than the Mk3 and generally very well regarded.

How do they do on track in standard / lightly modified form (don’t want to spend a fortune upgrading initially)?

[brillomaster]

Well... they're still light, rwd, with a revvy, naturally aspirated engine, so id say itd still be good.

The beauty of the mx5 is you dont need to do any mods to have fun... light enough and not too powerful that event mid range tyres and brakes would be fine to start with. Just keep an eye on temperatures and fluid levels, same as you would any other car used on track.

[iguana]

Gearboxes on the early NDs a weak point

[vanman1936]

Yea, have heard they can be weak…when did they improve from?

Thanks

[braddo]

The main negative they get is that the steering is numb (like every other car these days). I think it would be worthwhile test driving a late NC / Mk3 to compare with the ND / Mk4.

Either way, they corner very well with some sticky tyres.

[Rough101]

The Abarth 124 had the NC gearbox due to the turbo, as it’s an ND, you can probably swap them from one to the other.

[TheLoraxxZeus]

Do you have an ND or are you looking to purchase a car?

[vanman1936]

Looking to purchase

[TheLoraxxZeus]

vanman1936 said:

Looking to purchase

2.0 NCs are more widespread than NDs for spares. Aftermarket support is better and cheaper. The whole car is cheaper as well, you can get a NC2 for 4-5k but a ND1 is going to cost you closer to 10k.

That's money you can put into seat time, servicing and tires. 3 things that add up quickly. In fact you can buy an NC2 + a 2.5L swap for less than 10k and that's going to give you a solid base to work with.

If I could start again, I would pick an NC over my NB.

EDIT: I mentioned 2.5 swap because it allows you to buy a high mileage NC without caring about the engine.