Reply With QuoteBased on last weekend, it looks like a nice 96 R package is your best bet... I'll let the guys that are fast enough to comment give better answers, though...
New MX5 or previous generation?
This has probably been discussed to death but I don’t find it.
Is the jury still out on whether the new MX5 is as good as the 99 Sport for autocross?
If someone were to buy a new car, what option package is believed to be best?
I see choice of 5 or 6 speed and 16 or 17 wheels.
And looks like limited slip is only with Sport or Grand Touring
Got to have A/C so the Club Spec is out.
2009 MX-5 STR and track toy
2003 Z06 -- Not a Miata, but 3200# and 400 RWHP is fun
OTM -- 2012 Sierra, 2016 Impala (Appliances)
Based on last weekend, it looks like a nice 96 R package is your best bet... I'll let the guys that are fast enough to comment give better answers, though...
Maybe 4 wheels aren't so bad after all... wickett.org
It only goes to show when people can no longer discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, or sexual orientation, they can improvise and still find someone to hate. - Dave Moulton
93 MR2 is always a threat to the NA Miata in ES. They have been dominating ES at a national level.Originally Posted by tailchaser
Thomas
V-to-the-Dub
Check out some of the threads over at the Autocross section of the miata.net forums. Alan Dahl bought one, but after some very disappointing early results (and problems with illegal spring perches on the DA Konis he ordered for the car), it looks like he’s going to jump ship to Mike Lillejord’s Club Sport Solstice. Bob Palmblad bought one out on the east coast, but he’s apparently been disappointed with it as well, and has been driving the Fuji Racing CSP car at National events. Tim Pryor bought one early, but both he and Cody Clark were noticeably absent from C Stock in Houston.
Having driven an NC at Zoom Zoom Live I can say this – it is very soft, with lots of travel and body roll. A great car for a 500-mile drive, but not so great for autocrossing. It has a slightly better engine and better brakes than the ’99 car, but it’s about 300 pounds heavier and much more softly sprung than a ’99 Sport or a Mazdaspeed.
Also, thanks to Mazda’s option package shenanigans, you can’t get the LSD without also getting 17” wheels and a 6-speed transmission. You can fit 245s, but it raises the CG by almost ¾ of an inch, on a car that already has serious body roll problems. If I were forced into that combo, I’d do what the Wootons did – opt for a leftover ‘05 Mazdaspeed Miata. It has the same gearing, weight, and wheel size issues as the NC, but it has a much stiffer suspension, a lower roll center, and better mid-range torque to make up for it.
Personally I think the NC is an inferior autocross car. It will – at a minimum – need incredibly trick shocks to overcome the inherent weaknesses of the super soft stock springs… and then you’re still giving up 300 pounds to the Sports. I’d take any of the following over an NC:
- ’99 Sport – Still the flag bearer for Mazda in C Stock.
- ’99-’00 PEP Package – slightly softer than the ’99 Sport, but you can get wider tires in the same overall diameter (225/50-14 vs 225/50-15 or 205/50-15 on the ’99 Sports), which may be an advantage. Might also be able to find one with ABS?
- ’03 Club Sport – hand-matched springs assure a lot more front camber availability than any other ‘99+ Miata (which is the main Stock alignment limiter on a Miata). A littler heavier than a Sport, but a bit stiffer and with much better brakes. Wouldn’t be fun to own a car with no radio, top, or a/c, though.
- ’99 10AE – Heavier than a ’99 Sport, but with the same suspension, 6-speed gearing (sometimes a plus, sometimes a minus… with this year’s slower Nationals courses could be a plus), and available ABS, which is a big benefit over the ’99 Sport’s lockup prone brakes
- ’05 Mazdaspeed Miata – I thought this might be the dark horse when it got moved down from B Stock last year. Stiffer suspension than the ’99 Sport, with thicker sway bars and stiffer springs, more midrange torque and top end power, excellent ABS brakes standard, and it can fit 245 Hoosiers. Ultra-short gearing could be the Achilles heel for this car, although Mike Wooton was doing the same number of 3rd gear shifts (1) that we were on Sunday. WOuld make a great ProSolo car.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Dude... I was trying to make a funny...
Maybe 4 wheels aren't so bad after all... wickett.org
It only goes to show when people can no longer discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, or sexual orientation, they can improvise and still find someone to hate. - Dave Moulton
If you listen to Jon W you'll want that '99 Sport to have power steering not a manual rack.
The NC is only inferior (still out with the jury, though, imo) in stock form.
dp
sm2
You can still find brand new 05 Mazdaspeeds on dealer lots for cheap. The local dealr has 4 still! 2 black, 1 orange, 1 gray. Marked down, and offering great financing. They are also having a hail damage sale.
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague longing for something salty" - Peter Egan
Saw this on Miata.net, so take it for what it's worth....
Yep... that is from Captain who works for Mazda South, so it is pretty reliable. I think it is very interesting that the Sport will have the 5-speed. I am sure that the autocrossers will be happy while the magazines will bash it. It should be interesting to see the final complete specs of the car.
The NC's gearing isn't the biggest problem - Wooton, Hebert, and others have proved that you can still be fast with the less than optimal gearing of the MSM or 10AE.
The biggest problem with the NC is a suspension so soft it makes a Lincoln Town Car feel like a sports sedan. I don't see anything there indicating that is changing for '07, which is a pity.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Scroo you ES miatas suck. :-p
I prefer the 99 Sport over any miata though. However the Mr2s are easier to drive fast I think.
David
David Hedderick
Houston, TX
92 Miata SE; 08 Mazda 3s; 12 Mazdaspeed 3
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