Swapped over to a set of 215/45R17 Continental ExtremeContact Sports on the MX5 and I can't believe what a difference it makes. The rear end feels far more planted, and the steering response is far sharper. Being this is the first time I'm properly driving on summer tires, ever, its a very welcome surprise.
The amount of grip imparted gives me even more confidence in the high speed corners, and I'm really looking forward to pushing these at the next autocross. I choose these tires as they appeared to be a good blend between dry/wet performance and their price wasn't too obnoxious. I've driven about 300km with them so far, with most of the mileage clocked up was on boring highways. They do feel much better than the winters on acceleration and braking, and I'm surprised how much more lively the car feels with them.
Now in the twisty corners is where these tires shine. I can take most twisty corners at the speed limit when regular cars have to brake (bad comparison, honestly. roadster vs econobox) and I can feel them really latch on to the road. I could do that in my winters (WinterContact SI) for sure, but I could hear the winters squeal when I push them too hard, and it just doesn't feel as confidence inspiring.
Ride quality wise, I honestly find it tough to say how much better it is compared to the winters. It takes the usual speedbumps I take _perhaps_ a little firmer, but that could be because my winters are on a 16 inch rim versus the summers on a 17 inch.
One final reason why I spent so much cash on new tires is unsprung weight. The Michelin AS3 (no plus) tires that came with the car are supposed to be really good, but they are about four pounds heavier per corner compared to the Conti ECSs. That adds up to a fair bit of unsprung weight on for a lightweight roadster, and they're run flats so... yeah no. Regular tires please. Plus the threads on the ECS looks far more boss XD
Originally, I wanted to get some Dunlop Direzza ZIIIs as they look frakking cool, basically a semi-slick. Unfortunately, they're not commonly available in Canada, and I am not so hardcore as to pick up a set at Point Roberts.
Plus, I've read that these top performance tires are not really good for a newbie autocrosser; their performance can mask the driving errors on the circuit. I've decided that in the off chance that I really get into autocrossing, I'm going to buy some really lightweight wheels (Enkei PF01SS 17x9 perhaps) and RE71s just for that.
Next up, summer fuel prices! I did not know about this an it is absolute bollocks. I used to fill up 91 octane about 1.50/l, but my last top up was 1.73/l, and I've seen some posts online with 91 octane now over 1.80/l! OUCH!
While I'm thankful I don't drive everyday, the amount I drive on weekends probably exceeds most people on the weekday commute lol.
Finally, I had the chance to go on a ride in a Lotus Elise last week. It's a very interesting car for sure! For a start, it's much smaller than I thought, and the passenger seat is actually much more spacious than my NC MX5. I can actually stretch out in the passenger seat of the Elise, while in my MX5, the passenger's footwell is narrow and does not allow me to stretch my legs out. It also has a transmission bump that extends into the passenger footwell! On the flip side, to get a narrow car, the elise is tight. Really tight. The driver and I were shoulder to shoulder in the cabin, and getting into the cabin is far more tedious than I thought it would be.
I was also surprised to be told that the windshield frame is fiberglass, and it could be damaged if I used it as a support for getting in and out of the car. Shocking!
On the road though, the car grips like nobody's business, and that was on Nokian R3 winter tires. I wonder what it'd be like on high performance summer tires. It takes high speed corners very flat, and I felt like it could easily push way above the speed limits if desired. The engine is behind and I honestly didn't think I liked the sound of it that much. It's fun to hear it rev out to nearly 8k rpm but if it's for a long drive I think I would tire of it rapidly. The ride is not as punishing as I thought it would be, but I swapped over to my mx5 after the Elise and immediately I felt like I was in a luxury car lol.
It's not a cheap car either, looking on autotrader, for a used model, it's almost three times what I paid for my mx5. But it is an exotic, and one of the most affordable cars on the road. It's guaranteed to turn heads no matter where you go.
Initially, when I got in the car... I was like... damn, I really should have said fuck it to my bank account and got an Elise for the hell of it. It's a really nice car. But after having sat in it, just the effort and care need to get in... it's one of the cases of "Don't meet your heroes". It takes a hardcore car enthusiast to own one of these, and I'm definitely not an car enthusiast, nor am I a "car guy".
Saturday, April 06, 2019
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Short weekend jaunt to Alice Lake and Alexander Falls
I'm having mandatory 6 day work weeks now, so I'm curtailing my longer distance explorations for the time being. This weekend I just drove up to Alice Lake for a short hike. It was a brilliant day, with pretty high temperatures that are more suitable for summer tires. I'm still on my winters till the end of the month, just in case.
The hike around Alice Lake took just over 2 hours, then I headed over for lunch near the Eagle Run Viewing Shelter. In the proper season, eagles can be seen roosting on the trees across the river. None were there, but lunch at the Watershed Grill was pretty good, especially with the views.
After, I visited Alexander Falls. The area around the falls were still frozen, so much so I was wondering if I was in the right area. But no, the maps said I was right where I was supposed to be... it's just that the path to the falls was snowed in. About 10 feet high.
I'm a bit surprised this area was not closed as everything was packed under the snowfall. If you look closely at one of the photos, you'll see how high the snow had covered the outdoor toilet!
Brilliant day out, and I can't wait for summer to properly arrive!
The hike around Alice Lake took just over 2 hours, then I headed over for lunch near the Eagle Run Viewing Shelter. In the proper season, eagles can be seen roosting on the trees across the river. None were there, but lunch at the Watershed Grill was pretty good, especially with the views.
After, I visited Alexander Falls. The area around the falls were still frozen, so much so I was wondering if I was in the right area. But no, the maps said I was right where I was supposed to be... it's just that the path to the falls was snowed in. About 10 feet high.
I'm a bit surprised this area was not closed as everything was packed under the snowfall. If you look closely at one of the photos, you'll see how high the snow had covered the outdoor toilet!
Brilliant day out, and I can't wait for summer to properly arrive!
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Putting on weight
I've added a few accessories to my MX5 - some seat covers and mudflaps.
Above: Original Seats
Above: Eurosport Seat Covers
First, Eurosport Seat Covers from Moss Miata. Given that it's a convertible and exposed to the elements, the covers should keep the original seats in great condition. Installation was a snap, the back seat/headrest is one piece, and slides over easily, and a velcro strip mates the front and rear cloth pieces.
The base cover is connected using two straps under the seat. There are also side flaps that seem to be for the side air bags, but the flaps appear to open to the rear (???). I'm curious how it'll actually work when they really need to deploy lol.
In use, the seat covers do change the feel of the stock cloth seats a little bit, they feel much firmer. They also give the impression that the seats are much sturdier than they are previously, and the knowledge that any wear is going to be on them, not the original seat makes it so much easier to slide into the seat instead of doing the wiggle dance.
Next up, mudflaps!
Given that I'm going to be travelling in areas where the "roads" are basically a gravel path, I thought it would be prudent to get some mudflaps to reduce the effects of rock chips on the paint. The next step will be to apply some transparent vinyl to the rocker panels, front quarter panel and perhaps part of the door.
Previously on the trip up to Lillooet and Cache creek, the kickup patterns are pretty obvious. The mudflaps should reduce this by a great amount.
Can't wait for summer!
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Weekend drive to Keremeos
I was waffling about posting here as the trip wasn't very exciting per say, but decided, why not, it's a good way to remember some travels around BC :)
Originally, I wanted to do a drive north to Penticton then loop back via Keremeos, but I had a dinner meetup in the evening and that would take far too long. I decided just a drive to Keremeos and back would suffice :)
I started with a breakfast stop in Abbotsford, then a refueling stop in Hope. I also stocked up on some drinks and food items in case thing went awry. I then drove to Keremeos.
There were several towns of interest that I have to revisit come the summer; Hedley is a tiny township that has a gold mine, and in Princeton I drove past what seemed like a milkshake place.
The roads were pretty clear, not too much traffic, but there several times I drove over patches of ice where I could feel the car travel sideways. Slightly disconcerting but I was white knuckled the first time it happened!
Now, you might ask, why Keremeos? It's a tiny village filled with vineyards and fruit markets. Well, it was just to visit an old shop that used to service Mazdas back in the day, Eunos Automotive.
They used to operate out of North Vancouver, but moved to Keremeos awhile back. I thought it'd be cool to visit their new location just for fun.
I didn't dawdle too long, I had a few snaps, the grabbed lunch nearby at K Mountain Diner. Just a quick sandwich lunch. One thing about the food outside of Vancouver, is how fresh it is!
With that done, I turned around and headed back for Vancouver. I stopped at Princeton to refuel, as they were the only place I could find with ethenol-free fuel. And yet another stop at Hope for a refuel and bathroom break.
The last leg of the trip I avoided the highway and took the backroads back to coquitlam for a quick diy carwash before heading back to Vancouver.
Overall, yet another brilliant drive. The scenery both ways were amazing, and difficult to share via dashcam footage.
Sadly, work has now started doing mandatory 6 day work weeks, so I only have Sunday left to do any roadtrips. Still, there's lots to explore here and there's the entirety of Washington just two hours south. Till the next post!
I started with a breakfast stop in Abbotsford, then a refueling stop in Hope. I also stocked up on some drinks and food items in case thing went awry. I then drove to Keremeos.
There were several towns of interest that I have to revisit come the summer; Hedley is a tiny township that has a gold mine, and in Princeton I drove past what seemed like a milkshake place.
The roads were pretty clear, not too much traffic, but there several times I drove over patches of ice where I could feel the car travel sideways. Slightly disconcerting but I was white knuckled the first time it happened!
Now, you might ask, why Keremeos? It's a tiny village filled with vineyards and fruit markets. Well, it was just to visit an old shop that used to service Mazdas back in the day, Eunos Automotive.
I didn't dawdle too long, I had a few snaps, the grabbed lunch nearby at K Mountain Diner. Just a quick sandwich lunch. One thing about the food outside of Vancouver, is how fresh it is!
With that done, I turned around and headed back for Vancouver. I stopped at Princeton to refuel, as they were the only place I could find with ethenol-free fuel. And yet another stop at Hope for a refuel and bathroom break.
The last leg of the trip I avoided the highway and took the backroads back to coquitlam for a quick diy carwash before heading back to Vancouver.
Overall, yet another brilliant drive. The scenery both ways were amazing, and difficult to share via dashcam footage.
Sadly, work has now started doing mandatory 6 day work weeks, so I only have Sunday left to do any roadtrips. Still, there's lots to explore here and there's the entirety of Washington just two hours south. Till the next post!
Monday, March 04, 2019
First autocross!
A quick short blog as I'm pretty exhausted. Woke up just before 6 for the drive to the airfield, froze my ass off in the middle of the airfield, but what a day.
Unfortunately, not much photos as I was trying to keep up with everything. I arrived just after the gates to the airfield opened, found a parking spot and removed everything from my car and dumped it into a rubbermaid container I bought the day before.
Next, is "tech", where I had my car inspected. Pedals and battery were checked, as were the emptiness of the boot, and tires. Soon after, there was a driver's meeting, and being the first time doing autocross, had a novice meeting. Novices could have experienced drivers tag along for feedback and guidance.
The runs are very short; my first run took 56 seconds. There were three runs, then I parked the car, and went to do track duties. What makes autocross an affordable motorsport is the participation by the drivers when we're not driving - most will be hanging around certain parts of the track (see the numbers in the photo above) to radio back to control if any drivers hit a cone (a time penalty), or goes off the track (Did Not Finish - DNF). They also have to replace any cones hit. They're other duties as well and I'm not certain of what the lot are, so do google it if you're keen!
Once that's done, I have time off while waiting for my next run; it was noon by this time and I drove to a nearby strip mall to get some grub.
Once back, I watched the other cars go around the track, and ops it was soon my turn.
We had five more runs in total, and after that I once again did my track duties. And that was it! Some folks would stay to pack up the track but for most of us who have did our runs and duties, that was it and I left. Got the car cleaned up at a self-serve car wash, then headed home :)
Overall it's really fun. I get to test the maximum potential of my driving "skills" and my car in a safe environment. The flip side is the actual time on the track. In total, I drove for less than 8 minutes for the 7 hours I was there. I do wish I could get more runs in but oh well.
I actually got a gps and RaceChrono to capture my runs, however the gopro decided to die after an hour in the cold (~2c) recording barely 2 minutes of footage. My runs were very, very bad, so I'm not going to bother posting them. I was overdriving the car, and only got better at it in the afternoon runs.
Pretty sure I'm gonna become a regular here.
Next, is "tech", where I had my car inspected. Pedals and battery were checked, as were the emptiness of the boot, and tires. Soon after, there was a driver's meeting, and being the first time doing autocross, had a novice meeting. Novices could have experienced drivers tag along for feedback and guidance.
The runs are very short; my first run took 56 seconds. There were three runs, then I parked the car, and went to do track duties. What makes autocross an affordable motorsport is the participation by the drivers when we're not driving - most will be hanging around certain parts of the track (see the numbers in the photo above) to radio back to control if any drivers hit a cone (a time penalty), or goes off the track (Did Not Finish - DNF). They also have to replace any cones hit. They're other duties as well and I'm not certain of what the lot are, so do google it if you're keen!
Once that's done, I have time off while waiting for my next run; it was noon by this time and I drove to a nearby strip mall to get some grub.
Once back, I watched the other cars go around the track, and ops it was soon my turn.
We had five more runs in total, and after that I once again did my track duties. And that was it! Some folks would stay to pack up the track but for most of us who have did our runs and duties, that was it and I left. Got the car cleaned up at a self-serve car wash, then headed home :)
Overall it's really fun. I get to test the maximum potential of my driving "skills" and my car in a safe environment. The flip side is the actual time on the track. In total, I drove for less than 8 minutes for the 7 hours I was there. I do wish I could get more runs in but oh well.
I actually got a gps and RaceChrono to capture my runs, however the gopro decided to die after an hour in the cold (~2c) recording barely 2 minutes of footage. My runs were very, very bad, so I'm not going to bother posting them. I was overdriving the car, and only got better at it in the afternoon runs.
Pretty sure I'm gonna become a regular here.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Winter drive up to Lillooet and Cache Creek
Once I hit Lillooet, I had a quick lunch at an A&W, then pushed on to Cache Creek. It was already pretty late, so I didn't dawdle as I didn't want to stay out too late after dark in my tiny roadster. It was dark by the time I reached Hope and refueled at another Chevron - the 94 Octane has no ethanol added, and I _think_ it helps with the fuel economy - I was always keeping the engine in it's power band for hillclimbs, and I still got close to 9/100km for this entire trip, with certain legs averaging 8.13l/100km!!!
At the very end, I went to a car wash to clean the car off, and I detailed it by hand myself on Monday. I had lots of fun in the corners, and saw too many beautiful sights that I wish I could share with you. But all I can offer is the forward view from my dashcam. Can't wait to go on another drive :)
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Pitt Lake and Cultus Lake
Cultus Lake, BC
Pitt Lake
Going for another run tomorrow and will have to go for a nice car wash after :)
Monday, February 18, 2019
Finally getting good fuel economy :)
I did a fair amount of road tripping today; travelled from Vancouver all the way up to Squamish, then decided to do Paradise Valley Road. The road changes from paved to gravel, and I turned around. On the way back though, I found myself a bit confused with the road markings, and went up Squamish Valley Road. It was a brilliant drive along snow covered roadsides, and I shared the road with some locals on horses. Once again, I stopped when the paved road ended* and the gravel trail began.
I called it quits then as I was hungry, so high-tailed it back to a petrol station then went home. While I did flog the engine, it was just to get up to speed on the highway, or when overtaking. If not, I kept the rpms between 2k and 3k, and it felt really good on the road. The sea to sky has a a good balance of hillclimbs and downhill, and it was so much fun rev matching to engine brake downhill.
Miata, you are too much fun :)
* this actually marked the start of Squamish River Forest Service Road
Sunday, February 17, 2019
New Winter Tires and an alignment!
This week I got a set of winter tires for the miata. After much research, I decided to go with Continental Wintercontact SIs for my shoes. Even though I had a budget set aside for tires.. I've totally blown it as I forgot to include the price of the rims. On top of that, the tire shop charges a fee for installation and balancing, another set of lug nuts and hub centric rings. And there's also a tire disposal fee collected by the provincial government. Ah..... Still, I do want to run my car in winter, so there's that.
The new tires are much quieter than the Pilot Sport AS3, but I kind of miss the road whine that the AS3s had - they gave me the impression of a supercharger lol. That whine is now gone, and its not missed - the ride is now a bit more refined. The rims, Core Racing 16x6.5 Impulses, were basically the cheapest rims that were of similar weight to the stock alloys. Thinking about it now, these rims are really quite heavy - the stock 17in alloys are about 17 pounds; these 16 inch rims come in at 18 pounds (supposedly - that's what Kal Tire told me, I could not find specs on the web). The WinterContact SI tires are definitely lighter than the AS3s - they're not runflats, and are 205/55R16 vs 225/45R17 for the AS3.
One other thing, the black rim/tire against the white/red car felt like black pools of dense gravity. I felt there needed to be some kind of colour to make the tire pop, so I got a red tire paint pen and picked out some of the text. To clean the tire, I scrubbed it with some steel wool and cleaned the surface with some waterless spray cleaner. After painting the letters, I let it set overnight, then covered it with 303 Aerospace Protectant. It's only day 2, so I'll see how long this lasts!
Earlier today though, I took it to Aria Auto Services to get some scheduled maintenance done. Did the suggestions in the owner's manual: Engine oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, differential fluid. The power steering fluid was grimy, and the brake fluid had 1% worth of water, so both were changed as well. For the brake fluid, I got some fancy ATE 200 brake fluid that has a higher boiling point as I intend to autocross my miata later this year. It's unlikely my brakes will overheat as a newbie, but I do want to take the best care of my car.
Most of the fluids were replaced with Motul oils, but the transmission fluid I requested for Ford Motorcraft XT-M5-QS. I'm very, very surprised by how good the shifter feels now, I thought it was already pretty solid, but the Ford fluid almost removed the shifter's snickety-snick feel, and shifting into 2nd is oh so smooth now.
After the fluids were done, the guys at the shop then did an alignment of the wheels to bring it back to stock. I can't say the alignment was uber awesome or anything - I drive pretty conservatively in the city and it is unlikely an alignment would be felt. Even so, I wanted to be sure the angles were all in the ballpark.
All in all, the changes to the fluid have miraculously improved my fuel mileage - I didn't see much of a change with the new tires, but the new fluids have bumped my winter fuel mileage to about 12l/100km. I'll be running up the Sea To Sky tomorrow, and I'll see what that brings, but when summer comes around, I think I'll be selling those AS3 tires for some Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires* :)
Zoom zoom!
* In the running: General Tires G-Max RS
One other thing, the black rim/tire against the white/red car felt like black pools of dense gravity. I felt there needed to be some kind of colour to make the tire pop, so I got a red tire paint pen and picked out some of the text. To clean the tire, I scrubbed it with some steel wool and cleaned the surface with some waterless spray cleaner. After painting the letters, I let it set overnight, then covered it with 303 Aerospace Protectant. It's only day 2, so I'll see how long this lasts!
------
Earlier today though, I took it to Aria Auto Services to get some scheduled maintenance done. Did the suggestions in the owner's manual: Engine oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, differential fluid. The power steering fluid was grimy, and the brake fluid had 1% worth of water, so both were changed as well. For the brake fluid, I got some fancy ATE 200 brake fluid that has a higher boiling point as I intend to autocross my miata later this year. It's unlikely my brakes will overheat as a newbie, but I do want to take the best care of my car.
Most of the fluids were replaced with Motul oils, but the transmission fluid I requested for Ford Motorcraft XT-M5-QS. I'm very, very surprised by how good the shifter feels now, I thought it was already pretty solid, but the Ford fluid almost removed the shifter's snickety-snick feel, and shifting into 2nd is oh so smooth now.
All in all, the changes to the fluid have miraculously improved my fuel mileage - I didn't see much of a change with the new tires, but the new fluids have bumped my winter fuel mileage to about 12l/100km. I'll be running up the Sea To Sky tomorrow, and I'll see what that brings, but when summer comes around, I think I'll be selling those AS3 tires for some Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires* :)
* In the running: General Tires G-Max RS
Sunday, February 10, 2019
One week with the MX5
So... I'm a proud owner of a new-to-me 2013 NC MX5 Miata :) 6 speed manual transmission with a retractable hard top, and it's the "GS" trim, which comes equipped with bilstein shocks and lsd. The previous owner also did some mods to it, like hid headlights (gonna remove 'em when one of them blows) and the rx8 wiper swap. It also came with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 tires. These are much wider than stock 205 tires, and run flats at that. I'm haven't yet figured out how heavy these are compared to the stock tires. I'm reading really good reviews for them, but if they're killing my fuel economy they will have to go. Let's start with that.
Fuel Economy
Oh my god it's bad. I always though the stated average of 24mpg ~ 9.8l/100km was reasonable for a convertible, but I'm getting horrendous fuel economy, at 16.6l/100km (14.2mpg). Oh my god. I think it's a combination of winter, bigger heavier tires and my inexperience at driving a manual transmission, and the tendency to rev the engine out. Some forums have mentioned a stuck thermostat causing poor fuel economy, but I'll see how it goes when summer comes around. I also haven't checked the tire pressure, so I hope I figure this out soonish.
10th Feb 2019 - Drove it to Horseshoe Bay this morning, then looped around to the Spanish Banks. It started snowing then, and decided not to push on to a car meet. When I checked the fuel economy, it read 14.8l/100! Yes it's going down! Perhaps sitting for half a year at the dealership messed up the reading. I'm also rapidly improving my clutch control, and figuring out better shift points, so that might have helped.
13th Feb 2019 - Finally got around to filling the tank for the first time! Woot! Cost me 46.65 CAD for 30.9L of 91 octane (OUCH). That was with the gas gauge at about 1/4 tank left. The mpg improved a fair bit as well, it's now at 13.6l/100km, about 17.3mpg. Getting better! I have a gut feeling the horrible economy is caused by crappy fuel used by the dealership.
16th Feb 2019 - Now that I have winter tires, I took the car over Aria Auto Services to get my some scheduled maintenance done. While it's still "early" in terms of mileage, the car is over 6 years old now, and I don't trust the dealership or the previous owner to have maintained it properly. I got the engine oil, oil filter, differential fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and brake fluid (upgraded to ATE 200 :)) changed, and then got an alignment done. On the way back, the mpg readout quickly jumped to 12.xL/100km, and the best I got on the way back was 11.9l/100km (19.76mpg)!
Pretty sure that all the fluids haven't been maintained. I got Motul fluids but the transmission I requested for Ford XT-M5-QS. I'll detail these in another post. This is in the cold of winter as well, and pretty much start-stop traffic, only a short stretch on the highway (2-3 minutes?). I'm pretty chuffed to see the improvement.
17th Feb 2019 - Doing 8.84l/100km or 26.61mpg :)
6 Speed Manual Transmission
It's great! Ok, so this is the 2nd manual car I've driven and it's definitely waaaay nicer than the Toyota Echo I learned on. In the week after I bought it, I've been practicing how to more gently take off from a stop, as well as figure out hill starts and parking in reverse... without a camera! All these, in the parking garage. I think the fruits of practice paid off, for today, I set off for my first journey, to buy a set of winter tires! Tires I wanted were out of stock, but I thought I handled the car well. I'm surprised at how many roads I've driven today had an uphill grade; when I used to drive an automatic I don't really care, the car just goes when the throttle goes down. Here, I have to pay so much attention to everything. Must say I've made a few mistakes like start in 2nd gear lol.
The convertible top
I'm 184cm, and the car feels just right for me with the top up. Not too closed in, and I still have headspace. The seating position is really low; my eye line is just under the door handle of some vehicles. In addition, the windshield frame just perfectly blocks my vision of the lights if I'm the first vehicle. It's a bit annoying as I have to crane my head under to make sure I can see the green light in time.
The blind spots with the top up are also pretty bad. With properly adjusted mirrors it's livable - unlike regular passenger cars where I can check the blindspots without my shoulder blades leaving the seat, I need to turn my upper body a bit more to properly check them.
Now, with the top down, the situation is greatly improved, but still not perfect. When I check to my left it's great as there's nothing in the way. No B pillar, nada :P Checking the right though, the passenger roll hoops do obscure my vision a bit. Pretty sure it would hide a Caterham there!
Backing up is also not ideal. Unlike a regular passenger car where you'd look downwards out your rear window, I'm sitting really low in the Miata, and even with my height I'm really, at best, just looking over the boot. It gets really sketchy when I'm reversing up hill and I have to do a reverse hillstart lol!
Even though it's winter here in Vancouver, I've seen and read so many other Miata drivers who drive top down with the car, and it does it really well. With the top down, windows up and the heater on, it's surprisingly comfortable. The heater generates a surprising amount of heat, and the vents can be aimed at my hands where it seems to get cold first.
Apart from that, thanks to my height, my hair goes awry in the wind. But, I bought a golf visor and that worked out great. The visor keeps the sun out of the way, and I can still feel the breeze without looking like a Pantene commercial gone wrong.
One final thing, fuel economy isn't as good with the top down, so I read. So perhaps I should drive more top up if I want to improve my fuel economy lol.
Handling/Suspension
I wish I can tell you this car drives on a knife edge and takes corners exceeding 2Gs, but hey, I've only been driving on my own for barely 4 months, and it's mostly city driving. In addition, I don't really have any other cars to compare it against. What I can say is, on the highway I need to give a tiny bit more steering input than say, Mazda 3/Prius/Honda Fit. Just a bit. In terms of the steering feel, it's great. It's not like a prius or honda fit where it's pretty light, it's a good sort of heavy that's not tiring. It's in between say a Scion FR-S (feels really heavy, and I could feel it after I returned the car!) and Mazda 3 (It's been a while since I drove a 3, but I remember it having a good weight as well).
I guess I might as well slot in a mention to some upgraded components on the GS trim - namely the torsen lsd and bilstein shocks. I don't really care about the shocks, as I would probably upgrade them once I get to grips with the car. The lsd though, sounds great in theory - it splits torque, so both wheels get drive. Unless one of the wheels lift, then it acts as an open diff, or so I understand.
And so that we're on the same page, this car has a FR layout - front engine, rear wheel drive.
The ride is surprisingly comfortable. I thought the more sporty suspension would be harsh, but I found it otherwise. The damping appears to match the way I take bumps, and it goes over it without the car feeling underdamped. Under heavy braking there's a fair bit of dive, so I've learnt to modulate the brakes and keep a greater follow distance.
Sidetrack - tires
As mentioned above, the car came with 225/45R17 Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 tires. While I won't comment on the handling as I have nothing to compare against, I was very surprised that this tire did not come with a M+S or snowflake symbol as I've seen videos of people driving in snow, and the marketing for their newer AS3+ goes on about better snow performance.
The M+S or Snowflake is required between October and March in BC when travelling further into the province. I'll definitely be getting some winter shoes for my mx5 so I can head up the Sea To Sky Highway for some sightseeing :)
Update 12th Feb 2019
About -1 degrees C outside, wanted to do my first ever refueling run. And since I still have the Pilot Sport AS3, I thought it would be good to see how the tires performed in Vancouver's "snowmageddon". Outside my apartment complex, is a somewhat steep upward slope. With momentum, I managed to get up the slope but... there is a stop sign... on an incline. And with that, I could not get any more forward traction XD Thankfully, the tires are good enough to hold the car on the slope with no problems, but trying my usual hill starts... nope. Can't do it. The tires would spin and my tail wobbled and started to drift into the curb. Uh oh. Thankfully there were no cars behind me, and I just reversed back into the parking garage. Bleh. Can't wait to get my winters.
Update 13th Feb 2019
We had a clear blue day in Vancouver, and most of the slush had cleared off. I took off the same uphill tonight with zero problems even thought it was cold and wet. Upon entering North Vancouver though, I had to drive through several uncleared lanes and parking lots. I had my reservations, but as I was on a one-way street I had no choice but to soldier on. The AS3s did perfectly fine going over the white snow, I even had to start on a gentle incline. While it felt a bit squirmy on the rear, it never felt like it was going to fishtail. I do these these tires are pretty solid for most conditions, except for the one important one in Vancouver: cold icy slush.
Quietness
The cabin is quite rumbly with the top up, I have no idea why. Probably, to keep the car light, there's not as much insulation. Could be my tires as well. I only really notice this when I'm driving on the highway - most of the time, I'm too focused on the road and shifting.
With the top down, it's louder - especially when driving besides trucks and semis, but the rumbly experience is gone. And what's better, I can hear the very distinct *snick* of the shifter. It is so very satisfying to hear to it shift, it's pretty much worth it to drive with the top down on a cold day.
Seats
The GS trim comes with cloth seats. Which is exactly what I want, as I don't want to deal with leather. Bleh. The leather seats in the GT trim does come with heated seats, something folks in colder weather conditions might like to have.
Out of the few brands of cars I've drive, I found I fit Mazda seats the best. The Mazda 3's seats are great, and the MX5's are great too, but while the former is very easy to get in, the MX5 I have to almost fall into the seat as it's that low.
There are only manual adjustments, which is great - weight savings!
Now, the passenger side looks to have similar seats, but there's significantly less legroom. I haven't gone on long trips, but the space on the driver side is good. The passenger side though... I feel a bit... tight. Can't stretch out the legs.
Storage
It's a tiny car. The glove box is reasonably sized, and there are 4 cup holders, one on each door, and two in the center armrest. There's also a storage bay between the seats, but it's pretty small, and awkwardly sized, no idea what I'm going to use it for at the moment.
The boot is tiny for sure. For me though, I'm using it to haul roadside supplies - a tire plug kit, a screwdriver, a portable jump start battery. The right corner of the boot also has the tire jack. I planning to go on long road trips with this car, so I think I might need to get a spare, some emergency triangles, a first aid kid, fire extinguisher etc etc.
Unlike the soft top mx5, there are no storage behind the seats - that's taken up by the hard top.
Size
It's a tiny car. Last I checked, the MX5's wheelbase is smaller than a Mazda 2, and that car's pretty compact. Every time I see my Miata parked in the stalls, I find it hilarious that there's so much space around it.
On the road, I can leave more space on the right when passing cyclists. I haven't yet encountered any issues, but it is a small car. Not as small as a Fortwo or kei car for sure, but it's more or less a step up from a motorcycle. Add to the fact that it's so low, bigger vehicles might not see it in their blindspot.
I'm always keeping an eye on large SUVs that don't always keep to their lanes in turns, and I try to use my speed (ha!) to get ahead of semis.
Technology
There's cruise control and an aux jack. I can play CDs if I didn't use one of those cd player handphone mounts. It doesn't even have those beeping backup sensors lol. This is why I'm attracted to the car, there are a few safety features, like side and front airbags, and the car is designed to more modern crash standards. Keeping it simple.
A backup camera would be nice, but I'm a bit too lazy to wire one up. And where would I put the display? I see some folks replace the stock headunit with a high-tech pioneer double din. But yeah. Laaaazy.
The speakers in the GS are nothing to write home about. There is a distinct lack of bass, but the mids and highs are alright. I like to play music while detailing my car, and the kicks just don't have the same impact, but eh. My car is for driving.
Side note: I use a smartphone with google maps to navigate areas I'm not familiar with. The dashboard is curvy and most of it has a pebbled texture, so it's difficult to use a phone suction mount. There are some suction mounts with "gel" pads but these seem like more of a semi-permanent solution and I don't want to mar the finish of the plastic. I ended up getting a cd mount, and it worked quite well.
Why the 2013 MX5
Primarily, it boils down to budget, running costs/maintenance and safety.
Budget wise, I'd love to get a newer car. The ND Miata or Fiat 124 would be great. While used prices for 2016 models are still quite high, it's doable. But the problem is, insurance. My ICBC insurance is crazy high as a new driver, and I only count as having one year of driving experience, so only 5% off my insurance. The ND or 124 would be far to expensive to justify as I don't daily drive. There's also the fact that I'm a new driver, and this will be my first car. I could afford a newer ND or 124... but if I damage it... ouch!
Running costs and maintenance wise, the ND is the obvious winner. The car's newer, smaller, lighter, and the new engine has crazy good fuel economy. I'm slightly regretful of that. The NC is pretty old and has been in production for a decade. But, because of this, the later model years have had the bugs worked out and in general, it seems like a very solid car with excellent reliability.
As much as I'd love to own a NA or NB Miata, they are over a decade old, with some of them about 30 years old. Rust can be an issue with these cars. If I had my own garage, I might've gone with the NA, because, popup headlights.
But I live in an apartment with a parking spot, so I can do little more than clean my car :-/
The safety aspect is also important. Newer cars have more safety features, and while I think the newer ND's safety features are slightly over the top, I think the NCs are just perfect. I would really like to have a parking camera, but I'll deal with that when I really need it. For now, I think the NC is great for what it is.
I'm looking forward to summer!
Fuel Economy
Oh my god it's bad. I always though the stated average of 24mpg ~ 9.8l/100km was reasonable for a convertible, but I'm getting horrendous fuel economy, at 16.6l/100km (14.2mpg). Oh my god. I think it's a combination of winter, bigger heavier tires and my inexperience at driving a manual transmission, and the tendency to rev the engine out. Some forums have mentioned a stuck thermostat causing poor fuel economy, but I'll see how it goes when summer comes around. I also haven't checked the tire pressure, so I hope I figure this out soonish.
10th Feb 2019 - Drove it to Horseshoe Bay this morning, then looped around to the Spanish Banks. It started snowing then, and decided not to push on to a car meet. When I checked the fuel economy, it read 14.8l/100! Yes it's going down! Perhaps sitting for half a year at the dealership messed up the reading. I'm also rapidly improving my clutch control, and figuring out better shift points, so that might have helped.
13th Feb 2019 - Finally got around to filling the tank for the first time! Woot! Cost me 46.65 CAD for 30.9L of 91 octane (OUCH). That was with the gas gauge at about 1/4 tank left. The mpg improved a fair bit as well, it's now at 13.6l/100km, about 17.3mpg. Getting better! I have a gut feeling the horrible economy is caused by crappy fuel used by the dealership.
16th Feb 2019 - Now that I have winter tires, I took the car over Aria Auto Services to get my some scheduled maintenance done. While it's still "early" in terms of mileage, the car is over 6 years old now, and I don't trust the dealership or the previous owner to have maintained it properly. I got the engine oil, oil filter, differential fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and brake fluid (upgraded to ATE 200 :)) changed, and then got an alignment done. On the way back, the mpg readout quickly jumped to 12.xL/100km, and the best I got on the way back was 11.9l/100km (19.76mpg)!
Pretty sure that all the fluids haven't been maintained. I got Motul fluids but the transmission I requested for Ford XT-M5-QS. I'll detail these in another post. This is in the cold of winter as well, and pretty much start-stop traffic, only a short stretch on the highway (2-3 minutes?). I'm pretty chuffed to see the improvement.
17th Feb 2019 - Doing 8.84l/100km or 26.61mpg :)
6 Speed Manual Transmission
It's great! Ok, so this is the 2nd manual car I've driven and it's definitely waaaay nicer than the Toyota Echo I learned on. In the week after I bought it, I've been practicing how to more gently take off from a stop, as well as figure out hill starts and parking in reverse... without a camera! All these, in the parking garage. I think the fruits of practice paid off, for today, I set off for my first journey, to buy a set of winter tires! Tires I wanted were out of stock, but I thought I handled the car well. I'm surprised at how many roads I've driven today had an uphill grade; when I used to drive an automatic I don't really care, the car just goes when the throttle goes down. Here, I have to pay so much attention to everything. Must say I've made a few mistakes like start in 2nd gear lol.
The convertible top
I'm 184cm, and the car feels just right for me with the top up. Not too closed in, and I still have headspace. The seating position is really low; my eye line is just under the door handle of some vehicles. In addition, the windshield frame just perfectly blocks my vision of the lights if I'm the first vehicle. It's a bit annoying as I have to crane my head under to make sure I can see the green light in time.
The blind spots with the top up are also pretty bad. With properly adjusted mirrors it's livable - unlike regular passenger cars where I can check the blindspots without my shoulder blades leaving the seat, I need to turn my upper body a bit more to properly check them.
Now, with the top down, the situation is greatly improved, but still not perfect. When I check to my left it's great as there's nothing in the way. No B pillar, nada :P Checking the right though, the passenger roll hoops do obscure my vision a bit. Pretty sure it would hide a Caterham there!
Backing up is also not ideal. Unlike a regular passenger car where you'd look downwards out your rear window, I'm sitting really low in the Miata, and even with my height I'm really, at best, just looking over the boot. It gets really sketchy when I'm reversing up hill and I have to do a reverse hillstart lol!
Even though it's winter here in Vancouver, I've seen and read so many other Miata drivers who drive top down with the car, and it does it really well. With the top down, windows up and the heater on, it's surprisingly comfortable. The heater generates a surprising amount of heat, and the vents can be aimed at my hands where it seems to get cold first.
Apart from that, thanks to my height, my hair goes awry in the wind. But, I bought a golf visor and that worked out great. The visor keeps the sun out of the way, and I can still feel the breeze without looking like a Pantene commercial gone wrong.
One final thing, fuel economy isn't as good with the top down, so I read. So perhaps I should drive more top up if I want to improve my fuel economy lol.
Handling/Suspension
I wish I can tell you this car drives on a knife edge and takes corners exceeding 2Gs, but hey, I've only been driving on my own for barely 4 months, and it's mostly city driving. In addition, I don't really have any other cars to compare it against. What I can say is, on the highway I need to give a tiny bit more steering input than say, Mazda 3/Prius/Honda Fit. Just a bit. In terms of the steering feel, it's great. It's not like a prius or honda fit where it's pretty light, it's a good sort of heavy that's not tiring. It's in between say a Scion FR-S (feels really heavy, and I could feel it after I returned the car!) and Mazda 3 (It's been a while since I drove a 3, but I remember it having a good weight as well).
I guess I might as well slot in a mention to some upgraded components on the GS trim - namely the torsen lsd and bilstein shocks. I don't really care about the shocks, as I would probably upgrade them once I get to grips with the car. The lsd though, sounds great in theory - it splits torque, so both wheels get drive. Unless one of the wheels lift, then it acts as an open diff, or so I understand.
And so that we're on the same page, this car has a FR layout - front engine, rear wheel drive.
The ride is surprisingly comfortable. I thought the more sporty suspension would be harsh, but I found it otherwise. The damping appears to match the way I take bumps, and it goes over it without the car feeling underdamped. Under heavy braking there's a fair bit of dive, so I've learnt to modulate the brakes and keep a greater follow distance.
Sidetrack - tires
As mentioned above, the car came with 225/45R17 Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 tires. While I won't comment on the handling as I have nothing to compare against, I was very surprised that this tire did not come with a M+S or snowflake symbol as I've seen videos of people driving in snow, and the marketing for their newer AS3+ goes on about better snow performance.
The M+S or Snowflake is required between October and March in BC when travelling further into the province. I'll definitely be getting some winter shoes for my mx5 so I can head up the Sea To Sky Highway for some sightseeing :)
Update 12th Feb 2019
About -1 degrees C outside, wanted to do my first ever refueling run. And since I still have the Pilot Sport AS3, I thought it would be good to see how the tires performed in Vancouver's "snowmageddon". Outside my apartment complex, is a somewhat steep upward slope. With momentum, I managed to get up the slope but... there is a stop sign... on an incline. And with that, I could not get any more forward traction XD Thankfully, the tires are good enough to hold the car on the slope with no problems, but trying my usual hill starts... nope. Can't do it. The tires would spin and my tail wobbled and started to drift into the curb. Uh oh. Thankfully there were no cars behind me, and I just reversed back into the parking garage. Bleh. Can't wait to get my winters.
Update 13th Feb 2019
We had a clear blue day in Vancouver, and most of the slush had cleared off. I took off the same uphill tonight with zero problems even thought it was cold and wet. Upon entering North Vancouver though, I had to drive through several uncleared lanes and parking lots. I had my reservations, but as I was on a one-way street I had no choice but to soldier on. The AS3s did perfectly fine going over the white snow, I even had to start on a gentle incline. While it felt a bit squirmy on the rear, it never felt like it was going to fishtail. I do these these tires are pretty solid for most conditions, except for the one important one in Vancouver: cold icy slush.
Quietness
The cabin is quite rumbly with the top up, I have no idea why. Probably, to keep the car light, there's not as much insulation. Could be my tires as well. I only really notice this when I'm driving on the highway - most of the time, I'm too focused on the road and shifting.
With the top down, it's louder - especially when driving besides trucks and semis, but the rumbly experience is gone. And what's better, I can hear the very distinct *snick* of the shifter. It is so very satisfying to hear to it shift, it's pretty much worth it to drive with the top down on a cold day.
Seats
The GS trim comes with cloth seats. Which is exactly what I want, as I don't want to deal with leather. Bleh. The leather seats in the GT trim does come with heated seats, something folks in colder weather conditions might like to have.
Out of the few brands of cars I've drive, I found I fit Mazda seats the best. The Mazda 3's seats are great, and the MX5's are great too, but while the former is very easy to get in, the MX5 I have to almost fall into the seat as it's that low.
There are only manual adjustments, which is great - weight savings!
Now, the passenger side looks to have similar seats, but there's significantly less legroom. I haven't gone on long trips, but the space on the driver side is good. The passenger side though... I feel a bit... tight. Can't stretch out the legs.
Storage
It's a tiny car. The glove box is reasonably sized, and there are 4 cup holders, one on each door, and two in the center armrest. There's also a storage bay between the seats, but it's pretty small, and awkwardly sized, no idea what I'm going to use it for at the moment.
The boot is tiny for sure. For me though, I'm using it to haul roadside supplies - a tire plug kit, a screwdriver, a portable jump start battery. The right corner of the boot also has the tire jack. I planning to go on long road trips with this car, so I think I might need to get a spare, some emergency triangles, a first aid kid, fire extinguisher etc etc.
Unlike the soft top mx5, there are no storage behind the seats - that's taken up by the hard top.
Size
It's a tiny car. Last I checked, the MX5's wheelbase is smaller than a Mazda 2, and that car's pretty compact. Every time I see my Miata parked in the stalls, I find it hilarious that there's so much space around it.
On the road, I can leave more space on the right when passing cyclists. I haven't yet encountered any issues, but it is a small car. Not as small as a Fortwo or kei car for sure, but it's more or less a step up from a motorcycle. Add to the fact that it's so low, bigger vehicles might not see it in their blindspot.
I'm always keeping an eye on large SUVs that don't always keep to their lanes in turns, and I try to use my speed (ha!) to get ahead of semis.
Technology
There's cruise control and an aux jack. I can play CDs if I didn't use one of those cd player handphone mounts. It doesn't even have those beeping backup sensors lol. This is why I'm attracted to the car, there are a few safety features, like side and front airbags, and the car is designed to more modern crash standards. Keeping it simple.
A backup camera would be nice, but I'm a bit too lazy to wire one up. And where would I put the display? I see some folks replace the stock headunit with a high-tech pioneer double din. But yeah. Laaaazy.
The speakers in the GS are nothing to write home about. There is a distinct lack of bass, but the mids and highs are alright. I like to play music while detailing my car, and the kicks just don't have the same impact, but eh. My car is for driving.
Side note: I use a smartphone with google maps to navigate areas I'm not familiar with. The dashboard is curvy and most of it has a pebbled texture, so it's difficult to use a phone suction mount. There are some suction mounts with "gel" pads but these seem like more of a semi-permanent solution and I don't want to mar the finish of the plastic. I ended up getting a cd mount, and it worked quite well.
Why the 2013 MX5
Primarily, it boils down to budget, running costs/maintenance and safety.
Budget wise, I'd love to get a newer car. The ND Miata or Fiat 124 would be great. While used prices for 2016 models are still quite high, it's doable. But the problem is, insurance. My ICBC insurance is crazy high as a new driver, and I only count as having one year of driving experience, so only 5% off my insurance. The ND or 124 would be far to expensive to justify as I don't daily drive. There's also the fact that I'm a new driver, and this will be my first car. I could afford a newer ND or 124... but if I damage it... ouch!
Running costs and maintenance wise, the ND is the obvious winner. The car's newer, smaller, lighter, and the new engine has crazy good fuel economy. I'm slightly regretful of that. The NC is pretty old and has been in production for a decade. But, because of this, the later model years have had the bugs worked out and in general, it seems like a very solid car with excellent reliability.
As much as I'd love to own a NA or NB Miata, they are over a decade old, with some of them about 30 years old. Rust can be an issue with these cars. If I had my own garage, I might've gone with the NA, because, popup headlights.
But I live in an apartment with a parking spot, so I can do little more than clean my car :-/
The safety aspect is also important. Newer cars have more safety features, and while I think the newer ND's safety features are slightly over the top, I think the NCs are just perfect. I would really like to have a parking camera, but I'll deal with that when I really need it. For now, I think the NC is great for what it is.
I'm looking forward to summer!
Monday, January 28, 2019
Looks like I'm getting a Miata...
Long story short, my car sharing jaunts have been somewhat costly, and buying a car would probably be cheaper. This would be true if I bought a nice used car (Mazda 2 mmmmm) but I really wanted something that's:
So, between the NA, NB and NC, I had a hard time choosing, but first - can I fit in the car? The NB is purportedly the tightest of the three, so probably not that. Now the NA looks amazing and popup headlights for the win! However, the NA is also very old, with the newest ones produced in 1997? That means all the NAs on the road are over two decades old, with some reaching three decades old.
I don't want to deal with a classic car, so that kinda leaves the NC. It basically ticks all the boxes: I can afford/justify it. The age of the car isn't horrendous (I was looking primarily at vehicles under 10 years old), insurance for the NC is a fair jump from the NA, but doable. Running costs appear to be reasonable. Oil changes and tires aren't super expensive. The fuel mileage I actually consider it to be quite poor, but I'm not driving it everyday, and I'm comparing it to the ND with it's modern fuel efficient engine as well as the econoboxes I rent. So it's fine.
Maintenance wise, it seems like it's a really well sorted car. There are some issues to be wary of, for example, the coolant tank appears to wear out in about a decade, and can lead to catastrophic engine failure. Thankfully it's not too expensive to swap in a new one, and there are aftermarket metal tanks.
There are 3 versions of the NC, they run from 2006-08, 2009-2012, and 2013-2015. I'm not fond of the so-called NC2, that ran from 2009-2012 - they had a front grill trimmed in silver. Urgh. I'd buy the car if it was right, and get some plastidip to paint over that trim. The original one, has what I consider a very classic look. While the final revision, dubbed NC3, had a more aggressive fascia. I choose the 2013 primarily as the trim with the lsd has a very nice front lip.
I've driven a two NCs now, and I found that I fit. Just. I have 2-3 inches of space above my head with the top up, hopefully that would be sufficient space for a helmet when I go autocrossing. The shifter. Wow. Well I've only driven a Toyota Echo before this, but the shifter's response is awesome. Snick snick snick. And the clutch is very easy to engage. The seat was also great. Of the few brands I've rented, Mazda seats, for some reason, fit me the best.
The throttle though, threw me off. The first NC I drove in a suburban area and the owner had no insurance on it, so I took it super easy, only first gear. Eh. However, a few days ago I took a test drive with a 2013 NC and visited the highways. Oh my goodness this car has some punch! (I'm pretty sure all you experienced drivers are laughing right now :P) Thankfully after a few minutes I got the hang of it and drove it without revving the engine uber high. It felt like it had alot of power just waiting in the wings to be unleashed.
The car I drove had a power retractable hard top, PRHT in miata-speak, and with the top up the cabin it felt snug. There were no problems chatting with the salesperson. The blindspots in the NC3 with the top up are pretty bad. Say the Mazda 2/3s or Fits I tend to rent, I could turn my head left to check the blindspots while keeping my shoulder blades against the seat. Not in the MX5, I really had to lead over to make sure things are clear on the left, and the right side is basically one big blindspot.
Even so, I made the test drive with little issues. When I got the car back though, I went through a checklist of things to check out, one of which was of course the top. Pressing a button and watching the sky open up above you is just... wow. And with the top down, blind spots are a thing of the past. Visibility is amazing, as is the open air experience. Sadly, I did not get a chance to drive with the top down, but that will change shortly :)
Not sure what else to say. I'll be taking this car for a pre purchase inspection soon. Can't wait to see the chassis bracing and aluminum arms once it's on a lift :) If all goes well, I'll be a proud owner of a used MX5 soon.
I do hope to purchase a new MX5 next, as I think that Mazda is one of the few manufacturers who still cater to people who care about driving, and I will vote with my money.
- Convertible
- FR or MR Layout
- Small and lightweight
- Ideally with a lsd as an option
- Mercedes - I know they do some convertibles but I honestly don't know what they are. I also don't happen to be mr moneybags, so, nope.
- BMW - Z3, Z4. Concerned about cost of maintenance, and those within my budget are long in tooth. i8 roadster looks amazeballs, but even if I earned big bucks, that's a bit too flashy (and big) for my tastes.
- Porsche - Targa 4S is cool! Used ones are just slightly above my budget but I have concerns about maintenance costs. Also, not rich.
- Honda - Del Sol is out, FWD - if not it looks really cute and awesome with the Integra-ish front. S2000 is no longer in production, unmodified ones are very expensive here - you can almost buy a brand new ND for some of the good AP2s.
- Mazda - MX5 of course, in budget, very lightweight, small. Japanese reliability. Strong community. There were also a few convertible RX7s when I wrote this post in my area, but they're really old, and I don't want to deal with worn apex seals.
- Toyota - I'm honestly very dissapointed with Toyota... Minor rant: I don't consider the new 86 a toyota. Neither the new Supra. They've seem to have forgotten the amazing history they've got in the past..... They appear to have given up on the sports car market and I have lost interest in them. The Solara is fwd, which means nope.
- Subaru - I accidentally listed them here because, the wrx is an icon. I don't remember them having any convertibles lol.
- Mitsubishi - OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHY ARE YOU MAKING ONLY SUVS BRING BACK THE GLORY DAYS OF RALLYING! Their Eclipse is unfortunately FWD. Not a fan of the styling either.
- Nissan - their Z is really the only choice but I'm not a fan of their styling. And it's quite heavy.
- Hawk Cars - One day, if I have a garage, they'll be in the running
- Lotus - Elise? I'm not that hardcore. Neither can I afford one lol.
- Factory Five - Like the other kit cars... one day, if I have a garage.
- Caterham - there's actually one for sale in my area when I wrote this... this car is a few steps above the Elise in terms of hardcore level, so a definite nooope for me :P
- Koenigsegg - I'm trolling you readers at this point.
- I'm excluding US cars from the list, as apart from a few iconic cars e.g. Trans Am, Viper, Corvette, Mustang etc etc I'm not that familiar with 'em.
- Budget
- Age of car
- Safety
- Cost of Insurance
- Running costs
- Maintenance Costs
So, between the NA, NB and NC, I had a hard time choosing, but first - can I fit in the car? The NB is purportedly the tightest of the three, so probably not that. Now the NA looks amazing and popup headlights for the win! However, the NA is also very old, with the newest ones produced in 1997? That means all the NAs on the road are over two decades old, with some reaching three decades old.
I don't want to deal with a classic car, so that kinda leaves the NC. It basically ticks all the boxes: I can afford/justify it. The age of the car isn't horrendous (I was looking primarily at vehicles under 10 years old), insurance for the NC is a fair jump from the NA, but doable. Running costs appear to be reasonable. Oil changes and tires aren't super expensive. The fuel mileage I actually consider it to be quite poor, but I'm not driving it everyday, and I'm comparing it to the ND with it's modern fuel efficient engine as well as the econoboxes I rent. So it's fine.
Maintenance wise, it seems like it's a really well sorted car. There are some issues to be wary of, for example, the coolant tank appears to wear out in about a decade, and can lead to catastrophic engine failure. Thankfully it's not too expensive to swap in a new one, and there are aftermarket metal tanks.
There are 3 versions of the NC, they run from 2006-08, 2009-2012, and 2013-2015. I'm not fond of the so-called NC2, that ran from 2009-2012 - they had a front grill trimmed in silver. Urgh. I'd buy the car if it was right, and get some plastidip to paint over that trim. The original one, has what I consider a very classic look. While the final revision, dubbed NC3, had a more aggressive fascia. I choose the 2013 primarily as the trim with the lsd has a very nice front lip.
I've driven a two NCs now, and I found that I fit. Just. I have 2-3 inches of space above my head with the top up, hopefully that would be sufficient space for a helmet when I go autocrossing. The shifter. Wow. Well I've only driven a Toyota Echo before this, but the shifter's response is awesome. Snick snick snick. And the clutch is very easy to engage. The seat was also great. Of the few brands I've rented, Mazda seats, for some reason, fit me the best.
The throttle though, threw me off. The first NC I drove in a suburban area and the owner had no insurance on it, so I took it super easy, only first gear. Eh. However, a few days ago I took a test drive with a 2013 NC and visited the highways. Oh my goodness this car has some punch! (I'm pretty sure all you experienced drivers are laughing right now :P) Thankfully after a few minutes I got the hang of it and drove it without revving the engine uber high. It felt like it had alot of power just waiting in the wings to be unleashed.
The car I drove had a power retractable hard top, PRHT in miata-speak, and with the top up the cabin it felt snug. There were no problems chatting with the salesperson. The blindspots in the NC3 with the top up are pretty bad. Say the Mazda 2/3s or Fits I tend to rent, I could turn my head left to check the blindspots while keeping my shoulder blades against the seat. Not in the MX5, I really had to lead over to make sure things are clear on the left, and the right side is basically one big blindspot.
Even so, I made the test drive with little issues. When I got the car back though, I went through a checklist of things to check out, one of which was of course the top. Pressing a button and watching the sky open up above you is just... wow. And with the top down, blind spots are a thing of the past. Visibility is amazing, as is the open air experience. Sadly, I did not get a chance to drive with the top down, but that will change shortly :)
Not sure what else to say. I'll be taking this car for a pre purchase inspection soon. Can't wait to see the chassis bracing and aluminum arms once it's on a lift :) If all goes well, I'll be a proud owner of a used MX5 soon.
I do hope to purchase a new MX5 next, as I think that Mazda is one of the few manufacturers who still cater to people who care about driving, and I will vote with my money.
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