Miata Mx5 RF

[Awales74]

ND2 engine, what changes did they make?

They reworked the internals and intake to allow higher RPM. Relatively flat torque curve means you get almost 1-1 increase in HP with the higher limit. It's not like they dropped a Hemi in it. But it is great for Auto X because it allows you to stay in the low gears longer etc.. etc..

Through the life of the car they added more and more bits and bobbles like rear view camera (derisively called the cat butt), telescoping steering wheel, etc.. etc... They are probably up to a flux capacitor by now.

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[AutoDelight]

They reworked the internals and intake to allow higher RPM. Relatively flat torque curve means you get almost 1-1 increase in HP with the higher limit. It's not like they dropped a Hemi in it. But it is great for Auto X because it allows you to stay in the low gears longer etc.. etc..

Through the life of the car they added more and more bits and bobbles like rear view camera (derisively called the cat butt), telescoping steering wheel, etc.. etc... They are probably up to a flux capacitor by now.

We're getting close to the flux capacitor. Probably will be added on the NE1.

 

[FlammasWRLD]

Haha to be fair, my uncle just switched from his C7 Z06 to an ND2 RF and LOVES it. He told me the exact same thing i said when I drove it "you can stay foot the floor, rowing through gears feeling like you just hit 100 and realize you just broke 60, it's fantastic"

I will say, miatas on backroads are perfect

Miata's truly are wonderful cars. I love being able to full throttle everywhere and never break any laws LOL. had this old dude yell at me the other day "SLOW DOWNNNN" I look down and I am just breaking 35mph. I am definitely keeping my Miata even when I receive my Supra.

 

[alan7467]

They reworked the internals and intake to allow higher RPM. Relatively flat torque curve means you get almost 1-1 increase in HP with the higher limit. It's not like they dropped a Hemi in it. But it is great for Auto X because it allows you to stay in the low gears longer etc.. etc..

Through the life of the car they added more and more bits and bobbles like rear view camera (derisively called the cat butt), telescoping steering wheel, etc.. etc... They are probably up to a flux capacitor by now.

They put a lighter flywheel in too. So it revs a bit faster. Was definitely noticeable to me.

 

[Spettro11]

I'd say have both. The Supra is more expensive, more powerful, more everything, and you're right - you can't (legally) use a Supra's full power on the streets, but a Miata is still fun. Not great for long travel, but try autocross with a Miata and you'll walk away skipping, smiling, and doing cartwheels. You could always get an older Miata to use as your fun day car without having to worry about too much power, parking far away from other cars, etc.

 

[Spart]

I was considering a ND2 RF when I bought the MT Supra. I test drove several of them.

They're great cars, but the Supra is more complete and not much larger. Mazda needs to bring back the Mazdaspeed and have two engines, with the current engine being the base and the Mazdaspeed being 230-250hp. That would be all that car needs (plus maybe tires and suspension tweaks) to be as fun as the Supra.

One of my biggest gripes with the ND is the cluster. My old Mazda RX-8 had a center tach with an inset digital speedometer. This is a great, simple gauge layout that lets you go from car to car without much stress. Both my R53 and R56 JCW Minis had it, the aforementioned RX-8 had it, it's been used on a lot of cars and at a glance, it looks like Mazda used it again on the ND. But for reasons unknown to god and science, Mazda replaced the MPH readout in the ND with a gear indicator and and upshift indicator that you can't change to be anything else. It's absolutely maddening because the analog speedometer in the ND Miata is nearly useless, and being this wouldn't be a car I drive every day, I'd never get used to it. Also this is a H pattern manual, I know what gear I'm in. There's a big ol' lever that makes it pretty obvious. What on earth makes the currently selected gear more important than speed?

If you want a manual, you might try to find a manual Supra. I have plenty of gripes about the Supra as well, but I guarantee the driving experience will be completely different from the AT. This is actually a fun car to drive around town because of all the low-end torque. You can shift constantly and never really be out of the power band. The GT350 I had previously was amazing when opened up, but nobody was home under 4000RPM. It just felt meh until you gave it hell and then it was insane. No real in-between, and not reasonable to run out the gears when first takes you all the way to 53MPH and second has you breaking the speed limit in all 50 states.

 

[tadda]

I owned a MX5-RF....Was a fun 'lil sports car to drive especially in the twisties...

 

[AutoDelight]

My last night with her... You can only guess what she was traded in for...

 

[Supra Jr.]

I was considering a ND2 RF when I bought the MT Supra. I test drove several of them.

They're great cars, but the Supra is more complete and not much larger. Mazda needs to bring back the Mazdaspeed and have two engines, with the current engine being the base and the Mazdaspeed being 230-250hp. That would be all that car needs (plus maybe tires and suspension tweaks) to be as fun as the Supra.

One of my biggest gripes with the ND is the cluster. My old Mazda RX-8 had a center tach with an inset digital speedometer. This is a great, simple gauge layout that lets you go from car to car without much stress. Both my R53 and R56 JCW Minis had it, the aforementioned RX-8 had it, it's been used on a lot of cars and at a glance, it looks like Mazda used it again on the ND. But for reasons unknown to god and science, Mazda replaced the MPH readout in the ND with a gear indicator and and upshift indicator that you can't change to be anything else. It's absolutely maddening because the analog speedometer in the ND Miata is nearly useless, and being this wouldn't be a car I drive every day, I'd never get used to it. Also this is a H pattern manual, I know what gear I'm in. There's a big ol' lever that makes it pretty obvious. What on earth makes the currently selected gear more important than speed?

If you want a manual, you might try to find a manual Supra. I have plenty of gripes about the Supra as well, but I guarantee the driving experience will be completely different from the AT. This is actually a fun car to drive around town because of all the low-end torque. You can shift constantly and never really be out of the power band. The GT350 I had previously was amazing when opened up, but nobody was home under 4000RPM. It just felt meh until you gave it hell and then it was insane. No real in-between, and not reasonable to run out the gears when first takes you all the way to 53MPH and second has you breaking the speed limit in all 50 states.

Well just got home from test driving a Porsche 918 cayman with the 6 cyl flat plain crank. I drove it for over an hour and though I loved the manual I just couldn't get past the lose of power everywhere and especially down low. Drove the hell out of it and it just isn't the same. So definitely won't even try the Miata now. I have a whole new appreciation for a tuned supra now!!!

 

[alan7467]

Well just got home from test driving a Porsche 918 cayman with the 6 cyl flat plain crank. I drove it for over an hour and though I loved the manual I just couldn't get past the lose of power everywhere and especially down low. Drove the hell out of it and it just isn't the same. So definitely won't even try the Miata now. I have a whole new appreciation for a tuned supra now!!!

One thing to keep in mind with the 981 and 982 (718) Cayman/Boxster is that the gearing is really long. So they can feel a bit gutless because of that.

A Miata on the other hand has pretty short gearing. So even though it's down on power, it feels eager off the line and in city driving. It's not fast, but it is still fun to drive.

 

[Swooprah]

I currently own a 2020 ND2 RF GT in Polymetal Gray (Kinda like CU Later) and Red Nappa Leather... I'll be selling/trading it in when I get the supra. Gonna miss this car. It's by no means perfect but for a sub 40k car it punches above it's weight class for sure. Fun in the twisties with just mild springs. The Targa top is cool (though o really bought it as a coupe). It's got a lot of flaws and quirks but driving dynamics is not one of them. The manual is prob the best manual out there right now. I would say of all the cars I've driven the S2000 has the best manual and the ND2 would be #1B. I am torn about letting it go but I don't have the garage space. I am looking fwd to the Supra but this ND2 (and my old 92 NA that I sold in 2002) were/are the best driving cars I've owned... Definitely not teh fastest though

Well here's some pics of mine.

I had this lip spoiler on it but took it off a few months ago.

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