A potential convert

Snapfrozen · Post by **Snapfrozen** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:51 pm

Hi everyone, I'm Jarred, live in Auckland and am a recent potential convert to MX-5's. Have owned Hondas my entire life and love hot hatches. Previous ride was a 92 EG hatch, with a B16A2 (For anyone who cares) that I ended up racing in Honda cup. Dailied it to work EVERY day and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately about a year ago I broke my leg quite badly and ended up selling it as it looked like I wouldnt be driving for 3-6 months. Regretted it instantly and tried to grow up so I currently own a Torneo which is about to go on trademe in the hopes of picking up a factory NA MX5. Heres some pictures of my civic. If anyone comes across a tidy, good condition (Dont care about km's, im relatively mechanically savvy) well priced MX-5, let me know

And is there anything I should look out for when buying?

evel · Post by **evel** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:55 pm

you after a 1800 or 1600?

Snapfrozen · Post by **Snapfrozen** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:24 pm

Is there a link you can recommend to engine specs? Mainly after torque, power, redline, compression, bore-stroke. Used to revving a car to the redline to make power... Won't let me post pics as I'm new

Furai · Post by **Furai** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:26 pm

This site has all the specs, There not super high revving but concentrate more on handling like a boss.

http://specs.amayama.com/mazda/eunos_roadster/

evel · Post by **evel** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:36 pm

my first car was a civic (95 LX

) i realise it isnt a car that built for anything fun but I got a NA8 this weekend and

its sooo much better, I have driven a few lxi civic's and imo a mx5 is hugely different, but in a good way

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:38 pm

after a honda the mx is going to be 1000rpm short on redline. you can do a simple mod to remove the redline but the engines are nowhere near as free flowing as a honda. hence why everyone goes turbo when chasing HP.

Furai · Post by **Furai** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:56 pm

Unless your in Japan and have money to spend on it.

http://youtu.be/s_jjLqEKwWk

Snapfrozen · Post by **Snapfrozen** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:04 pm

Its going to be a big jump down in power and I know that so it won't be such a surprise... Was making 140wkw, ran high 13s on the 1/4 mile. Am I safe in assuming the 1.6 with a small compression bump will make decent NA power and keep decent fuel efficiency, the 1.8 with lower compression is better for forced induction? Gearboxes and diffs all the same between models? The plan for me is keep it NA, get the looks right then worry about power

Furai · Post by **Furai** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:18 pm

Diffs are better and stronger in NB and 1800cc, 1600cc NA have either Viscous or open diff with 6 tooth head, not as strong as 8 tooth head and open or Torsen diff in the 1800cc.

Both motors go well Turbo as they were both originally designed for it and have low compression ratios. NA power isnt to hard to get a bit extra but generally not that cheap.

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:30 pm

as others have said either engine is ok for forced induction with out any mods whatsoever. of course the 1800 will make more HP simply because of the extra 200cc.
the 1800 cars have bigger brakes and diffs, but they can be easily fitted in to 1600 cars so its no biggy.
dont chase NA HP in an mx5..you 'll just end up poor and slow.
the only engine thats worth starting the NA route is a NB 1998
+1800 that has a slightly different head with wider valve angles.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:21 pm

SLYDIT wrote:as others have said either engine is ok for forced induction with out any mods whatsoever. of course the 1800 will make more HP simply because of the extra 200cc.
the 1800 cars have bigger brakes and diffs, but they can be easily fitted in to 1600 cars so its no biggy.
dont chase NA HP in an mx5..you 'll just end up poor and slow.
the only engine thats worth starting the NA route is a NB 1998
+1800 that has a slightly different head with wider valve angles.

Well there are some of us who will take issue with some of the above! My car (road registered with a CD player!!) keeps RX7 Class cars honest on the circuit and the head hasn't been off it yet. An NA 1.8 with a modded NB head plus stanalone ecu will make an effective and reliable track toy for someone who wants to stay naturally aspirated, assuming you have attended to all the obvious things you need to do .

Kieran · Post by **Kieran** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:18 am

Looks like the miata is the new honda here aswell as the states

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:11 pm

SLYDIT wrote:as others have said either engine is ok for forced induction with out any mods whatsoever. of course the 1800 will make more HP simply because of the extra 200cc.

I thought the HP between the NA 1600 and 1800 was much the same. The 1800 had more torque however.

authentic · Post by **authentic** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:58 pm

Furai wrote:Unless your in Japan and have money to spend on it.

http://youtu.be/s_jjLqEKwWk

That was awesome.

Is the Roadster in that video the same one thats in this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmHSFWfjwbg

Snapfrozen · Post by **Snapfrozen** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:58 pm

I was never a serious competitor in Honda Cup, was awesome fun until a broken leg put me out, but I would love to track an MX-5 for at least a year before I considered pulling it off the road/full caging it. Thanks for the posts, let the hunt begin i suppose

Euen · Post by **Euen** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:04 pm

If you want to track it, you will need a minimum of a roll bar/half cage from day 1 because of the soft-top.

Before looking at any power mods, make sure the handling is right. Don't be tempted to go too low, the MX5 handles really well out of the box. Good shocks and stiffer springs help a lot.

One of the other mistakes people make is using too heavy a wheel-tyre combo. The standard rims are really light and if replacing them you need to keep to a light rim. Keeps down the unsprung weight which helps the handling and the harshness of the ride.

Snapfrozen · Post by **Snapfrozen** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:21 pm

First mod will be coilovers, brakes then tyres. Will worry about wheels/engine later. Hardtop and rollbar will both be quite early on..

Zadkiel · Post by **Zadkiel** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:23 pm

Thought the name looked familiar from NZHondas. They definitely don't rev like a Vtec but they have something most Hondas don't (S2ks cost a lot more!), RWD!

I think a K20a would go well in one though.

Kieran · Post by **Kieran** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:18 am

K20a Blasphemy!!!

The 2001-2005 Miata engine is VVT so same thing

Euen · Post by **Euen** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:24 am

Kieran wrote:K20a Blasphemy!!!

The 2001-2005 Miata engine is VVT so same thing

Not quite.

A few guys in the states have tried fitting the Honda F20c from the S2000 though. Definitely wasn't a straight forward swap.

Kieran · Post by **Kieran** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:31 am

Not quite but in my opinion better than a honda engine in a mazda im not a big fan of cross brand engine conversions except the v8s cause mazda dont make a v8

But hey each to their own

Euen · Post by **Euen** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:37 am

I agree entirely. I wasn't advocating a Honda swap.

Kieran · Post by **Kieran** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:45 am

Yeah you are right though some of the f20c builds are quite cool and you have to respect the work thats gone into it but still not my cup of tea

Snapfrozen · Post by **Snapfrozen** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:46 am

Yep, been on NZH for ages. TBH the CJC MX-5 at the last mega meet was what really got me thinking, absolutely love it.

Zadkiel · Post by **Zadkiel** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:50 pm

Yeah thats a nice car. A little to low for practical though!

A potential convert

A potential convert

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