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MX5's - so what if they're fun ?!?


Muffleman

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Guest david.mt
Anyone here driven an MX5 in anger ? I tire of hearing how 'fun' they are when the most potent MX5 has less than 140bhp and hits 60 in a sniff under 8seconds - a decent spec'd Mondeo will do that !

 

I totally understand the fun and handling aspect, I do have an MR2 in the garage, but people make out that they're just brilliant

 

I have to admit that I haven't driven one, but surely after 5 minutes of 'fun', don't you find it's missing something ? Power maybe ?

 

So what power to weight ratio do you have in you Supra fat boy? Fairly strong statements for someone that hasn't driven or had their ass kicked by one :p

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The MX5 is a 'fun' car to drive. The size of it, nice gearchange, it just feels good to throw about. You feel like your playing with it, while sometimes in bigger, faster and more capalbe car, you don't feel as in-charge.

 

However, fun by itself just does not do it for me. Fact is, while enjoying the handling and chuckability of it on some B-roads, you will still be going pretty damn slow. On some empty roads, it is nice, but throw some competition in there, and suddenly driving the MX5 is no longer fun, as your getting beaten.

 

Having said that, as a daily driver, would be very nice and fun, and still get to enjoy the RWD aspect. I wanted one as a daily driver, but went out the window after discovering how tight a fit they are in the drivers seat.

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Guest david.mt
Oh hello the troll has arrived :)

 

Hello :) ....just interested in dispelling certain myths....not about trolls though as they clearly exist :D

 

You may have guessed that I have an MX-5 as a fun car.

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On an open road Syed I would agree with you. Half the joy of the supe is knowing that you haven't got the ability to tame it and that is most of the thrill pushing yourself to the edge knowing the beast has teeth. But I rarely ever find open roads. What I find is traffic. I'll have a go at beating pretty much anyone in a nifty handling motor in traffic.

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Guest david.mt
erm..... about 260 bhp/tonne I think! I doubt the MX5 weighs less than 380kg now does it!!

 

No but mine does have more much more that 260bhp/tonne as do many other MX-5's as they are relatively easy and cheap to modify :p

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i love mx5's a friend of mine had a turboed one and it went like a stabbed rat :D

 

i love the handling on them they are great fun, they prove that you dont have to be going eleventy million miles an hour to enjoy driving. thats the very reason i bought the tiger, ok it does have the same power to weight ratio as a BPU supe but you can have an absoloute riot in it on country lanes and not be breaking the speed limit (by a great deal ;) )

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So what power to weight ratio do you have in you Supra fat boy? Fairly strong statements for someone that hasn't driven or had their ass kicked by one :p

 

Nice first post, well you assume I'm fat so lets assume you have an appendage hanging from your forehead ;)

 

Re-read the first post mate, I was not saying MX5's are shite, I was just asking if anyone had driven one and could discuss whether they are that good or not. I openly admitted I hadn't driven one and I was happy to be proved wrong :)

 

And I was clearly talking 'out of the box', not heavily modified cars with turbos :rolleyes:

My post was NOT anything other than a motoring enthusiast chatting about another car.

 

Oh, and BHP per tonne ? Well yes this is a very important factor - care to see whats on its way from Japan to my garage ???

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=57090&highlight=trial

 

And what's in my garage at the moment ? A heavily modified MR2 Turbo, another car that gets 'hairdresser' comments just like the MX5.

 

Wind ya neck in mate, we're all car enthusiasts :)

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Guest david.mt
So what kind of output can you get out of an MX5 then?

 

Well this was last year before the new head and WI was fully mapped :)

 

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/7/web/307000-307999/307965_98_full.jpg

 

Fat boy was referring to the car....but clearly hit a nerve ;)

 

I openly admitted I hadn't driven one and I was happy to be proved wrong

 

Good...coz you were :p

 

The MX-5 is highly driveable and controllable at all speeds and can be easily upgraded to suit all power needs....there is a guy with 600rwhp in the US :blink: It's fun at all power levels and you don't need massive power to have fun....if you do then you are on the wrong roads. It also has the massive bonus of being a rag top.

 

It's hard to modify the fact that you look like a girl driving it though

 

I think that says more about you eye sight that it does about the MX-5 and probably explains your choice in women....or men :shock:

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Give me a 2.0 16v vw corrado or an Nissan s13 200sx as a backroad toy instead of an mx-5 any day of the week!

 

btw Michael, I hardly recognised your car with those (lexus?) wheels on it. I was interested in buying it when you were trying to sell it last year

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I wonder if MGF and MX5 drivers pull one anothers hair and such when they argue about who's car handles best :gayfight:

As for tuning one... thats like trying to make a sparkly pink handbag look butch :rolleyes:

To be fair I didn't realise they sold those to blokes in real life.

 

:eyebrows: makes sure fuse is well lit and stands back :sly:

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Guest Supercharged

Hello - This is my first post here..

 

I love Supras BTW but would only ever have a highly tuned, stripped out black TT though! The others are too heavy and slow IMO!

 

Just thought I'd add my TPW..

 

Girls car? Mazda sales show that 50% of MX5 sales are to men, the rest (as you might have guessed) go to women. This tells us that MX5s appeal to PEOPLE in general. Oh and they are still being made too.. :)

 

The Supra is simply too big and heavy to give good handling - Fact

It doesnt matter what you do to them they will never handle as well as a lotus elise, MX5, MR2, or even the poxy MGF. These are lightweight sports cars and dont need to have high power levels as such.

 

The MX5 is rear wheel drive and has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. (someone here thought they were FWD and not as balanced as an Mr2 :rolleyes: ) Because the engine is at the front the back end of the Mx5 will not just let go spectacularly (like mid engined roadsters often do) when cornering / drifting. Its one of the most intuitive cars I have ever driven. There is just so much feeling through the steering - it feels like an extension of yourself. No shit... try it. (Normally aspirated mx5s are grossly underpowered though - no dispute there from me) The truth is it was designed to handle well and it does just that.

 

The MX5 engine is a marvel of modern engineering too. A standard engine can take well over 250 BHP. Turbo and Supercharger kits are so numerous that they might as well come like that 'out of the box'. £4000 will get you 240 - 250 bhp straight of the mark.. reliably too!

 

When people slag them off without knowing anything about them or ever having driven them... well.. thats just like a shortcut to thinking. If you are more into how the car looks (i.e big aggressive looking monsters = manly) and dont want to be seen in a 'womans' car then I ask you: "what are you trying to make up for?" (wiggles small finger).

 

IMO all sportscars / coupes look fantastic (exept the crossfire!) - but some are better at what they do than others. Form follows function and not the other way round..

 

Supercharged

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I wonder if MGF and MX5 drivers pull one anothers hair and such when they argue about who's car handles best :gayfight:

 

haha im an MGF owner, and yes, we despise MX5 owners, which is why i havnt posted on this thread yet.

lol my MGF handles like its on rails but only because of the money ive spent on it, probably close to 2 grand on just the handling...

 

and yes it was worth it!

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Guest Supercharged

"But be careful saying a supra does not handle - 1G of lateral grip is not to be sniffed at. Lest we forget, the Enzo itself is no lightweight."

 

Grip and handling are not the same thing at all... We have grip too with less enertia acting agaist it...

 

I challenge any supra owners to keep up with the MX5 Nutz Forced Induction crew on a welsh mountain cruise. We can take some dual carriageways too if you reckon you could beat us on the straights. Bring it on - lard arses! :)

 

(meant in the spirit of playful teasing - no offence intended)

 

MGF man wrote "handles like its on rails " Does that mean you cant steer it?

 

Oh and how many head gaskets have you been through while we are at it?

 

(lol - only messin!)

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Why not go to the 'ring in Germany? Some of the club are going this summer. See if you can put a faster time down on the worlds best track, as opposed to trying to setup races on public roads.

 

I really do doubt you will beat a good Supra round the 'ring. Ever heard of the Blitz Supra? Handling without grip is like aerodynamics without speed, nice, but not very useful.

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MGF man wrote "handles like its on rails " Does that mean you cant steer it?

 

 

 

haha, no it means that it sticks to the road, goes exactly where i want it to, and i really dont have to worry about loosing the back end. cant wait to get my supra feeling the same, but i think im gonna have to spend more money :(

 

oh, and just 1 head gasket :( wasnt my fault, the garage knocked a coolant pipe loose whilst repairing some damaged done to me by a white van man. drove 4 miles down the road and the engine blew! they paid for the repairs hahahaha

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Guest Supercharged

"Why not go to the 'ring in Germany? Some of the club are going this summer. See if you can put a faster time down on the worlds best track, as opposed to trying to setup races on public roads. "

 

How many of you guys use the Nurburger to get to work?

 

Race? I never said anything about a race. We could easily lose you lot at legal speeds on the twisties.. no problems. On very loooong straights (once youve got that Hooj weight moving) I reckon Id be eating your dust :ok:

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

MG Man - glad to see you have a sense of humor - good man! :)

 

 

Ian R "Didn't realise they had any Sallon's in the mountains " Eh? Did you mean to say "salons"?

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