Miata ND
02-15-2017, 04:06 PM
#161
We all have an idea of what we need to enjoy a car, and your personal standard is fine. But for many of us, adding about what current header and tunes do to the car (less than $1500 investment) will probably get the thing to 60 in around five seconds. For a daily, in traffic, that is a hoot of a car, cheap, excellent on gas, and probably going to be extremely reliable. It completely solves the problem that it wont get around determined minivans and run of the mill pickup trucks that wish to fend off your attempts at passing, and makes for a really enjoyable car.
I don't need to drag race with it, and it would be fun at a track even if it gets passed on every straight by all of the high power stuff. My Cayman would still be faster, but I don't need that kind of juice to make for very enjoyable drive to work day in and day out.
I don't need to blow the doors off a Camaro SS to have fun, I just want to be able to pass people without much effort when I want to, and that makes a modified RF enticing. I think a little (modified) Miata that gets around at speeds under 70 mph at the same rate a V8 Hemi sedan would be nothing to turn my nose up at. And since I really think it is a beautiful car, it is on the list for the next daily with a M240i and Golf R/Gti.
But I am also in the club that thinks the ridiculous power levels in the fastest cars out there is getting boring. I am not racing in traffic, I can't even use the power in my puny Cayman S 90% of the time and at the speeds you have to drive it, it gets boring. The Cayman is doing 82 at the top of second gear. I want to wring out the engine and shifts gears because it is fun and you get to do that every day in the Miata. In the Cayman I can redline 1st without getting a ticket, and that's it. It is what makes a 500 Abarth fun because you are rowing gears and the engine it roaring and the car is scooting about and you can do it right in the middle of traffic without causing a problem. If you have the Vette, you give it a little gas and you are out of room in a heartbeat. I think too many people have forgotten what it was like to be able to wring out their car every day, everywhere they went and how much fun it was. Now all our cars are much faster and we can barely stretch their legs.
I don't need to drag race with it, and it would be fun at a track even if it gets passed on every straight by all of the high power stuff. My Cayman would still be faster, but I don't need that kind of juice to make for very enjoyable drive to work day in and day out.
I don't need to blow the doors off a Camaro SS to have fun, I just want to be able to pass people without much effort when I want to, and that makes a modified RF enticing. I think a little (modified) Miata that gets around at speeds under 70 mph at the same rate a V8 Hemi sedan would be nothing to turn my nose up at. And since I really think it is a beautiful car, it is on the list for the next daily with a M240i and Golf R/Gti.
But I am also in the club that thinks the ridiculous power levels in the fastest cars out there is getting boring. I am not racing in traffic, I can't even use the power in my puny Cayman S 90% of the time and at the speeds you have to drive it, it gets boring. The Cayman is doing 82 at the top of second gear. I want to wring out the engine and shifts gears because it is fun and you get to do that every day in the Miata. In the Cayman I can redline 1st without getting a ticket, and that's it. It is what makes a 500 Abarth fun because you are rowing gears and the engine it roaring and the car is scooting about and you can do it right in the middle of traffic without causing a problem. If you have the Vette, you give it a little gas and you are out of room in a heartbeat. I think too many people have forgotten what it was like to be able to wring out their car every day, everywhere they went and how much fun it was. Now all our cars are much faster and we can barely stretch their legs.
02-15-2017, 09:59 PM
#162
Yeah, that's exactly what sorta opened my eyes to the ND. I took the vette out this past weekend with a buddy with a brz, took it to a back road and just had some fun. I've had the car now for 6 months, had some backroad sessions so getting more familiar with the car. I find that the car is very much exciting but in a I dont want to die kind of way. The car is capable, and you have to maintain your faith while driving it, but you don't feel as part of the equation as my friend would feel in his brz. In that moment I missed having a lighter car like my old 240sx or my s2000 until I hit the gas and watch my friend vanish.
Yeah, the power is great, but like mentioned above, these days in the bay area you seriously cannot push the car without seeing blue lights and getting tagged with a minimum $500 ticket, and that's if you're lucky to not get popped for reckless driving or speeding well above the limit. And with the traffic and terrible road conditions I don't think I'd risk an accident or jacking up my suspension on a pothole going crazy fast. With it's bigger footprint, wider tires, etc, the car just doenst provide the same fun as a smaller, lighter car with more reachable limits.
Anyway, the ND RF caught my attention, but at 32k it's pricey. Maybe the price will come down soon enough.
Yeah, the power is great, but like mentioned above, these days in the bay area you seriously cannot push the car without seeing blue lights and getting tagged with a minimum $500 ticket, and that's if you're lucky to not get popped for reckless driving or speeding well above the limit. And with the traffic and terrible road conditions I don't think I'd risk an accident or jacking up my suspension on a pothole going crazy fast. With it's bigger footprint, wider tires, etc, the car just doenst provide the same fun as a smaller, lighter car with more reachable limits.
Anyway, the ND RF caught my attention, but at 32k it's pricey. Maybe the price will come down soon enough.
02-16-2017, 09:10 AM
#163
But I am also in the club that thinks the ridiculous power levels in the fastest cars out there is getting boring. I am not racing in traffic, I can't even use the power in my puny Cayman S 90% of the time and at the speeds you have to drive it, it gets boring. The Cayman is doing 82 at the top of second gear. I want to wring out the engine and shifts gears because it is fun and you get to do that every day in the Miata. In the Cayman I can redline 1st without getting a ticket, and that's it. It is what makes a 500 Abarth fun because you are rowing gears and the engine it roaring and the car is scooting about and you can do it right in the middle of traffic without causing a problem. If you have the Vette, you give it a little gas and you are out of room in a heartbeat. I think too many people have forgotten what it was like to be able to wring out their car every day, everywhere they went and how much fun it was. Now all our cars are much faster and we can barely stretch their legs.
04-16-2017, 03:17 PM
#164
Just saw my first RF in person at the dealer show floor yesterday. Drop dead gorgeous. Just a stunningly neat, neat, neat little car. Do want.
04-17-2017, 08:21 AM
#165
Yeah it wasn't on my radar either but then I saw it in person and wow. Don't go down the rabbit hole, wait till you see what a header and tune does.
05-23-2017, 01:03 PM
#167
Registered User
This is sort of like ap1 vs ap2? I have an 04 ap2 with 79,000 miles.
I don' t think people go from a S2000 to a miata often. I so think the mx5 is a great car and when you drive an S2000 it's just more greatness and that's why I was seduced away from my Miata (that and build qualify of one of them).
There are not allot of cars that can offer what a Miata offers, my sister has a ND with automatic and loves it, i would be bored all day long with that car. The amenities of a new Miata are far above those of my S (no nav, no Bluetooth, too noisy for earbud conversations and a crap stock stereo, etc). I don't mind any of that.
I drove this car out of the showroom in 2003 and have lovingly done 95% of the maintenance and upkeep, it's a Honda after all. Sure parts will not be as cheap as a Miata or as plentiful in the aftermarket, so what?
I can take my S2000 ,which is 99% stock to a track day or drive in the mountains or commute to work or do a costco run. I know the new Miata can do all of this too, just not as well IMHO.
I would not trade my memories of my two MX-5's for any other cars I have owned. If it were not for my Miata experience i probably would not have given the S2000 a second look back then, it was a guy i met on the miata forum who let me dive his ap1 that got me hooked, I have never looked back. My s2000 had arguably the best gearbox ever, and so many other things that make it special. I have had it longer than any of the 31 other cars I have owned. I still have that special feelings when I push the start button, drop the top, and get on the road, longing for no other car. and that's from a guy who also has a m3 and a jag convertible. neither of which i will keep that long i assure you.
I don' t think people go from a S2000 to a miata often. I so think the mx5 is a great car and when you drive an S2000 it's just more greatness and that's why I was seduced away from my Miata (that and build qualify of one of them).
There are not allot of cars that can offer what a Miata offers, my sister has a ND with automatic and loves it, i would be bored all day long with that car. The amenities of a new Miata are far above those of my S (no nav, no Bluetooth, too noisy for earbud conversations and a crap stock stereo, etc). I don't mind any of that.
I drove this car out of the showroom in 2003 and have lovingly done 95% of the maintenance and upkeep, it's a Honda after all. Sure parts will not be as cheap as a Miata or as plentiful in the aftermarket, so what?
I can take my S2000 ,which is 99% stock to a track day or drive in the mountains or commute to work or do a costco run. I know the new Miata can do all of this too, just not as well IMHO.
I would not trade my memories of my two MX-5's for any other cars I have owned. If it were not for my Miata experience i probably would not have given the S2000 a second look back then, it was a guy i met on the miata forum who let me dive his ap1 that got me hooked, I have never looked back. My s2000 had arguably the best gearbox ever, and so many other things that make it special. I have had it longer than any of the 31 other cars I have owned. I still have that special feelings when I push the start button, drop the top, and get on the road, longing for no other car. and that's from a guy who also has a m3 and a jag convertible. neither of which i will keep that long i assure you.
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