86 or MX-5

Red_Bullet · Postby **Red_Bullet** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:18 am

Should I sell 2 MX-5's and get an 86, then stick a good amount in the bank? I'm tall, maybe I should. I'd fit in the car then. What's stopping me..

Is it love?

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:01 am

Your money - you do what you want. Clearly there are pros and cons for a fixed head coupe compared to a roadster. The 86 is a car with a good reputation all round. Clearly one car is a lot lighter on the finances than 2 cars but maybe that is of little consequence.

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:46 am

Seriously if you look at the track, the 86 is very popular and competitive out of the box. It is more modern, excluding the ND and in my opinion will eventually replace the MX5.

Red_Bullet · Postby **Red_Bullet** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:24 am

I like the idea of the 86 being more modern and availability of parts into the future. I like the idea of being able to stick a set of wheels and tyres in it and driving it to and from the track. I'd be more willing to drive up the Morgan Park for instance than I am now.

Dammit, I'm gonna go and have a look at a couple and see what I reckon. There might be a stock splash green NB8B and a tidy rotrex supercharged NA8 Clubman available soon. Watch this space.

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:15 pm

Don't sell both your MX5s. Not sure which of your MX5s you're more attached to, if either, but the NB8B should be easier to replace if you bought an 86 & it didn't meet your expectations.
Haven't dríven an 86, but do recall at least one forumite that had an MX5 - sold it & bought an 86 - & then sold that & repurchased an MX5. He posted on here about his experience when someone else was considering an 86. From memory, & in a nutshell, the 86 had annoying quirks, which he only came to realise from ownership & reflecting upon his MX5 ownership he realised it was the better car for him.
But checkout the 86 - it might work for you - but ownership over a period may be the only way to decide.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:44 pm

Both good cars. I don't think u can go wrong.

Red_Bullet · Postby **Red_Bullet** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:45 pm

Well, first impressions of the 86. This was a 2014 GT manual. It was, how do you say this...it was SLOW, real slow. I am aware of the mid range torque hole but this thing never recovered even up to 7000 RPM. It was no faster than my stock NB8B. It's supposed to be 147 kW and the NB 113kW.

I'm going to drive some more, maybe this one was a bad example. It had a noisy exhaust on it and some silly modifications to the lights. Maybe they did something to the tune and stuffed it. Surely they can't be that slow usually.

If the next example is the same my MX-5s are safe.

Red_Bullet · Postby **Red_Bullet** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:55 pm

However, the oil filter. So easy to change on the 86, it's at the top of the motor...simple. This alone might sway me and to hell with the lack of performance! :wink:

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:10 pm

How heavy are 86s? Might explain the slowness.
But it could be a perception issue? MX5s would be less insulated thus you feel you're going fast when it really is not.

Postby **Boyracer** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:09 pm

86 is a really good car with a crap engine.

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:26 pm

I'm guessing a second hand 86. AS now way 2x MX5s combined would net $32K.

Red_Bullet · Postby **Red_Bullet** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:39 pm

Boyracer wrote:86 is a really good car with a crap engine.

Surely not as crap as this was, gotta drive another one to see.

Red_Bullet · Postby **Red_Bullet** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:43 pm

project.r.racing wrote:I'm guessing a second hand 86. AS now way 2x MX5s combined would net $32K.

It was an MY14 with 51xxx on it. Advertised at $21k and could have been bought for $17k.

Plus when selling the mx-5's there would be extra bits to sell, like wheels, hardtop, 6 speed box and torsen diff (aka. the spares collection of nice bits)