MX5 to ?

[jassihayre]

Guys

I bought a MX5 couple of years ago to learn about mechanics, weekend hoons and trackdays. Its been fantastic in this respect and steadily become more track focused (completely stripped out, roll bar, suspension, brakes and turbo'd) but I'm now thinking of getting a Boxster to use as a daily driver as I enjoy roof down motoring and also replacing the MX5.

Specifically I was thinking of replacing the MX5 with an E36 328 coupe or Compact that has had a 2.8 conversion but keep thinking that although it may be quicker it wont be as much fun as the MX5 on track due to the weight although I'd probably strip it out as per the MX5 and just retain the rear seat so its a little more practical.

Wondering if anyone else has had an MX5 and what it was replaced with and whether it was worth it / as much fun?

[culpz]

This should probably be in the Car Buying section mate. Might be worth re-posting in there, as i'm sure you will receive the advice that you are looking for.

[CABC]

decide - track or daily? strip or not.
alternatives will feel lardy in the corners.
Caterham.

[iguana]

Is an interesting one because really there isn't much similar but up a notch, certainly not a Boxster anyway.

I went turbo mx5 to Caterham, as fine as it was I hated it on road visibility & vulnerability wise & on track yes ok but I still wasn't enjoying it as much I did in far cheaper stuff.

S2OOO should be it but isn't imho, an e36 328 is a fair step on from normally​ aspirated mx5 but depending what spec your turbo is could be a fair bit less brisk & even though weight wise you can build one to a mere 1OOkg more than a road mx5 they do feel a far larger less playful platform & if you go that far are no good as road cars.

A 328 conv'd compact or same on an e3O with proper track strip an be similar in weight to mx5 & far more playful, get it to 24Oish bhp & are quick things.

Other than that is Elise with more grunt & sorted suspension & ideally Honda powered that's the ticket, not cheap but cracking, a suitably played with vx22O could perhaps do similar on a smaller budget but I've no experience of them.

[C70R]

I don't really understand why you're replacing something that's so much fun... you seem to be trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

[alienwarerandy]

I have had a 328i track car that was stripped on coilovers and had upgraded brakes. Great fun on track, but not sure it will be quicker/much quicker than a turbo'd MX-5 though. As a left field suggestion, have you looked at older hot hatches? Yes the chassis won't be as good but the turbo'd stuff can be made to go quite quickly. I now have a 300bhp Astra VXR on coilovers, LSD and rarb but not stripped. It is quite a bit faster than my old 328.

[mikey P 500]

Gt86? Although its not that much more fun on track but is a bit faster and has small rear seats if needed. Certainly has alot in common from a on track driving experience just a bit sharper.

[griffdude]

Found myself in the same situation with a different car. Had done a load of trackdays & was getting a bit bored with them. So, decided to do a little bit of competition instead.... It's cheaper than trackdays! I've done this (this year in my SC MX5) for the last 2 seasons & it's a buzz;

http://www.cmscc.co.uk/

[griffdude]

[quote=griffdude]Found myself in the same situation with a different car. Had done a load of trackdays & was getting a bit bored with them. So, decided to do a little bit of competition instead.... It's cheaper than trackdays! I've done this (this year in my SC MX5) for the last 2 seasons & it's a buzz;

http://www.cmscc.co.uk/

Edit- here's my attempt from Combe last year

https://youtu.be/Q5QIBh2zZu0

My old road going MX5 Mk1 on road tyres- brilliant fun.

[CABC]

mikey P 500 said:

Gt86? Although its not that much more fun on track but is a bit faster and has small rear seats if needed. Certainly has alot in common from a on track driving experience just a bit sharper.

a prepped 5 is sharper than an 86 on track, by some margin.
86 thrives on track because you're always in the 4-7k rev range, but for the same budget a 5 would be in a high state of tune and more honed.
86 does a much better job of getting to/from track though. no need for earplugs! Great road car with some track, or chuck more cash at it to make it a proper track beast.

i note your (excellent) car history. my current fleet is a 5 track car, 86 road car and Elise road toy. Golf R free zone.

[caelite]

A bike?

[jassihayre]

I should have made it clearer that I want to replace my daily hatch with a Boxster as 95% of the time I don't need the practicality and in doing so then need to replace the MX5 with a more practical car (rear seats and reasonable size boot) which will mainly be used for trackdays.

Agreed its probably the wrong way round but I'd rather enjoy something more of the time than not. Also not looking to spend more than £3k on the replacement. E30 with an E36 2.8 conversion sounds interesting.

Edited by jassihayre on Thursday 19th October 23:26

[DocSteve]

jassihayre said:

I should have made it clearer that I want to replace my daily hatch with a Boxster as 95% of the time I don't need the practicality and in doing so then need to replace the MX5 with a more practical car (rear seats and reasonable size boot) which will mainly be used for trackdays.

Agreed its probably the wrong way round but I'd rather enjoy something more of the time than not. Also not looking to spend more than £3k on the replacement. E30 with an E36 2.8 conversion sounds interesting.

Edited by jassihayre on Thursday 19th October 23:26

I understand what you are after but I think you will get less fun overall by getting rid of the MX5 and far more expenditure. I'd have thought if what you want is fun on the road in your daily (assuming a convertible is not essential) you'd be better off looking for a more interesting hatch, saving your money on the Boxster and keeping the MX5 for track work. What MX5 is it?

Steve

[griffdude]

DocSteve said:

I understand what you are after but I think you will get less fun overall by getting rid of the MX5 and far more expenditure. I'd have thought if what you want is fun on the road in your daily (assuming a convertible is not essential) you'd be better off looking for a more interesting hatch, saving your money on the Boxster and keeping the MX5 for track work. What MX5 is it?

Steve

This.

What about one of these as a daily-

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[C70R]

jassihayre said:

I should have made it clearer that I want to replace my daily hatch with a Boxster as 95% of the time I don't need the practicality and in doing so then need to replace the MX5 with a more practical car (rear seats and reasonable size boot) which will mainly be used for trackdays.

Agreed its probably the wrong way round but I'd rather enjoy something more of the time than not. Also not looking to spend more than £3k on the replacement. E30 with an E36 2.8 conversion sounds interesting.

Edited by jassihayre on Thursday 19th October 23:26

That seems completely ridiculous...
One car which is entirely impractical, but used for the majority of your journeys. Another car which is inherently impractical (by being track-modified), which is used for your practical journeys.

I can't think of any reason why you would do that...

[upsidedownmark]

It rather depends how much you track. The boxster has a lovely sounding engine, is a surprisingly practical car - barring the number of seats, the boot space is a lot more than you think, and I even had a 'roof transport system' (roofrack to anyone else) for my 986 (I don't believe that is available for the later cars). It was lovely, did trackdays (and cost a fortune doing so thanks to weight and appetite for consumables), and carried bikes and a small sailing dinghy, and toured europe camping with a girl and attendant stuff.

If you track very little and use the car most on the road, I can kinda see the argument.. the boxster as a fun road car and a compromise track car that can also do the occasional practical jobs. Not convinced tho. I think you'll find many things disappointing after a track focussed mx5. IMHO it's not how fast you go, it's how you go fast My old mx5 was almost the most fun car I've had on track. Boggo import mk1 1.6. always moving, not fast. Current caterham shades it, but at a lot more money.

If you track a lot, I'd say stick with something worthy on track. What do you need a back seat for? Maybe go boxster and mx5, rent something when you need more? Hell, as someone said earlier, just buy a caterham

[motorhole]

You'll do very well to get an M52 E30 for £3k these days! Particularly one that isn't rotten. And to do a good job on the swap with associated brake/suspension/steering upgrades will cost more than that too.

I'd be tempted by the GT86 route

[Tommie38]

What about a four seat soft top as a daily? Like a three series with one of the bigger engines? You could keep the MX5.

Alternatively, buy the Boxster and keep the MX5, hiring a car when you need more space? It sounds like you might not need the space that much.

[(steven)]

DocSteve said:

I understand what you are after but I think you will get less fun overall by getting rid of the MX5 and far more expenditure.

Speaking as a man who used to have an Mx5 for track work and now has an E36 M3, it’s pretty much this.

By going up in size and weight, you lose a lot of intimacy and add a whole heap of cost. The big brake kit I’ve had to fit to the E36 cost more than the total cost of the Mx5.

Not that the E36 isn’t without its charms, the chassis and engine are lovely, it has more natural pace and it has a lot roomier cabin and can be made safer than the mx5, the last two of which, is what drove my swap.

There is little that can beat the mx5 pound for pound on fun, the only thing that can put you off is safety, and if it bothers you, power.

[QBee]

It's not about how fast you can go, it's about how the car corners. That's what generates the smiles.

I have a TVR Chimaera I track, and have done track days with turbo MX5s, and despite having twice the power I had no more fun than the MX driver - he just had less pace on the straights, but better handling in the corners. And my car cost several times his budget. And likely a fair amount more to repair.

Here's a clip that he filmed at Cadwell Park.

linky

Stick with the MX5 and enjoy it.