Drove a Mk3 today... booo

[hornetrider]

...and wanted to be impressed... but it was just 'ok'.

Background is - I have a Mk1 R-Ltd, I've been thinking of changing for a while now and at the moment a Pork 968 is top of the list.

We have just bought a Mazda 2 Sport brand new, so I was in a Mazda dealer - naturally I had a good poke round a Mk3 and was impressed by how modern the cabin was and lots of toys etc. It appealed to contemplate having a more modern car next time up rather than perhaps a more dated 968. So, came back home, looked on autotrader and found a decent spec one I liked and took it out for a drive.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MAZD...

Let's put handling to one side for the moment as you can't compare the two cars - plus I'm sure by looking at it the one I drove hadn't had the Eibachs fitted. But - the engine noise and exhaust note was just... so bland, tinny and even sounded a bit strained at higher revs. It was a 2 litre sport, incidentally. I so wanted it to scream buy me but... it just didn't.

Anyone else drove one/own one and care to add some of their feedback/comments?

[Toecutter]

Hi Hornetrider,

Got to drive a 2 2.0 litre sports, 1 with eibachs and 1 without,

The non eibached car wallowed in the corners and had very imprecise steering and did not have the feeling of a sports car at all, the eibached car felt just like driving my fathers MK2.5 1.8VVT Sport, the steering was near as dammit as good as the previous mark, it handled and gripped very well, the bonus I found that the car has a better LSD compared to my fathers.

The exhaust note, well this is a matter of opinion, some owners think it is a nice aural experience other owners fit a Goodwin exhaust on, read into that as you wish.

Personally I found the engine noise okay and the exhaust noise okay not great but okay.

ETA: I was impressed by the cabin quality and the general build quality, also impressive was that it appears not be any more heavier than a MK2.5 Sport which I think is a great achievement, a pity other manufacturers don't do this.

Also Cosworth USA have a supercharger kit which appears to bump power up to 225-230 HP at the crank, I think I will wait a couple more years till I decide whether to purchase a used MK3 2.0 Sport and fit one of the supercharger kits.

Edited by Toecutter on Friday 17th October 18:01

[Barry Ashcroft]

I've got MK3 with Eibachs ok it's no rocket ship compaired to my other cars but It's a great handling car which when it has a few thousand miles on the engine really losens up but you have to rev it hard to get the best out of it just like you have to with all these new modern vvt engines.

[Toecutter]

Barry Ashcroft said:

but you have to rev it hard to get the best out of it just like you have to with all these new modern vvt engines.

Yep, same as the previous 5's, they are fun to wring their neck and use the rifle bolt gear change.

[Chris71]

Interesting. Not an MX5 owner any more, but I used to own a Mk1 RS-LTD and I've driven a couple of mk3s through work and always thought they'd be a lot closer in handling terms with some stiffer springs in the current car. The structure feels stiffer on them, it's just the suspension which is strangely wallowy as standard.

[hornetrider]

I've decided I'm going to have another go - and readjust my brain. Mine has induction, decat and twin exit so is very loud and I'm more used to hearing induction roar and exhaust noise rather than engine sounds.

I've discovered the ZSport edition which looks quite tasty - will go and have a poke round tomorrow.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MAZD...

[anonymous-user]

Chris71 said:

it's just the suspension which is strangely wallowy as standard.

Nothing strange about it really - to meet EU pedestrian impact regulations (distance between hardpoints and bonnet) they fit 30mm higher springs to the EU models in the factory, but don't change the suspension geometry to match. WiM have documented this well in that every Mk3 on standard springs desperately needs recovery whilst those fitted with the Eibach springs just need tweaking.

The facelift press releases mention better suspension geometry, so it *may* be sorted in the new year.

[Anna_S]

Barry Ashcroft said:

I've got MK3 with Eibachs ok it's no rocket ship compaired to my other cars but It's a great handling car which when it has a few thousand miles on the engine really losens up but you have to rev it hard to get the best out of it just like you have to with all these new modern vvt engines.

I completely agree with you Barry, although I have had to splash out on a new exhaust - something just didn't seem quite right

[hornetrider]

Drove the second Mk3 I listed in this thread today - and all I can say is - yaaaay! Seriously though, felt like a much better car than the first, still no eibachs but somehow felt tighter. To be fair its only got 6k on the clock as opposed to the first one which had 26k. Also I had longer in it and drove A and B roads to get more feel for the engine - it noticeably starts to pull more over 5k rpm eh. Quite nippy and it felt much more powerful for overtaking in the mid range than my Mk1.

All in all was a very positive experience, so my mind is changed. Whether I'll buy it or not is another matter...

[tootsnpurple]

I test drove one back in March, & found it's just like my mk 2.5 that i finished up buying, the sound can be cured by dumping the cat, & a nice stainless aftermarket pipe.
I loose my job next week so my baby might have to go, if you have £5k to spare, 04model power everything, 33k miles, 16"alloys airbags etc.
[pic][/pic]

[hornetrider]

Well, I have a decat and a stainless twin exit pipe on mine and it's actually too loud for me now - I'm after a tad more refinement!!

Still, I fit a cat today so we'll see how it goes.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Dumping the cat on a UK car is a PITA though as it has to be refitted for MOTs. I went the easy but expensive route and fitted a Larini Sports Cat

[hornetrider]

Well the cat is now fitted and I shall use a bit of tinternet lingo... OMFG!!

Car is so much quieter now! Still got a nice zorsty note for acceleration out of the twin exit but normal cruising and mild acceleration is so much more civilised, I'm well happy.

Having been underwhelmed by a few motors on test drives in the last week I'm coming round to the idea of KYB AGX + FM to replace my ageing Billies and provide a bit more refinement to the ride - and then - if the car is improved enough that I want to keep it and just be wanting for power - FI will be my next step in the spring.

[MX-5 Lazza]

P5 PD

[lord summerisle]

MX-5 Lazza said:

P5 PD

[hornetrider]

I'm happy to take advice...

What I'm looking for is predominantly a more refined road setup - with adjustability to set it up stiffer for occasional weekend hoons / track days. From my initial digging I thought I gleaned that the PD setup is a bit stiffer on the soft wettings? I would be happier getting the kit with the softer softest setting as long as there is adjustability back to much stiffness as required.

[MX-5 Lazza]

The P5 PD springs are stiffer than the FM springs but don't let that worry you. They are designed for stock ARBs i.e. they are stiff enough to prevent roll without having to stiffen the shocks up or add big/heavy ARBs so that alone means a ride improvement over bumpy roads.

I used to have AGX shocks & FM Springs/ARBs but swapped to P5 PD, mainly to get the ride height I wanted but also for the ride improvement.