Miata vs 370Z
 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...bf30847a30.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e5e2f3f4af.jpg

* I hope this thread would be acceptable here in this forum. No unnecessary trouble please. :D

I just wonder why and how can the new Miata series get pretty good scores on those some famous reviews.

Can current Zs compete with them ?

Actually I'm an ordinary driver, but just curious about that Miata's potentials. If it is true that Miata is so good, I want to know exactly what factors contribute to its fame.

Personally I have no idea about its manufacturer Mazda. Does Mazda produce good cars with advanced technologies .. ??

:confused:

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Lightweight, eager engine, smooth tranny with a fun to drive factor. Though all things being equal it's a 86 competitor, not in the same league as a 370. IMO way too much money too. I've driven a few and for $30 large, no way it'd be my DD.

I haven't seen a guy driving a Miata yet or one of those VW bugs:wtf2:

:iagree:

The MX5 is a fun car. I would drive one anytime. I wouldn't buy one at MSRP but if it was a steal of a deal, practically giving them away, I would.

YzGyz

Mock it all you want, it's THE most tracked vehicle in the Northern Hemisphere. It's just quick enough to get you into trouble but so forgivable to get a novice to intermediate. Plus, it's cheap to maintain. But yea, I'd never DD one as is. Lol

They're a lot of fun to drive, almost like a go-kart. I rented one for a month and loved it. Really, really tiny car though, and I missed the torque of my Z.

My last fun car was an mx5. Motor swap with supercharger.. quicker, better shifting, better in tight corners. More of a go cart than the z. But I like:the z better as a whole package.

I actually have an 2012 Miata with power hardtop. This would be my 4th Miata. The Miata and the Z are completely different cars. Miata is fun and easy car to drive. All I did was changed out the stock shocks/springs and sway bars. It handles like a car on rail. Yes, it is not a fast car, but the way it handles will always put a smile on your face.

I also have a 2014 370z. Much heavier and less connected than a Miata. It is much more powerful. I do enjoy driving it as well.

If I was considering a Miata I would go buy an S2000 and end up with a better car.

test drove mx-5
 

I test drove the new mx-5 and was very disappointed. I had read all the great reviews and expected much more from this car. The mx-5 does not compare very well with the 370Z in my opinion. I didn't hate the car, just wasn't for me.

Pros - quick acceleration, body style, price, steering, fun to drive short term, top down, fuel economy

cons - you had to shout to have a conversation, ride quality over bumps, very hard to get in and out, very tight cabin and not very comfortable, a long trip would not be much fun

I'm sure this would be a fun car driving through the north GA mountains, and you can't argue the history of the car. It really comes down to preference, the car was just not right for us, the Z however definitely was.

Car journalists love the miata because mazda has always known what it is and hasn't strayed from it. It's a lightweight, RWD, 2-seat, open top sports car. It's biggest compromise is offering an automatic transmission as an option. The Z isn't a competitor in this segment, although some would argue the Z was originally rooted in it. It's probably closer to a GT, than an all out sports car roadster, which is fine - the Z has more soul and character than the miata.

It's too girly for me, but I know they kill in autocross.

I respect the Miata as well-balanced, fun to drive, and cheap to maintain track car. Would I buy one? Sure, but not for $30K. Would I DD one? Absolutely not. I mean, they're too small. And I'm straight :wtf2:.

Seriously, what exactly does the 'well-balanced' mean ?

I have often seen that term on many articles, but still get confused what it means.

How can we know a certain car is well-balanced or not ? Are 370Z and the other Z series well-balanced, too ??

:confused:

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

50/50 weight distribution front to rear

There are dozens of these threads but I'll bite as I drink my java.

On the street, if you are well aware of driving dynamics, weight is the enemy.

What makes the miata fun is how tossable it is *without* getting into trouble nearly as quickly as you do in a higher HP car.

Bake a turn in a miata and you can very easily correct it with steering and throttle modulation. You can get the tail out gently: its not going to bite you hard as many cars do once you start losing things. That is the tossable feeling many folks reference.

The Z's tuning of stability control is the weakest feature of the car. Its on/off: you can't coax a bit of tail out of it, nor is there a looser sport mode. That is the one thing I would change about the Z. It handles well for its platform, but its a bit nose heavy. It performs as well as much more expensive cars but does so with kind of a meh feeling (good steering, not fantastic, good suspension, not fantastic: its a darn good package, just not fantastic IMHO)

For us, the Z (roadster) is a GT car: very heavy. I mean...look at the size of the Z's arse. Its huge :) Red line 2 shifts and you are going really fast.

Red line 2 shifts in a lower powered car, and you spend more *time* hearing the sweet sound of the engine before you are illegal.

This is the difference between driving a quick vs a fast car. The Z is a fast car, no doubt. A light miata is a quick car. Our Cayman 2.7 is a very quick car where as the S is a fast car and I experience similar gratification driving the lower powered p car around the back roads: you can hammer on it without going too illegal.

With miatas, you either get it or you don't. And that's fine if you don't get it, just don't dismiss it because some men have performance issues and insist on dis'ing them instead of having a good ole time.

You can get plenty of strange driving a miata :)

- b

Mazda will release a new RX series in 2018,this will be the same class as our Z...

saw a new one on the road... they look like a mini jaguar in the rear.

they're decent cars but way over priced in Canada. under 40k for top trim... brz is running a tad above 30 top trim. 32k for the FRs 2.0.

if they had a better pricing point I think they would be a lot more popular alternative to the twins.

as to a 370 rival? uhhh they are sort of different cars. if anything it'll be a cheaper more affordable, not break my wallet z4.

This new Miata is a really good looking car. They should offer a turbo version, or a V6 NA version as a huge upgrade. Someone already shoehorned an LS3 into one. Bet it's stupid fast.

I hope, but don't count on it. I think the FD3S is the best looking Japanese sports car ever. Just gotta find one without issues.

For 30k, I'd much rather buy a z, then buy the 1st gen Miata and track it. My gf has a 1st gen Miata and they're a lot of fun. It's slow but it feels like a legal go-kart lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

God, what a terrible looking car.:rofl2:

RWD
Manual
Front Mid engine
50/50 weight
roadster
2.0L I4






























https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...nt_profile.jpg

I drive my girlfriend's previous generation Miata all the time and to be honest, I prefer it to my Z. I just don't like soft tops, especially in Chicago. As time goes by the Z seems too big and heavy. I would drive a go kart if the law allowed it. What I love about the Miata is handles so well, in fact it feels much like a friend's older Lotus.

:iagree:

There are a couple different things people could be talking about when they use the term "Balanced" to describe a car.

The F/R weight distribution is one.

Another is the mixture of all the "ingredients" that people want in their cars. Power/handling/looks/efficiency/cost of ownership etc.

At the track, "balanced" is usually used to describe a car's behavior at the limit. -Usually oversteer vs understeer specifically.

The static weight distribution mentioned above is a major factor in how a car behaves at the limit, but suspension setup, wheel/tire selection, and even something as simple as an alignment can get cars with less-than-perfect static weight distributions to be well balanced. Likewise, a 50/50 weight distribution can be (usually unintentionally) made to handle like crap.

The Nismo 370 has excellent balance at the limit. When you turn off the nannies, it does everything you tell it to do when you tell it to....even the stupid stuff.

I have not driven the latest Miata at the limit yet, but I can't recall driving any stock Miata with bad balance. They are great cars.

:iagree:

I did that over 10 years ago and my S2000 is still in my garage, it's such a special car! I'm never going to sell it and it's my garage queen while my Z is my DD.

That being said, the wife really wants a second "fun" car in addition to her SUV as well and wants the previous gen mx5 automatic because she refuses to learn manual. I've been seeing them for around 10K with not that many miles on them.

But considering we have our first child on the way, it doesn't make any sense to have 3 2-seater sports car and only 1 family car.

That being said, the previous gen miatas were a blast to drive and hear this gen miata is even better.

The handling makes up for the lack of power and it's a lot of fun driving that thing on the streets near it's limits while not worrying about getting a ticket or arrested. In the Z, can drive at 5/10 and you're near getting arrested!

oh man you guys are killing me
 

I am laughing so hard. I used to own a Nissan Pathfinder (2006), and then, when about to buy another one, they "chicked it up" (rounded it out and put in all kinds of "comfort" frills I wouldn't want) and it looked more like a mini-van than an SUV. I posted my lament on a Nissan forum and got blasted off of it for calling it a chic vehicle. The story ended well. I have a Z now.

I still have the first gen Miata. It's manual gearbox and clutch is much better than the Z. Not a fast car, but a lot of fun to drive.

There fun to drive but have never left me feeling excited about them. The Z excites me from the way it looks to the way it drives. That being said I dated a girl back in high school who's dad had a Miata with a 5.0 stuffed in it he would make me take, some thing about a '72 buick le sabre shaved on air bags he just didn't want his little girl riding in. The relationship ended because I wouldn't stop driving and actually "take her out." But that was a Miata of a different color.

:iagree:

Miata's are slow.

ROFL... I had one for 7 years, there is no way to find one without issues. They are all 21 to 23 years old, parts are getting rare and it will only get worse. My instrument cluster cracked and I order one of the last two in the world for a left hand drive. Beautiful car, light, tt, but you better like to turn wrenches or else you will bleed money.

Yeah, some ebay seller with the FD3S "all original, 23,000 miles, all receipts for service, records, no modifications, old man owned this, R2 very rare model, blah blah blah" want $30,000 for a 20+ y.o. car. These sellers may think it's worth that much....but people aren't pouncing on them. I see them relisted over and over for 2 years straight.

LS swap is the way to go if you want one of these cars. C6 Vette power and torque in a 2900 lb. car.....can't beat that.

You can do that swap on a Solstice/Sky, too, but it'll never be as good looking as the RX-7

I had 2007 Miata as a DD. Top was always down unless it was raining, above 99 ºF or below 55ºF. Yes, it wasn't fast or particularly quick but it was a daily giggle inducer. Header, catback, big stabilizer bars, Ohlins, 17x9 wheels and Star Spec tires. A maker of heroes.

I jumped into my G because I got tired of 100º+ days forcing the top up and the power-sapping A/C on.

"It is more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow"

The new Miata RF:
http://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/...on-660x438.jpg

^That new Miata is sexy. It's actually pretty fast, about as a fast as an S2000. Some of the car magazines got it break 0 - 60 in 5 sec range, and 1/4 in low 14s. It's power-to-weight ratio like a Lotus or Ariel Atom. I wouldn't scoff at it as a "slow car one can drive fast."

lotus elise sport 217hp @ 2000lbs = 9.2lbs/hp

370 3278 @ 332hp = 9.87 lb/hp

v6 stang 3501 lbs @ 305 hp = 11.48lbs/hp

s2000 2765 @ 237 hp = 11.66lb/hp

brz 200@ 2762 = 13.81 lb/hp

Miata 155hp @ 2200lbs = 14.19lbs/hp

try again buddy.