New Mazda MX3

[Simon TR4a]

Just read the Car and Driver preview last night, and realised with all the discussion of weight reduction that it still weighs 200 lbs more than the original.
That is pretty good considering it is now 2 litres not 1600cc, has bigger brakes, stiffer chassis more room and so on; but wouldn't it be great if they made a stripped down version like the "Club Sport" specials Porsche used to offer in the 1980s?
I would like to see a version with 15 inch wheels instead of 16 inch, same tire width and profile, this would reduce unsprung weight and rotational mass, lower the centre of gravity and improve acceleration.
Then get rid of the radio,speakers and antenna,heater, and all the sound deadening and carpets, cupholders, ashtrays and other junk, and put in proper race seats and harnesses.
They could get rid of the abs, use a lightweight dash, and a proper roll bar in place of the silly hoops.

That would be an exciting car, and might be cheaper.
Just a thought, or a suggestion if anyone at Mazda cares.
Simon.

 

[aeronca65t]

Simon:

They do actually make a "Club Sport" version of the new MX-5 (and I'll assume you meant "MX-5" even though you've typed "MX-3").
Earlier models (like my '00) came standard with air conditioning and other "extras".
The new base model "Club Spec" will not include a/c and many other features. That's how they've kept the base price down around $20,000 (USD).
Mazda is gaging this to see if it is really what the enthusiast community wants (many folks on the Miatanet and other places have been asking for a stripped down Miata for some time). It won't be all that stipped down...still will have sound insulation, carpets, 4 cupholders (in a two-seater!) and those silly hoops.
My guess is that most owners will opt for the upscale car with a/c and other features and ignore the "Club Spec"......I know I would.
The neat thing about the Miata is that it is really a dual-use car. Mine is great at track days (I have a Hard Dog roll bar and the Yoko dry-weather ES-100s). But it's also a good commuter and I don't feel funny driving it to a wedding or other social function.
The new Miata (OK, really "MX-5") may be 200 lbs more that the orignal 1990 car, but it is still 500 lbs less than a BMW Z3 and a Honda S2000 (and 700 lbs less than an Audi TT roadster!).
By the way, though I am pleased to see that Mazda has continued to build the MX-5, I prefer the first and second generation styling better. I think the "face" on the front of the new MX-5 looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

 

[Bret]

Grass Roots Motorsports magazine has a nice write up on it in their latest issue. Never been a huge fan of the Miata, but I must admit that it doesn’t look as girly to me as some of the earlier ones. Sorry if that offends.

Anyway the article said that a five speed comes standard in the Club Spec, MX-5 and the touring packages while there is a six-speed for the Sport and GT sport. As well as an Automatic for the posers but of course it won’t be offered in the Club Spec.

Even more interesting is the new engine stepped up from 1.8L to 2.0L. 170HP at 6500RPM (red-line) Only problem according to GRM is that this usually means the aftermarket will need some time to play catch up with some go-fast goodies. But they did point out that the engine could be swapped with the Mazda 3’s 2.3L and even the Mazda 6’s boosted version. Now that that’s been said I’m sure somebody is going try to shoehorn one of those babies in theirs.

But I did notice that it has those dinky little roll hoops (ala Z4) and little or no accommodations for a real roll bar. Don’t know if it’s an issue or not but I wonder how that is going to play with those that need a full roll cage for those more serious minded?

Anyway it seems like a vast improvement over its predecessor.

Cheers,

 

[ChrisS]

I drove the MX-5 at a Zoom-Zoom event a couple weeks ago. They had it set up like an autocross event. The car is definately more refined; I'll leave it up to others to decide if that is good or bad.

I thought the same thing about the style bars. They had a tub there on display. The hoops are intergral to the subframe (from what I could see). A spec Miata racer was on display as well with a full roll cage, but I forgot to look at what they did with the style bars.

 

[William]

Looking at this photo from Miatanet it would seem that you can probably remove the style bars and fit a full cage, at least with the soft top removed. Chances are, if you were buying a Club Sport for racing, you'd be stripping out the rest of the interior anyway, and fitting a hardtop as well. (The BMW Z3/4 roadsters also have a ragtop that forms its own tonneau cover, which is why you don't see them racing without hardtops-the ragtop usually has to be pulled out to fit rollover protection. It's what kept my cousin from autocrossing his Z3).

Makes me wonder if the bars that are in the car offer any protection at all. I would imagine not-as alluded to, the BMW roadsters little bars don't qualify as rollover protection for autocross.

Couple of weeks ago I went to my dealership for a couple of things to be done on my Miata, and they had a new 'un on the lot, right out front. Sport model (which rates the six speed, 17" wheels and strut bracing, as well as traction control) with the suspension package (better shocks and limited slip diff!). This was the exact specification I cooked up over at the Mazda website's "build it yourself" thing, and amazingly they were selling it at list, no markup. Only thing wrong was the color-red. I dislike red cars, and would've specced the traditional William Racing Black. Good thing, too. Had the car been black, I'd have gone seriously into hock for it...

-William