Official specs have been released here.

So. Which one of use was wrong about the american car weighing more?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1426262042

That wasn't so hard, was it?

What bugs me is how the xray photo is similar to the previous where the trans housing is kinda just skewed/stretched. Almost like a filler to just say "it connects here".

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1426537978 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1426537978

I would be very happy if the frs/brz 6sp trans was in the new miata. :drool:


+1 :bigtu: Agreed

I would be very unhappy if the frs/brz tranny was in the new miata since its the same 6 speed from the NB with different ratios.

On second thought, I take that back. An AZ6 bell-housing that mated to the big skyactiv block would mean super easy MZR/Duratec swaps into NA/NBs.

Side airbags are optional on the Base S model in Japan. Also, US curb is based off of what will be the majority of the car trims that will be sold (i.e. - more Clubs and Grand Tourings than Sport by a large margin). It's somewhat disappointing, but it isn't bloating the car up to 2400 or 2500lbs.

Have some whack ass gear ratios:

1st 5.087
2nd 2.991
3rd 2.035
4th 1.594
5th 1.286
6th 1.000
Reverse 4.696
Final Drive 2.866

/\ Is that supposed to take the stress off the trans and put it on the diff?

I've never seen that before in a common car

I think they're trying to get better highway mileage by reducing gear losses in the cruising gear by having it linked 1:1. It wouldnt surprise me if that 1st gear ends up being weak as fuck. It would be amazing if this car uses the 7.5" R&P because the final drive has got to be something in the low 3 range maybe even a 3.3 or a 3.1.

Yeah, that is what I read as well.

The FD is 2.866.

Damn, I forgot how much of a torque monster the Skyativ motor was. Still mazda motorsports or someone is probably going to sell a couple higher ratio R&Ps probably a 3.3. That final drive results in like over 170mph in top gear with the oem tire size at 7k rpms so its not the most road course focused gearing. But it will cruise at 80mph under 3300 rpms so all the m.netters will be happy and not make threads about how high it cruises on the highway.

My old Pontiac came with a 2.56 posi from the factory and no overdrive, but the engine was long stroke torque monster.

That is a really interesting way of doing the gearing. I wonder if that will become more common with other manufacturers.

If you calculate out the total ratios, it's like having a 5-speed with a 4.6:1 and an extra gear on top. The percentage ratio drops are also a bit unusual, 41/32/22/19/22. Normal 1-2-3 shifts with decreasing space between them, then a big drop to 4th, almost the same size drop to 5th, and then again to 6th.

The make-cruising-gear-1:1-for-better-economy thing makes sense, and fits with the overall SkyActiv idea. As for whether or not other manufacturers will do it -- they'd have be designing new manual gearboxes first, which is pretty uncommon these days.

--Ian

Mazda doesn't make their own trans so others will likely have variants of this in the near future as well.

Saw probably about 3 dozen NDs today. Unfortunately some of them were driving around and I couldn't see clearly whether or not the ones in the parking were LHD or RHD. The assembly line was stopped, but there was a white RHD one in the queue.

Two of the cars in parking next to each other were the two different whites. You can definitely tell them apart; it isn't too subtle... but it's still white so uh... who cares? The car looks good in the flesh even though I was at minimum 15ft away or in motion.

That's my cool ND story. Mark Booth mentioned something about a possible May launch stateside, but who knows.

OT question: Is Mazda serious about bringing the diesel Skyactiv CX5 to the US? That would be an interesting swap to use for an autocrossed Miata.

I own 2 Skyactiv gas cars. I was hesitant at first with the new engines, but I can honestly say I love them and will definitely buy another in due time. Both mine have the 2.0 engine. The CX5 is tuned for more low end torque than the Mazda3. The CX5 gets around 28mpg average and the Mazda3 gets over 30 no matter how hard you drive it.

You can positively feel an increase in torque when running 87 octane versus 94 octane, also, which is pretty spiffy. In the Mazda3, I average 3mpg better on the 94 octane than on the 87 octane.

Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked about a retuned Skyactiv engine for the Miata.

Skyactive engines add timing based on gas? I have a 2.5l 3 I have only ever put 87 in.

I don't know if it's electronic bump in timing or just a more efficient combustion. Give it a try though next fuel up. I'd be interested if you feel similar results.

Most modern ecus try to add more timing all the time, and actually succeed when you put higher octane fuel.