I guess maybe people see the NA as more akin to the British sports cars it was modeled after?

 

It's hard to explain I guess. And I'm sure it's not the same for everyone.

For me, my first miata was an NA. I had so many good times with it. It was my first "fast" car. My first turbo car (while I guess my GS-T was my first turbo car but that hardly counts). My best friend an I slaved on that car for a week straight while I was home for 2 weeks from Afghanistan. Then the day after finishing it, we both drove our NAs 600 miles to MN to visit some family. It was a great road trip. So it brings back a lot of those memories. But it's more than that I guess. I like the older look and feel. I've always had a spot for semi-ugly cars lol.

I'm sure a lot of my issues with my NB could be fixed with modifications. But in the end I don't think I'll be happy.

The NB is just too much of a car. When I get in it, I want to drive it nicely, care for it, and never rev out the gears. Not that I don't take care of NAs, it's just when I drive one it doesn't feel like a chore.

That probably all sounds stupid, but it makes perfect sense in my head.

Edit: spelling

 

I think its just really subjective. I kinda miss my 95 NA at times, except when I need to drive any sort of distance. The NA was always a more "raw" experience, like my 1965 Mustang vs my 1990 Mustang. Both were very fun cars, but the 65 was lighter, louder and a lot more fun. The 90 was (by comparison) much quieter and more refined.

My NA felt lighter and sportier than my NB, but the NB is a lot more tolerable for any kind of regular use. Both feel like they need more power though. I always felt that 140hp BP4W in a later NA chassis car with all the bracing and some extra audio/thermal insulation would be pretty damn fun.

THIS!

My NA reminded me A LOT of my fathers 1974 Triumph TR6 and that's exactly why I bought it. Japanese reliability and British sensibility. Now the Triumph sits in my garage in pieces while I try to decide if I really shouldn't put a turbo BP in it.

 

Very fair responses, thanks guys.

 

Yep. It's a common sentiment.

The Miata was originally designed with inspiration from a Lotus Elan. One of the guys on the team brought his personal car to Japan. The designers wanted to distance the car that would become the Miata from the Elan (it didn't have pop-ups at first, for instance), but they ended up having it more similar to the Elan than they intended in the end.

 

On the NA vs NB subject, the NA to me is just more "classic" at this point. I know that is silly, but I feel like the NA has already aged to the point where it wont be anymore outdated than it already is. The NB has that plastic y2k feel to it to me. Honestly I'd rather have a NB for DD duty any day. But for a weekend/toy car, I cant see getting rid of my NA.

I used to REALLY want an NB, but now with my NA having a full 99 drivetrain and all the extra bracing it has, I don't see going to the NB unless i get one as a DD and leave it mostly stock.

 

If I ever manage to wad up my 2000 and the drivetrain is salvageable, this is exactly what I'm going to do.

And buy a 2D manual Civic.

 

For me, it's the obd I vs OBD II. I didn't want to bother with getting it past emissions yearly. The 95 only has to pass a sniff test.

The rest has been changed enough that it doesn't matter.

 

I've got a 5speed 94 integra 2 door as a DD. I love it. Although the miata becomes the "DD" in the summer.

 

Part of me wants to keep my 2002 as a DD. But I just can't justify it when I will barely use one car.

 

Joining the party late here...

I DD a nasty MP62 setup on my NB. Max boost around 16 -16.5 psi.

I also had a chance to drive a properly set up turbo NA MX5. To be perfectly honest, I prefer my setup.
This happened during a photo shoot, and other people were able to drive the two cars back to back. The consensus was my car had a better feel overall. People commented my car acted like it just had a much bigger engine.
While I appreciate the work that goes in boosting a Miata by either method, I just like the response I get from my "suckercharger"...

Oh, my IAT is never more than a few degrees above ambient. I have never seen anything above 38-39C so far. Max EGT is 801C, if I just stay on boost till I run out of road ahead of me. EGT usually hovers around 750-760C in boost.

I use a TDR FMIC and push 500 cc/min (8gal/hr) of water through the engine on a 4 port nozzle setup .

 

Man, I need to troll MT more often. I miss out on all the fun threads. :(

Not that anyone cares anymore, but yes, my setup is designed around responsiveness and consistent torque, not power. Hence the stock cams, cam gears, nearly stock head (1mm oversize valves, and supporting springs/retainers), and limited boost. For autocross, too much power doesn't really help. The power is already unusable on asphalt in basically anything other than a straight line. Concrete, however, makes me wanna up the boost a bit...

I've converted the car over the winter to be a lot more civilized for daily driving (CF hardtop, flush mount locking hood pins, etc.) I've been having a lot of fun daily driving the car to work. It's basically a V8 under the hood, but the car still weighs only 2000 lbs...

 

I am new and have read the stuff above. Question; why are you guys liking turbos over a sc? I have thought about putting a sc on my car (as a matter of fact I already got a long tube header from Goodwin). Very pleased with the addition of a full exhaust. I am still learning and researching the sc vs turbo thing. I am not trying to build a super beast, just a very quick dd. reliability is of utmost importance because it is a dd. Anything would help this very new noob.

 

Dude....just, no

 

Is it because of the adjustability? What about lag vs lac there of (so to speak) w/sc.

 

This is a joke. It has to be.

 

Well I guess this is the wrong thread to ask such things. My bad. I am still gathering info on such thing as cost, reliability, bennifits, negatives and such with respect to turbo vs sc. Thanks though.

 

the bennifits of a turbo is that it knows how to spell benefits.

 

Nice, very informative from the Admin guy.

 

It's an important thing to remember when I perform a Quality Control audit...