NB LSD

[JamesMcFall]

Hi guys,
I've owned two NA MX5s in the past, and after owning a few other cars since I've decided I'm going to buy an NB. However, I'm being relatively picky, which means as NBs seems to be fairly rare (at least on trademe) I've had no luck finding one for about the past 6 months (at least that people aren't wanting upwards of 15 grand for).

What I'm wanting to know is do all the NB 1.8L models have an LSD?

I was looking at a vspec which I know does have one, but it was in bad shape, and am thinking of the possibility of just getting a normal spec 1.8 6 sp, but I'm not going to waste the trip to go and see if it it's got no LSD.

(also on a side note, if the stitching around the window is coming undone, is it possible to get that repaired without replacing the whole roof?)

Cheers

[poison]

Hi James

There seem to be a few private NB sales under $12K, but then again any car
looks good in a photo. Just before Christmas I went all the way to
Wellington to look at a 68 Pontiac Firebird Convertible that had $50,000 of
receipts and looked incredible in the photo's. It was just wow from across
the street but after a drive and a closer look we made a 2 page list of
problems, out of that I would have put 10 in the serious $$$ category. Non
the less walked away.

But back on track NO! not all NB's have LSD's, not many in fact. I am not
sure about V-Spec. There may be some info on the door tag that will tell
you, someone else will know the options available. Also beware way too many
MX5 owners THINK their car has an LSD when it doesn't. When I was looking
for an LSD twice I came across complete LSD diffs on TradeMe and when I
asked the seller, how do you know it's LSD, they answered "all MX5's are
LSD". So buyer beware.

That said you can 'occasionally' buy a s/h LSD for about $500-600 and then
to get it set up in the housing correctly (critical) costs $200 and that
does not include the removal of the diff head. Call it a grand all up.

Loking at these links may help. Don't forget JDM imports may not be the same
as the US spec.
http://miata.net/faq/production.html#Wh ... 99%20model?

http://www.fizzindi.demon.co.uk/1999spec.htm

The old NZ MX5 club site has some good model information, but the new web
site looks pretty but is useless otherwise.

As an NB owner my advice is, if you can afford it get the facelift model.
The headlights are 100% better if you do night driving, the console is
better and the seats are way better for lateral support. Otherwise the only
difference I am aware of is the front mouth is different but not sure if
it's better. My very tidy NB with the facelift seats, turbo and endless
expensive add on's, is likely to be for sale pretty soon for under
$15,000 so PM me if you want details.

[Posted via external email]

[JamesMcFall]

Hi there,
If you are in the MX5 club I think I've met you. I remember a white NB turbo.
There's a problem with a car like that for me. I'm 22, which means the insurance company is unwilling to insure a car with a turbo for me (yet for some reason a big 6 straight 6 BMW was fine).

Thanks for the info. That changes things again. I know the VSPEC models do have one. But so far the ones I've seen have had pretty bad seats (the leather is faded and or split). Maybe getting an LSD second hand would be an option.

My BMW didn't have an LSD, and only had electronic traction control, so if you turned that off, the big straight 6 would easily spin up the inside wheel. Probably wont get that kind of grunt out of a little 4 pot but nothing matters if you can't put it on the road.

I'm wondering if closer to winter would be a better time to buy. Maybe more is available then. Starting to get impatient as I've been looking for a long time already.

[brownie]

Just as a point of interest,You won't get any fresh import early NB's anymore,(98/00),They don't comply with our regs any more ,The later 01/03 do in some cases,
With Roadster's the rules are if the chassis numbers starts with
GF-NA8C XXXXXX ,it's out all Mazda's to be Fresh import compliant have to be GH-NA6C XXXXXX This goes for both 1600 and 1800 models All Mazda's have to have GH or higher to be emissions compliant,
Really silly thing is you can now import a NA if it is over 20 years old from Japan and have no issues with putting it on the road.
Most 1800 manuals will be LSD,We haven't seen a NB 1600 auto or Manuel or 1800 auto with LSD yet at work,Just 6sp manuals

[Mark]

Mazda in Christchurch checked the VIN and gave me a printout of options (incl diff) ex-factory. I'm not sure if your Mazda dealer would do that for VIN number on a car you were looking at, but it might be worth asking. The normal JDM NB options would have had a Torsen diff in 6 speed, open diff in 5 speed and auto models, but they could probably have done anything to order.
I think from driving, you could probably tell a torsen from open diff by the way the car feels on a tight turn accelerating from stop under moderate throttle. You can feel a transition with a feel of increased bite, and a bit of a chirp from both the inside and the outside wheels as the diff locks. With the roof down you can hear it clearly. Carries a risk if you really overdo it on a greasy road, you'll end up going backwards with both wheels spinning. Not sure how sellers would react to this being tried out by a potential buyer on a test drive. I know I wouldn't be very happy.