Opinions requested prior to hunt. NB SE or NC?

[emx005]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get back into a 5 and thinking about an SE or an NC. Looking to spend between $15k and $20k preferably.

My previous 5's were a 91 LE and a 92 NA6. My daily drive is an MY11 WRX that the wife refuses to let go of and the father-in-law and I also have a Cobra replica for track days. This will be a car primarily for commuting with the occasional weekend trip.

I would appreciate comments and opinions on what you prefer and why. We enjoy the occasional spirited drive but modifying and regular track days won't be on the cards. I'm not adverse to a lightly modified SE but the wife would prefer something stock.

How do servicing and parts on the NC compare to the NB? If I wanted to take it on the occasional club track day is there a clear benefit to one over the other?

Is there anything specific to either model that I should be wary of?

Lastly if you have one coming up for sale please pm me. I'll be looking to start my hunt in about 6-8 weeks with a view to purchasing by Dec. I'm happy to take my time to get into the right car and won't be rushing the purchase.

Many thanks

Mike

[NitroDann]

In my opinion the Se although on paper is better than a regular nb8b, is in fact no better car for it.

As a daily it doesn't really gain a lot and as a weekend warrior for a Sunday country drive, the turbo doesn't help the car gain anything in terms of enjoyment due to the power delivery and it's the price of a turbo conversion to change that.

Dann

[emily_mx5]

NC's are lovely and comfy and in general a nicer car to be in for general commuting.
Can't comment on how they go when pushed as I've never been in one dríven hard.

SE's are nice, I like the leather seats, and are the best mx5 base to start with, but as Dann said, factory power set up is very underwhelming.

[Hjt]

SP?

[Charlie Brown]

NC's are lovely and comfy and in general a nicer car to be in for general commuting.
Can't comment on how they go when pushed as I've never been in one dríven hard.

Neither have I.

SE's are nice, I like the leather seats, and are the best mx5 base to start with, but as Dann said, factory power set up is very underwhelming.

Best pre NC MX5 base. After all the NA/NB platform was originally designed in the 80's

[emily_mx5]

Not sure why you bolded my response, your pic is on the track, I assume you drive it hard there.

He specifically is talking about daily driving, not a track car.
If he asked about track cars I wouldn't have answered as I have no experience there.

Go an test drive a couple of examples of both to help you make up your mind, there is also another factory turbo NB called the SP, much rarer though.

[sailaholic]

Emily, i think you missed the sarcasm in linked to the bolding of "dríven them hard"

[Regie]

NC!

[MrRevhead]

I'm still enjoying your previous 91 LE #124 emx005

Glad to see you still plan to get back into another 5, whether it be a NB or NC

[Charlie Brown]

Emily, i think you missed the sarcasm in linked to the bolding of "dríven them hard"

tick. No offence Emily. Don't get fooled by the photo, mine's a daily drive, occasional track car.

There are many, many post on this site over the years on “what should I buy” or “what model is best” and it always results in NA or NB or NC owners saying theirs is best because xxx and therefore you should get what I’ve got.

In the end when you break it all down, you buy the model you can afford to satisfy your major need be it a daily drive, a weekend tourer, a track car or just something to fiddle with and improve general performance.

So to answer the original question from emx005, you don’t need performance or a track car and your wife may drive it, get the youngest MX-5 you can afford.

[MrRevhead]

So to answer the original question from emx005, you don’t need performance or a track car and your wife may drive it, get the youngest MX-5 you can afford.

Well said.

[Lokiel]

In my opinion the Se although on paper is better than a regular nb8b, is in fact no better car for it.

As a daily it doesn't really gain a lot and as a weekend warrior for a Sunday country drive, the turbo doesn't help the car gain anything in terms of enjoyment due to the power delivery and it's the price of a turbo conversion to change that.

Dann

I pretty much agree with this since I've heavily modified my SE but some definite advantages of the SE are:
* The SE came with a LSD
* Since the SE came from the factory with a turbo, it wont be as hard to gain engineering certification if you upgrade the turbo as a N/A NB would

The SE had the most chassis stiffening of the NBs but you can add a roll bar, frog arms and frame rails to any NA/NB and your chassis will be stiffer so that's a moot point.

The SE's 17" rims are too harsh and heavy so you may want to upgrade to 15" or 16" rims - I did and now curse Mazda for putting 17" rims on the car in the first place.

If you don't plan to modify your car at all, an SE is better than an NB since it has around 110rwkw (but doesn't really feel like a turbocharged car).

If you plan to mildy modify your car, an SE can generate ~145-150rwkw with bolt-ons such as a CAI, 2.5-3.0", MBC exhaust and larger injectors (feels like a turbocharged car but you will lose your factory smoothness).
An AEM CAI and MBC alone will net you ~135rwkw which is cheap and a lot of fun (highly recommended, this is how the car should have come in the first place and wont affect the car's driveability - will make some cool whooshing noises though so the WAF may suffer).

If you plan to heavily modify the car, and aren't too concerned about compliance, it makes more sense to start with a N/A NB since you're not paying for the extras of the SE which you'll be replacing/upgrading anyway.


I've never liked the bloated look of the NC or its "cheap" plastic interior but:
* NC's have a stiffer OEM chassis than NA/NBs
* Supercharger kits are already available for the NC and turbo kits will turn up at some point so you have power upgrade options


At the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to your own goals and preferences. Test drive an NC, stock SE and modified SE to quickly eliminate the least-preferred option.

[Apu]

Aren't there turbo kits for the NC as well?

[sailaholic]

Not for right hand drive I believe as nc had the exhaust on drivers side which means limited space around the steering rack.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[NitroDann]

There are many more issues than that in australia, particularly victoria, but they will be overcome.

Issues include cost of compliancing the first one, along with routing of pipe and factory parts in the road for a high performing kit with a lot of potential.

Dann