i am a fairly new mx5 owner (about 12 months) i only got into mx5s when i wanted to start hill climbs so i went out and got myself a Mk1 1.8 classic, What a fantastic drive, loved it so much i went and got another a mk2 1.8 VS, i didn’t know what i was buying the car is near perfect but can anyone shed some light onto why my VS feels more powerful and what exactly is a VS ?
Welcome to the forum.
I am sure that the VS is a JDM Spec model, I have one. Is your first one a 1.6 and the VS a 1.8?
I stand to be corrected, but I believe that the MK2 VS is a luxury version of the RS. So it comes with 6 speed box, BP5a inlet cam, different ECU, lightened flywheel (8kg) and 3.9:1 LSD. The luxury part is a beige leather interior, deep pile carpet and nardi wood rim steering wheel. It puts out 145 bhp naturally aspirated and is indeed much quicker than the standard 1.8. In my view, the MK2 RS/VS is a much underrated car, selling for peanuts whilst inferior but more sought after MK1 RS sell for twice as much.
Ken Stanbury. Northamptonshire Area
Hi Ken, this is interesting, I always assumed mine was a bog standard 1.8, how do I go about finding out about BP5a inlet cam, different ECU, lightened flywheel (8kg) and 3.9:1 LSD.?
Cheers
Nick
Hi Nick,
Well, you won’t be able to check the flywheel weight without removing it. The inlet camshaft is stamped BP5A and you can check the diff ratio (see my earlier thread) You can inspect the ECU - mine had BP5A written on it. However, as a quick guide, does your car have six gears? Does it redline at 7500 rpm? Hope this helps!
Ken
Welcome to the forum
Cheers Ken
Hello and welcome to the club
Hi Ken, well it does have 6 gears and does redline at 7500rpm. Good news, thanks for this.
Nick
Ive just got that exact car. Feel much quicker than the mk1 vrltd i have