After my previous post, I made the decision to go for a ND MX5. I’m wanting to go for the RF model since it’ll be my daily driver, but also have that sense of open topness although it’s not fully open top.
I’m currently still thinking as to which one to go for. In terms of the 2.0Ls ND1 vs ND2. The ND1 2.0 is known to have gearbox issues, so I’m more inclined to go for the ND2 with the better power and rev range and better gearbox. But only limited ND2s will be on my eyes given my budget. Which is why I thought i’d look for an ND1 and get an extended warranty to protect myself of this issue from Mazda or another third party company. And/or keep aside some emergency fund for an NC gearbox swap?
Or another idea I thought of is, get the 1.5L and invest that emergency fund into an aftermarket LSD as the LSDs on the 2.0 aren’t as good apparently? Power isn’t that important to me as having an LSD. And having the 1.5L means I won’t experience the gearbox issue. That being said, if I do wish to remap the 1.5L using BBR, should I expect to have any gearbox issues on the standard transmission? And is it relatively easy to install an aftermarket LSD to the 1.5L manual?
Just buy an ND 1 like I did . Disappointingly and unexpectedly for the doom mongers , the gearbox is even nicer at 50 k miles than the 5k it had when I bought it. Decent tyres , lowered suspension and - especially - a remap etc from Roddisons and it is a very decent car with ND2 power and rather more torque .LSD helps the fun too.
I think you are grossly overthinking this. Get out and do some test drives. In my opinion the ND2 LSD is just fine. The other advantage of buying an ND2 is that it will be younger and potentially last longer – mandatory EVs are coming soon!
This. Drive some cars and buy the nicest example of what you like that you can afford. My ND1 Sport Recaro makes 200hp and hasn’t grenaded its gearbox yet. There are plenty of others in the club in my area with standard and modified NDs of various ages. I haven’t heard of anyone having gearbox problems although I’m not denying it’s a possibility. Make sure the gearbox oil is changed at least as per the maintenance schedule.
I’m running an ND1 2.0 turbo, I had the gearbox changed under warranty by Mazda (whilst i could) so its using a v5 gearbox instead of the v1 it came with. I’ve done nearly 10k hard miles on that gearbox 3.5k of which are with the turbo. I change my oil annually and use 75w140, no problems so far. I think failures are most common with track use or possibly owners not being mechanically sympathetic (slam shifting for example).
Hopefully so! Just means, I can allocate less on an expensive gearbox replacement. And for the MX5’s in general insurance is the cheapest out of the alternatives I’ve looked into
If I end up going for the ND1 assuming it’s got the V1 gearbox, i’ll definitely get an extended warranty or have something done to the gearbox. I think roddisons motorsport do some modifications?
Although not as common ND2 gearboxes can still fail because essentially no improvements have been made to it. However Mazda have fitted a dual mass clutch and engine tuning to reduce the instance of failures. My ND1 Recaro has the V1 gearbox and has been fine so far.
So the previous issues was down to the gearbox design, that was originally intended for the 1.5? Therefore, the torque from the 2.0 is a catalyst?
It’ll be my daily driver for a while (probably 3-5 years) before I make it into my weekend/track day car. I guess it just depends on how much cheaper the nd1 2.0 is than the ND2, and my budget. Will update as to what I end up choosing!
I honestly wouldn’t bother with warranties, I think a lot of it comes down to how the gearbox is used (used or used and abused) and how it is cared for, I’d recommend getting a gearbox cooling scoop for it and using 75w140 oil with regular changes, with the turbo mine has a lot more torque going through it but so far I see nothing but clean oil coming out of the gearbox.
Roddisons do a replacement strengthened box but I wouldn’t waste money on warranties or replacement out of the box, I would just take care of what you’ve got and not necessarily worry about it, there are plenty of people running v1 for years without any issues.
There’s too much scare mongering regarding ND1 gearbox, If you only use your car on public roads then the chances are nothing will happen.
Like Gareth says just change your oil
