Old member just rejoined after a long gap. My 15-year older Mark1 succumbed to rust earlier this year so I am now on the lookout for an ND. After having my Mk1 lowered and stiffened, making the ride very uncomfortable, I learned my lesson and returned to stock suspension and a softer ride. I am therefore nervous about the ND sports models with stiffer suspension and Bilstein dampers, but am planning to test drive one or two.
It would be great to know the answer to a few questions:
are the springs in the sports models the same as in the normal mx5s?
Do the Bilstein dampers soften up over time? Will a car that’s done 10,000 miles, for instance, have a significantly softer ride than a new car?
is it a straightforward job to swap Bilstein shocks for stock MX5 shocks or will that screw up the finely tuned suspension on the sport spec models?
Is the sports suspension going to drive me mad driving around a town with lots of speed bumps and should I go for regular suspension instead?
 I believe the harder shocks are still only put on the 2.0 sport so if you go for the 1.5. Then you’ll get the softer ride.
 I’ve had both and can confirm the 2.0 was a much firmer rider.
 The 1.5 was more fun to drive in my opinion but I missed the acceleration in the higher gears as I did a lot of Mway driving so I changed to the 2.0. I also averaged 45mpg in the 1.5 as oppose to 40mpg in the 2.0.
 Not sure how much that helps just my experience.
 I’ve switched to a Mazda 3 as its more practical at the moment so missing my 5 but looking forward to swapping back out for the new 180bhp when we don’t need the 3 anymore
Thanks. Ideally I would buy the 2 litre 180bhp, but I don’t want to buy brand new as the saving on a 2-3 year old car is so big. So looking at 2015/2016 1.5s and 2.0s. I’m pretty sure the 1.5 would suit me better, but it’s a case of what’s available. I’m going to test drive a few more, but interested in opinions from people who’ve lived with them.
I can see the benefit of stiff suspension on athletic country roads and racetracks. But >90% of my driving isn’t like that and I hate the feeling of sensing every tiny bump in the tarmac.
Here’s an update on this thread. I tried a 2016 1.5 with ordinary suspension, a 2016 “sport” 1.5 with ordinary suspension and uprated interior/stereo ; and a 2016 2 litre sport with firm Bilstein dampers & thinner tyres etc. The best of the bunch was the sport 1.5 litre. It had a nice compliant ride, free revving engine, and the great 9-speaker Bose stereo, which I wouldn’t be without.
However, I bought the 2 litre sport car. It was much better value, from a private seller. It is noticeably firmer but you only notice the bumpy ride on certain roads at certain speeds. Most of the time it’s not a problem. And I like the extra power and LSD.
If I was buying the 2019 model, I would definitely get the sport model with firmer suspension. Not because I prefer it, but because the 9-speaker Bose stereo is only available in the sport variant of the 2 litre cars. If you want the good stereo and the extra hp, you have no choice about the suspension and have go firm. It’s a shame Mazda don’t give the option for softer suspension AND the nice stereo, but there you go.
Not impressed by the satnav, which lacks live traffic, but I used the AIO tweaks website to install Android Auto and can now use Google maps for navigation. A bit glitchy but does the job.
 Hi C, I think you will find that both 1.5 and 2.0 Sport models have the Bose sound system. So soft suspension and Bose is an option as long as you are happy with the 1.5.
Yes, that was the favourite of the 3 cars I tested and would be my top choice of the 2016 NDs. However, if you want the extra horsepower of the 2019 iteration, there’s no way to get that and the stereo without firmer suspension. My ideal MX5 would have 184 hp and the Bose stereo but not sports suspension - sadly there’s no such thing. Given the choice between firm suspension + Bose vs soft suspension + basic stereo, I would opt for the former as the sound system is important to me and I really wasn’t impressed by the speakers in the lower spec cars.
I didn’t know about that. I do think Android Auto is the way forward though. I’m pretty sure Android Auto & Apple Carplay will become must-haves in new cars without two or three years.
I got my Mk3 Sport with Bilsteins at 11,500 miles 6 years ago and I considered the ride bit hard. After a few thousand miles it either got a bit better or I no longer found it an issue.
I got a new 180 bhp GT a few weeks ago, the tyre pressure was at 35psi, it was a hard at the back end and it was causing some scuttle shake on certain surfaces but it was good on well surfaced roads. I have now reduced the tyre pressure to 29psi.
The car is a bit better but I will report back next week. Our third Suzuki Jimney at 9,000 miles is getting a bit softer as they are very hard sprung when new and tend to pitch from front to back on some roads as was the last one did. I reckon at around 10k miles the MX5 will soften up.
I got my Mk3 Sport with Bilsteins at 11,500 miles 6 years ago and I considered the ride a bit hard. After a few thousand miles it either got a bit better or I no longer found it an issue.
I got a new 180 bhp GT a few weeks ago, the tyre pressure was at 35psi, it was a hard at the back end and it was causing some scuttle shake on certain surfaces but it was good on well surfaced roads. I have now reduced the tyre pressure to 29psi.
The car is a bit better but I will report back next week. Our third Suzuki Jimney t 9,000 miles is getting a bit softer as they are very hard sprung when new and tend to pitch from front to back on some roads as was the last one did. I reckon at around 10k miles the MX5 will soften up.
I purchased a mark 4 N.D sport nav in sept 2015,at first it def was a bit hard ,but quite quickly as the tyres softened a bit,and suapension obv seemed to soften a bit it def was not hard at all,if anything it seemed slightly a little to soft,i drove it for three years and did just over 21000 miles with it,i have now sold it and are waiting delivery of the new sport nav +,the 2 litre with the 184 engine,and reversing camera etc,i have had to do special order for it,as i do not like the cream upholstery in the G.T ,it was an amazing car always joy to drive,one particular holiday this year i did a amazing grand tour of scotland and outer hebrides in 4 days,driving over 1900 miles all with roof down,the comfort was great.
Sounds fantastic. I’m hoping to do western Scotland at some point, great to know you enjoyed it. I owned to MK1 for 15 years and took it to Europe a lot. The Picos mountains in Spain and the gorges in southern France were great places to visit. Absence of air con was a problem though - made summer trips impossible. I’d like to try Norway in the ND but it’s a long way and there’s no ferry from UK …
Are the bilstein dampers in the 2.0 sport models the same as B6 dampers? I am considering getting B6 dampers for my 1.5 as I don’t want to loose any ride height but would like a more tightly controlled suspension movement .Â
@Titchiner9 Thanks for the like this was four years ago! I’ve just recently sadly given up my '5 its a sad time but it was no longer practical for me. We have just joined the PHEV brigade and I am documenting our teething problems here CX-60 our first electricish car
this was four years ago! I’ve just recently sadly given up my '5 its a sad time but it was no longer practical for me. We have just joined the PHEV brigade and I am documenting our teething problems here