Hi,
I am going to link through a review. Take a read.
It seems according to this review the steering feel has moved on a lot. It would be interesting to see if the owners of ND3’s are seeing and feeling the same benefits.
Also curious if these changes can be retrofitted onto older ND’s if we can find the parts/components that are contributing to the better steering feel…
Thanks.
There is hope yet and I wonder if retro fitting is possible. That said , the author of the peace seems to conflate lack of steering feel with the roly poly standard suspension set up - and the latter is easily solved by lowered springs. Much talk of the diff too which again affects the driving experience but does not add to or subtract from steering feel. I’d welcome informed opinion - i e from those with current experience of ND and who actually know what good steering feel is.
Seems subjective at best.
I’ve seen quite a few reviews who seem to say they can’t tell any difference.
There was a lengthy discussion over at Miata.net and the average opinion seemed to be ND3 steering was better but only a little bit. I can’t see a retrofit being easy given the whole electrical architecture of the car has moved on a generation, be easier to swap into an ND3 me thinks.
It’s quite possible half the improvement is in the programming and suspension alignment as much as a new rack anyway… just get yours aligned with as much castor as possible!
Hi,
Thanks. Do you have a link to the discussion on Miata.net?
Does anyone know how to quote two people on the forum?
At ND12, yeah it seemed over the top the review a little. A bit too exaggerated. Although of course I could be wrong!
Throttle house are a US youtuber who got a decent reputation. They review it and say something along the lines of they can’t really tell any steering difference, even when back to backing it with an ND2. Both reviewers say similar, too. Says all you need to know really
I believe certain reviewers have mentioned the ND3 has better on centre feel which ties in with Mazdas improvements to the rack. Imagine the difference is subtle.
You can transform the steering feel on all ND’s though, mine felt light and vague in stock form. Now with revised geometry, dampers and anti roll bars the steering loads up a lot more in corners and I can place the car more confidently.
Do you think the different anti-roll bars make a big difference to the steering feel?
Indeed what difference to the handling do they make?
This is for the road not track. I am curious because I was told I do not need them fitted if just using the vehicle for the road.
Thanks.
Given the transition to electric with the ND that has been dissed by some, it could be just a talking point as it’s hard to make next years car worth abandoning this years item?
Yes, the anti roll bars certainly made a big improvement. Steering felt more positive and direct. Car felt more planted all round. Front bar in particular makes a big difference.
A bit waffly, but I guess they drive a lot of cars so maybe they can really tell the difference?
I suspect cars have a tendency to fulfil the testers’ expectations and epas = numb is a common one. And perhaps those expectations can also be affected by sophisticated PR about what are really very minor adjustments to production.
I’ve always found my 2017 1.5 wants to go where it’s pointed, weights up nicely at speed and feels very stable, and wears its tyres very evenly so I guess there’s not much wrong with the set up even though I’ve never had it checked. Perhaps I don’t know what good steering is but I know it’s a world different to driving my lumbering Outlander which is like a video game by comparison.
And what’s this about?
“Thanks to low-grip Bridgestone Turanza all-season tires (the same spec as before) the limit was low enough to feel the full range of steering feedback”
Is this just for the Americans? Good tyres no doubt but they wouldn’t be my first idea for this type of car.
I see. Have you got chassis braces fitted too?
I was told they were not important either. I feel the MX5 ND1 chassis is soft and has flex.
Thanks.
I doubt you will feel any chassis flex on the standard suspension.
I just feel it seems a bit soft. Floaty.
Thanks.
There seems to be a conflation of roll, ride and general handling issues with steering feel. To put it bluntly, a fundamental part of good steering - regardless of ride, response etc- , is feel That means physically feeling what the front wheels are doing by feedback at the steering wheel rim . EPAS means that an ND is almost entirely devoid of the 'alive ’ steering you’d get in an Elise or Seven, or older 911 .
Saying that though, go in 95% of new cars today, and see that as an overall car, the ND has a lot of ‘feel’.
The overall car might , but ,cars we’ve owned as diverse as a Focus Ecoboost , various Yetis and a (non GR !) Yaris had better steering feel , despite having fwd or 4wd .
I have yes and noticed a decent improvement but I seem more sensitive to changes than most. I didn’t notice flex as such beforehand but the car feels very taut and immediate now combined with all the other bits I’ve done. It feels very different to the oem setup.
Right. Might be worth looking into.
Do you have a link to the work you have done on the car? You can PM if you want.
Just to add my two pennies worth in although not about the ND3. We had a 2016 Icon 1.5 at 13000m when we got it, always felt dead in a straight line, even my wife complained about it and she never usually bothers. I never changed anything except the tyres when they started to crack but I googled it and reports game up that the 1.5 seemed to suffer from it. It still handled well and could give bigger engined cars a run for it’s money on twisty bits, but it was a bit upsetting changing direction quickly, overall I was happy with it and I had owned 4 of the BMW Mini Coopers before this and apart from the steering feel I thought the Mazda edged it.
Then I changed it in January for a brand new 2.0l Exclusive Line. Bilstein shocks limited slip diff, crikey what a difference, fantastic turn in, changes direction beautifully and the steering is great, it is such a joy to drive and she who must be obeyed noticed and said straight away that this feels so much better.