NC Miata

I searched the site and turned up little about the NC.

My 90 Miata will soon be going and I am looking for a $10K replacement. Looking at CL the 2006 and 2007 are getting close to that.

So I turn to you fine folks to expand my knowledge. I don't know much about them yet I have impressions of them, they look lifted in stock form, they look awesome lowered, the engine bay looks unfriendly to work on and wow those seats are ugly.

Thoughts, musings, or wisdom related to the NC would be more than welcomed.

They're faster than they feel. Spend some time in one to see if the ergonomics suit you, specifically the seats. With a suspension upgrade (specifically shocks), they're a lot more fun although the steering is a bit more numb than I prefer. Miata-like trans is good, although a stock 6-speed can break the shift forks with hard track use. They'll wear some fairly decent rubber, 235 without any mods to the body and 255 with some pulling/stretching.

Not as many power upgrade possibilities as the NA/NB platform and the motor's a bit soulless - flat torque curve and not much reward for spinning it out.

If you want to go on track, stay away from the power hardtop cars. Roll protection doesn't really exist. It's not good in the soft top cars either, but at least there are some options.

I've heard of problems with the 2007 engines. 2009+ manual trans cars got forged internals, but the engines are cheap and you can retrofit the forged crank if you want.

My daily is a 09' with sways and coilovers from V8R with 17X9's with 245/40 RS3's . With a shock upgrade the handing is so much better. I would look for a NC2. For a lil more than what you're looking to spend you can find a 09-10. There is a 10' on CL locally for $13xxx. I've owned NA's, NB's and NC's and the NC is a better miata. There are several turbo setups available, as well as SC's. A 2.5 swap is pretty much a bolt in. The tuning capabilities for the stock computer are a lot more than you would expect. Look into Ecutek

Currently have a 2006 NC that I've DD'd for almost a year. Great fun little car that I get good gas mileage in. I too think it's the better Miata, and would love to throw a proper suspension/brake/tire setup on it and hit the track......but I've got the '90 for that.

If you're interested, I'm going to be selling it soon. 2006 Grand Touring with the sport package (Bilsteins/LSD), 6spd, BOSE, leather....all synthetic fluids and fresh brake/clutch fluids........only 45k miles.

I had an '06 just like z31's. It was a loaded Grand Touring, with sport package, leather, etc...

It was a much better overal car, especially as a DD, than the NA's I've had. The driving experience doesn't feel as "raw" as you get with the NA...which is both good and bad. I absolutely love the raw go kart feel of my NAs, but the NC is easier to live with day to day. I agree with staying away from the PRHT cars. More stuff to break. The standard soft top is so easy to put up and down it's silly. You can do it in less than 5 seconds, from the drivers seat.

I agree with Keith on driving experience. Great trans, much like the NA. Suspension is a bit soft, but not wallowy. Steering feel is definitely more remote than the NA, but it's still OK. Seats are aweful...and I mean butt terrible. They hurt my low back something fierce, especially the first week I had the car. I got used to it after a while, but never liked them.

z31maniac wrote: Currently have a 2006 NC that I've DD'd for almost a year. Great fun little car that I get good gas mileage in. I too think it's the better Miata, and would love to throw a proper suspension/brake/tire setup on it and hit the track......but I've got the '90 for that. If you're interested, I'm going to be selling it soon. 2006 Grand Touring with the sport package (Bilsteins/LSD), 6spd, BOSE, leather....all synthetic fluids and fresh brake/clutch fluids........only 45k miles.

Where do you live?

I have a 2013 Club, and I'm loving the power hard top. If you're getting this as a daily driver, I'd spring for the power hard top. The top is fast to go up and down, and adds a lot of security. It also makes the car a lot better for longer trips and when it's raining or cold.

I like this car more than I liked my MSM. The NC2 doesn't feel as raw as the NA or NB, but it is certainly a much better overall car. Think about how much time you spend driving to work vs doing a HPDE.

The Club is a really good package. Mazda finally got the car right in 2012 or whenever they did the final refresh. But it's not in the $10k range unfortunately.

I would characterize the 2006-08 stock suspension as "wallowy". Seriously, I've never felt a car that was so poorly damped off the showroom floor. The Bilsein Sport suspension is as bad or worse than the stock setup. But luckily, it's easy to fix. As with any car, there are a lot of badly specified aftermarket springs out there for them that are too soft for the ride height.

A Club was on my short list when I bought the 370. I really, really liked it. I've owned NA's and NB's, and I thought it was better than both as a DD. In fact, I still want one. And to agree with Rotard, I liked the power top too. I need to convince the wife that I need one of those in addition to the 370. In my opinion, the Club is the best all around Miata ever built in stock form.

I'm going to reiterate - the power hardtop cars can't be used on the track. No roll protection is available or possible. This is a big strike against them for a lot of owners and I don't want to see anyone else get taken by surprise.

OP- I have driven a NA miata for the past 15 years and the NC has a lot better chassis rigidity, power, and brakes. As for it being a better Miata....I will let you know once spring hits

Hi Keith, I just bought a 2007 MSR package that was used in C stock SCCA autocross. I intend to run the car on street tires in B stock and eventually move to STR. The car has double adjustable konis(de-gassed by koni) currently on stock springs. Is there any way to make the jump to STR without ditching my shocks? I see GC doesn't build a coilover kit.

Sorry, I don't try to keep up with SCCA class rules so I don't know what making the jump to STR implies.

If you're really asking if there's a coilover conversion kit for double-adjustable Konis - I don't know. The NC has odd spring tapers that can make it a challenge to fit standard 2.5" springs. I've done it, but I had to modify the upper mounts. No difficulty if you're a problem-solving kinda person and have a welder. If you can source some appropriate springs from someone else's coilover kit, you can adapt a coilover sleeve to most shocks.

The NCs are a better car, but not a better miata. I'm reminded of both sides of that coin every time I drive my 94R

For a DD I would lean towards the power hard top purely for security reasons. I could go removable hardtop, but do they exist in any numbers? Are they stupid expensive? I have seen exactly one, ever.

Sultan wrote:

z31maniac wrote: Currently have a 2006 NC that I've DD'd for almost a year. Great fun little car that I get good gas mileage in. I too think it's the better Miata, and would love to throw a proper suspension/brake/tire setup on it and hit the track......but I've got the '90 for that. If you're interested, I'm going to be selling it soon. 2006 Grand Touring with the sport package (Bilsteins/LSD), 6spd, BOSE, leather....all synthetic fluids and fresh brake/clutch fluids........only 45k miles.

Where do you live?

I'm in Tulsa, OK.

If you're interested, I'd be looking to ditch the car in 1-3 months (have to get a tow rig for the NA).

In the past I've sold cars remotely, I meet you at the airport. Give you signed title (or we took care of that in advance), hand you keys, and you head back on your way.

My wife loves the NC club, and the seats didn't seem bad at all, but I only sat in them for about 2 minutes. They are out of budget by a long ways- we wound up with a 2000 Special Edition for super-cheap (as in, trade the crashed '94 for it).

My worry with an NC would be a never-ending desire to put a RENESIS in it.

Brett_Murphy wrote: My worry with an NC would be a never-ending desire to put a RENESIS in it.

Oh Yeah!

My parents love their NC. The sad thing is that it's probably way faster than my modded NA. It's a lot more comfortable, too.

I drove the Club, BRZ and 370 all within about 2 hours of each other. I bought the Nissan, but the other 2 were closer choices than they might seem. Actually the NC Club was my second choice. I liked it better than the BRZ. If this choice had been anything other than a DD, it would have been my pic. I keep trying to figure out how I could trade the Cooper S in on one and then hide the difference in cost from the wife!

I spent about 20 minutes in it, and liked the seats OK. They were a big step up from the NA, NB seats I was used to.

Interestingly, I've recently searched for used ones, and they've held their price pretty well. On the other hand, BRZ/FRS twins have dropped more than you'd think. I've found several in the $21k range with about 10 to 15k miles on them.

Anyway, I will look for a NC eventually, unless the ND comes out and I like it better.

For street use what would be a good setup for shocks, springs and bars?

Hey I can get this for $12,500. thoughts?

http://www.chaplins.com/used-cars/detail/2007-Mazda-MX-5-Miata-2dr-Conv-Manual-Touring/992/JM1NC25F770127053/~/VehicleTypeID_~Price1_~Make_Mazda~Model_/10

Are the NC's any better for talk folks? Are there comfortable aftermarket seat options that help without costing $zillion or require surgery with a hammer to the tub?

Sultan, I sent you an email through here. If it doesn't come through, my email address is z31maniac at gmail dot com.

GTwannaB wrote: For a DD I would lean towards the power hard top purely for security reasons. I could go removable hardtop, but do they exist in any numbers? Are they stupid expensive? I have seen exactly one, ever.

They're pretty rare in the US. Most seemed to go to Canada originally, and the PRHT pretty much shut down sales. Treasure Coast Miata is making one, I can't comment on price or quality.

Keith Tanner wrote:

GTwannaB wrote: For a DD I would lean towards the power hard top purely for security reasons. I could go removable hardtop, but do they exist in any numbers? Are they stupid expensive? I have seen exactly one, ever.

They're pretty rare in the US. Most seemed to go to Canada originally, and the PRHT pretty much shut down sales. Treasure Coast Miata is making one, I can't comment on price or quality.

The one from treasure coast will be just like the one for the NA/NB except it will be for a NC.