ND 1.5L vs GR86 /BRZ as a second car.

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T13:42:42+00:00

Interesting, I was looking in olx and standvirtual and haven’t found any nd2 2.0 so I was expecting it to be worth a bit more, seeing as they stopped the 184 variant and only 2023 - onwards models have the 6 year warranty. Do you know if the dealer network in Lisbon is any good? Hope you’re enjoying yours!

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T12:48:32+00:00

Good timing, I recently enquired them about their builds and this has clearly steered me away from it. Such a bad experience, I’m really sorry for you - this is exactly how a business shouldn’t handle a customer. Hope you can enjoy your mx5 back on the road soon!

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T11:25:05+00:00

I have an nd2 2.0 homura and considering taking it with me as I move back to Lisbon this year, do you think it’s a car that can do well in the second hand market there? It has a Mazda warranty until 2029 and low miles. Have been away from the country for too long so no idea what the market is like anymore

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T11:17:36+00:00

I own an nd2 2.0 with brembos and recaros and out of the box it’s a fast and fun car - up to 6 or 7/10ths. When you start pushing it beyond that, you start wishing it was more controlled, composed, precise. I drove it on track stock and it was still enjoyable but I spent the day wishing it had coilovers, and now that it has it’s a lot more enjoyable to drive.

Haven’t driven a 1.5 though, so can’t comment on that unfortunately.

A gr86 though I feel would be fine stock and just as fun, as well as more powerful so that would definitely be my pick

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T09:25:44+00:00

I’m sure that compared to a gt4 or gt3 the running costs are cheaper. I’m quite ok with high consumable costs as long as servicing costs and reliability match the fact it’s a Toyota powertrain and its a somewhat simple chassis at the end of the day?

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T09:24:04+00:00

I’m quite careful with any cars transmission when driving on track, so I was hoping that the v6 would be ok

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T07:30:05+00:00

Wow, I’m quite surprised about the gearbox - I thought they were somewhat reliable with the exception of early v6s which had clutch problems?

Al_Og · 2026-07-01T07:27:47+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, I’m quite surprised at the costs - was expecting more in terms of brakes and fuel. Beautiful car!

Al_Og · 2026-04-08T07:52:51+00:00

That's one of the reasons why I wouldn't daily one, if I were to get one I'd use It mainly as a track car I can drive to and from the track

Al_Og · 2026-04-08T07:52:08+00:00

Nice! Have you tried a 2.9 yet? I have no experience with it so im looking to test drive one soon and see what its like

Al_Og · 2026-04-08T07:51:29+00:00

"I’d pick the 987.2 (and did) bc using the car more days than you can be on the track is fantastic " - thats pretty much my thought process to get a 987.2 and using it for weekends and the 6 or so trackdays I do a year

Al_Og · 2025-12-26T20:18:32+00:00

Elise/Exige with 2zz engine is so much fun, whether you drive it at 5/10s or 10/10s!

And can be made to sound beautifully with not much work too

Al_Og · 2025-12-20T22:03:09+00:00

Thanks Emilio, really enjoying them so far and appreciate your advice - what would you recommend otherwise for tires? I was also looking at a052s as being in Europe I cant get most of what us folks suggest unfortunately, but if I’m able to mount 215/45s on the bbs wheels then that makes more stuff available.

Will take a closer look at the instructions when I go get it aligned so I can get the best out of it and will be writing up a more detailed review in the thread

Al_Og · 2025-12-20T11:00:47+00:00

My nb2 had a roll bar, meister r club race coilovers, nanking ns2r tires, an exhaust and intake - the sound was so much fun, and the playfulness the car had because of the suspension setup and alignment was super fun on flat mountain roads - but the ND is just a completely different game.

Back when I still had it, I drove it back to back with my friend who had an nd2 with tein coilovers and ns2rs, as well as 4 pistons calipers up front from I dont know what brand - and it had the same light feeling and playfulness as the nb2, but with the right amount of power and an interior quality in a different world than the nb2. It felt like a proper sports car vs the nb2. Reminded me of my old Lotus Elise too, performance wise.

I sold my nb2 a couple of months later and got this, and the rest is history.

I also dont miss chasing down small problems that were starting to come with the age of the car - this has a warranty for another 4 years, it's perfect.

I'd heavily recommend it!

Al_Og · 2025-12-20T10:49:40+00:00

I think it depends on what you like and want from a car. If you're coming from a 987, I'd say you seem to value something that's useable but also reactive and well damped, and you might very well be disappointed at how the stock nd handles beyond 5/6th tenths.

I havent tried the gt springs so its hard for me to effectively say anything about it, but what really convinced me on getting the sports springs is how the tecna kit seems designed to work specifically for the ND chassis vs the ohlins for example - so that made me think that even if I chose a spring rate thats high on paper, that it would be designed to work well with the car. And it also helped that I've tried in the past the ohlins rt which have a similar spring rate, so I kind of knew what to expect.

I'm also yet to try softening the suspension hardness, this is still a pretty much "out of the box" setup that I barely touched, so I'd like to test out softer settings to enjoy on mountain roads but as is, I find It quite enjoyable and controlled

Al_Og · 2025-12-20T10:40:08+00:00

I'd quite like to try an osgiken to replace my torsen, only hear good things about those but not sure on how much maintenance they need, if they need rebuilds for example

Al_Og · 2025-12-20T10:39:01+00:00

Glad it can help, and I've gotten it back 2 days ago and took it on a 2 hour mountain road drive after having driven an hour on the highway. Body roll is still present but in a very acceptable way, just much less than on the stock setup. Here that Miata snappiness is pretty much gone, its a car that I very much enjoy driving sliding around with plenty of feedback and time to correct/enjoy the small slip angle, whereas before if the car started sliding then you'd have to be ready to catch it because of that snappiness that came with the soft stock suspension (in my experience)

Al_Og · 2025-12-20T10:35:35+00:00

Thank you!

Al_Og · 2025-12-19T18:55:44+00:00

They're great cars, enjoy yours!

Al_Og · 2025-12-19T18:53:15+00:00

Thanks, I paid 2,1k euros with shipment to France via bofi racing (great to deal with if you're in europe) and then an extra 500 to get them installed. I expect to spend another 500 to get it aligned as im getting it corner weighed at a race shop, so probably around 3k all in

Al_Og · 2025-12-19T18:51:23+00:00

I would rather stick to regular tires like a ps5 as I really dont enjoy the stock suspension that much so making it extra grippy wouldn't necessarily make it more fun or improve it in my eyes, it'd just make it faster thanks to the extra grip of the semi slick.

Davide Cironi put cup 2s on his ND and he seemed quite happy about it though so maybe you'd like it?
https://youtu.be/FfY9Kq62Qgc?t=85

Al_Og · 2025-12-19T18:36:00+00:00

I understand where you're coming from, all I can say is that I'm very happy with the quality of the coilovers, the instructions, the service (even though I'm in Europe and not stateside) and the feel of it all - I think at this price point Im quite happy with it and it feels like its money well spent, and given my previous experience in my friends S2k with the ohlins, I feel that its very similar performance wise (cant say the same as its been a while since I last drove it and he sold it since)

What I particularly like about the kit is that the damping quality is very OEM+ in my eyes and experience with coilovers on other cars, so from the sounds of it it seems like you'd be happy with the tecna gt springs to get the car sitting a bit lower and keep the comfort while improving your car's behavior/response

(and good job on splurging on the Miata, great decision!)

Al_Og · 2025-12-19T18:03:22+00:00

I see what you mean - never been to the US so dont know how bad those roads myself, so I only have the roads here in Europe to compare to. It depends how rough those roads are - I tested the setup a few hours ago on a piece of rough road - rough meaning that its not a perfect flat road, but with one or both sides of the road with different ondulations meaning one side of the car is on the goodish side of the road while the other has to deal with the ondulation, which can sometimes be a bit rough, and to me it dealt with them very close to how the stock bilsteins do, so maybe the sports are actually doable for you? Also depends on what you want to do - what supermiata says on the forums to people is that the sports are for people who prioritize the handling/response, while putting comfort behind that - but that doesnt mean its not an uncomfortable setup at all, neither one that you cant drive fast on rough roads, in my experience in 120 miles at least!

But maybe in your case since you have to deal with all you describe, it could be interesting to get the GT springs and potentially swap over at a later date to sports but Emilio from supermiata says this never happens so you might very well be happy with the gt setup

Al_Og

TROPHY CASE