Test driving results. Order is the same order as the tunes post from MCH.
It was interesting to see the approach everyone took to this car, so many different tactics used and they all got close to each other.
SCCA Spec Miata Tuners
@DaBomm4 Mazda MX-5 (NA) '89
Laptime;1:29.618 Drivers Choice; 7
Impressions of the tune; The car felt great in turns and straights, was very stable under braking. I found that it had throttle induced oversteer, if I got on the gas hard and the car was not going perfectly straight I started fishtailing. Once I adapted to this it was a very fun car to drive around the track.
@Chipmonk77 Mazda MX-5 Miata (NA) '89
Laptime; 1:30.210 Drivers Choice; 6
Impressions of the tune; This tune was very quick to turn in, it was stable under braking, the biggest problem I encountered was the cars desire to continue it’s rotation after the turn, it’s lack of want to turn under braking making trail breaking near impossible for me, I found it loved to power oversteer. It was hard to get a clean lap with the car, when I did it was respectably quick. I did have problems controlling the power oversteer in the slower corners, it was very nice and stable in the mid speed corners.
@bread82 Mazda MX-5 J-Limited (NA, J) '91
Laptime;1:28.729 Drivers Choice; 8
Impressions of the tune; The car was stable and forgiving, making a pleasing drive. I found that if I raced it, I was sliding out and cooking the turns, if I took it for a sunday drive , it flew around the track, stayed on line, I did find that it had both over and understeer present in the car based on how fast I was going, the faster I was going to more understeer it developed. The car also had a tendency to roll with the track which cause a few issues in corners with a sudden change in the rotation of the car.
@backnfourth Mazda MX-5 S-Special Type I (NA, J) '95
Laptime;1:29.133 Drivers Choice; 10
Impressions of the tune; For better or worse this car did what I told it to do everytime. stable under braking, stable on the gas, the rotation was spot on, trail braking was very do able with the car, the slight throttle induced oversteer made corning very easy. Skid recovery was hardly an issue as it didn’t want to slide, so forcing a slide was hard and the recovery out of it was fast. I didn’t want to stop driving it, I wanted to see how far I could push it.
@JackWilson Mazda MX-5 S-Special Type I (NA, J) '95
Laptime;1:28.871 Drivers Choice; 8
Impressions of the tune; This is a fun one to drive. Stable and fast in the corners, if I got the entry right it was glued to the track through the turn, on the flip side it did have a tendency to power oversteer and had some BLOR issues. It was not as easy to get out of a slide when they happened but the car didn’t want to slide so thet were rare. It didn’t feel as fast as some of the tunes but the time speaks for itself, it was quick around the track. .
@Bowtie-muscle Mazda MX-5 SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
Laptime;1:28.626 Drivers Choice; 7
Impressions of the tune; This tune felt a little off, but it was quick once I got used to it. I was more going for a cruise than I was racing it around. If I was nice to it, it was nice to me and very quick, if I pushed it, well lets say I spent a good bit of time in the dirt on those laps. The problems when it was pushed where oversteering when on the gas and over stable on the brakes, I couldn’t trail brake the car, but it did take to low to mid throttle in the corners, full gas at anytime other than being straight I was off and spinning.
@HTR Tuning Mazda MX-5 SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
Laptime; 1:29.565 Drivers Choice;7
Impressions of the tune; This tune was interesting, it was both forgiving, and unforgiving, it had oversteer it had understeer, it was fast, it was consistent. Once I found the cars comfort zone it was a breeze to drive, consistent 1:29.xxx laps. How ever it’s evil twin would show up if I got off line, or pushed it too much or not enough and saddle me with understeer and break lock up, or spin outs and oversteer. It may be a better drive on a wheel, but it was touchy on the controller.
@Harsk100 Mazda MX-5 SR-Limited'97
Laptime; 1:29.638 Drivers Choice; 5
Impressions of the tune; The car has a good bit of understeer forcing you take the corners slow. The car is stable when giving it gas coming out of the corners, throttle use was limited during cornering as it always induced understeer making it hard to keep the line. It was a great cruiser tune, I just felt I couldn’t push it as I always found myself in the dirt or locking the fronts and sliding out.
@Ridox2JZGTE Mazda MX-5 Miata SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
Laptime;1:30.240 Drivers Choice; 5
Impressions of the tune; This car didn’t want to turn, once it started turning it didn’t want to stop turning. It felt great to drive around, just once I started to put some speed on it, I found myself breaking early to ensure I was at a low enough speed to get the front end to turn in. The understeer at speed was very noticeable, the rotation during corning felt nice, very balanced but getting it to stop rotating required near complete let off the throttle for a moment, when I tried to counter steer the rotation away I got no response or I spun.
@DozUk Mazda MX-5 Miata SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
Laptime;1:28.918 Drivers Choice; 7
Impressions of the tune; The car was loose but stable if that makes any sense. It turned in very well, held a straight line well, rotated well. The problems I ran into was the throttle induced oversteer would keep the car turning after a corner, it was easily managed in the shorter corners, the longer slow and mid speed corners I would find the tail sliding out on me. It was prone to understeer in high speed cornering. It would turn well but then slide out as i rounded to and past the apex. It seemed to follow the contours of the track and this was a problem when the camber of the track changed right after or prior to a turn which would throw the car into a slide.
@killerjimbag Mazda MX-5 J-Limited (NA,J) ‘91
Laptime;1:29.001 Drivers Choice; 8
Impressions of the tune; This a quick little car, it’s stable under braking, and fairly stable under throttle in corners. It does have some oversteer issues with the gas, and some understeer problems with cornering. they balance each very nicely in most of the corners it’s the sharp low speed corners that they really shows up as a problem. It slides a lot in the sharper corners making it hard to maintain speed, and if you break loose it’s a fight to get it back. Turn in was good never had to fight to get it to turn in, just to keep the line in the corner.
Well, depending on how much you're gonna put in it. But otherwise, looks good. Might be good to include a Driver's Choice column as well.
