My trip to the Mazda MX-5 Experience

"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
09/18/2015 at 14:14 • Filed to: miata, car shows

I was fortunate enough to find out about the Mazda MX-5 Experience via the forums at miata.net, and extremely fortunate enough to have one 15 minutes away from my house, at MetLife Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. There’s still time if you’re around, they’re open this afternoon as well as tomorrow (Saturday)!

The two qualifier events are hard braking and slalom, both in automatic GT models. They’re pretty much what it says on the tin, with two passes each.

The third event is “hot laps,” which was a pretty good cone course in the parking lot. Good variety of cornering. I did the whole course in second gear, which is about all you could expect from a parking lot of this size. It would have taken it up to 11 if we would have had to do some rev-matching downshifts, but that would have required a gigantic lot, or a real track.

I got compliments on my Grassroots Motorsports t-shirt from several of the instructors, but I was especially happy that the laps guy liked my line through the course. I hope he wasn’t BSing, but it was nice to hear either way.

Overall I would characterize the ND as capable, refined, and civilized. Going through the laps, steering was accurate and intuitive. I didn’t have to try too hard to get the car to follow a good line, although of course I wasn’t at the limits in my first experience with it. Braking was very strong and controlled.

There was a long straight in the laps that wasn’t long enough to shift into third, so I took it in second at 6000+ rpm. That, as well as the beaten-dead-horse soft suspension behavior in corners, is the seam of experience between this and more hard-core cars like the S2000. The ND takes that kind of driving in stride . It just seems “meh, no problem, I can do this.” The S2000, when you’re up in the revs, says, “yyyyYYYEAH BABY! Hooooon me!” Very capable, but less civilized. I like that. The Miata, including the ND, is built as an enthusiast’s moderate backroads car. To get that kind of experience, that edge, you need to go beyond stock, and while that’s fine, I would personally rather not go the tuner route. Too much of a time rabbit hole :) What time I have available, I want to spend enjoying the driver’s seat, not the floor of my garage.

One particular detail I noticed: when I test-drove NDs at dealerships, the seat seemed pinched in the shoulders. These cars were apparently broken in enough that I did not feel that way at all.

Lots of the usual suspects in the parking: lots of NAs, an NB or two, several NCs, BRZs, Minis, an E30 M3, etc. etc.

If you have one of these near you, DOOO EEET! Regardless of whether you’re a Miata person, this is the kind of thing we need more of in the enthusiast driving world, and beside the fact that it’s an awesome experience, we should represent and show the manufacturers that we care about this stuff.

DISCUSSION (14)

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > yitznewton
09/18/2015 at 14:24

I am going tomorrow. You kind sir, have made my weekend x100 times better.

yitznewton > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
09/18/2015 at 14:27

You’re very welcome! Enjoy it!!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > yitznewton
09/18/2015 at 14:51

You got a link to more info on this? I am only like an hour from Metlife. I imagine Saturday is sold out but it's definitely worth trying.

Rico > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
09/18/2015 at 14:52

I’m debating, I want to go tomorrow but I NEED SLEEP. It’s only 30 mins away without traffic but FML I would be up at 7.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
09/18/2015 at 14:54

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.…

I am trying to figure out how to sign up or what times it is at.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
09/18/2015 at 14:56

Saturday dates: 9 AM – 4 PM
Do I just show up?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
09/18/2015 at 14:56

I am planning on going, do you just show up at 9am and then they let you drive? Is it free?

yitznewton > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
09/18/2015 at 15:05

http://www.mazdausamedia.com/index.php?s=31…

yitznewton > yitznewton
09/18/2015 at 15:06

It’s free, no RSVP, just show up. Parking is next to the event: enter the stwdium area, and near the stadium look for the Mazda banners.

yitznewton > Rico
09/18/2015 at 15:08

You can pick when to show up. I was there an hour and a half, including time to shoot the videos. Probably more crowded on Saturday.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > yitznewton
09/18/2015 at 15:12

Thanks, this sounds awesome. I like the idea of a free autocross run and not having to put further wear on my own tires. What kind of tires are they running on the NDs there?

Rico > yitznewton
09/18/2015 at 15:21

That’s what I am figuring, I would want to get there like 8:30 the latest to get on the line to register. I might bite the bullet and do it.

yitznewton > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
09/18/2015 at 15:41

I presume stock everything. Not sure what the stock rubber is off hand.

yitznewton > Rico
09/18/2015 at 15:42

The people who went it Atlanta said there was an early-bird bottleneck, and the line eased off after that... YMMV though