Did the 2006 MX-5 improve?

[c7scayman]

Well I recently watched an episode of Best Motoring, aka Tsukuba Battle on youtube.

They compared the then new 3rd gen 2006 MX-5 against the RX-8, S2000, MR2, and 2nd gen MX-5. They raced them on a wet track on a rainy day.

It started off well, but it was horrible in the rain. The 3rd gen 2006 MX-5 was sliding all over the place. All the drivers tried it and said it was much harder to drive than the 2nd gen MX-5. They blamed the tires and torsen LSD. They also complained about ABS kicking in too much.

By the end of the race, the 3rd gen MX-5 was in second to last place with the MR2 being last.

Does anyone know if Mazda fixed this with the newer 2010+ MX-5's when they redesigned the front face?

Also, is it true that 06-09 MX-5's redline about 500rpm sooner than 2010-2012 MX-5's. I could have sworn I saw a picture of the 2012 MX-5 with its redline at 7200rpm, while the older ones are around 6700 rpm.

 

[njaremka]

the NC2 received a number of changes, one of which was the suspension tuning. they lower the front roll center with revised control arms and pick-up points, and retuned the dampers and springs. i read a quote from one of the designers somewhere (can't remember where) that the NC2 suspension is what they wanted the NC1 to ship with, but Ford decision was to "soften it up a bit" before it shipped.

and, yes, the engine did receive some additional tweaks as well. better internals, and an increased redline. the NC1 lines at ~7000rpm, and the NC2 will run up to ~7300rpm. (fuel cut is slightly higher than redline in both engines)