Miata or z3?

[Schreier]

I watched the Runoffs on TV, and in I believe F Production there were no less than 3 Z3 Roadsters, and one of them was on the pole

Sounds like I need to get into road racing!

[Vintage42]

... my opinion will not be popular one... power of the S54 Z3M is incredible, but it lacked the go cart feel of the Miata. I am not really interested in how fast I can get from 0 to 60, but being able to take a street corner without really slowing down is were it is at for me... the Miata brings me more thrills on my daily drive than the Z3M does. Not that the Z3M is a bad car, I still own it. It's just a different animal than the Miata.

In 2012 before buying my present 1.9, I test- drove a 2.3 and an M. And last summer I had the opportunity to drive a 3.0. Compared to the 1.9, the power of the sixes took more concentration and restraint to drive, and the sixes did not feel as light, balanced and toss-able.
A friend has the first-year Miata and it is very small and light. After a short trip in my Z3, she said it felt like a real car.
I think the Z3 1.9 is a good middle ground between the old Miatas and the Z3 sixes.

[scenturion]

I've never driven a 4cyl Z but imagine it would feel like a heavier and clunkier Miata.
I feel like my S52 Coupe and NB1 are different enough that I would never cross-compare them.

IMG_20170804_110150.jpg

[crashgordan]

owned both at the same time: a sweet NA miata. stupid fun to drive fast and very go cart like. and nearly bombproof and i didn't worry all the time about tearing it up or something breaking. Also a 2000 M roadster. i love the power. the Miata became a daily and the M more a weekend sunny day car.
sold the Miata, and i miss it. Love the M and will probably own it forever.

a lot of good advise in this thread...

for me personally, wrenching my own cars, Mpire is correct. the miata is a much bigger PITA under the hood, but everything else was easier and honestly, for me anyway, a more fun, but less serious car.

i'd buy another one in a heartbeat but i'm out of room.

[Vintage42]

I've never driven a 4cyl Z but imagine it would feel like a heavier and clunkier Miata...

And as others who have driven both have noted, the 6cyl Z is a heavier and clunkier 4cyl Z.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...8#post30371588

[mpire]

And as others who have driven both have noted, the 6cyl Z is a heavier and clunkier 4cyl Z.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...8#post30371588

Which is why the original 2.8 in the Z3 had an aluminum Block instead of an iron one. It weighed less than the 4cyl.

[scenturion]

for me personally, wrenching my own cars, Mpire is correct. the miata is a much bigger PITA under the hood, but everything else was easier and honestly, for me anyway, a more fun, but less serious car.

I don't agree with this. For me, the Miata is like Easy Mode. The S52 engine bay is more cramped with more complicated electronics.
The oil change on the S52 is much quicker, but I feel like everything else is easier on the Miata. The A arm suspension is super easy to work on, no subframe issues, etc.

And as others who have driven both have noted, the 6cyl Z is a heavier and clunkier 4cyl Z.

Yeah I can definitely see that. My Coupe is not in the same class of car as the Miata. It feels more like a GT and the Miata feels like a nimble sportscar.

OP, I think the best thing you can do is test drive some Miatas.

[Mark Bielick]

I've owned an NA, a NB, and a 2.8 Z.

NA: Lightest and by far the best handling. Also, the slowest. This car felt like an extension of your body, and went wherever you pointed it. Unfortunately, it took longer to get there due to the lower power. Turns were fun, but the effect was a bit disappointing when you came out of the turn, and didn't have enough grunt to really accelerate well.

NB: More quiet and refined than the NA, and a bit more power. A bit more body roll, but it still went wherever you pointed it. Marginally more power made it a bit better coming out of turns, but not appreciably faster on a straight line

Z3-2.8: Handling is not quite up to the MB class. Takes a bit more work to get what you want out of the car, and you have to be more careful when you push the limit. However, all that is more than compensated when you come out of the curves, and stomp the pedal. Much more fun because the grunt of the 2.8 is heads above even the NB level.

The Miata's were both inexpensive and easy to work on. I actually built the engine for the NA from scratch, and it was very easy and not too expensive. I cant compare the costs to my Z because I have yet to have anything go wrong with my Z in 6 years of ownership.

I loved the Miata for its handling, but I don't regret selling them in favor of my Z.

[BimmerBreaker]

Which is why the original 2.8 in the Z3 had an aluminum Block instead of an iron one. It weighed less than the 4cyl.

Also why all non-M Z3 6 cyls were aluminum blocks

[jlcinga]

Does your physical size matter?

[mpire]

I think the Z3 styling has aged exceptionally well, we should all be grateful how hideous the Z4 turned out to be. Multiple generations of Z4 have failed to resolve the terrible styling of a car company dedicated to being more of a generic luxury brand than a driver's car.

[BimmerBreaker]

I kinda like the E89 though, but fully acknowledge its more "GT convertible" than "roadster"

[cleanerPA]

This will be an unpopular opinion here, but I had a '90 Miata that I drove for quite a few years; got totalled by a careless driver in a Chrysler 300 that rear-ended me. I still have my '01 M Coupe. There is no comparison in how the two drive- the Miata felt very light and nimble, the M nowhere near as much. The Miata is more fun to drive on public roads because it has much less power and its limits aren't as high. The M is more capable as a performance car. I drove the Miata like I stole it every day, still managed 24-25 mpg and wasn't that bad on consumables. If I did that to the M, I would be burning up tires, brakes and probably lose my license quickly.

They're almost exactly the same size- I don't know what people are talking about when it comes to size- there might be a tiny bit more room in a Z3, but not that much more. Both cars fit in my garage in exactly the same space.

Bottom line is that they are very different cars, although the Z3 1.9 is a lot closer to a Miata. I'd go for the Miata over a Z3 1.9 due to the much lower weight. If you want to compare a 6 cylinder, then it really depends on what you're looking for in a car.

[kingjason2006]

I think the Z3 styling has aged exceptionally well, we should all be grateful how hideous the Z4 turned out to be. Multiple generations of Z4 have failed to resolve the terrible styling of a car company dedicated to being more of a generic luxury brand than a driver's car.

I love the way the Z4 coupes looks. If I had the cash one of those turbo monsters would be sitting in my garage. Would break my rule of one, one sports car, one monster truck, and a commuter. LOL

[BobSarley]

I looked at the Miata, because I was thinking of selling my 2000 Z3M Roadster. No comparison. The handling of a new 2021 Miata did not come close to my 21 year old BMW.

[Hoyt Clagwell]

A previous girlfriend of mine had an na Miata which I got to drive a whole lot. It awakened me to the whole roadster concept and I was hooked. Later when I bought my '99 2.8, I was kinda' dissappointed to be honest. The BMW just didn't have the nimbleness that made the under powered Mazda so fun to drive. As well, the shifter feel of the Miata (na) is the best I've ever felt. The Z3 beats the Miata in looks and roominess though. I found the Miata claustrophobic with the top up and the visibility was also not so good in that mode. 'not so with the BMW. It's a pleasure to drive top up or down. (although the weather has to get pretty cold or rainy before I put the top up)

But now that I have swapped out all of the rubber suspension bushings for poly on the Z3, it handles way better than it did and is almost as nimble as the Miata. I still need to do the shift pin bushings and a few other mods to the shifter so the jury is still out on whether or not I can come close to capturing the feel of that amazing transmission in the Miata.

All in all, I have come to love my Z3 and would not swap it for a Miata now, but an all stock Z3, meh.

[mpire]

All in all, I have come to love my Z3 and would not swap it for a Miata now, but an all stock Z3, meh.

Having owned a couple miatas I can say for a fact the Z3 is much easier to maintain and to work on. Parts are cheaper, you don't need a timing light, and the cooling system refresh interval for both cars is 60k miles.

Its not a hard decision, the Z3 with a straight 6 is a dramatically better car. Anyone who doesn't think so hasn't driven them back to back.

There is no replacement for torque.

[cleanerPA]

Considering that there are four generations of Miata (granted NA and NB are very closely related), it's not really that straightforward of a comparison.

[Hoyt Clagwell]

Considering that there are four generations of Miata (granted NA and NB are very closely related), it's not really that straightforward of a comparison.

I am only familiar with the na version, a 1990. I drove that car regularly for 8 years including a trip from Toronto to Halifax. It's just a real fun car. What really impressed me about it was the rawness and purity of it. It was pure roadster and absolutely nothing else. It's lack of power was barely an issue as it's lightness, nimbleness and incredible gearbox made up for that in pure fun factor. Sure it's great have power but that's not the main focus for me. It's than un-quantifiable quality of fun that is going to be different for different people. As I mentioned earlier, now that I have my Z3 set up to feel way more nimble and surefooted, overall, I do like it more than the Miata but I certainly miss some aspects of the Miata even now. When I do the shift pin bushings, shifter arm bushings and maybe a DSSR, I'm hoping I'll never look back.

[mpire]

Considering that there are four generations of Miata (granted NA and NB are very closely related), it's not really that straightforward of a comparison.

I have driven and owned them all. My sainted mother drives a miata, and I still do the maintenance for her.

While the current miata RF is vastly better in all the ways that miatas have always sucked, its still not as involving to drive as the Coupe.

The only thing a miata is really good for is taking to the track and totalling it and not worrying because its a miata and you can always get another for $500.

I took the convertible top off of my miata and ran the hard top permanently between track events in college.

I don't think the top has been put down on my only Z3 since it was new.

Convertibles suck, the miata even more so as it has a metric ton of body flex.

The transmission is ok, I still have the engine and transmission from my miata that is going into a lowcost.

Until the miata gets a turbo OPTION then its just not up to speed with the 20 year old straight 6 in the Z3.

[mpire]

Also why all non-M Z3 6 cyls were aluminum blocks

Yeah, but that's not really special.

Every M52TU and M54 had aluminum blocks.

Only the M52 in the Z3 had an aluminum block.

Z3s are special.

[ProductUser]

I wonder if the Miata guys bash the Z3-elitists on their forum(s)????

[cleanerPA]

I get it, mpire doesn't like Miatas.

[BimmerBreaker]

I love convertibles of all kinds, the miata is very good at what it is - but the thing that it is, is a different car than the Z3. It is apples and oranges to compare the two. The only similarity is the body style.

The only thing a miata is really good for is taking to the track and totalling it and not worrying because its a miata and you can always get another for $500.

Where exactly do you find a $500 miata these days? The market on those has climbed dramatically. Heck even 5 years ago I was looking at one for a friend and even back then it was $4k for a pretty ratted out one...

In that regard, miatas are a bit like S13's or 300ZX's. Or even E36's these days. The market is almost more about "buying the car" then it is about what value the car represents. People buy these cars because they want to be part of that culture - miatas have their own culture of car owners, as do S13/300ZX's and even now E36's, with those latter groups mostly existing within the larger drifting community. Young people growing up and buying their first car want cars like that because those are cool to them, because those are the kinds of cars people were modifying when they were growing up watching Fast and the Furious. Miatas appeal to a different buyer than the drift community, but also to a different buyer than Z3's. Most young miata buyers especially are buying them to be "part of the club" ie. they want to go to miata meets with their friends and spastically spam their pop-up headlights up and down every time they see another miata on the road. Is a Z3 a faster, better car for cheaper in most cases? Yes, but then they would be ostracized at at miata meets

[mpire]

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I love the way the Z4 coupes looks. If I had the cash one of those turbo monsters would be sitting in my garage. Would break my rule of one, one sports car, one monster truck, and a commuter. LOL

You never spent any time looking at the catfish front then.

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Where exactly do you find a $500 miata these days? The market on those has climbed dramatically. Heck even 5 years ago I was looking at one for a friend and even back then it was $4k for a pretty ratted out one...

If you are buying a track car you don't want anything but the chassis. You already have a very expensive built motor, custom weighted suspension, and the interior is just added weight. Straight NA/NB miatas sitting in fields aren't too expensive.