Mazda MX-5 ND Miata VS. Subaru BRZ AUTOCROSS BATTLE ONE TRACK MIND Ep. 7
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00:00Good morning.
00:01Here's something a little bit different.
00:02This episode of One Track Mind is coming to you from a Push It to the Limit autocross
00:06course.
00:07Today, we're going to put the Subaru BRZ up against the new ND Miata, because both
00:11of these are benchmarks at a place like this.
00:18Now, neither of these cars are on stock rubber.
00:33We've got two aftermarket tires that are pretty much in the 340 treadwear range, so they're
00:37not like 200 treadwear competition level tires, but both of them are equally tired
00:42for a course like this.
00:43Now, this particular ND Miata comes in at just about $40,000, which I know is quite
00:49a lot more than a base Subaru BRZ.
00:51However, you can get an ND Miata for just a little bit over $30,000, which puts these
00:57pretty much as competitors to each other.
00:59Now, that would be the base GX model with no limited slip differential.
01:03This MX-5 is the middle trim, or GS, which has the LSD, and in Canada costs over $8,000
01:08more than a base BRZ.
01:10That's quite a price gap, but these are still very closely matched in performance and philosophy.
01:15This BRZ is putting 200 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels from
01:19its boxer 4-cylinder, and the MX-5 has an inline 4-cylinder making 155 horsepower and
01:25148 pound-feet of torque.
01:27Both of these are going through a 6-speed manual transmission.
01:30So the MX-5 is down on power, but the way that torque is delivered in the MX-5 is much
01:34more usable, as you'll find out later.
01:36The question is, which one is faster, and which one is more fun?
01:40All right, when someone offers you the chance to drive a BRZ on an autocross course, the
01:46answer is always yes.
01:49Pulling up now, this is my first run of the day, so that means I'm probably going to get
01:53lost, but that's kind of how it works.
01:56All right, let's do this.
01:58Talking during autocross, by the way, not the easiest thing in the world, so I might
02:02have to talk to you after.
02:03We'll see what I can do when we're driving.
02:04All right, give it some revs.
02:05Off we go.
02:06Right up to 7 into 2nd.
02:07Heel-toe into 1st.
02:08Tight corner, tight corner.
02:09Nice and tight.
02:10Oh, lock it up.
02:11Oh!
02:12Down on the power.
02:13Come on, turn!
02:14Turn!
02:15Turn!
02:16Turn!
02:17Turn!
02:18Turn!
02:19Turn!
02:20Turn!
02:21Turn!
02:22Turn!
02:23Turn!
02:24Turn!
02:25Turn!
02:26Turn!
02:28Turn!
02:29Turn!
02:30Turn!
02:31Turn!
02:32It's a wonderful thing.
02:33Turn!
02:34Turn!
02:35Turn!
02:36Look at you going!
02:37And turn!
02:38Slide!
02:39Oh, you can feel the low center of gravity, always in these things.
02:40Garrison slipped.
02:41Oh, that's tighter than I thought.
02:42Hello!
02:43Through a pylon just that quick!
02:50Oh, these are fun.
02:51I always forget how much fun these cars are.
02:54Ha ha ha!
03:03Oh my god!
03:06Did I pick up a cone?
03:09I picked up a cone.
03:11So with this particular tire setup, as it turns out,
03:13we have pretty much no front-end grip whatsoever.
03:17So maybe we need to adjust the pressures a little bit
03:19because it wasn't turning into the corner at all.
03:22Doesn't mean that it wasn't fun.
03:24I adjusted the pressures and took the BRZ back out for another spin.
03:28Here we go.
03:33All right, no monkey business this time.
03:35Let's try and be serious, shall we, Thomas?
03:37Oh, sliding already.
03:39Ah, decent heel-toe into first gear.
03:45Balance the car.
03:48All right, be very gentle with the front tires.
03:52Don't scrub the speed.
03:54There it is, sliding already.
03:59Oh, I'm being so gentle.
04:01This is so unlike me.
04:03Fast, fast, fast, fast, fast.
04:06All right, I just turn in and lift off a little bit
04:09and the rear comes around and you get on the throttle.
04:12These cars are really well-balanced,
04:14even with bad front tires like this one has.
04:17Tons of fun.
04:28Not bad. I liked it.
04:30Okay, any of these are good.
04:32This chassis is just good.
04:34Low center of gravity.
04:36It rotates with the throttle very easily.
04:38Naturally, these cars have a tendency
04:40to understeer a little bit at the limit.
04:42So if you really want to get a really well-setup version,
04:45you need tires and an alignment.
04:47Then it actually will rotate very well.
04:50A properly setup BRZ or 86 are phenomenally fast.
04:55They're frighteningly fast.
04:57I can't even believe how much work I put into my BMW
05:00and I get smoked by mostly stock 86s.
05:03I like the interior of the BRZ better.
05:05It has a superior driving position
05:07and enough space for a helmet.
05:09Even though the front tires on this one
05:11weren't really cooperating,
05:13it remains a very impressively well-balanced car.
05:15Now on to the MX-5.
05:17I do really like the interior of the ND.
05:19The materials are great,
05:21but being just under 6 feet,
05:23I don't fit with a helmet if the roof is up.
05:25I also don't like that the steering wheel
05:27does not telescope.
05:29That aside, I began to wonder
05:31if it was going to outperform the more powerful BRZ
05:33because of its torque delivery and gearing.
05:35Time to find out.
05:37Go for another rip.
05:40I said go for a rip like such a Canadian.
05:42Oh my god.
05:44Traction control off before I forget.
05:46Just one button traction control.
05:48None of this fancy VSC sport
05:50that you get in the BRZ.
05:52You just turn the traction control off with a button.
05:54Why is that so hard?
06:01This is a bit of an exuberant start.
06:03Oops.
06:05Turn, turn, turn.
06:11Oh, that was my best heel-toe into first yet.
06:13Look at that.
06:15Oh, there's so much more torque than the BRZ.
06:19Be civil.
06:21Yes.
06:23Oh, that's tight.
06:25Find the grip of the front tires
06:27and go back the other way.
06:29Find the grip of the front tires.
06:31And you just get on the throttle
06:33and the rear just comes around.
06:35Oh, that's fun.
06:37Alright, pay attention, pay attention.
06:39This is tighter than you think every single time.
06:41Yeah, there we go.
06:43Third run in, I finally figured that one out.
06:47Don't drift, don't drift, don't drift.
06:49I'm drifting.
06:55And be normal, be normal.
06:57Be normal, be normal.
07:01Don't let the marshals hate you for picking up cones.
07:07Not bad.
07:09That was fun.
07:11See, when you're not such a fool, it's actually pretty good.
07:13I'm going to go ask Val how I did.
07:15How'd I do?
07:1765.1. I'm okay with that.
07:19That's a decent time.
07:21This car feels more playful.
07:23It feels like it wants to naturally oversteer,
07:25but when you approach the limit,
07:27the first thing that happens
07:29is a tendency for either all four wheels to slide
07:31or the rear wheels to slide.
07:33It doesn't want to understeer like the BRZ does,
07:35which means that when you turn in,
07:37the first thing that happens is the front wheels
07:39start to skip and chatter away.
07:41In the BRZ, it's fine, though,
07:43because you can just use the throttle to fix that
07:45or lift aggressively and the car will rotate
07:47just because of the balance of the chassis.
07:49But this one feels a little bit more neutral,
07:51a little bit more like it wants to slide around,
07:53and it's easier to drive fast and more fun.
07:55Again, I need to stress that while a stock BRZ
07:57does understeer a bit at the limit,
07:59a good set of tires can fix most of that.
08:01Either way, it was time for Colin
08:03to lay down a time in each of these cars.
08:05Alright, we're going to go talk to Colin.
08:07Okay, so this car understeers very badly,
08:09I found, with the current tire setup.
08:11Okay.
08:13So steer with the throttle, like me.
08:15So you want me to go sideways and lose control
08:17is what you're saying?
08:19That's pretty much what I'm talking about.
08:21See, my best time was like four hours
08:23on this course so far,
08:25so hopefully you can beat that.
08:27Oh my, it is hot out here.
08:29How are you doing in here, by the way?
08:31See, as you can see, Colin decided
08:33he wasn't going to wear his racing suit today
08:35because, forget that, it's like 37 degrees out.
08:37The car says it is 39.
08:3939 degrees Celsius.
08:41Well, you got the grip from the tires.
08:43At least it's not turbocharged, right?
08:45Yeah.
08:47Alright, have fun.
08:49Now, while Colin is very, very fast
08:51on the track, he is at home
08:53on the autocross course.
08:55In fact, he won this entire series
08:57last year.
08:59So I'm just going to let you watch him drive
09:01as he learns his way around the BRZ.
09:19So,
09:49Alright.
09:53Well done, well done.
09:55Nice.
10:01And now, the MX-5.
10:19Alright.
10:49So, uh, this car is pretty interesting.
10:51Why, what do you mean?
10:53It's a lot more lively and playful than the BRZ.
10:55It is, right?
10:57There's like a lot more body rolling, right?
10:59It is, yeah.
11:01But like, kind of in a good way.
11:03Yeah, yeah.
11:05It makes it seem like, happy and like goofy, almost, right?
11:07Kind of does, yeah.
11:09It's actually a lot easier to drive than the BRZ.
11:11Yeah.
11:13It's a lot easier to drive than the BRZ.
11:15Yeah.
11:17It's actually a lot heavier than the BRZ.
11:19I was kind of surprised.
11:21You know what, it is. It's the torque.
11:23There's no torque dip.
11:25The torque dip kills the BRZ.
11:27It really does. Especially here,
11:29because you end up somewhere down low in second.
11:31Yes, yes.
11:33And this one just has torque available, like right now, when you need it.
11:35It does, yeah.
11:37This one has a lot more lively back end. I was surprised.
11:39I thought the BRZ would.
11:41I think, yeah, I don't know. The BRZ does if you get really heavy on the throttle.
11:43But this one just rotates naturally.
11:45A lot better.
11:47That's why I said I like this car better to drive.
11:49Yeah.
11:51But the BRZ still has that low center of gravity feel.
11:53That you literally can't get anywhere else.
11:55It does. It doesn't have that body roll, that rolly-polly feel the Miata does.
11:57Yeah.
11:59But the Miata, somehow, though, is still...
12:01Right away, I like the Miata better.
12:03Yeah.
12:05I think I agree, actually.
12:07I'm curious to see which is faster, though, right?
12:09So I'm going to go get your time in a minute.
12:11Yeah, it's hard to tell. My first run of course, feeling the car out,
12:13was faster than the BRZ, but again,
12:15it was a messy run trying to figure the car out.
12:17Yeah, exactly.
12:19So I don't know, to be honest.
12:21Alright, well, do another one.
12:23Set a good time.
12:25We're gone, we're gone!
12:27Colin went out
12:29and turned run after run
12:31until he felt like he could get the most out of each of these cars.
12:33I watched him get more and more confident
12:35with the MX-5.
12:37He started to inch closer to the top of the pack
12:39in A-stock.
12:41Now, let me tell you something about Colin.
12:43If you leave him to his own devices,
12:45he will just keep driving a car
12:47until he runs out of gas or he runs out of tires.
12:49So eventually, I stopped watching
12:51and was distracted by my friends Jacob and Yuri
12:53from the straight pipes.
12:55Subscription break!
12:57Don't forget to subscribe!
12:59So nice.
13:01Subscribe to the straight pipes, too, though.
13:03Look, there's the shirt.
13:05But there's the shirt, too.
13:07Here, take my gimbal.
13:09Except I wasn't very smart,
13:11and there's no words on my shirt.
13:13I just put a symbol that no one knows.
13:17Colin finally did what he thought
13:19was the best that he could do
13:21with each of the cars on those tires.
13:23I made sure I kept close track
13:25of each of his runs.
13:27Eventually, we had some times.
13:29So, the Miata with its more accessible torque,
13:31seemingly better balance,
13:33and apparently better tires
13:35was able to set a faster time.
13:37Colin managed to be right near
13:39the top of the pack in A-stock
13:41with the MX-5,
13:43which really is where it belongs.
13:45At the end of the day,
13:47we both preferred the playful attitude
13:49of the MX-5,
13:51but really, any car at autocross is fun.
13:53I've said it before,
13:55but if you're a fan of the MX-5,
13:57come out to the Push It to the Limit
13:59autocross series next season.
14:01You won't regret it.
14:03Anyway, I have a feeling
14:05this battle isn't over.
14:07The BRZ might want a rematch.
14:09Perhaps we should take them out to the track?
14:11Maybe next time.
14:13Don't forget to subscribe for more episodes
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