The Mk1 1.6 copes fine on the motorway. I tend to cruise at 70 for the sake of saving fuel so I can go wild on fun roads but it'll cruise nicely at 90 or more if you want it to.
I can't speak for the Mk2 though

 

Thank you, my next question is whether two yellow cars are a bit OTT! I'll have to think on that . . .

Any information on the lsd on the nb california?

 

ive got a mk2 cali...its a non lsd and you get no leccy windows, no abs and no air con. its a great colour car tho and the mk2 do drive well. however its only 110bhp and 70mph it sits at 3500rpm...80 is a nudge over 4000rpm and it does get a bit tiresome. also go over 70 and it goes open loop and is a bit heavier on juice,

do i love my car...yes...would i prefer a torsen,some leccy bits and a longer final drive...yes i would...i really really would

 

Perfect, I'll hang on for a 1.8

Unsure on the colour (having two yellow cars) and your response has confirmed my doubts

 

The final drive and gearbox ratios of the MK2 5 speed cars are identical, so 1.6 or 1.8 you're still at the same rpms for roadspeed.

 

if you are looking mk2 the 1.8 is the logical choice...i get a bit confused but look for the sports / is / vs / rs imports as they have more kit...think its easy to find the slightly lower bilstein, torsen spec'd ones

 

Quite familiar with the special versions and differences between the 1.6 / 1.8. Seems to be a lot of information on this site!
Many people are asking for top money for cars with rust etc near me.

 

Yellow cars are

Get a red one

A mk2 1.6 should be about as fine on the motorway as an mx5 can be, which is to say their fine for occasional trips but you wouldn't want to (although some happily do) use it on the motorway everyday. Watch out for what shocks are fitted though, I had some crazy hard sach's ones (similar to the Billesteins) on mine and it was simply horrible on the motorway. Almost put me off motorway driving in the 5 completely...

Personally I find the biggest problem with the mx5 on the motorway now is the faster you go the better it seems to suit it.

 

Yellow cars are

Get a red one

Red ones munch ass and are owned by extremely effeminate lady boys

Yellow ones kick ass and make the world spin when you push the loud pedal

 

I have a 1.6 mk1 and it copes fine on the motorway even with the roof down at 80 it feels well able to cope, comfortable and happy at that speed

 

I agree that the early 115 bhp mk 1's are fine on the motorway but as mine is an Eunos it is limited to 180kms so I could not say what it is like at HIGH speed.

 

take a look on ebay lots of cheap mk2.5 sports one sold over the weekend for £1600 it was a 2002 138 k miles fsh and full mot

 

Budget isn't an issue, I could purchase a nc (MK3) but I prefer the earlier models. Only really restriction is that I don't see the need to travel over 50 miles for a common car.

I bet within a couple of days the market near me will be totally different with fresh adverts.

 

Well all 5 speeds are the same and the 6 speed is shorter...

So you need a longer final drive in the diff, my dad has a 3.9:1 in his car (there's is also a 3.63:1 but it's uber rare), but he also has FI so negates any loss in performance. n/a you're going to make the car really sluggish.

I don't see the big deal though, try actually driving the car on the motorway, I do daily, it's fine!

 

Get a red and yellow one, best of both worlds:

Main difference between 1.6 and 1.8 is the 1.8 is around 35kg heavier thanks to a larger engine block and diff (the extra power and torque pretty much cancelled-out), the 1.6 is a sweeter less gruff running engine and burns less oil generally.

 

burns less oil generally.

Any proof of that?

 

Its a pretty well known fact worldwide......plenty proof if you want to trawl tinternet

as well as that there is also a well known trait of Mk2 1.8s of the cranks getting a bit too loose thrust-wise.
I have only 1.8s which both (all 3 if you include my recently sold V-Spec II) and they all `use oil` to a lesser or greater extent - my dads` 91 V-Spec 1.6 has never ever needed `topping-up` inbetween oil changes.

 

Ahh the internet

I'm sure there are plenty of 1.6s that burn oil, but a LOT more 1.8's were built, so there's bound to be more that happen to burn a bit.

Fact is the 1.8 is just as robust as the 1.6 whatever you may wish to think, maybe you were just unlucky with the 1.8's in your possesion, or more likely, lucky with the one and only 1.6 you have as a reference?

 

My MK1 1.8 doesn't need topping up between changes, is there something wrong lol

 

My 1.8 doesn't use any oil either

It's very easy to get distracted by Internet stories with no significant or measurable data to back it up.

 

Oil is dependent on use and mileage unless you have a leak! my 5 has used fuck all since I have had it and its a 1.6 1990 eunos and my 2010 transit has used considerably more being a diesel van doing a lot more milelage