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Difference Between 1.6 And 1.8

14K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  RPD  
#1 ·
Afternoon all,

I've been after a MX5 and only looking at 1.8 engines recently. However I was wondering (not in a performance sense) what are the 1.6 cars like the drive on the motorway or at higher speed?

I had a 1.8 mk1 before hand and I've seen a nice mk2 1.6 but a little hesitant in the fear it might not cope on the motorway. The car needs to be able to travel occasionally on the motorway.

Can someone confirm if the California has a lsd? If not are these easy to swop over?

Thanks
Sam
 
#4 ·
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
 
#7 ·
Yellow cars are
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Get a red one
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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.
 
#21 ·
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.
 
#15 ·
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!
 
#16 ·
Get a red and yellow one, best of both worlds:

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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.
 
#18 ·
Its a pretty well known fact worldwide......plenty proof if you want to trawl tinternet
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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.
 
#19 ·
Ahh the internet
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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?
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#23 ·
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