The Miata--Its really, really good...

Yup. For those curious, here are the favorite shops:

http://www.flyinmiata.com/

http://www.good-win-racing.com/mazda/miata/index.html

http://www.miataroadster.com/

http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/performance/index.html

http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/

http://ecommerce.mossmotors.com/miata-mx-5


Knock yourself out!

 

I will do just that. There's a dealer down the road with several in their used lot. For my purposes, I'd like a track car. I've thought '80's 911, 914, fiat's, alfa's and triumphs but what's appealing about the miata, I won't have to work on it. I personally have never liked the look of the Boxster.

But Joe, you haven't answered my question... Is a 2007 just as good as your 2010? They seem to look the same but what about what you can't see.

There's a very nice 2007 for 10k with 41k. And for a road and track car, that's an easy price to justify.

What year did the retractable hardtops come available?

 

Personaly I have never cared for the boxier look of the NC and it is heavier than the previous NB and having said that if you want a track car look into an NA (Gen I) or NB (Gen II) series. You can pick them up all day long for $3-4K and you can use the money saved from purchasing an NC (Gen III) on more racing parts, of course this is just my opinion but I think many would agree with it.

I need to go get gas so that means ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM for me, SCORE!!!!

 

+1

We just sold my fiances' car last month.
Have to admit,they are a ball to drive.
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Nope. Remember that the earliest Miatas are 22 years old now... and a lot of owners bought them because they were convertibles, not because they were sports cars. That means when tire replacement time comes along, they install crappy all-seasons designed to last 10 years, ie hard rubber. With proper performance tires, traction is not an issue.

The Miata, all generations, IS a rwd sports car, designed to be responsive, nimble, and agile, and it does respond to driver inputs... both good and bad inputs. It isn't an understeering pig like 95% of the vehicles on the road, you can make it understeer or oversteer at will, you can steer with the throttle if you're cornering near the limit (ie adjust cornering attitude). If you get a ham-fisted driver sawing at the wheel, you'll get a Miata that can lose control easily.

I have two Miatas right now, a 96 that I bought new, and a 95 that we bought 3 years ago. They are brilliant cars to drive. My 96 is supercharged, suspension upgraded with Ohlins, with many other mods to enhance the driving experience, and I still love it. The 95 is mostly stock (it does have Konis), and my wife drives it occasionally, and my two kids drive it. Maintenance is dead easy, parts are cheap, huge aftermarket of maintenance, performance, and appearance items.

The #1 web site to learn more about Miatas is www.miata.net . The forums are great for knowledge sharing as well, there is a Garage section with hundreds of DIY articles about maintenance and upgrades.

I dream of owning a Ferrari, but I have been getting my sports car kicks for 16 years now with a Miata.

 

How would you rate the Koni's, Gordon? It's either them or the Bilstein PSS9's I'm going for ('93 1.6).

 

I would be interested in one that I could drive up to my local track, maybe switch out the tires, and go racing, then drive back to my shop, put it away and drive the Mondial home.

It sounds like a 2009, next spring. They should be in the 15k range by then

Time to drive one.

Thanks Joe

 

I miss my Miata. Have owned a Boxster S and miss that as well.
I guess I have a thing for "chick" cars.

Anyone who bags the Miata (or the Boxster for that matter) has not driven one for any length of time. They realy are great cars. For the money it is nearly impossible to beat a Miata. They handle like a dream and are cheap as hell to fix IF they go wrong (which doesn't happen often).

 

Count me in as one that appreciates Miatas as a fun street car...and even race car. I had a 93 black with red leather special edition. During last weekend's SCCA/SOVREN at The Ridge, there were several Spec Miatas that were doing 1:58s - not bad lap times for such low hp engines.

 

Did yours '93 LE Black/Red look like mine??
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The Konis were the most popular aftermarket shock choice in the late 90s, early 00s. They are still a great match with stock springs, or aftermarket springs up to 50% stiffer than stock. Nowadays, many people go with more advanced options with spring rates about double the stock rates, but with proper shock tuning the ride is often better than OEM - firmer, more movement over bumps etc., but better controlled with less large movement on big bumps, dips, etc. You will pay a lot more for a GOOD adjustable coilover shock/spring setup, though, at least $1000. A set of Konis, to use with stock springs, is still under $600. There are quite a few cheap Chinese made coilover setups, like Raceland, Megan, etc., and they are crap - generic units with no specific shock tuning.

A few years back, one of the Bilstein kits was very strangely set up, with rear spring rates equal to the front spring rates. I don't recall if that was the PSS9 kit. Normally Miatas need the front spring rate to be about 50% stiffer than the rear spring rate. The regular Bilstein HD shocks for the NA Miata (NA = first generation chassis code, produced 90 - 98; NB = second generation chassis code, produced 90 - 05; NC = 3rd generation chassis code, produced 2006+) were very harsh riding, and are generally not recommended unless they are re-valved.

 

Excellent information/reply, thank you very much!

 

I just purchased a set of used Bilsteins for my '99 NB that are off of another '99 NB (he went to a coilover setup and I do not know if they are OE but they have no play) and I have a set of Eibach springs to go along with them. I know I will be happy with the upgrade as I have and will sacrifice some ride quality in the name of performance. I will eventually get coilovers so I can have the best of both worlds but until then I am ok with my choices.

Some good looking Miata's being posted!!!!!!

 

I have konis on mine, and absolutely love them!

 

I've driven a 2000 as a DD for the past 10 years. It's been a great car. Timing belt/water pump service costs 6-800 bucks, if you pay someone else to do it. *cackle*


Honestly I'm thinking of selling it and becoming a one car family, and dumping the proceeds into some freshman stock purchases. Every time I imagine not having it I rethink the whole thing.

It's like a puppy or something.

 

My kids have Miatas and love them. My daughter is on her second, a MazdaSpeed, and my
son has a first gen. Both are lowered, have roll bars (real ones, not the double chrome hoops), and modified suspensions. Two of my three kids are heavily into sports cars and my wife hates me for it!

When I was their age I had a Lotus Elan, so I guess it's in their blood.

They are a tight fit, but my son is 6'-3" and he seems to fit okay.

 

Greetings Ferrarians! Much as I'd like to join you as an owner, I can't imagine it ever happening. That's why I own a Miata. But I'll enjoy browsing and lurking here as a friendly fantasy. This because so far I see ...

- Intelligent, polite, and well-written discourse
- No jiggling avatars or signatures that fill half a page with photos
- No series of paranoid hoops to jump through to become a member (try posting a search for wheels on RX7Club.com )
- Appreciation of great cars beyond your chosen mark!

Thought I'd add some Miata info to the thread to clarify some things you've discussed. (You'll do much better to come over to miata.net though!)
The generations:
NA (MK1 in Europe) = 1989-1997 ... the smallest and simplest version
NB (MK2 in Europe) = 1998-2005 ... a bit bigger, not much
NC (MK3 in Europe) = 2006-2015(?) ... quite a bit wider and puffier, but added little weight
Facelifts/improvements at some points in those generations, but it has been a car that does not change much over time.
Also worth mentioning is the MSM ... MazdaSpeed Miata ... the turbocharged version in 2004-2005.

I drive a 2008 (so I'll talk more about NC) soft-top base model with a little bit of modification, nothing competitive, every day all year in unpaved boondocks at the intersection of Iowa/Minnesota/Wisconsin.


As to handling in general, the Miata (and I suspect many Ferraris) is very susceptible to alignment changes. The "factory specs" are so vague as to be useless. Also important are tire choice, tire pressure, and unsprung weight. Folks who have seen Miatae handling poorly may have seen cars needing adjustment.

I agree with the posts above describing all three cars as raceworthy, and the NC as the better daily driving choice. The NC trunk will hold a large grocery cartful if nothing is bulky ... in part because there is no spare. The NC has the best acceleration except perhaps for the MSM which really hauls in high revs. The NC has a fairly flat power curve but does like to rev to the limiter. In general, you feel like you are going faster around a track in the previous generations but are actually doing better in the NC.

It should be mentioned that many of us at miata.net consider the original suspension on the NC, especially 2006-2008, to be quite a disappointment, regardless of whether you get an optional factory upgrade. It's quite soft and you can really get it rocking in repeated transitions. It's still well-reviewed because it takes a good bite after it leans over. But for as little as $1200 for springs, shocks, and sways ... especially sways ... an impressive car becomes flat-out amazing.

For those "too tall" for a Miata, some simple seat modifications have been posted for the NC and I suspect for earlier versions as well. 6'5" users have become perfectly satisfied.

The Power Retractable Hard Top (PRHT) became available in 2007 and has been on an increasing percentage of cars every year since. It is brilliantly designed and becomes even more available with a SmartTop module that enables one-touch lowering, lowering on the roll, and other little niceties. Sadly there is no safe aftermarket rollbar for the PRHT and none likely to appear. One owner (5'8"?) installed a beautiful custom bar in his ... look for "Cyberbug" at miata.net. A number of rollbars and removable hard tops are available for softtops of all generations. The NC also comes from the factory with hoops, but their value is debatable. Also noteworthy is that Mazda just filed a patent for a Manual Hard Top, likely to appear on the ND.

To compare the S2000, others have reported both cars handle about the same. The difference is you really need to wind up the Honda to top revs before it comes into its own, while the Miata gives more consistent power throughout the band.

There are lots of options for more power, from intake/exhaust to ECU reprogramming to forced induction. In general, all options cost about $100 per hp.

The ND generation is expected around 2015 but as usual Mazda is very secretive about its release. It's expected to be about 10% lighter, and to share aspects of the new Mazda Kodo styling while retaining classic Miata features. Most other details and any pictures you see are complete guesswork.

Give us a spin!

 

P.S. ... for those of you who mentioned Alfas ... Mazda and Fiat have a memorandum of understanding to jointly produce an Alfa based on the Miata platform.

 

I like that quote. But let me say...

So I had an early one as a good weekly driver. It was a real gem. Classic red, super low miles, one owner. I adjusted the ride height with Spec Miata susp, adapted the front spoiler, added the rear spoiler, installed a racing Beat exhaust, upgraded the wheels (multiple sets) tarted up the interior & really enjoyed the smiles for miles. But then one day I went to meet my pals after a track day. We left the racecars and then met up at a local place with outside dinning along the curb. We all trundled in along the curb & parked our street cars. One pal had his red Corvette, another a 612 Ferrari, another his Aston convertible, and then a M6 convertible, and a eighties 911, and even a Viper was there. And here I was sporting my street Miata... (I have the Spec Miata for the track)...

I felt like I was way out of place, I mean I looked out at the curb & was like "what the heck am I doing?" I had a Detroit muscle car at home, my Ferrari, a vintage Mercedes roadster, a vintage Vette, a GT3, Boxsters, hot-rods & a big swanky S-Class sedan but I drove the Miata (which I only bought to sharpen my skills while street driving for the Spec Miata races that I competed in on weekends in the other Miata).

I sold the car shortly after that. Looker or not, fantastic as it was, it still was just a toy car. The Spec Miata stayed, but the street driver left.
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I've seen this car up close and personal, they've done a great job on it and I'll be honest it got me looking at Miatas on ebay

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/Vehicles/1997-mazda-mx-5-miata/

 

It's funny that people think of the Miata as a girls car, yet when they talk about an Alfa Romeo it's Ok, even though the Alfa is a delicate looking car. The thing is, that alot sports cars nowadays are big , tall, bulky looking things. Most sports cars of the past were small, compact, and light. The way they should be. I used to have a 308, and if you park it next to todays cars, it looks like a gokart. There's an interesting article with the creator of the original McLaren F1, in the current CAR magazine, talking about this very topic. I'll bet you that now that Mazda and Alfa are collaborating, those girly views will change.

 

I love Miatas, had 2 of them 99 & 96 models.
Lots of mods I did on my cars, look at this 96. Bought it off a friend who purchased it for his girlfriend but she couldn't drive stick! (yep, a lil white girly car) until I got my hands on it! These cars are a blast to drive and so easy to maintain. Here are the (Before/After) I modified the hell out of it PICS:

Cheers!
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