The best looking Miata ever- the 1996 M coupe concept. Such a shame they didn't put this one into production.

I like a slammed miata, even seen a couple boosted ones that got my attention. But the convertibles are way too girly imo. Make me think of

they look like chick cars when stock, but look great when they're nicely done up.



it's like a bad-ass chick car

Unleash the inner girl within you

>

You saw Matt's thread here about changing the water pump? That's not something I can do. It's out of the question. I cannot risk having the car out of commission when it's my daily.

>

Aftermarket concerns me less...I want a good DD, so I'm not shoving an LSx in there at any point. What I will do is gradually build the car from a handling standpoint. Main thing is to get one in reliable state first. Concerning the RX-7, from what I've heard and read, that 1.3 is not very reliable, and expensive to work on. Not an option whatsoever.

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Reasoning for this? If it's comfort, that doesn't really matter...I'd want to go for coilovers eventually. Wind noise is just to be expected. My commute consists only of about three miles to school and thirty miles of highway driving between my parents.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Aug 30, 2010 - 4:14 PM

So convertibles are girly? I have to disagree. Yes, I think Miata's are girly, but to say all roadsters are girly is silly.






I could go on. But you get the idea. Just a stock Miata is girly, MR2 Sypder and the Pontiac Solstice are super gay and girly.

This post has been edited by richee3: Aug 30, 2010 - 10:43 PM

To Ferdi, I actually test drove a 2nd gen Miata when I was looking for a new car. To me, it felt like nothing I had ever driven before. Personally I have always loved the Miatas and have always wanted one so I am kind of biased on this topic. The only reason I went with the Celica was because it came down to $2.5k vs almost $10k. I know, it was ridiculous. Personally, since you are in college and have a perfectly running car, I would say DO NOT get rid of it while you are still attending. It makes life so much easier when you don't have to worry about your car. I have actually been in the market for a new car lately, my Celica is having way too many problems right now for me to rely on it much longer without a lot of work. And it sucks because I have a 60 mile drive each way to campus. Anyway, some other touched on the scariness of older cars. I thought about getting a mid 90's vehicle but don't know if I want to go through all the bs I am going through again. Like my friend said, "It's a 94, in perfect condition. Yeah, when it is sitting still not being driven." And as others suggested, MR2's. I thought this too. I also found out that MR2's can actually be quite hard to come by in good condition in Florida. As for the pros and cons of Miatas,

Pros:
Two seater (I had a 1987 Honda CRX Si as my first car and I really honestly miss having only two seats)
Convertible
RWD
Not too pricey
Easy to park (I know this is picky, but my Celi barely fits in some of the spots at USF)
Look damn good if done right
Handle well

Cons:
Older car

Sorry if this was a bit scatter brained, woke up way too early today. Anyway, just my .02

^ Nope, all valid points. I'm going to try to find one in close to excellent condition for its age, and if I don't, with the Celica I stay.

Okay, I drove this example. Now, I was going to copy and paste the review I wrote somewhere else saying that I was slightly underwhelmed and blahblahblah, but it's since hit me that I really want to drive it again, and I really really really want to drive the piss out of it this time.

The shifter is just perfection...I don't regularly drive a manual and I was used to this thing within minutes. It doesn't even need a short shifter kit, it's perfect in OEM form. Clutch pick-up is predictable, travel is fine, although it could be a bit stiffer. But the throws are short yet perfect, and the whole thing just goes snick-snick-snick. It's awesome. The only slight disappointment is the body roll, but I do drive a lowered Celica after all, so I think some nice coilovers, light wheels, and sticky tires would fix that issue. It was comfortable in town, but nothing necessarily special until I took it in the turns. The steering isn't much more special than the Celica's, but the chassis is ultra-communicative. I'm not a pro driver by any means and I was able to wheel it around fairly well, mostly because the tires pretty much speak directly to the driver.

I'm going to try to drive as many as possible and look for a good example in the meantime. I liked this one for its new-looking top, clean interior, and mostly clean body. Dislikes were a faded rear bumper, peeling steering wheel, a few miscellaneous dings, and a missing cupholder piece.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Aug 31, 2010 - 4:03 PM

Glad you liked the one you drove.

I used to have a 90 Miata and loved it, even my friends who knew nothing about cars loved to ride in it. I put Tokico springs and struts on it and that made a HUGE difference in how it handled. It was a great car, even though it was that old it only had 90k on it. The previous owner wouldn't admit it but the car had been tracked, you could see under it where there used to be a straight thru exhaust, and the car had a brand new top and frame on it because they had removed it when the car was new. It only gave me trouble once when the ECU went bad, but that's because the car had sat outside with no top on it and the ECU had gotten wet multiple times. I DD'd it, even in 6 inches of snow it got around like a champ. Very easy to work on, and there is a ton of aftermarket support out for them.

Got rid of it for the Celica and wish I hadn't. I'm actually looking at selling my Celica pretty soon and picking up another Miata and maybe an old 4x4 4runner or truck. There's a 93 Miata for sale in town here with 83k on it and a few mods such as a roll bar and de-powered steering, I may have to go test drive it this week.

Always a favorite site of mine when I am looking into Miata's.

Good-Win Racing

>

I agree with about the shifter. I've seen ones with short throws and it just looks ridiculous. They are very fun cars. When I test drove one I had the exact same response as you. It didn't stick on me much at first but I kept thinking about the car for like two weeks straight. I still wish I could have gotten it. I didn't really get to take it on the roads though so I didn't get too good of a feel of the handling. As for the steering wheel, my CRX's steering wheel had huge chunks missing out of it (weight reduction, not on purpose though). That and the fading seem like they can be kind of normal wear for a 20 year old Florida car. I'm honestly expecting to go outside one day soon and just see all the cars melted from the heat.

http://monstermiata.webs.com/

You could always do that. I saw one in Winter Haven (no idea if you know where that is) and it was very nice. That's all I'm going to say.

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They are indeed easy on maintenance from what I've read. They seem like a decently simple platform to learn on as well. How much of a drop did the Tokico springs provide, and how much body roll was left (if you could verbally illustrate) after the drop?

And I say go for that one, I know what owners are on about now.

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You're exactly right, I can't stop thinking about the stupid thing now. And yes, the FL heat does suck.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Aug 31, 2010 - 5:16 PM

>
Pretty cool except for the 4g's for the conversion kit!

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I agree but don't some people pay that much for a ST205 clip after shipping and everything? Like I said, I think it is a lot of money too. Honestly, I could find a used car for that price. Anyway, Ferdi, if I were in your position and had the money to get the Miata I would.

GotToyota now has a 90 NA...I'll see if I can get him to chip in...I think he will def sway you in the right direction. Just from my brief exp. driving it, wow is all I can say. The car is incredibly tight on the stock suspension with 14in wheels, so light and so ergonomically (sp?) simple. The shifter is s@x. Sure it has 90 whp (now...) but it weighs nothing, even with power windows. Read the review in the newest issue of modified on the top ten track cars...guess who got #1?

The car is a true roadster and just a drivers car. The great thing with NA's is you can find them (easily) with sub 100k orig miles for easily under 4k even after TTL.

And oh ya, mpg. Even with messing around pushing the new car I believe he got 32mpg.

50/50 balance, rwd, I challenge anyone who claims "girl" status to go drive one...hard. Plus you already drive a celica which is apparently "girly" to any V-8 fox body loving drag racer with 7 teeth (not that their is anything wrong with having 7 teeth...respect).

Just don't hellaflush it. Lower it, get some respectable wheels, and save for the tiny turbo and engine rebuild after you put 50-100k carefree miles on it, are through your higher education, and have the time and resources to garage it, pull the motor, and make it a track whore to fall in love with it again.

.02

/end

There are a lot of misconceptions in this thread about Miatas.

I've owned a 1989 Supra, the Celica, a 2002 Mazda Protege5, and now I own a 1990 Miata.

First off, let me tell you that after owning a RWD sports car, it was tough getting into a FWD girls car (and YES, I've owned a Celica so I can say that without being stabbed). It's never the same, FWD cars are a COMPLETELY different animal when it comes to road feel and how the car drives in general. Ever since I ditched the Supra, I was missing the feeling of a RWD car. Being a Mazda fan now and always wanting a Miata, I finally decided to get one when a good opportunity arose to do so. I picked up a gem, a 1990 Mazda Miata with 94k (no typo) ORIGINAL miles and 2 previous owners. These cars are crazy easy to find with that kind of mileage, since this car is mostly a weekend car for older people. The car was repainted a pearl white, also had the timing belt done. The car is crazy clean for the year, has a few things but nothing to stop it from driving everyday like it should. I get 30 MPG while using A/C, driving with the top down, hauling ass! This thing is the funnest car I've ever owned to date, it hugs the curves like a go kart (literally) and pulls like hell to boot. It took a little while to get used to the size but once you drive it for a few days that goes away. For the people who say this is a homos car, you've never driven one. Ask any Miata owner and they'll tell you why they love this car! 50/50 weight balance, RWD, limited slip differential (some models) and extremely light weight (2100lbs in my trim). I do daily drive it and I don't regret it at all. I got some 15" wheels from a newer generation Miata to make it look a little more modern, I've got a huge list of mods planned for it. I've also painted the valve cover with red engine enamel. Here are some pics of the car:







Paid $3700 with TTL for those interested.

This post has been edited by GotToyota: Sep 1, 2010 - 12:43 AM

^ Holy crap that thing is clean. See, something like that is what I need to find. Good for you guy, good for you.

And regarding the gay stigma...my girlfriend told me she won't ride in it with me if I get one. She'll have to get over that.

>

I agree with everything you said. If I tried, I probably couldn't mis-shift...that's how precise the shifter felt to me. The clutch felt great as well. Steering was less amazing, but I think that's due to me being used to less body roll. It did feel accurate and precise, it just seemed like there was a slight sag to it. Could be an aging steering rack as well though. Slapping on a turbo sounds very much appealing, but that would be for later on down the road. First focus will be maintenance, and then tires and suspension after the car is well serviced. I/H/E will be later on down the road.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 1, 2010 - 1:55 AM

^^^she wont be around long if thats how your gonna treat her...



miatas are girly cars but are awesome to drive




/thread

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I think you just swayed me towards my next car. That car is very clean. Damn. To further your point about FWD being completely different. My friend actually has a harder time controlling his GTI than he did his Thunderbird when he would break the back end loose. He said torque steer is so much worse than sliding the back around. Anyway, you and Ferdi have rekindled my love for the Miata.

SupraKid - I treat her well enough. She was mostly just trying to bug me, I think...if not, it still sucks for her, because a car shouldn't affect her that deeply. It's my job to deeply affect her.

Chhaos - Good. Go get one. I'll be trying the same.

>

Edited for correctness.

J/k

Personally, I think the Miata is a good choice for you Ferdi as you're young and don't have that much to be hauling around plus there's room for modification down the road is you see ift. I'll hate seeing you sell the Celica but if it's to get a Miata I think that's a good idea.

This post has been edited by Keiri: Sep 1, 2010 - 10:27 AM

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I am trying to find one that is decent enough for not too bad of a price right now. I just hate when one looks really good but then it is an automatic. That is serious buzzkill.

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I'm so deleting you from my Facebook friends. Serious interweb slap right there, bruhh bruhh.

Well, I wish I could keep the Celica and have both, but that's not possible. Unless I buy a beater NA for $500 and use it just for auto-cross.

>

Yarly, I see that enough as well. On top of that, seems like most NA's for sale are either red, green, and sometimes black or white. I've yet to see a single silver one for sale.

This one looks good though:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?t...mp;aff=national

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 1, 2010 - 10:51 AM

all this talk of go-kart-esque handling, 50/50 weight distribution and 90 hp makes me want to give up my heterosexuality for one.


no really, i saw one today and the guy was actually "driving" it, looks like fun.

Ferdi - You said the steering was vague, it's probably because of the age of the suspension rather than mileage. My suspension is the original with 94k miles and being 20 years old, of course parts are gonna be gone by then. You can get some KYB GR2's for less than $300 to fix that and get it back to factory handling. When everything is in good condition, the car handles like a dream even with factory spec parts.

Also, I'd like for a 94+ so you can get the 1.8L. And if you find one with slightly higher mileage but it's more clean, I would do that. These drivetrains are bulletproof and the motor is even moreso, condition trumps mileage every time.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

This post has been edited by GotToyota: Sep 1, 2010 - 12:41 PM

^ Sweet, you're the man. I've already raped half of the Miata.com forum for info, so I've got that covered. I'm actually not even quite sure if I drove a 1.6 or 1.8 yesterday though. I've read that there's no difference in the valve covers (besides measurements) and that there are no stampings, so I've not really a way to tell...

Concerning the handling, I bet most of that vagueness came from the fact that I'm not used to that much body roll. I want coilovers or at least a well-known and liked shock (strut?) and spring combination, so if there is any age in the suspension, that'll be taken care of. End links would also get replaced at that point, and possibly bushings.

Either way, I plan on driving a few more, so I'm sure I'll get to both.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 1, 2010 - 1:16 PM

The Tokico's I put on mine greatly reduced the body roll, but I also agree that the factory suspension just gets squishy after a while so even OEM replacements would have been an improvement. The drop was about 1.5" which was almost too far IMO since I could barely get over speed bumps and big curbs.

Look up the Randall style intake, that was the next thing I would have done to mine.

I'll upload some pics of mine when I get home so you can see the drop and all that.

I think that definitely was a factor. I'm having a bit of a weird time figuring out the suspension...from Celicas, I've always assumed that coilovers are best. The more I'm reading though, the more I'm learning. Seems that suspension travel is already short and with a proper spring and height-adjustable shock, you can actually do pretty well, making coilovers unnecessary.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 2, 2010 - 9:37 AM