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Bought a Miata


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Chris in another thread you mentioned that you preferred the Miata over an S2000. Curious why that is?

 

I can't answer for Chris, but I'll offer my own experience with them. I currently own an s2000 and there's still something that really appeals to me about miatas. My ex had a miata and I loved every minute I spent in it. They're light, tossable and you sit a bit higher in the miata than you do in an s2000. I really like both for different reasons.

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Chris in another thread you mentioned that you preferred the Miata over an S2000. Curious why that is?

The biggest factor for me was cost. You can do so much more with less money on a Miata than on a S2000.

I can't answer for Chris, but I'll offer my own experience with them. I currently own an s2000 and there's still something that really appeals to me about miatas. My ex had a miata and I loved every minute I spent in it. They're light, tossable and you sit a bit higher in the miata than you do in an s2000. I really like both for different reasons.

 

Combined with that you have to really wring the neck on the S2000 but the Miata is just as happy at less than full tilt.

2003 Baja 5MT

2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight

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Combined with that you have to really wring the neck on the S2000 but the Miata is just as happy at less than full tilt.

 

This was what turned me off the most about the S2K I drove... it didn't get interesting 'till 5500rpm. You have to drive like an ass to have any fun. Would probably be a blast on the track, but not on the street.

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Enjoyed the Miata, but was a tad small for me. The Boxster was much better fit wise for me. Miata might have won for pure fun factor, but the Porsche won on comfort and capability over all. Of course the price tag was 2x...
All I need now is a hill holder and a center passing light...
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It's pretty hard to beat a Miata for a track rat. The cars are cheap, parts are cheap. Tires and other consumables are considerably cheaper than anything that handles nearly as well. Lots of power mods are available. And they're just plain fun.

 

On the Porsche IMS issue, according to my P car friends, the emerging wisdom in the Porsche world is that if the car has 50-60k miles and hasn't had the IMS go bad, it's not going to... Kind of a big bet, but from what I've read the actual % of failures is pretty small. It is nice that it's kept prices on Boxsters and 996s down...

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On the Porsche IMS issue, according to my P car friends, the emerging wisdom in the Porsche world is that if the car has 50-60k miles and hasn't had the IMS go bad, it's not going to... Kind of a big bet, but from what I've read the actual % of failures is pretty small. It is nice that it's kept prices on Boxsters and 996s down...

 

Yeah I agree its kind of over blown, but the % of failures is a high enough percentage that Porsche lost a lawsuit pretty badly that required repayment to owners who had this repaired out of pocket. To me the $700-$1000 for the forced oiled bearing is worth every dollar compared $6k-$10k for a new motor.

2003 Baja 5MT

2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight

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From a track toy perspective, miata is like a go kart. s2k is like an old school porsche with its snap oversteer. Ppl would show up with a s2k, run a few times adding bigger wings, then move on to something else. Miatas are like the energizer bunny.

 

The snap oversteer is real. I'll link a video this morning to me figuring that out at autocrosses

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If I were to get a car solely for track it would be another Miata. I still miss my 10th AE on nice sunny days.

 

I would have an sti with stock interior and body, tuned etc., full suspension and brakes, running 275+ tires and embarassing gt-r drivers.

"It's within spec" - SOA :rolleyes:

"Depth is only shallowness viewed from the side." - Fredism

"So, how much did it cost for your car to be undriveable :lol:." - Stephen (very close friend)

"You have done so much it would be stupid to go back." - Sunny of Guru Electronics

 

2018Q50RS | 2015WrxThread | Shrek

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And you'd spend 10 times as much on it.

 

Yes I would...

...already spent 10x on my 3.6r...(should not have)

 

At least I would have better returns on an sti than a 3.6r...:)

"It's within spec" - SOA :rolleyes:

"Depth is only shallowness viewed from the side." - Fredism

"So, how much did it cost for your car to be undriveable :lol:." - Stephen (very close friend)

"You have done so much it would be stupid to go back." - Sunny of Guru Electronics

 

2018Q50RS | 2015WrxThread | Shrek

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snap oversteer spin as promised, spin happens at ~40sec in the video. First run on the course in the AM, so cold tires, and i didn't have the front sway bar in the car yet, so I this is the full ap1 snap oversteer design flaw. AP2 fixed that issue btw for those of you wondering.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az_RB8FO5UE]renegade 7-19-14 spin - YouTube[/ame]

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Good you had all that runoff. Another car with snap oversteer is the MR2 turbo. Once it let go, there was no coming back. It felt like it was on rails until it went.

 

I sold it two weeks later.

"It's within spec" - SOA :rolleyes:

"Depth is only shallowness viewed from the side." - Fredism

"So, how much did it cost for your car to be undriveable :lol:." - Stephen (very close friend)

"You have done so much it would be stupid to go back." - Sunny of Guru Electronics

 

2018Q50RS | 2015WrxThread | Shrek

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Yes I would...

...already spent 10x on my 3.6r...(should not have)

 

At least I would have better returns on an sti than a 3.6r...:)

Yeah but you would still have to deal with Subaru problems the Miata just doesn't have.

snap oversteer spin as promised, spin happens at ~40sec in the video. First run on the course in the AM, so cold tires, and i didn't have the front sway bar in the car yet, so I this is the full ap1 snap oversteer design flaw. AP2 fixed that issue btw for those of you wondering.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az_RB8FO5UE]renegade 7-19-14 spin - YouTube[/ame]

That looked like fun lol... From what I know the AP2 updates really reduced the tendency for the car to snap oversteer however it's still there if you aren't careful.

2003 Baja 5MT

2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight

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That looked like fun lol... From what I know the AP2 updates really reduced the tendency for the car to snap oversteer however it's still there if you aren't careful.

 

The AP1 issue was a design flaw in the rear suspension. The rear toe is dynamic with suspension load, and in snap situations it changes too much and makes the car unpredictable. The way the suspension geometry on the rear of AP1 behaves, is that as load is placed on the wheel, it causes it to toe in, ANY CORRECTION while that load is being placed will cause the wheel to suddenly toe out to it's original state, causing you to suddenly spin out. They changed that in the AP2, and as far as I know it's just as good/bad as any other RWD car.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been doing a decent amount of work on the black Miata but it still looks the same as it did when I bought it. So far I've replaced the passenger side headlight, polished both headlights, new spark plugs, wires/coil boots, Rotella T6 oil change, Motorcraft transmission fluid, Motul 300 Gear oil in the rear diff, rebuilt the shifter turret, and I've been working on rebuilding a spare set of calipers I bought a while back. Today I just ordered some Bridgestone RE-11A's in 205/50/15 for my new wheels and washed it. Still to come painting the rebuilt calipers black, installing new pads rotors and stainless lines. Also hoping to swap the V-Maxx's over to the Miata this weekend.

 

Pic after washing it after work.

http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag459/christobal65/Miata%20Stuff/2015-03-03%2017.58.00_zpsedtntxk2.jpg

2003 Baja 5MT

2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight

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Sooo...why 205s on an 8" wheel? Why not skinnier wheel or wider tires?

 

My two guesses:

 

Weight.

 

Got a hot deal on the tires.

All I need now is a hill holder and a center passing light...
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Sooo...why 205s on an 8" wheel? Why not skinnier wheel or wider tires?

 

Empirical data in the Miata world shows 205s are fastest on 8s, and 225s on 9s. 225 is generally over tired for stockish power on anything longer than AutoX.

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