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Ize posted:In case you missed it:  Yay, a bunch of people who never read AI bitching about AI.The NC gets a lukewarm reception out of the enthusiast community because people who really love their Miatas tend to flog them on autocrosses and the like. The early NB is the fastest stock Miata you can choose for this purpose - it's stiffer than the NA and has the 140hp 1.8, but is hardly any heavier since the base was still well and truly a base car - no air, no power steering, no power windows / mirrors / locks / antenna. Grassroots Motorsports did a test comparing the NB to the NC to the Solstice, and the Solstice is even heavier than the NC - yet on an example autocross, the results were NB, followed very closely by the Solstice, with the NC bringing up the rear by a good margin. It gained weight, but it didn't get enough tire and suspension work to stay a quick handler. Arguably the Miata has been headng that way since about 2001 - later NBs were loaded to the gills 'standard', probably because Mazda felt the need to compete against some higher end roadsters like the Boxster and Z3.
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Oct 11, 2007 15:07
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Sudden Infant Def Syndrome posted: Yes, I am missing the apex by a loving mile.
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Oct 11, 2007 18:25
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leica posted:Do you have an NA? If so, an NB top swap is the easiest/most affordable/best quality. That cheap? I may need to get two of those, then - our '99 top has two holes in it (one in each corner) and the plastic window on my sister-in-law's '95M has gone completely opaque. I can't justify $1k right now to fix the '99, and it will be a cold day in hell by the time my sister-in-law has $1k to put into her car.
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Oct 12, 2007 18:27
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leica posted:You also may be able to sell the old frame on ebay or something That's what I was thinking too - the frame on ours is fine and would probably be worth something to someone with an NA willing to either put a new NB top on it, or perhaps patch up the holes and live with them. My only worry with local is that tops don't live well in AZ anyway thanks to all the sun and heat.
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Oct 12, 2007 22:13
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angor posted:I'm in Phoenix, AZ You had better find a cheap way to stay in the AZ Miata  Speaking of which, where the hell is Hoagie and his turbo NA?
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Oct 13, 2007 00:58
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All NB tops have glass windows, FYI. The only vinyl-windowed tops are original NA tops and some aftermarket tops.
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Oct 13, 2007 08:15
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On the topic of tires: Our '99 needs new shoes. I would go get the super-sticky Azenis without a second thought, except for two facts: *I almost never autocross it. I know it's a goddamn shame, but the scheduling rarely works out for me. *The Miata is currently our primary commuter, since the truck is old and finicky and insured as a classic, and the Volvo sucks. As such, it gets driven about 50 miles per day, the vast majority of which are on freeways in a straight line. That doesn't count The current tires on it are some Kumho all-seasons - one step above the Kumho POWER STAR tires I have on the Volvo but not that sticky of a tire. At the same time, though, they're more or less done (tread is nearly gone in areas of at least two of the tires, and they've hardened up like hell) after about 35k. I would still like them to have some stickiness to them since we do take the occasional 500 mile back-roads round trip from Phoenix to Flagstaff, and much of that is happy-fun switchback time. But I don't want a tire that's going to be on cords in 15,000 miles. What's out there that's maybe a step down from the Azenis in outright grip, but a step up in terms of longevity?
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Oct 16, 2007 19:53
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Savington posted:You will LOVE the Toyo T1R. Who the hell has them in 185/60-14 or 195/55-14?
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Oct 17, 2007 16:40
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mobn posted:No one. That's why I have a set on my 15" Enkei RPF-1s for spring-fall, and a set of Nokians on the stock 14s for winter. I've got no beef with the stock 14" alloys on the car so replacing those isn't an option  What about the Yokohama AVS ES100 that Tire Rack has in 185/60-14?
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Oct 17, 2007 23:59
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Break. posted:starting to go tan? Apparently the plastic caps on these radiators discolor as they near the end of their useful life - the original radiator in our Miata was borderline yellow-green in color on the end caps. It never did fail completely, but it had an extremely slow leak practically since we bought it, so the extended warranty we had covered a new one. If it comes down to it I may just get the Falken 512 or 912. I had the 512 on my Volvo and it was a drat good tire, but if anything it was too soft for that car. It would stop on a goddamn dime but it ate them up (it also has a questionable alignment).
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Oct 18, 2007 00:56
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89A is seriously the best day-trip in this goddamn state if you want to actually drive. I've heard 191 is even better but it would make for one LONG day and that wouldn't even have you stopping anywhere other than gas and food. Of course, in discussing this with my wife (it is her car after all)...she said "I want the sticky tires!" "How sticky?" "Like chewing gum..." One set of Falken 615's, coming right up  Looks like 195/60-14 is the smallest size they come in, I'm guessing that fits in the Miata just fine. Probably going to order them from Vulcan unless someone else has them signficantly cheaper.
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Oct 18, 2007 06:51
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Tai-Pan posted:Bumping my own question. To both you and pimpsolo (too many *pimp* usernames with Miatas): You can buy a good used 1.8 gearbox for $200 or so on eBay or from car-part.com. Seems like that would make more sense than a rebuild to me. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Oct 18, 2007 |
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Oct 18, 2007 18:58
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When you say peeling paint I assume you have an NA, in which case the correct color is not Black Cherry - it's Merlot:
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Oct 18, 2007 20:40
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That car might be worth $5800 if it was absolutely spotless. I'd start at $4500.
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Oct 20, 2007 00:26
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The Miata isn't that hard to change the oil on, it's just the filter that's a mild bitch. There's two schools of thought on it - one is to go through the passenger fender (just turn the steering wheel all the way to the left) and the other is to go down between the intake manifold and the car. On my sister-in-law's '95M, the through-the-fender method works best, but on our '99, I can't seem to make that one work so I always go down next to the intake manifold. It helps if the engine is nearly cold since that intake manifold does get toasty, and you'll have your arm solidly against it for a decent bit of time. It shouldn't require anything more than a set of ramps, a drain pan, a worklight, the right wrench for the drain plug (17mm?) and the right filter wrench for the oil filter (remember: it's tiny).
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Oct 22, 2007 17:55
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Odd, I managed to get the filter on the '95M on ramps and I know I didn't bust out any stands or jacks v vI put ramps in there because that's all that's absolutely needed for the Miata - on either the NA or NB you should be able to get at it from the top (though it may not be the easiest way) so you really only need it up for the purpose of draining the oil. I wholeheartedly support the ownership of a good jack and stands, though 
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Oct 23, 2007 00:30
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Just don't tell them you have a '91 and ask for a NB frame and top
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Oct 23, 2007 17:36
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That's exactly what the 512's did on my Volvo, too, though not quite that bad - I ended up tossing them when one blew a nasty loving hole in the middle of the tread. Shame because they do grip drat well for an all-season.
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Oct 27, 2007 00:44
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TooLShack posted:Wouldn't that kind of uneven wear be caused be a alignment issue? Yeah, but the 512's aren't exactly a hard tire.
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Oct 27, 2007 01:31
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For what it's worth, if you're shooting for a 2003-2004, consider that the car was more or less identical between 2001 and 2005. 1999 and 2000 were also the same bodystyle but could be had with fewer options, and have the early NB bodywork - the styling was facelifted in 2001.
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Oct 27, 2007 21:48
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All NA and NB Miatas can fit standard DIN-size radios. Some / most? of the NB factory units can be modified to allow for an auxillary input, but any aftermarket radio will fit perfectly. Keep it low key since for obvious reasons, a radio is easily stolen from a convertible.
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Oct 27, 2007 22:01
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Another question in the way of maintenance for the NB: Shocks. I realized after a back-to-back drive in our '99 and my sister-in-law's '95M that the shocks in our '99 have seen better days - the '95M just drives over the speed humps in the neighborhood with no real jostling around, while the '99 takes a second to settle again afterwards. What shocks are you guys happy with?
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Oct 28, 2007 03:08
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Definitely trying to keep it near or below $100 per shock, no need for coilovers on a car that spends most of its time rolling down freeways
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Oct 28, 2007 04:22
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Using his numbers, the Miata is cheaper but most of that is figuring on future resale, which the Boxster will most likely win on - it's already depreciated considerably so it won't lose value as fast as the Miata will. Ignoring resale, the Boxster is a considerably more expensive car to own, and I think including resale in there is not that wise since it masks the fact that until you sell the thing again, the Boxster will cost you more.
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Oct 30, 2007 01:04
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A '94 with a fresh top and timing belt (how about the water pump and radiator?) in good condition could easily be worth close to $5k. In my opinion, $5k is a bit high since it's not an M-Edition or anything particularly desirable like that...but it's also not like he's out of his goddamned mind, either. I'd be surprised to see the car go for less than $4k.
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Oct 30, 2007 18:47
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Hagetaka posted:Well, about loving time They can flash their high beams at me all night long 
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Oct 31, 2007 05:06
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Schwack posted:Anybody think I'd be totally crazy to pay $6000 for a bone stock, except for a new, glass windowed top, 97 with the popular equipment package and about 90k on it? It LOOKs to be in about perfect condition, but the timing belt hasnt been done and the guy is adamant that since the CA manual says 105k it absolutely doesnt need to be done until then. He's basically right about the timing belt, and since it's a non-interference engine nothing blows up when it breaks. Our '99 is pushing near 80k on the original belt and it will probably be closer to 100k before I do a belt / waterpump.
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Nov 3, 2007 07:40
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grover posted:I tromped the gas as hard as it went, trying to gauge the torque curves. Didn't even seem to have the power of my V6 camaro. (0-60 times are comparable between the two on paper, but I was expecting it to be a little peppier.) I don't don't mind using the whole engine, if that's what it takes to get power. It's not enough to break the sale, but I was still a tad disappointed. That doesn't really answer the question This was a common 'issue' with the RX-8, too - you may not realize it but if you're not looking at the tach, you may be shifting anywhere from 500 to 1500RPM (or even more in the case of the RX-8) too soon. In the NA and NB Miatas (having never driven an NC I can't confirm for them but I doubt it's changed that much) you need to shift near the ragged edge of the rev limiter to make the most of the engine. The BP four-cylinder in the NA and NB is perfectly happy with seeing 7000RPM nearly every single day - I know ours does Soft-top life varies widely, and is more based on care (and where you are) than anything else. My sister-in-law's '95M still has a pristine top, except for the plastic window which has gone completely opaque - the car was a garage queen for most of its life. Our '99 has two nasty holes in the corners because the previous owners were jerks who don't know how to cover a car (or avoid running over paintcans, or put underbody parts together correctly). We're in Arizona, where care is a bigger issue than most areas thanks to the near-constant sun.
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Nov 3, 2007 19:22
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grover posted:I was looking into maybe buying a beater for a year until my wife's car is paid off and I can afford a $25k car, but it just dawned on my that I can get a 84 month loan with interest debt cheaper than buying a beater would cost. Except that the beater can be resold.
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Nov 4, 2007 18:46
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Clearly your idea of beater is different than mine: There's not $1k in depreciation to even be had when the car is barely worth $1k
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Nov 4, 2007 18:57
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mobn posted:That's not even a beater. All its body panels are still the same color and all the wheels match! Not shown: Duct-taped left taillight, bent wheels, dragging / melted rear under-bumper trim, clamped-on tailpipe extension to keep it from melting the bumper again
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Nov 5, 2007 06:01
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grover posted:So, if it dies, you have to use this special trunk-opening stud in the fuse box to "jump open" the trunk with another car (or battery) to get to the battery. Wow, that's terrible. At least the Corvette gives you a mechanical cable override in the event you're unlucky enough to drain your battery.
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Nov 5, 2007 18:43
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duep posted:Did Mazda change the rims' layout with the '94 facelift or just the design ? Yes, they will. In fact, with few exceptions, nearly any NA/NB wheel can be used on nearly any other NA/NB car, the only exceptions being very early wheels with later larger brakes.
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Nov 5, 2007 22:52
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duep posted:I was looking at a miata the other day that had somewhat noticable valve play. Yeah, the BP is known for having a noisy valvetrain. It's really nothing to worry about.
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Nov 7, 2007 20:02
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Have you changed the gear oil in the transmission? Also, because I don't know if this would affect the shift quality in that regard, what about the turret oil?
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Nov 17, 2007 15:21
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Out of curiosity, how long are you guys pushing your Miatas on oil changes? Thanks to our recent move we are putting a shitload of miles on our '99 - on the order of 40-50 miles a day at least five if not six days a week. I've been running Mobil 1 synthetic on 5000 mile intervals, but if I'm having to dive in there nearly every three months like clockwork, the idea of switching over to the Mobil 1 Extended Performance and pushing it to, say, 8000 or 10000 miles is tempting.
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Nov 20, 2007 18:58
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My sister-in-law's '95M had a waterpump fail, so they did that and the timing belt at the same time. Cost about $600 all told from a shop.
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Nov 21, 2007 23:34
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Yours still had the dipstick handle? I've never seen an NA with one  Except for the one with SPEED AND CLASS, of course. In other Miata news, my sister in law managed to get rear-ended in the '95M. This makes the second major impact and at least the fourth time in the body shop for that car - I'm pretty sure at this point there is little to no factory sheetmetal or paint. But, the shop is good at what they do so it comes out straight every time And yes, they're actually really, really drat good at maching both the Merlot color and the textured lower panels.
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Nov 28, 2007 17:04
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That doesn't seem too terribly high (but not great), but then again I would personally reconsider doing full coverage on a '93 unless yours is in particularly good shape. Getting married helps a hell of a lot on car insurance. 100/300 liability on both the Miata ('99) and Volvo (240), and a $500 deductible on the Miata (which will go down $100 every six months or year or something) comes out to right about $550 every six months, for both cars. The Miata is obviously the larger share but it's still something awesome like $400.
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Dec 3, 2007 07:03
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:55 |
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To add to that, you're dealing with car salesmen here. With precious few exceptions you'll have to be the Dick King Of All Dicks to out-dick them.
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Dec 4, 2007 07:13
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