MIATA THREAD - My Third Gear Syncro Is On Grindr

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > MIATA THREAD - My Third Gear Syncro Is On Grindr

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Mark Larson posted:

My 2001 Miata is very shaky (like the famous 65mph shimmy) at speeds above 65 mph. It used to be stable until 80 mph, but then I got the tires rotated and it started to shake above 75, then I got a puncture repaired and it got worse.

I checked the lug nuts and they seem to be on tight, what else can I check?

I'd start first with the the stereo.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2011 09:11

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 04:47

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

velocityJE posted:

I ran over a curb last night and both my airbags popped, wtf I had just taken off from a stoplight and couldn't have been going over 20. It's a '99 Sport, you think they'll total it? I hear horror stories about airbag replacement pricing. No body damage whatsoever.

20mph into a curb will buff out no problem.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2011 02:35

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Hey back off he was answering an important text.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2011 16:35

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

velocityJE posted:

the adjuster said besides the airbags,there may be suspension damage. i am not so in love with this car that i want to deal with a salvage title when i can get a sizeable amount on an S2000, which is better than a miata in every way, than deal with that hassle. i love miatas but still...VA car laws are strict.

also, i never said 'new s2000'. they don't even make them anymore.

I retitled a car in Washington, you just made an appointment with the state patrol and all they did was look at the VINs. They make no attempt to assess whether you repaired the car properly. If the buyback is cheap you could probably fix it up and sell it for more money for an s2k.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2011 03:09

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

hard tops go for $1500? That's insane.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2011 23:20

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You didn't check the oil over 5000 miles? Running it a bunch low on oil probably will make it burn oil

# ¿ Jun 5, 2011 06:09

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Not my car, but a decent deal on a miata if anyone is in the market:
http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/2436315326.html

# ¿ Jun 14, 2011 05:40

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

BusinessWallet posted:

I posted in here asking about exhaust and I decided what I want to do, but I want to see what you guys think about it. I really like racing beat and I think they make a good product that sounds good, so I opted for the RB headers, racing midpipe and single powerpulse muffler.

http://www.racingbeat.com/Miata-1990-2005/Exhaust-Headers/56007.html
http://www.racingbeat.com/Miata-1990-2005/Exhaust-General/56439.html
http://www.racingbeat.com/Miata-1990-2005/Exhaust-General/56461.html

The problem is that this midpipe doesn't have a cat, which I'm not really concerned with, since from what I understand you can just take the second O2 sensor and wire it somewhere hanging in your engine compartment or something. I also read about using an O2 sensor simulator to trick the second O2 sensor so CEL turns off. This car is going to be road registered and driven on PA roads, but I have a friend that will pass it anyway. Does this seem like a stupid idea and I should just get a midpipe with a cat?

This seems like an insane amount of money to spend on something that will not gain you much in the way of horsepower. If you want the sound, just get their muffler. Don't bother with doing a test pipe in a place where you have to pass emissions. What if your friend gets a new job? For your car you're probably looking at spending used turbo kit money almost for it.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2011 05:49

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

BusinessWallet posted:

Yeah I realize it's a lot, but I don't have a lot of options. I have a 99 with a Cali emissions exhaust, which has the precat in the headers, and then the secondary cat, both are totally gone so I have to replace them, the precat and secondary cat cost ~$600, so I'm not really into replacing them, I don't live in cali so it's not really necessary. Basically I have to replace the midpipe and headers, I'm only buying the muffler because it seems silly to replace everything else with nice new stuff and have that 12 year old rusty stock muffler hanging off the back, it's probably full of everything that shot out of my cat when my engine misfired anyway. (it misfired because some idiot got water in my plug wells, my coil packs are fine) I realize I could get into turbo at this price, but I don't really think I have a lot of options. I've seen people buying 2001 OEM used exhuast systems from people who upgraded with good luck but those are really hard to find.

Are you failing emissions now? What about going with some sort of just a generic weld in replacement cat? If the precat is blown out, is it affecting performance? I would think it'd be just fine.

Have you checked with these guys for parts?
http://www.planet-miata.com/index.php?section=31630995

I can almost guarantee even the RB stuff will be finicky to install. Exhaust poo poo is notorious for needing tweaks to work.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2011 19:59

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Do you have a check engine light? I think you're looking at the wrong places if you can't find someone that will weld in a generic cat for cheap. Indy muffler shops should be willing to do that for a very minimal amount of money. Have them just punch out the remainder of the cat that is in the manifold at the same time. I can't believe someone would charge you much more than $100 to do that.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2011 20:29

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Is there an o2 sensor eliminator you can wire in? I'm not real familiar with it.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2011 22:46

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Why would you want it without the turbo?

# ¿ Jun 24, 2011 22:44

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Cobra Commander posted:

I've got a 2000 Miata with about 130k+ miles on it and when the clutch is in when rolling slow or neutral I get a rubbing sound that comes and goes. Also when I put in the clutch it makes some little sparkly tinny sound, its a really soft sound.I have no idea what this could be and I don't want the little guy to die on me.

First noise might be a wheel bearing or maybe dragging brake pads. The second one I'd guess is the heat shield.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2011 11:19

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You can turbo a 1.6 cheaply and easily.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2011 07:16

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I dd my 1.6 turbo, took me maybe 6 hr worth of work to get it going. Now it's not horribly slow, just slow.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2011 07:29

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I think this has come up before. You need to pull down the rubber piece on the bottom of the shifter. There is a set screw underneath it.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2011 21:47

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You should just buy a new alternator and replace it on the side of the road.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2011 23:19

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You need more power?

# ¿ Nov 22, 2011 23:42

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

You'll probably scratch the paint up more taking on and off a cover all the time.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2011 22:23

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

When I put the turbo on my 17 year old 1.6 I soaked everything for about a week w/ PB blaster while still driving it. Everything came off easily and without drama. I think the trick is to start soaking it a few days before and heat cycle the stuff.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2011 22:31

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I have a '92 that I bought w/ 63k miles 5 years ago. The T-belt was replaced before I bought it and I've since put a turbo on it but done pretty much no other maintenance. YMMV.

# ¿ Dec 27, 2011 07:47

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

My Dunlop Graspics finally gave up any resemblance of grip after 6 years. I couldn't even make it out of my driveway (which is essentially flat). I've got some Continental EXTREME BLAH BLAH BLAH poo poo on order.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2012 08:22

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Sockington posted:

So my 2002 with the 6speed, factory Enkeis, and ABS would be a sought after combination?

Most of the value of the special edition Miatas is in the eyes of the owners, not of the buyers. It's a nice combination, especially the wheels, but I think the color would detract from most buyers rather than attract them.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2012 02:13

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Phone posted:

You got in on the Groupon, good deal.

If you really wanted to, I'll sell you my stock 94 seats. The driver has a mild foamectomy, and you can cut out more if you wanted. It also has a set of Blauplankt speakers in both of the headrests.

The all-seasons will be destroyed on the shoulders, and it might be a bit loose as well.

You willing to ship those seats? My seats are fairly trashed.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2012 20:01

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

98801

PM me the info so we don't shite up the thread.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2012 20:18

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I have a 1.6 w/ a used greddy kit and a bipes - it's been dead reliable and was easy/cheap to obtain and install.

# ¿ May 14, 2012 02:51

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I don't autoX or track my turbo miata. The diff seems to work fine for spinning both tires in the snow which is really the only use I seem to have for it. I also have never had any issues stopping. The greddy kit on the miata is perfect if you want just enough more power that you can pass people easily on the highway and you don't have to downshift nearly as much climbing hills and such. For 5k I'd be tempted to sell you my miata but drat there is nothing better out there in the pricerange.

# ¿ May 14, 2012 17:31

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

willie_dee posted:

What greddy kit do you have and do you have a link?

The 1.6 greddy kit with a rising rate fuel pressure regulator and a BIPES. They're only available used and StankChz hooked me up with a kit. I know almost nothing about them - I just bolted it up about 1.5 years ago and driven it with pretty much no hassle since then. I have <$1000 into the entire setup.

# ¿ May 16, 2012 23:10

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

My pro-tip for putting a turbo kit on. Soak everything in PB blaster for a week while you're still driving the car before you take it apart. My entire exhaust system on a '92 came apart easily since I did that. It probably reduced the amount of work to get the system installed by 50%.

If you want to stay cheap you go non-intercooled. I'm not sure if rising rate fuel pressure devices work on newer cars - same w/ bipes. The combo on my '92 really works quite well tuning wise. I run approximately 5.5lb of boost and have never had any issues. I have about 10k miles on the kit now.

# ¿ May 18, 2012 14:03

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Previa_fun posted:

Strangely enough when the NC first came out I thought it looked bloated and ugly, like a bathtub on wheels. Now that the design is a few years old it has really grown on me and I see it as a natural evolution from the NB.

I'm the same - if anything other cars have come out with similar design cues and even the pre facelift ones look pretty decent to me now. When they first came out I thought they were hideous. I still prefer the look of the facelifted NC.

# ¿ May 24, 2012 14:16

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Noise Complaint posted:

I just sent a feeler out on a $600 1997 Miata "for parts" (because it has a CEL). I'm looking for a project anyway so this is a perfect chance. The problem is it's automatic.

How involved is an auto-manual conversion in a Miata? I've done it several times in Fox Body Mustangs and I'm comfortable with a project at that level. $600 is a screaming deal for this car.

Edit: Found this for future reference

Going to attempt to pick this up at this price. Here's hoping the other Craigslist scavengers don't get to the car first.

I'd probably part the car out and use the profits to fund a decent mantran miata.

# ¿ May 30, 2012 22:51

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

$2600 Miata - not mine.
http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/3091396019.html

# ¿ Jun 21, 2012 14:41

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Speed bleeders > *

# ¿ Jun 28, 2012 19:58

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Wow that seems about $1000 overpriced...

# ¿ Aug 16, 2012 23:41

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

DEO3 posted:

Anyone have any experience replacing a door and rear quarter panel on an NB? An uninsured landscaping truck did this to my car on Monday:

And the local cops hosed up the investigation by ordering us to move our vehicles from the scene of the accident before the highway patrol could arrive and do the report. As a result the trooper that filed the crash report couldn't cite the driver that hit me, and since I don't have collision coverage, I'm kind of hosed.

A shop quoted me $2400, but I'm curious if it's something I could do myself.

Uhh - $2400 that seems really cheap given the amount of damage. You could not fix that yourself if you want it to look like not poo poo.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2012 23:54

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Can someone recommend a radio that fits an NA with a minimal amount of work? My stock radio is flaking out and I think I'm on my 2nd stock radio. I want something that looks cheap/stockish so someone doesn't mess with it.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2012 15:10

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

My solution is to put my left foot on the brake pedal just enough to turn the brake lights on while I accelerate away.

It'd be great to have a little toggle switch to just turn on the brake lights.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2012 18:04

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

I know there are the bolt in kind, but have you talked to anyone that makes cages near you? I know here there is a guy that does them custom and they are cheaper installed than a hard dog or whatever is just to get mailed to you.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2012 21:33

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

Maguires also makes a vinyl product that is good for tops.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2012 17:53

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 04:47

n8r: Jul 3, 2003; I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar

opengl128 posted:

Do the rubber boots, but also do all the shifter bushings, and change the turret oil. Should fix you right up.

I bet something broke if it rapidly went from good to bad. I'd wager an engine/transmission mount or possibly a linkage issue.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2012 17:24

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