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Guinness
Sep 15, 2004



:3: It's just begging to be driven (and washed). I love my car. My Miata has completely sold me on roadsters for life.



TheSwift.CC posted:

What is the general consensus on the NC Miatas? I might be in need of a new car in a few months, but I really want to stick with buying cars brand new.

The NC's styling has really grown on me. It's like a more modern, more aggressive NA, which is great. Some people say it's a fat pig and is too "soft". Granted, it does weigh about 200 pounds more than the previous cars (at 2400 vs 2200 pounds). The NC is really much more modernized than the previous iterations. Even the NB in 2005 was basically the same car as the NA in 1990, with tweaks along the way. For a huge revision and update, gaining 200 pounds (but also gaining about 25hp and 15 ft.-lbs.) isn't too bad by today's standards. 2400 pounds is a pretty drat light car for the mainstream market in 2007 (unfortunately).

I really, really like the PRHT since I live in an area with actual seasons (and for security), but the price on a loaded PRHT gets way too close to an S2000 for me to ever actually go through with it, I think. I like to balance performance and creature comforts though, so the added 70 pounds or so of the PRHT isn't heart breaking for me. On the flip side, you can pick up a loaded NA or NB for a fraction of a new NC and get just as much enjoyment out of it. I wouldn't say the NC is a bad car at all, though, if you absolutely have to buy new. It's just that if you get into the loaded models pushing $30k, that's getting a little absurd.

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Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

n8r posted:

I've read that you can get the robbins tops with the rain rail already put on? What is the best option for ease of install and cost. Frankly, I'd rather pay more for an easy to install top.

How long does it take an average person to put a top on? How much should I expect to pay in labor to have a top put on. I'm a cheap bastard, but I really don't want to take on a project that will drive me crazy.

Most people I've talked to, including people who have installed their own tops, have said to get tops done professionally. When I got my top replaced, I bought a Robbins one piece vinyl glass top and it's great, although a plastic window is cheaper. After seeing the work and "tuning up" of the top that the shop did, I'm glad I had it installed by pros. I bought the top itself for around $400, and it was another $500 to get it installed (Seattle area, was about the going rate, but I didn't go to the cheapest place). I had to pay 5.25 hours in labor I think, but the shop actually took nearly 6 to do it. And these are pros who have done it many times before. Now imagine yourself trying to figure it out for the first time and get it all exactly right. The one-piece tops are a bit more of a complicated process than the factory style, or cheaper knock-off styles.

Granted, it can be done DIY, as well. But I've read you need to set aside a very long day, or a weekend to do it on your own. Also, you need to be extremely patient. The amount of time and frustration it would have involved wasn't worth it to me, so I paid to have it done absolutely perfect for me.

I highly recommend the Robbins tops, though. They have several different styles, and the quality of mine is as good or better than the factory top. Plus having a glass window is absolutely tits. Plastic windows loving suck. And the one piece design is pretty sweet as well. So much more convenient than the zipper crap.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Oct 12, 2007

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Schwack posted:

Is it overly difficult to swap in a LSD to a non-LSD 1.8l Miata? Im looking into buying a 94, but can almost NEVER find one with the options I need. At this point I want to know a) how tough is it to track down an OEM (or better for similar cost) LSD unit and b) how difficult the install is.

How are you having such a hard time locating a 94 with an LSD? Every package except the base came with the Torsen.

Anyway, all said and done the parts for a Torsen swap will run almost $1000. If you can't do the labor yourself, except another $500 or so on that.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Schwack posted:

So as long as the car has power steering and power mirrors it should come with the Torsen?

Pretty much. I refer you to this: http://www.miata.net/faq/Miata90-97A3.pdf

quote:

edit: Does the C package add an incredible amount of weight to the car?

Not really. Less than 100 pounds total, the heaviest things being the AC and PS pumps.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Man you guys have really funky proportions if you're around/under 6 feet and can't fit in a Miata. Or maybe I have really funky proportions and you're all the normal ones. :v:

I'm 5'11" and about 170 pounds or so, and I don't find my NA very cramped. My legs are nowhere near the steering wheel; I don't need to bend them much at all. My seat still has all its foam in it, and I still have several inches of clearance with the soft top. I'm not a big guy, but I'm not small either, and the cabin space is pretty adequate all things considered. Even my dad, who is 6'2" and 180-190 can fit reasonably well in my NA, although he probably wouldn't enjoy daily driving it.

I prefer the snugger feeling of small car interiors to big land yachts that you can get lost in the driver's seat.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Binger Banger posted:

Stop repeating this, it isn't true.

It might've been true in '94, but you people really need to start mentioning that the touring package in '97 didn't come with a Torsen either. Some poor kid is going to buy a '97 without looking under the back and find out later that he somehow bought one of the six touring package miatas in Texas. Like me.

Which is why I said it was true in 94, specifically. Otherwise, look at the big NA options chart on Miata.net that I linked to a few posts up.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Schwack posted:

Ok quick question:

1995 A Pkg w/ 118k miles
Clean title, hard top and new soft top w/ glass rear window

They're asking $5900, how much should I haggle with the price if at all? I know the hard top adds a significant amount to the car, but just how much.

I don't know what pricing is like in your area, but in Seattle that car will be sold very quickly for close to asking price. Hard top and a new glass soft top? That alone is worth a lot. The only thing to watch out for is whether or not the timing belt and water pump have been done (120k service). If not, get several hundred knocked off the price for that.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Schwack posted:

Haha, now how do I tell the seller that? He insists he has a ton of interest at 5800 and will only knock off $100. Guess I'll have to pass on this one.

Just tell the seller that if he's willing to come down to contact you, and then just move on. If he's bullshitting, eventually he'll get back to you. If not, then lucky him for making a sale. There are better NAs for $6000 out there.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Schwack posted:

Thats what I did. Basically told him I wouldnt be able to buy his car at that price, but if he decides to move down in the future he knows where to find me, haha.

How about this one? It seems crazy overpriced, but otherwise in amazing shape.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=232439360

What's so crazy overpriced about it? At least here in Seattle, that's a great deal, assuming it is in great shape and has records.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

leica posted:

Yeah, that one is about 1k overpriced for the mileage. I'd go for the red one if I were you.

Although if he could get it for 6 that'd be a pretty great car for an okay price, in my opinion. I have a thing for M-Editions, though, I guess for the unique colors, wheels, and by virtue of having pretty much every option. Some would say all of that is just junk that you pay extra for, but hey individual preferences. I'm not turning my Miata into a track rat, so I like a bit more creature comforts. I'm personally really not a fan of red and white Miatas, either. :shobon:

But it looks like that one is in California and the buyer is in Seattle? Go for the red one, just for the much simpler transaction.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Psylocibe posted:

You know what?

Not to poo poo in AI's collective Cheerios, but I finally got to drive the Fabled Miata today.

And I was left sorely dissapointed :(

It was an NA, forgot the year, and even with the seat adjusted as best I could, there wasn't even remotely close to the right amount of room for me. I was wrapped around the steering wheel and column. No problem, eh, I figured I would keep in mind the foam thing everyone kept talking about. Except for the fact I had enough head room. I simply wore the steering wheel. And the door panels. And the center console. I took it out on the road, and it just felt....meh. Hardly any get up and go. I'll bet it'll be fun to toss around in corners, but seriously, I'm just going to stick to my E30 vert for my convertible needs. It's got far more grunt (maybe it just seemed that way, at least compared to the car I drove), a way better exhaust note, far more useable interior room, the only difference is it's a 4 seater and not two.

Sorry, AI :(

I'm not going to argue with you, it's definitely not for everyone. I came from an E34 535i to my Miata, so I know all about the lack of grunt, especially on the low end.

However, the car just isn't about straight line acceleration. I know everyone jumps to that defense, but it's really true. It's not a complete dog, but it is definitely not a drag car. If you want to get on it, you NEED to be in the top half of the tach. Below 3500-4000 there is almost nothing resembling power. Additionally, a 1.6 and a 1.8 have noticeably different characteristics. I personally prefer the 1.8 because it does have a bit more grunt, particularly on the low end. It's still not going to be winning any drag races, though. I hope that you really wrung out the engine, because it really is not that slow of a car if you keep the revs way up. That's just where it belongs, and the car is completely happy to be between 4000-7000 RPM.

As far as interior room goes, that's definitely a case by case basis. I find myself to fit perfectly in my Miata, but I also really dislike hugely roomy interiors. Even in my E34, I had the seat pretty far forward. I can't argue with your preferences on that one.

I don't intend to poo poo on E30s at all, as they are one of my favorite cars. However, stock for stock, a Miata will run outrun an E30 on a winding road or track. E30s handle great, and if you need the practicality or room of a 4 door sedan/2 door "coupe-sedan", then by all means stick with the E30. Of the dozen or so Miatas I've driven (a mix of 1.6 NAs, 1.8 NAs, 99-00 NBs, and 01+ NBs), they all felt tighter and more planted than the two E30 325is that I have driven. Sure you can upgrade the suspension, tires, etc. of the E30, but you can do that on a Miata, too. :) I also felt a bit more connected through the steering and pedals in the Miata. Besides, it's not like an E30 325i is a speed demon. It's only a bit faster in a straight line than a 1.8 NA, it just makes power down lower.

And at the time I didn't have a bias, as I didn't own either. I was cross-shopping Miatas, MR2s, and E30s, and I ended up with a (1.8L, 1995) Miata. I'll be the first to admit it's not for everyone, though, and maybe it's just not for you? I do hope you really drove the snot out of it before forming an opinion. If you never took it over 4000 RPMs or around some hairpin turns, it really is a pretty sedate car. It's kind of like an S2000 in that respect.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

IOwnCalculus posted:

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).

I just changed the oil in my 95M this past weekend, and I was sure glad I bought a jack and stands instead of ramps. There was no way I was going to be able to get the filter off and back on going at it from the top, so I went through the wheel well. With the wheel still on, cranked all the way to the left, and the suspension compressed (on the ground), there was no way for me to wiggle in and get any sort of grip on the filter. With the wheel still on and car suspended (suspension uncompressed) I could just barely reach all the way in and grip the filter, but I had zero leverage. I needed to take the wheel off to get at it. Once I had the wheel off it was absolute cake, though. In the future, the wheel is coming off right at the beginning, which will turn the job into a 20 minute ordeal rather than 2 hours of wrestling with the best way to get at the oil filter. At least for me, on my 95, I couldn't do it with ramps, especially since it leaves the suspension compressed.

Besides, a jack and stands is a better investment than ramps, anyway (and doesn't cost much more than ramps - I got a decent Craftsman 2.5 ton jack and 4 stands for $45 on sale). Ramps are no good for brakes (the other most common maintenance item), and they usually don't offer as much lift as a decent jack and stands. I'd much rather have a car on stands than ramps.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Were you going at it from actually underneath the car and through the wheel well, or were you going at it from beside the car through the wheel well?

It just struck me that I never tried to go at it from underneath the car and through the wheel well. But still, I think I'm going to stick to popping the wheel off in the future, anyway. It's an extra 1 minute of labor to make the job very easy. With the wheel off, you can just go at it from the side of car through the wheel well with ease. Maybe I just have retarded inflexible arms and hands, though.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

velocityJE posted:

I'd say most definitely, provided it fits your needs. Fun, cheap to insure, reliable. Asking AI if a Miata is a good choice for a car is kinda like asking is the world round, though :lol:

Agreed.

The Miata is most certainly fun, cheap to insure, and reliable. The handling is great, and it is a very "connected" for the driver. Nothing about it should scare away a new driver at all. It's also a pretty good car to learn basic maintenance on.

However, there are very real practical concerns that need to be taken into consideration. It is a small, two-seater convertible. Although it can carry a relatively large amount of stuff compared to other small sports cars, it is still pretty limited. You cannot drive more than one other person. Convertibles are inherently less secure in terms of break-ins and theft, so it is not a particularly good idea to park in high crime areas.

If these things are not issues for you, then by all means go for it! Personally, my 95 is my only car, and I survive just fine (but I'm also young and single).

Guinness fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Oct 29, 2007

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

n8r posted:

I'm not sure how well the NC has even been selling to be honest.

Pretty well, as far as I can tell. It is inherently a pretty low volume car, though.

Wikipedia shows that in 2006 Mazda sold just about 17,000 NCs in the US, and just over 48,000 worldwide. The worldwide figure is the best Miata sales number since 1998 (the introduction of the NB, model year 1999). Similarly, in the US alone, 2006 was the best sales year since 2000 (refresh of the NB for the 2001 model year).

I've seen a fair amount of NCs driving around in my area. Not common, but not rare. Their looks have really, really grown on me. It's like a more modern, more aggresive NA styling.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Oct 30, 2007

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

TooLShack posted:

Blue book means nothing for Miatas.

Absolutely true. Additionally, pricing varies A LOT from region to region. At least around here in Seattle, a reasonably nice 1990 without exorbitant mileage will be able to fetch $3500 or so easy. If it has some "upgrades" like a new/glass-window top or a hardtop, it can pull in a bit more. Special edition NAs can fetch $5-6000 or even more depending on year, which special edition, condition, and records.

I paid $7k for a 1995 M-Edition with full records and 70k miles, and that was a solid deal in my area. Not great, but not a ripoff.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

grover posted:

It was a 5-speed sport model; I'm looking more at a touring w/auto, though. I'll test-drive an auto when it comes up; I may very well have been shifting early.

Oy, don't do this. :psyduck:

If you thought the manual version was down on power (because you were shifting too soon), then you'll never, ever see power in the automatic. They might as well redline the autos at 4500 RPM, because it sure as hell won't let you get up to 6-7000 RPM and hold it.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Binger Banger posted:

edit: People have cupholders in their miatas?

My 95 has cupholders in the center console behind the shifter. It's a plastic piece that you can pop in and out. I also have an ash tray that goes in the same place. The cupholder is better though, since I use it to hold my iPod. If you put a real drink in their it gets in the way of the shifter, though.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Bear Report posted:

I always thought you Miata guys were a little crazy, but I drove a Mazdaspeed MX-5 today and all I can say is WOW. Few cars I have ever driven that have put such a big grin on my face, and none have been so confidence inspiring when it comes to really throwing it into curves. When I go car shopping next spring I think a Miata is going to be on the top of my list.

Another one sees the light.



:gay:

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

destructo posted:

poo poo guys, Bell just put out a kit to rival the cheap Greddy one link.

Looks like ~5/6psi with quality parts for ~$1700, which is a drat good deal, not to mention it's easily upgradeable. I know what I'm doing come ~July this summer :coal:.

Holy crap, a Bell kit for under $2000? Sign me the gently caress up (when I have extra cash and time :( ). Someday.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Psylocibe posted:

Hey guys, I'm going to be checking this out for a Socal goon, and I need to know what I need to keep an eye out for.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/car/476155134.html

Trouble spots, things to check, what should I specifically look for. Give me a Miata Rundown, because it's not going to be my car, and I'm basically going to be the eyes and ears and rear end for a guy 300 miles away.

http://www.miata.net/faq/usedmx5.html

http://www.miata.net/faq/inspection_list.html

Covers pretty much everything from common sense to anal retentive.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Dicker posted:

judging from the top right picture the cars been in a wreck, the body line on the passenger side stops after the door :wtc:

Yeah, I noticed that, too. :wtc: indeed.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Gear Head posted:

I need to replace my soft top on my '93. I was thinking about ordering this:

$479 Zipless Glass Top

Is this a good deal from GoMiata or are there any better deals?

I have that exact same top, only in Tan, on my 95. It's a really nice piece of worksmanship. Easily as good or better than the OEM top, and glass is SO MUCH BETTER than plastic.

Although I got mine for $410 shipped from mmmiata.net because the catalog I ordered from them had a 10 or 15% off your first order deal. It was pretty sweet, actually.

Of course I paid another $500 to have it professionally installed at a shop. If you're in Seattle, I highly recommend Convertibles Only. Very professional and quality work, and they share a shop with dozens of old Rolls Royces and Bentleys which you get to check out. It was a bit surprising to discover the going rate for a Miata top install in Seattle is close to $600, though. I called half a dozen shops, and nowhere did I get a quote anywhere close to what the guys on miata.net say it costs ($350-400), so be aware. Definitely order your top on your own though. The shops charge huge markup if you have them order it for you. One shop quoted me nearly $1500 for top+install! gently caress that noise.




Schwack posted:

http://medford.craigslist.org/car/473879935.html

I just called about this one, on the hopes it might pan out. It has manual windows/locks, but A/C and power steering. Is it possible this is just equipped with the power steering package and it more than likely does not have a Torsen?

The Power Steering Package in 1996 does not include a Torsen LSD.

See here: http://www.miata.net/faq/Miata90-97A3.pdf

Guinness fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Nov 16, 2007

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

leica posted:

That's a common problem with Miatas on the rear fascia, it happened to my 95 M. It's super easy to take that piece off and have it sprayed at a body shop. It cost me 75 bucks and was a perfect match to the Merlot paint.

Yup, my 95M is just starting to have the clearcoat peel off on that plastic piece (and only that piece, rest of the paint is great). Once it starts getting really bad I might pop it off and have it resprayed. Glad to hear it's cheap.

I see a lot of Miatas with that problem on just that one plastic piece. What's the cause? Does the plastic expand a lot in sunlight and cause cracking in the clear coat or something?

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Phone posted:

I'm guessing it's the same deal with the windshield wipers and the windshield wiper spoiler: it gets rust. It just does.

Is that what that thing is? Some sort of spoiler? I have no idea what it's function is. What does it even do? If it were important, why isn't it on both wipers?

But yeah, mine is a bit rusty. My wiper arms aren't, though.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

My NA definitely feels very "jerky" when its cold, but smoothes out enormously within a minute or two of being driven. Although mine isn't jerking erratically on its own nor does it noticeably stutter or have a hunting idle. I can't make a perfectly smooth shift when its cold to save my life though, hence where most of the jerkiness comes from.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the car feels very "stiff" before getting warmed up, particularly in cold weather. I'm not sure if that's what you're describing, or if your symptoms are worse, though.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Tires and a mroe aggressive alignment. Hands down.

Your shocks should be fine on a 2003 car, unless it has a million billion miles on it.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

IOwnCalculus posted:

Yours still had the dipstick handle? I've never seen an NA with one :monocle:

Mine still has the dipstick handle, thank you very much. :colbert:

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Gear Head posted:

What are you guys paying for insurance on your Miatas?

I pay $700/6 months.

I'm with Geico. 24m/No Tickets/MD with a '93. My coverage is 300/100 with a 500 deductible. It should be being reduced by ~$100 in a week. Does this seem too high?

For comparison's sake, I'm a 20 year old male with no tickets and I've got a 95. I pay about $550/6 months for 300/100 liability (I think, higher than minimum). Adding on Comprehensive with a $500 deductible is about another $80-100/6 months.

This is all through State Farm, with a good student and "safe driver" discount.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Gear Head posted:

If you can prove me wrong I'd be very happy, but I have yet to find an OEM Hard top below $800 in the six months I've been looking. :argh: spec miata :argh:

$800 would be a loving steal for an OEM hard top that isn't beat up. Although for Spec-Miata you probably don't care about paint condition. It seems nigh impossible to find an OEM hardtop in good condition for under $1000. And god forbid you've got a car that isn't Red or Black.

I've been casually looking for a hard top for my 95M in matching Merlot Mica. I've only ever seen a few for sale, and they were on the other side of the country, and the sellers were asking nearly $1500. It's no mystery why I don't have a hardtop for my Miata yet.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

leica posted:

Don't bother with glass unless you're doing a NB top swap (NB tops are glass only anyway). When you lower/raise the top on an NA, you have to unzip/zip the rear window first and a glass window makes it a pain in the rear end because the glass is heavy and awkward when trying to zip it up (compared to plastic). The NB top does not require messing with the window, and goes down and up in one motion. It may not seem like a big deal, but after dealing with the top enough, the NB top makes it seem ten times better. Not to mention, lots of people have issues with glass windows because the weight of the glass tends to rip out the stitches of the zipper over time. My mother in law had this issue and just got a new top with a plastic window, and now she doesn't have a hard time with it anymore.

Robbins makes a zipperless glass top for the NA. I have one on my 95M and it's great. I don't miss the zipper AT ALL, and the quality of the Robbins top is as good, or better, than OEM. The glass window is only marginally smaller than the OEM plastic window was, and is so much easier to see through. I don't find the glass window to be too small at all. No part of the top blocks any part of my vision through my rear-view mirror.

I paid $400 for the top and shipping, and another $500 for a top-notch professional installation. So yes, it came to be a bit more expensive than swapping a used NB top would have been, but it was less painful than trying to hunt down a good condition NB top+frame, and the inevitable headache that results from the swap not going nearly as smooth as people make it out to be. Plus I have a brand new top with a warranty. It looks and works great. Worth the couple hundred bucks in price difference, in my opinion.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

This is kind of a dumb question I suppose, but here goes.

In these cold winter months, I've been dreaming about what I'd like to get done on my car once the weather lightens up come spring/summer time. Which is fine, since I can't really afford to dump large amounts of cash into my car until then, anyway. I've got a 95 M-Edition and it's slowly creeping toward the 75,000 mile mark. It has been well cared for its whole life, and was driven by an older guy (original owner since new) before I bought it. It had its full 60k mile service, and it probably isn't due for any big tune up until 90k, but I put so few miles on the car, and plus I'm just hankering to get some wrenching time in, so once I cross 75k in the next few weeks/months, I'm planning on doing plugs, wires, air/fuel filters, fluids, etc. After that I would like to address the brakes, which mostly just need to be bled out and have some fresher fluid put in, but I might just go all out with new pads, rotors, and lines.

But then after the general tune-up parts and brakes, I come to the part of cars that I really know next to nothing about : suspension. Okay, well I know the basics, but I've never done suspension work or anything.

Anyway, people always seem to rant on about how the factory suspension on Miatas is "shot" by 30k miles, which seems pretty ridiculous. Mine is still on the 12 year old factory shocks and springs, and even pushing 75k miles it still seems exceptionally firm. The common symptoms of blown shocks (excessive bouncing after bumps, funny thunks or creaks) are definitely not present on my car - quite the opposite in fact. In corners the car still feels entirely planted and confident with very minimal body roll - no worse than the much newer 1999, 2001, and 2003 models I test drove (fairly hard) when I was car shopping at the beginning of this year. Even though the car was driven by a grandpa, I'm sure the suspension isn't like-new after 12 years and 75k miles, but how can I gauge how "bad" it is? I'm the type of person who doesn't like to buy cheap alternatives, but I don't really want to drop $500+ on shocks (and springs?) if there isn't a really big incentive to do so.

I probably just don't realize how worn my suspension bits are, but even compared to much newer Miatas with low miles (the best comparison I can come up with) my car just doesn't feel much worse or worn out. So I guess my biggest question is, how can I tell when my shocks and springs really need to be replaced? I don't want to wait for them to get entirely blown out, but I don't want to spend a crapload of cash for a small improvement, either. I'm pretty dumb on this suspension stuff just from lack of experience.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Dec 27, 2007

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

GoblinBomb posted:

I live at Chaparral and Hayden. As I was washing it, a guy who lives down the street drove past in his Speed NB (says he just got it last week) and complimented me on my wash job :3:

The same thing has happened to me a few times while I was washing my 95M. Two or three times have passerby Miata drivers stopped to compliment me. One time a 2000 in Merlot (the only other year it was offered) stopped and yelled out "Nice car color!", and it turns out before his 2000 he had a 95M as well.

It is a great color on this car. :3:

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

What is that little piece of metal that is screwed onto the driver's side wiper blade? What is its function, and why is it only on one side? Mine is rusting (the only part on the whole car) and it's kind of ugly. I can't imagine it is very important and I kind of want to take it off - but I have no idea why it's even there. Can anyone enlighten me?

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Ziploc posted:

Its to help press the windshield wiper into the windshield at speed. To stop it lifting from the windshield untimatly.

Why is it only on one side, then?

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

goku chewbacca posted:

Because it's on the driver side? Yes, you can probably do without it. Why not pull it off and sandpaper and repaint it?

Suniikaa posted:

The paint was starting to wear off mine, took it off and hit it with some primer and 2 coats of rattle can black, looks nice now.

Phone posted:

This one was of the first things I did with my windshield wiper's spoiler. It came out to look quite nice.

Capital idea. Can't believe that hadn't hit me. I'll have to do that. Thanks!

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Gear Head posted:

I'm replacing my top, has anyone used ConvertibleTops.com?

$359 for a Glass No-Zip

The other company I've looked at was MMMiata which had a glass no-zip top for $492.25.

Is there another company I should look at for buying my new top?

Fake Edit: Is there any value in spending extra for a cloth top?

I picked up a Robbins no-zip glass vinyl top from Mmmiata.com Moss Motors (miatamania.com) for about $410 several months ago using their 15% off first order discount. If you haven't ordered from them before, it's a great deal. The Robbins top is great, too!

Cloth tops generally look fancier and "higher quality", but they are higher maintenance than vinyl. For me, it wasn't worth the price premium, and the effort to keep a tan cloth top clean would be nightmarish.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 08:09 on Jan 17, 2008

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I'm about to order up some parts to give my car it's 15k mile tuneup and a bit extra. The usual stuff I've got under control, but I've got a dumb question:

My car is a 95, and I'm thinking at 13 year/75k miles it's about time to replace the O2 sensor. It hasn't outright failed yet since I haven't gotten a CEL, but I'm imagining that it has degraded over time, which is probably contributing to my slightly suboptimal fuel efficiency. Problem is I can't find any quick guides online about how to replace the 4-wire O2 sensor. I found a guide about how to replace the single wire on a pre-94 and replace it with a 4-wire, but it is explaining extra steps.

I'm planning on ordering this O2 sensor: http://www.miatamania.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=36294&SortOrder=2 (The 94-05 one, obviously) and the linked instructions seem to imply that you just plug/crimp the wires into something? Is there actually some sort of connector that the O2 sensor plugs into? This isn't going to require any cutting and splicing of wires, is it? If it does, what's the best way to splice them? I've only ever done household splicing with those little plastic twisty cap things, and I can't imagine that's the right solution for in an engine bay so close to the exhaust manifold.

Also, it looks like to get at the O2 sensor it'll be easiest to just take off the airbox and exhaust heat shield. Is this true? Any other tips to simplify the job? I can see it sticking out of the bottom of the exhaust manifold, but there's not a lot of room down there. Also, should I plan on picking up an O2 sensor socket, or is there a neat trick to save $10 and avoid using one?

Guinness fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jan 19, 2008

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

angor posted:

While sitting in the drivers seat, put your head against the left window, and move the mirror to where you can only see a small amount of the car. Now put your head in the center of the car, facing forward, and move the right mirror to only see a little bit of the car.

It takes a little while to get used to, but you can actually trust your mirrors. If a car is coming up in the next lane, you will see it in your rear-view mirror, and as soon as it starts to disappear, it pops up in your side mirror, and as soon as it leaves that, you start to see it outside.

Yep, this is how to do it. Most people adjust their mirrors completely wrong. Since I started doing this, blind spots are a thing of the past.

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Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Etrips posted:

Cel code P0456.

Edit: It looks like it might be my gas cap...? :wtc:

Edit2: Retightened the gas cap, and reseted the cel code. No cel code is up! For now...

Yeah, newer OBD II cars (or is it all OBD II cars?) will throw gas cap codes if there isn't a complete seal. It's for emissions purposes. At least in Washington, part of the emissions test (for OBD I and earlier cars, at least) is to check the seal on the gas cap. That test is basically built in to OBD II at all times.

My Miata is a 95, the last year before they went to OBD II, and I've never otherwise owned an OBD II cars, so forgive me if I slipped up on some minor little detail. :shobon:

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