Schwack posted:

On a 94 NA is it possible to find a car equipped with a LSD without having the A package equipment?

PancakeTransmission posted:

Oh man, do I have a bizarre problem. Driving a '90 MX5, it's Right Hand Drive (Australian). While driving the other day, whenever I would turn corners, water would spray (it would make a slight hissing noise) into the passenger side footwell. Coming from under the dash, behind the glove box, bit hard to describe. Near the fan that's under there.

It would do it more if I turned left (tilting the car towards the passenger side). In the engine bay, the A/C pipes lead into the car on the passenger side, so maybe it is one of those. Maybe it's the A/C water drain being broken or something? I honestly don't know. On the saturday (when it started doing it), I turned off my A/C. On my short sunday drive to the shops it still did it a little, and I didn't drive it again till today, when no more water came out. A/C is still off. My wiper reservoir is also empty but I really doubt that it's the cause.

My Girlfriend said the water was cold when it came out. It was mostly clean, the dirt I saw could have just been from the floor mat.

I just now did some googling and found this for a different model Mazda : "water leaking into passenger-side foot well due to deformed rubber seal at bottom of evaporator case"

Could this be it? How hard is it to replace (in terms of finding the seal, access to evaporator case)?

Anyway, I found that helldump thread hilarious.

MourningGlory posted:

I don't understand how anyone over 6' can drive a Miata comfortably. I'm only 5'9" with relatively short legs and I have zero extra leg room and the steering wheel nearly always rubs my legs. And that's after a massive foamectomy in both the bottom and back of the driver's seat.

warwick5s posted:

The Miata I had was also a touring package. Having headrest speakers seems to be a good indicator across the NA range whether it was a package with Torsen or not.

IOwnCalculus posted:

Who the hell has them in 185/60-14 or 195/55-14?

Cenuji posted:

Sounds cool, especially since it makes a Miata look practical. Are they as well known as Lotus in the UK?

Gear Head posted:

What is AI's opinion on mismatched hardtops? Black top on white car, red on white, etc. And why isn't an OEM making cheap hardtops

Sudden Infant Def Syndrome posted:

A red Miata with a black hardtop and the windshield frame painted black looks awesome. I've seen pictures, and I really like it.

Edit: Here's a blue one with a black hood as well. Looks kinda neat. Would look better with black headlight covers.

leica posted:

That's a fair price for sure. 94's are coveted because the are the only Miata with a 1.8 and OBD-1. In 95 they went to OBDII.

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

grover posted:

I swung by the dealership today; that had a 2003, 2006 and 2008 on the lot. I did NOT like the NB, I quite simply didn't fit. And found the roof to be difficult compared to the other cars I'm considering. I absolutely loved both NCs though- comfortable, easy one-handed roof (even if it is manual), good visibility with the roof up, plenty of cupholders and most importantly- ample leg room. If I was 6'2 or 20lbs heavier, I might have an issue, but I fit and was able to move my legs without having me knees against the column. No need to rip out the visors either Compares favorably to the Boxster in the comfort department. It was rush hour so I didn't bother test-driving it, but I might this weekend.

AkrisD posted:

HAHAHAHA. Just caught this little tidbit in GBS thread where girl thinks boyfriend is gay.

"-He spends a lot of money and time on two cars, neither of which are really nice. One is a Honda Del Sol and the other is a Miata. Mark says this is self-explanatory and that they are both chick cars (funny because I drive a toyota truck) and only a gay dude would drive them. Chris says he "races" them but the only racing I ever see is him putting on a helmet and some blue tape for a number and driving around this stupid parking lot every month or so with a bunch of dudes. I don't think it's racing."

duep posted:

Guys, my old car has broken down again and I feel like replacing it with a miata.
Thing is though, the ones I can afford have ~100k-135k on the clock already and are about 15 years old.
Would you still recommend a miata this old or will keeping it on the streets ruin me financially ?
The one I'm currently eyeballing does have new breaks, a new clutch and a new timing belt.
I would be keeping it for another 3-4 years perhaps and drive about 10k a year.

chem42 posted:

I bought a '92 with a snapped timing belt last year. I had a 3 angle valve job done on the head and bolted it back together with new gaskets and belts and ran the piss out of it before selling it at the start of this semester. It had 226k miles when I got rid of it and still loved to be wound out to the redline. I drove it from southern Louisiana to St Louis with a clogged radiator and the heater blasting in early august without any problems and averaged 34mpg at about 80mph. The PO was a friend of mine and it ran great before the valve job, but it was noisy.

Valve noise is common in these cars, dont let it keep you from buying one in otherwise good condition.

Baby Hitler posted:

Road trips with only stops for fuel can highly exceed normal mileage, I used to push into the 50s in my Charade when it was only rated like 40 highway. Old 1.6s with proper tire pressure and in good mechanical condition can get suprising fuel economy, despite the fact they don't have the best fuel management (run rich).

edit: The car on the verge of overheating might have helped too, higher engine temperatures lead to better power if the intake air is kept at the same temp, ignoring onset of detonation.

destructo posted:

I feel that cruise control doesn't moderate the throttle terribly well, I'd give it a shot without and see if it makes a difference. Waukesha huh, Carrol College?

destructo posted:

Hate to derail, but do you know Chris Myatt? He's on the soccer team.

IOwnCalculus posted:

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

IOwnCalculus posted:

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

Binger Banger posted:

edit: People have cupholders in their miatas?

TooLShack posted:

Some interesting news for the NC owners.

http://www.good-win-racing.com/mazda-talk/viewtopic.php?t=883

Phone posted:

Looks like I'm getting some sways this year

leica posted:

Aftermarket sways just make Miatas understeer. So what it the car has a bit of body roll.

Savington posted:

destructo posted:

WHY HASN'T EMILIO BUILT THIS YET

edit: Hmm, looks like we have a chopped MR2 top here

Phone posted:

What would cause a rough idle out of nowhere? It used to just be silent at like 800rpm, now it sits and drops to like 600 and the car rumbles like one of those vibrating mattresses.

vex posted:

I've got an OEM hardtop, no headliner, no rear defrost. It takes maybe ten minutes to totally defrost the rear window with the front vents on defrost. The car may be noisy without a headliner, but honestly, it's a cheap, light-ish convertible. If you truly think you need a quiet cockpit there's a sea of Chrysler Sebrings out there for you.

leica posted:

So did you get the 95M?

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.

IMO, if you are just getting the window replaced I would go with plastic. If you want to replace the top, do an NB swap, you can do it yourself (it's super easy) and there's nothing better than OEM top quality, even slightly used.

leica posted:

I'd just rip it out if I lived up north, especially if it's a toy and not a daily driver. But it depends I guess....If the summers get brutal, it's nice having A/C.

My next Miata will be totally stripped of all that poo poo, but it won't be a DD.

Phone posted:

Well, out with the old, and in with the older.

Got a 1994 A-Pkg with my insurance money. It seems to be OK, but I do have my work cut out for me. Tomorrow the hardtop goes on, and hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the factory 14x6 alloys wrapped in some 185/65/14 Falken Ziexs I've had lying around since November with an alignment to boot.

3400 OTD for an A-pkg with 145k miles and Koni yellows . I didn't make off like a thief, but it isn't god awful.

Vitamin J posted:

These are good tires, but they don't last very long. I had some 195/45/14 T1-Rs, they didn't even last the whole summer! I think I got 10k miles out of them.

Vitamin J posted:

I did one autocross on them and 4 laps of a track. I do like to corner and I push my Miata further than the average driver I'm sure. I'm still able to get more life out of other high performance tires than the T1-Rs

Luxmore posted:

Well I picked up my Miata yesterday from the garage, after being off the road since mid-November when it was rear-ended by some retard in his pimped-out Altima. It seems to be doing all right so far, and I got a new paint job out of it, so I guess it wasn't all bad.

Although I wish they'd left the stupid Mazda "toilet seat" logo off the front bumper when they replaced it


No kidding.

Luxmore posted:

No the old Mazda logo is neat:

amadeo posted:

Speaking of windows, my '96 has power windows. They go down very, very slowly. Is this normal, or do I need to replace the motor or something? I've never driven a Miata with power windows before this one, but they can take a long time to get up or down. And when I roll them both down at the same time, they can take even longer - probably around 20+ seconds for both windows to go all the way down together. Any advice? I don't imagine that this is normal.

Coredump posted:

I haven't had a chance to read all this thread yet, only halfway through. BUT, how the hell are you 6+ footers fitting in these drat cars? I went to find a NB yesterday to sit in at a couple of dealerships. They all jerked me around because I guess I don't look like a serious car buyer. I finally got frustrated and went to a Mazda dealership to see if they had any older NB's in stock.

When I got there of course they didn't have any. I still decided to take the opportunity to sit in an NC even though I know they are a lot roomier inside than an NB. Now I'm only 5'10" on the best of days and I had the seat all the way back and leaned back as far as it would go. If I slouched in the seat I was okay but I sat up straight I was in the roof. This was a soft top also.

Is there really that much room to be gain with a NB and foamectomy? Does anyone here have aftermarket seats in their car? Does it give you a lot more room? I admit I'm a fat fucker but I have room around the steering wheel and all the other places being a fat fucker would cause problems. I just can't believe how hard my head is in the roof of this thing.

If only 240's were not impossible to find.

Slopehead posted:

Hey gentlemen I am considering purchasing my first Mazda Miata. I have always had good luck with Mazdas, my Protege just went past 180 K but I am in need of something with a little bit more pep. a local dealership has a rather fetching 1996 Miata . I ran a carfax which comes up clean. It's been driven at an average of 10K a year and has no reported body damage.

I spoke to the dealer briefly who stated that as it is an auction vehicle there are no service records. Despite this I will still be taking a look at the vehicle tomorrow.

Am I out of my mind here? Edmunds posts the dealer TMV (base) at #3581, but the M Edition (leather seats) at $4,356. If this is indeed the M and has leather seats it would be right in the TMV and a great deal, right?

I believe that it is the M-Edition, as it has an AC which does not come standard on the base model. Also if you look carefully the seats appear to be leather which would be another indicator of an M-Edition.


On a side note, are there any problems that I should know about a Miata? Things breaking around 100K? Issues with electrical demons or motor problems? I've heard that the 5 speed is awesome on Miatas. I would be learning to drive stick in this car, are there any quirks I should know about beforehand?


Pretty much, any and all information you can sling my way as a first time car buyer would be appreciated.

Guinness posted:

For just regular road driving, it's far from a requirement. However when doing some hard driving or autox/track driving, it is a noticeable improvement. Even when attacking some twisty mountain roads, an open diff isn't going to ruin your fun.

If all you're looking for out the Miata is a fun, reliable daily driver and/or weekend cruiser, then I wouldn't be too concerned about an LSD. Even if you end up getting into more performance oriented driving, a Torsen swap isn't especially difficult.

Savington posted:

My LSD is invisible in everyday driving, until I switch into rear end in a top hat mode, and then I want both wheels propelling me as quickly forward as possible.