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Just purchased this, my first Miata (cross-post from Post Your Own Ride thread)   Have already checked crank pulley and am now considering replacing tires (even though they're brand new) and shocks. Any suggestions for shocks?
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Apr 10, 2014 13:01
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craig588 posted:http://fatcatmotorsports.com/FCM_Bilstein_coilover_revalve_NA_NB.htm for a daily driver. Xidas if you're making a dedicated track car. $2k for coilovers for a summer time car? That seems excessive. I am actually thinking of getting the Koni STR.T shocks and Racing Beat springs/sway bars for it when I jump in. Imperador do Brasil fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Apr 10, 2014 |
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Apr 10, 2014 21:13
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I just went and checked my soft top drains, and they weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting. The total amount of dirt and tree detritus was about the size of a pinch of tobacco. It came out very easily and wasn't jammed into the drains at all. Glad I looked at this thread and went out to check though.
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May 9, 2014 18:11
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Having not-large-for-a-man hands helps get the filter off no prob. I did my NA for the first time at the beginning of the month and it was the easiest oil change ever, and one of the cleanest.
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May 23, 2014 13:17
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In PA the antique plates go into effect at 25, also with no renewals and no mandatory state inspection. All you need is to send a couple pics of it along with the form and boom!
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Jul 2, 2014 21:39
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1990 base, I am getting rattle on downshift/engine braking. Definitely metallic; sounds like an exhaust rattle but I couldn't reproduce it by banging on the exhaust with a rubber mallet. Maybe it's the cat material broken up inside? The car has all heat shields so I can't bang on the cat directly. Anything else it could be?
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Aug 11, 2014 18:56
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Well I will have to get it up on a real lift and check it out better I guess. I was looking to do a full exhaust on it anyway so this might be the time.
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Aug 11, 2014 22:04
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Hey guys I just recently bought a 2000 NB, and I’m having a weird issue with the gauge cluster. The tach is jumpy and inaccurate, and the speedo is only working intermittently. I replaced the output speed sensor on the trans because it had been repaired previously (hot glue holding the connector in place) but it’s still doing it. Any other thoughts?
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Feb 8, 2018 12:01
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Larrymer posted:The speedo cable. Sorry but there’s no speedo cable that I know of? It’s an electronic cluster with a gear-driven sender in the transmission.
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Feb 8, 2018 13:15
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Nocheez posted:This sounds like the likely culprit. What are the likely locations for this? I cleaned the contacts on the back of the cluster itself. Edit: I should mention for specificity’s sake that the only instruments affected are tach and speedo. Oil, water and fuel all work. Imperador do Brasil fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Feb 8, 2018 |
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Feb 8, 2018 20:35
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ionn posted:Might be something inside the gauge cluster. The signals for speedo and tach come from different sources, and if they both "glitch together", the problem is probably not in either of those. There are some ribbon cables inside the cluster that can get a bit loose and dirty or corroded. Easiest to check first would be the ground cable, I think most of that stuff is bolted to the body just behind the left headlight. I’ll probably pull the cluster again this weekend and test it with a multimeter. I checked the ground behind the headlight (could only see one?) and pulled and cleaned the main ground strap. No change but i guess I’m not totally confident that the strap could be saved. It was almost black with corrosion. The hunt continues.
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Feb 9, 2018 00:19
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SpartanIV posted:drat I want a wood shift knob now My cheapo NB came with a very nice Nardi knob. I probably wouldn’t buy one if it hadn’t come with it but it’s really nice.
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Feb 12, 2018 00:48
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So the issue with my gauge cluster was the odometer. I ordered a tested cluster off eBay, installed it and it worked. Swapped my original odometer into it and it didn’t work again. Swapped back, A-OK. Must be something blown internally in the odo unit itself. The new cluster has 6k more miles so it’s within a reasonable error rate as far as I’m concerned. Doesn’t have less, which would be sketchy.
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Feb 16, 2018 14:18
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BloodBag posted:I guess in your state they still keep track of odometer numbers? In Texas, my title says 'EXEMPT' on the odometer reading, and the previous one did too. I like how I'm putting all this effort into a car with 163k miles I think 20 years is exempt in PA as far as titling goes, but safety inspection stations write the mileage on the sticker and in their logbook.
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Feb 17, 2018 13:04
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Blaise posted:Lotta misinformation here. So one piece of misinformation? Inspection stations still write the mileage on the sticker every year and I’m sure if I went in this year with 162k and next year with 154k they could potentially know something is fucky. Imperador do Brasil fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Feb 19, 2018 |
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Feb 19, 2018 19:21
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ionn posted:While my MX-5 will stay in its barn for another month or two, I went to a tire shop today to have new tires mounted on the wheels I got for it. The guy at the shop was for some reason surprised to have someone bring summer tires there when it's February and snowing heavily. I did this for my Forester XT. Took in WRX wheels and Dunlop Sport Maxx tires in early January during a winter storm. Lots of funny looks.
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Feb 26, 2018 21:45
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The Prong Song posted:I am now the proud owner of a 2001 base. It came with a Bethania Garage Deuce (which I am removing), FM swaybars and endlinks, and 7 (that's right, SEVEN) paint colors. I will be completely removing all carpeting and sound deadening, removing the audio system the PO stuck in, and eventually replacing the stock seats with some nice race seats. What is it about Miata PO’s and poo poo stereo installs? A few posts ago there was a lovely one, and when I bought my current NB the poo poo was horrific. Bad grounds, poorly done connections, rando wires everywhere, and the receiver wasn’t even secured into the dash. I also should replace the driver seat in mine but I am probably gonna go stock. Mine has a big tear right in the middle of the fabric, although the foam is in good shape.
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Mar 5, 2018 17:52
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um excuse me posted:Same reason you see tons of them with "style bars", slammed, and led pod headlights. They're cheap cars so people who like to waste money on poor decisions buy them. I like to think I'm saving my copy a little every time I reverse someone else's decision. Definitely true. I got my Miata cheap and the guy I got it from had five (!) kids and was definitely the type to go cheap on stuff. He dropped the price $1200 in about ten days without me even asking him to after the initial meet where I told him good luck with the sale. It finally got to a point where I had to get it, price-wise. It only needed $180 in parts and like three hours of my labor to pass safety inspection but it needed a bunch of other little dumb poo poo like the stereo replacement, top latch adjustment, and a thorough carpet and seat cleaning to be drivable comfortably. It’s amazing how much little/cheap/free poo poo people let slide that makes such a huge difference. If he had spent the small amount of time and money that I have he’d probably have gotten his original asking price.
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Mar 5, 2018 20:18
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Cross post: Actually found a color-matching door for the Miata so I did a cannonball run to Philly (5 hour round trip) to pick it up as well as a new driver’s side seat. The door even came with a mirror and handle so I swapped my lock tumbler over to the new door since my old handle was broken as well. Old door; you can see the rusty spot at the front with the band-aid decals:  Old seat:  Currently   
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Mar 13, 2018 11:04
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Theophany posted:Having driven my NB through this particularly bad British winter, I can now understand why people put them away for the cold months. Had more than a few The day I bought this NB was the day after some snow and ice had fallen, and when I got it home I went to reverse into the garage but the rear wheels were perfectly placed over a patch of ice in the driveway. Cue me thinking something was wrong with my reverse gear until my son just nudged he car forward six inches onto clear pavement. drat car is too light!
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Mar 14, 2018 11:19
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moments in conditions that wouldn't have phased me at all in previous cars.
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TrueChaos posted:I'm over here laughing at all the hate for driving a Miata in the snow. With a decent set of winter tires and an understanding of car control it's one of the most rewarding and fun to drive winter cars I've ever driven. I'm in Canada, and when I originally bought it it was my only vehicle for two winters, both of which I ski patrolled (which means I had to be at the hill for opening time, regardless of the weather). I have no issues driving small RWD in the snow. I daily drove an FC RX7 for years through all seasons. But on all-season tires and sheet ice it just doesn’t work. I run winter tires on all my other cars, so I have plenty of other options other than the Miata. It sits in the garage during poo poo weather.
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Mar 14, 2018 14:14
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Hey y’all. Got a question. I just ordered an OEM hardtop for my NC from the dealer, but I can’t seem to find any info on what it’s made of. Metal? Fiberglass? I know the NA/NB tops are fiberglass but I can’t seem to find info on the NC top. Also as a point of reference for above, I just bought my 07 NC for $8k. Good paint, no rust, new clutch and flywheel, top is 99% (tiny wear spot on pass. side) and has Bilstein B14 suspension, GWR exhaust, Fab9 tune, and Avid1 wheels (meh). I bought Enkei wheels with RT660 tires for autox use. $16k seems outrageous. With the Avid1 wheels  With the Enkeis 
Imperador do Brasil fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Aug 30, 2023 |
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Aug 30, 2023 20:05
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Having owned an NA, an NB, and now an NC, the NC is definitely the most “car”. The NA was definitely the most basic of the bunch, but I think the NC is more fun in addition to having more safety features. It’s not a 100% fair comparison since my other Miatas were stock and the NC has Bilstein coilovers and an exhaust/tune, but I still feel like the NC would make the better daily. My kid’s friend who is like 6’3-4” even fit with the soft tip up.
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Sep 15, 2023 07:12
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Jack B Nimble posted:I'm no expert but for a while it became something of a minor hobby of mine to read about automotive safety and that's exactly my conclusion, yeah. Broadly speaking it seems like most cars of an era will do a Pretty Good job with the kinds of crashes they're designed for, so if you hit a NA Miata head on across the whole front, the car shouldn't crush like a tin can and the air bag should keep you from smashing into the wheel, dash, and window. I think one goon hit a semi truck that way in an NA and remarked at the time that the car did exactly what it was supposed to and he was ok aside from whiplash. But a NA isn't designed to be t-boned, or hit in a small frontal offset. Keep your eye out and be ready to jump on a deal immediately. I got my NC1 for $8k and even with track wheels/tires and a brand new OEM hardtop I’m still just at $12k. They’re out there but you have to be willing to drop everything and be the first guy to show up with a wad of bills.
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Sep 20, 2023 19:04
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Have a couple of goodies on order for the NC - GWR strut tower brace and a carbon lip spoiler. A new secondary o2 sensor is coming too but that’s just cause I’m sick of seeing the P0421 light. It doesn’t NEED to be fixed for inspection but for $44, 🤷🏻♂️
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Sep 26, 2023 02:39
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Which version of VersaTuner should I look into? The car already has a Fab9 tune and I’d really just want it to disable the CEL. Is the free version enough? This cable?  Or? 
Imperador do Brasil fucked around with this message at 10:51 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 10:41
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Awesome thanks. Cable ordered, I’ll see if the free version of the software works
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Sep 26, 2023 15:53
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Am I totally bonkers for taking off the little splash guards in front of the NC front wheels? Can’t be that big of an aerodynamic impact can it? They were just stapled onto the inner fender liners and they were scraping everywhere. It’s an autocross car >50% of the time. I suppose worst-case scenario they can just get stapled back on. What a stupid thing to overthink lol.  
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Oct 5, 2023 01:09
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I like bronze wheels, but I have to admit I like my NC better with hyper silver roundies. Old   New  
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Oct 10, 2023 15:34
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My Miata would probably be pretty easy to stall; it has a light clutch and I think a lightened flywheel. It gains and loses revs super quickly. But I haven’t yet, so I got that going for me.
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Oct 29, 2023 19:12
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Cat Hatter posted:But an engine with more low end torque is less likely to try and stall in the first place because it has an easier time just pushing the car forward. I learned to drive sick on a Corvette and yeah, you can get it to stall but you need to be a lot more careless with the clutch in the first place. I agree here. I had a C6 Vette a few years agoand it was impossible to stall. Zero throttle, dump the clutch, and the car lurched lightly forward and kept rolling. Even on an incline I couldn’t get it to stall. Man I wish I still had that Vette.
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Oct 30, 2023 11:31
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I’ve tried actual driving shoes, and boxing shoes are similar. Converse are my go-to for everything, including autocross.
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Oct 30, 2023 19:24
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phosdex posted:I have the Daytona low profile one from Harbor Freight too and it can get under my nd. I LOVE my low-pro blue Daytona but it can’t get under my NC in its current state. The Jack is about 1/2” too tall (obviously not the jack’s failing). I just drive the front onto 2x4 sections and it’s no problem though. Yes, I have procured the correct spanner wrenches from Bilstein to adjust them, why do you ask? 
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Nov 16, 2023 15:49
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Phone posted:you could put it up for $5k and get rid of it within 2 days He said it’s got a hole in it. NA/NB hardtops are common enough that the damage is gonna kill value. Around me, good ones sell for $2k I would it on FB marketplace or Craigslist or whatever for like $800-1000 with good pics showing the damage and see who crawls out of the woodwork.
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Jan 18, 2024 11:43
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So I think I’m gonna get a Sparco Sprint seat with side mount brackets and a Roadster Sport long shifter for the NC. It doesn’t need any more power or anything for autocross, but some better lateral support and a more ergo shifter wouldn’t go amiss. Anyone have any experience with either of those in the NC?
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Jan 22, 2024 02:56
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Upgrades! Sparco Sprint seat with PCI base and side mounts, and the GWR long shifter.   The seat still has to come out one more time so I can button up the wiring (have to put a resistor in the airbag wire), but the position is dialed in. The shifter looks a little silly but it feels very nice. Same throw length as stock and similar effort, just with a longer stick so the shift knob is closer to the wheel. Can’t wait to try it on the autocross course.
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Jan 29, 2024 23:57
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So the verdict is yes, I can crawl in and out of the Miata with a race seat and hardtop. But it ain't graceful. Plenty of helmet room though. I put the seat almost as low as I could on the mounts.
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Jan 30, 2024 21:00
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Russian Bear posted:Stop backing into parking spots, problem solved. Blasphemy at the least. Small car backing out into a parking lot/garage from in between giant loving trucks and SUVs is a recipe for disaster. I back into every parking spot every time if possible (angled downtown parking of course not).
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Feb 9, 2024 03:13
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If I ever see a listing for an auto Miata while browsing, I immediately close the browser window no matter what else the car has going for it. I’ve owned three, NA/NB/NC, and I couldn’t imagine sucking the soul out of one with a slush box. But then again I am one of those stick shift weirdos in every case possible. If a car is made with a manual, that’s the version I want. I don’t care if modern autos are faster, I just get bored driving them. I even rented a Cayman with the PDK which is a phenomenal transmission, and after 1.5 days I was over the novelty and missing the third pedal.
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Mar 11, 2024 12:42
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You’ll always be slower than a modern auto but you’ll actually have control of the car. Test drive one an auto you want but for the love of god buy a manual so the assholes keep making them.
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Mar 12, 2024 03:05
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