Whole lotta Miata

[Jake]

Speaking of the wheel falling off however, a friend of mine at JMU was getting a ride from Sunchase to the Manor at like 4AM and the taxi's wheel fell off at the top of port. He actually got out and started chasing it - AND SHE WAITED TILL HE GOT BACK SO SHE COULD PAY HIM.

HBurg cabs were soooo sketchy looking. I avoided them as much as possible.

[WRXtranceformed]

After that, me and my buddies went to my sisters house and used his garage to put the ball joint in.

Did anyone else read that and do a double take? :lol:

My list of dumb stuff with cars is short but I have:
- Blown off a blow off valve
- Blown an engine (debatable whether that was my fault or not or if it was on borrowed time)
- Shredded my wrist on an underbody dust guard
- Shredded a leather door card on my TL-S trying to fit a big screen in the back seat
- Blown a headgasket on a perfectly good Toyota pickup (albeit with over 330K miles)

[Senor_Taylor]

Sorry, I was originally going to type "Sister's boyfriend's" house, but it was easier to say "Sister", then I forgot to change the pronoun.

Thanks guys. I feel marginally better about my mistake.



Next on the list to do:

Fix leaking tail light
New brakes all around
Suspension
Speakers
Shifter bushing/boots
Oil change, gear oil, diff fluid
roll bar for mad track dayz
BATTERY TIE DOWN. (No clue why I haven't bought one yet, but I suspect the battery in there now is too big to fit under one)
restore plastic rear window
Other things

[BLINGMW]

roll bar for mad track dayz

Looked at these much yet? Having spent some time mostly looking at the hard dog choices, the Hard Dog M1 Hard Core is the tallest one that *might* actually clear my head (and still fit under the top). But it's also pretty far forward and seems like I'd have to move the seat forward too. Not much room for that...

[Ken]

Speaking of the wheel falling off however, a friend of mine at JMU was getting a ride from Sunchase to the Manor at like 4AM and the taxi's wheel fell off at the top of port. He actually got out and started chasing it - AND SHE WAITED TILL HE GOT BACK SO SHE COULD PAY HIM.

HBurg cabs were soooo sketchy looking. I avoided them as much as possible.

Off topic - sorry - but do they have Uber at JMU now? I feel like it'd be such an easy thing for students to do. I totally would have.

[Jake]

roll bar for mad track dayz

Looked at these much yet? Having spent some time mostly looking at the hard dog choices, the Hard Dog M1 Hard Core is the tallest one that *might* actually clear my head (and still fit under the top). But it's also pretty far forward and seems like I'd have to move the seat forward too. Not much room for that...

I had a Hard Dog Hard Core Double-Diagonal in my car. At the time, that was the roll bar of choice, but I think there is a newer model out now. I was able to get my head under the bar, but only "just." The seats sit on little lumps on the floor, and it seems like a common solution for tall people tracking the car is "cut the lumps out of the floor."

Taylor, how bad is the rear window? I've had good success with Meguiar's Plasti-X which you can find at AutoZone or wherever. It won't make things perfect, but it is good at polishing out scratches and such.

[Senor_Taylor]

Rear window is pretty bad. Can't see out of it at all if it rains. I've heard good things about Plasti-x, so I'll get some of that.

With the roll bar, I haven't looked too much into it, but I need whatever gives me the most room. I can't even fit IN the car if the seat isn't all of the way back.

[BLINGMW]

...newer model out now. I was able to get my head under the bar, but only "just." The seats sit on little lumps on the floor, and it seems like a common solution for tall people tracking the car is "cut the lumps out of the floor."

There's like, 20 models now and the M1 is the tallest most serious bar.
Remounting the seat lower would definitely help, and allow for using some of the bars that mount a little further back, which also means they're a little lower. "cut the lumps out of the floor" sounds like a lot of work...

Not sure what bar this but this doesn't look wise to me:


Will share response from Hard Dog peoples if they reply.

[Evan]

Chan you really need to foam-ectomy your seat. makes a huge difference

[Senor_Taylor]

I put about 100 miles on it today. Super solid and super fun. It has a few creaks and rattles I'm not worried about, and something is making a noise up front. I probably bent a heat shield or something putting the LBJ in. I'm stoked to have this on the road.

Also took it up to Liberty Mountain, which to get up to, you have to go up a "4WD vehicle only" road. Used some offroading ability and spun its way up there. Got some funny looks, but I got a cool picture, so... whatever.

[Jake]

Woohoo!

I saw a guy driving a red NA on my way home from Summit yesterday. Weather was perfect, he had the top down and the lights up and in that moment I was like *hnnghrgh I want one again* so enjoy the hell out of yours.

[Senor_Taylor]

I will, Jake. I've put about 400 miles on it this week and I'm loving it. Definitely needs a suspension refresh and new brakes, but it's very impressive how tight and sound it is after everything. This turd has definitely been polished. I'm amazed at how many people stop, look, and wave at you when you're zipping around in a Miata with the top down. I've been doing little things like fixing the glove box, sealing up the tailights, etc just to get it perfect. I've been begged by so many people to let them drive and I'm yet to turn them down.

My buddy suggested we trade for a little bit and I drove his CTS-V. Just a little different from a Miata. I'm in love with this car and I've very pleased how it turned out.

[BLINGMW]

Used some offroading ability and spun its way up there. Got some funny looks, but I got a cool picture, so... whatever.

Glad to hear you're *finally* enjoying it

[Senor_Taylor]

Used some offroading ability and spun its way up there. Got some funny looks, but I got a cool picture, so... whatever.

Glad to hear you're *finally* enjoying it

I hope you're doing the same! The year of the Miata is upon us yet again.

[ScottyB]

Also took it up to Liberty Mountain, which to get up to, you have to go up a "4WD vehicle only" road.

rallycross practice already? my man.

[Senor_Taylor]

So I've been driving it reliably for about a week and a half now. No hiccups, nothing. Runs like a top, pulls like a Miata, but like... a really nice Miata, you know?

The tires I have suck ass, which is awesome. I suck less at driving stick now and everyone with convertibles waves at me. Running the A/C sucks as it literally kills the engine. Rev matching is a pain, hill starts are a pain, doing anything is a pain with the A/C on. Good thing the roof goes away I love every second of of driving this thing, and I absolutely LOVE getting almost 30 MPG ( a far cry from the 14 I get in Harrisonburg in my truck.)

I bled the brakes all around and adjusted them and the rears are warped but they lock up the tires fine, so I'm not too worried about them.

I did some body work for my buddy on his WRX of questionable condition he just bought, so he sold me some speakers for $10 and I put them in. I also made some super $wag rain guards for them. Also pulled the carpet from the trunk (smelled like gear oil), sealed up my tail lights with silicone and "fixed" my glove box.

[BLINGMW]

Keepin it classy! :thumbup:

[SlimKlim]

I couldn't stand driving mine with the A/C on either, made it unbearably slow. The pedals in the Miata are spaced weirdly for rev matching, I think flyin Miata sells nice bolt on pedal extensions for like $20-30 if you wanna treat yoself sometime.

[JPolen01]

How does pedal spacing matter for rev matching? He didn't say he was trying to heel toe. Rev matching you just blip the throttle and down shift.

[Senor_Taylor]

Yeah, the pedals feel fine to heel toe for me. The only problem I have is when the A/C is on. The revs drop so quickly when the clutch is in, you have to give it WAY more gas to get it to rev high enough to match properly. The A/C drags the motor down way too much compared to how rev happy it is when the A/C isn't on.

I saw those pedal extension things and didn't even think twice about them. I only have two pairs of shoes I'm comfortable driving in because the pedals are already so close together. More than once I have caught both the brake and gas at the same time when wearing bigger shoes.

I also noticed today that the noise I've been hearing from the pads in the rear dragging on the rotor finally went away after I bled the whole system. So now there's nothing on the car that makes it seem like a pile of crap besides the hood paint. Car sounds and drives as well as any 24 year old car could dream to sound and drive. Super happy that all of my hard work has seemed to pay off.