MMiata legion -- question for yous guys

[Maengelito]

i like having the roll bar in my miata. the diagonals hurt some visibility but i dont have any problem with the roll bars there. the miata i just sold had the single diagonal because i wanted some visibility. the new miata i have has the double diagonal and i still dont have any problem seeing with it. i also think a roll bar gives it that more classic 60s sports car look

[.RJ]

crassic 60s sports car rook

ror

[Maengelito]

good deal RJ....i didn't realize the install was such a pain.

here's what got me into this mess: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/350138497.html">http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/350138497.html</a><!-- m -->

freaking beautiful. if i had the A4 ready to go, i think i'd have to get it

thats a sharp looking car. that ad has been floating around miata.net for a bit which is why it looks familiar to me. the 10AE are really nice, and that car in particular looks like its well taken care of. having a roll bar already installed is a bonus. while its not terribly difficult, its not fun either. the ad states the hardtop doesnt come with the car, but for 900 its a good price for a color matching top. i say do it.

[ScottyB]

I swear I am not calling my bank right now. Really, I'm not. Nothing to see here...

i mean, the fact that i'm only 30 minutes away from the car and could totally check it out for you is no big deal.

:twisted:

I drove my 94 from nova to baltimore everyday for 2 years, with stiff shox and swaybars and a sparco. It was fine.
I now drive my 99 50 miles a day into the city and its a great DD.

And Im a big guy, so if you are smaller than you definately wouldnt have a problem.

perfect. that's what i was looking for :thumbup:

[Goodspeed]

Very good info here. I have been cruising the Racing Beat/Flyin Miata sites recently, and a few days ago was looking at the Hard Dog rollbars online. I think something bad might happen......

[REED]

A low mile 10AE with hardtop and rollbar for $10k?

F!@#%!!

I swear I am not calling my bank right now. Really, I'm not. Nothing to see here...

+1

if i wasn't leaving for chicago in 2 weeks that would be very tempting, also, a friend of a friend is selling a 10AE with 26-7 on the clock for around 10 if anyone is interested i can pass his info along

[.RJ]

I think something bad might happen......

Oh, so many jokes... :lol:

[Beej]

Scotty, since you got input, mind if I take this thread in a slightly different direction? Lemme know - I'll edit/delete if you wanna keep the DD trend going.

Track guys - are you sick of how slow Miata's are? An acquaintenance of mine brought up the following:

Overheard at the water cooler:
Coworker: So you race?
BJ: No, well, I drive around racetracks for fun.
CW: So you race.
B: Uh, sure.
CW: What do you race?
B: A Miata.
CW: Oh... Is it fast?
B: In the corners.
CW: What can you pass?
B: We only pass on the straights.
CW: So you can't pass anything.
B: Well, um, yeah.
CW: How's that fun???

I don't give a shit about the water cooler conversation, but I can just as easily have those thoughts in my head.

I know that I'm gonna be slow and shitty when I first start out. But I don't want to have to buy/prep a new car just because I get faster as time goes on and I get fed up with driving a slow one. I think something like a e30 325i, or maybe even my e30s50 aren't bad ideas to start out with...but I still like the idea of a Miata. Thoughts?

[Ginger]

It's alright, Goodspeed, everybody experiments.

[.RJ]

I don't want to have to buy/prep a new car just because I get faster as time goes on and I get fed up with driving a slow one.

I'm not sure that you get fed up with driving a miata at 10/10ths - although you could get fed up with a lack up HP getting to that point. It never bothered me (although I did have the zomg vtec! ITR for a while), but they're so fun to drive. Once you start to "get it" you'll be easily rolling cars with 2-3x the HP and its rathe rewarding.

Anything with HP is going to be fun when you mash down the happy pedal... so there is certainly the appeal there. Remember though HP = speed and speed = expensive. Faster cars eat up tires, brakes, gas and... well everything faster. If you want something with a little more oontz oontz, a Spec E30 or E36 type car could be alot of fun.

[Goodspeed]

It's alright, Goodspeed, everybody experiments.

Hey, if anyone is to blame for my interest in Miatas its all you old gay homos bringin them to the car show and giving me ride alongs at SP :lol:

[BLINGMW]

I'm not sure that you get fed up with driving a miata at 10/10ths

I certainly never have gotten tired of my 318's. Pretty similar to a Miata on track as far as speeds go. Not as gay though. :wink: A slower HPDE car is actually an advantage IMHO.

1) I can actually drive it 10/10ths in a school because the consequences for screwing up are lower. I'd rather lose my brakes into 1 at 110 instead of 140.

2) Monitoring your progress and success at improving a corner is much easier when you don't have power to make up for errors. I can come out of a corner at 200RPM faster, have the time to see that difference and know I'm making progress.

3) Like RJ mentioned, costs. Tires, brakes, gas, and usually, the car too.

Passing on a straight because of power alone isn't any fun. It's much more satisfying to even keep up with a car that has double the power. You might not pass him, but I think we all know who the REAL HPDE winner is. :lol: Even in group 3, with most of the other cars having mucho power, hey, it just means I always have clean track. No-one in MY way. :wink:

[ScottyB]

Scotty, since you got input, mind if I take this thread in a slightly different direction? Lemme know - I'll edit/delete if you wanna keep the DD trend going.

no this is great, because if i got one as a DD i'd most likely take it down this road at some point...it'd be a waste not too 8)

i'd imagine that a turbo kit on a miata would be scary fast. even only 250hp is a hell of a power/weight ratio. but, not quite as "pure"

[WRXtranceformed]

Even a turbo'd Miata isn't really going to keep up with like a brand new Mustang GT in the straights... don't ask me how I know =P

For real straight line speed, you'd want to do an engine swap (ie Monster Miata). But I get the feeling that's not really what you're looking for :lol:

[Dave]

the only time you'll ever get "tired" of a horsepower disadvantage is when driving around in Group 3 with your hand out of the window. Truly, that and 4 are the only groups where more ponies really means you're faster. As was said before, it is incredibly rewarding to take a car with a little over 100 hp and walk down cars with 3-4 times the power. Furthermore, if you learn on the slower car, you'll learn the line that makes you use every bit of momentum and power you can grab, which will make you oh so much faster when you actually have power.

As for miatas, I heard of this thing called an ubercharger...

[Evan]

Scotty, since you got input, mind if I take this thread in a slightly different direction? Lemme know - I'll edit/delete if you wanna keep the DD trend going.

Track guys - are you sick of how slow Miata's are? An acquaintenance of mine brought up the following:

nope, not sick, and I came from a nicely powered WRX, and immediately did 30 weekends in 2 years in the miata.
how silly cheap they are to track helps too.

And if you want to get the ego boost of wagging your dick around, once you learn how to drive (or if you learn how) you will be rolling the fuck out of guys/cars with 3x the horsepower

[Evan]

the only time you'll ever get "tired" of a horsepower disadvantage is when driving around in Group 3 with your hand out of the window. Truly, that and 4 are the only groups where more ponies really means you're faster.

fwiw, Ive gone entire gr 3/ gr 4 sessions (days perhaps?) without giving a single (or very few) pointby. Im not trying to brag, but these cars are faster than you think.

[Evan]

Even a turbo'd Miata isn't really going to keep up with like a brand new Mustang GT in the straights... don't ask me how I know =P

i gaurantee you dont know, youve never even looked at a racetrack you fucking poseur

[WRXtranceformed]

Even a turbo'd Miata isn't really going to keep up with like a brand new Mustang GT in the straights... don't ask me how I know =P

i gaurantee you dont know, youve never even looked at a racetrack you fucking poseur

I'm guilty of not seeing it on a racetrack sure....... :wink:

[WRXtranceformed]

If I were you Scott, I wouldn't focus on whatever car you're getting next as being a good racecar, you want to keep your focus on fun daily driveability and comfort. The more you view your car as a racecar, the less it's going to exhibit those things.