miata.net and my new toy

[strupgolf]

Are there gays in high school who drive Miata's. rut_rou

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by berettafan

list of parts pulled and bought to swap springs/shocks from nb to na as well as before/after ride height and alignment issues.

seems like there is an abundance of 'i heard' stuff but not a lot of 'joe did it and has a great 'how to' thread here'.

like i said i'm sure there are some expert diy junkies over there but lord are they hidden beneath a lot of crap.

Kieth Tanner from Flyin Miata posts there. Mr Fat Cat Motorsports posts in the suspension forum. 1.6 to 1.8 conversions, timing belt how to, V8 forum, SC forum, Turbo forum, etc... Alignment settings, all that good stuff.

Also, Barnes and Noble probably has a copy of Kieth Tanner's ''101 projects for your Miata'', right down the street from you. Lots of the basics right there.

At one time I looked into putting Bilstein PS9 shocks and springs into my NA. Upper spring perch is different from the NB, so you need those for a swap.


It is different over there though. Over there, they beech about Porsches and the Miata stigma of Gaydom. Over here we, um might not be that much different, come to think about it.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by dd74

Yeah. Thank goodness no one's invited me to spend the night in exchange for a ducktail. I guess at that rate, a "two-in-one-out" exhaust would take on new meaning.

I have a carbon fiber ducktail if you're interested. I figure that's gotta' be good for at LEAST two or three sessions though.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by nostatic

did you get your matching purse yet?

hey, somebody had to say it. It's in the bylaws!

My wife has a pink hat that says Zoom Zoom. I got a supercharger and some Falkens. For a 1.6, the thing is a rocket.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by dd74

As far as V8s in the Miata, I don't know - that's a lot of weight to get pushed in and out of corners.

The all-aluminum LSx V8 doesn't weigh much more than the 1.6/1.8/2.0L twincam fours.

I saw on some Miata forum where a LS1 powered 1991 Miata weighed less than a stock 2001 Miata, and had better balance front to rear and corner to corner.

Wasn't it Mark Donahue that said (paraphrased), "you only have 'enough' power when you can paint two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the apex of the next."

I say you don't have too much power; you don't have enough tire!

[Scuba Steve]

Any thoughts n the 1.6 vs. 1.8? I haven't done a lot of searching around but aside from the short nose issue the early engines had if any is more reliable or modable than the other.

[dd74]

I actually prefer the Miata over the S2000. I know the S2000 has power and nearly mid-engine qualities to it (I think the car is designed so the engine is pushed back pretty far from forward), but performance-per-$ I think the Miata is the better deal.

I've seen a supercharged Miata just tear it up at Willow Springs. I was shocked at how fast that car was. It looked like a Formula Atlantic car with a convertible body atop the chassis.

Looks-wise, I think the Miata - particularly the older Miata - is a better looking car than the S2000.

If I could find one (and they come up for sale now and then), I'd get a Miata R. Bilsteins and a bit lighter -- who could ask for more?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I test drove both the S2000 and the Mazdaspeed MX5 turbo. I liked the Mazda way more. It could have easily been built into a pretty formidable machine. The S2000 was fun and looked less "ghey" but I disliked two things about it - one, it would make you the wet dream of every riced-out Honda Civic driving retard out there and two, it was a DOG below about 4,000 RPM. I don't really feel like having to drive around revved up to six grand just to avoid getting my doors blown off by guys in old minivans full of carpet cleaning equipment. Nor do I particularly want to draw that much attention to myself (and potentially the ire of the popo) by having to rev it that high.

By contrast I found the MX5 to be surprisingly balanced and have decent performance "down low". Not great mind you, but better than the S2K.

Ultimately however, both lost out to the Mercedes SLK, which I ended up buying. The MX5 was cool, but I just don't think I could've handled the constant ghey jokes and (more importantly) the steeper depreciation curve than the SLK had (the MX5 was an '04, the SLK was an '01 and had already realized the bulk of its depreciation). Besides, I was looking for a turnkey daily driver, not another car to tinker with/modify - I have a 944 for that. I doubt I'd have been able to keep my wrenches off a turbo MX5 and it would quickly have turned into another mod-project/money pit.

To each their own though. If we all liked the same things, the world would be awfully boring.

[ZOO]

The other, "unoffical" Miata forum can be found at Grassrootsmotorsports.com!

Enjoy.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

Any thoughts n the 1.6 vs. 1.8? I haven't done a lot of searching around but aside from the short nose issue the early engines had if any is more reliable or modable than the other.

No, the reliability is the same for both (besides the shortnose crank issue). The 1.8 has a bit more grunt. Some folks talk about the 1.6 being a little revvier. I test drove a bunch when I was looking, I didn't see what they were talking about.

In my research, the '94, '95 models were recommended because they were pre-OBDII but still had the 1.8L. Since they were pre-OBDII, they were considered more modable.

The miata was designed so that if a 165# person was added to the driver's seat, the car will have a 50/50 front to rear and right to left weight distro. Now, I'm not sure how that changes RE: power windows, AC, other options, etc.... I'm sure over the years and with different option packages, that changes, but I'd suspect it should stay pretty close.

I have a '97 with a 1.8. It's pretty darn torquey for what it is. I can start off in 2nd gear with very little clutch slip and easily drive through the parking garage at work in 2nd gear going up to the 9th floor. It continues to feel good all the way up to the 7000 rpm redline.

[Scuba Steve]

Good to hear - I'm looking for a '94 or '95 sometime soon myself. Probably sometime in early November. I was glad to hear that the plastics and dash won't do what they did on my 924S, because that was one of the bigger worries I had.

[azasadny]

I'm enjoying my new 2010 MazdaSpeed3, but the mazda3forums don't compare to these forums. Of course, I'm at least 25 years older than everyone else on the Mazda boards...

[masraum]

I tried to find some info for you and discovered the same thing. I got frustrated, so I started my own hypothetical thread.

Exactly what is required to put NB shocks on an NA - MX-5 Miata Forum

[berettafan]

Hey thanks steve. Look forward to reading responses.

Solved a no charge condition today. Turns out you need a bulb to work or alt won't 'energize'. This I did end up finding on the board.

[masraum]

So far, they say just bolt the whole unit in (spring, shock, hat) and you're good to go.

THe good news is that the top hat for the rear gives you a little more shock travel before you hit the bumpstops.