At lunch I took delivery of an '03 after having been driving and autocrossing Miatas and Subarus for a number of years. In fact, less than 3 weeks ago I owned 3 Miatas (one of then was the (in)famous Tampa Bay FrankenMiata) and now I'm down to one. SWMBO says we're keeping that one!

On Saturday I was at a local Mazda dealer and they had an '03 S2K on the lot -- Suzuka blue with blue interior. I took it for a test drive hoping it would convince me I should buy a MazdaSpeed Miata, but ...

I like the nicely understated color; not as likely to attract the attention of the LEO's.

On Monday afternoon the dealer kept hounding me on my cell phone. I kept telling them no, then they'd go away for a while, then call back with an ever lower price. Eventually I couldn't resist.

When I picked it up today at lunch I discovered:

- the radio displays "CODE"
- no manual

So, what important information should I know as a new owner who doesn't have a manual?

Reading elsewhere I think I found the info I need to locate the code. But what is the procedure? And how do I set the clock, etc.?

BTW, I'm moderately handy with a wrench (I've got two rolling cabinets filled with them) and even tore down and rebuilt the engine of one of my former Miatas. However I've decided I just want to drive and not wrench for a while. So far my impression is that I'll be able to happily live with this car, stock, for quite some time.

What should I know about the fluids? Premium gas I presume. What weight of oils?

Is there a FAQ that anyone can point me to that will summarize the info I'm looking for? I couldn't find one.

I'm happy with everything I've found so far, except I MUST get new tires immediately! There's some unknown rubber on there called Fulda (I think it was) that don't strike me as good for anything despite being quite new. Plus, the rears are the typical too narrow 225's.

Anyone wanna buy some tires, cheap?

I've got new tires (Hankook Rs2 205/55-16 and 245/45-16) on the way from Edge Racing -- they'll be here tomorrow. I'll get them mounted Thursday, scrubbed in Friday and I'll be autocrossing Saturday.

Later in the year I hope to finally get over to Sebring and get some track instruction.

 

Check the 'secret' compartment right below the windscreen, thats where my manual was

You'll find all the useful information you need on this website, just do a little bit of searching and rumaging through the stickied subjects.

 

I already checked the secret compartment before I posted. No go.

Yes, "search is your friend; use it". Just like on miata.net. But search is turning up stickied posts that have broken links to old threads. Frustrating!

 

Look in your trunk of glove box for a white sticker with the vin on it....the radio code is on there as a separate number group providied the previous user didn't change it.

fltsfshr

 

I just saw you're in Clearwater...come into the florida forum and introduce yourself. Several Clearwater members and I'm sure someone will loan your thier book to read.

If you're going to do your own work, get the Helms manual..It's invaluable.

fltsfshr

 

You can buy a manual from http://www.helminc.com/

 

Thanks, I'll introduce myself in Florida - Florida soon.

Maybe I can find someone piecing out a wreck and get a manual that way?

 

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=440116

Here you go. Scroll to the bottom. Ryan (wvtwisties) from the Allegheny Forum is selling an 03 manual.

 

Sweet! Thanks, villain!

 

I have an '03 suzuka blue . What do you need to know , I still have my manual... just has the usual stuff.... there is no radio code in the manual unless the previous owner wrote in there..... BUT go to you local Honda dealer and they should be able to pull it up when they run your vin# . They will have it in their system in the service department as long as it is a factory stereo . While your there you can probably order a manual if you want to....

Just out of curiosity what did you pay for the car and how many miles on it ?

Mine is an 03 with 17k on it.