What year's your Miata, Ice?

 

It's a '95

 

Nice!

 

On the steering issue for the Miata. It is extremely communicative.....I can tell what the road surface is like just through the wheel. when I drove the S, the steering felt like the chassis......solid, yet numb (for lack of a better word). the seats for the S are great, but too big for me. I slide around in my seat, I flop around in the S, bouncing between the side bolsters. I need a racing seat. (which I will order soon )

I love the S. If i had 35K cash would I buy one.....no....I saw a Miata that was what I want my car to become. it weighed 2150 lbs and had 250 rwhp. total investment (minus cost of car): $7000. It was just the wrong color.

 

My S is my everyday car as you know, and I am very happy.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by protokultur
[B] The original formula of the 116 bhp 1.6L Miata was just about perfect for its time.

 

I would argue that.......I understand what it means. but I hardly consider the newer Miatas to be superior to my car. faster, yes. but that's it. . but they are gorgeous though. I'm proud to own my car.

 

the second gen miata's body has been tweaked every year since they were rolled out in '99. while part of this may be attributed to increased competition, i really feel that it is because the designers aren't really happy with the look. personally, i wouldn't want a 2nd gen.

in '94, the miata got more displacement and a bunch of other really good stuff... MUCH better brakes, more torque, and a good bit more rigidity. the '94 to '97 miatas represent the best that mazda had to offer. the 2nd gen is expensive window dressing.

 

The Miata is singlehandedly responsible for the roadster revival we're enjoying right now. But anyone who buys a Miata and pours $$$ into hoping to turn it into an S2000 is going to come up short. Great little roadster enjoy it for what it is.

 

in terms of what? for $6K you can find a base '94, that can be turned into a MONSTER. turbo kit (high-end FM), full coilover suspension, more agressive wheels/tires. call it $15K total investment. that car will not come up short on a straight line or track situation. at the end of the day you will have a heavily modded 10 yr old miata, but it would have big-time balls. 245whp (248wtq) on a car that weighs 450lbs less!

here a dyno run that demonstrate an S vs a modded miata http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/dyno_runs/F...M99TvsS2000.pdf

it's not the stronger 1.8 from the '94 but it gives a nice comparison.

yowza!!!!

this old miata is gonna go like hell, but it's certainly not going to have the visual appeal of a shiny new S or a warranty.