I'm picking up a new daily driver tomorrow if everything goes well.

I already saw it, drove it, and had a pre-purchase inspection done. It's a 1997 Miata with 75k miles.

It's got the following schwiggity:

Suspension:

- Hard dog hardcore (SCCA legal) rollbar
- 4-pt. harnesses (Still has stock belts for the street)
- Eibach springs/Koni adjustable shocks
- Racing beat front and rear sway bars
- Front strut tower brace
- LSD (I'm pretty sure it's the torsen and not the mazdaspeed)
- Slotted rotors with upgraded pads (EBC greenstuff I believe)

"Power" (That's a joke, but this one seemed a bit better than the other stock miatas I've driven in the past few weeks, if nothing else it seems to have better throttle response):

- Racing beat intake
- Jackson Racing headers
- Random technology cat
- Borla cat-back (Quiet as hell for some reason, but the sound is good)
- MSD plug wires (Hey, they're nice, lol)

Aerodynamics/Looks/Random Bullshit:

- Turn signal intakes (Relatively hard to find, and costly for what it is, but I definitely like the look)
- "R" package rear spoiler, as well as front and rear lips (Relatively Rare)
- Re-upholstered seats, great overall interior
- 16" nice ass wheels, although I'll probably throw some 13.2lb 15" Kazera KZ-M wheels on there
- Optima Yellow Top Battery
- Aluminum Shift Knob / E-Brake handle
- Tasteful chrome air vent surrounds (They apparently wanted to make the interior nice, haha)
- Drilled aluminum pedals
- Pointless but interesting push button start
- Power everything, cruise control...


I think it will be a nice first rwd car for me, and the gas mileage is a big plus. I hate driving the SRT like a grandma back and forth to work while paying out the ass for it.

There are a few pics in my gallery. I guess we'll see if it's in my hands tomorrow. :-)

6/5/2007 12:10:46 AM

lol, ty on the early notice. it aint no shit box imo.

6/5/2007 12:12:04 AM

track ready car as a DD? makes zero sense.

6/5/2007 12:21:52 AM

I guess to you it doesn't. It has full options, rides well, gets good gas mileage, looks good. Plus I can take it to auto-x and track days. It's gonna be fun as hell, what's not to like?




[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 12:26 AM. Reason : My current daily is a straight piped SRT with coilovers, prothane MM inserts, and a few other mods. ]

6/5/2007 12:24:18 AM

^^ oh wahhh, stop whining. that car will be totally streetable and a great DD.


oh, and saabturbo, quit being a bitch and slap an FMII on it.

6/5/2007 12:26:34 AM

Oh yes, the thought is definitely floating around in my mind, I figure I better get a handle on it in stock form first though. It oversteers relatively easy as it is, so after I get used to driving a relatively twitchy rwd vehicle at the limit it's gonna be time for pw-R.

TheDuke certainly knows the true excellence of the 1st gen miata.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 12:33 AM. Reason : Remember this is the first rwd I've owned, and with the sways it quickly does what you want it to]

6/5/2007 12:28:53 AM

rwd ftw. i got my ram sideways daily. the rain it was a death trap.

6/5/2007 12:36:36 AM

^^ yeah, that's pretty similar to my old suspension setup, and it was...responsive.

with the FMII, it would totally fry the rear tires in first and second, then break them loose with authority on a hard shift (ACT clutch) into 3rd (and mine had a torsen, too). it would oversteer in a hot second, too.

(i had a built motor running 17 psi instead of 12, but it didn't make much more power than a well tuned stock FMII setup...mine needed some tuning, and i think it was getting into the zone of diminishing returns on the compressor map)

6/5/2007 12:42:30 AM

Yeah I remember it had enough power to shear the driveshaft bolts! I drove by you that day. That thing must have been a beast, and seemed rock solid other than the driveshaft bolts, haha (And hell you were making over twice the stock hp and torque).

I wish I had gotten a ride in it that time you were out with us flyin R/Cs. You think you'll end up with another one sometime?

Quote :

"and it was...responsive."

Very much so, this one kicked out the ass end easily without that much throttle in 2nd. Did you happen to have any subframe bracing or the FM butterfly brace? If so, how were they? I've heard the FM butterfly greatly reduces the bumpy ride and apparently rides better than stock even with upgraded/stiffer suspension parts.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 12:50 AM. Reason : ]

6/5/2007 12:45:32 AM

^^im not whining. fact is driving a somewhat track prepped car with a roll bar is stupid, especially considering he already has a modded SRT-4 which can serve for the same purpose (autoX/track/hpde/whatever). you can make a tank as a DD, but i wouldn't call it a sensible choice.

reminds me of people who strip the interior on the DD for weight savings.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 12:52 AM. Reason : f]

6/5/2007 12:51:50 AM

i've kicked around the idea of getting another one, but with lower mileage so it wouldn't keep me in the garage constantly and nickel/dime me to death.

i basically have 3 options i'm looking at (or really 4, i guess).

1. Keep the Evo. Mod it with the basic bolt ons (which work REALLY well on the IX...like 11.9-12.0 for <$1300). AWD capability for skiing, although not much good for hunting, hauling a kayak, etc. Expensive as shit in terms of car payment, insurance, tires, oil. With the ridiculous amount of child support I'm responsible for, I don't think this is really a good plan...even if she does what she's said she would and gives me the extra money ($400-500/month) back, I can't really count on it, b/c she can stop and take all my money at any time, and women are crazy and unstable like that.

2. Get a kickass 4x4 like I've always wanted. Prob an early Bronco, maybe an FJ-40. Get another sportbike.

3. Get another nasty tuner sports car...another boosted-to-the-moon Miata is the first thing that comes to mind. Get a cheap ($1000-1500) 4x4 for skiing, hunting, kayaking, 4-wheeling, and most importantly, having a rear seat for my baby daughter to ride in when she's with me (although having a good skiing vehicle is pretty high priority, too!). Might would keep it stock, but prob would do cheap mods, keeping in mind that it wouldn't be a DD (i.e., spool/weld the rear, maybe spring for a lunchbox locker up front, maybe chop a fender or something and stuff in the most rubber the stock suspension will allow).

4. option 3 plus a sportbike...still a lot cheaper than just keeping the Evo.


but man, what a fantastic automobile and tuning platform to get rid of.

6/5/2007 12:54:29 AM

Quote :

" 2. Get a kickass 4x4 like I've always wanted. Prob an early Bronco, maybe an FJ-40. Get another sportbike. "

whew that was easy!

6/5/2007 12:57:14 AM

^^^I can't see any connection between stripping a car and driving a nicely prepared miata on the street. Nothing in it hinders daily use. I don't understand the problem.

It's quiet, fun, gets great gas mileage, rwd, sexy, etc. The SRT is ok for drag racing and possibly a HPDE, but I have no interest in auto-xing it. The miata will be way more fun. When you burn 1st and 2nd gear in a FWD it makes auto-x rather useless. Don't get me wrong.. The SRT is fun as hell, and can handle well at higher speeds. Another issue is that it's a waste of money to drive it around everyday with fuel prices the way they are. I'm just causing the SRT to depreciate even more quickly with the amount of miles I drive every week (A fuckton). Fortunately for you, the miata will be mine and you'll never have to drive it.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 1:02 AM. Reason : ]

6/5/2007 1:01:24 AM

Quote :

"Yeah I remember it had enough power to shear the driveshaft bolts! I drove by you that day. That thing must have been a beast, and seemed rock solid other than the driveshaft bolts, haha (And hell you were making over twice the stock hp and torque)."

haha, yeah. i replaced them with grade-8 bolts.

the guy who bought it from me would've been better served if i hadn't, though. He broke the rear end mounts, which dropped the the transmission, driveshaft, and axles with it, plus all the flailing drivetrain parts knocked a hole in the gas tank.

and it was making closer to triple the stock hp and torque...haha

Quote :

"fact is driving a somewhat track prepped car with a roll bar is stupid, especially considering he already has a modded SRT-4 which can serve for the same purpose (autoX/track/hpde/whatever). "

well, i probably wouldn't ever own an SRT-4 and a tricked out Miata...I'd sell the SRT-4 and get something else if I needed something besides the Miata.

but the stuff this car has wouldn't necessarily make it bad as a DD at all. The roll bar is a complete non-issue. The only thing that could be problematic is ground clearance (mine was BAD...like probably 2-3". scraped over speedbumps, tough to negotiate steep driveway entrances, etc). if it's ok there, it'll be otherwise fine as a DD.

6/5/2007 1:03:32 AM

Quote :

" well, i probably wouldn't ever own an SRT-4 and a tricked out Miata...I'd sell the SRT-4 and get something else if I needed something besides the Miata"

well, thats what im saying. having two vehicle that serve for the same purpose. id rather own a truck and prepped miata.

..and if you have to worry about DD 2 seater car hitting the bumps and not having enough space to take a female co-worker out for lunch, then it really isn't a good choice for a DD, unless you enjoy being a street racer of some sort.

6/5/2007 1:10:06 AM

yeah, i'd totally rather own a truck and a prepped miata

and i don't know if his suspension is that low. also, part of my problem was the 3" exhaust I had...i had the end of the downpipe cut, rotated 90 degrees, and welded back on...that bought me a little better clearance, but it was still bad (and don't get me wrong, the suspension was really low).

they're fine for carrying a passenger, though...and ok for trips, too. i bought mine in baltimore and drove it home. if you're really tall or big, though, you obviously don't want a miata (although i really believe the S2000 was even tighter)

6/5/2007 1:23:01 AM

Yeah it is low, but no worse than the SRT (Actually it's noticeably better), and I like the design of the front lip on the miata. It is much less prone to scraping than the SRT as it is more "recessed." The SRT does serve a different purpose than the miata in that it can carry 5 people and a good amount of luggage, has fold down rear seats so I can fit in R/C aircraft, etc.

I really don't think the Miata is going to be particularly extreme for street use. It has PS, AC, CD/Tape/AMFM, CC, a quiet exhaust, and stock bushings. Plus with the FM butterfly brace every review I've read says it rides even better than stock, so I don't see the problem. The car will ride as good or better than a stock miata, that's nowhere near unstreetable. The lack of power is a slight annoyance, but I figure it will teach/force me to retain more energy in turns once I get it on the track. Once I master this shyte I may upgrade to another car or get more power out of this one.

As far as the SRT, that was a gift from a family memeber when the prelude's transmission was fucked up during a clutch install. The shop was chosen by the purchaser of the prelude, and was supposedly owned by his good friend. I tried over and over to ask him to let me find a different place/person to do it but it just had to be this place, and I was in no position to finance it myself at the time. Their work was beyond shitty. They fucked up the synchros by not bleeding the clutch after installation and proceeding to put 90 fucking miles (Probably abusive ones at that) on the car in this condition. The clutch would not disengage even when fully depressed btw, so I know it was hell on the transmission. It never shifted properly after this even with a new clutch/TOB/etc and proper bleeding of the lines.

So, basically I'm not in a position to sell the SRT (A lot of it is simply out of respect). I still like it as much as the day I got it though, and it has enough power potential that I'm not interested in letting it go. It will likely break 300whp whenever I get around to installing these last few items. Mainly the DTEC Fuel/Boost controller and an AEM wideband (Which I already have), then a direct fit intercooler, stainless IC piping, mopar stage 2 injectors, and possibly and adjustable FPR if I start maxing out the injectors (Maybe even water/methanol injection to get it a little deeper into the 300's). With some other minor stuff like new plugs/wires (Possibly new ignition since the stock positioning fries them nicely), coolant flush, thermostat, catch can, and a fan mod it should be just about ready to go. That should be about it to break 300whp and hit 12s (Some have even seen 11s on a stock turbo). It's gonna be a fun little shyterocket, and I'll actually have time and a space to work on it with the miata as my daily.

Also remember, I didn't have the ability to choose any car I wanted at the time I got the SRT. I had the following criteria when I bought the car (These were set by people who know NOTHING about cars, but were financing it so what the hell can I really say?): It had to be american, had to be a 4 cyl, had to be a 4 door, had to be from a dealership, and it had to be only a few years old with low mileage as well as a reasonable price. The best vehicle I could think of and find at the time was the SRT. I can't think of anything else in the class that would outperform it given the criteria (Especially in terms of ability to make pw-R y0), so I went for that. Some people want different things, but that's what I felt would satisfy my tastes and it has so far.

Basically I'll have a slow but excellent handler as well as a quick straight line vehicle with decent handling.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 1:52 AM. Reason : ]

6/5/2007 1:45:31 AM

Quote :

" It had to be american, had to be a 4 cyl, had to be a 4 door, had to be from a dealership, and it had to be only a few years old with low mileage as well as a reasonable price."

man, i'll never figure people out.

there is little distinction between foreign and domestic these days. plenty of 4cyl cars will absolutely fly. a handful of 4-doors are pretty quick. i have no idea what the purpose of limiting things to a dealership...the last two things are reasonable qualifications.

the problem is that there isn't ANYTHING i'd have even the slightest interest in that would meet all those quals. Actually, it's pretty much narrowed down to the Corvette with the first limitation you were given! I would've gotten a truck of some sort (esp if that would've allowed you to relax the 4cyl/4door rule) on someone else's dime, then spent my money on a killer sports car and mods for the truck (although most trucks these days have faggoty IFS)

i know i'm preaching to the choir...not trying to bash your family...they're just completely uninformed on the subject (only problem is taking a page from the gov't playbook and trying to make decisions on things you don't know about)

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 2:04 AM. Reason : asfd]

6/5/2007 2:02:56 AM

Quote :

"haha, yeah. i replaced them with grade-8 bolts."

lol, i remember running around trying to find bolts for it.

that thing was a little monster. it'd walk off in a HURRY on the highway....

Quote :

"the guy who bought it from me would've been better served if i hadn't, though."

yeah, sometimes it makes sense to have a fuse in a drivetrain.

6/5/2007 2:28:30 AM

Quote :

"they're just completely uninformed on the subject"

This statement couldn't be more accurate unfortunately.

I swear some of you must have thought I was under the impression the SRT is god's gift to humanity. It's a shitbox that is decent in terms of performance. If I'd had my choice there were so many cars higher up on my list, all of which were RWD or AWD, and none of which were american, lol. Oh well, I still like it well enough.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 2:36 AM. Reason : ]

6/5/2007 2:36:13 AM

srt4's are hard to beat in the bang for your buck department.

6/5/2007 3:05:38 AM

SRT = fwd =

j/k

on the subject, i would have to agree with what someone said above. i just cant see having a modded miata as a daily driver. (i personally dont fit in one anyway) just to me a dd should be comfortable, easy to drive, good gas, and very low maintenance. like was mentioned why not just use the SRT for all your track/autox/drag fun. trying to afford "playing" with two different cars might also stretch ya a bit thin.

but hey do what you want man.

6/5/2007 6:27:55 AM

its not shitty at all

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 8:14 AM. Reason : .]

6/5/2007 8:13:44 AM

6/5/2007 10:41:39 AM

This statement confuses me:

Quote :

"On the subject, i would have to agree with what someone said above. i just cant see having a modded miata as a daily driver. (i personally dont fit in one anyway) just to me a dd should be comfortable, easy to drive, good gas, and very low maintenance. like was mentioned why not just use the SRT for all your track/autox/drag fun. trying to afford "playing" with two different cars might also stretch ya a bit thin."

The miata actually satisfies 3.5 of your requirements: Comfortable (Not as good as the SRT, but I'm just going to work), easy to drive, good on gas, and very low maintenance). Why is it such a terrible daily? I keep driving it around and I seem to be enjoying the hell out of it.

Btw, did you read the part about how my other car wasn't really an option?

I've had the SRT for over two years now, and a second vehicle wasn't going to be an option for a long time when I purchased it. It's a great daily driver in terms of being comfortable, 4 door, quiet (Inside that is, lol), quite quick, decent looks IMO, etc... But it gets poor gas mileage and requires premium. I would prefer to go back and forth to work in something that gets good fuel economy.

It's not like I can't use the SRT when I need to take 4 people around or when I just want to drive the quicker car. I don't need a truck, I wanted a fun rwd car with good gas mileage. The SRT has had all the utility capabilities I've needed in the past two years, so I don't need another vehicle with more utility. I wanted one with better fuel economy and that was rwd. This car is in no way extreme for street use. It's like the fact that it has shocks/springs/sways makes it strickly a track car to some of you.

[Edited on June 7, 2007 at 3:33 AM. Reason : ]

6/7/2007 3:28:03 AM