THSCC Forums

Corky Romano drives one.

No seriously though, they are fun. I recently drove a '90 that was in pretty rough shape with cheapie tires from my house to Cameron Village (<2 miles) and wanted to borrow it for a day in exchange for my caR. The turn-in feels sweet compared to a FF car, plus the interior is racier than other Japanese cars.

Miatas are a contagious disease. Within the Mazda Sports Car Club, almost all of our hardcore 2nd gen RX-7 guys defected to them when their 2nd gens were either totalled by the insurance company (due to drunk driver running into them) or became cost-ineffective to repair (blown motor costing more than the car was worth).

The question is not about buying one...but about buying more than one...

It seems like quite a few Miataphiles adopt more than one...sometimes three or four (one or two for him and another for her). My '94 A-package is my daily driver and has recently become the weekend track toy while the RX-7 has been on the operating table. For the dollar, it's an awesome track/auto-x car. Personally, I'd like to have a second Miata prepped with a cage for HPDE so I can tweak on the daily driver's motor a the exhaust I have on it, but I'm running out of parking space at home and I think a "towzilla" is a more appropriate next vehicular purchase.

Adam, in order to enjoy the convertible experience you could always get Volkswagen's convertible,a Cabriolet! Then you wouldn't have to worry about anyone mistaking your sexual orientation.

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'99 Mk IV Jetta VR6 now claimed by the better half.

'90 Miata A-package, Floats like a butterfly and buzzes like a BEE with loudspeakers.

OK before we get too OT talking about Adam's orientation...

I'm convinced. Which early car is best for ST2?

I've driven a grand total of TWO Miatae in my life -- one of them made all sorts of diff noise and sounded like it was pinging all the time. The owner said both sounds were "normal" that the diff noise was because the top was up and the pinging was actually noisy lifters. The other was quieter but the top was down. What level of lifter/tranny/diff noise should I expect in a decent 1st-gen?

--Kevin H.

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2003 WRX (again!)

<cartman> screw you guys I'm going home,<cartman>

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91 Jetta GLI STS/DSP 111
85 Porsche 944 ASP 11
http://www.blackforestindustries.com

I think hearing the tranny/diff would be bad all around. If the sounds remain after fluid changes, I'd keep looking.

The lifters are a different story. Some tick at startup is normal. It should go away within a few second as they pump up. When it's time for an oil change, they tend to tick longer and longer at startup. If an oil change doesn't pull the tick back to the normal few seconds at startup, then you probably have some bad lifters. Fortunately, they are on the VERY top of the engine, so I don't imagine they'd be too hard to change. You can see them under the cams if you pull the valve cover.

Can't say about a good cat for ST2, but since the 94-97 are moving to ES, might consider an R for that class.

Diane

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Diane (Hall) Bundas
1992 Spec Miata #48 - 1997 Chevy Tahoe - 2007 Honda Civic Coupe

But when he says stuff like that, you haveta wonder ...

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

I dunno Kevin. I mean they're great little cars and all but they're...soooo slow in a straight line (I'm talking the 1.6L cars here in basically stock form).

Still, if you do it, come play in STS2 next year in it. Should be quite a party - I think it's going to be...

- me
- Ryan Holton
- Todd Breakey
- Dan Ecclestone
- Jim Feinberg
- several others I'm sure I'm missing

88 CRX Si

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

actually, it's the 85 MR2 - because of who's driving it.

I would vote for a '94 A package. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

I dont think Jim has committed to the MR2 YET! I hope he does, it will make me a better driver trying to catch him!

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

I think its a great time to shop for a miata as the prices for the 90-93s are about as low as they will likely go. Yes they are slow in a staight line but they don't feel slow until someone blasts past you in a minivan or SUV

For STS2 think cheap and light. I'd look for one with the LSD and the fewest other options to minimize weight. Consider the cheapest car so you'll have more money for mods. You may actually spend more on mods than the car itself.

I'd suggest having the car checked out by someone familiar with miatas, I used Sports and Compacts, the miata specialists in Raleigh (Club Sponsor too).

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'91 Miata STS2 project
'96 328i Sport Pkg

AHHHHH STS2 is MINE for 2005, start with the fact I have a Honda and then add:





Thats right, YELLOW spark plug wires!!! Cause we all know that yellow is the color of performance!!!

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

You going to paint your calipers to match your plugs wires? If you do that then you have a "theme"