Cars We Drive!

[Thrift Vader]

So, Rtc. Let me start to straighten things out for you.
You don't need to be a "track day bro" to enjoy performance enhancing mods to your car. I don't mean racing. But you can enjoy crisper handling, better braking, a firm clutch, and peace of mind.

Upgrades are most often done by street tuners to bring out the best their car has to offer. After all, if it was perfect from the factory, it would cost a lot more. And with age? It's important to do things right. You want to have the utmost confidence in your cars performance, in all situations. There is no need to go "full race mode". However. You can enhance the aspects of performance which matter. A well put together street car is safe, reliable, and can handle a track day once in a while. Or a spirited drive on the twisties, stuck in traffic, or a long interstate cruise.

Imho. Safety is paramount. Performance contributes to safety. Your handling can never be too accurate, your braking too good, etc.


Here are some links of where to start on getting the most out of your old miata. Safety handling and braking first. Wheels, and power later.
Cusco is the company to seek out for half cages, clutches, diffs and more. They make from street spec to WRC spec. For you, the cheaper items will surpass stock.
http://auctions.search.yahoo.co.jp/...merce&type=all&ei=utf-8&p=cusco+nb8&aq=-1&oq=

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm kinda surprised that no one has commented my my manual driving prowess.

 

[ridethecliche]

In reply to what @Thrift Vader is saying.... I'm of two minds about this.

1) I love to tinker and it would definitely be a blast to take a car like this and build it up. Wheels, exhaust, struts/springs, sway bars, strut bars, bigger brakes, etc. Hell maybe even a turbo down the line.

2) There are cars like this available: http://lancaster.craigslist.org/cto/5735498170.html
I could have swung for something like that in my area like this silver one with the MIA seller (https://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/cto/5708849857.html). Dude was just flaky all around and it was like pulling teeth trying to set something up. Pretty much the opposite of what you want, right?


Point is, I paid 3800, up to like 4200 with taxes etc. The cost differential between my car and the models with the limited slip diff, better struts, billstein shocks, etc looks to be about 1k-1.5k given the same mileage and condition. I don't really car about the leather interior and ****, but if I was building the car up I'd want to do it within that price range over time. Spending 2-3k to get what I could do in a stock miata for half the cost seems like a fools errand. The paint on mine needs to be touched up a bit and I might get the colorite kit for that in the future just to give it a good once over.

If I did all that work, odds are that I probably wouldn't get what I put into it if I had to turn around and sell it. Chances are that I might not do that, but taking the car back to stock would be a pain. I can definitely see myself enjoying this car for a good long while. Pity I can only drive it 8 months of the year or so.

I'll just leave this here (@Thrift Vader ): https://southcoast.craigslist.org/pts/5700903035.html

 

[otc]

I'm sad you didn't get the one that comes with a fancy "Radio aplafier"

 

[Thrift Vader]

"Torsen diff and Bilstein shocks"? Less than 500 before postage. As i said. Surpass stock. For the price folks are charging there for stock.

Bilstein stocks.
http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b218201413
$100

Factory lsd.
http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r159951929

Examples. Not sure why factory brand names mean so much to you. (Wikipedia?) But not worth the cost if you are paying on name alone. As it's all going to be stock high mile rubbish. But by all means, i will help you aquire it. Still lower miles than your car. So it woukd be fresher.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm sad you didn't get the one that comes with a fancy "Radio aplafier"

Right? I'm freaking TORN. Like natalie imbruglie or whatever her name is.

I probably would have bought that car in a heartbeat if the seller was okay to accept between 4-4.5k. BLARGHHHH!!! And I was home in PA for the weekend. I could have stayed an extra day or two and figured it all out haha. Guy legit posted it 3-4 days too late. I did a few searches when I was home to see if there was anything worth checking out.

"Torsen diff and Bilstein shocks"? Less than 500 before postage. As i said. Surpass stock. For the price folks are charging there for stock.

Bilstein stocks.
http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b218201413
$100

Factory lsd.
http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r159951929

Examples. Not sure why factory brand names mean so much to you. (Wikipedia?) But not worth the cost if you are paying on name alone.

I was saying those because that's the only means of comparison I have between the two. Looking at auctions here, the factory torsen LSD runs for like 500-800 easy. I was thinking of going that route because it'll set things up very well and would be a pretty cost effective way of going about things.

Here's a package from flyin' miata for the suspension: https://www.flyinmiata.com/fm-nb-v-maxx-classic-stage-2-suspension-kit.html
It's like 769 bucks.

Raceland coilovers are 370: http://raceland.com/mazda-miata-mx-...KhbZsIlbl3WNGCtjfHvYt07aHoBjravNflhoCRRLw_wcB

I just figured doing the suspension and factory LSD for this car would bring it to the limits of just about anything I would ever need and give me the experience working on the car and building it up. If I needed to change things out in the future, I would have a better basis for comparison, you know? All that stuff can be sold. At the prices you're getting though the next level up sounds pretty enticing! I still have a bit of the budget left. Maybe with your guidance and shipping (lol) there might be hope yet!

 

[ramuman]

etc - excited to see you've caught the mod bug. My biggest - perhaps only - piece of advice is to make sure the upgrades are balanced. E.g. don't do a bunch of engine upgrades without making sure things downstream (clutch, transmission) and things that are on the opposite end (brakes) are up to par.

Other than that - Vamanos!

 

[ridethecliche]



etc - excited to see you've caught the mod bug. My biggest - perhaps only - piece of advice is to make sure the upgrades are balanced. E.g. don't do a bunch of engine upgrades without making sure things downstream (clutch, transmission) and things that are on the opposite end (brakes) are up to par.

Other than that - Vamanos!

I'm just conflicted on whether it makes sense to even start doing this on the base.

At the prices that @thrift Vader might be able to hook me up with it could honestly be pretty cost effective. But I'd have to do the math to see if it was worth it you know?

What's the point paying 2-3k for stuff when the LS model comes with that stuff already for 1-2k more?

 

[deepitm]



While I love what Elon does, he's such a god here in Si valley that people give him a ton of creative latitude.

Way too much latitude, creative or otherwise.

From a guy I follow on Twitter:

"the reality is you have an M&A transaction (SCTY) that was designed to avert a potential bankruptcy of an affiliated entity, non-disclosure agreements being handed out to customers, slandering of journalists, people dying from the products and said information withheld from investors prior to a Secondary, selective disclosure (Model 3 deposits) and ongoing SEC investigations. And a legal department run by a divorce attorney. (I am aware of no other $30bn company that has its legal department run by the CEO’s divorce attorney. Which means either no one wanted the job or Elon needed a puppet. Truthfully, I don’t even know which is more frightening.)"

 

[sonick]

For the Miata, any sort of chassis stiffening mods typically provide good bang for the performance buck. Look at frog arms, frame rails, butterfly braces, delrin door bushings (debatable of its effectiveness), roll bar.

 

[GreenFrog]

rtc, I suggest you master driving the car for a couple months before you even begin to think about performance / handling mods.

 

[akatsuki]

So Ford is saying they will mass produce an autonomous car in 5 years.

Now I am wondering if I should throw down on an LC or just wait and let my car do the driving. I am kind of favoring the latter.

 

[jbarwick]

Ford put out multiple iterations of their MyTouch system over more than 5 years and it never worked right. I doubt they will have an autonomous car in 5 years.

 

[HRoi]



I'm kinda surprised that no one has commented my my manual driving prowess.

We never doubted your ability to competently handle a knob

 

[ridethecliche]

We never doubted your ability to competently handle a knob

Wish I could say the same!