Miata advise please

[Gary Myers]

I'm looking to buy a Miata so I can start solo racing. Any advice on what to look for? Are certain year models better than others? 5 speed vs 6 speed? I'm planning on keeping it street legal. Are there any good Miata specific forums?

Thanks,

Gary Myers

[nrickli]

Gary,
I found this site to be a great help when I was looking:

http://miata.net/

Good luck

neil

[gary]

I think white is the fastest, right?

[Chris_Swearingen]

Technically, mine is still street legal.:)

miata.net is a good resource, but I would suggest coming to an event and talking to as many miata drivers as you can. As you are probably aware, there are lots of different flavors and classes they can compete in. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

p.s. White ones are faster.

[cojsl]

I'm looking to buy a Miata so I can start solo racing.

I know it's not what you're asking, but unless you're buying the car in the next week or so, you might consider bringing out what you're driving now and start racing it.
When starting to autox, seat time is far more important than the "right" vehicle (I guess it's really almost always more important...)
This way, you get to start having fun sooner!

[Matt Leicester]

Yup, you want a Miata! Come out and talk to us and take a few rides. White Miatas are definitely the best, so start there! Also, as far as I can tell, the first rule of Bob Klingler (Past National Champion in a Miata, albeit a red one) is, "Thou shalt not autocross a six speed Miata.". The six speed cars can run out of second gear and need third where the five speed cars won't, and third gear absolutely kills your acceleration. Probably avoid the 1.6 L cars, unless you want to go into Street Touring S2. The '90 - '97 Miatas are all in E Stock, and the 1.8 L cars ('94 - '97) can be had with a Torsen limited slip differential which is a huge help. The Torsen is probably a bigger difference than the power - the 1.8 cars have a little more power but weigh more than the 1.6 cars. The '99 and later Miatas are in C Stock and are definitely faster, but more expensive to buy, and locally anyway there are a lot more people running ES, so it's a mighty fun class.

Matt Leicester
33X, 1995 Miata R (white, of course...)

[fast_eddie_72]

I'm looking to buy a Miata so I can start solo racing. Any advice on what to look for? Are certain year models better than others? 5 speed vs 6 speed? I'm planning on keeping it street legal. Are there any good Miata specific forums?

Thanks,

Gary Myers

I think the best Miatas are the mid engined Toyota ones. Oh. Wait. I'm confused again, aren't I? Those aren't the best Miatas. They're the fastest ones. :D

Take care,

Ed

[nrickli]

I think white is the fastest, right?


Don't forget the blue numbers (of the correct size).:)

[aleliaert]

Having built an STS2 Miata, I can say it's a blast to autoX and the buildup satisfied a lot of pent-up urges I had to modify a car.

That said, it's not so much fun to drive on the street for any length of time, and the buildup took a lot of attention which could have been spent on driving technique.

Our next autocross weapon will probably be something left stock-ish. You can spend plenty of time/money thinking about your shocks/alignment/tires. A NC Miata with the MS-R package sure would be fun for C-Stock. :)

[Gary Myers]

I know it's not what you're asking, but unless you're buying the car in the next week or so, you might consider bringing out what you're driving now and start racing it.
When starting to autox, seat time is far more important than the "right" vehicle (I guess it's really almost always more important...)
This way, you get to start having fun sooner!

I agree but unfortunately my current cars won't race - suv and minivan!

[alby426]

OK, enough with the WHITE MIATAS, I think that GREEN is the way to go! It is the fastest. Oh wait, I used to own a white Miata, and it was pretty darn fast.... OK, disregard my first sentence.
Well, I think that green are fast too!

As far as my .02 cents, depending on your budget there could be one perfect waiting for you.

If you want to stay in stock, ES: 94-96 Miata "R" (not necessarily White)
CS: you will probably want a '99 with sport package.

Any added weight is considered boat anchorage on a small car, so avoid "power" anything! (I can talk, mine even has cruise control).

As far as the latest, I can't say. it doesn't seem to be many of those around to judge.

Good luck and come and see us this week-end.

[47ford]

OK, enough with the WHITE MIATAS, I think that GREEN is the way to go! It is the fastest. Oh wait, I used to own a white Miata, and it was pretty darn fast.... OK, disregard my first sentence.
Well, I think that green are fast too!


Al (and everyone else),

How could you forget to mention how much faster STRIPES are?! Didn't your green miata go faster with your yellow strips (or the blue ones on Tom's white Miata)? Never discount the value of racing/rally stripes :D To forget such an important detail, I'ld think you guys are trying to keep him from being competitive ;)

[Matt Leicester]

Yeah, Hank put the test fit duct tape stripes on his car and ripped! We may have to try that, I'm getting tired of being cannon fodder in X...

Matt Leicester

[hderr]

Yeah, Hank put the test fit duct tape stripes on his car and ripped! We may have to try that, I'm getting tired of being cannon fodder in X...

Matt Leicester

It's a proven fact, with black and red being the fastest. And Heinz seems
to have found some magic speed using the blue painters tape approach.

[Heinz]

Hank, my "magic" happened to be a friend with sugestions about tire pressures ? You.
Thanks

Heinz

[hderr]

about tire pressures

What say you, we help the MR2 guys with some tire pressure adjustments? You and I can distract them and we'll get Al to do the dirty work. :D :D

[fast_eddie_72]

What say you, we help the MR2 guys with some tire pressure adjustments? You and I can distract them and we'll get Al to do the dirty work. :D :D

Last time I talked to you guys about tire pressure I determined that you're not running any air in your tires. Some of the Miatas are running almost 10 psi lower than me. I think Ed R is running more in your range, but we all know that's really a Miata with an MR2 body on it.

I really don't know enough about it to know, but I'm convienced I'm in the right range pressure wise (35 front, 36 rear or there abouts) but I can't understand why it's so much different for the Miatas. Maybe just because the MR2s weigh more, so the tires squish more? Squish. Is that the technical term?

Take care,

Ed

[Gary Myers]

I have found a 2000 Miata for sale. It's a Special Edition so its loaded with gadgets. It is also a 6 speed. Any thoughts? Is there any up or down side to the 6 speed vs the 5 speed?

Gary

[Gary Myers]

No, its not white.

Gary

[fast_eddie_72]

I have found a 2000 Miata for sale. It's a Special Edition so its loaded with gadgets. It is also a 6 speed. Any thoughts? Is there any up or down side to the 6 speed vs the 5 speed?

Gary

(note: NOT a Miata guy, so take all this with a large grain of salt)

I've heard six speed Miatas are bad for autocross- as in second isn't tall enough and you have to shift to third. Generally speaking, gadgets= weight. Weight= bad.

[fast_eddie_72]

No, its not white.

Gary

Kiss of death.

[Gary Myers]

(note: NOT a Miata guy, so take all this with a large grain of salt)

I've heard six speed Miatas are bad for autocross- as in second isn't tall enough and you have to shift to third. Generally speaking, gadgets= weight. Weight= bad.


I've read negative comments about 6 speeds in autocross on another forum too.

Gary

[kirstein]

I think the best Miatas are the mid engined Toyota ones. Oh. Wait. I'm confused again, aren't I? Those aren't the best Miatas. They're the fastest ones. :D

Take care,

Ed
Not at the 2007 Nationals.... In ES, first was taken by Brian Johns in a 95 Miata.

[fast_eddie_72]

Not at the 2007 Nationals.... In ES, first was taken by Brian Johns in a 95 Miata.

Ha! As in any other sport, even the bad teams win from time to time.

(In case you all don't know, I AM only kidding.)