Boz Mon's Miata thread. Small update, rants and raves

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boz Mon
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Yeah the 6-speeds really are not all that great. The 6th gear ratio is pretty close to the 5th gear ratio in the 5-speed, so it's really no different except the fact that you are shifting all the time. If you want taller gears and differential swap might be in the cards.
 
Another small update: I got a clear 3-M bra installed the other day. It covers the front bumper, 1 foot up the hood, and the mirrors. Cost me about $400, but well worth it
 
I feel the need to update this thread. Its been almost a year since I bought the Miata, and Ive put almost 20k miles on it. Yes I drive a lot! Since this thread was made, Ive gone through 2 antennas which were $50 a piece. I put new tires on the car in, I want to say August of 2010. Then went on a roadtrip to the Tail of the Dragon with about 7 miatas and 2 Porsche's. Had a blast down there.

I have not had any issues with the car other than the antenna thing. Before winter, I changed the coolant, and the car has been chugging along fine. Come summer, I will be looking into a new soft top since mine is getting a bit raggity.

This week, I plan on doing my next small mod to the car to add to my K&N drop in, and visor delete. The modification basically replaces the current washer fluid squirters with Mazda Tribute ones in favor of a more efficient spray pattern.

The car performs well in the snow with my all season tires on it. It takes a bit more finesse to get moving from a dead stop in the snow, but once its moving, I have as much, if not more control than previous FWD cars that I have owned. Not having ABS is a non issue since I rely heavily on the motor and short gears to slow me down.

I have nothing but praise for this car. It serves as an extremely fun daily driver very well 👍

61976_695913002821_22012616_39050634_2173415_n.jpg
 
Glad to hear you're liking it.

One thing though...your car isn't that old, is there a reason for the soft top to be raggity already?! Sounds like they cheaped out on materials.
 
Boz Mon
The car performs well in the snow with my all season tires on it. It takes a bit more finesse to get moving from a dead stop in the snow, but once its moving, I have as much, if not more control than previous FWD cars that I have owned. Not having ABS is a non issue since I rely heavily on the motor and short gears to slow me down.
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I noticed this too. I think light weight and good front/rear balance helps a lot. Far less nose-led than your average FWD car with 60+ percent of the weight over the nose so it turns much easier in snow. Not to mention the benefits of altering your direction entirely with the throttle :D
 
homeforsummer
I Not to mention the benefits of altering your direction entirely with the throttle :D
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This is one of my absolute favorite things about driving the car in snow. Where front wheel drive cars push through corners, I actually have control over turning the car with my right foot.

As for the top, "they" say that tops last on average for 7 to 8 years at best. The top isnt terrible, but it is showing some pretty major signs of wear. I'm going to replace it before any gaping holes appear.
 
Presume the top on yours is vinyl? They don't wear terribly well no, and since I'm guessing you get some fair extremes of hot and cold in Chicago, that's going to accelerate the wear.
 
Yeah, had I had mine for any longer I would have bought a mohair hood for it. They're so much nicer than the vinyl ones. More flexible too so they're less likely to rip.
 
Not sure how many of you have seen this, but here is a video of my first run through the Tail of the Dragon. The car in front of me is a Porsche Cayman S. For the record, it may look like I cross the center line several times, but I didnt. The flip camera causes a weird point of view.

 

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