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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boz Mon
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They're all tight, but niky speaks the truth...
 
Famine
Headroom? There's ninety-three million miles of headroom!
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:lol:👍

Boz Mon
haha Not with the top up in a Chicago winter. I also plan on removing the sun visors later in the week. This will increase visibility out the front window.
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I did that during the summer, and it did help a lot. Unfortunately I am short enough that when the sun started dropping to the south a bit more, I would have to re-install them.
 
6" tint strip across the top?
 
Boz Mon
I have heard this too. I have only driven NBs, never even actually seen an NA up close.
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NCs are as snug as riding leathers. NAs are like an old pair of jeans, in comparison. And some of that extra space behind you and around you in an NA is filled up with extra chassis bracing and plastic cladding in the NC.
 
Boz Mon
I'm still new to this. Give it some time and I'll be driving with the top down even when suff is falling from the sky.
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I dont advise that, don't wanna mess up your stereo or other electronics :sly: If it's just sprinkling though, no worries.
 
topalwaysdown.gif
 
Famine
Top up? Was it raining?
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Snowing. I know you're over there in the UK, but Chicago winters are Brutal. Lake Effect + Flat, midwestern ground = bad snow.

Granted, I live about four hours south...but we do hear you groaning from down here. ;3
 
Went to the Chicago Auto Show today and me and my girlfriend drove home with the top down. It wasnt as cold as I expected, and the miata heater puts out some pretty hot air. Had it set to foot and top vent, and my feet were burning after a short while.
 
Nice...It was around 50F down here at the other tip of Illinois. Unfortunately I had to work or I would've been taking advantage of it myself. I did have the windows down on the short trip across town to work.
 
I did some more 40 degree top down driving today. I also just ordered the visor caps that go over the holes where the visors will be removed from. The site was very weird, and they are using COD as a payment method.
 
i believe it was www.knobmeister.com I got a validation email, and the guys at miata.net recommended it. I think its a guy who does it out of his garage or something, but theres a phone number and a guys name if I have questions. I havent paid anything yet so theres no loss.
 
Still waiting on my visor caps, apparently they were not shipped till the end of the day on wednesday. The other day my windshield squirters were not working, I figured the reservoir was empty. I filled it, but to my surprise, it wasnt empty. They started working after I filled it up though. Thought nothing of it....Today, they stopped again. I know they were not empty this time. So, I blew into the reservoir and they started working. I have no idea why they are doing this but the problem seems to be fixed now.

My antenna parts are still waiting. When I ordered the antenna, they failed to mention that there was another part on the bottom of the mast that I needed, that should be here today.

Lastly I just put in K&N drop in filter which should be a huge upgrade from the stock paper element.
 
Maybe...maybe not. K&N Filters do flow well, but with a small, untuned engine, I wouldn't expect a huge jump in performance. That is, unless the car has a very poor intake setup stock...
 
When you get the filter, you'll want to buy a heat shield or DIY one from aluminum sheet. The stock filter location isn't exactly in the best place.
 
Not worried about performance, just an upgrade from the paper one, and its reusable.
 
niky
When you get the filter, you'll want to buy a heat shield or DIY one from aluminum sheet. The stock filter location isn't exactly in the best place.
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He got a drop-in though, which means it just goes into the stock airbox.
 
Ah. Then it's all good.
 
Yeah, the main benefit won't really be performance related. It'll be the fact that with a good clean every 10k miles it'll last the life of the car. It probably does flow a bit better, but I doubt it's enough to notice any significant difference. Maybe a little extra noise.
 
homeforsummer
Yeah, the main benefit won't really be performance related. It'll be the fact that with a good clean every 10k miles it'll last the life of the car. It probably does flow a bit better, but I doubt it's enough to notice any significant difference. Maybe a little extra noise.
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Thats what I was going for. I dont think there was even any noise difference.
 
Yeah I put a K&N drop-in filter in the Si not too long ago. I would never know it. There's just a bit of noise added I think, but its hard to distinguish it from my exhaust.
 
Maybe there's something in the washer fluid lines that keeps clogging it up?
 
Bit of a Miata update/rants and raves:

Since the purchase, I have put almost 3000 miles on the car already. I like it a lot. Basically, all I have to compare it to is an 83 Chrysler LeBaron, a couple of Preludes, and a Lexus SC300, so I'll do my best.

The handling is very snappy, and it turns in hard. I can get the back end to break loose, and the snap oversteer is very predictable. I can tell the car is light just by how it drives.

I have been getting decent fuel mileage. Averaging 28mpg which is about 3 more on average better than the Prelude. I have noticed that to get better mileage I need to shift around 4,000RPM as opposed to 3,000 in the Prelude.

The interior space is a bit of an issue, but I've gotten used to it. The main issue is head room, but thats not going to be an issue seeing as how warm weather is on the way, and I have been going top down a lot already.

The transmission is another area of interest. 6-speed: the gears are very short, but overall mostly as long as the 5 speed from the Prelude IE at 80 in 5th in the Prelude I was just under 4,000, while at 80 in the Miata in 6th I am just under 4,000. This is more noticeable seeing as how the Miata spins 400 less PRM on the high end. 1st gear is like nothing, I had it sliding today on dry road, and before I knew it, I was bouncing off the rev-limiter (around 7,000 rpm)

The engine is pretty brilliant, but its no H22 :dopey: It has variable valve timing, but not lift. It seems to come alive around 4,000, and by the time redline comes around at 7,000 it seems to run out of breath even though Mazda claims that max power (142hp) is made at 7,000rpm. It makes some cool noises at low revs, and I find that I can make myself smile even if I'm not hitting redline as opposed to riding the high lift cam from the H22.

So far, the only stuff I've done are the K&N drop in, the antenna situation, and the visor removal caps. Other than that, I have been vaguely shopping for a hardtop. I realized that they are pretty expensive and very rare, so hopefully by next winter I will have one. I checked the oil today, and it burned nothing. I really like this Miata, and even though I'll always have special Prelude memories, I am glad that I bought the car.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? thanks for reading
 
Yours is the 1.8? Those never really made the power Mazda claimed at first... I think you'd have to use premium to get all the ponies, to boot.

The hardtop is a good mod... not only is it weather protection, it noticeably stiffens older cars simply by tying the A-pillars to the rear.

Sounds like you're having a blast. Envy. Extreme.
 
Yours is the 1.8? Those never really made the power Mazda claimed at first... I think you'd have to use premium to get all the ponies, to boot.

The hardtop is a good mod... not only is it weather protection, it noticeably stiffens older cars simply by tying the A-pillars to the rear.

Sounds like you're having a blast. Envy. Extreme.
 
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