Sup guys, just wanted to show off a few pics of my new toy. She gets awsome gas mileage. I went from central jerz to ft. lee (n. jerz) then to NYC w/ traffic, back down, work for 3 days and I still have a 1/4 tank left! Not only is the gas great, she handles like no other. Now.......... for the pics.



The front bumper can use some paint, but for a 14 year old car............ shes doin finnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.



She came with the altezza's weren't my choice, I'll probably spray paint the silver area black or charcoal.



I will probably opt out for higher output bulbs but stick with yellow.



Smile!



Closer look at the altezza's


She is a blast to drive, I cant stop thinking about her at work.... just in the car, top down, zipping around. It's not slow, but it isn't fast. Awsome handling machine as well as budget friendly. I made the right choice.

Mods: Decorative roll bar (came with it), unknown exhaust (probably custom) and altezza tail lights.

I already know she has a ripped shift boot (3 of them, all 3 are ripped) so thats going to be my weekend project.

Future maintenance plans: fluid changes, water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, spark plug wires, battery, fuel filter, clutch, timing belt, new bulbs, fog lights and probably will need to get a new top soon.

Future modifications: Full exhaust system, headers, pulley, massive suspension work (Includes struts, sways, chassi stiffening brace), hard dog roll bar, bbs rims (if i can afford these), performance tires, big brake kit, lightened fly wheel, steering wheel, shift knob and possibly seats with racing harness, oh gotta get a helmet for SCCA Solo races too =)

Thanks to all who helped, i'll be sure to ask more questions!

Congrats man , keep her clean . =].

congrats, she looks pretty nice. you should get the moss motor headlight kit. i have it on my car, they light output is much greater than any stock replacement bulb. plus i have it wired so when i put the high beams on the low beams are on as well. oh and your car doesnt have struts it has shocks because it has proper double wishbone suspension

Akira, are you on miata.net?

I go to this site whenever I have free time, its a freaking miata library.

The moss headlights are a bit pricey as of right now, I gotta do a lot of maintenance stuff, if I do everything I THINK I need to do, just the parts are going to cost me around 1k. The car cost me 2.8K *sigh. I calculated all maintenance + mods will equal around 8k. But if I span out the cost of modding this car over a few years, it's not that bad. I'm going to do maintenance first, then start adding stuff. Maintenance = reliability. So step 1 is to make it reliable, step 2. is to make it handle better and then finally, step 3 is to make it faster. Oh yeah, step 4 is to make it safe (I should probably do this one first lol).

Mannnn the miata is so simple! Thats what makes it so much fun and easy to deal with.

^I saw you on m.net hehe. For the softtop, go with 303 Aerospace Protectant and it'll shine like it's wet 24/7.
http://www.autogeek.net/303aerprot.html

Really glad you have plans for it. I'm keeping mine stock until I get a real job. Preventive maintenance is still fun!

Isn't it? Just having this car teaches me so much about cars, what I have to do, what it does, why it does it, etc. etc. I wish I had my own garage w/ a lift.

Whats your name on miata.net?

Wow congrats! Haha it is always nice to see someone have so much fun with their car.

Oh one more thing for potential miata owners, highway drive is very, very, very boring.

You feel kinda out of place, all these big sedans, trucks and SUV's whizzing by you......... your face is at like their TIRE LEVEL. Its like, you = go cart, them = monster truck.

But oh man, when you come to corners, you shine. No one can touch me on high way ramps or lil windy roads. I get so many looks from girls, guys kinda just snicker and look at me like I'm gay or going through a mid life crisis. I always hear girls giggling or whispering "omg!! what a cute car!!!" etc. etc. Puts a smile on my face as I down upshift and just let my miata rawr.

I think i'll stick with my CR-V for long drives and use my miata for short trips. More pics to come later!

congrats man, you finally got that car you've always wanted

Akira, do you know how god RacingBeats products are for the Miata? Maybe Laxntiga should check out some of the stuff they have to offer for Miatas.

I checked out racing beat's stuff. Im more of a flyn' miata fan.

for power mods i only plan on doing headers, exhaust, timing bump

Probably will get a magnaflow exhaust and megan racing headers. The flyn' miata butterfly brace and a hardog roll bar are definately on the list. I will def be shocks, motor mounts and upgrade a big brake kit.

welcome to the family

miata ftw!!!

Grats, I've planned on getting one but that never happened because I can't afford one right now. Besides, I still have too many cars.

i have racing beat sway bars and they are great. i would recommend those to pretty much anyone. i probably wouldnt buy anything else from them though

^ what kind of tire/size do you have on?

does the miata have a somewhat rough feeling when you shift into gear? unlike a honda where its smooth?

is it the base model? congrats on the car

not really feeling the tail lights

Not really, just switched out my trans fluid and turret fluid. Feels like cutting cold butter with a hot knife.

Not sure about tire size, but I know they are 14's and stock. Going to upgrade to 15s or 16s, not sure yet. Wheels are expensive!



Me neither, I wanted to spray paint them, but too much work. I plan on just getting vinyl covers to get that smoked look (illegal?)

Probably depends on the cop if he'll pull you over, look it up for your state. There are some classy looking after market taillights out there if you look. Go for 15s, that's the best of both worlds for both performance/looks. You probably like clubroadster.net

Oh it's good to hear that it gets good gas mileage. You're so lucky.

Are you going hard-top on the Miata?
Just by putting the vinyl covers to make the lights smoked, it will still look ugly and not to mention the police (everyone has their bad days) will probably pull you over. Don't be cheap, buy OEM replacements.
and...
congratulations on getting a fun car

Are you being sarcastic?



No hardtops for this badboy. I'm planning on garaging it in the winter, taking it out for drives when the roads are clear to keep it alive. I gotta buy a new soft top come spring anyway. When I do I should have saved up enough for a glass soft top so I can fit my harddog rollbar in there.

Figured these are the mods in the order I plan on doing by spring: Exhaust (friend buying me one for my birthday), Flyn' Miata butterfly brace, struts and sway bars, harddog roll bar, glass soft top.

By summer I hope to have: Headers, wheels and tires, then getting shocks and springs

By next fall I hope to have a big brake kit, fresh paint, clutch and lightened fly wheel.

Then I plan to do some interior work. I'll be doing maintenance inbetween as well =/

why are you doing the bbk?

My stock brakes... I dont know if its the calipers or something, they suck. I feel them slip when im braking for a long time (could be brake fade). Gotta upgrade to better pads. I'll probably throw in the bbk to ensure I can brake at anytime, anywhere. Plus it wont hurt on the track =)

you do not need a bbk, its a waste of money. just get good pads (hawk hp+ or porterfield r4-s) for the street and light track duty. once you get good and you will need a dedicated track pad. you will not need a bbk unless you go forced induction and race with r-compound tires and are good. if you must get bigger calipers, just get use the calipers and rotors from a 94-97.

if i were you the first thing i would get would be good pads, fresh rotors, new brake lines, and flush the brake fluid. then i would get springs/shocks (do it at the same time, it will make the labor easier), then sways. after that i would get the roll bar or butterfly brace

Akira is an information power house. When I do brake upgrades (soon) I will def remember to get hawk brake pads and resourface the rotors. What are brake lines exactly? Why do I need them? I will def flush the brake fluid as well. Guess I wont need a bbk after all. I hope those hawk brake pads work well, I get scared when I have to brake and the car just keeps going when my foot is on the floor.

I gotta get new pedals as well my clutch pedal is done and I just dont like the rubber feel, I'm switching to aluminum

dont bother, just get new ones



they are the lines that carry the brake fluid to the calipers, i'm pretty sure you can figure out why you need them now. ideally you should change them every few years, but most people dont. i wouldnt be surprised if those are the original brake lines. brake lines deteriorate from the inside out so its tuff to tell just by looking at them if you need to change them or not. you wouldnt want a brake line to burst while on the track.



hawk hp+ has the strongest initial bite out of any street pads ive used, they have tons of stopping power for a street pad. the only downside to them is that they dust a lot and make noise. but hey its worth it for the price and the performance. if you want a quieter cleaner pad get the porterfield r4s.

This is why I asked you why you wanted BBK, because some kid got lectured about his BBK that he never uses. Whatever. On top of what aznakira said, if you want to stop buy a new set of tires and after you install suspension, make sure you get an alignment setting.

this is very true, you can only stop as fast as your tires will let you no matter what brakes you have. tires are the most important thing because they are the only thing making contact with the road, all the suspension, power and brakes in the world wont amount to anything if your tires aren't good.

however, he did say that
so at the moment his brakes are the weak link in the equation.

Yeah im blaming the brakes because I have fresh all season tires. I guess my next mod will be new brake lines and pads.

When I got my inspection, my mechanic didn't say anything about me needing new pads or rotors. I trust him, but... how could he have checked inside the brake lines? He probably saw the amount of pad left and made sure I wasn't missing any pieces or leaking any fluids.

I think my rotors are fine, new rotors cost $$$. I'll have my car-savvy friend take a look at it with me. I'll def change the brake lines, fluid and the pads. I hope installing them isn't a bxtch. I have no idea where the brake lines are or how to wire them, I hope that enthusiast maintenace manual comes soon!


...... brake lines burst at the track..... lol pwned.


Just checked.. the rotors cost $80 bucks for OEM per rotor. The pads cost $80 bucks for a set (front and back same price). Akria, u sure these porterfield's are worth it? I hope I can get away with just resurfacing the rotors and installing the brake pads + fuel lines. What do you think?

Are you getting ss brake lines? You dont need an enthusiast maintenance manual to tell you where the brake lines are. Just follow the line from the brake caliper on up. After looking at it, you probably can do it yourself as long as you know how to do it yourself. As for pads, I have Hawk HPS pads and they are better than OEM pads I had.

if you dont mind the noise get the hawk hp+, thats what im running in my miata and my rx7.



he probably just inspected how much was left...



if your pushing on the brake so hard that it goes almost to the floor without being able to lock the tires then your pads/rotors are probably glazed. when my g/f got her miata the previous owner glazed the pads and rotors. it was impossible to lock the tires in that thing, it had that little braking power. it took forever stop in that thing, very dangerous. i changed the pad and rotors and then it would stop like its supposed to. now if you pedal is going to the floor without any resistance, or there is resistance then after a second the resistance goes away, than you probably have leak in the brake master cylinder

Wanted to show you guys the new suspension setup. I still have to get an alignment, probably will do it after I get back from Vegas for a business trip.

Anyway, check it out! I got Tokico Illumina's w/ Racing Beat Springs (about 50k miles on em) for like $50 bucks, he even helped me install it =)

50k miles on the dampers and springs, the springs shouldn't matter too much, I hope the Tokico's last me another 40k miles or so.









MMMMmmmmmm fresh paint! - Milano Red (the same red on the RSX-S, Preludes, and some other Hondas lol. Mazda wearing Honda paint lol. I cant decide on what to do next: Hard Dog Roll Bar, smaller and new steering wheel (leaning towards Momo), New seats, or Wheels + New Tires, new stereo, or if I should just do the timing belt and water pump.... I am leaking coolant... hmmm

1. Fix the coolant leak
2. Buy OEM tail-lights
3. Wheels & tires
4. Roll cage
5. Are Racing Beat springs really that good?
6. New seats
7. New stereo
8. Hardtop

skip ahead to the ls7 swap

I would say respectable enough to take them if you find a good price and chance.

Haha i like miatas alot too. It is one of my choices when buying a new car.

i use to have the tokiko setup, but i ditched it for a set of tein basic's which is pretty good too. i want to buy roll bar next and a set of new wheels. probably from rota.

nice paint you got there. Ima back v8subie on your coolant leak and tail lights.

zum-zum

ls1 swap would make the poor miata drag its face all over the asphalt (i donno if thats really true but it'll probably really make the weight distribution go off which is always bad).

miatas were always cool in my book. cant believe they are so cheap and rwd! comes to show why theyre the best selling roadsters.

not by much, the miata is cast iron block, weight difference could easy fixed by moving couple small things.

eh i dont know anything about domestic cars

except they go fast in a straight line and tend to have very bad build quality!

i got to admit.... you are on a roll this week

I thought of the Ls1 swap and all, but what it comes down to... its not in my budget. I wanted a low cost econo roadster I can enjoy driving during the spring/summer/early fall.

With the money I need to do a Ls1 swap, I have a lot of other options.

It's not the weight issue, its not gas (ls1 gets VERY good gas milage for a v8), it's just the price. The engine would cost almost 2x, maybe even 3x the cost of a Miata.

out of curiosity are u ever going to track the car?

i heard tracking is pretty expensive since you need new tires after and the gas?

I was thinking about tracking it. I still might. The gas isn't that expensive, but the tires oh yes. Along with racing seats + roll bar + helmet + track fees, it all adds up.

From what I've read, the LS1 is actually lighter than the stock motor in this particular Miata. Displacement doesn't neccesarily equate to massive overall engine.

some would be suprised on how light the v8 ls1 is compared to smaller blocks

she looks like she's smiling!

More like stunned like a deer in headlights, but ironically enough it is the headlights lol.

IIRC the LS1 is light as 13BREW...not real sure.