Strongly considering getting an NA Miata.

"Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ" (doge-supreme)
11/24/2014 at 22:24 • Filed to: None

Since I'm going to be selling my BRZ and my RSTi project car within the next few months I've started looking for a replacement vehicle. My parents (and by parents I mean my mom) wants me to get something with AWD and preferably with a large presence on the road like an SUV, believing that the larger the vehicle the safer it is despite this being proven wrong on multiple occasions. I was looking at getting a WRX because it seemed like a decent compromise car for both sportieness and practicality, but in the last few weeks I've drifted towards the NA Miata. The main reason I should get something that's AWD is because I have to drive over the MT Hood pass about 3-4 times for holidays and house sitting during the winter, but other than that I'm in the Portland area where it might get some snow or ice for like 3 days and that's it, so I don't see why I need it that bad especially when I have a few cars to borrow that are AWD.

A Miata would be my first non-Subaru car since my first car, and I know I can get an NA for fairly cheap in decent condition like half my budget after I sell my other cars if not a bit less so I would have a decent amount of cash to put into fixing it up and upgrades.

Anyhow I am wondering what the basic maintenance and reliability is like on these, as well as what types of upgrades to look into if I end up getting one. The main goal other than being my DD, would be for auto-x.

DISCUSSION (18)

Grindintosecond > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:28

Kinja'd!!!

Don't forget your options....

SlickMcRick > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:35

Make sure you get a '94 or later model since they have the bigger engine. I too was thinking about getting one. Maybe in the spring I'll consider it but now it's time to bunker down for winter over hear on the east coast.

Justin Hughes > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:40

The NA is great, but getting a bit long in the tooth. I actually started having trouble finding new replacement parts for my last Miata, which led me to look for something newer. You're clearly a bit of a tinkerer, so that shouldn't be much of a problem for you.

Snow tires and a Torsen equipped car should get you through the slippery stuff just fine. The Torsen will also help you on the autocross course.

My Miatas have been among the most reliable cars I've ever had, including the ones that I autocrossed and did track days with regularly. But like I said, they're getting a bit older, and are starting to have the same reliability issues that any older car has. I love the pop-up headlights, but if it was me I'd be looking for an NB at this point - probably a '99 Sport if I could find one.

Scary__goongala! > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:43

I bought my NA back in June. Now I realize my ownership period has not been that long, but I have had no reliability problems. The car has 126xxx miles on the odo. I replaced the timing belt and the related bits because it was at the recommended interval. And since the car is pretty easy to work on I didn't screw it up haha. I'd say the first 2 mods to a Miata for AutoX would be proper tires and sway bars. I am currently working to get mine ready for my 1st real season of AutoX this spring/summer.

Seat Safety Switch > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:46

I've owned a bunch of Subarus and now two NA Miatas. The Impreza and the Miata are both pretty sturdy, reliable cars that can be kept in great shape with relatively attentive ownership.

Mazda parts tend to be a little cheaper and more readily available than Subaru parts (Mike's Place has really helped me out), but they also appear to be of a lower quality, especially the durability of the interior. Mazda's engineers think they're pretty clever, so they tend to do some odd stuff in the name of packaging. Both companies have lazy engineers that share major platform parts for several decades, so parts interchange is rampant.

There are a lot of new wrinkles when it comes to having an open top car - lots more road noise, new sources of leaks to worry about and a variety of interesting new techniques and maintenance. Aim for a glass-window soft top if you have a lot of options in the local market.

Modifications can run the gamut of whatever you're interested in. My '97 is stock and runs in the ES class for SCCA autocross. If I find a rusty-but-serviceable tub for cheap enough I want to experiment with setting one up for rallycross.

The community has some good writeups for maintenance and repair, but a lot of them seem to tend on the "let's be safe and do all this other useless work" side as opposed to the excellent, terse, well-photographed ones available in the Subaru community. There are some more modern sites that are doing better stuff, but Miata.net is of a highly variable quality.

For instance, when I had to replace the thermostat in my '91, I found a well-promoted guide that told me to first drain all the coolant and remove the radiator . The thermostat is on the top water neck, covered by two easily-accessible bolts, and very little coolant was lost when pulling it. It took me longer to peel the paper backing off the cork gasket than to get access to the old thermostat. Some sanity and fact-checking will get you past bad advice like this without turning small jobs into huge ordeals.

As with any car, you want to start with repairing deferred maintenance, though. When I bought my '97 it had a nonfunctional speedometer that turned out to be a broken speedo cable - the previous owner greased the outside of the cable instead of the inside when it started to squeak! It also has blown-out rear strut tops, dying rear struts, mouldy trunk carpet and a squeaky fuel pump, all of which are being gradually serviced. All that stuff is to be expected with any 17 year old car.

So yeah, go test drive a bunch of them. If you like them, but don't like the soft-top-ness of it, maybe go take a look at FC RX7s or early RX8s as well.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > Scary__goongala!
11/24/2014 at 22:46

the first things I will probably do is new sway bars, strut braces, partial cage, coil overs, new seats and harnesses then on to forced induction.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > Seat Safety Switch
11/24/2014 at 22:51

I don't mind road noise and any interior issues most of its probably going to be stripped out anyways. I'm probably going to track down a hard top for it if I get one.

Scary__goongala! > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:51

Your Miata budget is much larger than mine and you don't even have one yet haha

*cries because college steals all my monies

5238901 > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:53

Don't do both sway bars (or if you do, get the 14mm MSM rear bar).

Why would you buy a strut tower brace for a car that has shocks? The weight is in a high place and it does functionally next to nothing.

This is what you should do if you're looking to track your car: Gen 2 Xidas (or get the 949 BGK), 15x8 or 15x9 wheels + BFG Rivals, Rollbar, Buckets + Harnesses. Don't worry about power. Unless if you're approaching on Spec Miata times, adding a turbo isn't going to do shit for you outside of cost you a boatload of money and headaches.

Seat Safety Switch > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 22:56

Hard top is a good idea. You might have to cut holes in the interior in order to install the side latches, which is what I ended up having to do on my '97. There are many, many more red hardtops than any other colour, if you don't mind having a mismatched car.

It's also worth mentioning that they're excellent winter cars. I drove my '91 for a few weeks in -30°C when my '97 Impreza started having MAF issues. That's why I had to do the thermostat.

I had studded Kumho KW22s on it and didn't have a single sketchy moment - I don't recommend running Carbotech XP8 'race' pads when you do the same, though. Even with the open diff and ratcheted down on coilovers it was great to drive. I passed a brand-new Pathfinder that had wrecked into the ditch; the look on the driver's face when I drove past paid for the car.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > Scary__goongala!
11/24/2014 at 22:58

I'm looking at around 8-9k for a budget and most Miatas in my area run around 3-4k, handling upgrades are pretty inexpensive as in the hundreds not 1000's so I should be able to make one handle great but i would like some more power in the end, but nothing ridiculous maybe like 215-230bhp.

GhostZ > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 23:02

If you want it to look like either of the pictures there, expect to dump $11,000, maybe more.

What's wrong with your BRZ and STi?

Scary__goongala! > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 23:03

I bought mine for $3500. Curious what AutoX class all that will put you into.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > GhostZ
11/24/2014 at 23:05

Out of money, financial situation changed, and don't have the time to work on my project that sits 150 miles away.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > Scary__goongala!
11/24/2014 at 23:06

Probably something in the super modified class

GhostZ > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 23:07

You will not get 215HP out of the miata engine on that budget. Even a 1.8l at very high VEs (terrible reliability, economy, and race fuel) you can't conceivably get 160HP N/A, which means you'll have to go turbo.

A turbo Miata kit running to 215 HP needs about 8-12 psi, which means you're going to be using premium fuel, an intercooler, new exhaust and intake manifolds, and maybe valve/piston upgrades depending on what the stock C/R is. A Flyin' Miata turbo kit runs $6000 for that, and that's without labor, tuning, and I'm not sure if you need additional parts like a larger radiator to handle the extra heat. That already blows your budget before the parts are even on the car.

Or you'll have to swap the engine entirely, which is just as (maybe more) expensive.

If you want that kind of HP out of a car that light for that little cash, I suggest looking toward SR-swapped 240SXs, turbo 240Zs, First-gen RX-7s (with a Ford 302 swap), baja bugs, 1st gen Mustang I6s (with a 302 swap as well, 2800lbs, no IRS though) and similar vehicles.

GhostZ > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
11/24/2014 at 23:11

I'd suggest biting the bullet and driving a reliable beater sedan (like a late-70s or 80s land yacht you can find in decent shape) that is simple enough to fix yourself with either an SBC or 302, so that you have reliable transportation regardless of your financial situation. You won't lose your ass on depreciation like you probably did with the BRZ.

Do that for 6 months and you'll have enough saved up to buy a great, reliable miata.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > GhostZ
11/24/2014 at 23:13

That's long term plans for me. I rarely will sell my cars unless I absolutely have to like the situation I'm in now my budget when i first get one would cover most handling upgrades I want power mods come later.