1 year of Miata!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/10/2015 at 08:11 • Filed to: None

Well the time has finally come, I have reached one year of Miata ownership. Purchased at 126k miles, I have just crossed 150k and one year this week. So far I have gone to many places with this car, finally learned how fun autocross is, and have become addicted to curvy roads. I started out not really caring for the top-down aspect, I bought the car because I wanted something fun with a manual. But now it is top-down rain or shine, hot or cold. I think the coolest part though is the Miata community. Everyone seems so friendly and I have met quite a few friends through my days at Autocross and just local Miata meets. The car seems to transcend age groups, financial backgrounds, and social circles. Sure Miatas might not be for everyone, but they are definitely for me!

This week I plan to celebrate 1 year of Miata with a photo montage of the experience at some point. I recently did my wash/clay/wax as a pre-winter clean so it is looking especially good right now. The only thing I really need right now are just better tires for the summer! Overall it has been great and I look forward to many more years of this. I am glad my girlfriend likes the car too because that means keeping it forever will be even easier.

DISCUSSION (18)

Arrivederci > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 08:26

Enjoyed my NC for about five years! Honestly regret selling that car more than any other I’ve had. Keep it, you’ll regret it otherwise.

JR1 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 08:36

Just out of curiosity how bad are these on the highway

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JR1
11/10/2015 at 09:00

Bad? This car is great on the highway. Cruise control, top down, sixth gear — bliss. I generally take back roads instead because its more entertaining, but I have still spent a fair amount of time cruising down the highway just going point A to point B (then points C through Z afterwards lol). When my tires were better, it even drove straight and smooth at 80mph. Now after much autocrossing on my all seasons, I definitely need to replace them to make it smooth again. But overall I have no complaints with highway travel other than it being a little boring without the turns and such.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Arrivederci
11/10/2015 at 09:04

Yeah selling is not in the cards for me! I definitely want a more practical car eventually as a daily driver plus another faster car as a dedicated track car. But for now, this is the best compromise for all of my interests in a single car. Plus I will eventually bring it with me to California and use it purely for road trips, canyon carving, and the occasional autocross.

JR1 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 09:24

I wasn’t sure how comfortable a little sports car would be cruising at 75mph for an extended period of time. I figured it would be similar to by S10. (which feels like it is uncomfortable cruising on the highway.)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JR1
11/10/2015 at 09:32

Stock exhaust is quiet even at 4k Rpms (would definitely be an issue with aftermarket exhaust droning at speed). Wind is not a bother with the top down and windows up (top up on a windy day though is kinda loud). If there is lots of traffic and I cannot use cruise control, then my right leg tends to get very tired and my back will get sore. But cruising without traffic I can sit very relaxed and go for hours. Ive gone to Toronto and Orlando at the furthest without any issues.

yitznewton > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 09:38

Did you do much generational comparison shopping before you bought? The Mazdaspeed is my favorite of all the Miatas, but I can’t say I love it like I love the S2000. The cheaper price of entry and insurance are attractive, though.

I personally like the NA design best; it’s the MSM driving dynamics that won me over. I could see how a thoroughly chassis-braced and boosted NA would be a great thing, but I’m avoiding going down the extensive modification rabbit hole.

Justin Hughes > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 10:17

Congrats! I missed my 1.6 NA so much that I bought another. And when that went away, I bought yet another.

I don’t have one now, but I suspect I’m not done with Miatas yet. Likely an NB will be my next one.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > yitznewton
11/10/2015 at 10:22

My original goal was to get a ‘97 (so an NA with the 1.8l). However, the biggest trouble was finding a clean car that was stock, without rust, and less than 150k miles. From the NAs that I had looked at, I just could not find something that I considered a good buy as my only car. As soon as I started browsing NBs, everything was just so much better. And when I looked into it, the cars are nearly the same in terms of driving experience. The mazdaspeeds are nice but the price difference for what you get is just not worth it. Upwards of $8k+ for a decent one with similar mileage would not be worth it. For that extra $3k, I could easily get a much better turbo and really good tires on my own NB. Since I got the LS, I already have the LSD, hard suspension, and better interior. The only real upgrade in the mazdaspeed miata is the tiny turbo.

Versus other cars, the Miata appealed to me just because of cost. Both in terms of purchase price and operating costs. I spent just $5200 and had 126k miles, never winter driven, and up to date maintenance history. And maintenance has been the regular stuff (brakes, clutch stuff, cooling system stuff, oil, tires) that I have easily done most of myself at minimal costs (probably spent like $2k in total, much of it preventative and future-proofing).

For a car like the S2k, I would have been in the $20k range just to get started on a decent model with a clean title (lots of salvage ones out there) plus I have heard maintenance is a little bit more expensive (at least for a Honda). I definitely still want an S2k some day (would be a great track car) but I know the Miata hits the sweet spot for me in terms of cost-performance ratio.

shop-teacher > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 10:59

That’s a LOT of miles in one year! Certainly more than enough to be sure you really like it. I’m glad you do.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > shop-teacher
11/10/2015 at 12:24

Yeah, I guess it is a lot of miles lol. And my commute for work is just under 15 miles round trip. So I have been driving mainly for fun. I have definitely had to fix stuff but it is par for the course when you drive that much. I never really even feel like I go that many miles, I just often end up exploring anytime I go somewhere. I always take the longer route too just because it looks more interesting on a map.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Justin Hughes
11/10/2015 at 12:27

Yeah I may be partial to NBs but I think it is just a much more modern car without losing too much of the charm of the NAs. I have driven an NA at an Autocross and I definitely could tell that I would be just as happy with that car though. But it is the little details like the better designed headlights, modern gauge clusters, and nicer steering wheel that make the NB a better experience to me. Sure you could mod an NA to be better, but I wanted something that I enjoyed more stock.

shop-teacher > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 12:52

Sounds fun to me!

Justin Hughes > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 13:39

Similarly, NAs are getting so long in the tooth these days that as much as I like pop-up headlights, I’d be best off going with an NB if I’m not looking for a project or tinker car. Plus, everything you said.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Justin Hughes
11/10/2015 at 15:21

I was convinced that pop-up headlights were the coolest thing in the world. This is until I learned how poorly the lights in the NA actually work (I have seen mods that fix this though which is enticing) versus the NB lights that are just wonderful right from the start. I might do HIDs for the high beams at some point and fix my non-working fogs eventually, but otherwise the lighting is great.

Justin Hughes > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2015 at 15:27

An H4 upgrade is a must, absolutely.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Justin Hughes
11/10/2015 at 15:29

H4 upgrade for what? I know that is a light bulb size but I am not sure what you mean.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Justin Hughes
11/10/2015 at 15:30

Oh oops, found it: http://www.miataforumz.com/how-40/na-h4-h…