"daender" (daender)
01/05/2016 at 11:32 • Filed to: miata
7
12|
"daender" (daender)
01/05/2016 at 11:32 • Filed to: miata | 7
| 12 |
This is the first ever picture of my 2002 Mazda Miata, taken on January 5th, 2013, minutes after a 3 hour drive from the Mooresville dealership to my parents’ house.
A humble 54.7k mile LS-packaged car that was owned by someone with a dog in southern Texas for most of its life before spending a year between multiple dealerships. It needed work; the interior had dog hair everywhere, the silver paint on the rims was bubbling and flaking off, and the gas tank had rust clogging up both the fuel pump and the fuel filter.
This car was loaded for a Miata with the larger sport brakes, Bilstein suspension (pops accidentally replaced it with cheap SenSen shocks instead of getting them re-valved), tan top and interior (classy), and the most coveted Miata part, a Torsen Limited-Slip Differential .
Here’s the car as it is today after numerous modifications (as Mr. Regular said, each owner customizes their Miata to make it unique) and 25.3k miles filled with drives all across the state of South Carolina, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . First came the green hardtop as the only upgrade of 2013, then the used !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! early 2014, next the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! mid-pipe (shush, it’s not legal for my auto-x class) and muffler, followed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , by 2015 it was time for new Koni Sport shocks and FatCat Motorsports bumpstops, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! later that year along with a rare Mazdaspeed mirror, and finally !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to match the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to complete the two-tone look.
Of course, like most car enthusiasts, I’m never done modifying and tinkering with my vehicle. I’m planning on mounting the wooden Nardi knob and parking brake handle very soon while I continue searching for an ‘01 SE wooden steering wheel. My performance-wise options are limited due to the rules of my stock autocross classing but new tires are a must later this year as the used Nitto NeoGens reach the end of their limited performance interval. However, I’m slowly accumulating money to afford some OEM JDM goodies like the Japanese-only cams, intake, throttle body, ecu, and 4-2-1 header to pick up an extra 10-15hp along with a 500 rpm-higher redline. Will this bump me out of stock class? Yes, but I won’t say anything about it until I’m caught~!
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> daender
01/05/2016 at 11:37 |
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I feel like I have driven my Miata too much lol. I have driven the same amount of miles except I have only had the car for 1 year instead of 3. This may be a good problem to have though! Definitely gonna read through like all of your posts since I have not seen them before somehow.
BREADwagon
> daender
01/05/2016 at 11:53 |
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Your last sentence reminds me of a little anecdote:
This young racer finally works his way up to Formula Ford. He’s a straight shooter and makes sure his car is 100% to regs. Throughout the season, he continues to get better, but never finishes ahead of mid-pack. The next year, he consistently finishes in the middle of the pack, but can never touch the front runners.
After much internal conflict, he caves and decides to get an illegal part that would be easy to hide, but make more power. He covertly goes to a fabricator and asks about the part.
The fabricator gives him a strange look and asks, “is this for a Formula Ford car?”. The driver, a terrible liar, caves and tells the fabricator yes, knowing full-well of it’s legality.
The fabricator smiles and says, “I knew it! It’s our most popular part with you Formula Ford guys!”
Milky
> daender
01/05/2016 at 11:56 |
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Im about to make my 3 year post in a week. I’ve put on 65k miles ... A Miata would’ve been a smarter purchase. Old Japanese parts > old German parts.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> daender
01/05/2016 at 13:18 |
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What seat covers are you using? My drivers seat is getting to the point of needing one of these.
The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!)
> daender
01/05/2016 at 14:52 |
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No tupperware! *swoons* NB’s are my favorite Miatas, and I’d love to get one of them again. It’s a pity so many have the awful body kit.
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daender
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/05/2016 at 16:33 |
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Uh, shitty Walmart seat covers that’re about ready to be changed out for another set. I haven’t decided on what color/style yet.
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daender
> The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!)
01/05/2016 at 16:34 |
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I really like the NB1’s front lip so I’m looking at getting one in due time but not until this car stops seeing Columbia’s shitty curbs/part of the road where parking lots meet streets.
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daender
> BREADwagon
01/05/2016 at 16:38 |
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I don’t expect my car to be going to nationals in Omaha and I’ve been finishing mid-pack so a few well-hidden unfair advantages will at least give me a fairer shot at first place (something I’ve never been able to accomplish with this car).
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> daender
01/05/2016 at 22:55 |
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Your seats get destroyed or are you just protecting them for resale?
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daender
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/05/2016 at 23:01 |
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Sorta preserving them, also leather isn’t bueno on super-cool days.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> daender
01/05/2016 at 23:06 |
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I forgot how cold the leather is until I got in my car yesterday after work. First night where the low has gotten below 20 since like February. It felt like sitting on ice haha. Good thing the Miata heater works like the fires of hell!
Burn-Spaz1966-Burn
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/06/2016 at 06:38 |
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Did someone say fires of Hell?