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Comments
-juice
Thanks for any help.
Almost like riding a motorcycle. I do try to stay away from situations where I'm hard to see.
Maybe I should get a killer horn. The wimpy one the car came with is almost a joke!
My baby is just sitting on the garage getting very dusty. I sure need this surgery to work out, and am looking forward getting out the bucket and hose and vacume and having all ship shaped again
Look on the bright side though, when you finally drive her again it will be like a new experience again!
(She is properly stored, right?)
I'm considering removing the Miata seat to facilitate permanent modifications to the padding.
-juice
It's interesting. I thought I'd like it more. Maybe it's because I'm quite happy with mine, or maybe it's because they improved it in areas that honestly don't matter to me (noise, ride). But I hopped back in mine, and didn't feel the new one was any better for my needs and wants.
The ride is definitely smoother, impressive because it had 15" rims and mine are 14". Definitely more control, refinement, quiet cruising. It's just not a priority for me.
Acceleration was a tad better, but hardly noticeable IMO. It felt heavier, my main dislike. The engine takes a while to reach its sweet spot, and only gets truly quicker at very high rpm.
Handling felt about the same. My wife came along and she's 8 months pregnant, so it's not like I could push it to the limit.
The one I drove had cloth seats, which I found less comfortable than mine (I have leather). I felt like I had a small lump in the middle of my back, like I had to recline my upper half too much (even with the seat all the way back). Recline it less and you lose precious leg room, which isn't any better than my '93. My legs were still splayed out to the sides.
In the showroom I then sat in a model with leather, and indeed it was more comfortable. This is odd because I usually prefer cloth.
The sun visor is still useless. In the down position it completely blocks the road. I don't like the hump on the trunk lid, it looks like a blister. The midnight Blue color was gorgeous and sort of hid that.
The spare and battery are tucked in nicely, and trunk space is better. No unzipping to fold the top, a big plus. The glass window is smaller, though, so blind spots are still there.
So not bad, but it didn't make we want to upgrade just yet. In fact I think I'll wait until the prices on the 99s drop a little more, then trade up for that. They hold up so well I don't see a need to buy new.
I think it's a tribute to how well Mazda conceived the original. It's hard to improve on it.
-juice
I considered an older model when I bought my '99 last summer, but the two things that threw me off the most - plastic window and barn door lights. Every now and then I think to myself that if I had bought and older one I'd have more cash for extras. Then I get into the car and think 'wait a minute, who needs the extras' :-)
I agree, they keep making the car more refined, more solid, and overall more drivable, but at the unfortunate expense of the true spirit of the car.
Go drive a new LS. Optional 6spd that has better action than the 5spd and the VVT really makes a difference in those ratios. 16" wheels with 205/45 tires vs. 15s with 195/50s. Much better stereo. Windblocker. Limited Slip Diff.
I drove an LS for a few weeks and then a base for a couple weeks. After the LS, I hated the base. I have been in an LS now for 3 weeks and just love it. Bummer is that I give it up in another week or so.
I'm a card-carrying member of the barn door fan club. When down, the car just looks much better. I still can't get used to the cat's eye headlamps on the new one. I could tolerate it I guess, but I prefer the clean look of the barn doors (when closed, at least). 99% of my driving is done in the day time.
The LS would actually have been cheating. I wanted to compare a similar model, and I have 14" rims and a 5 speed, so this was closer.
I did notice the 16" rims, that's a pretty low profile without much sidewall, I'll tell you that. The shifter is already "like buttah" so I didn't feel it could get any better.
The test car had the wind blocker. I don't want one. Gimme wind. My hair is short. Toss it and save the weight and cost.
LSDiff I'll take, thanks. But I didn't drive hard enough to need it.
-juice
I respectfully disagree. The six speed is slick, no doubt. But if anything the 16" wheels are a hinderance due to their weight. I've noted no handling squirm from "only" 195/50-15s.
I also didn't think the VVT engine made much difference. Obviously it is only rated what 3 HP more than the 2000? But the midrange felt about the same to me too.
An aluminum engine block and real HP would be a welcome change!
-Colin
Where does that 3 extra HP appear? 6000 rpm? See, why bother? I think with VVT came higher compression and the recommendation to use premium fuel. That's why I'd probably look for a '99.
-juice
-Colin
I'd like to get one without too many miles for about $10-11 grand (optimistic), and then sell mine for about $8 grand (even more optimistic). I have just 34k miles, and no problem lining up interested buyers.
-juice
Interesting about the tire/wheel weight...I have no idea what the difference is...has anybody ever checked?
Juice, about the power only happening at 6k...where else would you drive a Miata? ;-)
(now assuming a defensive crouch) :-)
Hmm, how much are those Jackson Racing S/C kits? ;-)
-juice
I was looking for a mid-life crisis car. I considered BMW 3 series (used!), MR2, Passat, Jetta, Subaru WRX, Acura RSX...ok darn near everything. Finally, I limited my choice to MR2 & Miata. Test drove the MR2. Really not a bad car. I liked the look of the Miata better. And the LS with the tan leather, two-tone interior, Bose stereo system sold me. FWIW I didn't think the MR2 was a bad car or even ugly but the Miata had a much more...ok expensive or classy look. When you put your good money down & you want to feel that you are getting your money's worth. Oh yeah, the $1000 rebate helped a lot too. So, I'm looking forward to years of fun driving now. Yep, I'm in heaven. Thanks again!
Oh, a couple questions. I don't have alarm. Do I need it even though I have engine immobilizer? Second, how to do work the leaving the top up/down thing. I mean, when you park the car, do you always put the top to discourage ...whatever or are the cars pretty much left alone so you just leave the top down until your are ready to wrap it up for the evening? Just curious.
As for an alarm, opinions differ. I've got something better then an alarm... it's called insurance. I also never, ever leave anything worth anything in the car.
If I'm just running into a store, the top stays down. If I plan on being more than a half an hour it goes up to discourage tampering.
tonite. Take care, Bob.
Which only gets used when we will be away from the car for a very short time. Say a visit to Baskin Robbins? At any other time the top goes up when parking.
-Colin
it reaches outside the vehicle to provide proximity warn-away (unless disabled, it's illegal in NY) and then if something reaches inside the car at any time it goes into full alert. the larger proximity zone actually shrinks any time there is a warn-away, and if it continues to trip it stays "inside" the vehicle for progressively longer times. in short, it works great even if the car is being rained on.
BUT I still wouldn't leave the top down unattended for long periods, even if you are in a "safe" area there is considerable risk of vandalism.
-Colin
-Colin
-juice
After watching a Porsche documentary on SPEED, I've decided that taking a lap around Laguna Seca with Hurley Haywood in a Boxster S might make my life complete. ;-) Miatas are tons of fun too, especially when used for motorsport. Not that they make bad Sunday cruisers!
-Colin
P.S. - Why is this board so hard to find?
Also, being well under 6' myself I find the wind to be very tolerable, and have successfully worn a baseball cap up to 180km/h. (112 mph) Besides, I always thought 'wind through the hair' was supposed to be part of the experience.
Try driving with one window down, the other one up. For some reason this leaves less of a draft for both passengers, vs. both windows open or both closed. I don't have any wind blocker at all, too.
-juice