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Comments
Have you folks seen the Ibuki? It's more toy-like than any roadster I've ever seen, way too cutesy to be taken seriously as a sports car. This is bad news.
I thought the Ibuki would be a smaller vehicle well below the Miata in the Mazda lineup. Both will be at Tokyo.
-juice
PR Lady from Edmunds.com put me in touch with them. They did a telephone interview and then came to our house to photograph us, it was really cool.
I'm in the print copy, in the Cars section, Page 4. Our photo is bigger in the print edition, and my quote is highlighted, too.
Unfortunately, it's the story of why we dumped our old 626, which was piling up repair bills, and basically when you know it's time to trade up to a new car.
Ironically, my Miata is 2 years older than the 626 and has been far more reliable even years after we sold the 626.
Check out the print edition if you get a chance, we look better there, what's left of my graying hair! ;-)
-juice
I have a couple aftermarket mods - a power moonroof, and 15" alloys from an earlier Legacy turbo a friend owns.
My Forester is in the background, though you can hardly see it. The Miata was parked in the street out front.
-juice
Look for a model equipped with the optional limited-slip differential. If you're not sure, you can call Mazda's 800 number with the VIN, they can tell you if it's equipped with one.
In the snow, my concern is limited protection from being hit by other, bigger vehicles. For a one mile commute, though, you should manage to avoid them.
-juice
-juice
If the Wrangler can make it up the driveway in 2WD then the Miata will have no trouble with very good winter tires. If sometimes it takes 4WD... the Miata might not make it without a running start.
-Colin
Something funny happened to me the other day - my CD player was messing up, and eventually spit out the CD. Turns out there was light condensation on the surface of the CD, even though it had been inside the player. Bizarre.
I wiped it off and it worked fine. Go figure.
-juice
http://www.miata.net/news/editions.html#turbo
where they guessed "roughly US$30,000 to US$31,500 or thereabouts."
I did notice the 2004 Miata sports new wheels: 16-inchers with 5 split spokes, an improvement, IMHO.
For example a 350z starts at close to 30,000 dollars. In the UK the 350z goes for 24,000 pounds, which when translated equals over 40,000 dollars. Now kit levels may be different, but usually that doesn't make up for the difference. We are very lucky usually.
I can't imagine Mazda would try to charge over 30k for this car. I'll bet it will be something more like 27k, just above a top spec NA Miata. Close, but that price would put a bit more of a buffer between it and the S2000.
Lots and lots of Miatas on the track, as you'd imagine. Probably the 2nd most common vehicle after the Subaru WRX.
My fave was a white '94 with a full roll cage, actually must've looked a lot like my crystal white '93 before the Mods started.
It's fun even as a spectator, but I'd like to drive next time. :-)
-juice
Well finally something has broken on our '92 Miata. We bought the Black and Tan about 3 years ago. It has been great experience. Well, a year ago the zipper broke on the plastic rear window. (It still has the original top.) So my wife and I just took to throwing the top back whenever we felt like it. No more unzipping the rear window, and carefully folding it away to avoid scratches and creases. Just pop the top and go. Well, yesterday I discovered a 3 inch tear when the where the top creases. So how do you fix it? Clear box tape.....LOL. How many cars can you fix with tape and not have it look out of place?
Time to start shopping for one of the Robbins Tops with a glass rear view window. Oh well, I guess every now and then, you got to spend some money on these things.
Talk to y'all later.
You feel up to installing it yourself?
Also, I got new tires - Falken ZE512s, the top rated ones from that CR report. I'd thought about summer tires, but I've been sliding around all over the place and some times get caught in the rain by surprise.
So far these seem to track very straight, far more than the old tires (very worn Bridgestones).
-juice
I need a new set of tires too....I was probably going to go with a set of Bridgestone RE950. I have them on my other car....and I'm happy with them.
Even though there was tread left, the rubber was dry and hard. Proof that with age, a tire can deteriorate even before it wears out.
-juice
The Bridgestone RE950s were a great all around tire. I was living in a place with a ton of rain and unless the puddle was really deep, I never felt like I was hydro-planing. The dry traction was pretty good too. Not excellent, but then again I think a Miata doesn't need massive grip. It's more fun when you can kick the rear end out a little without having to be ridiculously aggressive.
I got my Robbins top from Moss Motors I believe. They have specials all the time and I got mine during a sale. Most places were pretty close on price, but I knew they had great customer service from previous purchases so I bought it there. They shipped it out really quickly. I think they have a special gift deal right now. If you spend a certain amount of money you get to choose from a list of free stuff. Last I checked (still get their catalog even though I sold the Miata) it was actually a pretty good list.
Did you install it yourself?
The upholstery shop I called sold their own tops, they would not install one if I brought it to them. I guess they want to use a familiar product.
-juice
I was (am... lol) tight on money so I considered installing it myself. I have installed/repaired many different things on automobiles in my life so I am sure I could have done it. But after reading up on the process and everything, I decided that I would rather spend the money that deal with the headaches. The shop (really just one guy) took just one afternoon and did such an beautiful job that I have no regrets on the money I spent.
I stongly recommend finding a shop that will a install a top you provide, or at least one that provides a good brand name top. Especially if you don't have a garage to work in.
I actually patched a very small tear in the top with some silicone caulk, of all things, and it's held up amazingly well.
The window has seen better days, and the whole thing is badly stained (it was tan at one point, I think), so I'd change it for a good price.
-juice
A few of the posters on Miata.net have done the swap and all are happy with it.
But if it's semi-new, yeah.
-juice
Even though replacing the top wasn't fun, I plan on doing it again. I saved at least $400 and only wasted about 12 hours of my time. The 2nd time will go a lot smoother since I know what I'm doing now.
-juice
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=- aboutPressArticle15
No prices (no surprise). It'll produce 178 horsepower and be available in Velocity Red or Titanium Gray, two RX-8 colors. It "is set to go on sale in select North American markets in Spring 2004."
http://www.miata.net/garage/airbag_blink.html
It tells what each # of blinks means (well, sort of). My 92's airbag light has been blinking 10 times for the past year and a half. I'd love to get it fixed but the blink code table isn't very specific and mine sounds expensive to repair. If you get yours fixed, let me know how much the dealer charged.
I have no idea what the S or the D sensors are, but I suspect that the airbag will not deploy if necessary. What do you think?
My car has consistently given 10 blinks everytime the car is started. I'm about to put black tape over the light since I'm tired of the annoying blinking.
Why paint the calipers silver? Aren't they basically already that color?
Still, sounds like a fun car. I didn't like the Ibuki much so I may consider one of these used down the road.
-juice
Warning if you go there - they have lots and lots of Miata goodies and you might wind up buying more stuff!
Keith R.
'93 Mariner Blue (deceased)
'99 Classic Red (pickup this week)
I'm gonna call them about a new top. I just got new tires, and it is the season of giving...
-juice
I wonder if that includes a new rain rail. If so it's a good deal.
I think the idle is manually adjusted. When we advanced my timing, we had to adjust the idle speed. It's a phillips head screw towards the front of the engine, IIRC.
-juice
-juice
coolant temp sensor
oxygen sensor
-Colin
If that's the original one, it's a miracle that it lasted 144k miles. I swapped mine out at 30k.
The one in our old 626 shorted out when grease spilled out of an axle boot that tore (long story). Anyhow, our only symptom was a Check Engine Light.
-juice
-juice
if there is no hesitation during part-throttle operation and the gas mileage is OK, it's probably not the oxygen sensor.
so yes-- if you described the whole situation before it is probably the idle air control valve. have fun!
-c
There are plenty of Miatas being turned into spec racers where the airbag parts are removed. These show up frequently on e-bay. I picked a control module up for around $20, but decided to just change out the steering wheel to a non airbag Momo.