Buy or walk away? NB Miata track rat

Do not purchase at that price. 

captainawesome said:

In reply to Fueledbycaffeine:

If you didn't try you wouldn't know though right?

 

Yes. I agree. My miata was fun on track but was terrible for driving around. I just didn't like it.  I hated taking it to work.  After all my years as a jeep guy, I guys I now hate convertibles?

I'm going to take a bit of a contrary opinion on this one... mostly because out here in AZ, $3500 will not get you much of anything in a Miata these days.

My take:  if it shows good compression/ leak down, buy it and sell the turbo kit, roll bar and other dodgy parts.  Use $$ towards a real cage (not  bar, since the doors are gutted), lightweight race top and harness.  If the mechanicals are otherwise solid, and maintenance is up to date, that may get you on track cheaper than you could buying a total unknown.

As far as cooling, just removing the turbo may fix the issue, but replacing the radiator and factory ducting usually goes a long way.  I've run a stock style radiator (with a reroute) on a VVT n/a setup in my NA for years here in the Southwest without temperature issues.

You will want to address the suspension, but unless you spend a lot of money for a car on good suspension, you'll have to do that anyway.

The biggest unknown is the steering, but if it works everywhere but parking lots, that may be good enough?

Finally, it's already beyond being a street car, so you don't have to be tempted to go halfway on anything...

Rodan said:

As far as cooling, just removing the turbo may fix the issue, but replacing the radiator and factory ducting usually goes a long way.  I've run a stock style radiator (with a reroute) on a VVT n/a setup in my NA for years here in the Southwest without temperature issues.

Even with high-power turbo Miatas, fixing cooling systems on track cars is a fairly straightforward process these days.  A quality multi-pass radiator from one of the well-known vendors, a good reroute kit, delete the AC, keep the belly pan, minimal shrouding, and fab up enough ducting to make sure that the air that comes in through the mouth can't escape around the radiator.  Hood vents can help too, but my 340+ rwhp turbo NB didn't need them.  Keeping the AC for a true dual-purpose car makes this a lot harder though, the condensor blocks airflow and now you need the shrouds for the fans to work properly in stop-and-go traffic and that's yet more obstruction to air on track.

Also, if by "soft top sheet metal" you mean the seat belt towers and sheet metal that the soft top frame bolts to (circled in the pic below), there's no going back without major resto work...

I double checked on the doors situation. They still have the safety bars in them, just part of the inner door skin was trimmed. Top pad area still exists. It also appears the soft top structure circled above isn't cut out. Maybe I just assumed that?

What are some suspension recommendations that would suit track use? If I'm going to budget realistically for an NB regardless, would be nice to know how much coin I should have available when the time is right.

Depends. Do you want to win the track day or do you just want something predictable?

For those who don't like Miatas on the street -they can be really good on the street, but you can't do it with poorly designed parts. Suspension will give you the biggest bang for the buck, but that works both ways. You can ruin a car much more easily with poorly implemented suspension than anything else.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I want to be competitive in my class in our local Midiv SCCA TT program. Predictable is nice for sure. Don't care about comfort or street manors. I'm willing to spend a couple grand when the time comes on the right stuff.

The street manners was mostly in response to caffeine's complaints.

I don't know enough about your specific classing to say what you'd need, but I know I'd put on a set of Fox :) Figure $1500-2500 for suspension and you'll be in the ballpark. The Spec Miata Penske stuff is a pretty solid bang for the buck as well IMO.

If you were just out to have fun and not compete, a set of Konis, good springs and sways can make for a really enjoyable time.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I assume you would prefer the stage 2 Fox setup to Koni or the V-maxx stage 2? In that order of preference?

Walk.

captainawesome said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I assume you would prefer the stage 2 Fox setup to Koni or the V-maxx stage 2? In that order of preference?

Fox over others, yes. Koni vs V-Maxx depends on primary use and classing to some extent.

There are other options out there as well, of course. I generally don't comment on competitor products, but stay away from anything that has a two-piece body with 'adjustable preload'. The rear of an NA or NB has very little travel to start with.

In reply to captainawesome :

Are NA Miatas out of the question for you?

I started with the original V-Maxx on our NA, and they are now on our NB.  They're a really nice budget coilover, but I'm seriously thinking of switching to Konis/springs (FM) since the NB is a street cruiser.  I was very impressed with the Koni/FM setup on our NC.

I switched to Xidas on the NA a while back, and they are excellent for the track.  I don't think you can go wrong with Xida or Fox, as both are offered by companies that specialize in Miatas, and both take suspension seriously.  

In reply to NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) :

I believe so. The one I drove felt tiny compared to the NB. Also the NB wins in the looks department if I'm being completely honest.

They're basically the same car. Size is identical other than an extra 5mm or so on the rear hips. You can swap interiors back and forth along with just about anything underneath. So any difference in size is purely an illusion.

Looks are subjective, so it's okay to be wrong :)

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I didn't like my car on the street. The suspension was fine. It was the wind noise and uncomfortable seating etc.  I had monks, gc sleeves, eibachs , and sways. Also an aggressive alignment. That stuff never bothered me. 

Sounds like you needed a hardtop and a foamectomy.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Any reason I would consider the A over B? 

From a purely technical or functional viewpoint? Not much of one unless you don't want OBD-II or there's some class limitation. My car is a 1994 in large part due to the rulebook it was built under originally, but mechanically it's closer to an NB.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I cannot disagree with you.    Seat was 1/2 foam ectomied. I needed to do the door cards as well. I couldn't stand the door hitting my left leg. 

I agree, looks are subjective.  But I think NAs and NBs both look good with a bit of stance and fat tires stuffed under them.  A little bit of a lip and a mild spoiler helps the overall car get away from being too "cute" as well.

Paging Keith, Rodan, Nickd, etc.for some bada$$ NA pics :)

What/who do we like for roll bars?