Miata - learning tool or not ?

Thanks Everyone for the feedback. To clarify I am running sticky street tires and better suspension. I bought the car with Chinese tires and the original suspension so upgrades were needed anyway.

Bottom line: I need more seat time. I will look into auto-crossing as a bridge to future track days.

I actually went the opposite way on the power curve. I started out with the SE-R in my avatar. While it wasn't a total powerhouse, in STX trim it was probably somewhere around 200 hp and only weighed a few hundred pounds more and a Miata. I frequently autocrossed and occasionally tracked it for about 2 1/2 years before I bought the Miata. Here's what I miss: Pushing the loud pedal on the straights and getting an explosion of noise and instant surge of power. The Miata, by comparison, has a "gonna be here for a while, grab a Snicker's" feel to it.

But here's what I don't miss: It was loud and raucous when I didn't want it to be. (I'm assuming the neighbors saying, "We heard you leave for work this morning" wasn't intended to be a compliment) It took premium fuel. The tires were expensive. The maintenance items were expensive. Major mechanical items, if broken, where 3 to 4 times the cost of similar parts for the Miata. It chewed through brakes and tires when pushed hard. The aftermarket was small. Handling-wise, it was a "blunt instrument", while the Miata is as precise as any other car I've driven, including many that cost 5 to 10 times as much. Driving it fast always felt like you were fighting the car rather than working with it. Mistakes were punished severely. I had way more "brown pants" moments in that car in 2 1/2 years than I have had in the Miata in 4, even though I've done way more "high speed" events with the Miata. I almost never go to an autocross or track event where there aren't a few other Miatas running around, while I often ended up the only one in class with the SE-R.

Unless you are in the "money is no object" stage of life, you really can't beat a Miata as a track/toy/learning car.

BTW - wait until you do your first track day where the rain neutralizes the "big HP" advantage. You'll more than make up for all the times you've been passed at other events.

I'll be the voice of dissention here. I'm about 20 track days in. The first 15 or so in my CTS-V Wagon, the last five (or seven or whatever) in my Civic Si. For a day of fun the V beats the Civic hands down. I don't care that the Civic is teaching me to be better (it is) or that the V is teaching me bad habits (it is) smile per minute, driving a quick car is way way more fun. And that's the thing, as most of you mentioned, nobody wins a track day. We're there to have fun. For some people it's super serious and they're working on knocking time off and what not. For some of us it's winding the car up to 130 and jamming on the brakes one marker early (because the V is $$$$$ to me) and working on proper lines and jumping out of the car at the end of the session with a HUGE grin. I'm probably not going to race wheel to wheel for at least a decade. I'll do some time trials because I do enjoy trying to beat the clock sometimes, but when I just want to have a fun low stress day on the track, give me 550hp.

mazdeuce wrote: give me 550hp.

That's not really an option for the OP.

Oh, I dunno. Granted, my Miata's only 525 hp but it's 2000 lbs lighter than that CTS-V...

I'm a big believer in fixing what's wrong with the car, then just driving it for a while as the driver gets up to speed. I started off in Miatas with stock(ish) power levels but good tires, then gradually started ramping up the power/weight ratios. I'm more comfortable with an extreme power/weight than any of my coworkers because of it. But it took years. Autocrossing is a big help to develop your skills - won't teach you anything (especially not smoothness) but it will turn some of your actions into reflexes.