> I'm considering buying a used Miata for a daily driver and
> potentially for play. Ultimately I'd like to get into spec Miata racing,
> but that's a ways off, and this car doesn't necessarily have to become
> that car. I would like to get something that'd be competitive in a class
> should it become a competition toy.
One question is: how much money do you want to spend and how
competetive do you want to be?
The Miata is allowed in several classes, but there are only two in
which it has established dominance (*), and one in which it probably
will.
(*) except for those pesky RX-3s
The simplest would be C Stock. The formula for maximum
competetiveness for minimum investment is a '99 Sport package or a
2000 base model with the suspension package. A 2000 LS (leather) is
also an attractive option, because you could have ABS along with the
suspension package. The 1999 10th Anniversary package offers the same
thing, but has the 6-speed transmission, which gives a
course-dependent gearing advantage/disadvantage. Figure $9000-11000
for the car in good condition. Then add off the shelf Koni sports
shocks for $560, and a Racing Beat front swaybar for $160. Get an
extra set of stock wheels, Kumho V710s, an alignment from Jack, and
you are good to go.
The Miata is one of the top runners in C Street Prepared, but setting
up a car is a lot more complex and expensive. It doesn't seem like
that's what you are looking for. Street Mod 2 will also be complex
and expensive, and there are no guarantees that the Miata will be a
top dog.
A new option that has opened up is Street Touring 2. Actually, there
are two options, because there are two different sets of rules
floating around that may eventually be adopted. One (STS2) comes from
the national Solo Events Board, and basically allows any 1990-1997
Miata without a Torsen limited slip differential. The other (ST2) was
developed in a grassroots effort, and is being used by three or four
regions, including ours. It allows any year Miata with any
differential.
The car of choice for STS2 would probably be a 90-93 Miata with the
factory viscous limited slip. Compared with the 94-97 models, the
lighter weight should help, as should the limited slip (couldn't get
anything but a Torsen for 94-97, and those aren't allowed). As for
the power, www.solomiata.com claims that the 1.6L engines gain more
from the intake & exhaust modifications allowed in street touring than
the 1.8L engines do. If ST2 got adopted instead, you could throw in a
Torsen and still have a pretty decent car. The future of the class is
uncertain, and it's still very new, so nobody really has a fully
developed car yet. That's good because it means you can still be
competetive even if you don't have the perfect car. It's bad because
there isn't a recipe for what to build if you want to win. In any
case, the car you start with will be much cheaper than a '99 sport,
but I would expect the grand total to be about the same as the cost of
C Stock. You have to get shocks & springs ($2000), and
intake/header/exhaust ($1000), and an engine management chip ($500)
plus dyno and tuning time for the chip ($$$$).
You could also get either a '94-97 with Torsen and be slightly
outmatched in C Stock, or a '90-93 with VLSD and be slightly outmatched
in E Stock. The basic setup is the same as the '99-00 cars, but the
base car will be cheaper.
> I'm thinking of something like a 1997 model year, but I know
> nothing of the drive train options. Are there suspension options that
> should be considered? What things could potentially bump me out of a
> competitive class? That is, what should I NOT buy? Aside from
> post-production mods that'd put me into a bad class. Assume a stock car.
Basic outline:
1990-1993: 1.6L engine, Viscous limited slip differential was an
option. In 1992, a rear suspension brace was added which
Andy Hollis says was a significant improvement. You would
want that for E Stock.
1994-1997: 1.8L engine, Torsen differential was an option. Additional
chassis bracing was available which may or may not be
significant to handling, but does seem important for a
general sense of rigidity driving around town. There was
an "R" package available which had non-power steering,
manual windows, slightly lower spring perches, and possibly
stiffer springs. That was the package to have back when
the 1994-1997 cars were the cars to have, but it may not be
too significant compared to the difference between the
94-97 and the 99-2000.
1999-2000: 1.8L engine, Torsen differential still an option.
Redesigned body, revised suspension, more power and torque
from the 1.8L engine, gearing a little shorter. In 1999 a
sport model was offered, which had a stiffer suspension,
and power steering was optional (most of them had it).
There was also the 10th anniversary edition which had the
same suspension, a 6-speed transmission, and more creature
comforts either standard or optional. In 2000, the stiffer
suspension from the '99 sport became a stand-alone option
for both the base and LS models.
2001+: Mazda added variable valve timing to the old 1.8L engine, which
was supposed to add 15HP but only produced 2. The unibody was
stiffened, extra braces were added, and the brakes were made
larger. All that added at least 100 pounds to the car. I
would not recommend one of these for autocrossing, and yet
that's what I have. The only exception is the 2003 Club Sport,
which is a stripped down model which could conceivably be
brought to within 50 pounds of a '99 Sport, but they are very
rare.
> How available are hard tops? If I buy a car without one, is
> it difficult to get one - should this car become a spec Miata?
Hard tops seem to sell for around $1000 on the used market.
> How useful is OBDII compliance? Does it help with
> maintenance? I have an OBDII reader for my Palm. I'm very into turning
> my own wrenches. It's an all metric car, no?
I don't know about the computer, but everything is metric. You'll
want 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 23mm, and 24mm wrenches (the last two are
for the transmission and differential).
If you have any other questions or need more detail, there is always
http://www.miata.net/
--
john@idsfa.net John Stimson
http://www.idsfa.net/~john/ HMC Physics '94
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