A Miata joins my G35 Coupe

When shopping for miatas i drove a white 1992 with no power steering :( Im so close to ditching a car and getting a second miata (Since the new posh power everything versions is really more my g/fs car than mine)

FUUUUCK i want an NA but cant afford it, stop teasing me internet!!
I wanted one with no power steering, but this one was so nice, I couldn't pass it up.
So I planned to autocross it in ES then STS, but the 15" wheels and the non-OEM shift knob exclude me from ES. In STS, I wouldn't be competitive at all since it has stock suspension. As luck would have it, one of the guys on the local autocross forum is selling me a shift knob for $5. I'll swap em out at autox days. Another guy is going to let me borrow some OEM wheels with Toyo R1s on them. The tires are used, but he said wear em out and then just give him the wheels and tires back when I'm done :)
 
The plan is to find a hardtop one and sell it off for extra cheapness :) But i dont think NA's exist anymore without over 100,000 miles on them.

Trolling Miata.net about camaros is totally the right way to stop the internet teasing you... :p

Its just like finalgear, mention the "C word" and you're a troll, even if you make no effort to compare it to other cars and even post in the correct section...
 
Actually, if you'd made an effort to compare it to other cars, and done so reasonably, you'd have looked less like a troll. Compare a Camaro to other muscle cars on Mnet and you're likely to find a good discussion. But what you did perfectly matches the behavior of the people who think Miatas are girly cars. Don't want to be called a troll, don't act like one. :p
 
I see, it seemed at the time like trying to compare the two cars would just start an arguent, something in my mind, a troll would attempt. Nobody said miatas were girly cars, i love them.

Want a girly car? PT cruiser convertible. Miata is a race car :)

Now lets consider this issue dropped, i dont wanna derail the thread any farther.
 
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I wanted one with no power steering, but this one was so nice, I couldn't pass it up.
So I planned to autocross it in ES then STS, but the 15" wheels and the non-OEM shift knob exclude me from ES. In STS, I wouldn't be competitive at all since it has stock suspension. As luck would have it, one of the guys on the local autocross forum is selling me a shift knob for $5. I'll swap em out at autox days. Another guy is going to let me borrow some OEM wheels with Toyo R1s on them. The tires are used, but he said wear em out and then just give him the wheels and tires back when I'm done :)

You gotta be f-ing kidding me... a shift knob takes you out of a class? This is why I hate SCCA and just stick to open track days.
 
You gotta be f-ing kidding me... a shift knob takes you out of a class? This is why I hate SCCA and just stick to open track days.

What, don't you know that a custom shift knob is the easiest way to gain 13hp and .03g of lateral acceleration in that car? :rolleyes:
 
You gotta be f-ing kidding me... a shift knob takes you out of a class? This is why I hate SCCA and just stick to open track days.
The sensitivity to things like this varies. You can enter a car in any class you want, no matter its legal class or modifications. If your fellow competitors think you have an unfair advantage, they can protest you, and if you are violating the rules, you'll be disqualified from the event. There's a certain amount of group enforcement here - if you're a novice, classing is pretty much irrelevant. If you have a nasty violation of your class, you'll likely get a, "Hey, that part actually isn't legal in that class... sorry..." type statement, but not a protest / disqualification. If you're experienced but at a local event, minor things (like a shift knob) tend to be ignored, but major things (like chassis bracing) will get a less kind reminder or, if you're actually in competition with someone for year-long championship points, perhaps a DQ. If you're running at Nats, better have everything exactly to the letter of the rules. People will protest over anything they can find at nats.

Some real-world examples: When I was a novice, I had a mostly-stock Miata, with a lightweight flywheel and aftermarket clutch. These parts meant my car belonged in CSP, but I was encouraged to run in ES anyway! I was told the car wouldn't be competitive in CSP and the guys in ES wouldn't mind. Well, I wasn't competitive, either, and ES felt dishonest, so I ran in CSP until I got my supercharger.

A friend had a supercharged Miata with extensive chassis bracing and some weight reduction. He was running in SM2 (the class that's now SSM). His chassis bracing wasn't legal for SM2 and he belonged in XP. He wasn't a novice, but he wasn't competitive with the "big boys" in SM2, either (our local SM2 is dominated by Erik Strelnieks). He was informed that he wasn't legal in the class, and really should be running in XP, but no protests. He happily moved the car to XP by the next event.

One of our locals ran an MS-R spec MX-5 in CS at Nationals. The car had been converted from a normal Sport model. His codriver placed first and he placed second. The car had the OEM leather steering wheel... and an MS-R car should have a plastic-wrapped, not leather-wrapped wheel. There was significant talk at the event and they narrowly avoided a protest. They avoided the protest because the wheels weigh the same and are the same diameter, and they promised to change the wheel before the car ran at another national level event.

San Francisco has a lot of strong competitors at their local autocrosses. There, Shentar could certainly get away with the aftermarket shift knob in ES, but the 15" wheels may or may not be a problem. He could talk to the guys in ES and see if they care. But some people don't like breaking (or stretching) the rules, even if their competitors don't mind, and there's no shame in choosing to self-enforce.

Remember, autocross is real competition, and at the national level, there's money / things of monetary value at stake. As a result, people care about following the rules, and especially so at Nats.
 
San Francisco has a lot of strong competitors at their local autocrosses. There, Shentar could certainly get away with the aftermarket shift knob in ES, but the 15" wheels may or may not be a problem. He could talk to the guys in ES and see if they care. But some people don't like breaking (or stretching) the rules, even if their competitors don't mind, and there's no shame in choosing to self-enforce.

Remember, autocross is real competition, and at the national level, there's money / things of monetary value at stake. As a result, people care about following the rules, and especially so at Nats.

SFR does have a lot of strong competitors. The guy who wrote Secrets of Solo Racing book, Henry Watts, runs in this region. He is a super cool guy. I need to get my signed. I know the local guys in ES wouldn't normally car, but I think I have developed a rep for being quick as, on many occasions, I've beaten guys in Mustangs and Camaros on R-comps using my G35 on street tires. My car is bone stock with all the toys (navigation and whatnot). To be safe, I'm getting an OEM knob and someone is going to loan me some wheels and tires to use up.

I'm not national material yet.. especially since I run FS in my G35 and FS is dominated by Sam Strano (PAXs top 1 or 2 overall.. nuts). I may go just to see how I do one year when I can afford some more rcomps for the G35. The Miata wouldn't be really competitive in ES since its not a Miata R, but the local guy who has a Miata R is running in the Index class.
 
You gotta be f-ing kidding me... a shift knob takes you out of a class? This is why I hate SCCA and just stick to open track days.

Its one of those things that the driver has direct contact, so that can give you an unfair advantage. Its BS (not B-stock), but you have to be fair. A steering wheel I could see since a smaller wheel could be an advantage. A knob for better grip seems silly since knobs are so cheap anyway. Thems the breaks.
 
I'm not national material yet.. especially since I run FS in my G35 and FS is dominated by Sam Strano (PAXs top 1 or 2 overall.. nuts). I may go just to see how I do one year when I can afford some more rcomps for the G35. The Miata wouldn't be really competitive in ES since its not a Miata R, but the local guy who has a Miata R is running in the Index class.
You become Nationals material by going to Nats (and National Tours, and Divs, and Pro Solos). I thought I wasn't worthy, I wasn't ready, for the real competitions. That year, I won the divisions CSP champtionship and CSP at the Fort Worth tour. I came home from Nats with a trophy, but that's largely because I ran in CSPL, instead of open. Still, going, and taking it seriously, is how you become national material. (I was also the only woman in CSPL to run her own car, with no male running it in CSP open) :)

Its one of those things that the driver has direct contact, so that can give you an unfair advantage. Its BS (not B-stock), but you have to be fair. A steering wheel I could see since a smaller wheel could be an advantage. A knob for better grip seems silly since knobs are so cheap anyway. Thems the breaks.
It's not only about the grip. It's also a place for potential weight savings and a way to change the throw. The differences from this are tiny, but at nationals, "tiny" is the difference between 1st and no trophy.
 
You become Nationals material by going to Nats (and National Tours, and Divs, and Pro Solos). I thought I wasn't worthy, I wasn't ready, for the real competitions. That year, I won the divisions CSP champtionship and CSP at the Fort Worth tour. I came home from Nats with a trophy, but that's largely because I ran in CSPL, instead of open. Still, going, and taking it seriously, is how you become national material. (I was also the only woman in CSPL to run her own car, with no male running it in CSP open) :)

Yeah, I guess I will save and, maybe, be able to go next year. I am friends with Mary Pozzi (aka Mary Rice.. 11-time national champ, I think) and she says I would do well at Nationals. I'm still of the opinion that I have a lot to learn. I'm probably too humble (which is really annoying :) )

Would be nice to get some shocks under my G35 so it would be fully developed in F-Stock. I just want to go and do well and not, half-ass it. Right now the G35 is bone stock.. nothing has been done. I have 18" wheels that I can mount some race-rubber on, and I've added in 4-point belts for autocross. They help tremendously in autocross.
 
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I did a couple of long trips this weekend in the Miata. I did about 150 miles on half a tank of gas, with the top down. Thats gas mileage for ya :) The NA has an 10 gal tank?
 
Um, the '94 has a 12.6 (US) gallon tank. Don't remember if the early NAs are different, but 12.mumble is pretty typical for Miatas (NCs are 12.2, based on a friend who stalled, out of gas, in the gas station).
 
So I finally had my first autocross in the Miata. I missed the first two event of the slush season due to a stripped wheel stud I found at the very first event. My friend put on a new stud and gave me some new lugnuts. Unfortunately, they were the wrong ones, and we didn't catch it. He told me the studs were weak and needed to be replaced, so I did. And those were weak.. well I thought until I found out it was a wrong thread type on the lug nuts. That fixed, time to race.

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Note the FS class. I didn't have time to make ES, so I took FS and put a 1 horizontally to make the bottom of the E. The 1 popped off on the drivers side.

It was suprisingly very different. Even with old R-comps, it was very easy to make it turn. It is more balanced than the G35.. and while it doesn't have the G35 grip, it rotates much faster with less work. The lack of power response didn't help, but its fun to rev. I've got two more events, so I'll see if I can get the hang of it.
 
Whee! :D

Also, I should've gotten *that* helmet--matches my car! Haha.
 
Oh that is a very nice Miata, congrats on the purchase. It looks like it fits the needs for it perfectly. That is really a great car in great shape for how old it is though. (Makes me want a Miata even more because I have hope for finding a decent one some day.)
 
Oh that is a very nice Miata, congrats on the purchase. It looks like it fits the needs for it perfectly. That is really a great car in great shape for how old it is though. (Makes me want a Miata even more because I have hope for finding a decent one some day.)
Absolutely! I did find a jewel with this one for the price. $2500. Although I know someone selling a mint 94 Miata R with 70k miles. If I had $7k, I'd do that in a heartbeat. As is, this 90 will have a fun life from here on out :)

I just need a new radio. Someone broke into the car a few weeks ago and got the radio. I haven't put one back in it yet. Who steals car radios these days?
 
Who steals car radios these days? Drug addicts. Well that's all i could think of, nobody's bothered to ever break in my car for the radio (not like it's a fancy one anyway, it's from 2006 and has no aux abilities for connecting mp3 players).

Well one day when the Failsubishi dies I'll have to get some sort of car anyway. I actually want an interesting car even if it is from the 90s because those are affordable and fun.

But I just can't get over how nice the Miata looks for the mileage. That's just great. =o
 
Well the Miata is failing smog. This is getting annoying. I love the car, but its about to be at the point where I can't drive it due to smog. ugh.
 
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