Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Coupes & Convertibles Mazda Miata Mazda MX-5 Miata (2005 and earlier)
4340 messages, Last post on Aug 25, 2009 at 9:51 AM
You are in the Mazda Miata Forum. Your Host is claires
|
freddy addressed the suspension questions fairly well but I think he's overlooking something about the U-turn: you probably are spinning just the inside rear wheel. a '92 miata has either an open rear differential, or given sufficient mileage a worn-out viscous coupling limited slip. the VC rear end wasn't "grabby" when new, so after the miles go on they do practically nothing. when I did an aggressive U-turn in my ex-wife's Miata I'd approach fast, stand on the brakes, lift, rotate and stomp the gas. the torsen rear end digs in pretty good and after a brief chirp you're gone. -Colin |
|
|
Thank you for the frightening post It looks like the whole point of the Miata is soon going to go to hell. Everybody knows what happened to the once great Z car as they tried to fancy it up with garbage? The car gained weight, lost sportiness, got expensive, lost sales, and died. even the model name grew (240, 280, 300) Chrome trim? Mazda information center? Controls on the steering wheel? I think we' might be seeing the final days of the Miata as we know it. The fancier, more technological, and the bigger and heavier the car gets, the less interest I have in it. As it stands now I wouldn't purchase any model past '00. |
|
|
|
| Hmm..thanks for the insight. Maybe I will try going into the u-turn faster and not apply the gas till after the car is str8. I have just been surprised by it a few times because I wasn't flooring it; the gas pedal was about 1/4 of the way down 3/4 of way through the turn. I didn't expect it to be that sensitive. When I first got the car, the rear tires were showing heavy wear on the inside edges, so the alignment was off (Are the rear tires toed out more by design like some cars?). I have since had the car re-aligned 3 times: once when I got 4 new tires, once when I had the front shocks replaced, and once to correct the pull caused by the second one. By the way, I'm running Fulda Assuro 185/60HR14s, KYB XR2 gas front shocks, and original rear shocks. I wanted better tires but was limited in my choices. The ones shown in the tire store had an aggressive pattern and looked like good performance tires, but the ones put on my car had a less aggressive pattern (I was a little ticked because they told me it would be just like the one I was looking at). They seem to grip good and are quiet. I know the rear shocks are old, but surprisingly, the new ones seem to lean more in turns then the old ones. Anyway, the Miata is now my daily driver so I plan on doing some upgrading, like lower front stressbar and rear bulkhead stressbar. Eventually, I will get the new rear shocks as well. I also want to dress up the interior a little. | |
|
|
| That is the question I asked the man who showed me this pictures. His reply was..."The Miata is the single most important car to Mazda. If Mazda could only going to make one vehicle it would be the Miata. The original Miata formula will remain through the progression of the MX-5 Miata's lifetime." Actually my post was not meant to scare anyone. Obviously Mazda is not moving in the wrong direction right now (Mazda6, RX-8). In the process things are going to move up scale but the drawings I saw reeked of original Miata DNA. It looks to be absoultly gorgeous. That chrome trim you are so afraid of can be seen in the upcoming RX-8, sure as heck doesn't look bad there. And the Mazda information center is there so that there will be less eye travel and you can focus on the road more, ditto the steering wheel controls. You have to be open for change especially if Mazda is trying to become the "Japanese BMW." Looks like things are only getting better for Mazda. In this important "turn around" time for Mazda I doubt they will make any mistakes. Proof of this can already be seen in the 6 and RX-8. My informant also told me that the bosses at Mazda are being extra picky about what the next Miata will be like, their main goal is to stick to the original formula. Change isn't always bad. | |
|
panamalt: Change isn't bad, but one of the things I like about the car is simplicity. Right now it is a simple car that is easy to modify to the drivers tastes. As if the airbag isn't enough, steering wheel controls will make it even harder to swap out the wheel. The plain plastic used now let's the driver decide what he'd like to trim his car with, chrome, aluminum, carbon, wood... Also, it's old and simple engine without this valve technology BS is relatively cheap and easy to modify with F/I for those who like it, and there are many. If Mazda wants to be the 'BMW' that's fine, but leave the Miata out of it! (just look at the Z3!) Ingtonge: Maybe somebody with more mechanical knowledge then me can verify, but I'd say running on custom shocks replaced within the cars lifetime on half the car, and original factory shocks could be a big part of the cause of the problem. You might consider something like KYB AGX 8 way adjustables on all four corners. They're cheap, effective, and you can play with settings to a get suitable ride vs handling compromise. |
|
|
|
| I didn't think of the whole customizing thing but really how many BMWs do you see customized. Mazda is trying to make this car so perfect that you won't feel compelled to modify it. Mazda is moving up and I doubt if it will leave the Miata behind. (Valve timing makes for a better engine too.) | |
|
You will find that your handling is a direct function of tires, shocks and alignment. I would recommend visiting the http://www.miata.net/ forum and follow some of the messages under the handling section. I have the KYB AGX shocks on my 1991 and hold them in very high regard. I replaced shocks that had about 58,000 miles on them and could immediately tell a great difference. I would also recommend an alignment to the specs found at http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html . These fall within Mazda's recommendations. You will notice a big difference in your handling once you have your car aligned to these specs.
Since you want to upgrade your car somewhat, I would recommend adding the front and rear subframe braces and the cockpit brace found on 1994 and later models. These will take a lot of the "looseness" out of your ride and make the car feel more solid. You can actually make your own front brace out of "C" channel iron for under $10.
The most expensive of all of the above mods will be the shocks. At a minimum, I would recommend replacing the factory rear shocks as they are probably well worn by now. The other mods can all be done fairly cheaply if you buy used braces on http://www.miata.net/ or http://www.ebay.com/. These are wonderful little cars. Happy motoring! |
|
|
|
| I'm sure others have noticed how inadequate the wipers are on high speed, at least on the older Miatas (my 84 RX7 had the same flaw). I drove through the worst downpour today and for the first time truly wanted to pull over. I was going 25 mph and couldn't see anything more then a couple of feet in front of my car. I couldn't even see the side of the road to find a safe spot to pull over! I literally had my chest pressed against the steering wheel, trying to see the road better. All I could think of as water sheeted down my windshield was, "I sure hope some SUV isnt gonna come flying up on me and plow right over top of me". The wipers were going about the same speed as low on other cars. Has anyone found a solution to this?? Is there a way to add a higher powered motor or something to make the wipers go faster? In Florida, it just won't work to have such pathetic wipers. Give me some ideas guys! | |
|
Keep your windshield clean. Use rain-X. It really works. Replace your wiper inserts. They at most last a year. But in the Florida sun, the UV may shortens their lives. |
|
| RainX your windows. It is possible to drive through a torrential downpour WITHOUT your wipers using RainX. | |
You are here:
Forums
Coupes & Convertibles Mazda Miata Mazda MX-5 Miata (2005 and earlier)
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2005 Toyota MR2 Spyder
2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
