Love my Miata

[tx gunrunner]

I've owned this car for over a year . I've only drove the car with the top up one time to HEB store [ 6 miles round trip ] because it got rained on and believe it or is the 1st and only time I washed it . Since I sold my Mustang the Miata live in the garage and the top down . It is not a high dollar sport car but is super fun to drive . If you need to drive faster that 146 mph you will need to buy a different car . The Miata with CLUB package is only $28,000 new and well worth the money . The 2013 is the best year to buy . I was Lucky to find this one owner with only 18,000 mile on it and all service at selling dealer .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH3JqomBrA8

[Henry88]

I always liked the Miata, though I never drove one.

Seems like kind of an ideal small sports car that is build right.

I bet it makes those trips to the store a lot more fun, so enjoy tgr..................

[RanchRoper]

We owned several Mazda cars and they were very reliable.

[CT_Shooter]

We had a red Mazda RX7 in the eighties that was a blast to drive and was so cool looking. My wife leased it for two years as her fun commuter car (she had a long drive), after which we bought it and it became my super cool salesman's car for a few more years. It certainly attracted a lot of attention. It was the only sports car we've ever owned and we were just at the right age to fully enjoy it.

I might not be agile enough to climb in and out of it today, but then... it was pure and powerful candy.

[RanchRoper]

A buddy of mine back in the mid 70's had one with the rotary engine.

[tx gunrunner]

A buddy of mine back in the mid 70's had one with the rotary engine.

That would be a RX7 not a Miata . That was a rocket and Super car . The Miata / MX5 1st year was 1990 . Jay Leno video below gets into the history and design .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1qgtCt1jG0

[BrokenolMarine]

I had an rx7 back in 80 when they were rockets. The dealership outside the gates at Camp Lejueune had gotten in a limited edition with rear window louveres, whale tail spoiler, special wheels, tinted windows, and ugly carmel color paint but black trim to match the spoiler and rear louveres. I was stationed at the air station and just reenlisted and received a cash bonus. Couldn't resist the rocket. It was quick!

[tx gunrunner]

I had an rx7 back in 80 when they were rockets. The dealership outside the gates at Camp Lejueune had gotten in a limited edition with rear window louveres, whale tail spoiler, special wheels, tinted windows, and ugly carmel color paint but black trim to match the spoiler and rear louveres. I was stationed at the air station and just reenlisted and received a cash bonus. Couldn't resist the rocket. It was quick!

The RX7 with the rotary 1.3L with a turbo can blow today's Super Snake's and Vett's in the weeds with a laptop and a good program tuner .

The turbo is bigger than the engine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9pNxV00tpA

[dave77]

Here's a couple of photos of my '06



Bought it new and have always hated the cheap oem carpet, got these floor mats a couple of weeks ago, covers all the carpet except under the seats.

[tx gunrunner]

I sold this last year with only 6890 mile on it and kept the Miata . This was clocked 0 to 171 in 26 sec in 5th gear . And it ran a 11.69 in 1/4 ...

[Sir Henry]

Gotta love that Mustang but the Miata would be nice too.

[BrokenolMarine]

Like I said, it was back in the 80s, when I reenlisted and got a bonus, I picked up an '80 RX7 limited edition with the money. They had just the one, and the owner was driving it. It came from the factory with the whale tale spoiler, louvered rear window, gold tinted windows and awful Caramel color paint, but the owner had a framed speeding ticket on the office wall. 147 in a 70mph zone. This was the old style RX7 with the rotary engine, and they gave me a great deal on the car. It had leather interior, great stereo, and he had added all the extras. The fancy bar behind the seat called a luggage brace. To keep the suitcase from banging into the back of the seats when you slid to stops at the lights. Upgraded the speakers, he was the owner of the dealership. Upgraded carpets and mats.

mazda rx7.jpg (176.65 KiB) Viewed 5648 times

my 7 4.jpg (244.56 KiB) Viewed 5648 times

I drove it for two years, and put two sets of tires on the car. Not burning them off at the stop lights, but from hard cornering on the back roads driving back and forth to Richmond for the weekends from North Carolina. I was Single and Swooped home every chance I got. THAT car made that drive a lot of fun, and I didn't have to speed to do it. Cornering and digging out of turns was a blast, but ate up the tires. THEY weren't cheap.

Susie had two kids, and eventually I traded the RX7 in on a Mazda 626... right back to the same dealer. Car still looked new, and they sold the car while I was still deciding on the 626. Really helped MY deal since the RX7 buyer was hot to trot, wanted the car for a weekend trip and I hadn't agreed to sell it back to them yet. I got a GREAT trade in and a great deal on the new 626. Too bad for them that I could hear everything HE was yelling at the salesman.

[tx gunrunner]

[quote="tx gunrunner"]I've owned this car for over a year . I've only drove the car with the top up one time to HEB store [ 6 miles round trip ] because it got rained on and believe it or is the 1st and only time I washed it . Since I sold my Mustang the Miata live in the garage and the top down . It is not a high dollar sport car but is super fun to drive . If you need to drive faster that 146 mph you will need to buy a different car . The Miata with CLUB package is only $28,000 new and well worth the money . The 2013 is the best year to buy . I was Lucky to find this one owner with only 18,000 mile on it and all service at selling dealer .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH3JqomBrA8

[BrokenolMarine]

Those are nice cars, but too small and too low for me these days. I do envy those that can (still) drive them.
I always wanted a classic vette. When I finally got to the point that I could afford one... it just wasn't practical.
Pickups, it's trucks from here on out.
Beautiful little car though.

[tx gunrunner]

[quote="tx gunrunner"]I've owned this car for over a year . I've only drove the car with the top up one time to HEB store [ 6 miles round trip ] because it got rained on and believe it or is the 1st and only time I washed it . Since I sold my Mustang the Miata live in the garage and the top down . It is not a high dollar sport car but is super fun to drive . If you need to drive faster that 146 mph you will need to buy a different car . The Miata with CLUB package is only $28,000 new and well worth the money . The 2013 is the best year to buy . I was Lucky to find this one owner with only 18,000 mile on it and all service at selling dealer .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH3JqomBrA8

[dave77]

I had a new '85 1st generation RX7, had to trade it for pickup when I got my horse, got a used '87 2nd generation RX7 around 15 years ago, sold it when I got my Miata.

I enjoyed them both. Rotary engines were a neat idea but they got terrible mileage for their size and they were very prone to flooding, not sure if they fixed that issue with the RX8. 3rd generation RX7's were a beautiful car and very fast but I heard the twin turbo set up on them was so complicated that it took a very skillful mechanic to work on them.

[rwortman]

A Miata is a great car but a stock one isn't going to do 147mph unless you drive it off a cliff. Even the turbocharged Mazdaspeed version struggles to get near 130.

[dave77]

US spec. 3rd gen. Miata's (06-15) have a 2 L engine and are pretty close to the 2004 Mazdaspeed's horsepower but you are right, top speed is around 125-130.

A popular upgrade is putting in a 2.5 L Duratec or MZR engine, it's a direct bolt in and with just a tune they are getting a decent HP increase.

[tx gunrunner]

Here is my spread sheet . http://www.dragtimes.com/2013-Mazda-Mia ... =Calculate

I can't remember how fast 6 gear was . But it red line 5 gear with no problem at 125 MPH . Top speed is in my computer some where and I can't find it and I don't remember . I have the 4:10 pos with the 205/45/17" tires . I can't find my top speed . I think it was near 140 MPH if I remember . But I won't bet money on it . It has four valves per cylinder , twin cams with variable valve timing same designed has as the Ford Coyota engine . You got to love that engine .

[rwortman]

I had it in my retirement plan to buy a Miata. My wife hates how small the cockpit is so I ended up with this instead.