I was thinking of buying miata - what is the best year and package to buy? looking for under 7K. would like to add a turbo and maybe some minor suspension mods...
- posted
19 years ago
I was thinking of buying miata - what is the best year and package to buy? looking for under 7K. would like to add a turbo and maybe some minor suspension mods...
Sorry Craig, there's no correct answer, just opinions and you'll find many and differing. The bottom line is; do your reasearch / reading on miata.net (FAQ's) and armed with that info, you take your budget and shop for the best car you can afford! The money you're spending you can buy a nice miata but only you can decide the balance between athestetics and mechanics and other such issues. These cars are about as close to bulletproof as any, that's the good news, with proper care they will last (even blown) a long time so to me it was very important to see and talk to the orig owner and get a level of comfort that the car had been properly cared for. Shopping can be great fun, don't get impatient. Only by driving a few will you start to get a sense of which version is best for you.
I'll warn you though, tires (and the air pressure that they have) can make a huge difference in the ride / handling category and bad ones (or under/over pressure) can can totally distort your vision. I recomend you evaluate the tires (if you know tires) and check the pressure prior to much driving.
26-29 is usually good preasure and mismatched pressure can cause problems too.Good luck and let us know what you get! Chris
92BB&T
Get a 1995 or earlier if you want to put on a turbo. No OBD II.
For the rest, there are not much differences between model years. The 1994-95 will be a bit less flexible, by design and age. The most important thing is to get one well cared for, age and miles are also important, but less. Last time I looked, I had 122,000 mi on mine, almost all with supercharger. Cosmetic differences between models are up to you.
See miata.net
Leon
On-board diagnostics
see:
Craig, Chris is correct on the tire pressure. I have a '91 and about all of the kinds of body braces you can think of on it. (Autosross it) With the street tires on it (Yoko-mamas AVS H4), at 30 psi (COLD) it jumps all over the place at 65 MPH ! If I drop the pressure to 27 - 28 (COLD), it is just like it is on top of a flat pan. It is just not the same car ! The steering is a little harder (manual) but the ride is very good. Check the pressure at least once a month !
Bruce RED '91
HA HA HA HA ;-D ~Cissy My '90 Mazda Miata I love PC adventure games
On-Board Diagnostics, level II.
Part of the federal pollution control rules, the OBD takes care of a lot of air-fuel functions, and the II level makes it much harder to change the performance of the engine while staying legal. It can actually manage to counter some performance mods, the computer trying to "correct" what it sees are "malfunctions"
Reprogramming the computers in these cars need huge knowledge and resources.
Joe Silver '99
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.