How Do You Use Your Turbo Miata?
 

I am an endurance team racer that uses a 1999 turbo Miata for training and educational HPDEs. I'm at a crossroads with the use of the turbo and feel it is limiting me with what types of racing I can do with it, however, it could also be that I am just limited in my experience of motorsport options with a turbo. I am building a caged spec for when I complete my training because I do not want to over invest in the turbo if I am so limited on where to use it.

Serious question, how and where do you use your turbo?

Recently, mostly just drive it to the gym. Sometimes I go bomb some of the local driving roads

Mostly just embarrassing people who seem to have something to prove against a miata on public roads.

Lately I've been using it to generate stress, frustration, and regret as the turbo keeps trying to fall off.

I mostly watch it sit pretty in my driveway, as the Florida sun keeps eating away the clear coat. maybe drive it a couple times a year to my boat club.

too many toys, too little time for them all. i know first world problems....

My jackstands need something to do, so my Miata is usually keeping them company for about 95% of the year.

Mine gets used to hold down the rug in the garage. It's also a handy shelf for things like towels and empty boxes. It also puts my battery tender to work.

On very very rare occasions it gets used to give rubber back to the earth.

????? @borka You still have one?

well, yes I do lol

I sold it, and the universe has brought it back to me 3 weeks later with a blown engine and a steep discount 🤪.

Low compression in cyl 2 and a ton of blow by, gonna rebuild the block over the winter and make it whole again.

Guy gave it to a speed shop, I think they messed with it and then it blew up. I had this setup dialed in for 3 years with zero issues and including track days.

I have a 1.6 1990. I've had it for less than two years, and driven it about 15k miles. We drove it for a 1400 mile trip around the Lake Michican and Lake Huron shorelines. I go for a long drive of about 150+ miles round trip to the twisty roads up north as often as I can. That takes a half day. I drive it as much as I can. I have done some sound proofing, added 3.63 gearing, and added a windscreen that fits inside the Hard Dog roll bar, all to quite the car down and make it better for long spirited cruising. We just did our first road rally in it the other month. That was 70 miles to the start, then 150 miles during the rally, then 70 miles home. That was a really fun day.

How do I use my turbo Miata? Daily (if it's not broken) and with gusto.

Being less sarcastic...I've daily driven my Miata since the day it came home. It's been through multiple permutations; from a stock 10AE, to a "newbed" supercharged configuration, through a FM turbo iteration and now it's a "Churbo Conglomeration" (soon to be EFR'd). It spent early life just being a cool street ride, then a wannabe autocrosser, now a wannabe HPDE mount. It's been beat on regularly, and it's been in a wreck (and is sporting the shell from a salvage car now). It's loud, vibrates like a paint shaker and is not pretty by any standard. It's been from coast to coast and (almost) top to bottom of the continental US. And 360K miles later it still brings a smile to my face.

I will also admit to having a daily Miata for 5 years. A wonderful car to daily drive in my opinion. Granted it was stock.

Honestly as soon as you go more than 250-300hp the car becomes less practical. That's my opinion anyway.

Daily driver, but since covid, I don't drive to work very often... and will soon be retired. Some HPDE. Hope to do some more. Drives up in the mountains.

Of course, piddle with it.

I'd get my buddy to buy Borka's except he has an anti--fetish for red sports cars. When does pick one up there will be group drives.

DNM

My turbo has been doing double duty for years; it takes up valuable space on my workbench and keeps my workbench from floating away. The EFR is quite versatile like that.

Also, @Volleyhead go make an intro thread in the Meet & Greet section: https://www.miataturbo.net/meet-greet-40/ and stop posting in 10+ year old dead threads :giggle:

I suspect he may be a victim of the ole infinite scroll default setting

sounds to me like the perfect way to use a miata.

Yes, I’m noobing this forum. Thanks for the scroll insight. Also, this he is a she 🙂

Apologies.

Anyways, go into your control panel, edit options
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1029800761.jpg

Do this. Default from Internet brands is this ridiculous infinite scroll that runs into related threads, so you end up commenting on random threads from like a decade ago unrelated to what you were looking at. Welcome aboard.

I daily drove mine for 14 years. After turbo 4 years ago I go out on "spirited" drives on some twisty roads we have. I'll go out and see if any cars want to "play" on the highway. I also go for longer (300 miles or so) cruises to either car meets or friend's homes. Other than that it sleeps under the car cover.

I'm going to go randomly poscat like, 25 of your previous posts for taking the time to post this. Well done.

Edit: WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT?

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e505eb9581.jpg

@IB Nolan I demand justice!