If ya had to do it all over again...
 

One of my best friends just bought my dad's pampered sub-100k '99. It's a base model with no AC, and manual windows. IIRC, the car got a full refresh 12k miles ago including billsteins, brakes and an aluminum rad. This will be a commuter car. She's recently dealt with a spate of unreliable cars, so power mods are off the table for the foreseeable future. This was my list of recommended upgrades in the recommended order:

1) Two dedicated sets of 15x8 wheels with epic summer and winter rubber
2) Xida GS coilovers
3) roll bar
4) a LSD
5) surfboard seats

What would you do if this was your new whip?

3) No rollbar
5) NA seats
6) K&N intake. Just for some light noise.
7) Bolted on hardtop, soft top removed
8) strategic sound deadning
9) nice stereo
10) HID/projector retrofit

reliable commuter?

leave 100% stock and enjoy a reliable and fun vehicle.

Commuter?

-Hard top if possible.
-Decent summer tire, s-drive or something with good millage
-Second set of wheels and winter tires.
-Good headlight bulbs
-Good wheel bearings, my daily eats wheel bearings(but i want to try the MR2 upgrade)
-Working AC. No AC is a deal killer. But i work in the worst possible shit hole pits in pretty much any temperature imaginable. Last thing i want is a 30 minute commute in some heat.

nb2
6ul
xida
trackspeed kit
ms3

Good feedback here. The headlight upgrade was way off my radar. Is this what you're referencing?

DDM Tuning: HID and LED Lighting

Kinda, but with projectors so they actually work. :P

I get mine from The Retrofit Source. Their H1 Mini Bi-xenon kit works really well in NB1s. Cheap during their multiple sales during the year, and you end up with much better output than NB2 lights.

FWIW: I'm doing essentially exactly what you're asking in my other build thread "In Which I Build a Daily Driver," i think i named it. There's some extra helpings of swag in there, but i'm building exactly what i want in the ultimate DD NB pulling on years of what i liked and didn't like about the many Miatas i've owned.

I've used DDMs kits before (man they've changed a lot over the years). But i would absolutely not put them in reflector housings. Either retrofit projectors in, or use NB2 projectors.

Edit* yeah, what Ben said.

If I wanted a reliable daily? Buy a lightly used ND

1. Elise seats
2. Soft-sprung XIDAs
3. HIDs
4. Good pads and rotors
5. 8s and mild 205s (Conti ECS or similar)

IOW, build Acamas (my NB) without the 450whp drivetrain and requisite 245mm-wide tires.

I run those contis in 205 on my car. They are excellent for this climate between April and October. Definitely already recommended.

1) Two dedicated sets of 15x8 wheels with epic summer and winter rubber - 15x7 or 16x7.5 with good summer tires
2) Xida GS coilovers - sure, but expensive and not needed on commuter. New Bilsteins and 350/275 would be just fine.
3) roll bar - sure, why not.
4) a LSD - what for? Open dif is just fine for a commuter.
5) surfboard seats - NB1 seats are not any worse than NB2. I've had NA8, NB1 and 2 NB2 Miatas. 1999 had best leather seats, followed by cloth NB2.

1. good summer tires on stock wheels
2. new shocks with stock springs
3. full maintenance
4. new horn
5. Polish headlights and put bright bulbs

Don't need anything else for a commuter car.

Rock solid reliable daily driver, I'd put well mannered suspension on there, a set of decent 15x8's and definitely a hardtop, then driiiiiiiiiiiiiiive

non-turbo DD miata. YUK.

93LE with Aces. It has the popups which are best, and a red interior which is even better. Also the most fastest revving engine ever!!!!!

If you can't go fast with 90hp, you can't go fast with 900hp.

:dealwithit:

This may sound bananas, but I've been tempted to do a hybrid manual/electric window setup. I actually prefer manual for the driver's side, but it's a lousy reach to roll up the passenger's side manually while driving.

hahaha that's so weird

Let alone while in a harness. I want manual windows because less electronic things. But then can't reach passenger side and feels bad. So i keep power.