That is a very good point. I know that we can buy wheels and tires for less than a set of street tires for the Vette. lol.

Yeah that's what it comes down to, really: money.

If you're young and/or love to tinker, get a miata.

Having owned both, I sold my lingenfelter built 427 c5z, and bought an msm. The Msm is stupid slow in comparison, but so much more fun and inexpensive to own and maintain!

Another option would be a LS1 Fbody. That gives you a good drivetrain and decent suspension with a much lower entry price. Upgrade shocks/springs and add 13 inch front brakes and you have a capable track car. 275/40/17 tires are moderately priced.

Granted, it's not as cheap on consumables as a Miata but you should be able to get a Fbody for about 6-8K and even if you splurge get a rollbar, brakes and tires and be on track for less than 12K.

i own a C6 Z51 and a Miata (i had a 1.6l at one point too) .

miata - the good
The miata is more fun,
costs substantially less to operate.
100% without a doubt the best car to use when learning how to drive(track).

miata -the bad
gay jokes
it's tiny so forget long trips with any kind of baggage. (or just go alone)
everyone has one.

corvette - the good
POWEERRRRRrrr
the trunk is massive.
tons of grip

corvette - the bad
some corvette owners can be real tools (when people ask me what kind of car i drive, i say "a miata".)
it rattles like a Tupperware.
the tires are cuffing expensive.

if your looking for a fun street car i would suggest a corvette. it's more practical. it has some nice creature comforts and the power is easy.... almost too easy. you can quickly build a monster that kills drive line components. those components can be really expensive to replace.

for a track car it's a split. a double duty car a c5z is really hard to ignore. if you have $$ for tires get the corvette. if you don't a miata will yield more fun. but you'll need to live with a roll bar. for a dedicated track car if you have hundreds of thousands to invest forget the corvette and buy a NP01 racer. if your on a budget the spec miata guys help keep the prices on things down.

the miata is a little lower to the ground so you'll need a good back.:giggle:

I've been debating this for a while now... the miata is paid for, so it keeps winning the debate. And I keep telling myself that I need to learn how to be fast in a stock miata before I deserve a faster track car.

But man, my buddy has a C5Z with a Corsa Exhaust... that would be a nice start to the morning commute...

if the miata is paid for i see no reason why you can't have both.
this is 'merica.

Just think of all the HAIIIII waves you'll be missing out on though :giggle:

I do daily the Miata currently, about 60 miles a day. It is a ton of fun to beat the dogshit out of on a regular basis.

My general use of the car would be a driver/street car. I don't get a ton of time to do track events, though I'd really like to change that next year.

That's the other question/hurdle I'm torn with. Time. I don't have much to spare, and I'm hoping that if I start a turbo build, that I won't lose interest due to time constraints.

I do like the fact that the Miata is paid for. Though I really would like a roll bar and hard top. Which is a decent chunk of change in the overall picture.

So much to think about. Lol.

if you beat on the corvette the same way you beat on a miata, johnny law won't be very happy. i miss my 1.6 sometimes. i would rag the snot out of it, pass a cop, and not lift. sometimes it would break the speed limit, but most of the time it didn't. my c6 get's past 100mph so fast i can't have much fun.

if you're worried about time, acquire all the parts. ALL OF THEM
don't even think of touching the car until all of this is done
then quintuple check that you got all the parts. then make sure again
then go through the planning process of the install bit by bit, read read read and look at other's build threads. see the snags/holdups they had. learn from it all. prepare

Honestly when you REALLY do your homework and know what you're doing, the actually turbocharging/assembly and throwing together a tune that's good enough to get to/from work for a while can be achieved in a weekend. or make it even easier and get yourself a kit from a vendor that can be trusted to send you all the right parts, on time, aka FM (never, ever, BEGi)_

I had planned to do the clutch and MegaSquirtPNP/injectors first, and get that lined out first, then get the terbuh stuff going.

Then I have to figure out if the trans and diff are up to the abuse as well...

It was already mentioned today. But mechanical empathy will be the answer to whether your shit is up to abuse.

I've blown both a 5 speed and a torsen, on a turbo 1.6.

Some people have run 300hp through a 5 speed, and more through a torsen without breaking.

What failed on yours?

The transmission and the torsen. Both had metal pieces drain out.

I got that, lol.

I should have specified. Do you know what specifically failed in each?

The torsen internal gears disintegrated because of wheel hop. 3rd blew. 2nd dint work either. I haven't disected the trans yet.

Gotcha.

I need to look into fixing the wheel hop. My stock beater does it and it's annoying, lol.

Damn phone.

I can't believe it, but I think I am leaning towards doing the terbuh on the Miata. :rofl::rofl: