I wanted to know how you guys handle talking with people about your car if you are somewhere. Are you receptive to their questions or are you like me cautious of someone who wants to know everything about your setup, how much hp you have etc...I don't advertise my turbo, but people can see the I/C and the gauge pod so they want to talk and start asking questions. I don't want to seem like an a$$hole but I don't trust many people. And although they may have good intentions I keep thinking they're looking for an opportunity to rip me off.

 

As soon as someone asks me a question, I give them a knife to the gut and run off.

 

back when I had the corrado, I always said it was stock. If they ask about the gauges (which I didn't and won't have on the pilar) I say they're oil pressure and temp.

 

With the 3" exhaust it's kind of aparent that I'm turbo. Nobody's asked so far but I do get revved at alot. I guess I would just say I don't know how much power it's making, it's just something I pieced together from junkyard stuff, etc. Make myself look like a noob that probably has a pile of half broken **** under the hood not worth taking. And of course I would never pop the hood for someone I don't know.

 

the miata so far hasn't seen much attention other than older people asking about the paint. though one day last week our lot guy at work came running in and told me there's some guy with an suv laying under your car, i ran out and he was gone.

 

might of been trying to steal your cat?

 

that's scary. My corrado disappeared on a tow truck, never seen again. Get a theft rider. I'm trying to work that out right now so I can sleep at night, and leave town for a few months at a time and not come back to nothing.

 

nobody looks at or asks about my car unless the hood is open. i never get people revving their engine near me or trying to play. cops dont look.

 

Guess it depends for me... I got to a lot of car meets, so of course I'm happy to show people. Never had any suspicious people around my car.... might not be cautious enough, because of that.

I always HATE when people ask me if it's turbo'd. I say "yea..." then they say " What stages is it" ......... I usually just stare at them. Sometimes I'll tell them what kind of turbo it is, and then they ask again "but what stage is it"...

As far as people reving at me? I hardly ever have anyone doing that... When I had my 350 whp MarkII MR2 I had people trying to race me ALL the time. Virtually all of them were stock cars with coffee cans. Had a few C5's that learned the hard way what I had.

 

Where I live there isnt much of a problem with vehicle theft. When people ask what I have, I just say it's modified, a little.

 

If I meet up with someone in a tuned car I'll talk with them about it. I wouldn't show some guy who just walked up anything.

I don't think a theif would pick a Miata as their first choice. Around here it would be a Honda or DSM, something they can easily sell the parts from. Of course that changes with location.

 

I'm pretty open but I'm in an extremely safe neighborhood. My neighbors don't care about the car anyway. It's only at work, the track and very rarely in public that anyone is curious. At worik and the track I'm completely open. In public it is so rare as to not matter. To the general public it's just a Miata. Only someone who really know's anything notices the 8" 6UL's, Naca headlamp cover and IC. 2 1/2" Enthuza exhaust is stealthier than I would have expected. Doesn't look out of place with just the simple exit pipe.

 

When the car is running, it is completely obvious that the car is not-so-stock since you can hear the turbo whine at anything but idle with the open down pipe. With full exhaust (rare) the car sounds completely stock, but still I have yet to have anyone rev at me since going turbo, exhaust or not, but I think a roll bar scares people off in my area more than anything else. When I am parked "my hood release is broken" and "Just intake, header, and exhaust". Oh I also run high 14s when I am parked too.

Its not that I am worried about theft though, thats not an issue in my area.

 

It may not look out of place but the woosh of a turbo spooling is kind of a dead giveaway. I also live in the land of young hispanic and italian men with blow outs, wife beaters, and gold chains looking to rev their fart can at anyone.

 

My car is only out in sight at the track or meets. So i'm always fine talking about it. It's fun to watch people try to guess whats going on, makes it easy to figure out the car guys vs nut swingers.

 

Theft in my aera isn't an issue, and everybody around here stereotypes Miatas as being chick cars, or gay. Nobody revs their engine at me either. The local VW tuner club knows my car though, and the "leader of the pack" found out how badly his 1.8T Jetta with "Stage Everything" can get beaten by a turbo'd MX5. This of course was after he insisted I popped my hood and told him I ran a junkyarded SR20 turbo (which is true) and he goes..."I guess it's OK for a Miata." My rules...anything refered to as "Stage 1, 2, or 3" means nothing to me and is for front wheel driven high school cruise nights to the mini golf course. Whatever happened to actual specs like compressor or turbine sizes? Pressure plate holding ft/lbs.? I guess everything became controlled by the standards of the aftermarket world...
ANYWAY...if someone is a punk, I don't show them **** about my car. If they're cool and actually know how to bend a wrench and understand things like cam duration, duty cycles, and volumetric efficiency...then they're worthy.

 

"Just an intake and exhaust is all."

 

+1 to anyone I don't know. They ask about the gauges, I just say I had them, so I put them in. If someone I don't know seems really knowledgeable about things and has a true interest, it's a different story after I judge that.

Shows are a different thing, the hood is usually up. Although I do hate stupid questions, like the above mentioned "stages."

As for thefts, fortunately not prevalent where I am.

 

I'm going to tell people, "mugen header, greddy v-tak controller, Apexi front mount air intake, APC cam gears, and the autometer monster tach is going in soon. I have twin turbos on order from TRUST in Japan but its held up in customs."

 

I'm going to tell them I've had Hustler coat everything under the hood in his AIDS riddled semen.