Linh

WAT? ^lol

Seriously, besides e30's and or crappy E36 M3's, there's not a lot of cars out there like a turbo Miata.

Sam TII

Bimmers don't compare in reliability/cost of maintenance.

+1 on the KA 240 as a daily, they are fun but suck as actual sports cars. They're more like a sporty grocery getter. Plus they don't have the miata gay factor so there is pretty much no reason to own one.

Fox body mustangs might come close in cheap speed factor but they don't handle or stop or do anything that any of us care about except for go fast in a straight line.

My turbo MR2 had ridiculous overheating problems, but when it was running cool it was fun car except I'd hit my head on the roof with every speed bump.

tasty danish

iTrader: (9)

And if there was, I'd own it. I honestly WANT to like BMW and Audi, and have come danger close to owning both. But there is always some retarded hoops you have to jump through in ownership. Stuff that just shouldn't be going wrong.

They are supposed to be superior vehicles, wtf is the deal?

Saml01

iTrader: (9)

944's are god awful in every way.

If you must have a front engine Porsche, for whatever reason, id go for a 928/968 before anything. The 968 four with its variocam is not a bad engine.

Opti

4th gen Fbody.

-Large aftermarket
-parts are cheap
-fast out of box
-easy to boost with a rear mount or a front mount if you have an LS1 (can use factory manifolds)
-stock ECU can be used for almost every setup including BOOST
-dead nuts reliable (LS1 has the advantage but LT1s arent near as bad as people let on)
-strong factory tranny if you get the Manual which all real men will
-cheap
-versatile (good road course or drag cars)
-tons of info available
-plus if your not dead set on boost you can make 450+whp NA on the stock bottom end using GM head
-they get decent mileage with the T56, I got 28 mpg with 3.73s and bolt ons but untuned.
-The redneck hillbilly stigma can be almost as fun as the gay one

RussellT94

iTrader: (3)

Why go 4th gen Fbody when you can get an IROC?

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

If the yardstick is dollars to fun ratio, no, nothing compares.

I spend a lot of time (too much?) at the track and have seen every platform you can think of out in HPDE, TT, or racing. The guys that routinely spend the least, get the most track time, have the biggest field of similar cars to run with.. Miatas. Nothing close actually.

$:Speed for a production car, its the S2000. C5 Z06 is a bit more and costs a bunch extra to make bombproof. The S2000 is pretty bombproof to start and nearly as fast as a Z06 given similar mods. The difference is the car itself as well as the consumables and go fast bits all cost a bunch more than anything on a Miata.

Linh

Earlier BMW's aren't so bad in maintenance if you do it yourself. Still not cheaper than a Miata but not expensive as you might think.

Anyway, BMW's aren't much of a tuner car like the Miata. However, they are nicely balanced cars coming from a manufacture.

High mileage s2000's can be had for 8-9k.

Agree that consumables will go much faster compared to a Miata; brakes, pads, tires etc.