pccd26

Hey all, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster! Hmmm, where to start? A year ago today (woah) I bought my first Miata, a really nice bone-stock 97 with ~121k on it. Over the next few months I had a blast driving it around town, the local mountain roads, working on it and doing other awesome Miata things while finishing up college general ed and working as a smog tech at a local shop in Susanville. I fixed up a few things it needed, a basic tune-up, front brakes and control arms, clutch hydraulics + a ACT ZM2-HDSS I got for crazy cheap NIB for peace of mind. Overall, it was a sweet car. And then, before I knew it was the end of July, and time to move out of my parent's house and into my first apartment for school at Chico State. On the same day of leaving my sweet smog gig and during the final drive for the move to the apartment with my roommate, I made a shocking discovery. I can't drive.




But am also stupidly lucky.
About 40 mi of the drive from Susanville to Chico takes place on hwy 32, a real curvy two lane mountain road with plenty of spots that goes from guardrail to near vertical drop, with many trees and huge boulders sprinkled in for good measure. I was going waaaaaaaaay too fast on a fairly gradual right-hand turn, the rear end started to step out, I over-corrected, missed the end of the guardrail on the left side of the road by a few inches, flew off the road at ~55 mph, smacked the passenger-side rear quarter panel on a tree, and proceeded to roll down the hill/cliff about 7 times. Somehow my only injuries were a light gash on the ol' noggin and my wounded pride. A few months passed and I decided it was time for a new (to me) Miata. I ended up picking this 94 with ~160k named "Blackie" by the previous owner(s).

Admittedly it's not as nice as my first one, but it does have a full Bosal BroSpeed exhaust, Racing Beat "cold air" intake, adjustable KYB AGX shocks, lowering springs, bigger front and rear sway bars, Hard Dog roll bar(!), Mishimoto rad + ducting, a factory hardtop and some other stuff. Plus an "M edition" gauge cluster and the door sills, but I'm pretty sure it's not actually an M edition. Overall it's pretty good, and I paid the same for it as I did the first one, so I probably got a decent deal.

Anyway, sorry for the hella long intro! I hope to someday turbo this thing (with the help of this forum undoubtedly), try not to blow it up, and drive very slowly around corners.

Erat

iTrader: (5)

JFC. How did that not kill you? I feel like I remember reading about that accident before.

Glad you're still with us. Drive fast around corners man, just make sure it's at the track and you'll be fine.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

I my full cage and 5pt harness.

pakmx5

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear about your accident. I had a similar one in Berkeley, and was lucky to walk out of it. Yours is even crazier, especially without a rollbar. thank god.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your black NA. both of my cars are black including my NA. You will find that it is a love-hate relationship.

If you ever find yourself near Sonoma State or out in Concord, holla at me!
Chico was a close second for me.
Also, stay safe with the Camp Fire. my condolences if you've lost anyone or anything to it.

ConeCrasher

iTrader: (1)

pccd26

Erat: I think it was pure dumb luck, and not much else. I did my best to lean way forward and stay below the doors, which probably helped. Even so, pure luck.

sixshooter: Someday I'd love to get a cage and such put in my NA.

pakmx5: I'm already there with the love/hate relationship with a black car, right after it has been washed it looks pretty good, but two weeks later it looks like it's been sitting in the back of a barn for 5 years. Kinda annoying. If I'm ever in the area I'll definitely let you know! Thankfully everybody I know who lived in the area got out okay, but sadly that isn't the case for everyone.

ConeCrasher: Don't worry, I learned my lesson. No doubt about that. Thanks for letting me know, I'm very interested in autocross! I was actually going to ask if anybody knew about any good racetracks/events near the Chico area, but you beat me to it! I definitely plan on being there in January. I just need to get a helmet. I'm sure the Triangle TR968's that came with the car are going to be pretty awful at autocross. But at my skill level it probably won't matter much anyway.

Does anyone have any tips for prepping for an autocross event? Also if there's a better way for replying let me know! This is my first time ever posting on a forum, so I'm still trying to figure out how everything works.
*edit* I read the race prep sticky. Sounds like there's some work I need to do. Unfortunately I don't think I can afford spending a whole lot on better tires right away, being a broke college student and everything. Will what I've got now work okay for an event or two while I save up for something better?

good2go

iTrader: (2)

Absolutely. You are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Thunderhill Raceway (on Hwy 162 just west of Willows). Stay safe man, you don't want to test that luck of yours too much.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5273...3329684,12.71z

Erat

iTrader: (5)

Click multi quote on all the posts you want to quote .

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Start with a proper rollbar. They are required for any track days and recommended for autocross and street driving. As you have seen demonstrated, if the car lands upside down you will be unable to exit even if you survive. The doors don't always open and the cabin gets quite small.

A proper suspension would be next on my list. Not only does it make the greatest difference in enjoyment of the car, it adds control. Often the oversteer condition you experienced on the mountain results from the outside rear suspension contacting the bumpstops prior to the front. It's not uncommon on an aged stock suspension because of sag, low spring rates in the rear, and adding weight to the cabin and trunk.

Or you were trail braking, which is an advanced skill and also more difficult to control on a floppy stock suspension. Either way, suspension is important all the time.

Once you have a good suspension I would recommend to autocross to learn lower speed car control skills and how to catch the car when it breaks away before transitioning to the big tracks where you have less opportunity to save the car.

Be safe.

pccd26

I think it's got a Hard Dog Hard Bar on it right now, which sounds like it won't be enough for anything more than autocross. (And I'd like a better rollbar anyway, because...you know) I've also heard things about a broomstick test with a helmet? Being 6' 2" that will probably make passing the test somewhat...challenging. The driver's side seat has already had a foamectomy done, along with a tiny Momo steering wheel, so I do fit in there pretty well. But I'll have to do some measuring and go from there.

As for the suspension I looked closer at what's in there and found out it's got Flyin' Miata lowering springs all the way around, which is nice to know. It sounds like the AGX + FM springs combo (if adjusted properly) is an okay starter suspension? Obviously it's not as good as Xidas or something, but at least it's not Racelands. I might've mentioned this before but it's also got beefier sway bars in the front and rear. Will this setup be decent enough to get me started with autocrossing while I finish up school, or should I wait until I've got some money to spend for upgrading things? I'd like to learn on something that's predicable, safe, and won't make me learn weird driving habits/techniques that'll only need to be unlearned later on. Thank you to everyone for answering my noobtastic questions!

Fosters

I opened your thread expecting a basic intro, and I was quite surprised with the rollover story. Glad no real injuries and welcome.

Josh

rtp