Hello, in search of my miata
 

Hi Guys! I am new to the site. I just found this site last week and have been reading the forums here and as well as another roadster site.

I am from Bay Area California. I currently own a 2008 350Z. I am looking to make a track car which can be a daily drive and found that Miata is perfect as the parts are cheap and its tons of fun to drive one.

I think I've learned that NA is the route to go. Specifically the year 1994 and 1995 since the engine is 1.8L and they are both ODB1. Anything past 95 is ODBII which I've learned is not good.

I also do like the 1999 and 2000 but I'm not sure if those years will be good for me since I would be either doing Turbo to the miata or drop in LS1 (depending on the funds)

So any advise on that would be good since right now i've read that the best years are 94 and 95 because of 1.8L and obd1. So that means if i put a turbo in it then smog may not be passable.

Please let me know if I am correct in my thinking or any year is good? I have read that any year miata is good as well, but if i put a turbo or make it a track car which will ALSO be a Daily Driver, will it pass smog and be legal?

I have found a 1995 miata soft top with 85k miles for $5800. I am not sure if I should jump on that or not since the price seems to be high.

Please be easy on me now! :)

Thanks!

Welcome.
If you're ever in sacramento you can check out mine to help you figure out what you want in a miata. its not slow;)

Do you have a turbo in it? I see an intercooler there :) Does your miata pass smog? About how much did you put in the miata?

So I went to the dealership and they had a 96 miata that I was interested in. Now the 96 has ODBII and does that mean I can't upgrade the car that much because it wont pass smog? Such as when I turbo the 96, it wont pass smog but the 95 and below will?
Whats the deal here? Can someone shed some light please?

1.) 99-00 is just fine to turbo.

2.) fuck cali and all their ghey laws

I'm looking in to turboing my 94 1.8L atm.

There are several CARB-approved turbo kits out there. Many of the BEGi kits are CARB approved, at least for cars up to 99 model year. Check the vendor websites for more info.

You should probably think about budget before you buy. How much do you want to spend all up? The good quality kits can be pricey. There are cheap kits out there, more for the 90-93 cars than the later cars, or if you have the skill you can go DIY and save some green with used parts or whatever.

Look at the Bell Engineering and the FM website to get some ideas on cost and then you can plan accordingly.

$5800 for a good 95 isn't outrageous but it would want to be mint, with hardtop, etc. You can probably do better than that.

If you are going to put a v8 in it, just buy a cheap and clapped out 1.6L.