Hey guys, I've been lurking for a few years, figured it was finally time to join the club. I purchased my stock Miata two years ago from a guy off Craigslist who had four others, a boosted Mazdaspeed3, and enough spare parts to easily build another three complete roadsters. The car I bought was in rough shape. 300,000 miles, minor front end damage, bad top, non-functional speedometer, oil and water temp gauges.... It was a terrible purchase for a young guy with no experience working on cars and a limited budget, but after I drove it around the block..... All of that disappeared. It was my very first Miata experience, and my first time driving stick in something other than a Ranger. It was incredible.


When I first purchased the car. Radiator swap behind a NAPA autoparts was my first car work of any kind

A year later. Brakes, wheels, ZII*'s and a newfound love for driving at 10/10 on blocked off forest service roads.

Today. Engine and cooling are still untouched, everything else.... Has been touched. Dreaming of more power



I came home with the Salvage titled Miata, and despite it's many flaws, I was in love. Two years of daily driving later, I've done quite a bit to it, and learned a ton. I'm still budget constrained in my build, but I try to save enough to buy parts that I won't feel the need to replace with something better down the line. My ideal build for this car is as a maximum "fun" vehicle. I'm not concerned with lap times. At least not now... We'll see later on! Blasting up and down forest service roads is my happy place, but tearing it up in the snow, or doing an autox, rallyx... I love all of it! Same goes for day trips, more intense overlanding adventures and hell, I'd love to get a spot in a car show some day. Anyways, glad to be a part of the forum! Here's some pictures. I'm typing this up on mobile, using the desktop site, so I apologize if formatting is a bit strange.

Mt. Rainier, first trip after installing Xidas. Still need an alignment, new tires, bushings, etc. But good god. Going from stock, blown suspension to Xidas.... Life-changing

Road trip mode engaged.

Seats were free. Probably knockoffs but I wanted bolstering and a way to keep my head from smashing the bar. Success! Sfi padding is on the way as well

Fujitsubo because add lightness. The car is slightly north of 2100 pounds at the moment.

 

Warms my little heart to see someone else doing real life stuff with their miata. Welcome.

Jelly of your car's weight, mine is a piggy at 2350 plus driver. (no rollbar either :( )

 

There's a certain joy in using the Miata for things it's obviously ill-suited for! Snow tires are on the way, I'm curious to see how things go up in the mountains...

I love that 2350 is considered "piggy"

 

Welcome. Update profile of your location. Im just in Seattle. MurderMiata is in Kent for now and Scaxx is in Everett

 

I have 800/500 xidas, delrin bushings, grabby clutch, and snow tires still cant get much grip even in 1 inch of snow lol. Its, uh, exciting.

 

Glad to hear there are a few locals. I'm in Kirkland at the moment

 

Oh god. That's... Uh. Worrying haha. What tires were you running?
I went through two winters with star specs though, so I have to believe that I'll be much better off now!

 

Welcome. Love what you're doing with the car. Keep enjoying it!

 

I have 185/60/15 Michelin x ice Xi3 on 15x7 rims. I figured the extra side wall would help.

Snow tires will be better than star specs, without question. The stiff suspension (I'm guessing you are running no softer than 700/350) is TERRIBLE for slippery conditions. Good luck, and I cant wait to see the snow plow shots!

I have the same trunk rack, btw. It is great!