New Guy
 

Hey all, I'm here because my friend just turned me onto the Miata. I have always liked them but never considered one before. I was originally looking to get an e46 M3 but turned away when reading up on maintenance costs and such. I was then looking at BMW roadsters and coupes. "BMW fanboy much?:D" When I told my buddy what I wanted he told me to buy a miata for 10k and put 10k into it and I'll be better off lol. He drives a turboed escort gt. Obviously I won't spend quite that much, but I am dead set on a miata for my summer car.

My current cars are a fully modded "minus cams" NA 2000 ZX2 S/R summer car, and a 97 BMW 328i as my winter beater. I think driving around the Bemmer all the time makes me want to ditch the FWD so bad. Once I get my own house I'll get a newer BMW but I think it will still be my DD. The miata seems like the smarter and more economical choice of car when it comes to modding. For now the ZX2 has to go!

on to the pics...
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Some of you may recognize these wheels ;)

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Had to include a pic of the pedal bike

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This is my sig from the ZX2 site, it is clearly to big for this site so I figured I would include it in my first post for a little more info on my cars.

Calypsorot 97 BMW 328i, DJ Auto Headlights, DDE ultra hd 80+ led angel eyes, Depo fogs, DDM 5k 55w HID's in the low beams, DDM 5k 35w HID's in the fogs, OEM 17" Radial Spoke Style 50 wheels on warn out rear tires. :) 3.23 LSD
Red 2000 S/R, Performance- SCT:Spec Stage II clutch:Fidanza Flywheel:Powder UDP:Alt ODP:essy cam gears+VCT Delete:FC TB:JohnP IM:JohnP Head 10.5:1 compression with oversized ford racing valves and crower high rev springs and seats:Kamikaze header:2.5" trubendz with resi and Borla:PS/AC delete:15" Motegi Traklite 2's with Bridgestone Potenza RE-11'S:22mm RSB:ES end links:and rear tranny mount inserts. Dyno'd at 152.07whp 146.19wt

Welcome.

$10k miata + $10k in mods is a pretty serious miata.

First of all, IMO a $10k miata is pretty nice.

$2500-$3000 in suspension, wheels, brakes, and tires and you'll have a very fun, economical DD. That leaves $7000 for a turbo kit for power, that's plenty (again, IMO) for a very nice turbo kit and clutch.

This is if you buy all top end shit.

Thanks

I know 10k in mods is a lot but I would never spend that much. The cars I was looking at were around 20k and my buddy used that as an example. Realistically I would want to spend 3-4k at most for a nice turbo kit. Haven't really looked into or even considered suspension yet.

again, thanks for the welcome :)

Depends on what your driving style is like, and what the roads around you are like (bumps and pot holes) but I'd say suspension before turbo. 3-4k is still a nice turbo setup, that's a good budget.

Welcome aboard.

Keep Sam in his corner by using the search function to create you build-list. As questions as needed to refine.

Looking forward to see what you end up with...

- L

For the record, the Miata is one hell of a car. Every time I work on mine, I'm more impressed with what Hiroshima calls a "low-cost, lightweight sports car." I also work with aircraft, and most of the parts you find on the Miata are at or near aerospace grade. Much better than most German cars (I've had two high-end Mercedes).

I bought the car I have as my daughter's first car. Spent $3500 on it 8 years ago. My daughter didn't like it all that much (it really is NOT a chick's car, it's a driver's car), so I took it back and have never looked back. It now has 182K+ and is running better than ever. Might even rebuild the original engine someday.

You will not regret this. Welcome aboard.

Thanks guys, I sure can't wait till I do buy my first miata. I actually have one lined up, it is clean and it is turbo. It's actually a known member on here but I'll leave that to your imaginations until I actually pick up the car. :)