new guy with an itch..
 

hello all the name is brett and ive come here today in an attempt to switch families. Right now i have a 2003 vw gti 1.8t with a tune and some suspension work.. recently ive been able to scrounge up enough money to buy a winter rat and with this i want a true summer car.. and nothing can mean summer more then a rag top.. i was turned onto miatas because i have seen a few set up and hear that they are real fun in the twisties.. i literally know nothing about them.. but i love cars and have good general knowledge. so please be nice..
thanks again brett
here are some pics of the current ride that i will be attempting to get rid of..

http://i37.tinypic.com/15wdytg.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/2dce2dv.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/2moxb1h.jpg

Welcome to the forum.

#1 piece of advice myself and everyone else can give you is to SEARCH. We have A LOT of information on this site, don't hesitate to read as much as you can.

Also, if you're curious as to how I typed "SEARCH" and "A LOT" like I did, if you look to the left of your "z" key and to the right of the "/?" key, you'll see two shift keys. Use them.

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'90-'91.5 has a 1.6 with a known main crank pulley issue, of the bolt backing out. There are some fixes for this, the best being a crank from a '91.5-'93, which will slot right in, with the obvious labor put in. They also have pop up headlights and the weakest chassis. 6" diff which WILL explode at anything near and above 200hp. There's that shift key again. Transmission is good until 250ish hp.

'91.5-'93 still has the 1.6 engine, now with the previously mentioned better crank, and each year received chassis stiffening upgrades, very important on any convertible car.

'94-'96 still has pop up headlight, but now with a 1.8 engine, 7" diff good to 275ish horsepower, bigger brakes by about an inch on all four corners, and a transmission good to around 275hp as well. These were OBDI cars, so emissions aren't as strict. Don't quote me on that, OBDII may have started in '96.

'97 is the same as '96, now with OBDII. Like I said, the '96 may be in this category as well. Mazda has still been stiffening the chassis this whole time.

'98 had no Miata except across seas, where they were even still making the 1.6
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'99 brought big changes. 1.8 still, fixed headlights, along with other minor body tweaks. This is where my knowledge starts to trickle off, since I have a '93. But I believe the transmission is a little better, along with more chassis stiffeners, and engine enhancements that don't add much power (I think).

'01? New fixed headlights (will fit in '99 and '00) along with bitchin' front lip and side skirts that make it look much more aggressive.

'05 MSM (Mazdaspeed Miata) comes out, with a turbocharged engine making 170hp. Very stiff chassis. "Best" Miata chassis, although the turbo setup is lacking.

Somewhere between '99 and '05 a 6 speed transmission came out which is considered the best for turbo cars. It should handle somewhere around 350-400hp, depending on how it's driven. Also in the NB era were "sport" brakes, which were larger still than the 1.8 brakes.
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'06 is the brand new miata you see today, we don't deal with it. Decent chassis, much harder and more expensive to boost (haha, get it?) output.
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Notes:
All hardtops from '90-'05 are interchangeable, although some didn't come with the side strikers. Once found online though, they bolt in.

Keep in mind that even though the earlier cars aren't as stiff, all braces can be bolted on, some even home made, and the braces only add weight. It's my opinion that the first mod you should do to any Miata is a roll bar, which adds a lot of stiffness.

All transmissions swap with each other, so even the '90 can have the 6spd.

Cheap (~$100ish) brake up grade for the '90-93 is to get the bracket, rotors, and pads from a '94-97 and bolt them up. Once you have the brackets, you can put the sport brakes on too, but the replacement cost goes up a little too high for my opinion. You either don't need them on the street, or you need a proper BBK (big brake kit) for ~$700, which includes new calipers and bigger rotors.

Speaking of which, although all '90-05 Miatas have disc brakes on all four corners, they are all also single piston calipers.

That's enough spoon feeding for now. Others will chime in, but that'll give you an idea what you're looking at.

Looks slow. Welcome to the forum read the FAQ, and digest all the information you can. It'll help us help you. :wavey:

Welcome, once you boost a miata, you will sell your 1.8t. Ask the guy with a tune and 3 inch that was running on 18 psi in a gti how I wasted him on 10 psi. Anyways, we will help, but you have to help yourself and want to learn. If you want someone to make airplane noises while they shove luke warm oatmeal in your mouth miata.net will work. Also, we are a tough bunch. If we make fun of you, don't get butthurt. It happens to all of us.

thanks for the info guys.. ill be doing my homework and getting smartified on the platform befor i make a purchase.. so search and lurk.. i can do those well.. and my car isnt that slow i trapped 99 in the 1/4 but only got a 14.55 fwd sucks

dont worry im a pretty tough guy, i have a winter car so i have to sell my gti befor i can buy a miata.. id love to trade someone on this site for there preboosted one hint hint

We don't like your kind round here boy.

OP, you from upstate, d00d? First pic looks like somewhere I'm familiar with...

im from rochester. you know your way around the city?

Nope, wrong metro. Check out http://empirestateroadsters.net/, there are guys from out that way on there.