The Perfect Auto-X/Road Course Car...

[silver69camaro]

A miata is ideal for autoX.
Useless on a road course though. It would just depress you.

I wouldn't underestimate those Miatas...

[JEFFTATE]

Monster Miatas are cool.!!
Get one of those !!

[cheapthrillz]

Monster Miatas are cool.!!
Get one of those !!

Ha ha..... I always used to say the only way a miata would be cool was if it had a 302 efi lol.

[JEFFTATE]

Put an LS motor in one...

[79PonchoUK]

I wouldn't underestimate those Miatas...

You're just backing up the hype they don't deserve though.

They're lovely to drive, wonderfully balanced too. They're also powerless. I've driven one a fair bit and even on twisty UK roads they still have far too little power.
People love to chirp up and say that's what makes them fun, but that's just an excuse. It makes them frustrating.

If they feel slow on the road, get them on an open track and they'll drive you crazy. They're not a track car any more than a Hemi dodge pickup. Not all the boxes are ticked. I hate that they're so overhyped too....it ruins them for me.

They don't even have a nice soundtrack to keep you entertained on the eternal straights. lol

[slowcamaro]

You're just backing up the hype they don't deserve though.

http://www.flyinmiata.com/

[critter]

So what class of autocross are you going to run in? That kinda determines a lot of what you might want to do.

I run my 4 cylinder Fiero with our local SCCA club on occasion (I drive it daily for the fuel economy) and in the stock class I'm in I can hang in there. It's a lot under powered but it's always a tight course so I can make up for it with handling.

[cheapthrillz]

So what class of autocross are you going to run in? That kinda determines a lot of what you might want to do.

I run my 4 cylinder Fiero with our local SCCA club on occasion (I drive it daily for the fuel economy) and in the stock class I'm in I can hang in there. It's a lot under powered but it's always a tight course so I can make up for it with handling.

Not sure yet. If she likes running the road courses more, we may go in that direction. I figured I would help her find a car that she likes and then build it to fit in some particular class through NASA or SCCA. I've never done an auto-x or road course, and I'm interested in participating with her..... Right now I'm just fishing for car ideas. You never know, she might decide that she doesn't really like racing or cars at all. Only time will tell. On a side note, she loves fishing, so maybe there's some hope afterall.... lol

[79PonchoUK]

http://www.flyinmiata.com/

I have no idea what that has to do with my comment.

[DynoDon]

You're just backing up the hype they don't deserve though.

They're lovely to drive, wonderfully balanced too. They're also powerless. I've driven one a fair bit and even on twisty UK roads they still have far too little power.
People love to chirp up and say that's what makes them fun, but that's just an excuse. It makes them frustrating.

If they feel slow on the road, get them on an open track and they'll drive you crazy. They're not a track car any more than a Hemi dodge pickup. Not all the boxes are ticked. I hate that they're so overhyped too....it ruins them for me.

They don't even have a nice soundtrack to keep you entertained on the eternal straights. lol

Guess you've never seen the Miata Cup series. http://www.mx-5cup.com/index.php Even Danny "Spin & Win" Sullivan is going to give it a try. Although I am a V8 muscle car kind of guy, if you look at it from purely analytical cold facts point of view, the Miata is very hard to beat.
The last SCCA event at El Toro that we went to, the Miata's outnumbered all the other cars combined! (and that alone is a reason for ME to NOT want one) and there was a really bad ass one there with a rare Three rotor Rotary motor.

[cheapthrillz]

The last SCCA event at El Toro that we went to, the Miata's outnumbered all the other cars combined! (and that alone is a reason for ME to NOT want one)......

Kinda my thoughts too. I don't want to get lost in the crowd.

Maybe I should buy another '65 Galaxie and build the hell out of it for Auto-x and make her drive it. lol

[79PonchoUK]

Guess you've never seen the Miata Cup series. http://www.mx-5cup.com/index.php Even Danny "Spin & Win" Sullivan is going to give it a try. Although I am a V8 muscle car kind of guy, if you look at it from purely analytical cold facts point of view, the Miata is very hard to beat.
The last SCCA event at El Toro that we went to, the Miata's outnumbered all the other cars combined! (and that alone is a reason for ME to NOT want one) and there was a really bad ass one there with a rare Three rotor Rotary motor.

No, I'm in the wrong country lol.

You can modify them to go faster...sure, but you can also modify a muscle car to corner. The miata doesn't even have THAT much grip anyway.
They're for driving pleasure and accuracy, they not for speed. That's why they're great for autocross and back road thrashing. Just because people race them doesn't mean they're good for the track. People race lawnmowers.



A 160hp miata is still only standard camaro or firebird fast. Power to weight only goes so far. There's a real trend on the net lately about power being secondary to weight...it's a switch from the thinking of 20-30 years ago, but as with most fashions and trends, it gets to an extreme. The miata is a good car, but it's very easy to beat. Trust me, I've been through about this a hell of a lot in friendly debate with a turbo eunos roadster owner. He went from expecting to beat me outright to 'i might be able to keep up'.

I just think they're too slow for the track and you'd get bored and sell it or start spending a fortune on engine upgrades just to make it entertaining. Then it will just keep breaking.




PS....a rotary miata sounds like it's on the right track. Turbo? I love those rotary engines...gutless, but when you wind them up they're excellent. Light too. Sounds like a cross between a 2 stroke and a 4 stroke engine. lol

[-CRUISER-]

I see a lot of good options here ! The Miata is IMO the best choice for the little lady because from what I read she is new to the sport and they want to build it together. Yes it is a slower cars but then again Indy Driver's didn't start off in Indy cars they progressed to it ! The Miata is a very good beginner platform that you don't have to sink a butt load into to make race ready. It also has a strong aftermarket for racing so part's are available and you can make them quicker and handle better as time goes on. At least that's my suggestion to the OP But for me if I were to build a older track car this is what I'd be looking into...

[cheapthrillz]

The only bad thing about the 240z's is that they have progressivly been increasing in value over the last few years.

Once again, this is another car that I would love to build.

Also, I want to build an Opel GT, but I would suspect that parts are not easy to find for them.

[silver69camaro]

I have no idea what that has to do with my comment.

Uh, they sell V8 conversions for Miatas.

Have you spent much time at road courses?

[MrQuick]

one of my favorites bodies on the cone track.

I vote for a 944, they do very well too.

Vince

[exwestracer]

1st gen RX7? DIRT cheap - one of my students had a really nice one he couldn't get $900 for... Lots of support for the chassis/engine, and a 5.0 or LS will fit when the time comes... Probably a better road racer than autoX car, but who knows?

[cheapthrillz]

one of my favorites bodies on the cone track.

I vote for a 944, they do very well too.

Vince

YES! Vince FTW!

I love these little BRE cars. I don't think she does though. It's bad when you go to the Historic BRE race at the Mitty and all my fiance can talk about is the Mustangs from the last race lol.

[exwestracer]

one of my favorites bodies on the cone track.

I vote for a 944, they do very well too.

Vince

Need a power upgrade for that???

[79PonchoUK]

Uh, they sell V8 conversions for Miatas.

Have you spent much time at road courses?

I've done some autox and road course driving, yeah. I used to do engine conversions on cosworths etc too and I've done a couple of my own, so I know what's involved in foreign engine transplants. I beat 2 miatas (well MX-5s as they're known here) at autox in a standard v6 capri, with standard leaf springs lol...they're not a golden ticket to out-and-out handling supremacy...They're a road car and a fairly soft one at that. If you're building a car from the ground up then their light weight, relatively low CofG and rear end configuration is a great car to start from....but...

I'm just referring to this post:
"changing directions quickly is alot easier on the wallet when the car is fairly light to start with..."
...earlier in the topic...the post that led to the miata being suggested to begin with.

If you get a miata then yes, you've got a car that doesn't need money to change direction quickly.....but it needs money in a different area instead. The engine.

How is saving money on having a better handling car only to spend the difference making it powerful enough any better than buying a powerful car that needs money on the suspension. Especially since the miata would need suspension mods anyway. They're good as standard but put a v8 in and it would still need suspension mods. Not to mention brakes. We won't even talk about its aerodynamics and how it goes light at speed.



The miata near standard does fit the bill for autox, and i suppose it is a ladies car in a fairly sexist sense. It's not a car for the proper road course track though.
If you're suggesting a woman would be fine with the lack of power then I'd bring up my other half who wouldn't put up with a car so slow on the road, let alone the track.

Doesn't mean I don't like them or think they're not a good option here...it's not that I don't think they can be fun either....they're just getting a legend that's a little above reality and they would be frustrating on the road courses.

Sorry...don't want to be too much of a ****. That's two topics that hit a button with me today....I'm not always like this, it's just coincidence that we've been in big debate over the same things on a local forum I use.
Feel free to beat me down until I shut up. lol