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

[79PonchoUK]

A miata is ideal for autoX.


Useless on a road course though. It would just depress you.







A fiero is a great candidate but has the same flaws as the miata. I have a fiero...if I ever get round to an engine swap on it and some minor suspension/body mods... it will be a very special performer indeed.

[silver69camaro]

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

I wouldn't underestimate those Miatas...

[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/

[79PonchoUK]

http://www.flyinmiata.com/

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

[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?

[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

[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