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

[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