WOW! 30k tire wear on the Miata! Honestly don't recall what I got on my '96.

But with the '03 S2K I'm only getting 11-12k on a set of rears and a bit over 20K on the fronts. I've run different rubber in addition to the stock Bridgestone Potenza S-02 (F205/55WR16 R225/50WR16). Really liked the Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 (F205/55ZR16 R245/45ZR16) over both the OEM Potenza and the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R (F205/55R16 R225/50R16). All three of these are discontinued for my OEM 16" rims.

Keep in mind that my 4-wheel alignment is very aggressive. Still tire wear / mileage is like a couple folks I know with Vettes!

FWIW my '99 Subbie Forester with a manual tranny routinely got 60-65k on a set of tires.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
WOW! 30k tire wear on the Miata! Honestly don't recall what I got on my '96.

But with the '03 S2K I'm only getting 11-12k on a set of rears and a bit over 20K on the fronts. I've run different rubber in addition to the stock Bridgestone Potenza S-02 (F205/55WR16 R225/50WR16). Really liked the Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 (F205/55ZR16 R245/45ZR16) over both the OEM Potenza and the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R (F205/55R16 R225/50R16). All three of these are discontinued for my OEM 16" rims.

I have 42k miles on my new Z4 and still on the on the original factory all-season run flats with plenty of life left. I was amazed at my last inspection.

update(sorta) -- I'm gonna offer $12k tomorrow. That's another grand under where they are now. That makes it $12.5 with a new set of tires. Maybe a bit too much, but I think not insanely so. But I'll not come up. And they'll probably not take it. So this will have just been a fun weekend with a loaner car.

Bald1-
My perfect S2000 would have the AP1 engine with the rear end of the AP2. I do miss that rev to 9k, 8k just doesn't have the excitement.

quote:

Originally posted by porterdog:

quote:

Originally posted by VBVAGUY:
1st Generation Miata's are inexpensive, inexpensive to maintain, and easy to maintain. God Bless

+1. In 1999 I bought an 11k mile '94 for about ten grand. I added a Flyin Miata turbo kit to it, along with an upgraded clutch and an aluminum radiator. This kit took the car from ~90hp to approximately 220 (wheel) horsepower, in a 2400lb car. All-in it was maybe $21k.

I sold the car in 2010 with 125k miles on it for $4000.

In the intervening time I had to perform major maintenance on *nothing*. I had to put a battery in at one point (!). Never any issues with the motor, AC, alternator, convertible top, cruise control, stereo, or anything else.

The entire time I had it I was shredding tires, getting tickets, and pissing off F-body guys. More than once I lip-read someone saying "What the * fuck*?!" in my rearview. It was stupid fast, cheap as shit, super robust, easy to work on, and flat out fun. I did tons of HDPE at Waterford Hills, Mid-Ohio, and Gingerman, always driving it to and from the track.

The only complaint I can level is that the wheelbase is so short that with the extra juice it could be a twitchy handful. Some people like that; I'd rather carve a graceful slidey arc (RX7 style) than have to work fast to gather it up from sideways.

The early cars don't look as cool as any of the others mentioned, but none of the other cars mentioned are as simple or cheap. Make your choice and pay your money.

Their kits are awesome! They do the 5.0 swap kits right? I had a factory turbo mazdaspeed version that I loved, but never drove so I ended up selling.

quote:

Originally posted by Dusty78:

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
WOW! 30k tire wear on the Miata! Honestly don't recall what I got on my '96.

But with the '03 S2K I'm only getting 11-12k on a set of rears and a bit over 20K on the fronts. I've run different rubber in addition to the stock Bridgestone Potenza S-02 (F205/55WR16 R225/50WR16). Really liked the Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 (F205/55ZR16 R245/45ZR16) over both the OEM Potenza and the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R (F205/55R16 R225/50R16). All three of these are discontinued for my OEM 16" rims.

I have 42k miles on my new Z4 and still on the on the original factory all-season run flats with plenty of life left. I was amazed at my last inspection.

Gross! The run flats are the first thing that come off new cars I get. Noisy, terrible handling, and NOISY

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
update(sorta) -- I'm gonna offer $12k tomorrow. That's another grand under where they are now. That makes it $12.5 with a new set of tires. Maybe a bit too much, but I think not insanely so. But I'll not come up. And they'll probably not take it. So this will have just been a fun weekend with a loaner car.

Good luck with your offer. Let 'em know you're factoring the need for new rubber all around.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
update(sorta) -- I'm gonna offer $12k tomorrow. That's another grand under where they are now. That makes it $12.5 with a new set of tires. Maybe a bit too much, but I think not insanely so. But I'll not come up. And they'll probably not take it. So this will have just been a fun weekend with a loaner car.

Sounds like you're offering a very fair price on a good car r0gue, make sure they know $12K is the total price (plus PA tax of course and whatever the state charges for a regular or temporary plate). If you don't be clear I bet they'll grudgingly take your offer then at closing add "fees" such as "doc" (additional dealer profit) to squeeze another couple few hundred out of you. Stick to that price and be prepared to walk, convertible selling season is about over heck it'll be September in a couple weeks. They don't want to be stuck with a Miata in the Fall. Good luck!

One thought I had last night is should I look for a higher trim to get leather and heated seats. If I do that though -- the thought occurred to me that "maybe" leather gets insanely hot in the sun vs. cloth. Anyone had experience with that?

Looks black in the picture, tweed I hope?

In my case I'll not want another vehicle with solid color, black, cloth upholstery, which is what happens to be in my Wrangler. Especially with a brown dog.

The black leather in my previous S2000 did get hot but only if left out in the sun with the top down.

quote:

Let 'em know you're factoring the need for new rubber all around.

I think this is a great point.

As for seats, I love the leather, though heated seats in this type of car doesn't seem worth it as personally, I'd tend to use it only in nicer months. I suppose the leather seats automatically come with heat though. I'd try to find lighter colored leather seats. I know buying used, beggars can't be choosers.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
One thought I had last night is should I look for a higher trim to get leather and heated seats. If I do that though -- the thought occurred to me that "maybe" leather gets insanely hot in the sun vs. cloth. Anyone had experience with that?

I would. I've got black leather in my Porsche but it's only hot till the AC kicks in or I put the top down. I'll take leather every time. You might get a few nice things like built in blue tooth stereo, key less entry, etc. Heated seats are very nice in the winter or if your back would decide to act up on you.

Thanks for all the advice everybody. You all deserve an update, if you're interested.

I dropped it off from the weekend test drive. Decided not to negotiate right off. There was such a gulf between their $13k (after dropping $2k for me initially) and the $10.5 that I think it's worth, that I figured it best to start that negotiation when they call me in a few days. Trade in seems to be around $9k, so they should have plenty of room to move.

Time will tell.....keep us posted.
Mike

Incidentally, I get about 15,000 on a set of Michelins on my 2006 S2000 driving like a human. Since the backs and fronts are different sizes and the tires are directional, rotation isn't possible. Chip sealed roads and sport suspensions eat them up.

Your Miata will have the same tires fore and aft and port and starboard.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I get about 15,000 on a set of Michelins on my 2006 S2000 driving like a human.

Mike, ya can't have it both ways... extended tire wear and a contention red is the fastest! hahahahaha

Seriously you don't get different wear on your rears and fronts? Everyone I know with a S2000 says they get about 2: 1 with the fronts lasting almost twice as long as the rears.

I bought my Miata B-package with hard top in Classic Red on June 26, 1990, owned it for the next 15 years and put 160K miles on the clock. At 6'2", fit was snug, and I had to duck a bit to see stoplights at intersections, but its a true roadster. I don't think many folks would describe an Elan, Bugeye, MG, or Spitfire as roomy.

I autocrossed it for a couple of years in C-stock and was pretty competitive even with street tires. At 2070 lbs with 50/50 weight distribution it drove like a go cart. My BMW 328 convertible weighs almost twice that. Mazda even shaved the welds to keep it light, and removed a spoke from the alloys to reduce sprung weight.

People forget there was nothing like it on the market at the time (sorry, the Alpha was awful by that time). It single handedly revived a dead segment, largely due to the passion of a small group of dedicated California Mazda employees who donated their personal time to development for fear Mazda bean counters would cancel the project. They threw away a semi full of exhaust parts to get the right note. They spent countless hours getting the shifter throw and feel perfect. They obsessed over every detail, and brought it to market at 1/10th the cost of a typical car.

The S2000 is polished, the BMW is slick, but the Miata is authentic in a way neither of those two are, largely because the people who designed it knew what they were building, and equally as important, what they weren't. I miss mine and think about buying another all the time.

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
The S2000 is polished, the BMW is slick, but the Miata is authentic in a way neither of those two are, largely because the people who designed it knew what they were building, and equally as important, what they weren't.

As previously posted I had and loved my '96 Miata. But I take exception to your comment about the S2000. It was a loss leader that old man Honda introduced to both commemorate Honda's 50th anniversary and as a tribute to Honda's Formula 1 program*. As such it received a great deal of design input from sportscar enthusiasts at Honda. They didn't want to disappoint the old man! The car was commonly thought of by the automotive press as a modern incarnation of the spirit of British sportscars (with of course reliable electronics).

Granted the Honda design team had their company's full support where the Miata gang were not as fortunate. But both cars have been aptly labeled true enthusiasts' machines. To say otherwise is a significant error.


* As evidenced by many design features including a high reving 2 liter engine that at the time produced more bhp per cubic inch than any other mass produced car ever had.

Well worth the view as it covers features and a race car driver's impressions.



Link to original video: https://youtu.be/DslW_wLRGAU






Link to original video: https://youtu.be/yiFoeosCEQI

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
the Miata is authentic in a way neither of those two are

I looked at the new ones last night. I think they're outside of the envelope, at least in the styling department. The 2008 is still kind of British in look. It's friendly where the new ones are a little ricey and aggressive looking. They no longer color match the windshield frame to the car on the convertibles (unless you buy black I guess). That disappointed me in terms of styling as well. I'm sure it's still amazing to drive. The interior was great.

I'm both hopeful that they give me an amazing deal (meaning even just fair deal in most other markets) and I get that 08, and yet I'm thinking that if I can hide my head in the sand for two months, this whole thing might blow over and save me thousands a year in maintenance, depreciation, storage, insurance, yadda yadda....

But my heart hurt a little driving it through the cool evening air to drop it off last night.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

Interestingly, reading your signature, -- I'd already commented that my dermatologist would not approve. I'm well cooled at the lid as well, and had my first MOHS at 41 years of age. Already had sunburn in the short time I had that Miata.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I get about 15,000 on a set of Michelins on my 2006 S2000 driving like a human.

Mike, ya can't have it both ways... extended tire wear and a contention red is the fastest! hahahahaha

Seriously you don't get different wear on your rears and fronts? Everyone I know with a S2000 says they get about 2: 1 with the fronts lasting almost twice as long as the rears.

Yes, my rears wear faster than the fronts but I feel safer replacing all 4 at the same time with the same type of rubber. Cheap insurance considering I put about 4,000 miles a year on the car.

Mike