Joined the ND club!!!

Picked up a new 17 ND RF Club w/ bbs/brembo package.

Replaced my Subaru  Crosstrek which I just didn't like.

It was a leftover 17 that had 500 miles on it. Got it for like $27.5k.

Nice!

It's . . . so . . . beautiful!!!

Pretty!

RFs look really cool in white. I think it's the light body color windshield surround. The first time I saw one, I thought it was modified and it took me a while to figure it out.

BTW, that car has the second generation Bilsteins. Don't let anyone tell you that you can totally put on lowering springs and keep the stock shocks. That sorta works on the 2016-17 soft tops, but not the RF or the 2018-19 soft tops. The good news is that your stock suspension is a whole lot better than the stock suspension on those early Club ragtops.

Very nice, I’m jealous!

Beautiful!  Congrats!

They're kind of neat, aren't they? I just had a discussion with a friend who had a very early car, and is always considering another, about the cup holders. He contended that they were great, and I argued that they were terrible. We came to a compromise that they're great for a car that is clearly not designed to have them at all, but terrible compared to any other modern car.

Now that you own one, what do you think?

I love my e36. I don't need a new car. I can't afford a new car. I can't fit all my things in an ND. I WANT AN ND!

A passenger cant be there if you use them. But then again my NA doesnt have the cupholders in, and my LC has a rubber one from a rav4 that actually works ok.  But they are ok for 1 person.

Oh mama, sweet ride. Someday I'll have funds.... Someday....

mazdeuce - Seth said:

They're kind of neat, aren't they? I just had a discussion with a friend who had a very early car, and is always considering another, about the cup holders. He contended that they were great, and I argued that they were terrible. We came to a compromise that they're great for a car that is clearly not designed to have them at all, but terrible compared to any other modern car.

Crappy cup holders are part of the Miata tradition. Heck, the car didn't even have any until...1999? 2001? and even then they were basically unusable.

E36 M3ty cupholders are my favorite thing about miatas. It's like Berkeley the average American. This car is about being topless and enjoying driving, things the rest of the globe enjoys and Americans shun and treat as a sin. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So do I have an aftermarket cup holder that replaces the ashtray in my 96?

You do!

Looks great! Curious to hear your impressions after a month or two.

rustybugkiller said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So do I have an aftermarket cup holder that replaces the ashtray in my 96?

That must be what my friend's NA has.  I spent 3.5 days driving an NA last year. Part of me really liked it. Another part of me would rather have a Spitfire.  I did like that part where the top doesn't leak in the rain.  I remember it having a cupholder of moderate usefulness. 

Congrats on the RF. They still bug me to the point I don't see me ever getting one, but they do look good.

I was torn on the RF. The C5 that my ND replaced was targa and I rarely took the roof off,  but the RF is so sexy looking.

So I went soft top and put the top down all the time, but a neighbor has one of those cement colored RFs that drives by and Everytime I see it I second guess my decision.

With tops on is there a difference in headroom?

There’s slightly less headroom in the RF. So all you 6’9” guys have an excuse for not dating the sexy sister :)

I have regular access to both the soft tops and the RF, and I go for the RF every time. My wife found the ‘17 RF to be claustrophobic for some reason, but not the ‘19 RF. Same interior trim level on both. Go figure. 

In reply to Opti :

let us know what you think about the Miata compared to the c5! 

Keith Tanner said:

Crappy cup holders are part of the Miata tradition. Heck, the car didn't even have any until...1999? 2001? and even then they were basically unusable.

The NAs had pn 0000-8D-D01, which is an absolutely awful cupholder, but miles ahead of the useless ashtray that is the other option..

In reply to russ_mill :

Much slower. Slightly better highway fuel economy, Much less room, especially for cargo (when my truck was broke in the middle of a renovation I used the C5 to haul trim), doesnt sound near as good, more comfortable and less noisy. The vette was exhaust noise and old car rattling and squeaking, the ND isnt a quiet car by any means but its more pleasant than a beat up modified C5. The running costs for the ND have been much lower but we are comparing a new car with a turd of a C5 that I had to bring back from the brink..

Overall I miss the C5 but have had much more fun in the ND. I was worried at first about how slow it is but the ND has been drag raced and autocrossed more than the vette ever did. The ND has probably made 50 1/4 mile passes, even took down a brand new Civic type R, I cut him down at the tree and if he had 2 more feet of track he would have passed me but I got the light, he out MPHed me by 10 mph. The low power of the miata has been a huge change compared the the Z28 and Vette, I always had to worry about hurting drivetrain parts with them, and I blew up a bunch of E36 M3 with the Z, not with the Miata, and its kind of liberating.

And I can scratch my V8 itch with my new drag car.

WonkoTheSane said:

Keith Tanner said:

Crappy cup holders are part of the Miata tradition. Heck, the car didn't even have any until...1999? 2001? and even then they were basically unusable.

The NAs had pn 0000-8D-D01, which is an absolutely awful cupholder, but miles ahead of the useless ashtray that is the other option..

Dealer accessory.  Not stock or optional in the order form, it was basically an aftermarket part sold by the dealer so I didn’t count it.

You can also take the lid off the ashtray and turn it around. Now it works as a single cupholder. 

Keith Tanner said:

WonkoTheSane said:

Keith Tanner said:

Crappy cup holders are part of the Miata tradition. Heck, the car didn't even have any until...1999? 2001? and even then they were basically unusable.

The NAs had pn 0000-8D-D01, which is an absolutely awful cupholder, but miles ahead of the useless ashtray that is the other option..

Dealer accessory.  Not stock or optional in the order form, it was basically an aftermarket part sold by the dealer so I didn’t count it.

You can also take the lid off the ashtray and turn it around. Now it works as a single cupholder. 

Ah, gotcha.  Semantics are fun :) . Every NA I've had came with one except for the BRG, so I didn't realize it wasn't standard equipment.