Mid engine miata equivalent?

Drooling over both an Exige S and Cayman S that were at this Saturdays BMCCA event it had me wondering as I sat waiting in my little NA. Is there anything that comes even close to the Miata platform that is mid engined when it comes to

1) Proven and reliable suspension setups 2) Ability to swap a ton of different potential options or FI options 3) relatively small wheels that support fairly wide tires 4) light weight

I know we have discussed the glories of MR2's here before but I don't know how flexible they are as a platform

Fiero?

MR2 Spyder.

Yeah the MR2, MRS, and Fiero all come to mind

The Fiero I know has had quite a few different swaps but I know nothing about how good you can get the suspension or what wheels/tires it can fit

The MR2/MRS I heard can be a bit tail happy? And again don't know what their potential is or how they compare fun wise to a miata.

Then again miata's are hard to beat.

Oh the 914 there is something I forgot about :)

Based on Internet Knowledge (tm) one wants an '88 Fiero for the best suspension.

Yeah just read that its lotus sourced that final year. EDIT: not lotus sourced but the original engineer designed system which was finally allowed

AW11.

1st or 3rd gen MR2, done.

mblommel wrote: 1st or 3rd gen MR2, done.

Fiat X1/9 if you need power you're going to probably want to swap.

Fiero is pretty heavy @2700bs

Swank Force One wrote: MR2 Spyder.

This. It's been a while since I could drive the Manic Miata in anger, so my buddy let me co-drive his STR MR-S. It's probably down 50 hp from the MM at full chat, but man, it was telepathic in turn-in and transitions.

The only thing going against the fiero, mr2, and fiat is that any shock/spring setup is going to have to be custom, they just dont have the off the shelf high end suspension options that the miata does.

To a point, yes. Koni Race inserts are used in the MR-S, and there's off the shelf Ohlins.

Equal to AST/Xidas? Probably not.

ND miata

In reply to DWNSHFT:

That picture made me run off to craigslist to search for 914s. I usually do that search every month or two just in case there is a decent one for sale close by.

$2500, 2 hours away, doesn't run, but according to the ad, "If you know what your doing the work on it can be done in a day and it will be running." Damn you.

Yeah right, so it's another of those "easy fixes" that a seller can't be bothered to apply to a car?

MR-S. They can be tail happy, but that can be remedied. There's a Member on here that's spent many (hundreds?) Of hours getting his suspension dialed in.

Is MR-S even competitive in STR? Vs the NCs and S2000s?

DWNSHFT wrote:

Damn. Beautiful!!!

Jaynen wrote: Is MR-S even competitive in STR? Vs the NCs and S2000s?

Locally, probably. Nationally, no. But neither is a "real" Miata.

1st gen Boxster

In reply to BoxheadTim:

The ad says the husband can no longer work on them due to health reasons and the wife is selling. The other two 914's in the ad are complete and total train wrecks including one that has the top chopped off and a craptastic 80's looking body kit and giant wing. The one I posted at least looks like a car, so it is a step up from the others they are selling. I'm not rushing out to go look at it, just a funny, typical craigslist ad.

Gunslinger wrote:

mblommel wrote: 1st or 3rd gen MR2, done.

Fiat X1/9 if you need power you're going to probably want to swap. Fiero is pretty heavy @2700bs

The thing that makes the X not a mid-engine miata is reliability. Miata=anvil, X not so much. I know, I've owned 2 miatas, an MR2 and an X. Guess which one has sat broken for 6 years and which ones started every day.