The first of many Miata questions

I have decided that eventually I need to get a dedicated toy car so I can stop beating on my daily driver at autocross and I can start doing track days without the fear of breaking the car I need for work on Monday. I want a car that's cheap, reliable, and street-able (can't afford a truck and trailer). I'm still in the "research" phase but I've decided that Miata is the right answer. The plan would be to add a rollbar right away (I think that's the only mod required for track days) and autoX/track the car stock for a while. Then slowly upgrade things like intake, exhaust, tune, and suspension. Maybe way down the road a turbo kit.

Now that I've decided I need a Miata, I figure the next thing to figure out is what year(s) to look for. I think I want a NA (but I could be convinced otherwise) to minimize cost and weight. I also like the look of the NAs. I also am pretty sure that I want the 1.8L, so that means 94-97. I have not found any pros to having the 1.6 in my research so far.

As I can tell (mostly from here: grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/mazda-miata/) the 94 and 95 are 128hp non OBDII cars while the 96 and 97 are 133hp OBDII cars. Is there any advantage to the 94/95? I've seen people looking for non-OBDII 1.8s but I haven't seen good reasons why OBDII is bad. Seems like it would make diagnostics easier and they have 5 more hp. Do modifications make the car throw CELs and thus fail emissions?

So basically I want thoughts on 94/95 vs. 96/97 AND i need the LSD, so how do I tell if the car has one? Do all the 5-speeds have it in those years?

Also, if you think I'm wrong by going for 94-97 cars convince me I want/need something else.

Going turbo is moderately easier on OBD-I cars. Doubly so if this car will ever see the street (or need to pass a state inspection).

The 94 cars have a real working oil pressure gauge, 95-97 have the dummy "High/low" gauge. If it really is a dedicated track toy, and you aren't concerned with OBD-II, try and find a 99 sport. The heads flow much better and you'll run into most of the same issues turboing a '99 as a '97.

Calling mazda with the VIN is the best way to verify LSD. 1-949-727-1990

If it were me and my money, I'd go with a 94.

calteg wrote: Going turbo is moderately easier on OBD-I cars. Doubly so if this car will ever see the street (or need to pass a state inspection). The 94 cars have a real working oil pressure gauge, 95-97 have the dummy "High/low" gauge. If it really is a dedicated track toy, and you aren't concerned with OBD-II, try and find a 99 sport. The heads flow much better and you'll run into most of the same issues turboing a '99 as a '97. Calling mazda with the VIN is the best way to verify LSD. 1-949-727-1990 I wouldn't waste money on I/H/E mods, especially when you'll throw them all out when you buy a Flyin Miata kit. Get some Koni yellows, a Hard dog bar, maybe some factory BBS' and spend the rest on instruction. If it were me and my money, I'd go with a 94.

I somewhat doubt that you'll feel the additional 5bhp of the 96/97 cars over the earlier ones. Neither of them are the fastest thing on four wheels anyway, but they're good cheap track machines with a lot of upgrade potential.

I would simply buy on condition - get the best car for the money if you don't expect to upgrade the ECU anytime soon (harder on ODB-2 cars).

Personally I have a '95 and one of the first mods was to retrofit a "real" oil pressure gauge. Other than that, I'd spend the money on a roll bar, suspension, wheels and tires.

I bought a Miata for pretty much the same reason. (Although heavier on the autocross/weekend cruising and less so on the possibility of track days down the road) Don't regret it one bit. I've actually ended up DD'ing it to the point I may sell my SE-R and just go with the Miata and a "winter beater". Read up a LOT here and on Miata.net before you start trying to add NA power. Sadly, most of the usual "bolt on's" either add little/nothing or even lose power on a Miata. Turbos, superchargers or even swaps are where you find power. Suspension upgrades, if done carefully and well, are where most people find speed, and the good news is they remain useful if you switch over for FI later on. As for the best year, most people seem to think whatever year is in their garage is the "best". There are even those who swear the 1.6 NA was the be all and end all Miata. I've got a 1994 Miata because I found the NA model more comfortable both for my 6'2" body and my rather thin wallet, but from what I've seen (mainly at autocross), I think I'd pick up an NB if torso and wallet height weren't an issue. Not so much for the power, but they just seem to handle a little better out of the box. Just beware: The aftermarket for ANY Miata is pretty much endless. There are a lot of people out there driving $20,000 Miatas that they bought for $3000.

The only advantage for the 1.6, around here anyway was the price difference.

I bought a clean, stock 120k mile car for $2600. The same car with a 1.8 and Torsen were going for nearly double. I didn't figure the extra engine was worth twice the price.

I'm also a fan of simply buying the cleanest/nicest car for your budget.

By the way, I have a 1.6 and like it. They're all good.

Cleanest/nicest car for your budget.

I wanted '94+, but I was also interested in doing some drifting (along with the HPDE and auto-x). The torsen LSD for the 1.8 Miatas is a surprisingly good unit. Mine performs very well.

On your list of upgrades and maintenance. The other most important work on the car for track days is high quality brake pads and to bleed the brakes with good brake fluid.

Your plan is very similar to mine. I ended up with a 1990 1.6 that I paid 2400 bucks for. It has the short nose crank issue (look it up on miata.net) but the bottom end was rebuilt and the timing belt done a verifiable 15k miles ago

Its super easy to acquire and swap the 1.8 torsen diff into another car if you don't care about the autocross classing hit

Also I needed front brakes anyway so got the later 1.8 rotors and pads (uses same caliper but moves it with a bracket) which is a nice pad surface area upgrade for cheap

As I just did my first event with the car I can tell you that after the first two corners in autocross you won't care how slow the car accelerates ;p

around here NB's seem like a better value, from the standpoint that they are rarely more expensive than a 94-97.

i only got my '94 because it was one of those rare situations where the owner just wanted to get rid of it ($1,500 with under 100k and torsion LSD).

I like the 2001-05 cars, stiffer chassis and better lights than the 1999-00. But I rarely have to worry about power/weight If I need super-light, I build it. The 1994-97 has better gearing than the NBs, with my favorite combo of a 5-speed and a 4.10. The only real downside to the 1.6 in my mind (I have two of them) is the liability of that weaker ring and pinion. Never broken one myself, but I've seen ham-fisted drivers rip them apart with a stock 116 hp engine.

OBD-II is great because it gives you more diagnostic options. But OBD-II sucks because, if you replace the stock ECU, you may have to swap the stock computer back in every once in a while to pass emissions. Not that it'll be dirtier with the aftermarket ECU, just that it won't return OBD-II codes if that's required. The days of it being "more difficult" to turbo an OBD-II car ended in about 2002. Basically, if your power goals are north of 200 rwhp and you have to deal with emissions tests, go pre-OBD-II. If you're looking at sub-200 rwhp, go OBD-II. If you don't have emissions tests, go nuts.

Assume that any NA or NB Miata will need a new suspension by this point. That's good because it gives you an excuse for the biggest bang for the buck modifications you can make to the car.

I got my 96 (no LSD) with 126k for $2,900 and quickly put another $2,000 in it....

But it's a ball to drive and I take it to work every day, unless it's really hot and I want A/C. Then I take the truck.

A growing number of clubs and tracks will not allow convertibles without a litany of safety equipment that makes the cars impractical to drive on the street. Do some research to see how this applies to your area.

I've had both a NA and NB, and I think that for your purposes it really doesn't matter what year the car is. Save yourself some time and look for one that's already prepped for track driving (cage, hardtop, seats, harnesses) and take it straight to the track.