To Mod or Not to Mod, that is the question.

[Phatmiata]

Or at least that is what looks to be the question with some folks. one of our members Riefdaddy sent me a link to this 96 Miata with a lot of unique mods on it. You can see by reading the comments how some folks are really fixed about keeping these cars bone stock. Which is rather funny to me considering this is just a base model NA. Had this been a low mileage Miata 93LE, 95M, or 91BRG I might understand some of the bring it back to stock comments. But to each their own right?

Check the link and read some of the comments.

and.................. discuss............

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/1996-mazda-miata-a-rare-idk-edition/



http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/P6250076-e1374603019972.jpg

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/P6250060-e1374600484286.jpg

[Unk577]

Some people shouldn't modify because they just have no taste.

But as far as everyone who wants to keep a 91BRG,93LE, 95M, 10AE,etc, etc...It's a miata. Yeah a special edition might be worth a couple of dollars more but people act like they are one of a kind and worth their weight in gold.

[The Driver]

Other than rims and the soft top, I totally dig that car! For the record, I'm not into modding for looks, only for performance gain.

[Martin]

The red cloth top is out of place on that car. The owner should trade with me.

[Phatmiata]

The red cloth top is out of place on that car. The owner should trade with me.

Drive to Georgia and he just might! He is selling that Miata so maybe you can pick up some nice parts too!

[The Driver]

Drive to Georgia and he just might! He is selling that Miata so maybe you can pick up some nice parts too!
Marty, Uuuuuuu caaaaan dewwww iiiit!

[Martin]

Hmm... I have some tan speaker covers I could throw in :)

[Pfunk]

It's... too late for me, son.

I understand the idea of keeping a car completely stock if you want to hold onto it for 50 years or so in hopes of it becoming a collectable car; whether or not the Miata will become such a car I cannot say. So many were made I am not sure the rarity that feeds that market will be there. Then again, '70s muscle cars are fetching more now than I ever thought they would, so who knows?

In my case, there isn't a single system or aspect of the car untouched and I wouldn't want it any other way. I intend to keep it until I die and have far, far more into it than I could ever recover by selling it, so it's a moot point.

[Ihatecars]

I have a 91 brg that I'm modding. I've ruined a classic! :gonk:
But in all seriousness, I don't feel that a Miata will be considered all that rare any time soon. I feel that half the fun of owning a car is the modding aspect. I'm going to mod my Miata and love it more and more as I continue to mod. Maybe someday I'll regret modding it, but I doubt it.

[Dandy]

They may be poking some fun at the IDK edition car but actually it has probably been well taken care of and has quite a few somewhat valuable mods if sold individually. The car just doesn't quite come together as a whole with the mods chosen, at least for me. I see value in this car but if I was in the market to buy it, the missing stock parts would be deductions to the value for negotiating purposes. I'm probably too honest to not give any value to any of the mods but luckily I don't make a living with my negotiating skills. Those hood pins would certainly get a major deduct from me.

I say mod until your heart is content and just know that it is very hard to get anything resembling the individual value of your mods back unless the car has a well established history and following in the community. I have decided to hold onto a few of the rare parts of my car that have been or will be removed just in case I decide to sell in the future. BBS wheels can make nice end tables. I have one make-shift table now but I hope to get a little more creative in the future and make a nice pair of end tables that goes beyond make-shift.

Martin, I think you are on to something. The Montego Blue is definitely not getting any style points for that red top. A trade would definitely be a win-win.

[Johnnie]

Mod.
Nothing special about the Li'l Stink except that I love it and I've made it my own and I'm not done yet.

I've documented my progress, so here's to the future!

[Radiohead]

Right,wrong or indifferent it ultimately lies with the owner. Money is the ultimate limitation (for some of us!). I personally prefer modding! What I find aesthetically pleasing may not be so to the next guy and really, does it matter? There are some awesome cars out there, some beauty queens, some pavement monsters and those that lie in between. I like them all!

[SubieGreg]

So with this logic Jess's car is the biggest fail ever (LS6 BRG build)

[cbaylis77]

There are so many things I could say on this topic but I'll stick to the only one that matters.
The owner should be able to do whatever the hell they want with their car!

[Johnnie]

Back to the original post, can't let this one get away with out criticizing the fugly-- lotta barf going on here for me. Not digging that car's style-- Montego blue plus red canvas. Plus the ridiculous seat upholstery. I've never cared for the Michelin Man puffy upholstery style that Katzkins traffics in, 'specially that two-tone. Just not my flavor at all. Purple and yellow gauge faces? Ties in perfectly with the montego blue/red/tan/black scheme going on and the chrome style bar. :toomuch:

Do like the Nardi bits, however.

All that said-- there's no disputing taste, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, blah blah. I get criticized on my style. The geezers don't particularly appreciate the black RPF1s (good thing they can't see well enough to make out the orange and green Enkei decals) Others think I'm not low enough or whatever. Sometimes I myself am not sure about the polished hood. :fp:

Point being, mod. Do what you like. Make it your own.

[Radiohead]

Right,wrong or indifferent it ultimately lies with the owner. Money is the ultimate limitation (for some of us!). I personally prefer modding! What I find aesthetically pleasing may not be so to the next guy and really, does it matter? There are some awesome cars out there, some beauty queens, some pavement monsters and those that lie in between. I like them all!

Except this one. And the pink Barbie NA I saw once at MATG. Yeah, there are definitely exceptions! LoL
This car is kinda like a Frankenstein, odds and ends from different places all cobbled together but, the sum equals less than the individual parts!

[Unk577]

So with this logic Jess's car is the biggest fail ever (LS6 BRG build)

I don't care for the wheel color on her car, but I ain't driving it so......
Hers is still better than whats going on in the original post

[Stoly]

900K+ Roadsters built and I still don't understand the need to worry about what someone did to one of them... He's obviously a liar in stating that he's owned other Miata's but can't figure out what he has now. It's a hot mess for sure, but it is his hot mess, not yours or ours.

[etikoner]

I wonder if he's considering buying thy car, and for how much. Lol it has some nice parts sure, but I don't see how the guy could come up with five different scenarios of that car. Lol

If he's that impressed with that car to throw money at it, I wonder how much he'd pay for one that's really put together nicely.

[BoBo]

That car wasn't bad, I have seen far worst with vader front body kits in nor-cal. It's all up to the owner.

[SM16RMSM]

3 years ago, I would have said that I liked the vader kit but time changed. I more into a race look now then anything. Only reason why, well, I liked the Veilside body kit on the RX7 that was in Tokyo Drift sadly to say. That was me back then. Since then I didn't feel like I fit in with the crowd over on a particular forum so I came over here. As I would say now, do what you like. I have a buddy who is always asking me about thing. I ask him, do you want to do it my way or your way? He cheap so I keep that in mind with eBay stuff for his Miata. If you don't like how it looks on those rims, change them to something you like. If you don't like the red soft top, I think someone is willing to take it off your hands. To each their own.

As said, I would do performance mods over cosmetic changes. Since I have a factory turbo MSM, I went cosmetic first this round. I never did anything with her til this year and I bought the CF hood from Yata. Some don't like it, other do like it. I on the wall about it, some days the CF looks really good and other days I think I'm no better than a Honda kid. I do like how it looks but some think it is a ricey look. I honest don't care who thinks what. I like it and that is all that matters. Same goes for rims and such. Some don't like the universal bolt pattern. I seen nice rims for good prices for sale (just brought home a new set too) but some think with the dual bolt pattern, it ugly looking. They recommend 6UL and other single bolt pattern rims. Problem is, is a higher $$$ rims and I think it overrated .

[The Driver]

^ The guy that currently owns the Miata we are talking about, he didn't build it, he bought it in auction like that.

[SM16RMSM]

^^^ NO, REALLY? I had no clue Driver, I so thankful for the light you shown me.

All I'm saying here, no matter if he bought it this way or if he built it, you will do what you like. That is the point in why we mod our cars in the first place. If it doesn't have enough power, you add more power. If it doesn't handle good, you add better suspension. To each their own. You do what you like and mod your car your way. Now if you don't like the mods, you can take them off and put regular parts back on. It all up to how you like YOUR car to look. If other don't like it, they can kiss my ***. It not there car to mod in the first place which is where the comment section was going.

[The Driver]

^ Sarcasm aside, your answer in post #21 did not alluded to you knowing that the car was not built by the current owner. In fact, it was an asinine diatribe to defend him, when the guy just bought the car. He didn't do jack to mod the car, he just bought it. Any flaming towards the Miata (quite valid actually, someone said the car lack cohesiveness, I agree) I bet the owner could care less.

[BoBo]

3 years ago, I would have said that I liked the vader kit but time changed. I more into a race look now then anything. Only reason why, well, I liked the Veilside body kit on the RX7 that was in Tokyo Drift sadly to say. That was me back then. Since then I didn't feel like I fit in with the crowd over on a particular forum so I came over here. As I would say now, do what you like. I have a buddy who is always asking me about thing. I ask him, do you want to do it my way or your way? He cheap so I keep that in mind with eBay stuff for his Miata. If you don't like how it looks on those rims, change them to something you like. If you don't like the red soft top, I think someone is willing to take it off your hands. To each their own.

As said, I would do performance mods over cosmetic changes. Since I have a factory turbo MSM, I went cosmetic first this round. I never did anything with her til this year and I bought the CF hood from Yata. Some don't like it, other do like it. I on the wall about it, some days the CF looks really good and other days I think I'm no better than a Honda kid. I do like how it looks but some think it is a ricey look. I honest don't care who thinks what. I like it and that is all that matters. Same goes for rims and such. Some don't like the universal bolt pattern. I seen nice rims for good prices for sale (just brought home a new set too) but some think with the dual bolt pattern, it ugly looking. They recommend 6UL and other single bolt pattern rims. Problem is, is a higher $$$ rims and I think it overrated .

You NB looks definitely nice with the hood. I also like the veilside rx7 kit before, but now I just like the oem look of the FD with minor exterior mods. That's why I actually like this forum, everyone here seems pretty cool and hate free. Unlike other miata and mr2 forums, people there tend to just have a chip on there shoulders. Speaking of performance, I'm still debating whether to get a kraftwerks blower or a motorcycle. I live in an apartment complex, so I'm kind of worried about the motorcycle being stolen, but want one real bad. And if I do get a bike I still don't know which color to choose.

I have always wanted a MSM, how is your turbo ? does it pull hard?

[SM16RMSM]

^ Sarcasm aside, your answer in post #21 did not alluded to you knowing that the car was not built by the current owner. In fact, it was an asinine diatribe to defend him, when the guy just bought the car. He didn't do jack to mod the car, he just bought it. Any flaming towards the Miata (quite valid actually, someone said the car lack cohesiveness, I agree) I bet the owner could care less.

I never even brought the point up that he bought it. All I am saying, if you like the supporting mods, you keep them (in his case, you buy the car). If you think I was foolish to defend him, that is your opinion then. I don't think I was actually defending him in the first place, I just falling back to what I think in supporting mods. He bought the NA not knowing what it was. He didn't know if it was a special edition or a one off race car. He likes it. That is all that matters. I just voicing my opinion about modding a vehicle. If you don't like what you have, then change it, but don't go listen to what others want you to do so they like it and your not happy with it. This is my personal opinion on modding.

Your really cool Driver. I've only meet you once. I don't want to start a grudge match or piss anyone off. I just voicing my opinion on the subject at hand, to mod or not to mod. If it was a special edition, there are certain thing I won't do. I don't think it is right to rip a Mazdaspeed Miata apart to turn into a race car or drop a V8 into it. I rather do a V8 swap in a base model Miata then a Special Edition.


You NB looks definitely nice with the hood. I also like the veilside rx7 kit before, but now I just like the oem look of the FD with minor exterior mods. That's why I actually like this forum, everyone here seems pretty cool and hate free. Unlike other miata and mr2 forums, people there tend to just have a chip on there shoulders. Speaking of performance, I'm still debating whether to get a kraftwerks blower or a motorcycle. I live in an apartment complex, so I'm kind of worried about the motorcycle being stolen, but want one real bad. And if I do get a bike I still don't know which color to choose.

I have always wanted a MSM, how is your turbo ? does it pull hard?

That what I think. I simple front lip and it done for an FD. As for a performance mod, I would personally go for a Kraftwerks blower if I had a NA. But you might like the motorcycle better over the Kraftwerks. I not going to be the guy who tell you to do what. It is your choice in the end. As for the MSM being fast, not really. As it sits right now, it just as fast as a 10AE. I can slight pull ahead but not by much. But I've added the double hoop roll bar, the door bars, and hood. It all adds weight and I think it hurts the performance. The MSM has the worst ECU and that the first major engine modification I will do. I will do the ECU before the exhaust.