Hola

[OBD1 kenobi]

Hello guys. Noob in here. Like a lot of others before me, I have been lurking in the shadows for a while and finally decided to join. I bought my first miata 5 months ago. A black on black A package 1994 model. Bought it after attending my first autocross event with my former mazdaspeed3. There were a few miatas and I was very impressed with them. I had to have one. I know you guys can relate to that statement, my wife doesn't :-).

I love my miata, how cheap, reliable, easy to work on and how easy they are to make it your own and modify them into whatever you want. To top it of, I have met many wonderful people. I had several performance cars before but I have never seen such a great combination of cool cars and cool people. I had the pleasure of meeting Randy (phatmiata) at our local meetings and bought some of the first mods from him (KGW cluster) I also had the pleasure of dealing with Adam. Its refreshing to deal with passionate, genuinely nice people. Im very selective of which forums I participate in. And I must say that both my local group and MR are excellent. Keep up the great work.

Unfortunately I dont participate often due to other personal situations ( small kids mostly) but I will be around.

Mostly I am Trying to give my miata a classy JDM look with an emphasis on improving the best thing these cars have, the handling. It will take me a while but I know I will get there. These cars are so addictive I cant explain it. I got rid of my speed3 and got a new Evo X. I believe I like my miata even more :-)

Finally, have a happy New Year everyone. Pics to follow once I learn how to do it from my phone. See you all around.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Gooooood, goooood. Welcome to the force.

[— Phatmiata —]

Welcome !!!

It was nice meeting you too! Lets see some photos of those fancy parts installed! Or even a photo of your current Miata! I also daily drive a Mazdaspeed3 as I have 2 small kids, so I can relate with the time constraints. Hope to see you more at some local meets or even start a build thread on our forum so we can see how your Miata transforms into your own creation.

I have pretty much every back issue of HyperREV, R&S, AiR and several other Japanese performance magazines dedicated to the Miata, so if you are looking for something just let me know and I will point you in the right direction.

What made you pick the EvoX over a Subaru WRX or even keeping your MS3 ? I was looking at those two cars before I test drove the Mazdaspeed3.

[OBD1 kenobi]

Agent Orange: LOL. The previous owner put a red pinstripe on the black car and it gives a car a certain Darth Vaderish look to the car. Even my keychain is a Lego Darth vader figurine.

[OBD1 kenobi]

Randy, I will be uploading pictures soon. I read the sticky on how to get them uploaded and i will try to get my posts up to get over the minimum to post pics. I dont have a external account with instagram or any other web server plus Im usually typing from my phone.

Im currently out of state on vacation but once I come back, I will be FINALLY getting to put together the KGW cluster along with Adam's new dials. I need to also put the rear "R package" lip on the car. You already screwed up my mind with some websites that you provided me with some tasty JDM products. I think next step is going to be a Garage Vary rear finishing panel, CF trunk lid with duck bill tail and then Im hitting the suspension department with a set up for occasional autocross duty. Need to refresh all of the suspension rubber (maybe upgrade to urethane) and from there... Wheels, expensive, nice,...wheels. So far I have my eyes on WORKS, watanabes, SSR mark III or something else. We will see.

[— Phatmiata —]

Sounds great!! can't wait to see what you do with the car!

[OBD1 kenobi]

In respect to the Evo decision, I could talk for hours. What follows is just my personal opinion and Im not looking into opening up an STI vs Evo thread that never ends. I obviously cross-shopped the WRX and the Evo X. I have always loved both. Back in Puerto Rico my brother in law had an Evo iX full of Cosworth goodies and it was pushing 600 whp and i was always impressed by their awd capabilities. I loved my speed3 and it served me well. Never had any issues with it. I exchanged it only because an opportunity presented to me to exchange cars.

I drove both cars (Sti and Evo X). The STI was by far the most civilized and cozy. Great interior, amenities, driving characteristics and awesome exhaust note from the boxer engine. But I kept hearing issues with the EJ engines ( ringland failure ghosts from 2008). Not that Subaru has used this engine for many years with good results but considering a future with performance upgrades, it made me feel like the Evo would be better. plus it seems like head to head performance comparisons always leaned toward giving the Evo a slight edge. It seems like you would need to invest more money on the STI to get the same performance from an Evo.

The Evo felt raw, unapologetic, more like a race car than a daily driver. The interior is crap except for the seats, the transmission is meh! At best (manual transmission). But I love cars to feel like that ( I know, Im a masochist :-). Cars that where engineered for the true enthusiast. You got to love those Recaro seats and if performance is your goal, the Evo has a somewhat bulletproof engine and hardware already in the right place (like FMIC). But what really sold me the car was their Super All Wheel Control system that includes Yaw sensors. The way this car handles is unreal. This system was only available on Evo X's in the USA while it has been available in Japan for a while on both Mitsubishi and Subaru cars ( if Im not mistaken).

In reality both cars are so close that it comes down to personal choice. I know Subaru are well know for how reliable their cars are and I know that Mitsubishi is not such a big name and they have financial issues. But the Evo really stirred my soul. One last point that I try to respect when I buy a new car, I try not to get into a fresh new model iteration like the 2015 STI vs a car approaching the end of its production cycle.

Anyway, to summarize it IMHO, if you want a great all-around and heavy modifications are not in your plans: WRX STI wins. If you put a premium on performance over everything else the Evo is your answer.

[— Dandy —]

Welcome to mr.net!

[—atank—]

Welcome to MazdaRoadster.net!

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Agent Orange: LOL. The previous owner put a red pinstripe on the black car and it gives a car a certain Darth Vaderish look to the car. Even my keychain is a Lego Darth vader figurine.

The force is strong with you young obd1 Kenobi....

[Winlowe]

Welcome to the MR forum

[Dave737]

Welcome to MR
I have a small budget for my miata also and that can be a little frustrating at times. When I look back at how far the car has come in the short time I have owned it plus the idea to never sell, makes it easy to keep going even with a small budget.
Best of luck with it and looking forward to the Pix.

[OBD1 kenobi]

Thanks Dave. Yes, I completely agree. Love how inexpensive the car is compared to other cars. I would say Im mechanically inclined but with 2 left hands and so far I have been able to do most of the maintenance on the car. That was part of the reason to get a miata. And yes, small steps at a time

[— John J —]

Welcome to the Miata community, its always nice to have a new member in the area who appreciates one of the finest affordable sport cars ever built.

[etikoner]

Bienvenido !

Sounds like your roadster is headed in the right direction in terms of styling and performance.. They can be really fun and still maintain a nice sense of civility if you don't go over board..

Nice choice with the Evo x. I'm sure I'd love to hoon around in the MS3 but I'm just anti fwd biased.. I do give the Recaro seats in the Evo some merit, they are nicely bolstered and comfy as well.

Anyways, we're here to point you in the right direction as far as what upgrades you wanna do to your car, but make sure to do plenty of research, and you'll be off to a good start.