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Mark, I've seen that top picture Miata.net, probably?
Do not give up your Miata. Use it as a 2-driver car. This is from personal experience in doing 5-6 annual events on street tires in a 993 over a few years with PCA to supplement the 18-20 annual events in CSP Miata on Hoosiers. 993 is a fun car. But it feels its design age, especially in steering. You basically end up controlling it with your right foot, mostly. Fun, but very different than Miata and not nearly as fast. My 993 is now relegated to be GF's occasional autocross car because I don't want her anywhere near R tires yet. I run the 993 in 1-2 fun runs per event, periodically. It's fun as a diversion but a Miata on A6s or even good street tires is a completely different experience.
If you do decide on 993 as an occasional autocrosser I'd go with ZIIs. You are already familiar with them and they truly are one of the better tires. Or... wait for R1R in an alleged 200 UTQG guise if you can. That might be a lot of fun, especially if they change the compound to take heat better, instead of just re-marking the existing tire.
PS. Are those 275 A6s? That's what I run on 15x10s.
Mark, I've seen that top picture Miata.net, probably?
Do not give up your Miata. Use it as a 2-driver car. This is from personal experience in doing 5-6 annual events on street tires in a 993 over a few years with PCA to supplement the 18-20 annual events in CSP Miata on Hoosiers. 993 is a fun car. But it feels its design age, especially in steering. You basically end up controlling it with your right foot, mostly. Fun, but very different than Miata and not nearly as fast. My 993 is now relegated to be GF's occasional autocross car because I don't want her anywhere near R tires yet. I run the 993 in 1-2 fun runs per event, periodically. It's fun as a diversion but a Miata on A6s or even good street tires is a completely different experience.
If you do decide on 993 as an occasional autocrosser I'd go with ZIIs. You are already familiar with them and they truly are one of the better tires. Or... wait for R1R in an alleged 200 UTQG guise if you can. That might be a lot of fun, especially if they change the compound to take heat better, instead of just re-marking the existing tire.
PS. Are those 275 A6s? That's what I run on 15x10s.
Thanks Mike. Yes you very well could of seen the pic on Miata.net, great group of guys over there also. The Hoosiers are 255/40/13's, they came with another Miata I bought prior to the one in the picture, I sold the first car due to extensive rust underneath (don't look at a car after meeting your buddies at The Beer Sellar ).
Running the 993 at the AutoX would be more of a learning experience, I have honestly never really pushed the car anywhere near it's limits and figured it would be the place to try it. I'm aware it will be like driving something from a different planet compared to the Miata which IMO is an extremely potent and forgiving car at these events, your comments comparing the two are giving me pause as to whether or not bother with the 993. The more I think of the hassle of prepping 2 different cars and getting them to an event the more I like the idea sharing the Miata.
Mark, what I would do is run the 993 completely _as is_ for an event or two. It'll give you a decent feel as to what the car does and what it wants for care and feeding (tires, alignment, possible suspension work). Interestingly, the car is pretty controllable. it's just that most of the controlling comes from your right foot.
Here's a pic that I've probably posted before under the heading "what am I doing here?":
Mark, what I would do is run the 993 completely _as is_ for an event or two. It'll give you a decent feel as to what the car does and what it wants for care and feeding (tires, alignment, possible suspension work). Interestingly, the car is pretty controllable. it's just that most of the controlling comes from your right foot.
Here's a pic that I've probably posted before under the heading "what am I doing here?":
I believe that is exactly what I will do. Rather than dropping ~ $1000 on tires I will run the RUF wheels (aka Boat Anchors, beautiful ones though) and Potenzas for an event or two then decide. Thanks again........Mark.
I have a set of 225/265 Yoko A048s I could sell. Rears are new, but I had them shaved, fronts are decent. I also have a set of 285 rears I could throw in that have a day or two left.
Keep us posted Be curious to hear the resulting thoughts.
There are actually a few of us cheating with Miatas on a side. Mark in Baltimore, for example.
Yep. I love the car and how light it is. It was meant to be a cheap, disposable beater that I was supposed to toss in the corner, but I've ended up respecting its goodness. I love it even more now that I have a super-tight, short shifter and civilized muffler. Can't wait to get my new suspension.
Back on topic, did Hoosier A6s fall out of favor for autocrossing?
Mark, the A6s are still the only tire that is used by anyone is Street-R or SP. In other words, the only fast DOT race tire for autocross. Hoosier came up with A7 about 5 months ago but they are not really available in any useful sizes yet so we all hope for next year. It's amazing that A6 has been around for 8 years and is still that good. It's also amazing that there's just no competition.
I wish i had a civilized muffler on my NB. Mine's a small Magnaflow muffler and turndown behind the driver. Saved 20 lbs, that's all I care about. The car's at about 2,080 right now in CSP guise. Here's a pic, thought it looks a bit different now (yes, that's a Turtle on its side):
I'm surprised that no one had mentioned the A6s. Thought maybe the other tires had somehow surpassed the Hoosiers.
Your car looks great with those steamrollers! I had a crappy and loud Volt muffler and switched to a Racing Beat Power Pulse. It's perfect for me and is just loud enough (but is not anemic). My short shifter is the RoadsterSport. About to pull the trigger on FCM Bilsteins for my new suspension but also giving some thought to 949's Tecnas.
Holy Thread Hi-Jack!!!! That's ok lol, to a large degree I'm still learning about the Miata. Mark & Mike, is the short throw shifter really a big improvement? I'm pretty impressed with the stock one.
Except for a MazdaSpeed muffler my 64k mile '99 Miata was bone stock when I bought it early this year. In April I decided to address everything so I knew exactly where the baseline was:
- Timing Belt / Water Pump
- Cam / Crank Seals
- Idler / Tensioner Pullies / Spring
- MishiMoto Aluminum Radiator and New Cap
- Complete Mazda kit of Rubber Hoses
- New Coolant
- New Accessory belts
- New OEM thermostat
- New NGK Plugs
- New Plug Wires
- New PCV and Grommet
- New Valve Cover gasket
- New Oil / Filter
- New Trans and Diff Fluids
- Flushed brake fluid
For Autocrossing:
- Hard Dog double diagonal roll bar
- Flying Miata Stage 2 Suspension kit with Tokicos
- Koenig Flat-Outs with Direzza 2's
- New Centric Rotors and Hawk Pads
I did everything in the span of 6 weeks or so, it runs like a sewing machine and handles like a go-cart, could not believe the transformation. It is an absolute hoot to drive.
You have the 5 speed, so, if it's anything like my '96 NA was, you don't need a short shifter. My 6 speed never had that bolt-action, snick-snick feel that the '96 did. The MiataRoadster shifter is fabulous and adds a lot of mechanical directness to the shift action. Also, since I sit really close to the wheel, shifting to 4th gear is much less awkward with my arm movement than before. The cons are that the shifter adds a bit more noise to the cockpit and that it takes some adjustment to the now-narrowed shift pattern. I've actually mis-shifted a few times, something I have rarely done in my 35 years of driving manual transmission cars. Now that I have a few more miles on it, I haven't missed a shift.
(FYI, my shifter is made by MiataRoadster, not RoadsterSport. Sorry for the confusion.)
Last edited by Mark in Baltimore; 09-02-2014 at 05:28 PM.
Correct, I do indeed have the 5 speed, luckily the car was also equipped with the LSD Torsen rearend. I'm glad you answered about the shifter, I've always wondered why someone would get the SSK when the stock one already felt so good. Never made the connection that 6 speed shifter could of been different.
I'm surprised that no one had mentioned the A6s. Thought maybe the other tires had somehow surpassed the Hoosiers.
Your car looks great with those steamrollers! I had a crappy and loud Volt muffler and switched to a Racing Beat Power Pulse. It's perfect for me and is just loud enough (but is not anemic). My short shifter is the RoadsterSport. About to pull the trigger on FCM Bilsteins for my new suspension but also giving some thought to 949's Tecnas.
Sorry for the thread hijack.
Mark, these are 255/13s on the pic, the steamrollers are 275/15 on the car for the last year. required some front fender cutting and rear fender re-arrangement. Pic below. Aero, front and rear, going on next.
The tires we discussed were based o my assumption that Mark (coreseller) would want to stay in Street or Street Touring classes. with his 993. First, I don't see any trailer hitch on the 993 Secondly, I just don't see 993 being competitive anywhere other than in B-Street, so...
I've had RB Power Pulse on my car for about 9 years. It's an excellent muffler, sounds right on the street and just lasts forever. Sold it about two years ago while trying to lose weight and going with MegaSquirt and other ugly non-street point of no return type of things. I've also thought of Miataroadster short shifter, but since my shifting is limited to 1-2 upshifts once per run... My competitor, the former student and now one of the favs to win Nationals in CSP is sponsored by Miataroadster and they have the short shifter on their car. Nice, nice piece.
Regarding suspension, I have some thought. 949, while great, does a lot of revisions on their products and i would wait on Tecnas for a good year or so. The brand new products from them scare me. What I would do is a front hollow RB bar if you don;t have it yet - makes a large difference for very little money. FMC - maybe. yellow Koni Sport - possibly. What will you use the car for?
09-01-2014, 01:50 PM
Miata.net, probably?
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