"The fact is that if you want a sports car, the MX-5 (aka Miata) is perfect. Nothing on the road will give you a better value. Nothing will give you so much fun.
The only reason I'm giving it five stars is because I can't give it 14." -Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear
I recently ordered and received Flyin' Miata's Complete Intake Kit. It will free up the car's breathing, allow me to raise the boost a couple pounds, prevent the ecu from seeing a rich condition under boost (in which case it would pull fuel), and solve a problem with the throttle body inlet pipe. Installation comes later this week!
Before doing the install, I took the car today for a dyno test: a first for the car, a first for me. Without any power mods, the car shows 151 horsepower at the wheels (as opposed to the factory number of 178 at the engine). Those are smallish horsepower numbers....until you remember they only have to push 2500 pounds down the road. :)
I'm looking forward to feeling the change my shiny new car parts will make....and to posting new numbers when I dyno the car again after the installation!
Most (or just many?) cars have turn signals visible from the side, but the side marker lights on the Miata are just that. No blinkage happening there. And then there are the rear side marker reflectors - no actual light at all (but of course the tail lights at the corner are perfectly visible from the side).
Tonight I finally got around to doing the side marker turn signal mod on the front side markers, as per the tutorial at Miata.net. The side markers now blink with the turn signal and hazards, in addition to shining with the lights. Improved communication to cars on my flank! And it just looks good. With the lights on (as I always drive this car) they blink alternately to the front signals, with the lights off they blink simultaneously.
There's another tutorial for adding lights to the rear side reflectors, and instruction is included in that first tutorial to add the turn signal feature even to the rears. I'll be adding the rear lights sometime soon, and I'll probably incorporate the signaling also.
Returning from a week of study near Crossville Tennessee, I picked up my "nephew-in-law" in Knoxville and headed down the Alcoa highway for the Dragon on Friday afternoon. It was my first visit there. For any who are sadly uninformed, the Tail of the Dragon is an eleven-mile stretch of US Highway 129 south of Knoxville, as it approaches and finally crosses the North Carolina line at Deals Gap. Those incredible 11 miles are blessed with 318 wondrous curves and turns. The mountain road is a mecca for bikers and sports car enthusiasts alike, though the bikers clearly outnumber the rest of us.
It’s a great road for sport, mainly (obviously) due to its twists and turns, but also since there are no side roads from which unsuspecting cars might enter the highway, and because everyone on the road knows it’s used for sport, which means everyone is driving with the knowledge that a car or bike is likely to be flying around the next curve. Predictability, and the awareness not to venture across the yellow line, makes for a good degree of safety.
Diving into hairpin turns and accelerating out: pure bliss. Exactly what Mazda designed this car for (unfortunately this is best seen in the long video I can't seem to upload). Watching the sport bikers dragging their knees on the curves, and keeping pace with them: more bliss. It’s easy to find videos of cars driving the Dragon faster than I did (my runs are better described as merely “spirited” than truly “fast”), but during my 3 runs it was only bikers (and only a few of them) that outpaced me. I’m sure on other days I’d see faster cars there.
A couple of my videos, but not the one with the best hairpins and best driving That one is too long for YouTube or Blogger to accept :(
I made my third and final run on Saturday, as I couldn’t resist taking this route home to middle Georgia, even though it would add 2 or 3 hours to the journey. Another good run, and exiting the Tail of the Dragon I continued on 129 southward, seeking the Cherohala Skyway which I had seen mentioned on some Dragon sites.
The Cherohala runs east/west, crossing the mountains to connect Robbinsville NC to Tellico Plains TN. Like the Tail of the Dragon, it’s park land, so there are no homes and businesses, and only the rare side road leading to hiking trails etc. It differs from the Dragon, in that it lacks the hairpin turns and concentration of really tight curves. But curves it has, some of them long sweeping curves, as it takes you along the tops of the mountains, offering views that can only be described as spectacular. Truly a Skyway. The run is 35-50 miles long, depending on what you call the endpoints. With its proximity to the Dragon, there are bikers and the occasional sports car enjoying the opportunity for speed in non-linear form. Best of all, even though it was a Saturday, there was little traffic.
Cherohala Skyway
It looks like my trips to Maryland and Pennsylvania will be longer in the future. They’ll now include a detour via the Cherohala and the Dragon, probably every time. Well, every time I’m in the Miata. Maybe not so much, if I’m in the Rodeo. :)
Earlier this year I removed the console and shift lever to replace a torn shift lever boot, and to remount the bushing on the bottom end of the shift lever (incorporating a washer to prevent the bushing from detaching itself again - I was happy to see today that the washer has done its job well). While I was in there that earlier day, the ball at the bottom end of the shift lever got cleaned of its grease; while a little bit remained, it has probably been lacking some smoothness ever since. So today I took it all apart again, and lubed up the ball and bushing with a spray can of white lithium grease. Much faster disassembly and reassembly this time, after having done it once before. And the shifting seems to be smoother and more accurate! :)
I've waited a bit longer than I wanted for my current oil change and tire rotation, but just finished them both, with the odometer reading 22,570. That's 4639 miles since my last change of the Mobil 1 synthetic. Of course folks say you can go 5000 miles with synthetic anyway, but I don't want to make that a habit. As for the tires, it comes to 6007 miles between originally mounting these tires and this first rotation. But it was not without drama. On the third wheel, I broke the locking lug nut key.
locking lug nut:
locking lug nut KEY:
I'm not going to record here the depth of my stupidity at that third wheel, which resulted in the ruined key - though I will say the piece of the lug nut key that takes all the pressure was made of plastic(??!!). Got out the original accessory papers that came with the car, and had a new key FedExed to me overnight from the company that made them, and finished the rotation.
It was time for a general clean-up, before traveling to the Florida College Lectures last week. I addressed the paint finish first...
First step: strip the old wax from the finish by washing it with Dawn liquid dishwashing detergent. Second step: clay the car to remove fine, embedded dirt particles that normal washing can never ever get (never used a clay bar? see this discussion). I use "MOTHERS California Gold Clay Bar Paint Saving System." I HIGHLY recommend using a clay bar on your paint. It went much faster than it went the first time (last May?), since the first time was less than a year ago. And then third, fresh new wax:
Then I moved to the interior with my bottle of Armor All: not an overdone wet shine, but just the nice clean sheen of a new interior. The neglected area behind the seats -the windblocker and the rest of the area where the top folds down- benefitted especially. And man, the combined result of all the general clean up was sweet!
En route to Tampa, I ditched the Interstate in favor of the back roads of rural north Florida...and had the camera along for some pictures. Just north of I-10, I got off I-75 at Exit 439 for a route I had already planned out. I chose roads that missed towns for the most part, and which had curves when possible. Not that there are many curvy roads in flat, flat Florida. A few miles south of Fort White the road crosses the Santa Fe River: a beautiful little river and photo spot. Toward the southern end of my route it was pretty much impossible to avoid cities like Dunellon, Hernando, and Inverness. I rejoined I-75 at Exit 314. The backroads detour, with photography stops, added about an hour and a half to what would have been maybe an hour and forty on the interstate.
Above, and the next few photos: At the Hwy 47 crossing of the Santa Fe River, south of Fort White
Above and below, in Bronson: These two houses were on a very short street called Main Ave., just off the main road Hathaway, and appeared to be preserved rather than currently lived in. Just thought they made a nice backdrop.
Working the gears in this car has been pure pleasure compared to the other sticks I've driven, so much better than my 5-speed Camry for example. But a couple things weren't quite right.
1. When one of the guys at a Miata shop drove my car months ago, he knew by the sound that the shift boot seal was torn - that's the smaller and lower of the two boots under the decorative leather boot. As far as I know, a torn seal doesn't cause any likely problems in shifting or transmission performance since it's under a second boot, but it can certainly stand being replaced.
I've removed the console; the upper boot lies in the passenger footwell; the lower boot ("shift boot seal") is still in place, at the bottom of the shift lever.
2. At the bottom of the shift lever is a bushing. It's been somewhat common on Miatae for that bushing to come off and rest at the bottom of the turret in which the shift lever stands. When it comes off, the shifting feels notchy: finding the next gear doesn't have a real smooth feel. I had read about this on the Mazda-speed forum, and about a solution as well. While my Miata transmission shifts better than any stick I've owned, and while the actual shifting of the lever also feels better than any of those others, I could feel that notchiness.
The torn shift boot seal; the white bushing that had fallen off, now back in place.
So last week I used a great how-to on the forum to guide me through removing the console etc., and upper shift boot, and confirmed that the lower boot seal was indeed torn. I ordered a new shift boot seal from Jason at Montgomery Mazda in Charlotte NC (half the price quoted by my nearest Mazda dealer). Today it arrived, and I went to Lowes and bought a 3/8" washer. Removed the shift lever, and sure enough, that bushing I mentioned above was just resting in the bottom of the turret rather than on the shift lever. Put it back in place, and removed the old shift boot seal and put the new one on. The 3/8 washer is to keep the bushing from falling off again: placing it in the bottom of the turret, under the bushing, does the job.
Put it all back together, and SWEET!! -the notchiness is gone, and the shifting is better than ever. I love this car. Cost for the boot seal, shipping, and washer: $30.73.
The car is still under warranty, but I wanted to do this myself. First, I'm sure they wouldn't put the washer in there even if I asked them to, and second I just don't want dealers touching my car if I don't know enough about them to trust them...and I haven't had occasion yet to have to get acquainted with any Mazda service guys. Well, not here anyway. The service manager in Joliet IL was great with my MX-6 some years ago...but that's a few states away.
In 1989, the rear wheel drive Miata (a.k.a. MX-5) resurrected the British concept of small ragtop sports cars, and coupled it with Japanese reliability. Then in 1999, the 2nd generation Miata hit the streets, with a little more muscular body shaping.
Then in 2004 and 2005, MAZDASPEED, the in-house performance tuning division of Mazda, produced this high-performance edition of the car for these final two years of the 2nd generation. The MAZDASPEED Miata was given a turbocharger, intercooler, stiffer springs, gas-charged Bilstein shocks, a slightly lower stance, stouter stabilizer bars, 6-speed stick, unique Racing Hart alloy 17" rims, among other things, with interior upgrades as well.
The only wording on the car is "Mazdaspeed" and "MX-5," the names "Miata" and "Mazda" appearing nowhere but the paperwork. The Mazda emblem is present. There were even fewer 'Speed Miatas built than planned. Mazda produced 4000 for the '04 model year, but a factory fire in December 2004 ended production of the '05 model year early. Only 1428 '05's were produced.
The 'Speed Miata is fairly quick (0-60 in 6.2), but certainly not the fastest car on the road. What it does best is handling, taking the tight turns flat, and without a whimper from the tires...unless of course you want to induce some whimper with some throttle enabled oversteer. Autoweek says "At 48.4 mph through the slalom, the Mazdaspeed Miata ranks second only to the Dodge Viper SRT-10, at 49 mph, among all the cars we've tested" (8/30/04). Additionally, the car is easy to modify for even more capability.
The best ways to sum up this car? It's a comfortable, super-reliable, street legal go-kart, with guts. So much fun to drive. Open air. The epitomy of "Zoom-zoom!"
And to understand "Zoom-zoom," check out this great little video.
"Personal" Data
2005 Mazda Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata Black Mica (cloth interior and vinyl top) Came off the assembly line on Oct. 26, 2004 Production #917 out of 1428 for model year 2005 Sold to original owner on April 15, 2006, in Denton, Texas Sold to me by original owner April 1, 2008, 6998 miles, nearly mint.
Quotes
Jeremy Clarkson, of Top Gear, on Miatas generally "The fact is that if you want a sports car, the MX-5 (aka Miata) is perfect. Nothing on the road will give you a better value. Nothing will give you so much fun. The only reason I'm giving it five stars is because I can't give it 14."
Chris Paukert, Exec.Editor of Autoblog.com, Jan. 2015 "Here's an uncomfortable truth: I'd rather spend a day driving a properly sorted Mazda MX-5 Miata of any generation on a winding road than I would nearly any other vehicle, regardless of power, price or prestige."
Barry Winfield, Car and Driver, April 2004 "On a purely subjective level, the Mazdaspeed car feels wholly transformed, capable of top-gear traffic slaloms at just a jab of the pedal."
Autoweek, August 30, 2004 "At 48.4 mph through the slalom, the Mazdaspeed Miata ranks second only to the Dodge Viper SRT-10, at 49 mph, among all the cars we've tested."
Edmunds.com "The standard Miata is a sporty yet affordable roadster. Aided by a turbocharger and an array of chassis upgrades, the Mazdaspeed version is a full-blown sports car that still fits the budget of an enthusiast with a day job."
Automobile.com "While friendly to drive, the MazdaSpeed Miata is still mean on the road. It is friendly because it is easy to operate from the first shift. Yes, the throws are short but the gearbox isnt stiff and neither is the clutch. Its just a very agreeable car to drive. When on the road, however, the handling is mean. What do I "mean" by that? Well, it handles like a charm. The lowered, sport-tuned suspension and rack-and-pinion steering system connected with the leather-wrapped steering wheel to make for accurate and precise steering and handling. It cornered fiercely, yet somehow beautifully when pushed a little. Whats more, when executing tight turns of any shape or form there was minimal body roll. The suspension is comfortably stiff, making for a sporty ride. Bottom line, its awesome."
Philip Reed, Edmunds.com, March 2004 "The result is a real pocket rocket, a car that retains its vaunted English sports car feel while keeping pace with the raging horsepower war that's being waged these days. The new Miata weighs in with 33% more torque (166 lb-ft) and 25 percent more hp than the standard model. Combine this lusty engine with a curb weight of 2,529 pounds and you have more power than you really need (this owner objects to that last line - what does "more power than you really need" even mean?). Still, this car isn't about getting from Point A to Point B in the fastest time — it's all about the journey.
"We can't think of another car that provides such a great sense of fun with the way it handles. A Mini Cooper comes to mind, of course, but the Miata is even lower (lowered by 7 millimeters as compared with the regular Miata) and the steering is quicker, giving the driver a greater sense of being centered and at one with the driving experience.
"The Miata was introduced in 1990 and has been a favorite ever since. The lovable little Japanese two-seater, with its roots in the English sports car, has struck a chord with American drivers. Its longevity is due to the unfiltered driving experience it delivers — pure fun. With more horses under the hood and an even more responsive chassis, the Mazdaspeed version is, incredibly enough, even more fun to drive."
...and since I'm a lanky 6'4", I have to include this quote: Aaron Gold, on About.com "You don't sit in a Miata; you wear it. I'm 5'6" and weigh 150 lbs (OK, OK... 160) and this car makes me feel like Shaquile O'Neil. It's comfortable for me; I just never saw how anyone bigger could fit inside. So I asked my friend Joe, who tops 6' and 300 lbs, to take a test-squeeze. Joe not only fit in the car, but he had plenty of room to drive comfortably. How does Mazda do that? Magic seats, I guess."
This Japanese phrase, JINBA ITTAI, has been a guiding principle in Mazda's development of the Miata/MX-5. Roughly translated, it is "rider and horse as one."
I'm a Christian, and I work with a non-denominational church. We're not part of "organized religion." We're an independent group of folks who believe in the God of the scriptures, and that to serve Him best is to serve Him, not a church hierarchy. If you'd like to know more, just ask.
I enjoy traveling when I have opportunity, and I've had more than I ever thought I'd have. I've been in 44 states, 4 Canadian provinces, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, 19 European countries (GB E F NL D CZ SK AUS CH FL I GR SRB H PL RO MD UA BG), 4 small European principalities (MC AND RSM VAT), and 5 countries of the Asian continent: Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos. I lived for 5 years in the Czech Republic, and speak the language, though pretty badly. :)
