My ZHP has been relieved of DD duties.

[stephenkirsh]

Late last year I got a new job commuting 31 miles each way. I quickly realized I would grind through my ZHP in just a few years, so I decided to get a second car (or 3rd, now that I'm married).

So here's my 1995 NA Miata to take over DD duties.

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It's my first manual transmission car; it's been great learning to drive a proper stick. Thanks to LivesNearCostco for teaching me to drive a manual (has anybody seen him around?!).

So here's what $3500 gets you:
160k miles
Flyin Miata stage 2 suspension, which includes:
- Front and rear sway bars
- Front and rear springs/shocks
15x7 light weight kosei k1 wheels
Brand new Yokohama S Drive 205/50/15 tires (that have great grip, but I wouldn't recommend them due to quality control issues)
After market exhaust that is quiet at cruise, but sounds great on throttle
NASA spec roll bar
Factory LSD. I'll say it again, BMW, Factory LSD.
A big stack of maintenance records


I've put about 3k miles on it and it's quite fun to drive. Sadly, it makes the ZHP feel like a boat. It weighs 2300 pounds, has 0 body roll and wide sticky tires. I've only been able to get it to understeer once.

[johnrando]

Like that

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[derbo]

Where are you driving too? I saw a miata similar to this on 101 S near Novato on my way home from Santa Rosa --> Richmond.

[Johnmadd]

Nice. That light weight car with a stick probably feels really quick.

[BMWCurves]

Nice. That light weight car with a stick probably feels really quick.

Feels quick is right. You're rowing through the gears, the wind in your hair, awesome exhaust note filling your ears, grin across your face, and then you look down at the speedo and you're doing 35 mph. It's a fantastic car that won't get you into too much trouble.

Congrats on the acquisition, Stephen! The Miata is a great car to learn to drive stick on. It's pretty forgiving and rewarding when you do get it right. I absolutely love my father's 1994 Miata with the R package. It's a complete go-kart. He has on some Yokohama tires on the 14" BBS wheels that are about 9.5 lbs a wheel, it just grips all day.

[slater]

nice job, stephen! i've always loved those cars. simple, light, fun. doesn't need to be fast.

dang. now i want one. but it's getting down to almost freezing at night - too cold for a 'vert now.

peter

[stephenkirsh]

Where are you driving too? I saw a miata similar to this on 101 S near Novato on my way home from Santa Rosa --> Richmond.

Petaluma to Napa and back is my daily commute.

I drove from Livermore to petaluma this weekend, Saturday.

[stephenkirsh]

Nice. That light weight car with a stick probably feels really quick.

It does. And then I realize I'm going 60 when I thought it was 90 lol.

[stephenkirsh]

Feels quick is right. You're rowing through the gears, the wind in your hair, awesome exhaust note filling your ears, grin across your face, and then you look down at the speedo and you're doing 35 mph. It's a fantastic car that won't get you into too much trouble.



Yea pretty much. It's faster than my first car, a 1998 Volvo, but beyond that, it feels like a fighter jet, so long as you don't look at the speedometer lol.

[stephenkirsh]

nice job, stephen! i've always loved those cars. simple, light, fun. doesn't need to be fast.

dang. now i want one. but it's getting down to almost freezing at night - too cold for a 'vert now.

peter

Yea I'm not sure how it'll work out for winter. We'll see. Coldest we get around here is mid 20s for a week or two. I'll probably end up in the zhp on those days lol.

[BMWCurves]

I drove my father's Miata last winter here, it was in the 30s with the occasional dip into the 20s. It really wasn't bad, the heater blasts HOT air after just a few minutes trundling around. I will say it becomes tail happy as the summer tires become hard as a rock and lose their grip, but you just slow it down a bit and don't hoon it as much. There's some guy that famously drove it around town in the snow with the top down because the heater was good enough.

[slater]

don't tempt me, william! ;)

peter

[BMWCurves]

Hey, for $3-5k, you can't go wrong! Speaking of which, father is actually thinking about selling his Miata within the next year...

1994. Laguna Blue. 83k miles. R-Package (LSD, aero kit, better suspension bits). 14" BBS lightweight wheels. Color-matched hardtop. I don't have any pics but it looks something like this:

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g233/sideshow187/043_zpsf8a88631.jpg~original

Anyways, sorry to threadjack, Stephen. I want more pics of your new ride!

[slater]

dang it william, PM me with pricing details...!

[ELCID86]

dang it william, PM me with pricing details...!
LOL.

And nice pickup SK.

[ecrabb]

Fun car! I loved zipping around in the Miata the few times I've driven them. I wouldn't want one as a DD because I'm too big and just don't feel comfortable, but I would if I was a smaller guy. Have fun!


Factory LSD.

This is the one thing about the ZHP that really bugs the crap out of me. I realize the Miata wasn't exactly a bargain/entry-level car, but it's not that expensive either. BMW should be embarrassed that they weren't putting a LSD in a car with 230HP that was $40,000 or more and that they are STILL not putting them in non-M cars with current horsepower and price points. They absolutely should have been in a "Performance Package" car with 6-speed transmissions, lower gearing, higher redline, and stiffer suspension. Stupid, BMW. Stupid. When the car has to REDUCE THROTTLE and APPLY BRAKES to stop wheel-spin and increase traction, that's sort of the opposite of "performance". I read somewhere that LSD was like a $500 option on the 318 in the mid-90's. What did that thing have, like 150HP?

Heck, my 1983 Trans Am had a LSD. Camaros. Mustangs. A Mustang ferchrissakes! A cheap-ass pony car with a sub-200HP V8 in the 80's came standard with an LSD! Not BMW. Not unless you drop serious coin on an ///M car.

You can buy nice aftermarket and OE LSDs for all that old American iron all day long for $400-800... Basically pocket change compared to the TWO GRAND it costs to add LSD to a ZHP. It can't just be a numbers thing. It's gotta be more of a "what the market will bear" sort of thing.

I hate that it's so expensive to upgrade the ZHP that it just makes more sense to just get an M3. That's crazy!

Grrr... /rant off

SC

[stephenkirsh]

Haha I hear ya. You can get an LSD as an option the new 2 series. Unsure about the 3/4 series.

[stephenkirsh]

Anyways, sorry to threadjack, Stephen. I want more pics of your new ride!

Lol no worries.

It's the only photo I have of it! I'll try and get one with the top down later.

[derbo]

Petaluma to Napa and back is my daily commute.

I drove from Livermore to petaluma this weekend, Saturday.

Well if you see my TDI, Wave! I'll be in the white TDI with a monsters university alumni license plate frame hahah.

Yea my commute is Windsor to Richmond.. 57miles 1-way


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[BMWCurves]

dang it william, PM me with pricing details...!

When the time comes...

[theothersawyer]

Congrats on the new purchase! I would suggest adjusting your headlight lids which is super easy! Pop the hood and grab the back of the headlight lids and pull up! Pull them up until they sit flush with the fenders and then you're done!



Hey, for $3-5k, you can't go wrong! Speaking of which, father is actually thinking about selling his Miata within the next year...

1994. Laguna Blue. 83k miles. R-Package (LSD, aero kit, better suspension bits). 14" BBS lightweight wheels. Color-matched hardtop. I don't have any pics but it looks something like this:


Anyways, sorry to threadjack, Stephen. I want more pics of your new ride!

He can probably get a pretty penny for that car! Laguna Blue is a desired color, under 100k miles, R-package, and color matched hardtop. These cars are getting harder and harder to find clean examples of! I bet he could get maybe $6,500-$7,500 for the car, but it all depends!



I also have a Miata, but the ZHP does the daily duties and the Miata is the weekend/track toy! The miata was my first car and I've had it for 6 years and 70,000 miles (car has ~218,000miles now) You seriously cannot go wrong with a Miata for the money!

[stephenkirsh]

Ha, we're like an inverse of each other.

[stephenkirsh]

Well if you see my TDI, Wave! I'll be in the white TDI with a monsters university alumni license plate frame hahah.

Yea my commute is Windsor to Richmond.. 57miles 1-way


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Dude that's nuts! Why so far? 101 is terrible!

[NYRhockey]

My DD is an '07 Sky Redline (just like this one, blk, red interior) and it's def fun to drive with the top down. It's a turbo so at higher speeds you hear the whoosh more than the rumble. Got it new in Dec 06 and about to hit 100K.

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[ryankokesh]

Well if you see my TDI, Wave! I'll be in the white TDI with a monsters university alumni license plate frame hahah.

Yea my commute is Windsor to Richmond.. 57miles 1-way


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Dang, got me beat by 7 miles!

Been thinking about a TDI... Prius has so few problems it's kinda hard to get rid of, though. (Never thought I'd say that...) Maybe next year. Old Miata would be awesome, but commuting across the blizzard-stricken tundra of the Midwest for 4 months a year in a light RWD car sounds unpleasant at best.

[theothersawyer]

I commute 52 miles one way to school, and to think that is so much cheaper than moving on campus! lol


Dang, got me beat by 7 miles!

Been thinking about a TDI... Prius has so few problems it's kinda hard to get rid of, though. (Never thought I'd say that...) Maybe next year. Old Miata would be awesome, but commuting across the blizzard-stricken tundra of the Midwest for 4 months a year in a light RWD car sounds unpleasant at best.


For those thinking of a TDI, my sister has a Jetta TDI Cup Edition for sale.... I got 54mpg in it!


Anyways, back on topic! If you ever have any Miata questions feel free to shoot me a PM! I'm sure you'll love this car!!

[ryankokesh]

How many dollars? (Just curious)

[theothersawyer]

I think she told me $14,000 but that was before this whole diesel scandal...

[derbo]

Dang, got me beat by 7 miles!

Been thinking about a TDI... Prius has so few problems it's kinda hard to get rid of, though. (Never thought I'd say that...) Maybe next year. Old Miata would be awesome, but commuting across the blizzard-stricken tundra of the Midwest for 4 months a year in a light RWD car sounds unpleasant at best.

TDI has been more fun than the Prius will ever be. A Miata would've been a good choice for me too if my ZHP was stored at the place I lived. Unfortunately it isn't so a more practical ride was needed. But the cost of diesel actually offsets the Prius mpg. In my Prius, it was 8cents/mi, where as the TDI was 7.9cents/mi. This of course is ignoring all other maintenance stuff. In the long run the Prius is probably cheaper but boy am I glad I got rid of it.


Dude that's nuts! Why so far? 101 is terrible!

I work at Sonoma county office of education as a network admin. It's a fun job and the pay was double what I was making in concord so I couldn't really refuse. The commute is a little rough but that's why I traded in my 2013 Prius for a 2012 TDI. I logged about 15k on it since June 20th.




I commute 52 miles one way to school, and to think that is so much cheaper than moving on campus! lol




For those thinking of a TDI, my sister has a Jetta TDI Cup Edition for sale.... I got 54mpg in it!


Anyways, back on topic! If you ever have any Miata questions feel free to shoot me a PM! I'm sure you'll love this car!!

TDI is still clean, just not as clean as EPA wants it to be. Honestly there are so many other cat-less cars out there that I'm sure these 500k TDIs are still better than those cars.

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[toddness]

Well if you see my TDI, Wave! I'll be in the white TDI with a monsters university alumni license plate frame hahah.

Yea my commute is Windsor to Richmond.. 57miles 1-way


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Pixar? I'm San Rafael > Emeryville. I have this visions of me cutting you off and passing your TDI in one of my bimmers along the way....I know I've seen at least one Monsters U Alum license plate on my commute (N. San Pedro is my exit if you need a cerveza and the traffic sux).

Re-reading this it sounds like you are richmond > windsor

[derbo]

Pixar? I'm San Rafael > Emeryville. I have this visions of me cutting you off and passing your TDI in one of my bimmers along the way....I know I've seen at least one Monsters U Alum license plate on my commute (N. San Pedro is my exit if you need a cerveza and the traffic sux).

Re-reading this it sounds like you are richmond > windsor

The MU frame is from Pixar tho. I work by Sonoma airport so it may not be me. I do occasionally drive to sf to my parents house. I try to check out any ZHP while I'm on the road but I'm sure I'm invisible to all of you cause I'm in my TDI golf.


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[stephenkirsh]

Sonoma county office isn't in Santa Rosa? I used to work for Regional Parks.

[derbo]

Sonoma county office isn't in Santa Rosa? I used to work for Regional Parks.

County office of education. It's in Santa Rosa but it's an exit away from Windsor sooooo..


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