The Miata is just too low. Not the body scrub line, the engine subframe, oil pan, and rear differential are all too low, and I bottom out the subframe more than I like (all at stock ride height by the way.) Friends say when driving behind me that they’ll see a spark fly out every now and again. I’m afraid to take it anywhere unfamiliar in fear of bottoming the fuck out of it and cracking the tubular subframe or worse, hitting the oil pan or rear end. I’ve tossed a few ideas around, with the simplest one being larger diameter wheels and tires. I can only fit maybe a 24.5-25" rear tire max, without body work. I’m pretty sure the front can accept something like 23.5-24". The OEM diameter is ~22.8. That gives me another ~3/4" of ground clearance, and frankly, I don’t think it’ll be enough. As is, the subframe sits about 2.25" off of the ground! :eek4dance The rear diff is right at 3.5" of clearance.
Maybe I should just move somewhere with better roads :bigok:
So, that’s where I stand with the Miata. The ride height issue, along with the insurance issue from before. I have no idea if I’m going to keep it or not, and because of that I’ve been looking at some other cars.
I know a few people on here have S2000’s. What are your opinions of them? It’s going to need FI of some sort down the road, because I can’t imagine it’s that fast as-is (not that I’m looking for a track car. Something like the Miata’s estimated 11 second performance is fine.)
What I’d really like is an 03-up Cobra, but I’m not interested in making payments on anything right now.
So, I guess what I’m saying, is I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing :nuts:
What more do you want to know about the s2k? I have my black one and have modded 3-4 other customers cars in the past. Mostly, those modifications were suspension related. My car is my first FI experience with it.
From everything I’ve educated myself on with going SC, the general idea is that you get avg. 12 second performance with bolt on and go parts. The turbo cars I’ve seen get a little faster, but performance equal to the blower. To get into the 11’s, you’ll need forged guts, mostly to give you an acceptable compression ratio to boost (11:1 factory). If you are going that far, then a gt35r and some fuel is all you need to get your goals.
Just measured the subframes again, and they were lower than I thought! I edited the first post accordingly.
Well, I suppose what I’m looking for is the overall car. Is it fun to drive? Are they known for any problems? The usual stuff. I’ll figure out the performance aspect after I figure out if I even want one
as much as i like hondas, i cant get comfortable in an s2k(leg room), i personally think the miata has more room.
check out www.inlinepro.com the have a stock motor turbocharged 500+ hp 10 sec s2k. if your looking for 11’s turbo is definitly the way to go over a supercharger.
another really good resource you can check out is member “MambaViper”, he had a pretty highly modded s2k, and might be able to also point you in the right direction as far as what to do.
I’d rather rock the Miata - it’s different. You think it would be cheaper to get an S2K than modify the rear wheelwells? I’d try to get some taller tires under it. It’d prolly help if it was not a DD (I can’t remember if it is or not). A litte stiffer set of spring may help, too. I’m not saying to “lift” it much, but maybe enough to make you more comfortable with it. It will probably effect handling a little, but sometimes you have to sacrifice something.
Well, it doesn’t have to be a DD at this point, but I have no interest in owning a car I can’t take anywhere.
I hate to lift the thing, and really, the 3/4" I’ll get from bigger tires just isn’t going to cut it. Modding the wheel wells isn’t worth it to me. I’m not interested in hacking the body up to fit wheels. Plus, I’d still be too low in the front without custom fenders.
If i was looking to a From the factory fast car it would be an 03+ cobra with out a doubt.
I used to drive an 04 roush stage 1 chassis and a stage 2 motor. “360R” that was just a 2v 4.6 with a eaton on it i tell you what I raced alot of cars in that thing and just ate everything up on pump gas stock. It truely was a fun car to drive.
s2ks are already forged. you can crank out around 400whp on pump gas completly stock that Should be good for low 12’s-11.7’s… on race gas 550 will be the upper limits of that motor.
A cobra can go mid 11’s for cheap just the cost of the car thats hurts
2.25 inches I believe my legend sits that low haha. I know I can BARELY fit the tip of my shoe under the front. the mudflaps are about 1 inch off the ground. sub frame and all that crap really are low on my car… low enough I can’t reach my arm in under the car to measure it. I daily it even in the snow we get Gotta love plowing the road.
I dont get some of the posts… Ive seen the miata in person many times. The roads are shitty the miata sits low as hell. yes its a great car. but were not talking about some acura legend no offense. I hit my intercooler the other day. big deal my talon is worth ~3k. remember when you need to order a new diff or subframe instead of going to a junkyard and it costs $$$$.
You cant dd a car with 2.25 inch buffer in pittsburgh i dont care if your fucking Mario Andretti. its not something you want to do with a 15k-20k car.
id use the cavi, sell the miata and then just pay a pretty penny for a rx7 rolling chassis for another ls1
you should be able to sell the miata for enough to pick up a 50-60k mile 03 cobra
good luck either way 
