My Miata - fix up & hopefully better mileage!

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

I have a 1.8, so mine might vary.

Road noise is awful in every Miata. But you can cut a loooot of road noise by stuffing a pillow, or some form or fluffy material in the cavities above the rear shock towers.

Not too loud.

It takes a good minute or two to get up to temp. I would say 1-3 miles depending on the outside temp.

Thanks for the suggestion and the info.

The road noise is awful in mine. Especially with the hard top on, amplifying it. Not as bad as it was with the winter tires on, and after which discovering the bearings were going/gone in the diff, but still...I don't dare take the hard top off at the moment, unless I'm going to put it back on again. Maybe after I get a working alarm in it...

Exhaust noise is pretty up there too. Again, worse with the hard top on, but a bit better now that she's running well again and I don't have to keep the revs up. I think the aftermarket header is thin-walled, contributing to said noise. Of course, if you take the top down, you hear none of it, just the sweet note of the exhaust.

[Stubby79]

I finally got to enjoy a sprint from a red light up to speed on the highway today on the way home.

They're doing road works at the lights I would normally be able to, were I lucky enough to be at the front of the line. And I won't do it when I leave work and get on the highway, because she's only been running for less than a minute.

It was entertaining enough to put a smile on my face.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

I finally got to enjoy a sprint from a red light up to speed on the highway today on the way home.

They're doing road works at the lights I would normally be able to, were I lucky enough to be at the front of the line. And I won't do it when I leave work and get on the highway, because she's only been running for less than a minute.

It was entertaining enough to put a smile on my face.

This is the point of a Miata, not to get good MPG

[MetroMPG]

The close ratio gearing and that stubby little shifter are super fun.

But we could have both! Just give me a tall top gear.

[Stubby79]

Ha-ha! "Stubby" shifter.

And yes, 3200 RPM at 100km/hr is a bit excessive. You could swap in a 4.10 diff from a 1.8L, or possibly an even smaller ratio from a later model, if you're looking to score more MPGs. Probably cost more than you'll save, though.

[Baltothewolf]

They have 3.63 ring and pinions out there. I plan on getting a set when I go turbo. Should lower 5th at 70 from 3500 down to about 3000rpm

[Stubby79]

Works for you, but we'd need to upgrade to the 7" diff before we could even consider changing the ring and pinion.

[Stubby79]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4

...will have to be on my next MP3 CD to play in her.

[Stubby79]

Bought some polishing compound yesterday, and broke out my random-orbit polisher in the wee hours of the morning.

Comparison pics, before and after:





Have a few spots that I didn't hit hard enough here and there, and might go over the trunk and the hood one more time, since they were the worst. Maybe then I can wax it properly.

Wheels got attention too. I'll get back to that. And replaced a marker LED.

...looks better in the light!

[Baltothewolf]

BTW, those tops go for at least 1,000.

More and more are getting stolen nowadays, so I would be especially careful where you park it.