tuna55 wrote:BoxheadTim wrote: $10k might also buy you a half decent 911 SC.Not quite.. not yet...
I bet it never will. I think they're at the bottom of their depreciation curve. (obviously that's purely conjecture / opinion!)
tuna55 wrote:BoxheadTim wrote: $10k might also buy you a half decent 911 SC.Not quite.. not yet...
I bet it never will. I think they're at the bottom of their depreciation curve. (obviously that's purely conjecture / opinion!)
dculberson wrote:tuna55 wrote:I bet it never will. I think they're at the bottom of their depreciation curve. (obviously that's purely conjecture / opinion!)BoxheadTim wrote: $10k might also buy you a half decent 911 SC.Not quite.. not yet...
Since I am relatively poor now, I may just wait for the 993's to come down that far... but yeah, for this a GTO may be the answer at the 10k limit. I have heard that the suspension may be soft and the brakes may be undersized, but it didn't seem that way just driving it around town. Love the interior too. It was too competent. My high twelve second car (supposedly around the same dragstrip time as a well driven GTO) spun the tires at the 2-3 upshift so hard you'd have to steer out of it, and it barked the tires whenever you got on it. Maybe it's just fatter tires, but the GTO accelerated absolutely without drama.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: GTO for sure. But... i'd keep the Miata. Depending on how serious you are with the Miata or what you want to actually do with it, though... Consider the FM VMaxx Stage 2 suspension. It's cheap, seems to work very well, and would probably cut a big portion out of your upgrade costs. I can't decide between the Vmaxxs or some Cusco Zeros.
It seems to me that anyone who doesn't go with the FatCat Motorsports suspension setup is crazy. After GRM's review, I find it hard to believe that you could beat that bang for the buck unless you stepped up to s00per $$$ coilovers, and even then only if you knew how to adjust shocks!
HiTempguy wrote:92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: GTO for sure. But... i'd keep the Miata. Depending on how serious you are with the Miata or what you want to actually do with it, though... Consider the FM VMaxx Stage 2 suspension. It's cheap, seems to work very well, and would probably cut a big portion out of your upgrade costs. I can't decide between the Vmaxxs or some Cusco Zeros.It seems to me that anyone who doesn't go with the FatCat Motorsports suspension setup is crazy. After GRM's review, I find it hard to believe that you could beat that bang for the buck unless you stepped up to s00per $$$ coilovers, and even then only if you knew how to adjust shocks!
How much does that stuff run, though? I met a guy in Colorado that was running that setup, and he said he spent about $1500. The FM Vmaxx kit (includes front and rear sways) is $750 for an NB i think.
949's AST coilovers for the Miata start at $1850, and are analogous to the shocks the pros run in Grand Am. FCM coilovers are $1575 (reduced to $1375?) and FM's V-Maxx coilovers list for $600.
nderwater wrote: 949's AST coilovers for the Miata start at $1850, and are analogous to the shocks the pros run in Grand Am. FCM coilovers are $1575 and FM's V-Maxx coilovers list for $600.
Or you could step up to Ohlins DFVs or Xidas.
And again... Cusco actually makes 4 different coilover sets for our cars. I'm not sure if i'm the first to discover that (doubt it) but nobody seemed to know that when a sponsor over on CR began offering Cusco stuff.
I like the Vmaxx Stage 2 for it's "Giant killing" properties. I asked both Bill and Keith about them when i was out there, and they both had really nothing bad to say about them. Bill in particular seemed to be REALLY impressed with them. They run them on Igor, and Igor isn't exactly slow around a track.
Aside: Apparently Cusco makes a cooling panel as well, like the BEGi and Beatrush units, but it's that awesome blue. I must have one.
Xidas are the 949-branded AST's I was referring to ;)
Oh duh, my bad. 
I forgot to make the connection between 949 and Emilio.
I would think that while not as refined, a turbo miata with sorted suspension and rubber should be able to show it's tailights to most of the other cars mentioned. Nobody's mentioned consumables, and other than the S2000, the Miata'd probably be the cheapest to take to the track from that perspective.
I like working with what you have. You know the issues with that car. Buy a cheap Porsche or other alternate, and it'd be real easy to end up going substantially over budget by the time you get it where you want it.
nderwater wrote: FM's V-Maxx coilovers list for $600.
Sorry, but I just can NOT imagine $600 coilovers being any good after dealing with plenty of them in Subarus. They may handle well on glass smooth pavement, but everything else would probably be terrible. Considering he is talking about buying a $10k car, I don't think $1500 for a really, REALLY nice suspension setup that works well is going to break the bank.
Suspension is one of those things that will make you want to kill yourself everyday you drive the vehicle if it is not nice. For myself, it is something I want to spend good money on.
I donno... the $90 ebay coilover springs currently installed over the weak stock shocks on my Miata have really improved its autocross manners, even on mediocre lots. I put them on as a cheap experiment - NVH has increased a lot, and the ride has certainly degraded, but the car is much more planted and less bouncy than than I feared it would be.
Who wants to offer me their better-modified Miata for comparison? 
FCM coilovers + RB Monster front bar + no rear bar. Poly bushings/diff mounts. Done and win.
How well does the GTO handle? I imagine it feeling bloated and lazy. But I have never driven one and I may be placing my 90's GM/Pontiac stigma on them.
HiTempguy wrote:nderwater wrote: FM's V-Maxx coilovers list for $600.Sorry, but I just can NOT imagine $600 coilovers being any good after dealing with plenty of them in Subarus. They may handle well on glass smooth pavement, but everything else would probably be terrible. Considering he is talking about buying a $10k car, I don't think $1500 for a really, REALLY nice suspension setup that works well is going to break the bank. Suspension is one of those things that will make you want to kill yourself everyday you drive the vehicle if it is not nice. For myself, it is something I want to spend good money on.
The normal ones were no good because they were generic rates ill-suited to the shocks with helper springs that did nothing. FM researched and specified spring rates better matched. Haven't heard one thing bad about the FM kit, and they're being used for more than driving on perfectly level and smooth lots.
ahaidet wrote: How well does the GTO handle? I imagine it feeling bloated and lazy. But I have never driven one and I may be placing my 90's GM/Pontiac stigma on them.
It's built in Australia by the Ozzies who designed it, so it actually rides, feels, and performs like no other GM car we know of. The aftermarket is chocked full of everything you need to make them uber-handlers as well.
ahaidet wrote: How well does the GTO handle? I imagine it feeling bloated and lazy. But I have never driven one and I may be placing my 90's GM/Pontiac stigma on them.
Last time I drove one, thats exactly how I would describe the handling. On top of that, the car is HUGE which kinda sucks away the fun factor in my book.
They aren't awful by any means, especially for a car that size. But a Miata, it's not.
I would love to have a GTO, but i wouldn't think of replacing a Miata with one. Too "apples to oranges."
ProDarwin wrote: On top of that, the car is HUGE which kinda sucks away the fun factor in my book.
Huge? Really? I don't have time to compare specs, but it certainly was not a compact, but certainly not huge either.
ProDarwin wrote:ahaidet wrote: How well does the GTO handle? I imagine it feeling bloated and lazy. But I have never driven one and I may be placing my 90's GM/Pontiac stigma on them.Last time I drove one, thats exactly how I would describe the handling. On top of that, the car is HUGE which kinda sucks away the fun factor in my book.
Say what? Are you sure you're talking about the same car, or do you drive a 900HP Miata on cut ricer springs? The GTO is smaller and lighter than the new 5.0 Mustang, which has been universally declared a handling sensation.
I believe he drives a 2.5RS.
To play Devil's Advocate, a 1991 Pontiac Sunbird is also smaller and lighter than a new 5.0 Mustang.
Got some numbers:
Car, length, width, height
Mustang, 188.1, 73.9, 55.6
P71, 212.0, 77.3, 56.8
GTO, 189.8, 72.5, 54.9
M3, 180.4, 71.5, 57.0
Seems to fall right in there...
Huge is all relative, though.. Those are all pretty big cars to me, based on what i'm used to, and some cars feel bigger than they are.
The visibility of the GTO for me made it feel big. Bigger than it likely is.
Of course, i also feel like my daily driver is a huge car.
Javelin wrote:ProDarwin wrote:Say what? Are you sure you're talking about the same car, or do you drive a 900HP Miata on cut ricer springs? The GTO is smaller and lighter than the new 5.0 Mustang, which has been universally declared a handling sensation.ahaidet wrote: How well does the GTO handle? I imagine it feeling bloated and lazy. But I have never driven one and I may be placing my 90's GM/Pontiac stigma on them.Last time I drove one, thats exactly how I would describe the handling. On top of that, the car is HUGE which kinda sucks away the fun factor in my book.
That's an interesting response, although it makes no sense to me. Not terribly constructive, either.
Having driven a new Mustang and the aforementioned GTO, the Mustang is a better handler by far. I wouldn't go so far as to say the GTO is bloated or lazy either though. With some shocks (maybe stiffer springs too) I think the GTO would wake right up.
To some people a GTO is a huge car esp if the vehicles you have owned are MG Midgets, Civics, a Spitfire and a dirtbike.
Not saying it is a bad car
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I believe he drives a 2.5RS.
I have a Saturn and an S2000. I co-drive an STR NA Miata.
The GTO is huge and heavy (>3700lbs!), especially for someone to consider as a replacement for a Miata. See "apples to oranges" above. The engine was good, the car did not feel good. It felt soft, heavy, and very pushy. This was a 6.0, with like 10k on it. If I were going to buy something that big, I'd look at a CTS-V instead.
You'll need to log in to post.
