About time i post my "ride" - 99 Miata 10th AE

[PaulGT2164]

after being here for years and never posting my car, i took the time to do it and the custom shot

i started this miata project for a best friend a year ago, and recently aquired it from him (he bought a new Audi)

the old setup i was running was 15psi boost with a Garret GT28 Turbo
with Wiseco lower compression pistons, pauter rods, 1mm Oversized intake/exhaust valves, Full Race port and polish, PWR aluminum radiator, bilstein shocks, racing beat springs, flying miata strut bar, sway bars, Hardtop, ARP Head, Main, Cap bolts/studs.

I was also running the Link ECU and a Flyin Miata FMIC, Blowoff, and cast manifold.

custom shot:

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/40s1.jpg

Pretty pics:

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/gallery/miata/images/IMG_0194.jpg
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/gallery/miata/images/IMG_0209.jpg
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/gallery/miata/images/IMG_0211.jpg


the new setup is this:
Precision Turbo SC61 turbo @ 26 psi boost
Precision FMIC
Kosei K-1 Racing Rims with Toyo tires
Tial 38MM Wastegate, Tial Blow-off
Electromotive TEC3R EMS
3" downpipe
Custom Fabbed Honda/Edelbrock VictorX manifold with a miata FLange
72 MM Throttle body
Precision 780CC injectors
Walbro 255 Fuel Pump

heres some pics of the new setup (still waiting on the intake mani, EMS, and fuel stuff)


http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/10s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/11s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/12s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/13s.jpg

Tial Blowoff!

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/14s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/15s.jpg

SC61 Turbo, this will allow me to make over 600RWHP

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/16s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/17s.jpg

245 wides, this should help my traction issues

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/18s.jpg

Kosei Rims, 11lbs apeice, 25 with the tires!

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/19s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/20s.jpg

Test Fitting my new turbo/manifold/downpipe

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/21s.jpg

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/22s.jpg

yes i know its dirty in there (after the test fitting i cleaned, degreased and re-arraged alot of stuff)

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/23s.jpg


I wil post pics as more stuff comes in (today, and tomm)

the last setup made between 300-350hp depending on the tune and gas used. The new setup will make between 550-650 hp depending on gas and tune :) should be the most powerful/fastest street drive miata in the country.

I spoke Very highly of Flyin Miata when i first posted this car, but after them turning me down on wanting to make more power, and being rather snide about it, i switched to another companty, Racing Mazda, and they have been wonderful, the ship times are horrendous, cause they are tiny, but the product is awesome!

[TT]

A Miata pushing more than 300 horses must be a joy to ride and kinda scary at times!

But 500 or 600 :shock:

Thanks for the custom shot and don't overdo :D

[Minacious]

I am not at all a Miata fan, but man oh man, I would love to drive yours.
Very well done.

Nice feet. :D :D :D :D :D

[PaulGT2164]

haha thanks

in relation to my feet. i find that disturbing. but oh well. in relation to the tire pic, my feet are a size 14 wide...

ill post some pics later when i put the new rims/tires on the car

the stock miata 6speed and LSD are good to 350hp so i have a RX7 turbo 2 tranny on the way with a custom adapter, and a Guru LSD from australia coming to fix the powertrain problems!

[adamwich]

That's one bad ass, mother fucker Miata!!

We have only got about 150 hp in our MX-5... It's kinda gay compared to yours!! :D

[corpse_grinder0]

wow ugly feet... I mean Great looking ride!!!!!!! that thing must be sick, any top speed trials yet?

[adamwich]

any top speed trials yet?

... and how fast is it from 0 to 60 mph? :shock:

[PaulGT2164]

well before with the smaller turbo and around 350 hp it would 0-60 in about 4.6 with loads of tire spin

when the new setup is done, ill post some numbers :D

[Skaala]

nice dude, hope to see some vids :D

[gucom]

wow the viper-inspired look suits it alot :D just one concern, are you sure 650hp wouln't tear the car apart?? :P

[PaulGT2164]

Update

i installed the new rims/tires today

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/41s.jpg

it looks like it sits higher in the front but thats just the incline its on

the car sits a inch or more higher, but it already has upgraded suspension and i really dont care if it sits a lil higher, this is the meanest rubber (size) you can fit on it without some body work, and the traction will be worth the slightly raised ride height!

the chassis will handle the power, i think ;) i have some cross braces and subframe connectors coming to make sure, after those are installed it shouldnt be an issue, and pulling the front wheels up a inch or two on lauch should be alot of fun ;)

[gis]

lol thats quite a powerfull MX5.a lot of work bein done to it but man im impressed with it,im not a fan of the MX-5,but i woudnt say no to this one,lol

any vids?

[PaulGT2164]

ill have vids soon as its done, ill wait till i get the tec3r tuned first ;)

but it should a serious ride ;)

ill keep posting pics as i go along.

i wont be workin on it anymore till its night time here (its 108 degrees outside) it was quite a task changing out the rims/tires in that kinda heat and sun :D

[PaulGT2164]

well the body work on the car is all stock , its a 10th ae edition

im not much for body kits etc, ill just spend the money on something else like water injection or a intercooler mister lol :D

the new intercooler is 3 inches thick, its massive, but i have that lil snap in grill that hides it :D

[PaulGT2164]

here some more pics with the new rims and tires i just took

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/45s.jpg
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/47s.jpg
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/46s.jpg

i love how aggressive the car looks with the rim/tire combo

[ZfrkS62]

I think it looks pretty bad ass without the headlights too :D Kinda odd that i would ever use 'badass' to describe a miata, but yours is deserving of the title :D

[RC45]

:shock:

[TransAm]

Stop spending money on that damned car and buy some socks! :twisted:

Nice motor. Iwas going to say that a friend in the UK has a 99 AE MX5 just like yours, but his is stock. 500hp is going to be madder than a box of frogs.

[T-Bird]

that's gonna be one tail happy little bitch don't you think?
I just have this feeling something is going to break with all that power.

[BADMIHAI]

Since the Miata weighs about as much as a Macca F1, a 600 hp one should be as fast as a Macca, at least up until 250 km/h. It's weird that you're making a dragster out of an agile roadster. :shock:

[PaulGT2164]

haha yeah i know, its a agile car, i can always turn down the boost a bit, and with the new rubber and the already upgraded suspension, it should still be kinda agile. i was like, only running 15psi is a waste of this motor (i built it to handle 30psi) so i might as well see what it can do.

i have already anticpated everything thats gonna break and have parts on the way
the tranny/lsd/clutch is the weak points, and thats being addressed so it should be bulletproof, and the TEC3R is a awesome standalone EMS so i can have traction control, launch limiters, to stage rev limiters, etc etc

[Shinigami]

Whoa, niiiiice car. I really love Miata's and it was the first Roadster I had a pleasure to drive :D

I'd love to buy one just for kicks, but I'm waiting for the NC model to come out in order for the NB (the one you have) version to go down in price as a discontinued model.

Do you post on miata.net? A 600rwhp Miata is a 'monster' for sure, but is the tranny stock? I've read that a stock Miata tranny is only good for 250hp or so... Let's hope it holds up ok, coz at ~600hp, you're really pulling the last bit of power from that engine, and it might blow a gasket or crack a piston :shock:

p.s. are you gonna add a wing to increase downforce at speed? Probably might need it...

[PaulGT2164]

"Do you post on miata.net? A 600rwhp Miata is a 'monster' for sure, but is the tranny stock? I've read that a stock Miata tranny is only good for 250hp or so... Let's hope it holds up ok, coz at ~600hp, you're really pulling the last bit of power from that engine, and it might blow a gasket or crack a piston"

the stock 6 speed and LSD are good to 350hp or so, but as i stated in the posts i am going with a mazda rx-7 turbo 2 tranny and a guru LSD

the engine is built for 30psi, as i stated earlier (did you read my posts?) I am running Wiseco Forged 9:1 compression pistons and pauter rods, and everything is held down with ARP fasteners. The heads were also treated to a full race port and polish with 1mm oversized valves. The head that is on the car was actually going to be used on flyin' miatas shop race car, but then i aquired it.

I dont post on miata.net anymore, because all the people there are whiney, biased, hateful little people. they basically have no respect for someone trying to venture into uncharted territory and do something out of the norm. They also made me mad when i sold my old stuff cause they were offering me like a thousand bucks under what it is all worth and bashing me cause i wanted more than they wanted to pay (it was sold any way to a guy who was very happy with what he got for his money spent) not everyone on the forum is bad, but the majority of the people there just pissed me off with their snide comments and constant "your stupid for trying this" or "what a waste" etc etc. oh well the people there that say those things can just keep being slow.

i wont be adding a wing, i dont like wings. the miata doesnt start to have actual lift till about 150-160mph so i should be ok

i dunno know about the new new ones, but the 94-99 has the best flowing heads of all the miatas, and the iron block can hold alot of boost. The stock internals on a 94-99 miata can handle 12-15psi boost with ease, and thats enought for about 220 HP or so properly tuned

[Shinigami]

Had I not read your post, I don't think I'd be responding to your message... I did read the part about 30psi of boost, and I also read about you redoing major portions of the engine in order to take this kind of a beating, but are you actually replacing the current tranny with something else, or just using the existing one with stronger bits and pieces?

Concerning miata.net, I guess the audience has changed somewhat. I remember the 'general' audience inside used to be much cooler several years ago, but nowadays has a few more whiners then before.

I just attribute that to the success of the internet. More people, unaware of proper netiquette, come along and generally act unpleasant. However, I do find that there are quite a lot of very knowledgeable people in there too...

[gucom]

Since the Miata weighs about as much as a Macca F1, a 600 hp one should be as fast as a Macca, at least up until 250 km/h.
there's more to it than just power and weight...tire size, gear ratios, drag, tire grip may also be an issue lol :P

[PaulGT2164]

"and I also read about you redoing major portions of the engine in order to take this kind of a beating, but are you actually replacing the current tranny with something else, or just using the existing one with stronger bits and pieces?"

i am using the mazda RX7 Turbo 2 Tranny and a Guru LSD

lol...

[graywolf624]

You want to say that again for good measure paulgt?

[PaulGT2164]

thats what i was thinking gray lol

glad im not the only one who noticed

[PaulGT2164]

"nd I also read about you redoing major portions of the engine"

this is already done, the car will be operational buy next sunday.

[PaulGT2164]

More miata parts yay!

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/50s.jpg

Vishnu High Flow Fuel Rail, much much better than stock, and looks quite the part as well

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/51s.jpg

AEM Uego Wideband O2 sensor and controller, this will help out drastically when its time to tune, and its looks nice as well, and i got a good deal on it!

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/52s.jpg
Titanium Valve Springs and Retainers, these will allow me to raise the redline to 9200rpms :) should be fun.

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/Gallery/images/IMG_4972.jpg

I mounted the TEC3R EMS in the glove box for easy access when tuning with the laptop, when i install the Ignition and Fuel advance/retard knobs, they will go in here as well, and prolly a switch for valet mode

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/Gallery/images/IM001059.jpg

Hrmm wiring...alarm wiring, EMS wiring, stock wiring, stereo wiring..guage wiring..when will it ever end!


anyhows ill update some more later,
happy motoring

[SilviaEvo]

Paul you look like a Bomb Technician working on those wires. hmmmmm the red wire or the blue wire? but i think those guys on that Miata site are pricks for doing that. i think this project is well worthwhile and the outcome will be amazing

[911GT1]

Looks like a miniturized vesion of the viper. Love it.

[PaulGT2164]

Big update time!

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/71s.JPG
New throttle body vs old throttle body lol
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/61s.JPG
the New intercooler mounted, and to get the front bumper on it will require alot of trimming, due to it being 3.5 inches thick
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/62s.JPG
the piping installed for the turbo to intercooler. This was a pain in the ass, i had to modify the piping a bit and shorten it to get it to fit right, and even then it is a really tight fit.
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/63s.JPG
Vishnu Fuel rail and injectors mounted
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/64s.JPG
The dash tore apart to mount the New Greddy Profec B boost controller and AEM Wideband O2 sensor guage
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/65s.JPG
a really bad pic of the New Greddy Profec B
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/66s.JPG
The removed Cam Caps and HLAs
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/67s.JPG
The throttle body side intercooler pipe
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/68s.JPG
Naked Valvetrain, getting ready to install new springs, waiting on snap on tools......

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/69s.JPG

im really not looking foward to the wiring for the Electromotive EMS

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/Gallery/images/IMG_4972.jpg

and a small pic of the EMS in the glove box for easy access

[RC45]

Another great example of hot rodding at its finest.

If the factory doesn't provide what you want - build it. :)

Awesome.

[PaulGT2164]

thanks for the compliment

Ill be in San antonio in a month or two ;)
if you live anywhere close to that we should meet up and takes some pics

[Mopsdrops]

OMFG !!! truly insane, I didn't expect too see such a beast when I opened this treath, thought something like a standard Miata. must be insane to drive :D Also the looks are very nice for a miata imo, especially the rims and the two white stripes. :D good luck with your car, paul :)

[PaulGT2164]

well i am from kentucky...so the shoe things...is well...nevermind... lol

well totall on everything so far is approaching the 15 grand mark....

so you figure about 27 grand for the total with the car, and thats pretty cheap for something that has A/C, Cruise control, etc - and has the power and speed this car will have

its not cheap, but i only do things the right way :)

[5vz-fe]

I think u push the envelope of sleeper quite far Paul......It looks stunning under the hood :shock: :shock:

When I am looking for tranny swaps for miatas....I run into this site
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/551477/1, it looks very similar expect for the wing that you hate :mrgreen:

[PaulGT2164]

yes i will be doing the EMS tuning myself, the TEC3r makes it pretty easy :)


the software pretty neato for the ECU, it allows a huge amount of control. ill be glad to ditch the stock ecu/piggy back

and get to a real ecu lol ;)

[PaulGT2164]

thats good, the stock miata ecu is pretty stupid most of the time lol its kinda like a retarded cousin

i looked at the haltek and the motec units but i like the TEC3r the best, and it had a ton of features and some people i know who run miatas that are modded have had good luck with them, so we shall see.

im definately not looking forward to the wiring, but oh well....gotta do it if i want to use the new stuff!

[PaulGT2164]

yeah the TEC3R still retains the knock sensor and can retard ignition timing if it picks any up =)

[PaulGT2164]

http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/80s.JPG
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/81s.JPG
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/82s.JPG
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/83s.JPG
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/84s.JPG
http://speedofsound.halocircle.com/85s.JPG



new parts, these are the last of the parts, now i can put the car together finally

the intake manifold was orginally for a honda type-r but it has ben shortened and a custom made maita flange welded on =)

the last pic is the crank trigger wheel and sensor bracket for the TEC3R

tomm night ill post some pics of it installed :)

550-650hp here i come :)

[sikx5]

Far out dude!!! Thats insane man! Some crazy power, and very extensive mods you have there man!!!

I will post up my ride tommorw, i just finished rebuilding it, its a group A rallye GT4, ST185. Noticed you have a GT4 in your sig, Hopefully you see the thread tommorow. :P

[kodvaag]

:shock:

I wish I was your right foot!!

[twboy1999]

...
u are one crazy mother fucker

with a car light as miata.. probably less than 1000kg..correc me if i am wrong.. and 550whp+

u probably spin the tire all the way till like 4th gear....

quater mile i think low 10's for sure..if not faster

[PaulGT2164]

thats what i am hoping for high high 9s or low tens (if i can hook up, the new rims + tires should help)

but thanks for the compliments guys

the cars weight with me in it should be somewhere around 2400lbs (it still has AC, PS, and Cruise control, and a full intertior with bose sound package, and leather/suede seats) but thats still really likght for that much power :)

ill post more updates when i take the pics next week

[PaulGT2164]

thanks =) i appreciate that

most miata people are funny, they think anything out of the norm is just wrong lol

but oh well, i got bored of 300 or so hp :)

i already have the next project in the garage, but its not worth makin a thread about yet lol

[dutchmasterflex]

i dont know if i should feel bad about bringing up an old topic.. but i all of a sudden remembered reading about a members insane 500hp+ miata..

whats the status on this monster?

[SilviaEvo]

update this paul!!! i hope its been finished that is one crazy ass miata

[PaulGT2164]

heehee sorry guys for the long wait, i have been a busy little beaver!

anyhows heres the pics for the update, Enjoy.

It will be done...finally .... this week.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/13.jpg
THe boost gauge and controller mounted

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/12.jpg
Supertech titanium valvesprings, retainers installed

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/11.jpg
Nearly together

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5071Medium.jpg
Building the cusom cluster for the Nordskog gauges

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5075Medium.jpg
Gauges powered up. I love these things, the speedo also works like a G-Tech

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5076Medium.jpg
Crappy pic of the car nearly done

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5074Medium.jpg
Gauges in the Dark

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5073Medium.jpg
The Engine bay 99 percent done


Let me know what you guys think!

[ViperASR]

one word, badass :twisted:

My friend as an AE with the 6-speed. He's got close to the same wheel and tire package on it. Its a hell of a fun car, just needs more HP. Seems like the turbo and the valve springs with the 9200 redline should help that problem. So are you going to Auto-X it or track day or what?

[PaulGT2164]

"My friend as an AE with the 6-speed. He's got close to the same wheel and tire package on it. Its a hell of a fun car, just needs more HP. Seems like the turbo and the valve springs with the 9200 redline should help that problem. So are you going to Auto-X it or track day or what?"

yeah the miata always need more hp, the chassis is very stiff and can easily hanf more power.

for autocrossing a small turbo or supercharger is the best setup. this is more of a bragging right, drag, and show-off kinda car. the kinda power this car will make will be way too much on a tight autocross course. on a large road course, it may be really fast, but the oversteer with the previous car was a balst, and it will require alot of throttle control on a race track with this setup, but it should be pretty impressive, ill take videos soon as i get it done. all i am waiting on really is the fuel injector connectors.

the gauges are from nordskog, and they are really really nice, top notch, i think the majority of their products are for offshore racing powerboats lol, the features are very impressive.
thanks for the compliments tho everyone :) i appreciate them

[callen]

awesome Miata paul! 600WHP? can you even that power to the pavement @ launch? even at 50 mph!?! either way, I love the look, keep it clean, best way and she is damn sick car bro good shit :D

[gis]

^^^ could well be.

congrats on the car being almost finiahed Paul,it looks great.cant wait to see the finished product and some videos,should be awesome

congrats again :D

[TransAm]

Nice work, Paul. I hope we get to see some videos?

[PaulGT2164]

More pics

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5077Medium.jpg

Fuel Pump ready to go in (now its installed)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5078Medium.jpg

it was a awesome day, so i rolled it out to work on it

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5079Medium.jpg

interior under construction

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5080Medium.jpg

outside

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5084Medium.jpg

i kinda like it better with the missing body parts lol

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5085Medium.jpg

looks so mean

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5088Medium.jpg

peek - a - boo

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5089Medium.jpg

i washed it

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5090Medium.jpg

motor

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5091Medium.jpg

more motor

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5092Medium.jpg

i out did myself on the custom gauges/cluster/mounting/fabrication lol, if i do say so myself ;)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5093Medium.jpg

simply awesome

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b229/paulgt2164/IMG_5095Medium.jpg

goodnight, sleep well.

[Yablokov]

woww, great car bro!

i wish my 128 hp civic could keep up with it ^.^

[PaulGT2164]

today i am hunting down the last parts i need, the injector harnesses :)

and next saturday...i go pick up a miata motor and tranny from a 95 model....

hrmm i think another miata will be in my garage soon ;)

[ViperASR]

hey, is that a yellow Hunny Bee in 2 of the pics in the driveway? :good:

[dutchmasterflex]

thanks for the update! you must be extremely busy..

that miata is seriously going to be one hell of a roadster.. i'd go hunting for SL55's and do donuts around them at the stop light..

lookin forward to your next update.. hopefully with tire smoke enriched videos :)
you are a very sick man.. i cant help but feel jealous :)

[PaulGT2164]

haha its a 77 datsun 210 in the background, i am getting rid of it tho to make room for another miata ;)

thanks for the compliments :)

[67mustang331]

I can confirm the amount of work Paul has put into this Miata...I have been putting lots of hours into this car also. We worked on it all day yesterday, did a fuel system check and thats all working. Little leaks which were an easy fix. Should start pretty soon.

About the no shoes thing...yeah I think I have seen him wear shoes once...of course I only wear sandals...haha.

[Shinigami]

Any updates on the project? Did you finish it, and most importantly, how does it ride with all that power :D ?

[dutchmasterflex]

hehe, I was thinking about bugging Paul for another update too ;)

[Shinigami]

Yeah :)

Damn, I'm looking at autoscout24.ch, and there's a few nice NB model MX5's there for an attractive price. Especially two which caught my eye. One is priced really well, and since the owner is leaving the country, he's even willing to negotiate on the price. The second car is being sold because the guy lost his job, so I could possibly bring the price of that down a lot too due to the urgent situation (although it'll suck for the seller).

Ah well... I really shouldn't part with $9k right at this moment on another car, GF might not like the idea ;)

[dutchmasterflex]

Sure it's your Girlfriend, but it's also YOUR money. And if you got the money, you got the money.

I dunno about owning a Miata, I'm not to fond of soft top convertibles because of the one on my Mom's Toyota is complete crap. Not to mention its a "girly" car.. OF COURSE, unless there is a engine pushing 600HP under the hood :)

[Shinigami]

The Toyota being an MR2 perhaps? I drove one, and wasn't quite convinced by the vehicle... it rattled all over the place, felt like it was about to fall apart. I do suspect it had been in an accident coz there was paint overspray inside the wheel wells.

I don't really care if someone considers a car girly or not. I think it's more important that YOU like the car. What others think about it comes second.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Miata because it was my first convertible experience. I drove a friends car on a road trip to southern france during the summer, and the experience was just awesome. Not to mention the car handles really well, a lot of fun. So I told myself that one day I'll own one.

The problem with paying for one now, is that I do have plans to perhaps buy a ring for my GF this year, plus I'd like to keep money aside if I want to get a Ferrari 360...

Ah, decisions decisions...

In any case, I don't want to end up an old man, retiring at 65 and not having lived my life fully :lol: Guess I'll give the sellers a call and see if I can check out the rides. Perhaps I can haggle the price down to an agressive level and then sell them later on if I need the cash ;)

[dutchmasterflex]

the toyota was a Convertible Paseo, I'd imagine the top on the MR2 spyder is better quality. When the Paseo was going out of production, Toyota sent a bunch of them to Cali to get chopped into convertibles.. which I guess explains why the top was so shitty.

With out a doubt the Miata is a great and fun car to drive, but personally, its a little too cute for me to thinkg about buying.

Wife your girl, or new toy, touch decision. Either way, If you do decide on the Miata, make sure the roof is in good condition :) (although I have no clue what miata tops are like, i'm just speakin from my own convertible experience)

[Shinigami]

I know a fair bit about Miata's, having clocked in a considerable number of hours inside them... the tops are pretty good really, they don't go bad if you take reasonable care of 'em, and from 98 onwards, they had a glass rear which is good.

Actually, called my insurance and they said I'd only pay less then 200 swiss francs extra for insurance if I was to use interchangeable plates (i.e. I get one set of license plates, but can move them between the SLK and the Miata). I'll think about, as it's not that expensive really ;)

Highlite of the day tho' was driving a Z4 3.0i. A colleague of mine wanted to test drive one to see if it would help make up his mind, and so we had a few hours of "spirited driving" down the country lanes near my home this afternoon. He was convinced and ended up signing the deal. Should be able to receive his car end of the month once he's found which insurance company to go with (the rates fluctuaute a lot and as a shopper, you really do have to call around for the best deal).