[austexbmw]

Congrats. I have a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata that is modified to 300hp that I love surprising people with on the track. Definitely a fun sleeper.

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by OrangeZ06

Brakes are cheaper than clutches.

Rev match.

Originally Posted by overdrivex

Thanks for the tips! I'm going to wait for the heel toe shifting because I need to get the basics down first of course, what do you mean by plenty of gas and not revs, btw?

Don't rev the engine super high while engaging the clutch. It's not necessary unless you're launching the car and it increases wear. Plenty of gas means don't be afraid to use the gas pedal as much as necessary while letting the clutch out.

Originally Posted by overdrivex

Yeah I was curious on the clutchless shifting...wouldn't it do more harm than good?

Like I said, if you're a quick learner you'll probably be OK. Don't try it until you've got a solid grasp on what kind of RPM adjustment (rev match) is needed for each shift. I've clutchless shifted a ton of cars including the one I've had since new for 80K and it wasn't a problem. If you're not under pressure and you get a lot of practice you'll be able to learn the basics for all this in the first couple days if you're reasonably athletic and practice a lot.

[Xiaoxi]

Originally Posted by austexbmw

Congrats. I have a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata that is modified to 300hp that I love surprising people with on the track. Definitely a fun sleeper.

[overdrivex]

Originally Posted by Xiaoxi

Thanks! I do love the wheels (Kosei K5R) which are 15x7. Great offset. If lowered, the stance will look perfect.

More shots of the wheels: https://flic.kr/s/aHskyLQ9Ta

Miata is a great car to learn manual with. I frantically learned on my friend's NA while waiting on the M235i factory order

I really like your NB Miata!!!! It looks great! Especially with those wheels, I'm going to have to consider some along with a drop. Nice car! I'm glad to hear its a great car to learn manual with...looking forward to it! I'm going to spend some time on the lot first getting a feel for it, then starts the interesting journey home.

Originally Posted by austexbmw

Congrats. I have a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata that is modified to 300hp that I love surprising people with on the track. Definitely a fun sleeper.

Wow!!! 300HP in a Miata?!?!?!? I can only imagine what that must feel like...awesome looking car too, what size wheels are those?

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Rev match.



Don't rev the engine super high while engaging the clutch. It's not necessary unless you're launching the car and it increases wear. Plenty of gas means don't be afraid to use the gas pedal as much as necessary while letting the clutch out.



Like I said, if you're a quick learner you'll probably be OK. Don't try it until you've got a solid grasp on what kind of RPM adjustment (rev match) is needed for each shift. I've clutchless shifted a ton of cars including the one I've had since new for 80K and it wasn't a problem. If you're not under pressure and you get a lot of practice you'll be able to learn the basics for all this in the first couple days if you're reasonably athletic and practice a lot.

Ahhh okay thanks for the clarification. With the Miata being so light, I have a feeling it won't be too hard to give it more gas.

[austexbmw]

The wheels are the stock 17" Racing Hart wheels that were standard on the 2004 Mazdaspeed. On the track, I use 15x8 wheels with sticky rubber for better grip and less unsprung weight.

Originally Posted by overdrivex

I really like your NB Miata!!!! It looks great! Especially with those wheels, I'm going to have to consider some along with a drop. Nice car! I'm glad to hear its a great car to learn manual with...looking forward to it! I'm going to spend some time on the lot first getting a feel for it, then starts the interesting journey home.



Wow!!! 300HP in a Miata?!?!?!? I can only imagine what that must feel like...awesome looking car too, what size wheels are those?



Ahhh okay thanks for the clarification. With the Miata being so light, I have a feeling it won't be too hard to give it more gas.

[overdrivex]

Originally Posted by austexbmw

The wheels are the stock 17" Racing Hart wheels that were standard on the 2004 Mazdaspeed. On the track, I use 15x8 wheels with sticky rubber for better grip and less unsprung weight.

Your track wheels look great too! The 17s seem like they do add a lot of weight to the Miata, being that its so small. Looks good though!

[bvanlieu]

The miata has a very light clutch, and the take up point is mid stroke: as stated above you don't have to rev a lot to shift one. Its pretty easy to pick up fast.

Clutchless shifting is not something one needs to ever do unless you completely lose the slave cylinder and need to limp home: I would not spend much time on this, just look for signs of failing slave (harder to get into gear): they can fail on the miata, its a $60 part easy to swap out in < 1 hr.

Don't go mod crazy for a while. Best things to do:

1. Find a good alignment shop (miata are low to the ground, some shops don't have gear for cars that low) that will align to your spec and bring an aggressive 'Lanny' alignment or similar. $200 or perhaps less

2. Tires tires tires

3. If you get bitten by the miata bug, the stock shocks if not Bilstein are slowly dying, think of some Koni's

4. Drive drive drive

Slamming them, stiff springs what have you really can upset the fine balance of the car stock. Yes it has some lean, but that is by design...suckers will grip just fine with the right alignment and tires. To do lowering right, you have to also have enough travel and replace more parts then just springs and shocks (Flyin' Miata catalog is a great shopping tool, but will hurt your wallet a tad: my recommended shop however

Enjoy the drive,

- b

[overdrivex]

Originally Posted by bvanlieu

The miata has a very light clutch, and the take up point is mid stroke: as stated above you don't have to rev a lot to shift one. Its pretty easy to pick up fast.

Clutchless shifting is not something one needs to ever do unless you completely lose the slave cylinder and need to limp home: I would not spend much time on this, just look for signs of failing slave (harder to get into gear): they can fail on the miata, its a $60 part easy to swap out in < 1 hr.

Don't go mod crazy for a while. Best things to do:

1. Find a good alignment shop (miata are low to the ground, some shops don't have gear for cars that low) that will align to your spec and bring an aggressive 'Lanny' alignment or similar. $200 or perhaps less

2. Tires tires tires

3. If you get bitten by the miata bug, the stock shocks if not Bilstein are slowly dying, think of some Koni's

4. Drive drive drive

Slamming them, stiff springs what have you really can upset the fine balance of the car stock. Yes it has some lean, but that is by design...suckers will grip just fine with the right alignment and tires. To do lowering right, you have to also have enough travel and replace more parts then just springs and shocks (Flyin' Miata catalog is a great shopping tool, but will hurt your wallet a tad: my recommended shop however

Enjoy the drive,

- b

Thank you for the tips! What is a Lanny alignment, by the way? Is that a Miata specific type of alignment?

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by overdrivex

Yeah I was curious on the clutchless shifting...wouldn't it do more harm than good?

Indeed

[overdrivex]

Picked it up yesterday...and did so without stalling! I was surprised. I'm still a little jerky when it comes to driving stick, so I've got to practice that. Overall, I really like this car! I can't say too much about it yet since I haven't had it long, but I have a feeling I'm going to have good fun with this car. Browsing around on the Miata forums, I'm learning a lot about it.

[fastaction]

Congrats! Been thinking of getting an NB Miata as well for road racing and doing the Honda K series swap for the ultimate bang for buck.

[overdrivex]

Originally Posted by fastaction

Congrats! Been thinking of getting an NB Miata as well for road racing and doing the Honda K series swap for the ultimate bang for buck.

Do it! These cars are fun and simple...Im really liking it! Im still rough on starting out, but shifting gears im smoooth...its just the initial start from a stop.

[scoobysaurus]

Congratulations! Can't go wrong with a manual roadster. Hope you have lots of fun with it. #LongLiveTheManual

[overdrivex]

Originally Posted by scoobysaurus

Congratulations! Can't go wrong with a manual roadster. Hope you have lots of fun with it. #LongLiveTheManual

Thanks! Going to take some time for me to master manual transmissions, but I'm looking forward to it!

[jmg]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Road to stick expertise:

--Rev match and downshift (heel toe, although you may actually use the side of your foot during normal driving depending on pedal height) thru each gear into at least 2nd every time you come to a stop
--Practice actual heel toe under heavy (max) braking every once in a while as it's different than normal around-town rev matched downshifting. Toe on brakes, heel on gas.
--Don't take the fucking car out of gear and coast when you slow down, ever. Oh my god. So many people do this and it drives me completely insane--by taking the car out of gear you are taking yourself OUT of control. Your ability to accelerate is an important part of your arsenal against unexpected road events. Don't overlook it.
--You can give the car plenty of gas (not revs) when taking off, it won't hurt the clutch as long as you're not outright abusive--most important thing for wear is to engage the clutch quickly and minimize slip time.
--Clutchless shifting: I absolutely love this one. You may eventually do some damage to the synchros over time, but if you're a quick learner and have a light touch the tranny can be safely shifted without using the clutch. I had almost 80K on my MKV GLI with tons of clutchless shifting and my synchros still worked great.


You may already know some / all of this but hopefully someone out there benefits.

Your ability to BRAKE and STEER is an important part of your arsenal against unexpected road events.


The OP is learning to drive manual and you are trying to teach him heel/toe and clutchless shifting?

OP: Learn the basics. Don't even THINK about heel/toe or clutchless shifting, or coasting in neutral. You gotta walk before you can parkour.

[overdrivex]

Originally Posted by jmg

Your ability to BRAKE and STEER is an important part of your arsenal against unexpected road events.


The OP is learning to drive manual and you are trying to teach him heel/toe and clutchless shifting?

OP: Learn the basics. Don't even THINK about heel/toe or clutchless shifting, or coasting in neutral. You gotta walk before you can parkour.

I agree, I've been driving around for the past couple days learning the basics. One of my friend's also helped me out a little bit. I'm actually getting MUCH smoother and have only stalled out once. Hill starts are still a big issue for me though; have to tackle those eventually.

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by jmg

Your ability to BRAKE and STEER is an important part of your arsenal against unexpected road events.


The OP is learning to drive manual and you are trying to teach him heel/toe and clutchless shifting?

OP: Learn the basics. Don't even THINK about heel/toe or clutchless shifting, or coasting in neutral. You gotta walk before you can parkour.

There's just no reason to get in the habit of putting the car in a situation where you have no power and are guaranteed a delay before you can get the car in gear and be on the gas. It's better to always be in the gear you need, so you have instant power should you need it.

As far as rev matching and heel toe, these ARE the basics--I was doing them literally as soon as I could get the car moving without stalling. This is the best way to learn--learn the right things first, step fully into good habits, and you'll be way ahead of everybody.

Clutchless is more controversial since you could possibly damage your transmission, but again, I found it easy and was doing it within my first few hours of driving stick and my tranny lived to tell the tale.

[Alfisti]

Go buy a 70's Alfa, specifically a 116 model like an Alfetta. Drive it for a day, sell it, then jump back in the Miata.

You'll be a brilliant shifter in 24 hours, you have to be or you're not gonna move the Alfa.

[Never_Enough]

If anyone knows of any running & driving Miatas under $3k for sale, let me know.

[pepper135I]

Originally Posted by OrangeZ06

If anyone knows of any running & driving Miatas under $3k for sale, let me know.

I've built 2-3 different miatas. Craiglist will have a na body style for 3k or less no prob.. My last Miata only had 80k miles and it was a 96 1.8. Most fun car you can buy for under 10k imo. Teaches you great car control and easy to maintain. I Picked mine up for $1,900 ! As for clutch less shifting, you are right. Horrible idea to try as new driver and completely pointless at this stage. focus on basics, heal toeing, match reving , ect . Congrats to the OP!

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by pepper135I

I've built 2-3 different miatas. Craiglist will have a na body style for 3k or less no prob.. My last Miata only had 80k miles and it was a 96 1.8. Most fun car you can buy for under 10k imo. Teaches you great car control and easy to maintain. I Picked mine up for $1,900 ! As for clutch less shifting, you are right. Horrible idea to try as new driver and completely pointless at this stage. focus on basics, heal toeing, match reving , ect . Congrats to the OP!

I paid $1500 for my last one, a 97 w/hardtop.

[pepper135I]

Originally Posted by OrangeZ06

I paid $1500 for my last one, a 97 w/hardtop.

Lucky bastard! The hardtops alone go for $900-1300! Thinking about picking up another NA for fun, man I miss that thing