Drove one of these today and fell in love, just the right tweaks and it would be incredible.

[RAAMaudio]

I like that KMiata!

If I do end up getting an ND Miata I would do the mods listed and street/ track it and most likely consider setting up the FiST for dirt

I have very little experience with the S2000 but will look into them a bit more but I have been a die hard Miata fan since day one, before that my love was the Datsun roadsters.

 

[meFiSTo]

If you want to HPDE/time trail track that thing, I suspect you'd have to put cage in it (at least a 4-pointer) and then all the associated changes (fixed-position racing seats, remove airbags, racing wheel, 6-point belts, etc.). From what I can tell, many if not most organizers are wary of soft-top cars without added roll-over protection. There are exceptions for sure. Around here (the northwest), the organizers are very liability conscious.

As to the S2000, there were two versions -- the initial one and then one update, I think. I don't know model nomenclature, but my understanding is that the second iteration had some understeer dialed in due to the propensity for the original design to snap oversteer in certain situations (I saw the result of such an occurrence at Portland back in 2006ish).

There is also a rumor of an S2000 replacement coming, although it may be a smoke and mirrors pipe dream.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Thanks, I do recall the snap oversteer of the first gen, that could be fixed probably fairly easily. Though not always able dial a car in the way I like and the safest and fastest on track, controllable oversteer on show corners, neutral on mid speed corners and a bit of understeer on high speed corners. I gave up some of the easy rotation of the FiST by dialing in more rear camber and changing the toe a bit as I tend to go all out all the time and did not want to go backwards off the track at high speeds.

---------------------

HPDE and TT events usually just call for an approved roll bar which is available already for the ND. I would swap in a race seat and harness, use arm straps, my race suit and Carbon X underwear, race shoes, gloves and a very light full face helmet and a Halatron fire bottle where I could get to it easily like I have in the FiST. The ND has already be ran at a number of events at least in SoCal.

I need to get a new neck support device, I had an R3 Hybrid, the best and most expensive and much more protection than a Hans. I had it recertified and sold it to get a smaller and lighter but also very safer than Hans unit that would be easier to get into and out of a car with it on.

I will admit though I like a metal top over my head on track, why I abandoned the LS6 Miata track car I started to build once I took some laps in a fast convertible but that car was to be a monster.

 

[mouse]

Thanks, I do recall the snap oversteer of the first gen, that could be fixed probably fairly easily. Though not always able dial a car in the way I like and the safest and fastest on track, controllable oversteer on show corners, neutral on mid speed corners and a bit of understeer on high speed corners. I gave up some of the easy rotation of the FiST by dialing in more rear camber and changing the toe a bit as I tend to go all out all the time and did not want to go backwards off the track at high speeds.

---------------------

HPDE and TT events usually just call for an approved roll bar which is available already for the ND. I would swap in a race seat and harness, use arm straps, my race suit and Carbon X underwear, race shoes, gloves and a very light full face helmet and a Halatron fire bottle where I could get to it easily like I have in the FiST. The ND has already be ran at a number of events at least in SoCal.

I need to get a new neck support device, I had an R3 Hybrid, the best and most expensive and much more protection than a Hans. I had it recertified and sold it to get a smaller and lighter but also very safer than Hans unit that would be easier to get into and out of a car with it on.

I will admit though I like a metal top over my head on track, why I abandoned the LS6 Miata track car I started to build once I took some laps in a fast convertible but that car was to be a monster.

Why not build the exocet with that LS6.....That would be a monster.

 

[mouse]

In case anyone was curious...
http://exomotive.com
[video=youtube;Vzo_st9_VIc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo_st9_VIc[/video]
[video=youtube;zqbWDPua7a4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqbWDPua7a4[/video]

 

[Hwy9FiST]

Rotary sounds so much better.
[video=youtube;16y5rxRR-jU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16y5rxRR-jU[/video]
[video=youtube;OnLaotz-kBY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnLaotz-kBY[/video]

 

[RAAMaudio]

I guess that could be considered subjective, not my cup of tea and I lived very close to the first Mazda dealer in the US so heard them from the start here

 

[airjor13]

I like the new Miata, only if it had the grunt to match its good looks.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I am sure we will see some very interesting engine swaps show up

For now you can get around 180WHP and a decent torque curve for not a lot of money, I expect more and 200WHP NA would be pretty sweet if reasonable in price.

In these days of cheap power things have gotten so out of hand many cars are simply far to powerful to use well and end up masking other aspects of driving enjoyment and skill set enrichment leaving to a lot of poorly experienced drivers with more power than driving ability.

 

[Sekred]

[video=youtube;MUldyFe5p-A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUldyFe5p-A[/video]

 

[RyFiST]

The Aim Gain aero kit for this body is pretty evil looking.

 

[RAAMaudio]

A bit much for my taste on this car, if I get one it will be pretty subtle but a nice kit for those going a bit wilder than I would

 

[RyFiST]

It is pretty extreme & extra pricey since it is a authentic AIM GAIN kit. If I truly needed to add cosmetics to it. I'd do a front lip, trunk lip & roll bar. Along with full suspension & a set of deep dish Panasport Formula 14 wheels.
And yes, I did consider purchasing a Miata pre-FiST.