It's A Modified Mazdaspeed Miata. You Gotta Problem With That?
Ever wonder what instigated the huge popularity of Chevrolet Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds among New Jerseyites? Ever wonder what fueled that state's big hair movement in the 1980s? Ever wonder what New Jerseyans are driving since the death of the Camaro and the Firebird?
Well, after exhaustive research, extensive undercover work and an entire weekend watching the director's cut of "Mallrats," we have the answers: bad taste, bad taste and small-displacement roadsters.
In the last 10 years, things have really changed in the Garden State. After favoring cars with T-tops and giant chicken decals for the better part of three decades, the fine people of the great state of New Jersey recently discovered little drop-tops.
We can't really explain it, but after being so scarce in the area for so long, little roadsters are all the rage. Take a drive on the Garden State Parkway these days, and it's a flood of MGs, Bugeye Sprites, Triumphs, Lotus Elans, Honda S2000s, Alfa Spiders, Morgans and Mazda Miatas. In fact, after a decade of endlessly sliding sales, GM even had to euthanize its pony car twins.
Coincidence? We think not.
All of which means Jersey boy Mike Miranda lives in the right place. After owning a Honda CRX, a Toyota MR2 and a Lexus IS300, all of which have been featured in magazines, Mike wanted a Mazdaspeed Miata to drive every day.
In the old days, such a purchase would have taken Mike underground, forcing him into Jersey's once secret sports car society that exists only under the cloak of darkness. He would have had to drive an IROC by day and lurk around secretly in his Miata by night. But times change. Only a few months ago, Mike bought the little turbocharged roadster-right out in the open-and immediately started to tune it.
His goal for the Miata was to build a road racer he could use as a commuter car. Mike lives "down the shore," as they say in his parts, and runs SPI in the seaside town of Keyport, NJ.
SPI (www.spipowerexcel.com) is one of Jersey's premier tuning shops and parts houses. It carries all the major brands, including JIC Magic, DC Sports and GReddy, but it traditionally specialized in Hondas, Toyotas and Mitsubishis. Now it wants part of the Mazda trade.
Although Keyport is just a stone's throw away from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, one of the country's paramount dragstrips, Mike is into the road racing thing. He's a regular with the Performance Drivers Association (PDA), which puts on track days at road courses all over the Northeast, including such legendary circuits as Lime Rock Park in Connecticut and Watkins Glen in upstate New York. Becasue of this, he wanted to upgrade the suspension, brakes and engine as much for durability as outright speed. Since it's intended to be his daily driver, a little comfort would be nice, too.
He started with the suspension, installing TEIN FLEX height-adjustable coil-overs. TEIN says the kit was designed for ride comfort, as well as handling. Plus, Mike felt the 16 levels of damping force adjustment (compression and rebound together) would allow him to dial in the Miata at different race tracks.
"It's certainly stiffer than stock, but the car still rides nice on the road," he says. Considering New Jersey's roadways resemble a moonscape, that's saying something. "I'm still playing with the kit's adjustability," he adds. "You know, always looking for that perfect setup."