Ask Bob!

January '00

My parents are divorced. My sister and I live with my mom. It's my dad's job to provide me and my sister with cars. He wants to give my sister an M-Edition (the blue one) for her birthday in May. My mom said that it's out of the question because they're so small, it's a convertible... it's not safe. Is she right? If not, could you send me some information that could help change her mind?
Thanks.

PS My dad already has the car. He'd lose money if he tried to get anything else now.

Holly Miller, Mobile/Alabama/USA

Holly, if your mother considers a Miata unsafe because it's a convertible and small, and she drives something smaller than a three-axle dump truck, she's a hypocrite not to mention more than a little ignorant - dare I say stupid? - as to what the constituent parts of auto safety are. First off the Miata, like any car, is no more or less safe than the person behind the wheel. Statistically very, very few parked cars have serious accidents with other parked cars.

Because of this fact I get the idea your mother believes your sister is a bad driver, so I'd bet dollars to beans she's not a very good driver herself, even if she hasn't had any accidents (sadly, that's not the sole criteria of someone being competent behind the wheel). She's effectively saying that the Miata is unsafe "when you have an accident". Like most undertrained drivers, she's unaware of the fact that accidents can be avoided and has resolved herself to the fact that you WILL have an accident. Using that sort of logic, your Mother should never get out of bed, let alone leave the house. After all, she might slip in the bathtub or choke on a piece of cheese.

To use some common sense in your argument, you might highlight the fact the Miata is small and maneuverable means it's more difficult to hit. Yes, IF (not 'when') it's hit by a larger car, it's at more risk. But if your Mother drives, say, a Taurus - or even a Chevrolet Suburban - and is hit by a bus or cement mixer, she's at equal risk to a Miata being hit by a Ford pick-up. If she's that fatalistic about it and drives anywhere herself, she's got an amazing capability for denial.

Her argument is rooted firmly in ignorance, so you might have difficulty opening her eyes to the reality of the situation. Good luck.

bwob

I own a 1997 MX5 Monza special edition, it has a water leak on the pass side quarter light. It has been back to Mazda twice and the leak continues. The water is coming in between the quarter light where it meets the front screen.

Please help
Thanks

Simon, Rainy England

Sorry about the leaks. I'm not sure how much I can help, but please wrap the car carefully and mail it to;

Bob Hall
c/o Australian Consolodated Press
54 Park Street,
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia

With the introduction of the new MR-S spyder from Toyota, does Mazda have any plans to up the horsepower anti considering that Toyota has a 180 hp engine with vvt-i from the new Celica waiting in the wings.

Robert Burns, Windsor/Ontario/Canada

No plans I know of. Then again if you talk to the people there, Toyota hasn't any plans to drop the 140kW 1.8 into the MR Spyder/MR-2. I had the pleasure of sharing a new Celica with Tafashi Nakagawa, program manager for the Celica and the MR-2, so we chatted for about seven and a half hours on Miata and MR-2 (we'd met before at a JSAE meeting in Nagoya about nine years ago). He was as bolshi as I as regards balance and power, and mentioned that the only way the 140kW engine will be placed in the MR-2 is if he's fired. Given the success of the Celica and MR-2 in the markets where they're on sale, I suspect his job is safe.

So what was that need you were talking of?

bwob

Bob,
I have someone who is trying to sell me a 93 Miata that has a hardtop and is supercharged, lowered and has a MSD ignition with a cold air induction that comes in through the drivers side headlight door. He says that this was a factory option. I never heard of such a thing, have you.

Bruce Myers, St Louis, MO

Nope. Neither has the factory. Or at least the Mazda factory that builds Miatas.

bwob

Thanks for the Miata Bob. Please tell me something I don't know about it. Maybe an anecdote or two.

Perry Thomson, San Diego CA

When we sent paint color samples to Japan, for a color we called 'French Racing Blue', we snipped a 2 x 2 inch corner off a then-new California license plate, placed it in a padded shipping envelope and posted it to Hiroshima. They matched it to a 't', which is why some Miatas in California have color-keyed plates.

bwob

Has anything been done as far as putting an RX-7 engine in a Miata?

Matt Pope, Sims, NC, US

By who and to what end? There have been a few swaps done by individuals and tuners around the world and Mazda even had a testbed or two running around cobbled from Miatas with 13Bs under the hood, but as regards Mazda developing a rotary-powered Miata you can buy at your local Mazda dealer, its not going to happen.

bwob

Hi Bob,
I just got a '96 Miata (my first) and I had a question about the radio. I am not able to get the security code for it and after reading the owners manual I think I will be in a world of hurt if I loose power. Is there any way of recovering the code if I don't currently have it?

Dean Knipping, Sacramento, CA USA

Dean. contact Mazda's customer service folks with the VIN from the car. They may be able to help you.

I've also heard one about placing the radio head unit in a freezer for a few days that changes the memory to all zeroes. Then again I also heard that a guy in a fur-trimmed red suit was planning a home invasion via my chimney on December 25 and that 01/01/00 was gonna end Western Civilization.

bwob

Editor's note: This is a common problem and is addressed in the Miata.net FAQ.

I am looking at purchasing a new Miata but having a difficult time find one with ABS brakes. Do you feel it is that important for performance and handling of the Miata.

Brett, Bedford, NH,USA

To me, no. But bear in mind I'm unable to eat pizza without anchovies and I'm also content without an airbag. So it depends upon how YOU feel about it. After all you'll be driving the car, not me.

bwob

miatas suck <expletive deleted>!!! if you want a real smal sport car than get a Honda S2000. you stupid dumb <expletive deleted>.

Matt, Ohio,usa

Well, there's an different point of view, eloquently stated by a happy delSol owner.

bwob

This might sound like a totally dumb question, but why were the stock Bilsteins and the Torsen differential not made available on all Miata models?

Tina Csomo, Bonita Springs, FL USA

There are a number of reasons, but the three most important were cost, cost and cost. Mind you that wasn't the only reason. While the Miata is a delight for the enthusiast, it had to have a much broader appeal to make economic sense. This meant that the price had to be affordable, and it had to offer what the majority of buyers wanted. Sadly to some, technically-oriented items such as the Torsen and Bilsteins were peripheral to the volume users. But at least they were considered part of the package from the start. Or close to it.

And remember, the earliest cars didn't have the Torsen, but a viscous limited-slip which was chosen on the basis of cost over the Torsen. It didn't take folks in Hiroshima too long to realize that the viscous differential didn't work too well.

bwob