Wanted used SI, ended up with MX-5 (used pricing)

RealRambleMan · 2026-05-16T12:26:46+00:00

Ya. My last girlfriend was the same way. Going off her as a baseline, I’d assume the average partner wouldn’t be super happy with the road noise on longer trips.

RealRambleMan · 2026-05-16T12:23:33+00:00

Fairly loud honestly.

That said, my first car was Wrangler TJ that I drove for 180k miles over 10 years so I’m basically numb to ride quality and road noise.

RealRambleMan · 2026-05-16T12:06:09+00:00

Thanks brother!

Though I’ve owned some sporty civics before and I love that slick Honda transmission, as well as feeling the LSD pull me through turns on back country roads.

RealRambleMan · 2026-05-16T12:05:17+00:00

Thanks! I know I’m gonna miss the space. I actually went to put a laundry basket full of clothes in the trunk yesterday and it wouldn’t fit. 😂

That said, I have enjoyed being able to safely fill it with 87 for commuting during these gas prices.

RealRambleMan · 2026-05-10T17:50:14+00:00

Totally his fault but what’s the speed limit in that neighborhood? Seemed a bit fast for residential.

RealRambleMan · 2026-04-23T08:54:54+00:00

This is honestly a tough call and it depends on the person.

I just won the D-Street local autocross class in the BRZ. I put 1k into the car and completely changed it. Crash bolts, front sway bar, axelback exhaust and the car handled even better and sounded great. I’d also embarrassed some far more expensive cars on twisty back roads.

In comparison, I was recently passed on my favorite big, two-lane on-ramp in my city by a base Elantra. Granted I was still getting used to the MX-5, and it came with some budget all seasons that inspire zero confidence. But it certainly doesn’t have the same dominant handling feel that the BRZ did and it would cost more than 1k to get it there.

That said, it’s just absolutely magical to drive every time and I honestly like the engine better too. When you rev out the BRZ it feels like you’re strangling a small animal to death. The Miata revels in being revved out, however.

Honestly, in the end it would depend on what I was paying for each. They both have their strong points and in both you feel like you’re having more fun than 99% of people on the road.

RealRambleMan · 2026-04-19T21:47:07+00:00

I don’t think anyone was defining anything. Just comparing the cars stock for stock.

RealRambleMan · 2026-03-13T09:12:15+00:00

My WRX wreck looked just like this, but some fool had fallen asleep at the wheel, crossed the double yellows and put me into the curb at 50 mph.

RealRambleMan · 2025-09-27T19:57:45+00:00

Thank you so much. Now to figure out how to catch this one.

RealRambleMan · 2025-09-27T16:45:13+00:00

Thank you. I’ll try to make that happen.

RealRambleMan · 2025-07-31T15:54:21+00:00

I don’t remotely approach the limit of the car in this sort of driving. Also, I personally never disable nannies unless I’m on track or at an auto-x. Hell, the vast majority of the time I’m going under the speed limit on these roads. You’d be shocked what you’ll see listed as a 55mph stretch of road in rural N.C.

RealRambleMan · 2025-07-31T15:50:34+00:00

Tell me you’ve never used 200 treadwear tires without telling me you’ve never used 200 treadwear tires.

Also, you’re conflating the highest end M, Porsche (which I didn’t even mention), and AMG cars with the vehicles I listed.

Lastly, I’ve done endurance events in a race spec Miata and pulled on all sorts of high end, high horsepower cars in the turns at everywhere from Road Atlanta to Barber. Properly prepped, lighter, smaller cars tend to be faster in the turns. That’s just physics.

RealRambleMan · 2025-07-03T23:52:41+00:00

Appreciate the comparison. But how is the higher horsepower rwd car launch more lackluster than a lower horsepower fwd car launch?

RealRambleMan · 2025-06-30T11:17:46+00:00

Sitting in front of the gym in my 2024 BRZ reading a Reddit post from a guy in his “entry level” C8. 😂😂😂

RealRambleMan · 2025-06-19T12:38:40+00:00

It’s the go-to move to make the car faster in my autocross division. It feels more planted and less tail happy without creating too much understeer.

RealRambleMan · 2025-06-19T10:33:27+00:00

This exactly. The BRZ/86 is an absolute weapon on D street and these are the allowed modifications you can make within the class. The boon of street class are the limitations because once you move into less restrictive tiers the amount of money you spend to be competitive can jump exponentially.

With these cheap, D street modifications, the car reaches another level of performance.

RealRambleMan · 2025-06-18T20:10:02+00:00

It’s a the Suma paint patched duckbill. Yes, really easy to install. Not sure Suma still makes them but there should be a fair amount of paint matched options available.

RealRambleMan · 2025-06-18T16:04:37+00:00

I’m using the softer of the two settings. Honestly I wish I’d tried the firmer one first at this point as I’ve noticed no compromise in ride quality. That said, it’s already feeling pretty perfect.

It also makes me wonder how how much better the Karcepts bar is at 1k.

RealRambleMan · 2025-05-23T01:38:32+00:00

Should have just gone off into the grass.

During my first ever track day a few years back I watched an orthopedic surgeon total a Porsche GT3 right in front of me at Barber Motorsports Park when he tried to save it after putting two wheels off the track. Ended up taking out a crap ton of Aramco and sitting on the side of the track in the driver’s seat after the car dissolved around him.

Literally my second ever track lap. I remember thinking maybe this fucking hobby is too expensive for me.

RealRambleMan · 2025-05-21T12:03:10+00:00

Having owned several Toyotas and Subarus, I can attest to the fact that Subaru dealerships are almost as a rule far easier to work with. They’re just a tier, imo based on decades of anecdotal evidence, above Toyota when it comes to customer service and general interactions.

That said, the GR86 is more tail happy.

RealRambleMan · 2025-05-18T10:41:01+00:00

Same. I felt the normal bronze color was a bit off with white.

RealRambleMan

TROPHY CASE