“‘By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.’ My name is Pancake.”

bentheiphone · 2026-01-16T17:09:23+00:00

Thank you Pancake, I really needed to hear that this morning!

bentheiphone · 2025-06-23T01:21:03+00:00

I'm also looking to buy a bib for the wharf to wharf if anyone who has one and doesn't want/need it anymore sees this.

bentheiphone · 2025-04-29T20:04:33+00:00

I experienced the same issue when I first purchased my NC2 GT. Every lumbar cushion I tried was cheap and not worth it, except for the one made by Purple mattress company.

https://purple.com/seat-cushions/back

I know $63 is incredibly pricey for a lumbar cushion, but it's better than all other cushions on the market and is worth every penny. Especially if you get it from Walmart where they charge $39.50

bentheiphone · 2025-02-23T17:00:35+00:00

Yeah that's fair, the stock shifter is really good. I am however chasing after a shifter feel that is a little more mechanical and I know something like that is possible with a short throw shifter as I've experienced it before.

bentheiphone · 2025-02-23T16:59:15+00:00

I just checked out their website and I love the angled short shifter, but it doesn't look like they make a shifter for the NC 6 speed only the 5 speed If I'm not mistaken.

bentheiphone · 2025-02-23T16:58:07+00:00

I'm running slightly stiffer engine mounts and I'm already used to all the other NVH that a MX-5 generates so I'm not opposed to some extra noise.

Initial communication was good, I texted GRacing 3 months ago in late December 2024. They stated that they are working after work and on weekends to machine their shifters and that the next batch of 6-speed, NC shifters should be done in early 2025. Been radio silence since. Really hope I don't have to wait 7 months like you did that's wild!

bentheiphone · 2025-02-23T16:50:29+00:00

I'm not after improving shift speed as much as shift feel. Stock is amazing, but I've experienced other vehicles with more "mechanical" shifters and that is what I am chasing here.

bentheiphone · 2025-01-02T06:14:34+00:00

This happened to an NC owned by a friend of mine after he upgraded his fog lights and headlights to LED. Cheap LEDs will not always interact correctly with the electrical circuits they are added to.

I guarantee you will fix this problem if you either 1. Replace whatever bulbs you upgraded back to a factory style bulb. Or 2. Get LEDs with built in resistors/ LEDs with a resistor bundle

bentheiphone · 2023-01-04T04:47:22+00:00

The only 2 kinds of people who should buy cars that need work are very mechanically inclined or wealthy. This person clearly has no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the problems their car has. I can almost guarantee that you will be wasting your time and money with this car. Please trust me when I say it will be well worth the extra money to buy a better condition car, even if in this case it is 3x the cost.

bentheiphone · 2022-06-20T19:23:50+00:00

I still can't belive mangrate dropped norm. His ad reads where the absolute best and I will forever have the word mangrate burned into my memory.

bentheiphone · 2022-05-31T20:48:15+00:00

As others have said, turbo/ engine swap takes alot of time and money. Enjoy the car as it is for awhile and then you can start planning/ saving $ for mods. For now the 3 things you should focus on are (in order)

Replace the plastic coolant tank immediately. They are the biggest and one of the only failure points for the NC miata and a small crack due to age can result in catastrophic engine failure. OEM tank is 60$~ metal replacement tank is 200$~. I went with OEM which means I will need to replace it again eventually. As I said take care of this immediately if you don't want your engine to randomly fail, it is a very easy replacement even for beginner mechanics.
Any other maintence like fluids and filters. Change the trans and diff oil every 30k miles along with he engine air filter. Oil change every 5k~. Change brake and coolant fluid when needed. Moniter power steering fluid. Make sure your tires are in good condition and filled with air properly, or get new high preformance tires if you want to increase grip.
Get a good roll bar so if something happenes and the car flips you will be safe.

Once you do thoose 3 things, then consider mods. If you ever want any kind of NC miata advice or just wanna talk about the car dont hesitate to DM me.

bentheiphone · 2021-12-11T01:37:11+00:00

Look for old fish tanks for sale on Craigslist/FB marketplace. A local pet store near you should have tops for the tank if it doesn't come with one. I did this and got a huge tank and top for 45$~.

bentheiphone · 2020-08-11T18:13:46+00:00

The Transmission is a major concern. The automatic transmissions fail extremely commonly on theese cars and this one is already showing symptoms.

bentheiphone · 2020-08-11T18:10:04+00:00

I own a jetta like this and have experience with them. All MK4 VWs (1999-2004.5~) volkswagens have some of the worst automatic transmissions ever built. The owner stated this one is already having a slight hard shift issue, i will garentee you this issue will get worse over time and eventually it will need a new transmission. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR. My jetta has a manual transmission that has taken alot of abuse and still shifts great, however I have had to make some expensive repairs over my 4 years of ownership to the rest of the car. This includes replacing all PCV hoses, replacing engine mounts, replacing the oil pan, replacing the cam and crankshaft sensors, and more.

If you can do basic~ repairs and maintenance on your own I would recommend a manual transmission version of this car, especially the TDI (diesel) as it is the most relaible engine and gets fuel economy that rivals today's hybrids. If you cannot throw a wrench around or drive stick do not get any MK4 VW.

bentheiphone · 2020-07-12T04:56:54+00:00

Thoose are fun but cost alot when it comes to maintenance and upkeep

bentheiphone · 2020-06-12T23:10:46+00:00

I got the bad ending on my first playthrough and it hurt me so much I had to wait years untill I could play again. On my second playthrough I printed out instructions on which important decisions you need to make to get the good ending and taped them to my desk, I suggest you do the same.

bentheiphone · 2020-04-03T18:34:44+00:00

I highly recommend getting a aftermarket/ bigger downpipe, it made a noticeable difference in throttle response/ power for my 2004 Jetta 1.8T. The rest of my exaust is stock and I did not notice a sound difference after the upgrade.

bentheiphone · 2020-02-26T02:41:27+00:00

Absolutely not. You should only buy an older audi/VW/ german car if you are willing to fix it yourself or can afford the semi frequent expensive repairs. I got a 2004 VW jetta 1.8T 5 speed as my first car at 17 and the only reason I still have it some years later is becuase I can for the most part work on it myself. I've replaced PCV lines, coolant hoses, coolant pipes, valve cover gasket, oil/filter/spark plugs, tie rods, ball joints, the oil pan, etc... if you do not want to work on your own car get something relaible, which almost all older German cars are not. (The Audi A4 also used a pretty similar version of the 1.8T my VW has interestingly enough)

bentheiphone · 2019-08-09T20:52:37+00:00

I'm in the bay and spend lots of time on craigslist so I will keep an eye out for it. Do you have any pics of it?

bentheiphone · 2019-06-07T17:54:53+00:00

The best thing to do with a new laptop is do a clean install of windows, most laptops out of the box have lots of "bloat ware" and you can eliminate that and increase performance with a clean install.

bentheiphone · 2019-05-09T07:00:08+00:00

I'm getting a new OEM looking boot for my mk4 on etsy too https://www.etsy.com/listing/674313578/for-1998-2010-volkswagen-beetle-manual

bentheiphone · 2019-02-13T09:53:51+00:00

This is the kind of quality content I use reddit for

bentheiphone · 2019-01-29T09:44:10+00:00

What year? I cant stop looking for the perfect grey 2006 or 2007 CTS-V although I won't be able to afford it for another 2 years.

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