Well, moment of truth. I'm looking for a weekend fun car, and a local GSL-SE with 84,000 miles and in very nice shape has come available. This SE is clean and rust free. Paint is top notch. Never seen a northern winter, this car is originally from the south. Strong runner.

I was leaning to get it a few weeks ago, but a thread here made me reconsider my choice; instead, a 94-97 Miata seemed more fun and practical. I could probably get one with 75,000 miles for $5000.

However, it appears that the seller will drop the price on the GSL-SE to the $3000 range. I'm re-tempted. The key here is that I'm not very mechanical. Haven't even changed oil in a decade.

I've always wanted an older car.. this one isn't a basket case, so it's not like I'm doing a ground-up restoration. any thoughts?

 

Iv'e never driven a miata, but ive raced one. ( destroyed it ) But if you want a fun car to drive, the rx-7 is it. A GSL-SE with low mileage is a rare find.

 

A Miata's best attribute is it handles like a go-cart.
An SE on the other hand can be made handle like a go-cart, and it already runs like a scalded ape.
The Miata doesn't.
Not to say it can't be made to run like a scalded ape. It's just cheaper to make an RX7 handle like a go-cart.

 

with any older car, you will need to do liitle this and that cause little things will go wrong....count on it. If you are not mechanical "at all" and don't have the inkling to want to tinker play with an older car, I would not get the older car. This would mean you would have to pay others to do it and it gets costly after a while. From the sound of it, you may want to consider the miata...Good luck....cjf

 

I was under the impression that the SE was a nice one that need little. How much do you think he' gonna pay someone to make his Miata go faster? I'd rather pay to put on a set of sway bars and shocks any day rather than pay to try to make the 1.8L piston motor try to hang with a 1.3L wankle. Which one do you think would be cheaper?

 

Yes, this one is nice. You make a good point on the Miata motor. Just not a rotary. Of course, I wonder how long I'll have until the engine requires a rebuild....

 

if you change fluids often, I hear these cars can go 200,000 easy...how well maintained was the car? doyou have receipts on oil changes for example??...Good luck in your choice...cfj

 

Two letters... S E!!!!

I personally dislike miatas... They handle better than my 1st gen but miatas just feel so much more uncomfy... I don't really like the look of a stock miata... I'd get the SE

 

I have tried the new Miata with the upgraded engine, its a great car for the price.

I prefer Gen 1s for a subjective reason. You can spend more time in the garage improving them than on the road! Its a cheap form of entertainment and much better than TV. Sunday drag time is to show off your work and rejoice in another .01 seconds knocked off the 1/4 time.

My friend owns a fashionable restaurant an hour's run out of the city which frequently is the destination for car club cruises.

The Miatra club turns up with a mob of nearly identical cars, apart from colour, and talk about what wine to drink. The RX people turn up and talk about all the modifications they have done and plan to do. They don't care what they drink as long as its cold!

 

I can personally vouch for my 85 SE having 205,000 miles at present. I have heard from more than one Mazda mechanic that the 84-85 13b was the motor they got absolutley right.

 

Well, I'm going for it! I'm going to check it out once more tonight (to check for wheeel well and storage box rust). Last summer I drove a 2000 Mustang GT Convertible. It was a riot. The Miata is just too small, too, um, gay. I love the looks of the Rex, the driving is fun. Gotta go for it!

 

Well stated.

 

Don't forget that the miata has similar mileage.. so it is not really in any better condition. And is likely to have the same mechanical problems...


The first thing to do to your SE is buy the RB longprimary exhaust system for the SE from mazdatrix..And a K&N filter. Also buy a new set of bushings & sway bars & springs, & struts & shocks.. and and and... ok i'll stop there...

It will make it a very fun car.. Alot more fun then the miata..


BTW THE EXHAUST WILL NOT PASS EMISSIONS.
-Zach

 

I have a 96 Miata and an 85 RX7 GSLSE and though they appear to be similar, are quite different if you get down to the details and drive each one. If both cars are stock (talking go fast stuff) they are very close in speed. I would say an RX7 may have a slight advantage. The RX7 can be made to be faster considerably easier and cheaper. Handliing wise, well when I bought my RX7, it already had Tokico Adjustible Shocks, Tokico Springs, Huge F/R Sway bars, polyurethane bushings, and I added some good rubber in a 50 series tire. Comparing this to my Miata which only has a similar tire with none of the other extras, I can say, "Miatas handle like a go-kart" is the real deal and well my RX7, is certainly lacking now that I've seen the light. The RX7 maintains the lateral stance in turns(sway bars, lower stance) but it feels heavy. Everytime I drive my RX7 then jump in the Miata, I think about how light, darty, and nibble the Miata feels. When ever I take the RX7 out (Miata is my daily driver), it feels like it hauls ***. I find myself always looking down at the tachometer and speedometer and verifying speed at which I shift. It seems like the RX7 rpm range lasts longer, but takes longer to get there. I would love to own a brand new 1985 GSLSE in mint condition. I think the RX7 is a better car, but time has caught up in the handling on mine and the Miata is definately better for handling at this point.

 

Jason,
Well compared.
I have a '90 MX5 (Miata to you lot) that has been warmed a fair bit, and very lowered shocks/springs.
My wife has an '84 RX7 (12A) with some work done on the exhaust.
The MX5 always feels nervous and wanting to rev (the "Miata Grin" sets in a bit over 5,000rpm in 2nd gear), and handles like a go-kart.
Yoko A359s made an enormous difference to the handling.
The RX7 screams out to be revved, but takes longer to get there, and handles lots less precisely than the MX5.
The MX5 is incredible fun topless in the twisty roads around the Adelaide Hills in summer, but the RX7 is a fantastic long-legged cruiser to the wineries in the Coonawarra and the Clare Valley.
The MX5 has a throaty growl from under the bonnet that rises in sync with the exhaust as the revs rise.
The RX7 sounds like stock (have to do something about that), but the exhaust note level drops as the revs increase - even with the sun roof open.
BTW, the MX5 has 249,000km and the RX7 210,000km on the clock, respectively.
I love driving both, but for different reasons.
Buy one of each - Chris
We also have a Bond 875 (a 3 wheel British car), but that's another story :-)

 

I agree. Buy both, that way you can drive the SE while your doing the rotary conversion to the Miata.

 

Oh that's so expensive!
Cheaper to get a FM Turbo and WE ALL LIKE TURBOS!

I wish there was a way to convert the RX7 steering system into the Miata Power Steering setup.

I cannot belive how much more useful room the RX7 has.

I think a stock M1 would kill any stock 12a and again, it would be real close on the SE-13b.

 

You know I have never thought about an RX7 being roomy. Until compared to the Miata. I have hauled a 13b block in the cargo hold of an 80' RX7 I once had. I just don't know where you'd put something like that in a Miata. Except maybe the passenger seat area.

 

In terms of quickness, I can't see how the SE could be faster:

SE: 2580 lbs/135 HP = 19.1 lbs per HP
M1: 2300 lbs/128 HP = 17.9 lbs per HP (1994)
m1: 2300 lbs/133 HP = 17.3 ibs per HP (1996)

Given these stats, it seems like the Miata would be quicker. Am I off base here?

 

I may start a new thread on this prior comment!

 

anyone else have to decide between a mx5 and a se? the mx5 was just way too small for me!!!

i'm transforming my se into a "weekend fun car" and i have to say... man is it working!

BTW, i'm taking it to mazda raceway tomorrow to watch ALMS

 

Wow. A 7.5 year bump. Pretty sure he stuck with just the SE (I know that he has had a few low mileage SEs since then). Maybe he got a Miata too?

 

Okay then, an update for 2009.

I think I have proven that with a little suspension work, an fb can walk all over a Miata. And, just like someone stated earlier in the thread, its a lot easier to make a fb handle better than it is to make a Miata more powerful.

I've upgraded to Respeed coilovers, camber plates, swaybar, and Illuminas. This is something that can be done easily for under a grand. The difference is incredible! I use cheap Sumitomo tires, and race against Miatas on race rubber. Last race, I beat 10 out of 11 Miatas and the only one that got me was supercharged (but I did beat the two other drivers of that car).

So, with an fb, you can kick *** at the races and still look cool for the drive home.


.

 

PRECISELY. whereas in a miata you run the risk of looking "gay" for the drive home. i was searching for something else, but ended up with this thread LOL

 

Still don't know why people think miata's are or look gay. Must be some deep repressed homosexuality urges or something I have driven all 3 (and currently we own 2nd and 3rd gens) and you can't truly compare them between themselves.

RX has more room, more power, more style.

Miata has less room, convertible, and WAY more aftermarket.