10AE Discussion Thread

[ShadowMX5]

Strong first post, seriously. Good to hear another 10AE is in our little disfunctional family!

Welcome aboard! And avoid the 10AE curse like the plague!

[Saul_Good]

What is the 10ae curse? When I get to a proper computer ill do a real intro. Just wanted to throw myself into the mix asap.

[ShadowMX5]

Basically, the 10AE curse is the strange phenomenon that causes a bunch of 10AE's to meet horribly terrible ends. Whether it be getting t-boned at an intersection at 70mph or rolling while canyon carving, many 10AE's meet misfortunate ends.

But if you're vigilant, you can overcome it.

The curse has attempted to take my poor 10AE more than once, but has been thwarted so far hahaha!

I know I sound crazy, but its creepy how many 10AE's get busted up really badly compared to other special editions

[Saul_Good]

Thanks. I'll do my best not to fall to it.

So I bought the car with a set of AFCO coilovers. Although they handle awesome and absorb road imperfections nicely, they're a bit too aggressive for me. What are some good spring/shock combo equal to or better than the Bilsteins these cars are supposed to come with? Or should I quit being a wuss and keep the AFCOs?
The car also came with FM sways, and FM poly bushings. The car also came with a brake proportioning valve. What was the stock bias ?

Thanks for my noobness. I'm originally from the subie world and used to track a legacy GT.

[SmokeSR]

Originally Posted by Saul_Good

quit being a wuss and keep the AFCOs

If you want something comfortable, the only thing I've experienced first hand that offers better performance AND better comfort than the stock Bilsteins are Xidas CS. That's what I'm saving my pennies for now. I'll gladly sell you my Tein Monoflex once I get Xidas.

[Montanamiata]

Lady in town has 4437....it has 29,000 miles on it.....I work at a grocery store and she needed help out to her car....and I almost jizzed when I saw it....she said when she decides to sell it, I'm the first one she'll call so I wrote down three of my numbers for her as I was jumping for joy!

[ShadowMX5]

Good lord that's awesome. Hopefully you get a call soon!

I saw one listed on AutoTrader the other day for $19,000 with only 12k miles on it.

[SmokeSR]

Is it bad that I've officially crossed the point of returning to near-stock on my 10AE? I just sold the blue soft top and the stock wheels are going shortly. Hood has been molested with vents, rear bumper has been cut, front bumper is being replaced, headlights have been swapped to 01, and lots more.

I always wanted to keep the purity of the 10AE but mod bug...and because race car.

[invert]

I'm looking at buying one of those... I always loved the interior from them. Hard to find these days.

[ShadowMX5]

Originally Posted by SmokeSR

Is it bad that I've officially crossed the point of returning to near-stock on my 10AE? I just sold the blue soft top and the stock wheels are going shortly. Hood has been molested with vents, rear bumper has been cut, front bumper is being replaced, headlights have been swapped to 01, and lots more.

I always wanted to keep the purity of the 10AE but mod bug...and because race car.

I've passed the point of no return...about a year and a half ago lol

I don't feel bad about it though, hell, I have a frikkin' Lotus diffuser taking up half of the backside of the car. Its just enhancing it if anything

Originally Posted by invert

I'm looking at buying one of those... I always loved the interior from them. Hard to find these days.

Ooooooh please get one! I'd love to see what kind of awesome you make it!

[invert]

Originally Posted by ShadowMX5

I've passed the point of no return...about a year and a half ago lol

I don't feel bad about it though, hell, I have a frikkin' Lotus diffuser taking up half of the backside of the car. Its just enhancing it if anything



Ooooooh please get one! I'd love to see what kind of awesome you make it!

Just waiting for a good deal... for the awesome, it'll be unique and as tasteful as my 1993LE.

[ShadowMX5]

Can't wait!!!

[paNX2KandSE-R]

Originally Posted by SmokeSR

Is it bad that I've officially crossed the point of returning to near-stock on my 10AE? I just sold the blue soft top and the stock wheels are going shortly. Hood has been molested with vents, rear bumper has been cut, front bumper is being replaced, headlights have been swapped to 01, and lots more.

I always wanted to keep the purity of the 10AE but mod bug...and because race car.

Once the car goes past 50k miles it's never going to be considered a collectible by most purists anyway so I say go for it. Mine has over 100k miles so I didn't feel guilty when I replaced the 10AE seats, wheels, and shifter knob/boot. Soon the stock steering wheel will be yanked in favor of my momo competition wheel and I'm almost done putting it back together with a built bottom end and a BEGi turbo kit with a 2871R. I say if you have the miles on it already then do what you wan to do with it.

[pdexta]

I haven't posted in forever, figured I'd share a few...

[SmokeSR]

Originally Posted by paNX2KandSE-R

Once the car goes past 50k miles it's never going to be considered a collectible by most purists anyway so I say go for it. Mine has over 100k miles so I didn't feel guilty when I replaced the 10AE seats, wheels, and shifter knob/boot. Soon the stock steering wheel will be yanked in favor of my momo competition wheel and I'm almost done putting it back together with a built bottom end and a BEGi turbo kit with a 2871R. I say if you have the miles on it already then do what you wan to do with it.

Well, I yanked the seats, wheel, shifter right when I got the car, but those can easily go back (altho I am planning to put the steering wheel up for sale). It was more the permanent/irreversible mods I was feeling guilty about.

Well, I guess I also crossed the point of no return when I swapped in a built VVT motor and cut things up for a roll bar

If anyone has access to the Canadian edition of the June/July RPM Magazine, please scan it and post it up - I got a 3 page feature on there.

Hmm, white TE37's look quite nice, but need more concave face. I'm looking for new DD wheels, hopefully 16x8 +10 to +25 (have 10mm spacers if required).

[Saul_Good]

Originally Posted by ShadowMX5

Strong first post, seriously. Good to hear another 10AE is in our little disfunctional family!

Welcome aboard! And avoid the 10AE curse like the plague!

Introducing myself properly. … I recently picked up 10AE 5885/7500 w/91k miles. I was drawn to the miata due to its simple, affordable reputation as a trackday car. I have been doing trackdays since 2002 and autox from 2004-2008. I’ve driven on Hawaii Raceway Park (closed), Willow Springs, Streets of Willow, Fontana Speedway, Buttonwillow, Mid-Ohio and Putnam Park. I have a 2005 Subaru Legacy that I recently quit tracking because the consumables were too much and it was a pig. I tracked a few buddies’ Miata’s and loved the feeling of driving a lightweight car especially after they told me how much they were paying for consumable vs what my consumables cost. I started the search for NA/NBs and came across a 10AE for a great price that had respectable mods. My goal is to relearn driving a car (awd vs rwd) and be as quick as I can be with whatever my car came with and learn as much as I can about this car to be able to maintain it properly.

[rckendall]

I am still pretty new to Miatas, I have a lot to learn and I don't always know where to look for answers, but I think this thread is a close start.

I currently own a 2000 base and am getting to know and love it. I ran across a 10AE that caught my attention. It is the second one I have seen advertised and they both seem to be tired. This most recent one has 125k miles and shows signs of wear on the steering wheel mostly. With no service history available and the radiator showing the need for replacement, I am hesitant to get involved.

I certainly appreciate what the car started out to be, but since I really don't care for the interior colors and the amount of service this one would require, I question what the real value of the car is. It would be a good candidate for a track car or something similar, but that almost seems like a waste.

Please give some feedback. I see others here are comfortable with passing the point of no return. I still like it for what it is, but what is it really worth?

Thanks
Richard

[SmokeSR]

Being a 10AE doesn't really add much to the value of the car imo. It's a Miata with a unique colour and a few neat bonus features. Typically 10AE may sell for more, just because the owner took better care of it, but that's not always the case. I see 10AE's sold locally for the same as any other Miata in the same condition.

[ShadowMX5]

^Word. The only time they ever really have a whole lot of extra value on top is if they have super low miles and every single factory option and gift set to go with it.

[SmokeSR]

http://issuu.com/jordanrpm/docs/rpm_june-july_issuu/37

So I was finally able to find it online (they posted it - http://rpmcanada.ca/rpm/index.php/june-july-2012/). Car isn't nearly done but a friend asked to do a feature anyways since they needed something asap for print.

Still got a bunch of parts at home and on the way.

[pdexta]

Anybody have the gift set (his and his watches, model car, key chain) that came with the cars? I've seen a few come up for sale but they're always a billion dollars and I can't bring myself to pay to buy it.

[paNX2KandSE-R]

My car came with a complete brand new in the box untouched gift set. My wife and I loved the watches but I couldn't bring myself to subject them to any wear and tear so I found another set of the watches on ebay. The seller even threw in the anniversary keychain so I have a second one that I can actually use as well.

[matthewpak]

Posted these photos in the meet & greet area, but just to introduce myself to other 10AE owners, hello there!
Pretty much all stock.

[invert]

I really want one of these.... with relatively low mileage. Been hunting for months.

[Saul_Good]

Had to replace my VC gasket so i figured i'd do this while im at it.

[pdexta]

The curse got me yesterday. A camry flew through a stopsign, across 4 lanes of traffic and directly into my driver's door and rear quarter panel. We spun a couple times down the road, and ended up on the sidewalk. I think it's safe to say the car is totaled, but it actually held up pretty well, especially for this kind of impact. We are both fine, just a little sore and saddened by our loss. I'm hoping I can buy it back and swap parts/interior into an NA miata.

[acedeuce802]

^Sorry for your loss

[paNX2KandSE-R]

pd: Awww damn man that's terrible! I'm glad you weren't badly hurt.

[shiz]

Ouch. The camry looks more busted up...

[mnkypsycho]

Think the roll bar helped with absorbing some impact force?