Two schools of thoughts Miata and 86

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Apex-Apex

The stock power level is pretty horrible to daily in. Passing people on the freeway requires downshifts and driving on an uphill freeway requires practically full throttle... All I'm saying is this car is pretty painful to drive in stock trim as a DAILY.

My grandma bought a Ford Falcon in 1965, had it painted bright pink, rated at 95hp when tested at the crank with zero accessories attached, not even the alternator. We're looking at maybe 65 whp on a good day and a generous dyno.

My family reminisces about that car, it drove from the SF Bay to Tahoe and back at least half a dozen times, the power was laughable but nobody bitched about it.

My mother owned a Le Car, 51 hp in emissions legal trim. My father owned a handful of Beetles and Sunbeams, none over 100 hp. My first car was a Nissan pickup truck, 134 horses were on tap 20 years and 180,000 miles before I took possession of it, sold it last year and I would never think of complaining about the power on tap from the single cam I4 as I put 25k miles on it in SF Bay traffic up and down every scenario from winding it out to the revlimiter (no tachometer) to get up to speed to sitting stationary for minutes at a time.

If you really have trouble driving an 86 on public roads you should probably have your license revoked. It's fine if you don't like it and don't enjoy it and want more.

But 'horrible'? 'painful'? 'requires downshifts'? 'practically full throttle'?

Sounds like you should have bought a V6 AT Accord. You can sell your car and pickup a solid Miata for the track/weekend/autox and a >250 hp econobox for your commute and have money left over for a fresh set of track tires and entry fees for the season.

tl;dr my grandma would probably think you're a *****.

[billwot]

Originally Posted by Apex-Apex

The stock power level is pretty horrible to daily in. Passing people on the freeway requires downshifts and driving on an uphill freeway requires practically full throttle.

That's why it has a 6 spd transmission and a gas pedal.

[MarkR171]

I tend to agree with @Apex-Apex somewhat. The car could really use a little more power for the daily drive... just for passing/merging power. But the same goes for every econobox on the road. I don't think it really needs "at least 50" more horsepower, but it's probably fine with some headers to fix the torque dip. I daily mine and it's not really an issue, but it would be nice to have.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Apex-Apex

The stock power level is pretty horrible to daily in. Passing people on the freeway requires downshifts and driving on an uphill freeway requires practically full throttle. AWD or RWD doesn't matter since these cars have traction control. All I'm saying is this car is pretty painful to drive in stock trim as a DAILY. On the track with a lot of turns, hp doesn't matter as much and it's actually a little more fun to drive with stock power than with more power.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
I daily drive for almost 50K miles a year. With 98% of that highway. Through all seasons.

You have to downshift is an issue somehow? That is called DRIVING. An uphill freeway requires full pedal? Where do you drive Mount Everest? I have never once in 2 years and almost 100K of Daily Driving thought "shit the car won't do it". Not once.

Has the act of driving become so diluted that having to downshift instead of just mashing a pedal to pass is "painful"? Unbelievable.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

I tend to agree with @Apex-Apex somewhat. The car could really use a little more power for the daily drive... just for passing/merging power. But the same goes for every econobox on the road. I don't think it really needs "at least 50" more horsepower, but it's probably fine with some headers to fix the torque dip. I daily mine and it's not really an issue, but it would be nice to have.

If the torque "dip" is an issue for you when passing or merging you are in the wrong gear. When accelerating I pass through the "dip" in about a 10th of a second. If you are hanging in the "dip" then downshift, power through it and then upshift again. This is driving.

[OldSkoolToys]

If a stock 86 manual Is painful to daily, then my '06 Fusion 2.3 AT would be banned for being an outright killer.

Especially with the A/C on. Which is 100% of the time right now (yes even night driving. Lovely southern summers)

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

If the torque "dip" is an issue for you when passing or merging you are in the wrong gear. When accelerating I pass through the "dip" in about a 10th of a second. If you are hanging in the "dip" then downshift, power through it and then upshift again. This is driving.

I did say it's not really an issue, but I notice it sometimes. Not a big deal at all to me and I'm in no rush to add power. I do in fact downshift when needed and ...when not needed, just for fun. As you say, this is driving!

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Apex-Apex

The stock power level is pretty horrible to daily in. Passing people on the freeway requires downshifts and driving on an uphill freeway requires practically full throttle. AWD or RWD doesn't matter since these cars have traction control. All I'm saying is this car is pretty painful to drive in stock trim as a DAILY. ..............

DANG! ......Apex-Apex ......

When you say you live near and commute around "Walnut" are you speaking of Walnut Creek, California .. ??

If so, where do you find a uphill freeway .. ??

If you are in commuter traffic, where do you find the space to even try to pass .. ??

Now, if you commute up to Mt Diablo ...... you could use more passing power .....

I lived in Danville for a couple of years and commuted to Richmond, back in the 70's ...... but, maybe things have changed ......



humfrz

[wbradley]

I you make a point of not upshifting to the next higher gear when you are around 3000 RPMs you won't need to downshift so often.

For example at say 55 MPH stay in 5th, or at 40 MPH stay in 4th.

This car likes to cruise ABOVE 3000 RPMs. You will ocassionaly find the engine bogs under excessive load if you, like many others, get right up to the highest gear possible at a given speed and end up cruising at 2500RPMs therabouts. If you watch the instantaneous mileage gauge you will find the car seems to maximize efficiency cruising at ~3200 revs.

If you need to climb a hill or accelerate you will zip past the torque dip and if you REALLY need power cruise above 4000 revs, where you are almost out of the dip.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by mdm

I understand now how this forum got to 2.5 million posts. People just keep saying/discussing the same few things over and over again

Not only do the same things come up but in this case I am pretty sure that Richard knew EXACTLY how this thread would go down. He is not some noob asking the same old question and has participated in this type of conversation before.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by totopo

Not a fan of lightning lap. Amateur drivers. Especially would not trust the numbers from different years.

They're better than the vast majority of us. These guys drive tracks on a regular basis. I wouldn't compare times across years, but I think it's more than fair to compare within the year on a general basis.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

They're better than the vast majority of us. These guys drive tracks on a regular basis. I wouldn't compare times across years, but I think it's more than fair to compare within the year on a general basis.

Just think how fast they could go if they used a light weight drive shaft!

[Jegan_V]

An 86 is horrible to daily...I didn't realize my prior 2 jobs were classified as severe torture. I should've demanded way more hazard pay because I drove way too many fleet cars which are much slower than a 86, some severely so.

[arrow34]

Originally Posted by Jegan_V

An 86 is horrible to daily...I didn't realize my prior 2 jobs were classified as severe torture. I should've demanded way more hazard pay because I drove way too many fleet cars which are much slower than a 86, some severely so.

I feel the same.. Coming from a tc that was pretty peppy but still on the slower side. I guess I don't notice that this doesn't have a lot of hp. But the handling makes up for it all. It is my daily and I just can't see it as anything but a joy.