Tech
Tech Column
A Trip Down Memory Lane by Ron Carmichael On a recent visit to Hendrick Stevenson Mazda for service, I ran across an article in the Mazda USA publication Driver’s Side. It was a reprint of an article from the September 1989 Issue of Car and Driver magazine entitled “Mazda MX-5 Miata, the Return of the…
Read MoreMiata Tire Tech Column
In March of 2017 I was complaining about a vibration between 45 and 55 mph. I had put the wheels on the balancing machine during tech day and discovered that two of the wheels appeared to be out of round of slightly bent. I proceeded to have them straightened, by Stevenson Mazda (thanks Howard) –…
Read MoreChanging Car Batteries
Changing a car battery is simple, right? Not so fast. How to change the car battery in your Miata. by Ron Carmichael I think we have all installed a new car battery during our lifetimes. It was a simple operation which called for unhooking the battery terminals, removing the old battery, installing a new one…
Read MoreTech Column – by Ken Schiess
I spent a few minutes chatting with Mike at National Speed today. I was wondering if they do Miatas and what one might do to improve performance without forsaking drivability (quiet, fuel mileage etc). He was amazingly patient explaining to me that tuning, while not cheap, was one answer to my question. For models NC…
Read MoreTech Column – by Ken Schiess
As we approach Tech Day it seemed appropriate to write about some of the challenges one could encounter with the NC model. First is the top. As the NC’s age, (the newest now 5 years old and the oldest 15) tops begin to reach end of life, especially if they have been exposed to the…
Read MoreTech Column by Ken Schiess
In March of 2017, I was complaining about a vibration between 45 and 55 mph. I had put the wheels on the balancing machine during tech day and discovered that two of the wheels appeared to be out of round or slightly bent. I proceeded to have them straightened by Stevenson Mazda (thanks Howard) –…
Read MoreTech Column – Ken Schiess
In March of 2017 I was complaining about a vibration between 45 and 55 mph. I had put the wheels on the balancing machine during tech day and discovered that two of the wheels appeared to be out of round or slightly bent. I proceeded to have them straightened, by Stevenson Mazda (thanks Howard) –…
Read MoreThe Mazda Miata Gets a Carbon Fiber Removable Hardtop by Justin T. Westbrook
Taken from 12/18 Jalopnick News: The 2019 Mazda Miata was, of course, one of the best cars we drove this year. To celebrate this illustrious win, Mazda showed off a new carbon fiber removable hardtop at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. Just kidding, Mazda doesn’t care about us. But they do care about choices, and…
Read MoreTech Column – Paul Reinmann
Saturday Feb 4 Tech Day at Stevenson Miata had the highest member attendance There were 18 Miatas piloted by 19 members, one was a co-pilot. Everyone was able to get their requested maintenance done while several had successful troubleshooting performed. I await feedback on these performance enhancements and will post in a later Ragtop Tales issue. We…
Read MoreTech Column by Paul Reinmann
My top replacement, 3X and counting… My rag top has now been replaced three times due to rips at the pull straps that help fold the top when putting it down. That means I now have the third new replacement top. I thought all was well when (Play the music from Jaws) I found this…
Read More