Miata Mailing List: September 1993, Message #95
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   From: steve@laforge.ksc.nasa.gov (Steve Davis)
Subject: Vacation, tan, top, crash, oil/filter/washer, and Shell Gas
   Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1993 18:14:49 -0400


Greetings!

  I recently returned from an 11-day vacation to the Atlanta area.  Overall, it  
was very relaxing.  Some observations:

  -- There are WAY to many red Miatas in Atlanta; it's no wonder that no one
     waves there anymore.  (I gave up after about a day.)

  -- Of all the Miatas I saw while there, very few had their tops down.  I
     make excuses for myself when it's 100 degrees and 100% humidity in
     Florida, but come on!  The weather was beautiful in Hotlanta!

  -- I should have put sunscreen on my arms as well as my face.  My arms got
     tanned, but unevenly since my left sleeve was usually blown up to my
     shoulder by the wind.  Looked really funny at the beach when I got back
     to Fla.

  I did manage to get away for a day with a friend and cruise up to the  
mountains-- Helen and Clarkesville (sp?) area.  That's the first time I had  
driven the Miata on the kind of roads for which it was built (and bought).   
What an experience!

  I also managed to pick up my second door ding while I was in Atlanta.   
AAARRGH!!!

========

As for other topics that have graced this list while I was away:

THE GREAT TOP UP/DOWN DEBATE:  Right now, I drive to work in the morning with  
the top up.  Why?  Two reasons:  First, we Floridians have passed from the  
season in which one can count on a short thundershower every afternoon into one  
in which it rains at completely random times of the day for no apparent reason.    
Second, it's love bug season... need I say more?  :-)  Otherwise, the top comes  
down... sweat and humidity be damned.  And to the person worried about wearing  
out his top by excessive raising and lowering, GET A LIFE!!!  :-)  Seriously--  
weather permitting, my top goes down even for a trip to the proverbial corner  
store.  I didn't sell my nice practical sedan to start worrying about things  
like that.

OIL/FILTER CHANGES:  I agree that the filter is pretty hard to get to.  Someone  
mentioned that his CRX/Si was worse; but if it's anything like my last car ('91  
Civic DX sedan), it's tolerable as long as you can get under the car.  I change  
my oil at a self service garage complete with floor lifts, so that's not a  
problem for me.  Even so, the Miata's filter is a pain.  One positive point:   
the oil apparently drains out of the filter when the engine is shut off, so it  
doesn't spill oil all over the place when you remove it.  Guess where the  
excess oil drained to when you removed my Civic's filter?  Onto the CV joint  
boot!

  Oh yeah... someone asked about the oil drain plug washer gaskets.  My dealer  
gives them away with the purchase of an oil filter.  Yes, you should change  
these each time you remove and retighten the drain plug.

  Also, someone posted about bad gas, and inquired about Formula Shell regular  
unleaded.  Well, I ran a tank of this on my return from Atlanta, with no  
problems.  (I usually buy Chevron or Mobil.)

  One final sad note:  My parents recently returned from a vacation to Maine  
and Quebec.  Mom, who was concerned that I bought a little red sports car (hey,  
at least I didn't get a motorcycle!), looked out the window of their  
bed-and-breakfast room, into the parking area, to see a blue Miata that had  
been rear-ended.  Later, at breakfast, they met the couple who owned it.   
Apparently, they had been driving along a two-lane, one-way scenic route; the  
understanding was that one could stop in the right lane to look around or take  
pictures.  Well, they did so, but escaped the notice of a pickup driver a few  
car lengths behind, who plowed into their rear bumper at 45 m.p.h.  Ouch.  At  
any rate, the occupants escaped unharmed; I'm not sure how the car fared.

Regards,

Steve
'93 Classic Red "A"
Cape Canaveral, FL