Mazda seems to pay close attention to balancing their cars which would allow the entire car to drift rather than pivot. My RX8 was on a rail around tight corners but I was still a happy guy the day I sold that pile.

 

Respectfully, it is a misconception that a lighter car can achieve a faster speed on a single corner (all other factors being equal). However the lighter car can be faster in a series of curves because it has less momentum. Here are some data from Road and Track

.............2006 Miata........2003 Corvette............2011 Porsche Panamera

wt............2510 lbs..............3230 lbs.................4635 lbs

skidpad.......0.86g...............0.89g. ........................0.96g

slalom.........67.7 mph............62.4 mph..................69.1mph

This shows that the Corvette generates more cornering force than the Miata which equals a higher speed in any single bend. But with less grip the Miata can slalom quicker due lighter weight. However, with ultra sticky tires generating nearly 1g cornering force, the Panamera can slalom even quicker despite it's greater weight.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. I can honestly say I love the Vette (yellow convertible), have always wanted one, and now feel very blessed to finally own one. I am going to sell the Miata and while I may miss it, hey, I have replaced it with a much nicer car. For more information, the temperature was about 50 degrees, I was maintaining a steady speed thru the turn and it just came loose. I really think it has something to do with the tires but like a previous guy said, I thought the worn down tires should handle better than new ones, unless they are just getting hard. I will probably continue to wear down these tires as the Miata won't spin the wheels anywhere, whereas the Corvette can spin anytime in first or second.... what a hoot. I figured with a post like Miata vs. Corvette it would spark some interest. The Miata is a great car, but I realize the Corvette would blow it away due to the power advantage. Like many have said, they are two different cars. Even if non runflats would handle better, not sure I want to worry about having a flat with no spare.

 

Every "performance" concept in automobiles was derived to combat the laws of physics and Newton. The laws are what they are, and as designers, the engineers develop ideas and materials to counter-act the effects of objects in motion. Mankind has made incredible means to "cheat" these laws and to enact amazing feats of high-performance, but the laws remain the limiting (and guiding) forces regardless.

RANT OVER The Miata is a wonderful car, doing things that the Corvette cannot. Obviously the opposite is also true. The higher the technology, the greater the performance.....and cost is byproduct of any success. Weight vs. Power

Here's to greater speeds, lateral accelerations and safety.........

 

Interesting. But those sticky tires must exact a price on the straights. We know that the most efficient set of wheels are made of steel and very thin (RR). Can we determine the price paid on the straights, or the extra H.P. needed to maintain the same speed, created by those sticky tires? Just wondering.

 

And if you want an even quicker vehicle for even tighter corners, get a Go Kart.

 

A circus bear in a toy car thats got me crying Got to get a new plate of food.....oh man what a visual.

 

I would agree that directly comparing the two is kinda pointless, other than the fact that they're both front engine, rear wheel drive sports cars. They're both fun as hell to drive. I've never seen anyone (assuming they could comfortably find a good driving position in the car) drive a Miata down a canyon/twisty road at speed and not get out of the car with a huge smile on their face. Of course they have to be willing to set aside their preconceptions first...

I have and will keep both because they challenge you in different ways. Also, I can get the Miata "up on it's toes" and extract far more of it's limits far more often than I can in the Vette. Approaching the Vette's limits on public roads is shear stupidity. Of course, on track the consequences of losing it are quite higher as well vs. the Miata because the Miata just can't generate the straightline speeds that the Vette can. The Miata forces you to practice maintaining momentum. Big horsepower cars tend to let you hide your mistakes by relying on the power out of the turn, vs. maximizing your entry into and through it.

 

I too have the Z51 Swaybars and the C6 Z06 shocks from a vendor on this forum. Those together with my Firestone Firehawk Indy wide oval tires makes a real nice combination that lets me feel lots more confident when I feel like punching through a curve or two.

The combination almost totally eliminates lean in a curve as well as front end dive in aggressive breaking. Big difference!

I look at the setup not just creating a better handling car but also as improved safety equipment for accident avoidance in an emergency situation.

(At least that's how I sold the Mod to Her)

 

Now you're talkin'. When I was younger I had a race kart (not a shifter kart) which taught me quite alot about driving and handling in general. I learned about drifting and slidng sideways around turns which was especially useful when I used to do pro-rallying. I still apply things from then to today.

 

someone called a miata a "ricer" car?

shame on you. Your mullett needs a trim.

 

I too owned a Miata for years as my DD. it took a concerned effort on my part to get that lil car to even give up a bit of slip in corners. Light weight and a great handling car.
It took some time to learn how to get the most out of my Z06 (lowered about an inch) in corner speeds without overwhelming the rear tires, but alas, I can now take turns at or above the same entry and certainly exit speeds of the Miata.
That car just needs more Ummmph from the factory to solve the biggest complaint I had with it, and the reason I eventually sold it.

 

That would be and I'm about as far from a mullett as I can get. I owned a Mazda until late last year and have owned 2 others in the past. It wasn't meant to a slap. I own 2 Toyatas and a Dodge right now.

Bottom line, as has previously been stated, it's apples and oranges for a plethora of reasons to compare the 2 vehicles to each other. Each has strengths and weaknesses in different areas and they aren't in the same class. It's like putting a Sprint Cup car on a dirt oval and trying to race it against a sprint car and wondering why the bigger car can do 200mph on a 2 mile track but it can't keep up with the sprinter.

 

 

I own a '90Miata and a'01 Vette. I know if you pick the wrong tire for the Miata you can turn it into a piece of s$$it handling wise.

 

My younger son lived through this. His '94 Miata was purchased with tires that nobody ever heard of and he learned within a week that in a bit of rain they gripped as though they were made of PVC. He lost it at a speed my '99 Vette would have laughed at, and bent some underpinnings and a wheel to the tune of $1200. Thanks goodness he wasn't hurt.

Tires are gone, fixed car handles like magic. I have to agree Mazda has really figured the handling thing out (my older son successfully autocrossed an RX8 for a few years. There's a lot to like in those cars except for the dopey rotary engine...)

 

Nice to see others see that the Miata is a great car, and have or do own them along with the Corvette. As for C51stvette, you own a 90 Miata and 01 Vette; I own a 91 Miata and a 00 Vette; pretty close huh? I am not taking anything away from the Corvette. I absolutely love it, have always admired them, and it is currently my pride and joy (not the Miata). As JWalton said, "The Miata forces you to practice maintaining momentum. Big horsepower cars tend to let you hide your mistakes by relying on the power out of the turn, vs. maximizing your entry into and through it." I couldn't agree more and it has probably made me a better driver. And as Mr. Hyde stated, “That car just needs more Ummmph from the factory to solve the biggest complaint I had with it” and I definitely agree with this.

By the way, has anybody ever driven here in WV on Rt. 60 around Hawks Nest? That is a cool piece of road. It has some 15 mph turns (switchbacks) that are wide for the tractor/trailers, and not as much traffic these days since most people travel on the interstate now. Lots of room to maneuver with some room for error, and it has uphill passing lanes for the trucks; if you ever get a chance, drive it. Not very long (maybe 5 miles?) but hey, you can turn around and do it again like I have done with the Miata and on a motorcycle. The Miata takes the turns great and then as you come out of the turn going up a hill …...well, you know you always want more power. I know I'll miss my little white go cart if I sell it but, hey, now I've got a “car”. Will be cool to see how the Vette does on Rt. 60 if I'm not too afraid of it now. One last thing, I'm 56 years old, and I drove about 150 miles to get the Vette and as I drove it back I was nervous almost the whole way thinking.... man this is a Vette, and it's mine!!!! What a feeling. But, obviously I have some learning to do. Point well taken Mr. Bill.

 

I had a '95 Miata with Sebring Supercharger (solved the lack of power issue) about 10 years ago- great little car and a surprise to those who thought it was just an old man in a regular Miata.

Had 7 Vettes of C3 and C4 vintage, and an S2000 a few years back which I sold when I bought the 2000 Vert I have now. All fun cars, and all have to be driven differently depending on HP, torque, suspension, tires and of course the learning curve for each. On my C5 I just changed the suspension to the Z06 shocks and sway bars mostly to help cornering with the added HP from the tuning and exhaust changes I did. So as all have pretty much said in these posts, just learning the car's abilities and changing them thru modifications if that's what you want can set up the car just how you want it.

I enjoyed each of these cars when I had them but I can relate to the "circus bear in a toy car" comment- that's why I really had to sell the Miata and the S2000- I'm just to tall for them and fit much better in a Vette. doesn't make them bad cars however, quite the opposite.

I was gonna say there are no bad cars, just bad drivers, but then I thought of some other cars I owned in the last 45 + years,.............. yeah there are bad cars too.....

 

I had a 1996 Miata that I had koni adjustable shocks, new sways and springs so it cornered like it was on rails. It was so tight that I riped the metal in the frame where the sway bays connected making a corner. Power wise, my C5 is all over the miata but my vette feels a bit large in some types of corners but it has the power to pull itself thru and handle about anything.

As others have indicated, the miata is a lot of fun in the turns and was a fun ride to own.

 

Just removed my OEM tires from my 2004. Still had 80% of the thread left on them but it was like driving on wet roads all the time and If I gave it a good amount of throttle it was like being on ice. Ditch those OEM tires FAST or an accident is in your future.