New tires will make a huge difference as will replacing the plastic (nylon) endlinks on your antisway bars both front and rear.
Made a world of difference on my friends 2000 C5 roadster.

2001 and newer c5s have the metal endlinks.

 

I had a 99 then a 07 Miata. They were the most fun for the $ that there is. On a short track they will post times very close to a Vette.

I also had a RX7, Honda S2000 and a Viper along with three Corvettes. The Miata is still my favorite.

 

Some of the posts in here remind me of this guy

 

Runflats have a much stiffer sidewall than non RF's. That coupled with the age of the rubber will decrease traction significantly. My car had the original GY RF's when I got it. They were so noisy I could hardly hear the radio and traction was terrible. I replace them with non-RF's and it was like driving a completely different car. That being said, I'm not sure you will beat a Miata in the twisties but you will have a much better chance.

 

That is hilarious!

 

 

The Corvette is long and wide with a big motor and big tires. In that respect it is more muscle car than sports car. Its also reasonably light and has good balance and weight distribution, like a sports car.

Comparing a Miata and a Corvette is sort of apples and oranges. The Miata is actually going to be faster in certain situations than the Vette but so what? The Vette is more comfortable and all that low end torque is very seductive.

Here's a question: is the Vette closer to the Camaro/Mustang/Callenger or the Miata/Boxster/Lotus?

 

Just my .02, but based on what I see at the track, closer to a Miata, Boxter and Lotus.

 

Just in case everybody was wondering which I liked better, I'm selling the Miata, not the Vette! It is way more powerful and comfortable. Looking forward to being able to take it on some vacations with my wife, and carry luggage too (no I'm not talking about my wife, real luggage).

 

Well I recommend that you keep the Miata for that tight, winding road to the drug store. You'll have your cake and eat it, too.

 

I think the Vette is closer to a 911/M3/Viper/F355-360 .. just my thoughts

This Article compares the Lotus Esprit, Ferrari F355, Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Viper GT-S , Acura NSX, and a Corvette C5 FRC.. All pull comparable skipad numbers and offer the same sort or power and comfort. Mario Andretti was the driver behind the tests..

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Media/magazines/rt9906.htm

 

Comparing skid pad, accelleration, I agree. But I think the Ferrari, Porsche and NSX offer a different type of driving experience. As do the Boxster, Lotus and Miata.

I think a lot of it come down to a few things. How important is steering feel? The Vette has very little, its pretty numb and its one of the hardest things to get right. I've driven 2011 and they still don't have it right. I'm putting C6 Z51 sways on mine next week and I expect the steering response to be better but no steering "feel".

I also pulled the console and bezel as I'm putting in a new radio. Cheap plastic saves weight but its still just cheap plastic. You really don't see that on the Ferrari or the Porsche. But then they cost a lot more. In that respect (quality of interior parts) the Vette is like the Miata. I wouldn't even say its as good or better than a 370Z.

Vettes always seem to be a little behind in car tech as relates to things like blue tooth, iphone/android adapters, etc.

So in terms of quality of materials in the interior, the Vette is more muscle car. But underneath, the Vette is quite well built and capable of taking a lot of abuse. Suspension is very solid, engine is very good. Electricals are reliable, AC is powerful. All traditional American car virtues.

All in all its the Corvette is a heck of a car, let down in just a few areas. Unfortunately, those areas jump right out at you. The virtues take a little time to appreciate.

 

I spent a lot of money on suspension mods only to find a smaller diameter steering wheel completely transformed the feel of the car.
Apart from the fact that the 380mm OEM wheel results in a very large effective steering ratio, the overall weight of the wheel adds to the numbness.

A smaller diameter wheel will still require the same amount of rotation for a given tire angle, but the actual distance traveled by your arms will be significantly lower resulting in a perceived decreased steering ratio. Additionally, while the torque required to turn the wheel will be the same, the force required to generate that torque will now be greater due to the fact that it will be acting over a smaller radius. This makes the steering heavier(which IMO is good).

The other benefit of replacing the OEM wheel is that the weight and moment of inertia of the new steering wheel will be much lower. This effect is analogous to putting lighter wheels and tires on a car. Less mass results in less inertia which results in faster acceleration. Without getting too technical, if you consider that the rotational analog of Force = mass x acceleration is torque = rotational mass(inertia) x rotational acceleration, then by decreasing the inertia, you effectively reduce the torque required to accelerate the steering wheel.

What's interesting to note here is that the driver is not the only source of force/torque acting on the steering wheel. The front wheels of the car transfer the forces generated by the car changing direction into the steering wheel. When you remove mass from the steering wheel, you are effectively removing a damper which absorbs the energy generated by the forces acting on the front wheels. By removing this damper, more energy is then transferred into your arms resulting in a more direct connection to the front wheels.

 

Sadly, the trend today is bigger/heavier wheels which are like drilled rotors - not only are they just bling but they detract from performance, not add to it. Also, better steering feel is most likely easier to attain if the whole front end of the car is lighter - certainly the case with the Boxster/Cayman/911s. The MX5 is lighter all around, so that can only help matters.

 

Not at all. There are two options for diffs for v8 swap crowd. Ford 8" and the one out of the Cadillac CTS. The CTS isn't as strong, but fits better. Both fit without lifting the rear end with mounting brackets supplied by the v8 swap kit manufacturers. The LS series swaps are by far the best to do (aluminum block vs. iron). Using a T56 tranny even puts the gear shifter through the same hole in the body/center console as stock. With the motor off (obviously) you literally can't tell that the car isn't stock. No bumps in the hood, no modifications to the interior, nothing. It adds ~100-150lbs to the car, the balance is completely unaffected, and you get an amazingly fun hooligan friendly car! If only there were CARB approved headers that would fit in the Miata, I'd do it in a heartbeat. And no, the car won't break, or twist itself apart everytime you get on it. Miata's are pretty robust little cars and handle the 400hp amazingly well. You'll never win at the drag strip, but who cares, it's not why you'd do it.

 

So the extra tranny weight offsets the added engine weight? That means you have 400 HP in a 2650 lb car with 50/50 balance - now THAT would be tons of fun (accelerating from a roll)!

 

 

My son and I put a 350 in a Porsche 924 Turbo, which completely changed the feel of the car without changing the weight split. I can only image how a v8 in the Miata would change it's attitude. I even told my son that if I ran across a Miata with a blown motor and the right price, I'd consider trying to do the swap. I imagine then I could get the back end to come out sometime, huh? By the way, I can't post pictures on the site; I think this is due to me being a new member. So how long does it take before the moderators allow new members to post pictures?

 

I didn't see a response to your question, never mix tires either by brand, RF or non-RF, or age. I highly suggest you figure out if you want to run RF's or not and you replace the entire set (4). If you decide to run RF's, the GY Supercars are not bad tires, I have run them at the track. If money is no object, Michelin Pilot Sport SP2 ZP's are also very good at the track. I also like the idea of running the lesser expensive Firestones if you are not going to the track or drive aggressively, then running specific track tires and wheels to try to save some money. These cars are too powerful to drive aggressively on the street anyway. I think the Firestones also come in RF and non-RF's.

 

I learned the "Lighter" lesson back in High school wiht my Giant 1977 Chevy 4x4. Stuck in the mud in the middle of a creek bed and a little surabru Brat came right behind me in my own tracks basicly and passed and waved!

Lesson learned Lighter has advantages but when I got out of the Mudd I was in A big Fire breathing V-8 and he was, well, still a little brat! HA....

No hating on Miata's at all, everything has its place!!