[DeeZ NuttS]

I drive my 2SS 1LE every day. I am so glad I sprung for all the extras. Makes you fall in love with the car that much more. I use the sunroof and cooled seats almost every time I get in it now. The only issue for me is space, anything over 6 grocery bags in the trunk and your screwed, but then again that's why I have a girlfriend who owns an SUV

[JAM32]

What about long term costs of wear and tare on things other that tires. Like electronic diff, mag ride suspension?

I'm currently considering trading my 1ss for a 1le. But i worry that the cool performance package stuff that mentioned above is not ment to last long, and will be a fortune to fix. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[R3ctivision]

My 1LE is my only car, but I don't daily mine. I drive to a park & ride and take the bus

I could daily the car, but psychologically, I want most of its mileage to be spent on twisties and track driving. Otherwise, I feel money pouring through my fingers like sand by burning tires and fuel just cruising (or sitting) on the highway in traffic. These tires aren't that expensive for how good they are ($1.1k+tax for a set or so), but I run track alignment all summer (-3.4deg front camber, -1.8deg rear camber) and I can already see some inside tire wear on my fronts after just 2500 miles on them (including two track days).

Logically, daily driving this car 12 miles each day to work would still be way cheaper than owning an entire second car for that purpose, unless it's a total beater. But I want a nice ND Miata as my daily, because I'm irrational.

[R3ctivision]

Originally Posted by JAM32

What about long term costs of wear and tare on things other that tires. Like electronic diff, mag ride suspension?

I'm currently considering trading my 1ss for a 1le. But i worry that the cool performance package stuff that mentioned above is not ment to last long, and will be a fortune to fix. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Well, the 1LE has a lot of extra things that will need regular inspection, especially if you track your car. There are oil cooler lines that run to the transmission and diff, plus the actual coolers in the front. All that stuff needs to be checked regularly for leaks. And you'll want to monitor all the bushings if you drive the car hard.

I'm sure the mag ride dampers will be expensive to replace when they are due. I doubt the eLSD will present any significant maintenance worries over a normal LSD (regular gear oil changes are probably enough, except for maybe the cooler lines being flushed every 50K miles..). But no one ever said performance cars were cheap to run!

In any case, I bet the regular wear items like fuel, brakes (front rotors are $370 each), and tires will cost a lot more in the long run than replacing magride dampers and such.

[Move_Over]

Originally Posted by R3ctivision

My 1LE is my only car, but I don't daily mine. I drive to a park & ride and take the bus

I could daily the car, but psychologically, I want most of its mileage to be spent on twisties and track driving. Otherwise, I feel money pouring through my fingers like sand by burning tires and fuel just cruising (or sitting) on the highway in traffic. These tires aren't that expensive for how good they are ($1.1k+tax for a set or so), but I run track alignment all summer (-3.4deg front camber, -1.8deg rear camber) and I can already see some inside tire wear on my fronts after just 2500 miles on them (including two track days).

Logically, daily driving this car 12 miles each day to work would still be way cheaper than owning an entire second car for that purpose, unless it's a total beater. But I want a nice ND Miata as my daily, because I'm irrational.

-3.4? Moroso plates? Trying to achieve at least 3 here.

[parkersextonn]

I daily drive my 2SS 1LE. I have absolutely no complaints & would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking at one. Or if you really wanna pony up, grab you a ZL1. Life is too short to not drive what you pay for!

[Ebbsnflows]

I know that I'm getting old and cranky (46 yrs old) when I cringe at the thought of daily-driving my SS. I generally drive it work 2-3 days per month, and it's a nice treat. My daughter loves being dropped of at school in it. But I think driving it every day, as my only means of transportation, would make me hate the car (visibility, ingress/egress, cramped interior, rock chips, premium fuel costs, manual trans in traffic, etc)

...but again, this is more of testament to my personality and the stage I'm at in life, than the car itself. In my 20's and 30's, many of my daily drivers were more race-car than street-car (with rollcages, monster cams that shook the car, exhausts that set off car alarms at idle, aftermarket clutches that required the leg strength of an Olympic powerlifter, etc). The SS is practically a Rolls Royce by those standards and is FAR more compliant and practical. But I've become too soft and spoiled LOL.

I remember my dad (in his early 50's at the time) thought I was insane for DD'ing some of those cars. 15-20 Yrs later, I've become my dad.

[Yendor]

If 46 is old you have other issues. I'm 45 and while I don't drive it daily, I drive it as much as I can. In fact, it saw rain and light hail today. *gasp* I don't drive it in the winter here in MN though.

Then again I was wearing my spandex on my bike ride last night and I didn't GAF about it.

You're only as old as you feel.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by Yendor

If 46 is old you have other issues. I'm 45 and while I don't drive it daily, I drive it as much as I can. In fact, it saw rain and light hail today. *gasp* I don't drive it in the winter here in MN though.

Then again I was wearing my spandex on my bike ride last night and I didn't GAF about it.

You're only as old as you feel.

I'm 45 and I daily drive mine. Just ordered the ZL1 1LE rear solid bushing kit for it as well.

the 1LE is just an amazing cruiser. I am coming out of an M3 and the awesome thing about the 1LE is not only will it kill the M3 on a track, but it makes a nicer long distance cruiser as well.

Commute traffic sucks no matter the car you are driving, so I call that a wash.

The SS 1LE is the best Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde car I have ever owned. It is relaxed when you want it to be and can crank it up to 11 on the track or your favorite back roads in a flash.

[Yendor]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

I'm 45 and I daily drive mine. Just ordered the ZL1 1LE rear solid bushing kit for it as well.

the 1LE is just an amazing cruiser. I am coming out of an M3 and the awesome thing about the 1LE is not only will it kill the M3 on a track, but it makes a nicer long distance cruiser as well.

Commute traffic sucks no matter the car you are driving, so I call that a wash.

The SS 1LE is the best Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde car I have ever owned. It is relaxed when you want it to be and can crank it up to 11 on the track or your favorite back roads in a flash.

Or to get that a-hole off our bumper. Just a stab at the pedal and a comfortable following distance occurs.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by Yendor

Or to get that a-hole off our bumper. Just a stab at the pedal and a comfortable following distance occurs.

I don't know about that though.

While our cars are pretty quick, most newer cars on the road have at least 300HP and in traffic that extra 100-150HP does you no good with keeping people off your ass. Even if you do put a little distance, as soon as things slow, they are right back there.

I used to react to that often in the M3, but I am finding that now in the 1LE that I just ignore it and enjoy the sounds and feel of the car and forget about the assholes.

I enjoy my time behind the wheel of the 1LE so much more than the M3 and just get lost in that.

[aa406079]

Originally Posted by Boost Creep

This seems to be my only hurdle living in the NE, having to get a set of wheels and tires to fit and function in the extreme cold we get here in the winter.
Don't really want to get a second set of wheels for the cold.

i went with PA4's for winter 285/30R19 with 19" wheels ( I also ditched the 20" for summer wheels)

I've driven thru snowstorms , passing SUV's who were like "WTF?... A Camaro?!"

[dangjohnny]

I went to the dealership to get a specific camaro(2ss, 6spd, with a sunroof) to be my daily driver. Ended up getting that plus 1le package. Great car as a daily.

[SpazmXylam]

Originally Posted by Rafal

1LE is my only car. My only problem is to get some winter shoes and there are barely any good options. Car is very comfortable and has no issues driving daily.

My solution was some BMW 5 series take offs. Yup, they fit over the SS 1LE sized brakes. The 245/45R18 size offers a wide range of tire choices at a reasonable price. They almost make the car look like a turbo or V6 variant.


Otherwise id say excellent DD potential. "Tour" mode feels just like any regular car. Upper mid 20's for MPG cruising at 70. Deceptively large trunk (small opening though). A convenient shelf in the back that has seat belts just in case someone needs to sit there.... Apple Car Play/Android Auto makes the normal infotainment/nav irrelevant not that you even need a radio when the loud pedal is so glorious.



I don't store much stuff in cars that I own so the lack of cubby space doesn't even enter the picture (or just refer to previous comment about the rear shelf with seat belts). Visibility is substandard.