Well it's that time of year when the sun is out more and the temperature is heating up. It's time for top down driving. I started up the Miata for the first time after a six month hiatus. Last year when I did this it didn't go too smoothly: 1. I let the battery go totally dead so I needed a new one. 2. The oil had pretty much completely drained out of the engine and into the pan, so when I started the car in clanked clattered and stutered and probably caused some damage. This year I actually disconnected the battery so it wasn't drained at all and to prevent the horrible start up, I pulled the Fuel Injection Relay starving the engine of gas. Then I cranked the car running the engine on the starter only and gently circulating oil up into the engine. I could watch the oil pressure go up on the gauge, when it looked like it wasn't going any higher, I put the relay back and started the car on the first crank no problem. It ran a little rough at first but then smoothed right out and it didn't make any horrible clattering sounds. When I park the car this year I have to remember to add fuel stabiliser, I think that will help with the rough idle.
The insurance isn't on the car yet so I could only drive it a bit around the garage. It really is the yang to the Mercedes' yin. The 300 is serene, quiet, and isolates you from all the messy dirty parts, while the Miata is loud, rauchus and you can feel and hear every single dirty part spinning and whirring. It got my blood pumping just moving it from one spot to the other; what a car. Driving the Miata is a different kind of relaxed and both are great.
