The suspension is completely stock. There haven’t been any new parts or lifts kits—nothing like that. The new 27-inch Falken tires give a bit more ground clearance as well as offering more grip on the loose trail surface, but those new rollers are the most significant mods.
“I was wishing for AWD in a few spots,” Gat said on Facebook, replying to a comment. That’s sort of selling the Miata short, though. It did make it up to the Mount Hayden Backcountry Lodge, which is along Richmond Trail, about halfway up Imogene Pass Road outside of Telluride. “Turns out that despite all the Jeepers’ complaints, this part of the trail had two really tough obstacles for me, and the rest was just a little finesse,” Gat explained.
While you probably wouldn’t want to go on something like Black Bear Pass without four-wheel drive, this is—thankfully—lower risk. Considering the suspension is completely unmodified and all it took was some new wheels and tires to get this Miata up a trailhead, it’s an impressive achievement. “It’s been kinda funny how much attention it got,” Gat told us. “My plan was just to drive it as far as it was relatively safe to go.” Turns out, that’s further than anyone expected.
It looks like there’s plenty more on the way for the Miata, too. Gat apparently has some bigger plans for the future, and one comment reads, “Joel, Joel, Joel. I’ve known him for a long, long time. He’s a nut. You should hear the eventual plans for that car… He really wants a set of Fox (shocks) for that car. We’re just waiting for a shipment.”
That’d really be something.
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