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August 2, 2021

Off-Roading A Mazda MX-5 RF Is Proof That Miata Is Always The Answer


Living proof that the Miata is always the answer—even if you want to go on an off-road trail. Posted on his Facebook page, Joel Gat brought a close-to-stock MX-5 RF up a rather interesting trek up to Mount Hayden Backcountry Lodge in Ouray in Colorado, USA.

Located about 11,100 feet (3,383 meters) above sea level, getting there, according to the lodge’s website, requires an, in their words, “off-road ready high clearance 4WD vehicle (not SUV or AWD).” So, what did Joel decide to do? Well, he figured the MX-5 RF would be the perfect choice to bring up there.


In order to make it up, Joel had to do minor modifications to his Machine Gray MX-5 RF. He removed the rocker panels to give him additional ground clearance and swapped the stock rims for Sparco ones and Falken all-terrain tires. The last thing he did? He put in WeatherTech floor mats, because no one likes muddy interiors. And, that’s it.

Naturally, taking the MX-5 RF through the trail required some careful planning, made even more difficult because Joel didn’t have a spotter. In the end, he always had to make sure to have good momentum (rear-wheel drive machines don’t have as much grip as four-wheel drive ones), and he was careful not to slam into any rocks too.


Despite the challenges, he did make up the lodge and we are pretty sure it got everyone’s head scratching as to how he made it up using a small rear-wheel drive sportscar.

All in all, Joel was quite surprised with the MX-5’s abilities so he’s actually planning to make an off-road-centric build by adding some lift using Fox shocks.

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