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How bad of an idea would it be to run Star Specs through the winter? I'm in Central Texas, so you can probably count the number of days where it'll be below freezing on two hands, but it'll probably get down to the 50s for good stretches. I've got a track day Dec 9th, my car currently needs an alignment and has lovely Chinese tires on it. In an ideal world I'd just get new tires/wheels and swap on bad days, but I don't want to shell out the $1300 for a new set of 6ULs along with Star Specs to fit it. I am considering just getting a set of them now for my stock 14" wheels, and then when those need replacing I'll get the new wheels/tires, but I see people saying that the Star Specs are like skating under 40. I just want to avoid doing a track day on lovely tires, seems like a waste.
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Nov 6, 2012 21:44
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Korwen posted:How bad of an idea would it be to run Star Specs through the winter? I'm in Central Texas, so you can probably count the number of days where it'll be below freezing on two hands, but it'll probably get down to the 50s for good stretches. Is it your only car or something? If not, just get star specs. As for having good/bad rubber on track, you're in a miata. It's not like it's going to be particularly fast either way. But if it's your first track day (?) I'd almost say don't get good rubber in case you flat spot them or something. No idea what your experience level is though.
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Nov 6, 2012 21:52
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opengl128 posted:I love that color and those wheels, but don't envy you for having to clean them Are those wheels that sought-after? I've been trying to sell a set on Craigslist, and I can't GIVE them away.
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Nov 6, 2012 21:56
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DreamOn13 posted:Is it your only car or something? If not, just get star specs. As for having good/bad rubber on track, you're in a miata. It's not like it's going to be particularly fast either way. But if it's your first track day (?) I'd almost say don't get good rubber in case you flat spot them or something. No idea what your experience level is though. It's my daily driver, it'll be my first track day. As I said eventually I will want to get a separate set of wheels/tires for the track, although now I'm wondering if it's just better to run this track day on lovely tires, and save up so I can have the new wheels/tires by the time I do another. That's probably for the best anyways.
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Nov 6, 2012 22:23
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ursa_minor posted:Are those wheels that sought-after? I've been trying to sell a set on Craigslist, and I can't GIVE them away. Wow really? People usually ask at least $500 for them on miata.net classifieds opengl fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Nov 6, 2012 |
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Nov 6, 2012 22:36
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The wheels or the center caps?
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Nov 6, 2012 22:39
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Haha so true
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Nov 6, 2012 22:43
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opengl128 posted:Wow really? People usually ask at least $500 for them on miata.net classifieds Ha, that's what I hear - but I've gotten none such luck. This was my ad: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/3389403662.html So far I've gotten these amazingly weird, broken English responses that only a MethWolf or an iPhone gone rouge could have written.
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Nov 6, 2012 23:33
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That's because yours are off a 93le and 14". 95M wheels are 15" and are more desirable for some reason. I know they are super light, but can't be any lighter than the 14". If you were on the east coast I'd snag those off you in a heartbeat.
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Nov 7, 2012 02:32
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opengl128 posted:I love that color and those wheels, but don't envy you for having to clean them They really aren't that bad. The hole are just the right size for a finger. The HP+s make it a pain though. Cleaned them 4 days ago and they really need it again. I can't wait to move to nice clean quiet pads (probably mazda pads) and then just run race pads on track days.
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Nov 7, 2012 06:03
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Wow. I had honda guys offer me way more than that for my 95M wheels, but I'm in oklahoma and the prices here are crazy... The center caps are all over ebay, but not cheap: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BBS-RZ-SILV...3aed02f&vxp=mtr http://www.ebay.com/itm/MAZDA-MIATA-BBS-WHEEL-CENTER-CAP-/190737690876?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c68da30fc&vxp=mtr edit: and cleaning them is super easy if you don't have dusty pads, I only drive mine on the street so I just slapped auto zone ceramics on and they don't dust at all...
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Nov 7, 2012 20:11
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While we are on the topic of BBSs, does anyone know where I can pick up some of the OEM dust caps for the wheels? One of them fell off the other day and Id like to make them match if I can.
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Nov 7, 2012 23:19
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Just goto Autozone.
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Nov 7, 2012 23:30
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Brother was bored so he detailed half the Miata, not done yet but it has cleaned up pretty good so far. After - Before  We'll toss some vinyl on it and use it as a advertisement for his detailing.
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Nov 8, 2012 00:06
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How do you get paint that is that badly oxidized to shine again?
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Nov 8, 2012 02:00
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Hasn't been buffed or anything yet but from his facebook "On this car I gave it a thorough washing using Dawn dish soap to strip the old wax off, followed by clay-bar, then began polishing. I finished it off with Griot's Best Of Show wax." The real test will be what it looks like in a few weeks. My old E30 got the same treatment and looked great until it got wet then it went back to faded and ugly. This will get likely get paint at some point so he is going to experiment with a few techniques on it when he has time.
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Nov 8, 2012 02:08
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NitroSpazzz posted:Brother was bored so he detailed half the Miata, not done yet but it has cleaned up pretty good so far. drat good job, looks better than when i bought it. still kind of sad i sold it but glad to see it get a little love and not waste away in my driveway.
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Nov 8, 2012 05:26
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Sadi posted:How do you get paint that is that badly oxidized to shine again? I think it helps that all (IIRC) NA's have single stage paint.
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Nov 8, 2012 05:58
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opengl128 posted:I think it helps that all (IIRC) NA's have single stage paint. edit: I feel worse about knowing that. edit2: Single stage paint ended in 2000, not with the NA. destructo fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Nov 8, 2012 |
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Nov 8, 2012 06:01
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I have a problem that hopefully someone here can help me out with! Background: In July 2010 I bought a 1996 Miata non-runner. The kid suspected it had spun a rod bearing. Pulled the engine, disassembled, confirmed that a rod bearing was spun. Had a knowledgeable friend look over the engine to see if anything else was obviously wrong. He didn't see anything, so we replaced the bearings and rebuilt it. Got it back together, spun a bearing again. Sold it as a project to a friend. Pulled engine, disassembled, had some pros look. Turns out that the crankshaft was bent. Got a new one. Put engine back together. Runs like a champ... ... except that it burns oil, very noticeably after engine braking. My friend did some research and from the symptoms he was experiencing, it sounded like the valves were the problem. New valves were about the cost of a rebuilt head, so he just bought a rebuilt head. We pulled the old head, put the new on. Fixed a few things while we were in there, but we're having the same symptoms. Read earlier this week that the PCV valve was another frequent culprit. They're cheap, so picked one up at the Mazda dealer. Got it installed today after work. Same symptoms. Symptom specifics: I have a place near me where I can coast for over a mile. When I coast the car in neutral for the mile, then shift into fifth and accelerate out, there's no noticeable smoke cloud behind me. If I roll down the hill in gear, then step on the gas at the end to accelerate out, huge smoke cloud. Folks behind me confirm that it smells like burning oil, and it's blue-ish. I tend not to engine brake much when I drive, but he engine brakes a lot and he's had it burn over a quart of oil on a fifty mile drive. This strikes me as excessive. Suggestions? Sadly, I have no idea whether it burned oil before I bought it, so I have no idea whether we introduced this problem or not. I thought we'd been over the block pretty well and that work was supervised by someone that knows what he's doing, but I'm running out of ideas after putting in the professionally rebuilt & tested head.
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Nov 8, 2012 07:13
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Do a compression test or leakdown if you can. Oil can only really get into the cylinders from 2 or 3 places. PVC (intake), valves, rings. You've checked 2 of the 3.
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Nov 8, 2012 14:34
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Yeah, vacuum can pull oil up past the rings too.
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Nov 8, 2012 14:48
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What is the oil consumption overall like? It could still be the valves. Just you wouldn't notice while normal driving since it gets burned off with the fuel.In gear down a hill means there's no spark to burn it all away, so it collects. That's my theory anyway.
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Nov 8, 2012 14:55
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Ziploc posted:What is the oil consumption overall like? It could still be the valves. Just you wouldn't notice while normal driving since it gets burned off with the fuel.In gear down a hill means there's no spark to burn it all away, so it collects. It doesn't seem too bad, but I will need to test more. Yesterday I checked the oil level, drove the car to work (forty miles), and then checked the oil level before I set off for home. It was essentially unchanged (maybe a tiny bit lower?). That's only forty miles of "data", but on his commute (fifty miles), he'd get the car to work and the dipstick would be bone dry. We're thinking that's the difference in driving style (minimal engine braking vs lots of engine braking). Obviously a better answer would be "it burns this amount over the course of a thousand miles". I don't really want to put a thousand miles on it (my feet are too big and often get stuck going from the dead pedal to the clutch), but I'll drive it a while more and see if I can't get a better answer for you.
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Nov 8, 2012 15:14
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I'm kind of curious why you guys just haven't pulled another motor and tried your luck with that. It's a gamble, sure; however replacing the crank is a bit more difficult than "I put NGK Blues and V coppers in today!  "
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Nov 8, 2012 16:19
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I need to go through the brakes on the Miata. Plan on new rotors, pads, lines fluid and lugs. I'm already replacing one caliper and trying to decide if I should just replace the other three while I'm in there or just rebuild them. I get a pretty good discount at O'reilly and I need to see what they charge.
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Nov 8, 2012 17:23
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Phone posted:I'm kind of curious why you guys just haven't pulled another motor and tried your luck with that. It's a gamble, sure; however replacing the crank is a bit more difficult than "I put NGK Blues and V coppers in today! Or just had the whole motor rebuilt by a pro, because who knows what else is wrong when you fix one problem of a non running engine, other poo poo tends to crop up. But yeah just replacing the motor is usually the easier and cheaper solution when you're dealing with opening up the bottom end.
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Nov 8, 2012 17:29
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$350 long blocks? What what?NitroSpazzz posted:I need to go through the brakes on the Miata. Plan on new rotors, pads, lines fluid and lugs. I'm already replacing one caliper and trying to decide if I should just replace the other three while I'm in there or just rebuild them. I don't understand the lugs... But if your calipers are working, who cares? You should only replace or rebuild a caliper if it has seized. If you want to be thorough, replace the front hubs and the rear bearings. (maybe go ARP studs)
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Nov 8, 2012 17:35
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Phone posted:I don't understand the lugs... But if your calipers are working, who cares? You should only replace or rebuild a caliper if it has seized. If you want to be thorough, replace the front hubs and the rear bearings. (maybe go ARP studs) Track wheels are wider than stock so while they fit I'd feel better with a little more thread showing, also one is missing and one has hosed threads. Once I sell off a bike or two and start putting this thing together would there be any interest in a project thread of slowly turning a stock Miata into a spec racer? Between that and the other stupid poo poo I do it might be entertaining.
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Nov 8, 2012 22:30
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Is this a decent option for a replacement top? http://www.amazon.com/Mazda-Miata-C...words=miata+top I don't envisage driving with the top up all that much, and as far as I know I don't have any rain rail issues. Not sure how to tell without taking the old one off. According to miata.net, even if the rail is bad there are Home Depot-style fixes that work well.
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Nov 8, 2012 22:35
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saint gerald posted:Is this a decent option for a replacement top? http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/20-exterior-sponsored-r-speed/61613-installed-ebay-159-top-today-come-inside-pic-walkthrough.html
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Nov 8, 2012 23:29
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What's the best way to replace the head unit & speakers on a '99 unlucky enough to have a Bose? I know that there's some crossovers in the doors and an amplifier in the dash that will need to go. Is it a gigantic pain to replace the Bose system with something else and I should just let a car audio installer do it? I'm not opposed to the work, but if I have to disassemble the whole dash I'd consider letting someone else do it.
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Nov 8, 2012 23:55
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Is the little light next to the glovebox supposed to come on for the drivers' side door? It only works for the passenger door. Broken door switch?
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Nov 9, 2012 00:01
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Is the little light next to the glovebox supposed to come on for the drivers' side door? It only works for the passenger door. Broken door switch?
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Nov 9, 2012 01:19
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destructo posted:I dunno about that model, but this is cheaper and has been tried. Even better. Much appreciated. I'll post some pics once it gets here.
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Nov 9, 2012 01:30
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Super bummed, missed out on a $500 hardtop w/ cart and dust cover, in nearly the right color (finding one to match my 97M would be unobtanium)
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Nov 10, 2012 00:52
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So here's the next problem. The way I see it, I have a few choices. -- Get a bra to cover it up. -- There's apparently a rattlecan GM color that's a close match for Miata red. I could pull the bumper cover, give it a couple of coats of that, a clearcoat or three, and bosh. Possibly. -- Pull the bumper, take it to Maaco, and pay a few hundred (?) to have it "professionally' done. -- I do have a medium-size compressor and a spray gun. Automotive paint seems to be very expensive, though, and I'm not confident in my spraying abilities. Maybe I could do better than a rattlecan job. Maybe not. What's the best cost-vs-results compromise? At the moment, I'm thinking rattlecans, and with the option of sticking a bra on it if I somehow manage to make it worse. I don't expect showroom results -- after all, I bought this because it drives well, not because it's pretty. All the same, I think there's scope for cheap improvement here.
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Nov 10, 2012 01:17
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opengl128 posted:Super bummed, missed out on a $500 hardtop w/ cart and dust cover, in nearly the right color (finding one to match my 97M would be unobtanium) The one in Greenville? I would have got it too if I had the funds. It sold in under 2 hours IIRC. On an unrelated note, does any one have advice for where to mount a gopro to a roll bar for autocross?
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Nov 10, 2012 01:25
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Sadi posted:The one in Greenville? I would have got it too if I had the funds. It sold in under 2 hours IIRC. Nope, PA. I'm pretty sure this one sold even faster, I have an email notification setup, and emailed a few minutes after it was listed, and it was already gone.
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Nov 10, 2012 06:46
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Sadi posted:On an unrelated note, does any one have advice for where to mount a gopro to a roll bar for autocross?
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Nov 10, 2012 07:27
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