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Thread: Better late than never

  1. #61
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    I ordered new 15x8 Advanti Storm S1 wheels in the "titanium mirror" finish, wrapped in Continental ExtremeContact Sport 205/50ZR15 tires. This is my first time ordering from Tire Rack and I had a mixed experience..

    The good:
    1. Price - They had the best overall price I could find on a wheel and tire set. I could have saved a few bucks on each item by ordering the wheels from one source, tires from another, but then getting them mounted and balanced locally would have made up the difference, plus there's the additional leg work involved. Ordering them already mounted is just quicker. I found other websites with free shipping, but they made up the difference with higher prices. (Admittedly, Tire Rack only beat out two other websites by $20. But hey, $20 is $20!)
    2. Availability - They had everything in stock and ready to go.
    3. Quick shipping - I should have my wheels and tires in 2-3 days.
    4. Included items/services - Mounting, balancing, valve stems, adapter rings, lug nuts (which I really don't need), road hazard certificates*
    5. Balancing - They use a Hunter Road Force machine, so they SHOULD be balanced well.


    The bad:
    1. Fitment BS - I ordered my wheel and tire package and then got a call from a "fitment specialist." He told me that they would not mount 205/50-15s on 8" wheels. "It's too dangerous!" I couldn't really talk with the guy at the time, so I called back later and got another "specialist." He told me they couldn't mount them for street use, but if I "just say they are for track use" they would go ahead. I said, "yeah, sure, whatever," and he happily stated that they would fulfill the order, and that they would add a "track use only" statement to my receipt. So basically, they told me to agree to some BS statement that I had already told them wasn't true, or they would refuse to fill my order. While I think their refusal to mount this size tire is stupid, I really lost respect for them when they talked me through helping them violate their own policy. Either have the spine to stick to your policy, or acknowledge that its a stupid policy and drop it. Putting your customers through stupid crap like this is a great way to make sure they won't buy from you again.
    2. Road hazard certificates - I assume these are now worthless, since I can only drive my Miata with these tires on the track, according the Tire Rack's Fitment Police. :dunno:
    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:53 PM.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

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  3. #62
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    Since new wheels are on the way, I figured I better get off my butt and cut the fenders. So, I ventured out onto the garage today.

    First, I had to take the new body kit off. While I was at it, I replaced the last few self tapping screws that I used with rivnuts. Then, I marked the fenders where I wanted to cut them.





    Then it was time to get out the angle grinder and start cutting. I discovered that I don't have the steadiest hand when it comes to this, lol. Luckily, and scuffs or uneven edges will be hidden under the flares.





    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:54 PM.
    - Rex

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  5. #63
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    The front fenders are pretty easy: just cut and the file the edges.

    The rears are more complicated. Since the fenders are a double-wall arrangement, you have to cut both walls and then bond them together. I've seen a lot of videos on welding them together, but I don't have a welder. So, I used another method I saw online combined with some advice I got from the forum. First, I cut the inner wall a little bit shorter than the outer. I used a mallet to hammer the edge of the inner fender up to meet the out fender. Then, I used the mallet to bend the outer fender over the edge of the inner fender. The result looks like some really aggressively (and badly) rolled fenders. To seal it up, I used panel bond to glue the two edges together and close any voids.





    I didn't cut the rear bumper at all, as I'm not sure if that's necessary. Once I get the new wheels and tires on, I'll see if I need to. I'd prefer to leave the bumper alone so that I don't lose the connection point between the bumper and the body.

    I still need to get some kind of paint or undercoating to seal the edges of the cuts and any places I accidentally removed paint.
    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:54 PM.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

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  7. #64
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    The other project I worked on today was removing the 15mm wheel spacers the PO installed. Of course, 3 of the nuts refused to budge and I ended up rounding off the edges. My set of bolt extractors only goes up to 16mm and I need a 17mm extractor. So, I'll have to stop by Harbor Freight tomorrow when I go to work and pick one up. That, of course, means that my project will have to be put on hold for a couple of days. The new wheels and tires should arrive tomorrow, so I'll just have to ogle them off the car until I get some more garage time.
    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:55 PM.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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  9. #65
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    New shoes!!!



    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:55 PM.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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  11. #66
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Rudy with Tire Rack is the ONLY person you want to deal with for any setup on a miata.

    Meant to ask you about your tire/wheel choice previously but why this setup(15×8 +25 with 205/50/15)? With a stock bodied miata(na/nb) I completely get it but you are going to have to use some THICK spacers to get the setup flush with the widebody, correct?

    I ran 15x8 +25 with 225's on Warbird and it filled the fender wells but stock metal minus the fender lips being rolled. Seems like a shame not to fill all that fender area with some wide wheels/tires.
    Last edited by Greasemonkey2000; 06-14-2018 at 08:08 PM.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
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    Warhammer (06-16-2018)

  13. #67
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    Yeah, wish I would have known to deal with one person in particular.

    Yes, I'm going to be using spacers to get the wheels out where I want them. I just really like the look of these wheels. I did a lot of reading on spacers vs 0 offset wheels. What I came up with is that there really isn't a functional difference in wheels that have this offset already or achieving the same offset using spacers. I didn't go with 10" wide wheels because I don't have a V8 or huge boost to overcome that much rubber on the road. I'm not really looking to get the wheels flush, just to have them fill the wheel wells.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

  14. #68
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    Well, damn... Turns out that not buggering up the wheel studs is a moot point. When the PO installed the 15mm spacers, he cut the wheel studs WAY too short for me to reuse them. So I just ordered all new wheel studs, front and rear. (Of course, none of the local auto parts shops had more than 1 or 2 in stock.) Hopefully, I'll have them by my next couple of days off on Tuesday and Wednesday. At least this means that if I end up having to cut those stuck nuts off I'll already have the replacement studs ready to go.
    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:56 PM.
    - Rex

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    My build thread

  15. #69
    Admin / Pit Boss / Miataholic Phatmiata's Avatar
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    Im interested to see how this turns out since I also will be running some 15x8 wheels and flares, I have to get my wheels refinished yet, and not sure if I want to tackle cutting the fenders myself though, id be scared id mess it up.

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  17. #70
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    To be honest, cutting the fenders was intimidating at first. I just reasoned that I was already past the point of no return when I drilled all those holes in the fenders to mount the flares. Besides, the cut edges of the fenders are hidden up under the flares anyway, so less-than-perfect cuts aren't visible.
    - Rex

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  19. #71
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone Paul B's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phatmiata View Post
    Im interested to see how this turns out since I also will be running some 15x8 wheels and flares, I have to get my wheels refinished yet, and not sure if I want to tackle cutting the fenders myself though, id be scared id mess it up.
    Definitley nerve wracking while cutting but like it was said, once there are holes, theres no going back.

    And its all hidden under new panels anyway so it doesn't have to be perfect. Cut it up!!

    Flares with 15x8s???


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Warhammer (06-16-2018)

  21. #72
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    A quick test fit on the front and rear wheels I was able to get the spacers off of. Just on there finger tight. I think they will look good when the flares are back on.



    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 05:56 PM.
    - Rex

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    My build thread

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  23. #73
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    New shoes installed... mostly...

    I got all 16 of the chopped wheels studs out and replaced them with original length studs. The PO had cut them REALLY short! I installed the 25mm spacers and wheels up front, and I'm very happy with the result. In the rear, I think the 32mm spacers are just a tad too narrow.It doesn't look bad, just not quite what I want. I think I need about another 1/4 inch for them to look just right. I already have some 38mm spacers on the way that should be here by Friday.




    I went from the OEM 16" to 15" wheels with this mod. They definitely don't fill the wheel wells as nicely. With all the fender gap, it's obvious that the next major mod I need t plan is a set of coilovers.

    I was going to install my new stripes, but the shop messed up my order. Instead of cutting out the white area between the red and black stripes, they left white in that location. I test installed a short piece of the strip, but the white of the vinyl is just way too different from the white paint on the car. I'll have to wait for the shop to make me another set of stripes. The pics give an idea of how its going to look, though.


    Last edited by Warhammer; 06-20-2018 at 06:03 PM.
    - Rex

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  25. #74
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    Thought I'd do a few posts to show where it all started. Here goes...
    - Rex

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    My build thread

  26. #75
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    Here she is as I bought her. 2003 LS with 93K miles. The paint is white, but the PO wrapped it in matte green vinyl. It already has a Hard Dog Hardcore Double Diagonal roll bar in it. First steps are to give it a solid once-over to make sure that everything is mechanically sound, replace the completely shredded top, fix the leak in the AC and get some new rear tires.

    I've always been a motorcycle rider, but my son has autism and I can't be sure he will hold on in back of me on a ride. So, right now, taking a motorcycle ride means that I have to leave him at home, and I hate missing out on father-son time. The Miata is going to be my new motorcycle that he can enjoy, too! I've taken him out for 4 or 5 rides, and he's already addicted to it! He doesn't want to go anywhere unless we take the "Roger Rabbit car." (That's what he calls it because it's so small and has no roof!)

    I know I'm going to have fun fixing up and modding this car. I'm a tinkerer by nature, so I'm sure that it will be like my motorcycle and pretty much be a constant work in progress that will never be quite done.

    On the trailer the night I picked it up:




    One happy kid!





    Hey, the car matches my bike!

    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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