James's 99 Miata

[EclipseTurbno93]

So I think I've pretty much decided to forget painting the wheels and just leave them black, so heres the revised pictures.

[ScottyB]

medium blue top/blue mirrors. would be pretty badass if you could do the mirrors in orange though for a Gulf theme.

[EclipseTurbno93]

Like so?

[*insertusernamehere*]

Dark purple roof and mirrors. Done.

And holy shit your paint skills are bomb.

[Jake]

I like the Gulf livery-ish. Do 'dat.

[SlimKlim]

What if you just dipped the whole car in a Gulf theme? :dunno:

[JPolen01]

I'm sorry, but the mismatched top and car scheme is terrible. I cringe when I see miatas at the track with different colored tops even though I know they couldn't care less about appearance most of the time.

[EclipseTurbno93]

I'm sorry, but the mismatched top and car scheme is terrible. I cringe when I see miatas at the track with different colored tops even though I know they couldn't care less about appearance most of the time.

It's not my favorite thing either but the paint on the hardtop is all sorts of scratched/chipped/oxidized (not to mention not the same color as the car anyway) and I can't afford to actually paint it, so I'm trying to make the best of the situation.

I could try to spray paint or dip it black but I guarantee it would look like shit unfortunately... In any case it's just a temporary fix for this winter until I have funds to paint it the proper color

[EclipseTurbno93]

So back in the burg, had to find a spot for the hardtop, so here's my new room decoration

[*insertusernamehere*]

Hahaha that's fantastic!

[EclipseTurbno93]

Just hanging out with all the other MMers who have 8 am classes....

[Jewels]

Just hanging out with all the other MMers who have 8 am classes....

I saw you yesterday I think. MM roadster license plate sticks out.

[rherold9]

Just hanging out with all the other MMers who have 8 am classes....

Dude that's the most cars I've ever seen in MM

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[Senor_Taylor]

... and then there was 5

[EclipseTurbno93]

So I think my cat is toast, I've cleared the code three times now and its still coming back.

Think its worth it to replace the sensor or just start looking for a new cat? Also, replace the whole mid-pipe with the cat or have it cut out and welded back in?

[Senor_Taylor]

Always sensor first. They usually go before the cat will. Happened to me twice on two different cars.

Po420?

[EclipseTurbno93]

Always sensor first. They usually go before the cat will. Happened to me twice on two different cars.

Po420?

That's the one. Turned on a day after doing the timing belt / water pump. I couldn't get it to start for the better part of 20 minutes so I was thinking maybe some fuel got down to the cat from that and ruined it

[EclipseTurbno93]

Super late post, but I been busy and engineering is hard

I thought the autocross weekend was a great success this year and I had an absolute blast! Chasing Taylor's Miata up 33 on that Saturday was by far the most fun I'd had on a cruise and the car took everything in stride. It's nice to have a car that feels just as comfortable at redline as it does while idling. We also hit reddish knob that day and took advantage of the photo op:





It's pretty spectacular how slow the car got at that altitude.

The next day was the autocross! I invited my good friend Max up from VTech to co-drive / humiliate me with his superior skills. Unsurprisingly, the Miata was FAR more manageable than the old GS ever was.. Even when it was sliding I never really felt like I wasn't in control of the car. I learned that there are quite a few things I need to work on with some seat time, mainly being to relax more behind the wheel. I found myself very focused at what I was doing RIGHT NOW rather than what was coming up in the course. For my last run I decided to really slow down and focus on controlling the car and trying to take into consideration all the advice being thrown at me from my more experienced compatriots. Even though it was not my fastest time, it was a clean run and by FAR the happiest I had been with my performance that day.






All in all, I was extremely happy with how the car performed and much driver modding is needed for me to catch up to what the car can do!

[Senor_Taylor]

Look for the hidden Taylor in that first picture.

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[EclipseTurbno93]

Got these in the mail :mrgreen:


Took them down on Saturday to be mounted on the steelies I picked up over the summer. I had them chuck the all season with a hole in the sidewall and essentially giving Taylor the rest of the beat tires that were on the wheels.

So I throw the newly mounted set back into my living room and pretty much plan not to touch them again until I get back from break... That at least was the plan until Matt rolls in. "Lets put them on the car now. Wait, no lets repaint them first. Don't do black, the car's already black. How about pink. No lets do grey."

I'm not sure if living with another car guy is just a pain or awesome. :roll:

Next thing I know I'm rolling in a Protege to Home Depot to get paint with my girlfriend in tow. We get back, crack open some beers and get to work prepping cleaning and painting and get it knocked out in a few drunken hours.



We probably let them dry for, umm... maybe an hour and a half, then slapped them on. To my surprise, I'm actually quite happy with the way they turned out, especially in the sunlight. I might clean them up and clear coat them at some point, but honestly they're just winter wheels and I don't care that much as long as they don't look awful. Kind of almost black, but with a bit of sheen to it.





The two NASA's in my life: :thumbup:



Thanks to Matt for making me get off my lazy bum :roll: