Rolling your own

Sometimes, when you can't get a hook-up, you just have to roll your own.

Fenders, that is. ;)

I bought this fender rolling tool to gently roll back the lip of my rear fenders so they don't rub my new, wider tires.   I rolled them just a bit, not all the way back.  Think it will be OK now.

It's not so tough to do.  Just takes nerves of steel....and a heat gun.  

If anyone wants to borrow this tool, just let me know.

Miata MX-5 Enkei PF01 Wheels and BFGoodrich Rival S Tires

After the last rally, I really was impressed with the performance of the other cars.  Some were running the Rival tires and really going fast!

So I went on TireRack and ordered a new set of wheels with these tires mounted and balanced.  I had to go up in size a little - to 245/40 R17.  I was running 235/40 R17 Yokohama S Drives.   The 235's were 0.6% bigger than stock (205/45 R17) diameter, the 245's are 1.9% bigger.  Total track is widened by about 1 inch.

Enkei PF01 Wheels 17x8 Black with Silver Machined Lip

BFGoodrich Rival S Tires

In two days, UPS brought me a nice package:

A bit wider contact patch:

with the 50mm offset, the tires still don't stick out past the fenders:

I do like the look.  I also like the handling.  It's like it's on rails.

Miata MX-5 Cobalt Shock Tower

I was fretting last weekend with not being able to get to and adjust my shock's dampening knob.  Note below is the stock shock tower bar - it essentially has a complete cover over the top of the mount.  Plus the stock part is not very pretty.

So Good-Win Racing to the rescue.  I ordered their Cobalt brace.  It's all stainless and one-piece instead of the 3 pieces of the stock bar.  It should offer a bit more rigidity as well as give open access to my shock adjusters.   Came in a big, but light box:

Completely wrapped in bubble wrap, and packed in paper.

Came with a small pack of hardware (nuts and washers) and the brace was cosmetically perfect.

Here it is installed.   It fit, but it was tight.  I had to strong arm it a bit to get it to fit down over the existing bolts.  With the supercharger, it adds some complication to the install.

The old parts/left over bits.  Not much too it.

It just barely clears the supercharger inlet, but it does clear.

I'll be keeping an eye on these hoses. The large one rests on the smooth surface of the brace.

Now I can get to my shock adjustment knobs.

It does seem to be a bit stiffer and you notice it in the steering response.  With a bit softer setting on the shocks, I'm very happy with how it now rides.