why am i now contemplating an olive drab/ flat black hood E30.. i have to rattlecan part of the car this weekend to make it through the winter anyway...
why am i now contemplating an olive drab/ flat black hood E30.. i have to rattlecan part of the car this weekend to make it through the winter anyway...
I think the trend is obvious, dark wheels with machined lip, nice meaty tires, rolled/flared fenders FTW, front air damn or splitter, and a roll bar makes you a far more manly Miata.
Just wait until you see Elvis in his new outfit.
Dark wheels, machined lip? Check. 17x7.5 front, 17x8.5 rear.
Meaty tires? Well, it'll have 255s in the rear eventually. So check.
Rolled/flared fenders? See tire size. Rolled. Check.
Front air dam? Probably not much more than the (nicely hidden) stock piece, it's a Real World car.
Roll bar? Check.
Modified LS engine with a bark that says "I want to eat something made in Italy"? Check. I cannot wait to try driving it with the new heads and cam.
The recipe seems to be flares or widebody, huge meats, and a hardtop or full cage. Personally, I'm a big fan of the shorty headlights as well for manning up a miata, but many might think them to be a bit too 'uncle bens'...
Here's a few tough miatas from my pix collection:
Don't ask me where to get the black car's flares. I think they were a Japanese product that is no longer available?
And the blue one? Might be a Flyin' Miata kit?:
http://www.flyinmiata.com/news/widebody.php
If you're going to put a roll bar in a Miata, don't forget your FIA-spec high-density padding...none of that soft stuff (like in the last two pictures)
I'd rather not whack my dome on an unprotected bar.
Tom Heath wrote: I found this pic while I was still Miata shopping. No lip necessary, but it's also been photoshopped green...
Does anybody know what wheels those are?
I like this car. (from the readers rides here at GRM)
billy3esq wrote:Tom Heath wrote: I found this pic while I was still Miata shopping. No lip necessary, but it's also been photoshopped green...Does anybody know what wheels those are?
They look to be Watanabe's....but I'm not sure.
I will echo function over form.
I believe the red beast is the most manly miata I have seen up close.
1900 lbs. ~230 horse
http://www.lightweightmiata.com/beast/
The flares are still avaliable they are Tuckin 99's forwarning though, they are very expensive.
The wheels on the green car and the black car are both Watanabes the ones on the green car look like 14's and the ones on the black car are 15x8's or 9's if I remember correctly. The black car is my all time favorite looking miata.
I've never been a fan of the teeth on miatas though, doesn't matter how bad ass the miata actually is the teeth look retarded.
Chris Rummel
I never get this thing about Miatas being "girly".
You know, compared to my teeny race-Spridget, Miatas are sort of like Giant Track Bullies! 
FYI: My DD is an "00 Miata with Hard Dog
DILYSI Dave wrote: I don't love the look, but I just got in line for a pair of the 15 x 9's. I'm going to have to use spacers and a sawzall to make them fit the Civic, but they are the cheapest 15 x wide / 4 x100 option out there.
P275/35ZR15 Hoosiers?
JFX001 wrote:billy3esq wrote:They look to be Watanabe's....but I'm not sure.Tom Heath wrote: I found this pic ...Does anybody know what wheels those are?
That's what I suspected, but I can't find a source for Watanabes with a Miata-friendly width/offset. Anybody have any ideas? I'm having wheel envy. 
mapper wrote:DILYSI Dave wrote: I don't love the look, but I just got in line for a pair of the 15 x 9's. I'm going to have to use spacers and a sawzall to make them fit the Civic, but they are the cheapest 15 x wide / 4 x100 option out there.P275/35ZR15 Hoosiers?
yep
billy3esq wrote:JFX001 wrote:That's what I suspected, but I can't find a source for Watanabes with a Miata-friendly width/offset. Anybody have any ideas? I'm having wheel envy.billy3esq wrote:They look to be Watanabe's....but I'm not sure.Tom Heath wrote: I found this pic ...Does anybody know what wheels those are?
Try:
http://www.takumiproject.com/RS-WATANABE2/products.htm
-John
Tuckin'99 Flares = $775
http://rev9autosport.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21_27&products_id=115
gawd they look good, tho....
Tuckin'99 Flares = $775
http://rev9autosport.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21_27&products_id=115
gawd they look good, tho....
Wow, three pages and you all have missed the correct answer. I guess it just shows that, mention "Miata porn" and you all start drooling and gibbering and forget the original question.
The right answer is, drive the snot out of it and piss on anyone who says "girlie car." Worrying about what others think of how your car looks is the definition of "poseur." Learn to heal and toe downshift, autocross and practice your lines, learn to slide the car (in a safe environment) and you will have plenty of ammunition to anyone who looks sideways at your car.
Even a stock 1.6 liter Miata is like a small shark in around-town traffic. Focus on the fact that you have one of the best engineered sports cars ever made that drives better than most anything on the road.
Folks who turn up their nose at "girlie cars" are compensating.
David
problemaddict wrote: Tuckin'99 Flares = $775
That looks mind-blowing though.
We gotta figure out how to find headlights like the ones on that black miata.
They look like stock NB lights, that the owner fabbed a housing for.
And I totally agree on driving the snot out of your car being the best way to avoid any "girly" stigma.
problemaddict wrote: The recipe seems to be flares or widebody, huge meats, and a hardtop or full cage. Personally, I'm a big fan of the shorty headlights as well for manning up a miata, but many might think them to be a bit too 'uncle bens'... Here's a few tough miatas from my pix collection:I've seen the black one in person before. He said that it steering is very heavy, and it wasn't much fun on an autocross course. Probably due to the offset of the wheels. Joey
Salanis wrote: I don't give much respect to cars that are trying too hard to look good. If you're spending a bunch of time trying to give your car "that look" you're not spending time trying to give your car "the performance". When a car has the tires perfectly flush with the rolled fenders, that's what they're spending their time on, not making the car run better.
One of the few times I think I've ever disagreed with any thing you ever posted on this site.
I'm sick of this Form > Function crap.
There is absolutely no reason a car can't look AND perform well. There is nothing wrong with having a car that looks good and drives well.
The blue car is Lester Seal's "Spyder". Build pics. It's not the body kit from Flyin' Miata, I believe it started as the Mazda Competition one. Same as on the Track Dog. There's some unique engineering in that car.
The fixed lights - as seen on the black drifter car, which is far more interesting underneath than on the surface - are a real case of form over function. If you want light output, get some real lights for your 7" popups. If you want to look cool but lose lighting capability, get the fixed units. Scratch that, if you want to look as if you've put aftermarket parts on your car but lose lighting capability, get the fixed units.
For rollbar padding, you can get nicely formed stuff from Hard Dog that fits their bars really well. It's SFI padding and you can get fitted vinyl or leather covers for it. A great way to get your form AND your function.
You don't need to go with a widebody or big flares to make a Miata look good. Stuffing the wheel wells full of rubber (and all you need for that is a 205/50-15 on a 15x7 +30 offset), adding a roll bar and setting the stance to about 12.5" F, 13" rear does the job. It might not get you into the Miata Porn category of sidewall-shaving wheel wells, but in person it'll have a purposeful look.
Keith wrote: You don't need to go with a widebody or big flares to make a Miata look good. Stuffing the wheel wells full of rubber (and all you need for that is a 205/50-15 on a 15x7 +30 offset), adding a roll bar and setting the stance to about 12.5" F, 13" rear does the job. It might not get you into the Miata Porn category of sidewall-shaving wheel wells, but in person it'll have a purposeful look.
Was mine:
You'll need to log in to post.
