Miata + E30 Bottlecaps + RA1s = WOW

I had my brand new RA-1s mounted on my brand used bottlecaps, and today I put them on the Miata. I paid more for the tires than I did for the car.

But, WOW! Even brand new at full depth these have amazing stick. I have never put stickier than street touring rubber on a Miata. These are tremendous fun. I can't wait to heat cycle them a few times and take them to our Miata club autocross on Saturday.

Why is that I love bottlecaps so much on anything except an E30?

Lugnut wrote: Why is that I love bottlecaps so much on anything except an E30?

I don't know why, but I have to agree with you. They look like E36M3 on an E30, and good on a lot of other things.

pics or it didn't happen

mtn wrote:

Lugnut wrote: Why is that I love bottlecaps so much on anything except an E30?

I don't know why, but I have to agree with you. They look like E36M3 on an E30, and good on a lot of other things.

Familiarity.

Aw crap, sorry, I have pics.

E30's are 4X100?

maroon92 wrote: E30's are 4X100?

Except for the M3, yeah.

You wire-brushed your hood!?!!

Yep, bottlecaps are 4x100.

I have them on my rallycross car.

tough as nails.

nails? I've had the opposite experience. The bbs's on the other hand, never bent one of those.

Heck, last year when we bent (actually, ripped the wheels off, the lugs and a small bit of steel remained) the wheels off a $400 Neon that we were rallycrossing, we had one of the guys that hadn't made it stop at a Spec E30 racers house and grab some street tires that had come off his car. Not only were they both 4X100, but they even shared bore size. They lasted through the weekend, though the car died as the weekend came to an end.

i love bottlecaps on everything including e30s. even on an integra they looked awesome. my favorite was e30 bottlecaps on a 2002tii. those wheels are like catnip

Carson wrote: You wire-brushed your hood!?!! Yep, bottlecaps are 4x100. I have them on my rallycross car. tough as nails.

Thanks for the pictures! I have that exact color Protege. I know what I want to replace the 17's I have on it with now.

Interesting hood. Does that produce any glare on sunny days?

More pics of the hood!! STAT!!!

Yes, more of this hood!

Tasty bottlecaps, shame the 14" tire herd is thinning.

+1 for more hood pics.

Looks like a faux engine-turned effect. Like the Bandit's dashboard.

Sorry, attending the 2010 Bandit Run last night affected me deeply.

I can't actually take credit for producing the effect on the hood... Marty! did that. I dig it, though. I'll snap a few more pics once I get to work.

No glare in the sun. It's not super-reflective, and not much of the hood can shine back at you when you're sitting in the car.

Tom, there was a Miata with a polished hood at the Mitty last year from what I recall.

Bolted my E30 Challenge car wheels and Hoosiers on my '99 for the last AutoX last season.

Definitely a different animal with race rubber.

Same wheels/tires on the E30:

Keith wrote: Tom, there was a Miata with a polished hood at the Mitty last year from what I recall.

I think I remember that too. I've seen them before and I like the aesthetics of polished metal (machined/brushed finishes too.) but I'm not sure if I could ever let go of Miss High Octane.

Back on topic- R compound tires are an awful lot of fun. Try Hoosiers next.

Hmm... so 4x100 Miata wheels will bolt onto an E30? Bore size is the same? Offset?

I'm mulling over wheel options since, as mentioned, 14" tire options are limited...

Unfortunately, I've already discovered that MINI wheels won't fit... besides the additional offset, the MINI hub is too small.

The Miata wheels have a 54.1mm bore and the E30 has a 57.1mm

Yeah unfortunately you can't go the other way unless you have the center bored out.