New Pics with PIAA 2100XT installed

[JuanoTejano]

Just took some new pics with my fogs installed and I'm really happy with the way the pics turned out. The light from the fogs is pretty amazing too, I just recently got back from a trip to Indiana and I drove straight through the night so the increased light really helped. I have also noticed a decrease in people trying to hit me/not seeing me because I keep on all the time DRL style. Next week I'm getting in and installing a Monsterflow intake and some TSI's which should be fun. I'll also be getting a high flow grille that I'm going to try and get to fit with the fogs, does any one know whether this is possible? The fogs are mounted pretty far forward so I think I might as well give it a shot. Anyway here's the pics.

[Nexus Flux]

Looks pretty sweet

[black roadster]

Glad to see you got them installed OK.

The car looks sweet but you need to slam dat beeeotch!

I have a grill in my car with my lights.

It's one of the cheaper ones that Moss sells.

[JuanoTejano]

Alright thanks for the info black roadster. Are your lights mounted to the top of the grille opening of the side, I can't tell. Either way I think I should be able to get it to fit. And mine is going to be one of the even cheaper ones Moss sells, the highflow black one.

I know I need to drop it but I'm saving up to take care of all my suspension needs at once with some stance gr+ because I don't want to have to try and determine what spring, shock, top hat, bumpstop etc combo I should get so I think I will be happy with stance if I can ever get the money for em. Only drop thats gonna happen before then is when these 195/60/15 that came with my wheels tires wear out then I cand go back to 195/50/15. That's a pretty cheap 1 inch drop LOL.

[johnwag]

I know I need to drop it but I'm saving up to take care of all my suspension needs at once with some stance gr+ because I don't want to have to try and determine what spring, shock, top hat, bumpstop etc combo I should get so I think I will be happy with stance if I can ever get the money for em. Only drop thats gonna happen before then is when these 195/60/15 that came with my wheels tires wear out then I cand go back to 195/50/15. That's a pretty cheap 1 inch drop LOL.

Their are other coilover setups out there that are equal to or better than the stance gr+. That's a lot of money to throw down on just coilovers, though, none of the coilover setups are particularly cheap.

You might consider running a 205/50/15 tire. It's just a few more dollars for 10mm wider and more contact patch.

[JuanoTejano]

Yea I figure that any complete suspension setup including springs shocks bumpstops tophats and whatever else, that I would be happy with would cost about $800 with the hassle of finding out what combination those would work best for me. So I decided to go with coilovers which while I don't know the cheapest of them I assume they start at about a grand so I don't think that the extra 150 or 200 that I would spend to have ones that I have heard good things about and that I like everything I have seen about them is too much, it's the pillowball uppermounts that really sold me on the stance though. I am open to other complete coilover suggestions though if anyone wants to point me towards some information about a better choice than stance.

As for the tires, everywhere I have read on m.net and cr.net recomended against 205s on a 6.5 inch rim. I beleive the biggest knock against it was a sloppier feeling sidewall which is more important to me than a 10mm wider tire. If the general consensus is that it is advisible to run 205s on a 6.5 inch rim then I would reconsider.

[black roadster]

Alright thanks for the info black roadster. Are your lights mounted to the top of the grille opening of the side, I can't tell.

You're welcome. Mine are mounted at the top. The grill is just pressed in. It's supposed to mount to two existing bolts but they don't line up and it holds regardless.

[johnwag]

Yea I figure that any complete suspension setup including springs shocks bumpstops tophats and whatever else, that I would be happy with would cost about $800 with the hassle of finding out what combination those would work best for me. So I decided to go with coilovers which while I don't know the cheapest of them I assume they start at about a grand so I don't think that the extra 150 or 200 that I would spend to have ones that I have heard good things about and that I like everything I have seen about them is too much, it's the pillowball uppermounts that really sold me on the stance though. I am open to other complete coilover suggestions though if anyone wants to point me towards some information about a better choice than stance.

As for the tires, everywhere I have read on m.net and cr.net recommended against 205s on a 6.5 inch rim. I believe the biggest knock against it was a sloppier feeling sidewall which is more important to me than a 10mm wider tire. If the general consensus is that it is advisable to run 205s on a 6.5 inch rim then I would reconsider.

Definitely go the coilover route. I came to the same conclusion 2 years ago when I bought the tein flex and I do not regret it whatsoever. The stance appear to be in same price range as the flex and many guys around here have the flex. If you ever wanted to drive a car with flex or get a ride, myself or someone else would be willing to oblige.

Their are plenty of guys that have run 205 tires on a 6.5" wheel. Titus had 205 tires on his konig heliums for a very long time. He would have the best opinion on said combination. I'm sure there are others that might chime in as well.

[cone-cerned]

My ZX2 S/R came from the factory with 205/55R15 tires on 15x5.5" wheels. I have used 205/50R15's on the OEM wheels and have been pleased with the results.

Many of us are using 225/50R14 Kumho Ecsta V710's on our 14x6" or 14x5.5" OEM wheels running in E Stock in our Miatas. But, that is autocrossing, not on the street.

[JuanoTejano]

Thanks for the offer Johnwag, I would like to do that eventually, hopefully there will be a noob friendly meet and greet style meet soon because I tried to go one a while back and everybody was already inside eating I guess, and I didn't know anyone to look for so all I saw was like 6 miatas parked in the parking lot and no people. That makes my list of things to test out, somebody's coilover's and somebody with a Memory Fab S68 seat like Machismo.

And I'm officially convinced, 205s it is then, now does anyone want to try and convince me that I need to get a different tire than a General Exclaim UHP that will last more than 12,000 miles? I know I should get Toyo T1-R but, not to mention them costing twice as much, will they last?

[johnwag]

Thanks for the offer Johnwag, I would like to do that eventually, hopefully there will be a noob friendly meet and greet style meet soon because I tried to go one a while back and everybody was already inside eating I guess, and I didn't know anyone to look for so all I saw was like 6 miatas parked in the parking lot and no people. That makes my list of things to test out, somebody's coilover's and somebody with a Memory Fab S68 seat like Machismo.

And I'm officially convinced, 205s it is then, now does anyone want to try and convince me that I need to get a different tire than a General Exclaim UHP that will last more than 12,000 miles? I know I should get Toyo T1-R but, not to mention them costing twice as much, will they last?

You came to a wed. night meet? I'm sorry that you drove out and didn't meet up with us. I'll PM you my phone number and you can come out whenever.

In regards to the tires, don't replace them until it is necessary.

[JuanoTejano]

Yea I don't plan on replacing the tires until necessary, I think I have decided though that I don't need to spend $400 on toyos because to me atleast $250 UHPs and sways would be the greater improvement.

Thanks for the invite and I'll try and make it this Wednesday or if not then I'll be sure to make next week when I should have my TSIs and Monsterflow CAI in for more roadster cred. w00t!

[Miatamaniac92]

Needs more intercooler

Looks good though.

Chris

[JuanoTejano]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys, but your going to be the death of my wallet with all your "needs more coilover" and "needs more intercooler" talk

[creek]

Needs more opinions.

The only part of the car that touches the road is what? Where then should you spend your money? As Rouge is sure to come along here and say "If you can't drive it stock....you can't drive it modified." Work on the driver first.

[JuanoTejano]

Umm okay, not sure what your trying to say as I never made any claim regarding my driving. If anything I made claims about my photography more than anything else, I only posted these on here because I was really happy with how my pictures turned out and wanted to share them. As for how I spend my money, I don't think you can accurately judge how I'm doing that based on this thread alone. Your entitled to your opinions and I deserve whatever I get for making myself and my car public on the internet but I think you were a little hasty, derogatory, and condescending with your comments.

[wrxmr2eater]

First, read this http://forums.dfwmiata.com/showthread.php?t=1493

All he was pointing out was before you spend lots of money on upgrades, go get a feel for the car stock at an autocross or one of the Time Trial events like the one PCA is putting on. All you will want is a decent set of sticky street tires and you can have fun and improve your driving. Once you have done that then look at the car upgrades.

[CosmosMpower]

First, read this http://forums.dfwmiata.com/showthread.php?t=1493

All he was pointing out was before you spend lots of money on upgrades, go get a feel for the car stock at an autocross or one of the Time Trial events like the one PCA is putting on. All you will want is a decent set of sticky street tires and you can have fun and improve your driving. Once you have done that then look at the car upgrades.

I feel like we've already had this conversation somewhere before but I don't think the OP ever expressed any interest in racing. Some people just want to have fun on some hill country roads on the weekend with the top down at 75% of the handling limit and have confidence that their car will perform in those situations. You don't need skills to win a trophy at Nationals for that.

[JuanoTejano]

Yea I know to learn the cars limits and my own before getting over my head but I mean all I've done is get some better lights and a horn to improve my safety for a recent cross country trip. I can understand why you guys would want to make that suggestion to a new guy who looks like he's gonna get in over his head but I don't think I will be doing that. My only real upgrade in the near future is some sways in probably a month but everything else has/will be maintenance related, like I'm only getting the Monsterflow CAI because I need a new air filter any way and I got a good deal on this one so I figure might as well upgrade, and the coilovers won't happen for like a long time cause I don't have $1200. I'm sure I'll have "upgraded the driver" enough by then to handle not having to ride around on blown shocks.

To wrxmr2eater about the alligator skin I have read that and that's why I said I deserve whatever I get for making myself and car public but still didn't think his comments were justified in this case, and that he was just assuming I was another noob who thinks he is a driving god and is looking to make his car fast enough to kill himself, that's totally not my goal and I don't think I said anything that would lead somebody to believe that, so I just pointed that out so more people wouldn't assume that as well. I wasn't offended or looking to start a fight, I was just clarifying.

[creek]

Umm okay, not sure what your trying to say as I never made any claim regarding my driving. If anything I made claims about my photography more than anything else, I only posted these on here because I was really happy with how my pictures turned out and wanted to share them. As for how I spend my money, I don't think you can accurately judge how I'm doing that based on this thread alone. Your entitled to your opinions and I deserve whatever I get for making myself and my car public on the internet but I think you were a little hasty, derogatory, and condescending with your comments.

Sorry, that was not my intent at all. It was just my way of saying that the tires are the only part of the car that touch the ground and are where your performance dollars should be spent first. I like your lights (I've got 'em too), but I was talking about autocross or track days and meant that good tires would do more for the cars handling than any other change. As our driving improves we will be better able to tell what other equiptment investment we need to make. Sorry you took offense, that was certainly not my intention. I'm a noob myself and I was steered by the guys on the board to go for the tires first. I bought Azeni RT-615s and haven't found the cars limits yet. I haven't got a clue what to improve next (if anything) and probably won't figure it out until I get a lot more track time. My 4th autocross this weekend and I'm having a blast.