Month: July 2004

Speaking Of Wheels

While poking around the ol’ hard drive on Thursday I found another chapter of the Life of Brian that I had coded for the Master’s Miata Club’s web site several years ago. All the other LOBs were in word format, but for what ever reason, this one wasn’t, so I missed it the first time through. Chapter 5 happened in late 2000 and concerns the jinxed purchase of a set of tires and wheels from the TireRack.

This purchase was jinxed for the entire life of the tires too. For whatever reason this combination of the wheels and tires had a tendency to spontaneously got flat. Happened 3 times in the two year life span of the tires. Best we (the collective knowledge of the Miata.net Tires forum and I) could come up with was that once the tire pressure dropped below a certain level the bead of the tire could separate from the wheel. The set of Bridgestone SO-3s that came after, never failed in their 2 years before I wore them out.

Comet Gestation Counter: 4 days

Wheels They Go ‘Round In Circles

A friend at work just bought a new Saturn Ion Quad Coupe. One with those oh so trendy small back doors that swing out backward, ala suicide doors of old. To him, the lesser of all the evils in the color choices, was white. Looking at the Saturn web site, I think I would have gone with the blue, but that is me. To me all white cars look kind of like refrigerators with wheels from some angles.

James says the only thing he really doesn’t like about the car is the wheels. And come tax refund time next year he will probably get some after market wheels. I recommended he check out TireRack.com and play around. On the site you can get a crude idea of what a set of wheels will look like on your car.


Here are the OEM wheels. They don’t look to bad here and I think they go with the car. They look good close up, but in the real 3-D world they do leave a lot to be desired.


He mentioned he would get something a little less busy, something maybe with five spokes, something like my OEM Miata wheels….


I think my wheels look good and they are easy to keep clean, but I’ve said it here before, I’d like a 15″ wheel for the lightness factor and to differentiate my car from the thousands of other stock Miatas out there.


The bolt pattern is the same on both wheels, maybe we should swap. In this rendering, just as the one above with the wheels on the Saturn, they look OK, but I’m sure they would still be ugly in real life. Swapping is one of those random weird thoughts that go through your head, but are quickly dismissed if you are a sane person. As I said Wednesday, I may be stupid, but I’m not crazy.

Comet Gestation Counter: 3 days

It’s A Terrible Thing

Peer pressure or maybe just the power of suggestion caused me to blink this afternoon.

Two days ago my boss’s boss and fellow Miata owner had to go home and remove his seats so the wet vac could get all the water out from underneath them. He had his cockpit cover on, but the intensity and duration breeched that shield. We speculate that the reason mine survived the downpour on Saturday and his didn’t the other day was because my higher 2001+ seatbacks form a better tent. So, Russ is now just a little gun shy when the afternoon skies start to darken.

Today he came and told me that he put his top up and maybe I should consider it too. This is standard procedure between us, when one puts their top the other get a courtesy notification. It would be kind of nasty to put your top up and not say something, only to have it rain. After a quick peek at the Weather Channel radar online confirmed thundershowers in the area, I told him I’d walk out and see what the skies looked like. He volunteered to join me. Sure enough, the skies did appear nasty off in the direction that the rain usually comes from, but my gut instinct told me that it wasn’t going to make it to us before I went in 90 minutes. I did say I’d check again in about a half an hour just to be sure.

About 45 minutes later I went through the same steps, radar and then a walk into the parking lot. I reached the same conclusion, it wouldn’t rain before I went home, so I headed back into the building. But the dark skies were a little closer and more prevalent. The wind was a little brisker. It felt cool. Then there were those thought seeds planted earlier, I turned around and went back out to raise the top.

Of course, it didn’t rain.

Comet Gestation Counter: 2 days

Tiptoeing Through The Checkbook

The wait began in earnest today. I would like to say that I could put the spoiler out of my mind and then like magic, one day, it would appear. But that probably won’t happen, mainly because I will be adding one each day to the counter at the footer of each post.

I just raised the wrath of the CFO by spending big bucks on a plastic bit for the car in the middle of her major debt reduction program. I want to finish off the package with a set of the small Mazda side sills, but was waiting until next year when the things had cooled off before brining up spending $350 on this item. Of course, now, wouldn’t you know it, I have a line on some used ones for $150. This is a tempting offer, but I’m not going to try it just yet. I may be stupid, but I’m not crazy.

Comet Gestation Counter: 1 day

Spoiler IV

I did it. Today I gave some stranger in a whole other country on the other end of a phone line my credit card number and ordered the lip spoiler. I have been looking for something to keep track of or count in my daily entries, well this is it. Because this item is coming, probably by boat from Europe, through Canada, probably by train, and then probably by truck to me, the ETA is 2 months. From now until the day the Comet’s orbit reaches an intersection with mine, at the bottom of each entry will be an ever increasing number. Watch with me now:

Comet Gestation Counter: 0 days

What?

Count that day lost whose low descending sunViews from thy hand no worthy action done.
– Author unknown

Dreams grow holy put in action; work grows fair through starry dreaming,But where each flows on unmingling, both are fruitless and in vain.
– Adelaide Anne Procter

It’s A Love/Hate Relationship

Watching ESPN’s intro to last night’s Red Sox/Yankees game there was a bit on the rivalry between the two clubs. Interesting piece (well, if you are a fan of either club maybe), but the best part was one Red Sox fan’s comment, “It’s a love/hate relationship. I love the Red Sox and they apparently hate me.” Amen brother.