Too Much Blue?

I’m not sure I like the way the all this blue looks, so don’t get to comfortable. OK?

On Tuesday evening I changed the oil on the Miata and rotated the tires. I pulled the right front tire off first so I could get to the oil filter and drain plug. While the dark amber color fluid drained into a plastic pan, I pulled off the right rear and mounted the previous front tire in its place. I rolled each at least a full rotation looking for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing sticking out of either one, but the inside corners of both of them were worn a bit more than the outside. It was getting close to tire shopping time.

When I pulled the right rear I realized it was time to shop now. The inside edge of this tire was almost square from uneven wear. No belt material was showing, but what should have been a smooth circumference was somewhat wavy.

Normally I would spend several hours checking reviews, reading the tires & wheels section of the Miata Forum and searching for deals before getting a new set of tires, but we were taking a weekend trip that started in 48 hours. I needed tires in a hurry and the few times I’ve had to do that it hasn’t always ended well.

I checked the website of the best independent tire dealer in town and they listed a couple of Ultra High Performance Summer tires in my size, including the Yokohama S.Drive which the Emperor already was riding on. It was about 3 minutes until closing time, but the fellow who answered said he could hook me up the next day with a set of the Yoko’s and an alignment.

I hated to do the alignment because there are a new set of shocks and springs in the garage awaiting installation in the next couple weeks and I will have to do another one after that stuff is put on. But it would be kind of stupid to buy new tires and then take a 850 trip with an improper alignment. I’d like to get closer to 25,000 miles on this set instead of just under 21,000 for the current tires.