HFS's Cars

[Azuremen]

For 15 inch wheels, I'd just say go 205/50/15. Will be a bit taller, but a lot of performance and auto-cross tires in that range. I'd recommend Kumho XS, but not sure if you can get them over there.

Or Famine's suggestions, since he actually knows what you can buy over there.

 

[homeforsummer]

Thanks for the suggestion, Azure, but important to remember that my tyres will be in use all year round, which includes crappy pot-holed roads, motorways, hot days, cold days, ice, rain, snow, occasional gravel and generally anything else the crappy UK climate can throw at it. So outright performance and stickyness is less of an issue than all-weather ability and longevity.

I'm also skint so I'm going for the best I can afford, rather than the best outright! Part of my budget is being spent on new brakes as those are also rather important...

 

[YSSMAN]

I've got a set of Eagles on my Celica that work pretty well in the snow, but they aren't quite the same as the F1s. I'd give a look to the BFGoodrich lineup as well, all are pretty affordable, grippy in all weather as well.

 

[niky]

Brakes first, then... then maybe the body reinforcements you're looking at. Tires aren't the most important thing to add to a Miata. Once you give a stock car more grip... you start to find things with the suspension you don't like, and it can get expensive, fast...

 

[homeforsummer]

The brakes work (pretty well, actually) but I'm changing them just to be on the safe side. The front discs look pretty second-hand and the pads are probably down to half thickness by the looks of things, so changing them both seems logical. The back brakes look largely fine.

I'd rather tyres than the chassis braces, first. I was always under the impression that tyres were the most important thing for any car, and given that I'm running three different types, with nothing the same on either axle and for whatever reason the rears being slightly lower on tread than the fronts, a whole new set seems pretty important.

I'm not looking to set any lap records, but I am looking to stay on the road once the weather makes a proper turn for the worse.

Tyres and a full alignment will make a massive difference to the car, I reckon.

Oh, and thanks for the link to those cheap tyres, Dan 👍

 

[Slicks]

I'd second Famine's recommendation of the Toyo T1-R. They're a fairly competent tire that's known to be good in the rain. I'm not sure if they'd be compatible with snow.

While a Kumho Ecsta XS, Azenis RT615, Bridgestone RE-11, etc would be great on a Miata, I don't think they're necessary unless you intend to push the car. They'd also wear a fair bit quicker than the Toyos (although with such a light car as a Miata, the tires very well may go off with age before the tread is used up).

Edit... Re: Brakes.

If the rotors aren't warped, have sufficient thickness (you can typically tell by looking around the center part of the rotor where the brake pads seat just how much has been used. You'll see a wear line/groove where the brake pads aren't contacting the rotor vs where they are), and aren't scored over the braking surface, they are generally still good to use.
Brake pads can be used far past the half mark... Most have squealers on them - A small metal tab that will contact the rotor when the pad needs replacing and make a telltale squeal every time you get on the brakes.

 

[homeforsummer]

Thanks for the advice 👍

Re: Tyres, I seem to remember Famine mentioning somewhere else that he found the T1-Rs excellent in snow.

Re: Brakes, I'll take a photo when it's light later on (don't ask why I'm up at five to five in the morning UK time, I just am...) and post them here to see what peoples' opinions are on whether I should get them changed. I'm not an expert on these things but I'm sure others here know better than I do.

 

[Radracing]

Same... tried it... nothing... didn't bother again... Nitrogen-filled tires seem to keep pressure a little longer, but they still lose pressure, anyway.

And you still won't have 100% (or close to) nitro inside unless your wheel has a double-valve so you can purge the "regular" air while filling with Nitro... like these awesome ones:

(was drooling over these before... but after a bout of aftermarket mag buying... I'm back with stock wheels... I just spend my money on sticky rubber).

Only place where nitro makes a discernible difference in ride comfort and performance on-road is in really tall truck tires... and even there it's debatable whether you can actually feel the difference.

Yeah! I tried it on one of my cars and it's a pain to inflate when your on a road trip and need to find a Big O Tire dealer.

Only difference I found would be that you won't get moisture biuldup in your tire to mess up the balance. I hate those gas stations where I have to put in .75 cents for air and when I test it for moisture it just squirts like a water bottle.

 

[Azuremen]

Thanks for the advice 👍

Re: Tyres, I seem to remember Famine mentioning somewhere else that he found the T1-Rs excellent in snow.

Excellent would be relative. Compared to proper snow tires, I doubt their is a comparison at all to be made. If you are genuinely concerned about winter season driving, I would suggest having two sets of wheels/tires, like I do over here. But then again, I deal with snow 4 to 6 months of the year, and several feet of annual fall.

I did try to drive the Kumho XS in the snow once... that was amusing display of absurdity, let me tell you

 

[Famine]

"Snow" would also be relative.

These days, we get 2 inches of snow in the first week of February. Everyone is incredibly surprised by it, despite the fact it happens like clockwork every year. There may also be a further slightly lighter dumping a couple of weeks after that. This is the snow for the year.

In this snow a few years ago, I was the first person to turn up to work - I was on time and beat the crowd by about 20 minutes. I had the MX-3 with a 10-month old set of T1-Rs on. I made it to work without any incidents at all and barely adjusted my driving. I got out of the car and fell over in the car park...

The next year, my then-other-half decided she wanted to take the MX-3 to work because it was awesome in the snow the previous year. I had to then take her Mk2 MX-5 on a brand new set of T1-Rs. Similarly I got to work on time, before everyone else and without incident (except for those I made on purpose... it was rude not to). I then did donuts in the car park... to clear it for everyone else, obviously...

There's three common denominators - Mazda, T1-Rs and me. If I were given over to analysis, I'd say that all three played their part, but I really didn't have all that much to do with it on those occasions.


It's important to remember that T1-Rs aren't actually rated at all for snow because they aren't considered all-season tyres. For what we get in the UK, they're good enough. And besides, if there's six inches of snow down, the first rule is "Stay home".

 

[niky]

^wisdom. When in doubt, don't go out.

 

[homeforsummer]

As promised at ridiculous-o'clock this morning, pictures of my brakes (first pic is the front, second is the rear. They look essentially the same on the other side, as you'd expect):

Worth replacing? The surface of the disc itself seems absolutely fine, but the corrosion on the end looks (to me) quite nasty. But I don't spend much time looking at brakes, so maybe it's the norm for brakes that've presumably been on the car for a while. You can just see the pads in both pics and there seems to be reasonable life left in them.

Can I strike it off my "to do" list or would the fronts at least be worth doing?

 

[yeti]

I'm no expert - but they look allright to me.

C.

 

[Azuremen]

It's important to remember that T1-Rs aren't actually rated at all for snow because they aren't considered all-season tyres. For what we get in the UK, they're good enough. And besides, if there's six inches of snow down, the first rule is "Stay home".

Oh how I envy you. You are generally expected to be on time regardless of snow fall, short of roads being closed (which almost never happens unless drifting ends up being over a foot). Hell, I still deliver in over half a foot of snow sometimes.

As for the brakes, HFS, they look a bit worn on the discs, at least the front does. Run your finger from the inside out, up to the rust. If the part the pad makes contact with is below the rust by a notable amount, time for new discs I'd say. If it is still fairly flush (obviously, the rust will sit a little higher, but you get at what I am saying) they should be good still. The corrosion is very typical of discs that have been on the car a while - recall, rotors can rust over night if their is rain, just the contact from the pads wears it off.

 

[niky]

+1 on that... looks normal, but if the area under the sweep of the pad is much deeper than the rest of the disc, then you might want to consider replacing them.

Rust is normal. The rest of the car will fall to pieces before those discs will rust through.

 

[Famine]

Oh how I envy you. You are generally expected to be on time regardless of snow fall, short of roads being closed (which almost never happens unless drifting ends up being over a foot). Hell, I still deliver in over half a foot of snow sometimes.

That was 2 years ago when I actually was working

*awaits envy to mount*

In the UK, even a dusting of snow means everyone forgets how to drive and the trains stop running. If you make it to work while there's even a single snowflake on the ground, you're some kind of hero.

I grew up on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales in the 80s. When it snowed, it snowed in feet and drifted in fathoms. Driving in snow is absolutely not a problem for me - but the MX-3 is an inexplicably superb snow car (though I wouldn't use her for anything over 5 inches, because that would rip my splitter off) and the T1-Rs made her even better. I doubt they'll stand up to either a chained wheel or a proper snow tyre, but for what we get here'n'now, they're better than adequate.


In fact over Christmas last we had a very cold spell, with really thick frost down. hfs will remember it in all probability, as he's none too far from here. I drove to a friend's house over some semi-moorland roads (exposed, then severely tree-enclosed, lots of hills up to about 1 in 8, single carriageway to single-track with passing places, sharp bends) and I was overtaking wheelspinning cars. And a bus. Red didn't object even once.

 

[Leonidae]

all you need is a bit of copper paste/grease and you're good to go. those discs are good for another year, as well as those pads.

 

[homeforsummer]

Booked the car in to have tyres fitted/balanced and full alignment done on Monday morning. Went for the PX4s in the end as they were a good price and should be vastly better than what it's wearing at the moment. Next on the list: Chassis braces.

Thanks for the advice on the brakes guys, I'm gonna leave them be for the time being.

 

[Dac_Xint]

Hey homeforsummer, just realised that you're the proud owner of a mk1 mx-5, sorry, lets forget the fact that I'm late to the party and embrace the idea that I'm here at all. I'm seriously thinking about hunting for a 93-96 mx-5 when I'm back in the UK in the near future, so I'll stick around and get some advice along the way!

 

[Famine]

Milford Cubicle and I are both members of the MX-5 Owners' Club (as hfs will probably be shortly), so if you need anything, feel free to tap us up.

hfs - when you coming by to show us the car anyway? And have you got a name for it yet?

 

[eiriksmil]

Thanks for the advice on the brakes guys, I'm gonna leave them be for the time being.

The only reason why the fronts look worse is because the outsides are thinner because they're vented vented, and thinner steel rusts more quickly.. You've grinded them down before they've rusted through

 

[homeforsummer]

hfs - when you coming by to show us the car anyway? And have you got a name for it yet?

I can pop along more or less any time, though I'm busy over the next few weeks. As for a name, it's known as Danger Mouse. A friend of the previous owner thought of it and it amused me so it stuck!

 

[Famine]

You should paint the nearside headlight cover black...

 

[Jim Prower]

XD

Shall we start a club of cars named after children's characters? I've already got Percy...

 

[Famine]

And I have Red (Fraggles) and Marvin (the Martian - and he is very angry. Very angry indeed).

 

[homeforsummer]

That's because you've removed his innards. That'd make anyone angry. And yeah, I thought about how to represent the eyepatch At some point I'm going to get a subtle black and white "DM" logo sticker for somewhere on the car. Actually, I'll add that to the "to do" list...

You'll note actually that all the images of him so far have been named "dm...". I'd forgotten that I'd not told anyone here his name...

 

[homeforsummer]

Now we're all pointing in the same direction...​

Took the car to have new tyres fitted and to have a full alignment today. Up till now the steering has been off-centre - not pulling as the car tracked straight by itself, but the actual wheel itself was a couple of degrees to the left whilst the car was going straight. The Eunos I test-drove half a year ago did exactly the same so I wasn't put off buying the car because of it, and assumed it to be a fairly common problem with older MX-5s.

As I needed new tyres anyway, I booked the car for a full alignment to be done at the same time. Just as well, considering the computer graphic looked like this...

Probably never had the alignment done since it left the factory...

Quite cool being able to watch the adjustments in real-time, the waiting area had a screen identical to the one the mechanic was using. Anyway, after a fair while of adjustments this way and that, I now have a nice straight car with perfectly centred steering, and some brand new tyres on each corner. I'm not sure if it's a placebo effect or real but the car does seem to ride better and fidget less, and the steering seems a little lighter too, probably as it's not fighting unevenly-toed wheels.

 

[Joey D]

Are those Toyo Proxes 4's?

 

[homeforsummer]

They are indeed. Well spotted. Or well remembered, as I mentioned them a page or so back

 

[Joey D]

I had the Toyo site open at the same time and it all kind of a matched up. How do they feel? Also since it's probably raining there because it always seems to rain in the UK, how do they feel in the wet?

Your service shops are a lot nicer and cleaner then the ones here in the US. I'm jealous.