"Nintondo-San" (Nintondo-San)
05/23/2014 at 23:22 • Filed to: None
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"Nintondo-San" (Nintondo-San)
05/23/2014 at 23:22 • Filed to: None | 0
| 18 |
A few weeks back I picked up some TAG Heuer stickers with the idea (I heard it here, so it must be true) that I could maybe squeeze out a couple more horsepower from my '95 Miata before my first autocross.
Now, obviously the horsepower thing didn't quite workout because the Miata is already so perfect that any performance mods you make to it actually work inversely. At least that was my excuse for my best time being bested by a stock VW Passat.
I decided to keep the stickers on because race car, and later adorned them on my second autocross, where they actually seemed to really help! My times were right where they should have been. Some guy in a GT3 on Hoosiers said it was probably the fact that I had brand new tires rather than the eight year-old mis-matching pieces of rock I had on previously, rather than the stickers, that gave me the gains. I thought I knew the truth, but what do you guys think?
Pictured: My mother getting a ride-along with some guy (instructor) named Mark.
Is it a bit poseur and out of place on an NA Miata? The car is 100% stock. I think it gives it just a bit of character, notifies fellow enthusiasts that I am not having a senior having a midlife crisis, and finally, I think they are far more appropriate than the usual "illest", "HELLA", "STANZZZZZ" stickers that usually grace the rolled fenders of too many Miatas with owners that think 37 degrees of negative camber is ideal for optimal street performance.
So, yay or nay for TAG Heuer stickers on an NA?... Would it be better if I did a V8 swap and converted it to a rally car?
PushToStart
> Nintondo-San
05/23/2014 at 23:29 |
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What kind of watch do you have? If you've got a Tag, why not? If you don't... I'd take it off.
Soloburrito
> Nintondo-San
05/23/2014 at 23:30 |
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I shouldn't like it, but I do.
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Nintondo-San
> PushToStart
05/23/2014 at 23:30 |
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In that case, time to get the adhesive remover!
Don't care for watches, just a fan of their motorsports sponsorship/heritage.
Squid
> Nintondo-San
05/23/2014 at 23:32 |
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If you wear a Tag watch then there aint no shame in the game. But if you roll with a Timex on your wrist, it is a bit poseur to have them on the car.
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PushToStart
> Nintondo-San
05/23/2014 at 23:34 |
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Haha, if you like it a lot, don't take it off (it's your car, after all) that's just my opinion.
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Nintondo-San
> Squid
05/23/2014 at 23:36 |
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Wise words. Next mod I think will be adhesive remover.
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Squid
> Nintondo-San
05/23/2014 at 23:57 |
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The stickers look like they belong there though. It is your Miata so you should do what makes YOU happy.
Bryce Womeldurf
> Nintondo-San
05/24/2014 at 00:19 |
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It's your car, why not have fun with it? The Miata is the ultimate no-fucks-given fun machine and it's important to not take yourself too seriously. I saw this one at Miatapalooza last year and it gave me a chuckle.
No harm no foul with a Tag Heuer. It adds character. I'd probably do something similar, but mine is red and I'm not much for the red/green X-mass look. It really pops on your fender against the black paint.
McChiken116 - Patrick H.
> Nintondo-San
05/24/2014 at 00:52 |
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You can have my TAG owner cred, I approve.
SPNKiX
> Nintondo-San
05/24/2014 at 01:14 |
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this doesn't work on the '95. you'll have to check the forums to see which years work.
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Nintondo-San
> Bryce Womeldurf
05/24/2014 at 19:22 |
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Was about to take them off, but you just reminded me what owning a Miata is all about. Gonna keep them, thanks!
There were some nice Koni stickers that would have worked just as well on my car, but I don't think anybody would argue that'd be retarded on a car with a 130k stock suspension.
I bet they'd look really good on a red car though if you have Koni shocks. Or maybe a black Nuerburgring outline?
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Bryce Womeldurf
> Nintondo-San
05/24/2014 at 23:14 |
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I'm still on the worn out 129k originals, but I'll consider Koni. I think I heard the yellows worked well on stock springs. It depends on whether I want to aim for a stock class with stock springs or not. If not, I'll probably go Illumina. Cheers!
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Nintondo-San
> Bryce Womeldurf
05/24/2014 at 23:20 |
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Have heard only great things about the yellows. The classing system is a bit annoying due to constant changes making previously acceptable mods obsolete.
What year do you have, and any pictures?
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Bryce Womeldurf
> Nintondo-San
05/26/2014 at 14:27 |
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It's a '95 base model with AC and PS, but roll down windows and no ABS. Rolling on the original steelies that I painted white. I had the head milled and the engine rebuilt last year after the head gasket blew on the way home, also has new radiator, thermostat, CAS gasket, valve cover gasket, water pump, Russell braided brake lines (may have to revert to stock if I go with stock class in autocross depending on how stringent the local SCCA chapter is), all new shifter bushing and boots, new transmission fluid (the fancy Ford fluid), and Redline oil in the differential. Slowly working my way through changing all of the coolant hoses. After all that, I may need to get a new OEM valve cover gasket because I think the FelPro may be leaking. Other than that, it's had a cheap repaint by a previous owner, but it looks good from 10 feet away. I'm now in the process of rebuilding the side view mirrors.
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Nintondo-San
> Bryce Womeldurf
05/27/2014 at 21:18 |
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That looks really good! And that's saying a lot considering one of the requirements during my search was that the car mustn't be red- however I did come close to buying one with painted steelies. Something about a red Miata with painted steelies looks so right. Too bad they were the heaviest wheel option. :-(
Sounds like a pretty solid car now that you've got a hold of it. The PO did most of the major maintenance on my car. I'm young and don't know a lot about working on cars, so I'm learning slowly with small things. I've done some sprucing up in the interior, and am doing the spark plugs sometime this week. Maybe the brake pads as well, and the brake/clutch fluid needs to be flushed.
And yeah, from what I've read the ONLY proven VCG is the OEM. All others seem either to leak immediatley or develop leaks soon after installation.
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Bryce Womeldurf
> Nintondo-San
05/27/2014 at 22:29 |
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Yeah, I was looking for a smurf blue at first but they all seem to be automatic around here. On the plus side, with the steelies, the only way to go is up from here. If I want to stick with 14" I can get a used set of daisies from Treasure Coast for $150. If I go with 15" like I'd prefer, there are tons of options. More expensive but the tire selection is better.
This car is sort of my learning car too. I had a line of boring, overly reliable, relatively new cars in my late teens through 20s, after I started out with two really crap cars. The crap cars were both expensive to fix at the time so I didn't really get to work on them much back then and they were gone before I could really learn much outside of oil and brake changes. I guess it's ironic that a couple of years ago I sold my modified Lancer in top condition just as things were starting to randomly wear out, to get the most for it. And now I'm driving something with a dozen issues but I'm much more happy with it and it has a lot more potential.
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Nintondo-San
> Bryce Womeldurf
05/27/2014 at 22:57 |
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Yup, these really are fantastic cars. As they are old, they will never be issue free. There are a number of issues with my car, but all are relatively minor, and would ever really need attention. Just minor annoyances. The great thing about these cars is that the issues are very easy to isolate, and 9/10 the fix is usually cheap.
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Bryce Womeldurf
> Nintondo-San
05/28/2014 at 10:48 |
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Yeah, the weird thing is that this car has issues that I've found extremely annoying on other cars in the past (like the turn signal going fast on one side despite not having a bulb out) but somehow I'm totally okay with them on this car. I guess it just gives back so much more that I don't mind living with a few issues.