This bothers me greatly

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 10/04/2017 at 21:04 • Filed to: None

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It’s like an itch you can’t scratch. One of Jack Baruth’s articles over on Road & Track includes some Miata-specific info that to the best of my knowledge is blatantly untrue. There’s no source for what he said, and Google isn’t turning anything up. It’s an interesting article too, but this one little thing.... Ugh.

It’s the “Moti makes his buyers agree not to take pictures of the rollbar” line that gets me. What? That didn’t happen to me. Or anyone else I know who has bought a bar from Moti. I’ve posted pictures of my car on instagram and tagged blackbird fabworx... Moti liked it and shared it to the company FB page. Online searches have revealed zero info about this supposed picture-taking ban. It would be one thing if Mr Baruth simply said that he, personally, was instructed not to take photos of the bar. But... He made it sound like a well known thing in the Miata community. Am I missing something..?

Oh and while we’re nitpicking, the “monstrously difficult and time consuming process” of installing his rollbars is anything but. I did it solo—which is a major pain—in maybe five hours? First time doing a rollbar installation, first time using a cutting wheel, first time drilling through body panels, etc. My subpar “mechanical abilities” are well documented here so anyone more experienced could fly through the installation. The claim that a shop who installs tons of rollbars every year took EIGHTEEN HOURS is either entirely false, or the mechanic is taking you out to the cleaners.

Okay rant over. I wish there was a comment section at Road & Track so I could figure out what he’s smoking or what the strange circumstances behind his particular case are. Oh well

E90M3 > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:08

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That’s one weird looking Miata.

AestheticsInMotion > E90M3 10/04/2017 at 21:11

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Rwd, manual, 2 seater, unlimited cargo space.... Checks out.

Urambo Tauro > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:17

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That driveway bothers me greatly.

Nothing > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:18

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On the install part, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a SCCA legal bar on an NC or ND is time consuming and complex. They’re very different beasts from the NA. The picture thing seems odd though.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:23

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How the hell can you prevent someone from taking a picture of their own property??

Chariotoflove > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:23

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Escher paintings just make me smile, but this pic is screwing with my head.

AestheticsInMotion > Urambo Tauro 10/04/2017 at 21:28

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You have no idea. Getting to even that awful parking position without burning the clutch or spinning my tires... Was difficult. It’s steeper than it looks, and weirdly angled in multiple places. The best part..? This is parked in the garage. Must have been air dropped onto the property

AestheticsInMotion > Nothing 10/04/2017 at 21:30

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Fair enough, but 18 hours? I’ve seen full cages done in that time. I did see on a forum when looking into this that the NC bars are “slightly more difficult to install than the NA and NB bars, which are generally done by the owner”

AestheticsInMotion > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 10/04/2017 at 21:31

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NDA? I donno man, sounds pretty nonsensical to me...

Nothing > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:37

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Yeah, 18 hours seems excessive, depending on what level of fit and finish someone wanted the interior to look like afterward. I installed the Boss Frog on my NA and it wasn’t bad, I also wouldn’t say my plastic interior panel trimming was exactly beautiful, though. Who knows, maybe they’re counting new undercoating or rustproofing dry time. Not trying to defend R&T, as the picture taking ban seems like complete BS.

AestheticsInMotion > Chariotoflove 10/04/2017 at 21:38

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Better? Worse?

I don’t like this driveway. Finding a place to park that allows the homeowner to come and go, without stalling the engine, destroying the clutch, tipping over, or doing a massive burnout is so much more difficult than it should be. The landscaping crew who showed up after me left black tire marks for about three feet.

I’ve blacklisted this house for rainy weather...

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:47

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Sammamish waterfront?

Urambo Tauro > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 21:49

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!

Wow, that’s crazy. I wonder if they ever even drive it.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 10/04/2017 at 21:56

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Mercer Island this time. Place look familiar?

AestheticsInMotion > Urambo Tauro 10/04/2017 at 21:57

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Between that, the c63 AMG and the modified, low lexus convertible... I wonder how they make it out when it snows

AestheticsInMotion > Nothing 10/04/2017 at 22:00

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Oh man. Yeah, my plastic cutting wasn’t great either. Cut and patched the tonneau cover to work with the bar, which thankfully makes everything look nice and classy (relatively)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 22:00

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Nah, just noticing the heavy slope and house parallel to said slope. I would typically guess an Eastide water-facing home.

LongbowMkII > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 22:26

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I thought it was fairly well established that jack baruth is a hack? maybe it’s just me.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 22:35

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Dat articulation.

For Sweden > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 22:56

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should have spent the money on a flat lot instead of a Ferrari tbh

For Sweden > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 22:56

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The first mistake was reading Jack Baruth

Chariotoflove > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 22:57

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Gah!

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 23:15

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It bothers me that a house with such awful siting is a healthy 7 figures.

AestheticsInMotion > fintail 10/04/2017 at 23:30

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Tell me about it. I will say that the house itself is quite interesting. The roof is made of overlapping copper sheets, with a nicer version of your standard upscale luxo-tile laid over that. Absolutely massive copper gutters and downspouts make for one of the few instances of a design choice in a custom home that simplifies some of the maintenance work!

Well... Besides the inheritant flaws with using copper for water in the first place. I was told a crew comes out bi-annualy to “refresh” all the metalwork

AestheticsInMotion > For Sweden 10/04/2017 at 23:32

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I would genuinely love to see how he gets his vehicles in and out of the garage without scraping

AestheticsInMotion > LongbowMkII 10/04/2017 at 23:34

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I like a lot of his topics! His writing style as well, although it worked for me a lot better prior to last year before I saw him because I always pictured him as a very old, experienced man who’d “seen everything”

AestheticsInMotion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/04/2017 at 23:35

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“please don’t scrape “

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > AestheticsInMotion 10/04/2017 at 23:38

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Literally what

ateamfan42 > AestheticsInMotion 10/05/2017 at 09:43

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The difference between a pickup truck and a Miata with the top down is..... nothing. :)

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 10/05/2017 at 09:57

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Looks like they used expensive materials anyway, even if the aesthetic is unique and maybe not to everyone’s taste. I’d imagin the copper would turn green over time, might be kind of cool. Those outward curved railings on that staircase in the background bug me. I assume the place has quality windows too. I am always amused by million dollar houses here with inexpensive vinyl windows (often with out-of-place prarie muntins),

ateamfan42 > AestheticsInMotion 10/05/2017 at 10:08

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Clearly this R&T article is unmitigated B.S.

It’s the “Moti makes his buyers agree not to take pictures of the rollbar” line that gets me. What? That didn’t happen to me. Or anyone else I know who has bought a bar from Moti.

My roll bar purchase did not include some super-secret non-disclosure agreement. I sent money, and Moti sent me a roll bar. I installed it in my car. End of story.

Actually, I first learned about Blackbird Fabworx from a forum post about the product that includes MANY photos of various bars and colors. It seems if anything, Moti wants people to photograph the product— who wouldn’t want their product discussed and shared in the community that will be buying it?

Oh and while we’re nitpicking, the “monstrously difficult and time consuming process” of installing his rollbars is anything but.

I can’t speak for installation in an NC or ND, but installation in my NB was fairly straightforward, though lengthy. That would not be unique to the Blackbird Fabworx bars. (There were a few bits to figure out— like moving the rear ABS sensors). I’m glad I budgeted a whole weekend. The bar was bolted in the first night, but it took the entire second day to cut and fit all the panels and pieces to go back (since there was now a big pipe in the way!).

WiscoProud > AestheticsInMotion 10/05/2017 at 11:31

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That driveway looks like a nightmare. It looks level at the garage door, so does the driveway slope from the road grade into level over 15-20'? You couldn’t have a level driveway run into a road with that kind of grade without creating a massive drop off to the left.

AestheticsInMotion > fintail 10/05/2017 at 18:10

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Vinyl, but Anderson Window’s top of the line, so about as good as they come before you’re hiring a company that flys out from LA to do everything by scratch with an in-house design team, boutique glass makers, heritage finish carpenters, blah blah blah.

I’ll probably do a writeup on this home. It’s fairly unique

AestheticsInMotion > WiscoProud 10/05/2017 at 18:14

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The best part? The grade changes at multiple points on x and y axis’. It’s hard to capture in a picture. The road my truck is sticking out onto is actually the driveway itself, it’s about 200' long and goes up to a main road that’s quite a bit higher than the house.

AestheticsInMotion > ateamfan42 10/05/2017 at 18:15

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Just strange. Adding those bits doesn’t really improve the article... Seems like a strange thing to make up

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 10/05/2017 at 21:29

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As long as they aren’t horizontal sliders with prairie muntins, I might be able to deal. That kind of stuff is fine in an apartment or affordable house/condo, but just looks wrong on anything claiming to be high end.

Seems like a lot of the coolest stuff on the eastside is in danger of being torn down for mcmansions. I like the semi-custom/custom 50s-70s material, much of which now is modified beyond redemption, or endangered.

The stone work on the building in the background reminds me of some of the interior stone finish on my grandmother’s eatly 60s house.

WiscoProud > AestheticsInMotion 10/06/2017 at 10:24

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That slope is also part of the driveway? My god, there had to be a better way.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > AestheticsInMotion 10/09/2017 at 16:59

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Holy crap! I can hear the scraping noises now from here! This pains me. I wonder if he has skid plates for the nose. I’ve scraped on much, much flatter driveways.