Miatatude

Note to self: Never make a snap decision on the tire you buy.

If you need a set of tires because one is irreparable, put on the tiny spare and go home, check Miata net. Back in December when I needed tires in a hurry and the guy told me what tires he had, they sounded like a tire I had read favorable reviews about on MN, but they were not. Turns out 910 is a lot farther away performance-wise from 930 than the numbers let on. The tires I bought were 3 performance levels down from the ones I thought they were and 4 levels down from where I was. The Pole Positions I now have are at the top of the street tire line and one step *up* from where I was when this whole mess started. I think that next time I will know, I ended up wasting the $270 I spent on the 910’s. I got my money back on them and they took it off the price of the S-03’s but I still ended up paying as much additional for them as they would have cost outright from the Tire Rack. If I don’t get out and look at the scratches those chuckleheads put on my rims installing the tires and just drive, I’ll be fine.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 28

Started out even warmer than yesterday and it is supposed to be a couple of nice days, so I put the top down and the boot on. Really starting to feel like spring (I know it is early, but the pine pollen was back today.) The new Bridgestone S-03 Pole Positions are more like it. They may be even better than the RE-71s I replaced. I just don’t know as I am not a tire expert, but I do know the Miata once again handles above my fear limit. I can hardly wait to wear these things down halfway, woohoo!

The first person to try and send me money via PayPal for the 2″ stickers was using a credit card. PayPal wants money for me to accept credit cards. (2.9% + 30 cents) That amounts to 36 cents on $2 and 45 cents on $5, I declined the payment because I’m cheap. But now that I think about, I was never in this for the money, just the fun. Maybe I was too quick to decline? Yeah, I think I’ll change it so I can get the Credit Card money…

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 26

The sticker folks emailed back to let me know that they goofed by showing me and approving a design that they could not print. They need 1/8″ of non-printed border and we had agreed to a design that left only 1/16″, that is why the image was smaller. It was off center by a 1/32″ and they told me they would reprint them, but couldn’t guarantee any better centering as 1/32 was within “industry standards.” Because the image size was their fault, they offered to knock 25% off the price charged, to which I agreed. The stickers are now on sale in the Barndoor Fan Club Store along with all the other club merchandise.

Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 25

Back to the pattern. Put the top up for the morning commute, put it down for the return trip. A busy day in Miataland. Took the makings of my switch/light panel to work and wired it up. After work I installed it.

Looks good, still need to fill about an 1/8 below the HU. I may try and butcher up most of the silver trim piece that came with the radio…

The blue 194 bulbs were a waste of $3. They are real blue when out, but on they look white with a hint of blue, so the ODO is still white. Gotta find them blue bulb “condoms.”

The 2″ Barndoor Fan Club stickers came in today. That’s the good news, bad news is that they aren’t exactly right. Emailed the place I got them from (websticker.com) and they said they’d check into it. They are almost good enough, but after going through 4 different proofs and thinking you got it right, they come in with the image smaller and slightly off center.

Started down, went up and now down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 22

Usually the Miata sits on Sunday, but today was different. Donna’s mom didn’t want to lunch out, so we got to drive the Miata with the top down. After eating we went grocery shopping for the week. I had to revert to actually planning where the grocery bags go and in what order, etc. instead of just tossing them in as I get to do with the Honda Civic. No problem, now 2 weeks worth of groceries might require some real planning and maybe even a bag at the passenger’s feet.

Finally bought switches and lights for the console. Ended up back at the place I went to on lunch Thursday. Radio Shack had more kinds off toggle switches than you could shake a stick at, but they were all pretty black or colored plastic…I wanted plain old silver. The other parts stores only had one switch like I wanted and no lights. Tomorrow night I’ll take the console out and see about mounting the stuff and wiring it up. While I was at the store I found some 194 bulbs in blue. I bought two and will stick them in the dash and see if they will make the ODO numbers blue.

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 20

Really nice day here, upper 60’s not at all like winter. Drove over to Wagner to meet Ron and sell him the CD changer. We met at the Dollar General and he led us out to his house, a lot easier than him trying to give me directions. He and wife Chris and daughter Stephanie live in a new modular home north of town. Really nice place, cathedral ceilings through out and the thing probably has more square footage than our house. The only downside is it is 1/2 mile in on a dirt road. Ron is mechanically minded, but not so electrically minded, so I was going to show him how I had set up the changer in my car. He already had the console out of Steph’s car. Seeing as the car was already disassembled it was easy to just install it as I showed him how. We wired it up and tried it out – worked like a charm. He had picked up a replacement front center console from a salvage yard to replace her damaged one. It was nearly brand new. We figure the previous owner must have put a new after market radio in the car just before he wrecked it. When he pulled the console out to put in the new radio he must have broke the original and then replaced it with this new one. The after market radio was gone and the OEM one was on the front floor. All he had left to do was put everything back in place and drill 4 holes to mount the unit in the trunk.

I showed him my new install with the toggle switches in cardboard and he said, “I got just what you need laying on the living room floor, I was going to throw it away.” Sure enough, he had pulled out the spacer from under the after market stereo that was left in the car and it is just what I needed for under my new head unit. Cool! I offered to give him $10-15 off the price of the changer and he said, “No, helping me install was worth that much.” Thanks Ron.

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 20