NOHOME wrote:Stance is not quite right...
I disagree.
The plain steel rocker kind of affects the look. Throw a little gray on it and the door then look at it again.
I think the stance is spot on.
NOHOME wrote:
I disagree.
The plain steel rocker kind of affects the look. Throw a little gray on it and the door then look at it again.
I think the stance is spot on.
In reply to dimarra:
If you imagine it with the front clip tilted down where it should be it looks a lot better too.
For better or worse, the ES tends to ride high. On stock versions, lowering is limited due to the exhaust, which doesn't have much clearance.
BrokenYugo wrote: In reply to dimarra: If you imagine it with the front clip tilted down where it should be it looks a lot better too.
Not sure what you mean? The front clip is pretty much where it is going to end up since the car is sitting on threaded rod at this point. The front clip body=wise is where is needs to be.
Have to agree with Tuna: The P1800 looks kinda chinless in side views.
NOHOME wrote: Have to agree with Tuna: The P1800 looks kinda chinless in side views.
Indeed. If you plan to ditch the front bumper, then I'd recommend looking for (or replicating) one of IPD's front chin spoilers. I've read it's actually effective with improving stability at highway speeds.
The rear end visually "needs" a bumper, IMHO. Mainly to break up the large swaths of slab sheet metal. 1800 race cars seem to look rather awkward from the back due to this. I actually like the earlier P1800 rear bumper as it wraps closer to the wheel arch than the later S/E model version. For my own ES, I've been slowly gathering P model "cow horn" bumpers and side trim.
NOHOME wrote:BrokenYugo wrote: In reply to dimarra: If you imagine it with the front clip tilted down where it should be it looks a lot better too.Not sure what you mean? The front clip is pretty much where it is going to end up since the car is sitting on threaded rod at this point. The front clip body=wise is where is needs to be.
My mistake, I shouldn't internet pre coffee, you said it was just sitting on there earlier and a little high, looking at it again it is right in that pic. I guess I think it needs to be a touch lower in the front.
tuna55 wrote: First off, congratulations on a major milestone. Now the stance looks all wrong, and the wheels are not working, at least for me. Are you running bumpers? If so, mock them up now so we can get a look. It's a bit chinless now and it's screwing with my mind. It looks like the overall diameter of your wheel-tire combo is too small:Since you don't want it any lower, I agree with more sidewall, though I think pairing that with a bigger rim might be OK. From here it looks like it wants another inch or two of diameter.
That looks much more right.
I'm sure you're aware - but just in case, remember if you go up in overall tire diameter, you also raise the car (think rocker) by half the diameter increase. To my eye, I wouldn't want the rocker any higher than it already is. Seems like the sweet spot would be slight increase in diameter offset by slight lowering of the chassis.
MichaelYount wrote: I'm sure you're aware - but just in case, remember if you go up in overall tire diameter, you also raise the car (think rocker) by half the diameter increase. To my eye, I wouldn't want the rocker any higher than it already is. Seems like the sweet spot would be slight increase in diameter offset by slight lowering of the chassis.
Yup...I like the sills where they are at 7" from the ground, and without going past level with the lower a-arms, I can lower the car an inch. So, if I go up an inch in tire diameter, and drop the ride height by half an inch, it will actually end up the full inch closer to the top of the wheel tub. That should pretty much get it where I want it.
I can find some scrap tires and mount them to fine tune it. Truth is that I am not really hating the look, just know it can be better.
double post
I had to move up in wheel size to clear bigger front brakes that I added on the 240 -- I went ahead to 17's. Seems there were a lot more tire/size options than in 16. Jeez, wasn't that long ago that moving from 13" wheels up to 14" was the bomb. 
I can go to 17" and fill the space, but I don't feel that the low profile look is what I want for this car.
Despite the word having been adopted by retards, stance is still SO important in a car looking right. It's your car and your vision, so if you want us to butt out say so. :) But I think the project deserves more attention to this, because everything else is so damn impressive.
I think 17's may be the right answer, but they may not be required. I like low profile even on old stuff though. This has a nice balance of modern and classic IMO -
Not sure if those are 16's or 17's. But the wheel gap is much less noticeable however they got there, and I still think it would look better a bit lower.
And I agree with Michael that your selection of performance rubber will be far better in 17's.
The stance may not be perfect yet, but we're all discussing the height of the car with no interior,glass or drive train in it. I'll wager it will look fine once it's dropped an inch or so. I'll also add that 17s will be too much wheel. Stick to 15s or 16s. There are enough touring tire choices to work. This is a touring car with an automatic transmission, it won't need ultimate grip tires
NOHOME wrote:Dusterbd13 wrote: 235/60/15If I can find the right offset. Fighting to keep this under the fender and there will be no flares.
Find a friend with some stock MINI Cooper 16" rims and trial fit them. Most MINI wheels have a little higher offset and will be 6 or 6.5 inches wide.
DeadSkunk wrote: The stance may not be perfect yet, but we're all discussing the height of the car with no interior,glass or drive train in it. I'll wager it will look fine once it's dropped an inch or so. I'll also add that 17s will be too much wheel. Stick to 15s or 16s. There are enough touring tire choices to work. This is a touring car with an automatic transmission, it won't need ultimate grip tires
The car isn't on springs, it's on solid rods right now, so there is no accounting for a drop.
That said, it is a miata underneath, and I suppose you can't stroll into ebay without hitting your head on a dozen Miata coilover perches, so you could just use those and then have the flexibility to nail the height once it's in paint, on final wheels, etc.
I wonder where the final weight of this will be? The stock Miata springs might need to be replaced, so a set of coil over sleeves and some aftermarket springs could well be in its future.
In reply to DeadSkunk:
My comments about tire size were aimed not at performance tires, but rather I found a greater selection of sizes of slightly different diameters in the 17's.
DeadSkunk wrote: I wonder where the final weight of this will be? The stock Miata springs might need to be replaced, so a set of coil over sleeves and some aftermarket springs could well be in its future.
Just started a thread on the main board on this very subject. "Where to start looking for suspension."
I do have a set of stock low mile Bilstein shocks and springs that I could toss on, but hardly feel it is worth the effort since they wont be staying.
Since we haven't quite beat the wheel/tires to death - in my experience, as long as profile doesn't go extreme (19's, 20's, etc.), the 'appearance' of the wheel tire package looking appropriate to the rest of the car's theme is much more a function of wheel styling than aspect ratio. Many times I've had to kneel down and note tire size and come to find out a stock 'appearing' wheel was wrapped in 16's or 17's on a car that came with 14's or 15's.
In reply to MichaelYount:
I tend to agree. While 17's were "huge" back when 14's and 15's were still common on most cars, now that cheap compact cars are often found with 17's or larger, they just don't look that big. Even on classic cars.
You got your build featured on Build-Threads.com. Nice!
Love that site! Have to say that I am a bit intimidated by all the over-the-top Scandinavian builds with superman fab levels more suited for space-shuttle building! I am just a hacker sticking puzzle pieces together that don't want to fit.
Something about long winters methinks....
MichaelYount wrote: Something about long winters methinks....
Don't they have women?
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