Wheels In Motion?

[Jonny671]

Right, just got my '5 tonight.. Wheels will need aligning.. How much does WIM charge?

Just deciding whether to do it this month or next month

[Red Firecracker]

About £100 I believe.

[MX-5 Lazza]

If you know it needs doing, do it asap. It transforms the car, especially in wet conditions when you really need it.

[Mark-2]

I take it if I'm looking at different suspension I should wait until I've got that (probably a couple of months time) to get the geo done?

As I've had mine a week and when it rained on Saturday it was pretty sketchy which I put down to the budget rears the previous owner put on. But it sounds like it might be this too

[Munter]

Mark-2 said:

I take it if I'm looking at different suspension I should wait until I've got that (probably a couple of months time) to get the geo done?

As I've had mine a week and when it rained on Saturday it was pretty sketchy which I put down to the budget rears the previous owner put on. But it sounds like it might be this too

Probably both. Stick some nice rubber on it right away and get the geo done after you have the new bits fitted. No point paying to do it twice unless it's really terrible.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Munter said:

Mark-2 said:

I take it if I'm looking at different suspension I should wait until I've got that (probably a couple of months time) to get the geo done?

As I've had mine a week and when it rained on Saturday it was pretty sketchy which I put down to the budget rears the previous owner put on. But it sounds like it might be this too

Probably both. Stick some nice rubber on it right away and get the geo done after you have the new bits fitted. No point paying to do it twice unless it's really terrible.

This ^^^ 100%

I see a lot of people on forums who drive around on tyres they know are rubbish as they want to wear them out before fitting good new tyres. I really can't understand this thinking - deliberately driving a car with poor grip when it could be fixed very quickly.
I know we are now going to get people talking about wanting to go sideways but lets get real, we drive on busy public roads and 99.99% of drivers would prefer to have all the grip they can get (me included).

If your current tyres are 15", have a reasonable amount of tread on them and you are local enough, I'll buy them off you for airfield drifting/track-control days

[Mark-2]

MX-5 Lazza said:

This ^^^ 100%

I see a lot of people on forums who drive around on tyres they know are rubbish as they want to wear them out before fitting good new tyres. I really can't understand this thinking - deliberately driving a car with poor grip when it could be fixed very quickly.
I know we are now going to get people talking about wanting to go sideways but lets get real, we drive on busy public roads and 99.99% of drivers would prefer to have all the grip they can get (me included).

If your current tyres are 15", have a reasonable amount of tread on them and you are local enough, I'll buy them off you for airfield drifting/track-control days

Thanks for the offer, unfortunately they are the 14" BBS wheels!

New tyres are definitely on my list asap, unfortunately until I sell my previous car funds are a little low

[Jonny671]

Thinking of getting some good tyres fitted this week and getting my brother to do the wheels alignment down at HiQ for free (He works there so I know it'll be an ok job), then get to WIM very soon

[MX-5 Lazza]

Jonny671 said:

Thinking of getting some good tyres fitted this week and getting my brother to do the wheels alignment down at HiQ for free (He works there so I know it'll be an ok job), then get to WIM very soon

If your brother at HiQ only does a normal tracking job then don't bother, it's likely to make things worse. It really needs a full 4-wheel alignment, anything else is a waste of time.

[Jonny671]

MX-5 Lazza said:

Jonny671 said:

Thinking of getting some good tyres fitted this week and getting my brother to do the wheels alignment down at HiQ for free (He works there so I know it'll be an ok job), then get to WIM very soon

If your brother at HiQ only does a normal tracking job then don't bother, it's likely to make things worse. It really needs a full 4-wheel alignment, anything else is a waste of time.

Its 4 wheel laser alignment down there.. And for free can't be worse than it is now, the people I bought it off didn't even know what alignment was

[Furyblade_Lee]

I am buying a set of 15's soon and when I do I am going to put a set of my part worn Yokohama AO21R's on my 14's (from my kitcar) to see how they handle. They are not cheap new, about £330 a set, but they are incredible on kit cars / Caterhams. They are widely used as wet weather racing tyres but they give awesome grip in the dry, albeit they are so soft they do not last me very long. They have very stiff sidewalls for 185/60/14s and I cannot wait to try them on the Eunos. It came with new Lickey-Lang Woo Chinese rubbish! I will get my allignment done at WIM at the same time also.

Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Tuesday 11th May 16:08

[anonymous-user]

Sorry to thread hijack but how would an owner fairly new to the MX5 (i.e. me) know if their car needed the alignment done or not, £100 is a lot of dough if it doesn't really need checking/adjusting.

[Jonny671]

yellowbentines said:

Sorry to thread hijack but how would an owner fairly new to the MX5 (i.e. me) know if their car needed the alignment done or not, £100 is a lot of dough if it doesn't really need checking/adjusting.

How do you personally think it drives?

Nicely?
What is your tyre wear like? Even?
Does the steering wheel sit straight?

[Red Firecracker]

Do you know when it was last done?

It transformed mine and now it gets done every year.

[chopper602]

Don't forget WiM shares it's unit with a tyre fitting company too - see if you can get a deal for the geo set-up and a new set of boots . . . .

(when I was there Tony recommended Toyos for my NC)

[Jonny671]

Instead of starting a new thread..

Yokohama Parada 2 or Toyo T1R?

£55 difference between them..

[Munter]

Jonny671 said:

Instead of starting a new thread..

Yokohama Parada 2 or Toyo T1R?

£55 difference between them..

Toyo for me. But I've had neither so it's fully based on a good experience with Toyo T1S I had.

[J-Tuner]

I've got toyo's on courtesy of Black Boots and a WiM alignment, along with some WiM made springs - its a great combo. If you are already comfortable with the car and enjoy a lively rear end i would suggest you ask Tony to dial in a smidgeon more oversteer - the road setup is quite safe by all accounts - which is fine for the everyday driver but might not hit the spot for a PH'er

Edited by J-Tuner on Tuesday 11th May 21:03

[Jonny671]

J-Tuner said:

I've got toyo's on courtesy of Black Boots and a WiM alignment, along with some WiM made springs - its a great combo. If you are already comfortable with the car and enjoy a lively rear end i would suggest you ask Tony to dial in a smidgeon more oversteer - the road setup is quite safe by all accounts - which is fine for the everyday driver but might not hit the spot for a PH'er

Edited by J-Tuner on Tuesday 11th May 21:03

I'm 4 months off 2 years driving.. And this is my first RWD.. 1.8iS..

Think road setup will be best for a year or so? Or get some more oversteer and go careful and learn?

Thanks also about the tyres, think I'll go for the Toyos

[MX-5 Lazza]

Go with Tonys Fast Road settings. It adds more feedback and sharper turn-in but keeps it neutral i.e. No oversteer unless provoked.