Wheel Refurb - What colour?

HeeroUk · 11 Jul 2009 at 15:38

I think the black with the red rim looks good as it goes with the colour of the car

aayzof · 11 Jul 2009 at 15:43

matte orange

Thomas. PLease. · 11 Jul 2009 at 16:23

i'd just go for plain anthracite.

Kenai · 11 Jul 2009 at 16:39

Only go gloss black if you'll keep the tyres nice, otherwise they end up looking really grey and horrible in comparison.

mk1_salami · 11 Jul 2009 at 17:23

Well, they're gloss black now. I decided to paint them rather than powdercoat because black is a pretty easy colour to paint. I'll let them dry overnight and tomorrow I'll apply the laquer and rimtape. I can't wait. They look the dogs

melchy · 11 Jul 2009 at 17:24

Thomas. PLease. said:
i'd just go for plain anthracite.

D'oh, hadn't realised you had already painted them.

4T5 · 11 Jul 2009 at 17:31

Black wheels = Uber cool & many Man points !!!

mk1_salami · 12 Jul 2009 at 21:28

Started applying rim tape this evening and have done 2 of 4 so far. I had a 3m applicator which was useless for these wheels, so I just did it by eye.

I also just ordered some new lightweight red annodised wheel nuts to finish them off :cool:

It took a while but I'm really pleased with the way they came out. Here is a pic:

saitrix · 12 Jul 2009 at 21:34

Looks good! Did you take the tyres off when spraying?

mk1_salami · 12 Jul 2009 at 21:38

Nope I deflated the tyres and wedged index cards inbetween the tyre and the rim. I can't remember where I read it, but it worked really well. Top tip of the day!

aproctor · 12 Jul 2009 at 22:53

What wheels are they?

Is that an FM exhaust?

mk1_salami · 12 Jul 2009 at 23:04

They're Watanabe F8F in 15" x 7" at the rear and 15"x 6.5" at the front. And its a 2.5" exhaust with decat from XS Speed. I'm not sure I would recommend it to be honest. I had to do a little fabrication with re-angling the tailpipe to make it sit properly.

If I was to get another exhaust I'd get my car booked in somewhere for a 3" straight through system and the same tail piece. Are you thinking about buying an exhaust?

aproctor · 12 Jul 2009 at 23:20

mk1_salami said:
They're Watanabe F8F in 15" x 7" at the rear and 15"x 6.5" at the front. And its a 2.5" exhaust with decat from XS Speed. I'm not sure I would recommend it to be honest. I had to do a little fabrication with re-angling the tailpipe to make it sit properly.

If I was to get another exhaust I'd get my car booked in somewhere for a 3" straight through system and the same tail piece. Are you thinking about buying an exhaust?

Yeah, had my eye on a Larini cat back, but it's not cheap and i'm dubious now over the quality issues i have heard about (cheap welds etc)

I like the wheels though, did they come with the car?

saitrix · 12 Jul 2009 at 23:21

Ahh heard of XS Speed, go with mx5mad, which is being run by only one of the guys now.

Thought you would go for a 3", lots of the guys on turbomiata are doing that arnt they.

saitrix · 12 Jul 2009 at 23:21

aproctor said:
Yeah, had my eye on a Larini cat back, but it's not cheap and i'm dubious now over the quality issues i have heard about (cheap welds etc)

I like the wheels though, did they come with the car?

I can say I really like my mx5parts cat-back system, only £170 too.

mk1_salami · 13 Jul 2009 at 00:45

I wish the wheels came with the car! When I first got the car it had horrible kerbed 'fox racing' wheels. They had to go!

And yeah.... 3" exhausts / minimal back pressure for the win

aproctor · 13 Jul 2009 at 01:06

mk1_salami said:
I wish the wheels came with the car! When I first got the car it had horrible kerbed 'fox racing' wheels. They had to go!

And yeah.... 3" exhausts / minimal back pressure for the win

How much were they?

aproctor · 13 Jul 2009 at 01:06

saitrix said:
I can say I really like my mx5parts cat-back system, only £170 too.

It does look good but as i have a "big cat" i would have to change the manifold and downpipe as well, and if i am doing that i may as well go bigger and better.

saitrix · 13 Jul 2009 at 10:08

Hmm thats annoying, though surely its only the downpipe thats different as the manifold is the same. If you can be bothered you should be able to pick up a 2nd hand 1.8 downpipe for £20. Then you just need to find a 2nd hand cat too, they are about, I saw one the other day go for £20.

mk1_salami · 19 Jul 2009 at 22:48

Thought I'd put a post up here with some pics I pulled off my phone to show the progress of painting the wheels:

Watanabe F8F in 15"

Here they are before:

After a good clean:

Using the index cards to mask the tyres:

All the wheels primed and ready for paint:

Black paint, rim tape and laquer applied (this pic is a bit blurry!):

And the finished result!:

Any opinions welcome