Wheels and Tires!

Good news, bad news today.

Good news: I picked up my new wheels and tires at Discount Tire today. 15x7 Konig Rewinds and 205/50 Falken Azenis RT615K+'s: 😁

Bad news: In my excitement, I left the matching lug nuts behind at the store. Won't be able to go back and pick them up for another 3-4 days. 😞

Turn-honk-lights...

This little do-everything switch cost me a whopping $18 on Amazon. Aside from ignition and wipers, this will handle the (very) limited switching requirements on the car. I think.

[For those that care, the part is intended for use on a tractor. Again, I think. The part is listed on Amazon as "Solarhome New Headlight Switch 5T057-12242 5T057-42242 for Kubota 588I-G 688 888 758 988 Harvester Components RS19."]

New Tires & Rims On The Way

 Stopped by my local Discount Tire today and ordered up 4x Konig Rewind wheels (#45467, 15x7, 4x100mm pattern, 40mm offset). They're designed for first and second-gen Miatas, which is what my suspension pieces are built around:

I also ordered 4x Falken Azenis RT615K+ in 205/50 R15 size:

The big gamble with all this is twofold. First, will it fit? I've measured and remeasured the current wheels and tires (which are 16-inch Miata wheels and 205-series tires). I'm 90% certain the new wheel/tire combo will tuck up properly in the wheel wells... but, that 10% is pretty scary. Slight difference is offsets, slightly wider wheels, super-tight wheel wells both front and rear... well, it's going to be interesting, to say the least. If worse comes to worst, I will have to look at a-arm modifications to move the wheels in and/or out accordingly, which is something I really don't want to do if possible.

Second, will it look good? I must have spent 50-hours looking at different rims online, in person, etc. I really like the "panasport" look like these rims, but the dark spokes are not very standard. Dark rims are hit or miss in general for me. Sometimes they look great on a car, other times it just makes the car look "dirty" or unfinished. The dark spokes on the chrome outer lip of these Rewinds look great in photos, but will it be too dark/ugly in person? Dunno, but I placed a $1.2K bet on this wheel and tire combo, so in a week when they show up, I'll see if the gamble paid off or not.

Cubbyhole Continued

Joe made a little more progress on the cubbyhole. The cover folds down on a short piano hinge, and is secured closed via two 1/4-turn Dzus fasteners. Welded on nuts on the back of the unit will be used to afix the ECU, fusebox, and relays.

Electronics Cubbyhole

We're making progress on the recessed "cubbyhole" built into the rear firewall (behind the seats). This will hold the fuse box, OEM ECU, and a handful of relays that control things like the fan, fuel pump, and such. Joe does amazing work.

Electrical Update

Progress on the electrical system. This is the EZ-Wiring kit that will form the backbone of the electrical system. Also in the box (on the right) is the control unit for the Dakota Digital dash.

Here's the rear cubbyhole for the engine ECU (shown) and the fusebox and various engine control relays (not shown). A hinged cover plate that will be held closed via Dzus-type fasteners is in work:

And finally, a shot of the Dakota Digital VHX-1018 gauges cluster temporarily installed in the dashboard. I *really* like the looks of this unit; it seems to fit the character of the car perfectly: