Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[Weels]

Consider pads for under the tires?

Nope - just need to throw on the battery maintainer that Santa is bringing me & that's that.
See you in the Spring. 

[Firm]

Consider pads for under the tires?

Nope - just need to throw on the battery maintainer that Santa is bringing me & that's that.
See you in the Spring.

Lol, yeah. I wouldn't worry about pads, not sure what the benefit would be? I usually do put the pressure up to around 40psi, which seems to help with the flat spotting.

That cover looks very similar to the one I have on the SLK. Course, yours fits better because it's an actual custom fit, but I've been pleased with the material. Nice and soft inside, and dust doesn't seem to get through it at all.

[Weels]

^

That blue cover on the right looks pretty custom.   
For the 3-4 months it will be parked I wanted a cover to keep dust and winter crap off... that OEM one was $200 so I grabbed it when I got the car.

And, D'oh I meant to add some air to the tires...

[ArticSteve]

I usually do put the pressure up to around 40psi, which seems to help with the flat spotting.

I do 50 psi for storage when the tires are rated 51 psi max. which most are these days.

[Gurgie]

I put mine up to 50psi on my 951 for the winter as well, works well... just have remember to air down before I drive it home, cause it's rough.

Sent from my SM-G850W using Tapatalk

[KD]

^ I put 50psi in the s2000 for storage. Thinking of picking up some dolleys though when they go on sale.  It would be nice to be able to roll it out of the way sometimes. 

[Seafoam]

 Stored  2 miata's for the winter. My garage is getting crowded.

[rrocket]

Stored  2 miata's for the winter. My garage is getting crowded.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steel-Metal-5-Car-Garage-Shop-Building-Kit-/310119893138?hash=item4834960892

[Seafoam]

Stored  2 miata's for the winter. My garage is getting crowded.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steel-Metal-5-Car-Garage-Shop-Building-Kit-/310119893138?hash=item4834960892

Nice but too big for my property. My garage is a 24 by 24.  I can get 3 cars in it. 1  car parked in far corner ,another on dollies parked in front of it. The last is driven all winter so is parked in front of the door.

I seemed to have acquired my sister's car for the winter. Otherwise my garage would be fine.

The POS truck parks outside.

[Firm]

^

That blue cover on the right looks pretty custom.   
For the 3-4 months it will be parked I wanted a cover to keep dust and winter crap off... that OEM one was $200 so I grabbed it when I got the car.

And, D'oh I meant to add some air to the tires...

Old pic; so I *think* the car on the right is the dark red 77 MGB I had last year...and I am not even sure what cover that is  It's obviously a great fit, lol. I probably have a dozen or so different covers I've collected over the years.

[Scaerio]

Yelled, cursed, and swore at it (see "things that make me upset, sad, and angry" thread).

[Firm]

Got the 'Slade back from the shop. While they were waiting for another replacement OE headlight ballast to come in, they were moving the truck and the driver's side (which had previously always been fine) decided it was going to quit too. Same deal, bad ballast. Obviously there was something going on with the system, and I wasn't going to put out $1300 for 2 OE ballasts only to have them fried again; so the shop sourced an aftermarket HID kit that would work with the existing D1R bulbs and wired it in, using power from the  existing harness as a switch and getting main power to the ballasts from a direct 12V source (through a relay). So far it's working great - hopefully it holds out.  Aftermarket kit + labour ended up costing me $350, miles better than the $600/ea for the OE ballasts alone.

[Gurgie]

Got the 'Slade back from the shop. While they were waiting for another replacement OE headlight ballast to come in, they were moving the truck and the driver's side (which had previously always been fine) decided it was going to quit too. Same deal, bad ballast. Obviously there was something going on with the system, and I wasn't going to put out $1300 for 2 OE ballasts only to have them fried again; so the shop sourced an aftermarket HID kit that would work with the existing D1R bulbs and wired it in, using power from the  existing harness as a switch and getting main power to the ballasts from a direct 12V source (through a relay). So far it's working great - hopefully it holds out.  Aftermarket kit + labour ended up costing me $350, miles better than the $600/ea for the OE ballasts alone.

That worked out very well for you! Sounds like a pretty good Indy mechanic you've got over there!

[Firm]

Got the 'Slade back from the shop. While they were waiting for another replacement OE headlight ballast to come in, they were moving the truck and the driver's side (which had previously always been fine) decided it was going to quit too. Same deal, bad ballast. Obviously there was something going on with the system, and I wasn't going to put out $1300 for 2 OE ballasts only to have them fried again; so the shop sourced an aftermarket HID kit that would work with the existing D1R bulbs and wired it in, using power from the  existing harness as a switch and getting main power to the ballasts from a direct 12V source (through a relay). So far it's working great - hopefully it holds out.  Aftermarket kit + labour ended up costing me $350, miles better than the $600/ea for the OE ballasts alone.

That worked out very well for you! Sounds like a pretty good Indy mechanic you've got over there!

He is. As much as I hate paying someone to work on my vehicles, sometimes you just need something fixed right away and having a trustworthy indy is a huge help. Poor guy; just a week or so earlier he spent at least a couple days chasing another electrical issue in my dad's 95 STS. Turned out to be a incorrect part (blower motor) at the end of the day, but he spent hours on it and ate the time. I felt bad after bringing him two shitty jobs in a row, so when I picked up the truck I brought a case of beer with me.

[Gurgie]

Got the 'Slade back from the shop. While they were waiting for another replacement OE headlight ballast to come in, they were moving the truck and the driver's side (which had previously always been fine) decided it was going to quit too. Same deal, bad ballast. Obviously there was something going on with the system, and I wasn't going to put out $1300 for 2 OE ballasts only to have them fried again; so the shop sourced an aftermarket HID kit that would work with the existing D1R bulbs and wired it in, using power from the  existing harness as a switch and getting main power to the ballasts from a direct 12V source (through a relay). So far it's working great - hopefully it holds out.  Aftermarket kit + labour ended up costing me $350, miles better than the $600/ea for the OE ballasts alone.

That worked out very well for you! Sounds like a pretty good Indy mechanic you've got over there!

He is. As much as I hate paying someone to work on my vehicles, sometimes you just need something fixed right away and having a trustworthy indy is a huge help. Poor guy; just a week or so earlier he spent at least a couple days chasing another electrical issue in my dad's 95 STS. Turned out to be a incorrect part (blower motor) at the end of the day, but he spent hours on it and ate the time. I felt bad after bringing him two shitty jobs in a row, so when I picked up the truck I brought a case of beer with me.

Where's he located in the GTA? Would be good to know so I can send my folks there or any friends that I know down there that are looking for a good honest Indy guy.

[Firm]

http://www.cawthraautocentre.aaro.ca/

Not a fancy looking shop or anything, but fair prices and quality work. Cawthra road and Dundas area in Mississauga.

[Gurgie]

http://www.cawthraautocentre.aaro.ca/

Not a fancy looking shop or anything, but fair prices and quality work. Cawthra road and Dundas area in Mississauga.

Awesome, good to know!! That's about 7mins from one of my Aunt's and about 35mins from my parents.

[Weels]

Related to putting the MX-5 away for winter.. I forgot to add air to my tires.
Figured it might be useful/convenient to have a portable air compressor around.

The ones I've seen are all powered by the vehicles 12v outlet, which I'd think run the risk of blowing fuses (?)  Or is it fine as long as you have the car running when pumpin'.
I'd just be using it in my garage, so would prefer one that just plugs into the wall.  Only one I can find is this:

https://www.amazon.ca/Husky-120-Volt-Inflator-Multi-Use-Compressor/dp/B01MSKCZFI/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1480441580&sr=8-1&keywords=Husky+120-Volt+inflator

Also considering this 12v one:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0036E9VB6/ref=sr_ob_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1480441434&sr=1-1

Anyone have one of these gadgets?

[Firm]

Husky one looks good. I am not a fan of the 12V ones, good for an emergency, but nothing else IMO.

I have a large compressor in my garage (or air tools and whatever), so I just use it with tire inflator attachment.

Like this....Except mine is much older, metal and only cost me like $15:
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-premium-tire-inflator-0587731p.html#srp

[5 Wheel Drive]

^ I put 50psi in the s2000 for storage. Thinking of picking up some dolleys though when they go on sale.  It would be nice to be able to roll it out of the way sometimes.

These are the dollies I park the Miata on.  I liked these ones because of the curved platform the tire sits on.  Between that and putting 40lbs of air in the tires, they won't flat spot.  The casters are big enough that it's not too hard to move the car by myself over a typical textured concrete garage floor.  I got them on sale for $60 a pair.

http://www.tscstores.com/TORIN-2-PACK-CARATV-DOLLIES-P18038.aspx