And so it begins....323BG hatch ----> V6 powa with a few extra surprises

[323driver]

Direzzas are the ****... the car will handle like a go cart. At a local event on a small track, a guy was running coilovers and Direzzas on his mazda3 and he out handled all the MS3 and protege speeds with coilovers as well. It was all about the tires that day.

[Dan [Sac]]

So it's 80 degrees outside, my fever is below 100, and I can stand upright...I guess that qualifies for 'feeling better'






More pics with explanashanz later...

[IMACHU2]

Looks Killer.

Don'ton the primmered area's or you will have to take it back to bare metal.

[Dan [Sac]]

Finally, a lull in the Championship League games to post the rest of the pics...lol & Barcelona & Inter....



So the ZG flares are dual flavored - the front ones are thinner and asymmetric, and the rears are fatter but symmetric.

Since I ordered 2 complete sets, I have the opportunity to play with both types. At first I thought I was going to have to trim the rears, but after the first trial fitment it looks like I'll be using the rear style for both the front & rear of the car. The tires are really that fat.

I have 8mm spacers, but there is no way those are getting put on (all photos are without spacers). If I put the spacers on, even the fatter style flare is not enough to cover the rubber.


The first set of photos show the 'fat' (rear) flares installed both front & rear. I think this is the style I will settle on.

Note that I could not physically lower the car anymore without cutting the fender & 1/4 panels (as is, the fender and quarter panels were sitting on the tires under the flares). So it will be another inch lower after cutting. I will have to do some chassis trimming in front to allow lock-to-lock tire clearance, but that was to be expected with such a drastic tire diameter increase.

















































Here the skinnier 'front' flares installed in front - they don't look too bad, but they just can't cover the rubber.

[monoxidechild]

hot damn. thats not gonna be your actual driving height is it? cause i doubt that would be anywhere near daily drivable. looks O G gangsta though! offset of the wheels match's the flare's perfectly.

[Dan [Sac]]

No, I don't expect to be tucking this much rubber in the final iteration, but it won't be too far off. After making the cuts I'll see how the suspension travel will affect the arc that the wheel makes under spring compression and based on that I'll set the flare height.

The car looks 'squished' without the bumpers though, it's like a short fat chick right now...

[mx-3_4evr]

That's perfect!

[bomdoutscort]

I think it looks hot. The only thing i woud change is make the tires a more lower profile. Just looks like too much tire in there.

[Dan [Sac]]

I agree, but for the gearing and comfort I have in mind, I chose to err on the side of too much rubber the first time around. The final drive is 4.66 and I didn't want to be at 4500 rpm while cruising in 5th gear at 65mph. Also with the blower the bigger diameter should aid traction a bit over smaller tires.

[progt91]

looking evil dan. that car is looking very sweet.

[Ace]

i wonder what kind of life you can expect out of those? they look pretty soft? whats the treadwear?

[monoxidechild]

any chance you can take a pic from the ground looking at the ass? i want to see how that stance from the rear looks with that fat rubber. it has to look way hot!

[Dan [Sac]]

i wonder what kind of life you can expect out of those? they look pretty soft? whats the treadwear?

200 treadwear. Life will depend on how it's driven - I don't expect to put that many miles on the car, so I'm hoping 6-12 months per set. You can have 900-treadwear tires destroyed in 3 months if you beat the crap out of them

[Dan [Sac]]

any chance you can take a pic from the ground looking at the ass? i want to see how that stance from the rear looks with that fat rubber. it has to look way hot!

Good call, I'll do that next week when I start cutting. It'll will hurt her a bit, but like Pam Anderson, she'll be much better off after the 'nip-tuck'

[Dan [Sac]]

Ho-leeeeee crap my parts are finally here (plug wires and powdercoated VCs). Will be working on firing it up now, it should take some days. These things are only 4 weeks late....