Refreshed Wheels and Other Updates

Happy Saturday! Time for another update on the 6’s.

A mini-milestone was achieved a few weeks ago (245,000 miles) for the “S.” Luckily, no major maintenance or repair items are on the list. The “i” hasn’t seen the road much in the past few months as it sits just under 190,000 miles. The identity crisis for the “S” still continues as I put the “chrome mustache” grille back on for the sake of keeping it recognizable for what little press/social media exposure it’s had.

The appearance changes haven’t stopped there, though. I’ve been hoarding some Mazdaspeed 6 parts for a while, and among them were some nice stainless steel kick plates. I swapped those for the stock black plates.

I also finally did a refresh on the factory wheels which is something I’ve been wanting to do since day one. I took a little time off work to run a spare set of OEM wheels I had to Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists in El Paso, TX. That was only a 55 mile drive one way…not bad for a “quick” errand.

I could have had the wheels reconditioned to the original silver, but I wanted to add a little pizzazz. The “S” is far from being original (or stock), so what harm could come from a few more mild mods? I was brave and chose a dark hyper silver powder coat. I left the wheels overnight and returned pleasantly surprised the next day to get them mounted. Whoa!! Why haven’t I done this sooner? I was in love with the new look.

Before: The original wheels were certainly overdue a new look. Most of the clear coat was worn away and dogs have peed on these more times than the fire-hydrant down the street. I’d like to mention that all the curb rash was from the previous owners. 🙂

After:

Leaving in style.

The new finish goes lovely with the Steel Grey Metallic.

To complete the package, I gave the “S” a good wash, clay bar and paint sealer.

I pulled both 6’s out for a quick photo op. Since my local friends and family don’t drive a manual, it’s tricky getting both cars out for photos. Plenty of stares from the neighbors and traffic as usual.

May not be everyone’s taste, but I like the chrome and hyper silver combo.

In other news, my Dad and Grandpa’s birthdays fell on two consecutive weekends. Why not make the 600+ mile (each) drive for both? So I did. I took the “S” for both occasions. The first weekend was Dad’s. Sadly, my phone died while visiting Dad, so no photos were available.

Grandpa’s weekend was next, and we had quite a gathering for him at a nearby casino. Some 35+ people attended.

Pictured here: Friends Nancy and Matt with Grandpa in the middle. Grandpa is 94 years old now and still going strong. He’s unstoppable and even recently purchased himself a clean 1-owner 2013 Mazda 3 Sport.

How many 94 year olds do you know who still daily drive a manual?

I also visited the magicians at Dent Specialties of El Paso to get a few dings taken care of.

They were amused by my trunk liner and actually posted a photo of it on their Instagram account!

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That about covers it for now. I’m starting to run out of space here on the free WordPress account and I may have only enough for one more post before purchasing a domain. I’ll give updates on that when the time comes. Cheers!

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