Hey Guys

Last night, a friend and I were driving on the backroads near my apartment. We were headed to dinner in Los Olivos, and were having a great time slicing through the switchbacks and hairpins that cut through the vineyards of the area. The car was running great, devouring the chilly air, and spitting out a great exhaust note that echoed through the hills.

All of a sudden, approaching a 2nd gear turn, a Deer walks off the embankment on the left side of the road and pauses directly in the center of the narrow road.
I spot the deer right as im downshifting/revmatching from 3rd, and get on the brakes...likely a little too hard...but no time much else..

The brakes lock, and we slide 20 feet or so on the road, and then begin down a very large, 45 degree embankement..sideways...

Luckily, the car only slides ten feet down the embankment before its front right fender comes to rest against a large tree.

Yes, Im upset. I LOVE this car..a lot.. and it pains me to see it like this..especially considering all the performance parts I have been gathering, and was so close to installing before this incident..

But...A foot more to the right, and it would have been "Goodnight, Rx7!" from hitting the tree head on. But had the tree not been there at all, the car would have likely flipped over, and rolled another 20 feet down the embankment..

Thank God for small miracles..

And most importantly of all, We were both completely uninjured.

That being said, here is my car before last night..



And after..





Very luckily, the suspension and driveline components were completely unharmed in the accident.

So the quest begins to return my car to its former glory..

Ive already posted in the Classifieds, but I figured this was a good story to share if to serve as nothing more than a cautionary tale..

Any help locating a Sunrise Red replacement panel and door would be greatly appreciated.

Any comments, recommendations, or advice on the best route of repair etc. is also greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks in advance, and drive safe out there!

-Smith

feel free to txt 713 703 1314

 

good to hear you are okay! also glad the car suffered minimal damage.

hope to see back to its former glory soon, thats a really nice car you have there!

 

car looks great. i mean abs or not.... you cant "stand" on the brakes. gotta stomp them down and then back off some. or youll lock them up every time

and those little 13" tires dont stop for **** either, tires stop the car not the brakes.

 

Oh definitely..
I got on the brakes and right off, but with the conditions and the speed..too little too late..

Im currently picking out tires for my 15inch Rikens..doubtful if the extra bit of rubber would have made much of a difference under the circumstances..

Will be happy to have the additional rubber soon!

Thanks for the comments guys

 

Tire diameter has nothing to do with stopping power. It doesn't influence the contact patch one way or the other if the pressure is right. Width, yes; diameter, no.

 

Right..We'll see what going from a 185 to a 205 does in that regard..

 

Anyone out there have the parts I need?? The damaged fender is off the car, I need a replacement!

Please help! Thanks!

 

Going from 185 to 205 on my car (13" wheels) made a pronounced difference in grip.

 

with the right offset you cant get alot more meat under some 15" rims with minimal rub. why in gods name would you go 15" and just put 205's?

i only mentioned the tires earlier because if there bald.... it doesnt matter what brakes you have your not going to stop.

 

You said it..."with the right offset"...

Im currently restoring a nice old set of Riken reverse mesh wheels, and they appear to be a pretty high offset. I know the former owner, who ran them on his lemons car, said they ran a 205 and loved how it felt, so thats where I started..

Im am going gsl-se suspsension with respeed race coilovers/camber plates in the front, and am worried about room...any suggestions and Id be more than happy to hear them!





p.s. Rotorvenom..from the houston area?? born and raised West Houston, Westheimer & Dairy Ashford

 

Those Rikens are pretty!

Also I saw that post, about Seinfeld with FB's in Movies right?

Glad to see you are alright and that the car is almost unharmed. Would suck to have anymore damage than that. Hope you find your parts soon and get her back to how pretty she was!

 

Mazda has them $160 NEW, part number is FA01-52-111D

 

Yeah a new one from Mazda would be the last call..but thanks for the part number.

I'd like to find a straight panel in sunrise red or black if at all possible. Someone out there must have a parts car sittin around with straight fenders!

 

I'd sell you mine, but it's full of Bondo and doesn't belong on that beautiful of a car

 

haha oh, she looks alright..but as the saying often goes.."Good from far..Far from Good.." at least in my opinion..
Theres plenty to be improved upon. Brakes and tires namely haha.

 

yeah im from the NW side of houston, my familys been here forever. you know you have a problem when your house looks like this.


sorry to get off topic OP lol

 

I think you..can fix The same Parts.....