Got some new tyres fitted - Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 to give them their full title.
Size is 195/50R15, they look very square on the factory 15x6" wheels as you can see above. As soon as I left the tyre shop the wheels were spinning, but that is (hopefully only) due to the release compound doing its thing. All going well they should be scrubbed in by next week.
With Tony busy today, I jacked the car in the street and crawled under to change some fluids.
First, engine oil - I don't think the previous stuff was too old, but at least I have a starting point now. Shell Helix Ultra full synthetic 5W-40.
Then on to the gearbox oil - good to see the gorilla still works at the Mazda factory - those gearbox fill and drain caps were on stupidly tight. It took a BFH to encourage them off. Refilled with 1 litre of Castrol Syntrax and the remainder (nearly a litre) of Castrol ATF - a strange mix admittedly, but ATF is apparently good for curing crunchy shifts (which I have badly on 2nd gear), because it is less viscous and allows the synchros to engage faster. Will find out how it goes soon...
Lastly, I replaced the shifter boots which were torn (see previous post) and topped up the shift tower (with ATF, because the bottle was open).
Dropped the tyre pressure back from 36 psi that the tyre guys had put in it,to something more sensible. Surprisingly not much difference in ride though. Must be some stiff sidewalls here :o)
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