Post pics of your Mazda5

Plasti-dip sucks! After putting in a lot of time and effort to properly clean and paint the wheels, the stuff comes off to the touch. I can gently rub my finger across it and it will come off. I even did it a second time with the companies recommended "pre-dip" cleaner and bonding agent and the results were the same. I have to hand wash the car and avoid the wheels to keep it from coming off.
I am not sure what people are doing to get this stuff to stick to their cars, and maybe it's the finish on the Mazdaspeed wheels, but as far as I am concerned it's only good for testing out whether you like the color or not. Will be getting the wheels re-done with paint as soon as I get the time.

Thanks for the honest assessment. So you're gonna rattle can them in the same color? I know it's a good bit more expensive, but have you thought about powder coating them? I did that with a set of RX-8 rims and loved how they turned out. Helped that I got a bro deal...cost right at $200.
 
Thanks for the honest assessment. So you're gonna rattle can them in the same color? I know it's a good bit more expensive, but have you thought about powder coating them? I did that with a set of RX-8 rims and loved how they turned out. Helped that I got a bro deal...cost right at $200.

I am going to have a shop that I do some work with paint them for a similar bro deal. I couldn't find powder coating for less than $250/wheel around here.


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I think just the opposite, the Nagare is what gives it the unique character. I have driven the Nissan Lafesta, it looks just like any other minivan to me.
The problem is in it's stock form the Gen 2 is a bit frumpy, but the same can be said of gen 1, especially without the side skirts and rear spoiler. I work in the auto industry and am around car enthusiasts all the time and pretty much everyone says "wow" when they see mine. Gen 1 looks dated to me now.
This is why it is great to have options :). I would argue that the Nagare design language, which inspired the waves and grill, was a big fail (great in concept) and short lived. I do think the horizontal tails fill in the hatch door better. The vertical lights leave a lot of empty space making the rear look "flat".

Most cars do look frumpy stock. A nice lowered stance, pretty pair of shoes, tinted windows, and a nice color combination can make ANY car look 2x better. You pic is particularly appealing. I’m no photo expert but the lighting/colors (blending the grey flooring with the car) makes it quite appealing and all the hard structured lines on the walls/doors/concert floor does a nice contrast to highlight the car. Ok, enough of my amateur option. Nice pic, nice car, to each his own and if you don’t own one, what are you waiting for! :D


Edit: I was wondering why the car was parked near an entry/exit door, which is not a spot, and I noticed it must have been there for a little bit b/c of the dry shadow indicating it has not moved. There are no other tire marks made by passing cars so I was wondering if the photo was professionally staged. Then I noticed the watermark on the corner.. Am I correct in guess your screen name is short for your business and not as it sounds? You take AWESOME pictures BTW! Not fair in using your photos against us lowly point and shooter :)
Correction, good job in using the photo to illustrate your case :D
 
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Plasti-dip sucks! After putting in a lot of time and effort to properly clean and paint the wheels, the stuff comes off to the touch. I can gently rub my finger across it and it will come off. I even did it a second time with the companies recommended "pre-dip" cleaner and bonding agent and the results were the same. I have to hand wash the car and avoid the wheels to keep it from coming off.
I am not sure what people are doing to get this stuff to stick to their cars, and maybe it's the finish on the Mazdaspeed wheels, but as far as I am concerned it's only good for testing out whether you like the color or not. Will be getting the wheels re-done with paint as soon as I get the time.

I think just the opposite, the Nagare is what gives it the unique character. I have driven the Nissan Lafesta, it looks just like any other minivan to me.
The problem is in it's stock form the Gen 2 is a bit frumpy, but the same can be said of gen 1, especially without the side skirts and rear spoiler. I work in the auto industry and am around car enthusiasts all the time and pretty much everyone says "wow" when they see mine. Gen 1 looks dated to me now.

Let me qualify my statement. It looks like any other van from the the rear 3/4 view. Why get rid of the LEDs?! Horizontal?! They look like something Honda would do. :( And the "waveys" strike me as a misplaced attempt to make it look unique. Wife and i went to the dealer ready to trade in our gen 1 until we noticed them. We were willing to overlook the rear tail lights (though i love the gen 1 LEDs) but those random lines along the side just go with nothing else. Perhaps if it didn't have that top character line from the tailights that intersects the waveys i might have loved it. The interior alllllmost convinced us to just go for it but the wavays...the goddam waveys! That being said, the more i look at your van with rims and a drop, the more i like it...A LOT! Well, except from the rear 3/4 view lol.

And Plasti-dip has always sucked. It's for teenagers with time to spray their wheels every weekend lol Sorry you had to find out the hard way. At least now you know the color looks good. Like really good!

I disgree about the Gen 1 looking dated though. With HIDs, the LED tails, and the side skirts i think she still holds her own against the new Cmax or Sienna. Now the interior and 5 speed tranny are another story.

Here's my dated girl. :p In desperate need of detailing and tints


Thanks for the honest assessment. So you're gonna rattle can them in the same color? I know it's a good bit more expensive, but have you thought about powder coating them? I did that with a set of RX-8 rims and loved how they turned out. Helped that I got a bro deal...cost right at $200.

I am going to have a shop that I do some work with paint them for a similar bro deal. I couldn't find powder coating for less than $250/wheel around here.
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Can i ship you my wheels to PC? lol My buddy OWNS a shop and the best he could do for me was $150...PER WHEEL. I'm obviously in the wrong part of this country. or need a new friend.
 
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Can i ship you my wheels to PC? lol My buddy OWNS a shop and the best he could do for me was $150...PER WHEEL. I'm obviously in the wrong part of this country. or need a new friend.

PM sent. ...and no, I don't want you to ship your wheels to me. :)
 
Can i ship you my wheels to PC? lol My buddy OWNS a shop and the best he could do for me was $150...PER WHEEL. I'm obviously in the wrong part of this country. or need a new friend.

Definitely wrong buddy for a bro deal...LOL.
 
Plasti-dip sucks! After putting in a lot of time and effort to properly clean and paint the wheels, the stuff comes off to the touch. I can gently rub my finger across it and it will come off. I even did it a second time with the companies recommended "pre-dip" cleaner and bonding agent and the results were the same. I have to hand wash the car and avoid the wheels to keep it from coming off.
I am not sure what people are doing to get this stuff to stick to their cars, and maybe it's the finish on the Mazdaspeed wheels, but as far as I am concerned it's only good for testing out whether you like the color or not. Will be getting the wheels re-done with paint as soon as I get the time.

I plastidipped my steel winter wheels just for the hell of it last fall. I didn't bother to thoroughly clean them, just wipe them down and try to get most of the dirt off left over from last winter. They've taken quite a beating this year driving through snow and slush plus a couple of automatic car washes and non of the wheels have started to peel. The OEM wheels are also plastidipped and I have had no issues with peeling, so seems a little odd you had so much trouble with yours.
 
and then guys like you post that plasti-dip is great and i wanna try it again. I wonder why there's such a hit or miss on the forums when it comes to this stuff.
 
Now with more roof rack (2thumbs)

Moving day part two, interior was loaded to the roof. Got 27-30mpg over almost 400 miles with both bikes on the roof, but had to drive 55-65mph as I was following a buddy who was trailering my other car for me. (Last trip I got 25mpg with one bike on roof doing 80+ most of the way though)

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And still with the crappy plasti-dip (sadbanana)




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^ yup

I've been meaning to throw up some pics of her clean. This summer i'll strip the door molding, clay bar and a 3-step cleaner/wax/sealer with a random orbital. Then i'll ***** her some more on this thread :)







 
I know I'm a day late and a dollar short to the conversation but being an owner of the 2009 Mazda5, I must say that I like the first gen's best thus far. Personally I prefer the facelifted Gen 1 but that's because the front lower bumper area seemed to be missing something and they made it flow a little better. I prefer the vertical tails on the Mazda5 and personally think the Gen 2 looks all wrong: wavy doors, directional wheels, goofy grin, horizontal tails, off-center antenna. Not sure if the pictured photo of the Mazda5 sporting the Kodo design is accurate or not but if so, I'll be skipping that version as well.

I originally got the one I did because it was manual, pre grin, and low miles. The one big benefit that the Gen 2 has is the 6MT not the 5MT. I love that Mazda gave it a manual but for Christ's sake, can a man get a top of the line model of a car in stick shift?! Who do I need to suck off to make that happen from the factory? Thankfully the Mazda6 (my possible next car) offers stick in mid level trim as well (Touring). The new 3 offers it in Grand Touring (but in the in the "i" package only).

My perfect dad car: 2009 Mazda5 2.0L-Turbo 6MT AWD with GT styling package. OMG that would be the day. :)
 
I know I'm a day late and a dollar short to the conversation but being an owner of the 2009 Mazda5, I must say that I like the first gen's best thus far. Personally I prefer the facelifted Gen 1 but that's because the front lower bumper area seemed to be missing something and they made it flow a little better. I prefer the vertical tails on the Mazda5 and personally think the Gen 2 looks all wrong: wavy doors, directional wheels, goofy grin, horizontal tails, off-center antenna. Not sure if the pictured photo of the Mazda5 sporting the Kodo design is accurate or not but if so, I'll be skipping that version as well.

I originally got the one I did because it was manual, pre grin, and low miles. The one big benefit that the Gen 2 has is the 6MT not the 5MT. I love that Mazda gave it a manual but for Christ's sake, can a man get a top of the line model of a car in stick shift?! Who do I need to suck off to make that happen from the factory? Thankfully the Mazda6 (my possible next car) offers stick in mid level trim as well (Touring). The new 3 offers it in Grand Touring (but in the in the "i" package only).

My perfect dad car: 2009 Mazda5 2.0L-Turbo 6MT AWD with GT styling package. OMG that would be the day. :)

Hey Dirty Goatee have you driven a gen2 MZ5? If you haven't I think your perception would change a bit. I agree with you 100% that the first generation MZ5 totally takes the trophy in the styling department over the second generation. However, the improvements on the gen2 MZ5, minus the styling cues are no match for the gen1. I know this because I've had both and driven both on a daily basis. I had a 2006 auto Touring, a 2006 manual Touring, and now a 2012 auto grand touring. If I had to rank them in overall driving dynamics and feel it would be like so:
1. 2012 GT
2. 2006 Touring Manual
3. 2006 Touring Auto
So in a nutshell, what the gen2 lacks in styling, it totally overtakes the gen1 in refinement and driving dynamics. For lack of a better term the 2012+ is the grown up, sophisticated, buttoned up but still fun version of the Mazda5. Now if we can get a 2015 GT with manual trans and LED tail lamps that would just be the icing on the cake.
 
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Hey Dirty Goatee have you driven a gen2 MZ5? If you haven't I think your perception would change a bit. I agree with you 100% that the first generation MZ5 totally takes the trophy in the styling department over the second generation. However, the improvements on the gen2 MZ5, minus the styling cues are no match for the gen1. I know this because I've had both and driven both on a daily basis. I had a 2006 auto Touring, a 2006 manual Touring, and now a 2012 auto grand touring. If I had to rank them in overall driving dynamics and feel it would be like so:
1. 2012 GT
2. 2006 Touring Manual
3. 2006 Touring Auto
So in a nutshell, what the gen2 lacks in styling, it totally overtakes the gen1 in refinement and driving dynamics. For lack of a better term the 2012+ is the grown up, sophisticated, buttoned up but still fun version of the Mazda5. Now if we can get a 2015 GT with manual trans and LED tail lamps that would just be the icing on the cake.

I'll take your word on this but when the day comes and I'm in the market for a new whip, it won't be a Mazda5. It'll likely be one of two options: Mazda6 (assuming they don't mess up the exterior styling of the current gen) or a MINI Cooper S (preferably JCW tuned).
 
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