Instagram story viewer> @along.came.polymetal> Posts

along.came.polymetal

@along.came.polymetal

2.8K

followers

930

following

A Polymetal Gray MX-5 Miata (ND2)
& A love letter to San Francisco & the Bay Area
.
Check out my MazdaUSA feature! Link here:

POSTS STORIES REELS

I just wanted to share some Behind-the-Scenes moments from our shoot for the Mazda Super Fan episode that I had the opportunity to be a part of. If you haven't seen it, check out the MazdaUSA YouTube channel for the full video *Link in Bio!*

In addition, I wanted to share my immeasurable gratitude to all the folks @mazdausa, as well as the production team that made this all not just possible but so damn cool! Thanks for having faith in me to bring something worth your hard work and efforts. 🙏 And what a fun shoot it was! So awesome getting to run around to so many cool locations over 2 days, with such wonderful and talented people.

For backstory, Mazda USA reached out to me last summer and asked me to be a part of this series. I of course didn't hesitate to jump on the opportunity. They asked me to share my Mazda story, and of course a HUGE part of that is the incredible Mazda community that I've been lucky enough to call family these past few years. Of course that includes @bayareamiataassociation. So, I asked if we could somehow involve the club. The team were excited about the idea so we made plans to have them come film one of our monthly drives, and let me tell you, the club SHOWED UP and represented hard! 💪 Thank you everyone who came out to show Mazda what it is we're all about 🥰

Who knew that my shameless callouts to Mazda USA here on IG would actually land me in front of their cameras with my car, my club & my city! 🤯🤣 Thank you.Many times, thank you @emilynrutt and team 😃

Again, please check out the video to show appreciation to the wonderful team who made this all possible. Find it here on IG or on YouTube for the long form version. Plus keep an eye out for more content from this shoot popping up in the coming weeks!

#mazda #mx5 #miata #superfan #mazdasuperfan by @along.came.polymetal

While I already went over what these new wheels are in my last post, I can now show how they look all cleaned up and finished with their new lug nuts and center caps.

Truth be told, after installing the new wheels I felt like I liked them but wasn't really loving them, but now that they're finished up I am actually totally sold on them 😃 They're not flashy or steezy but I think they fit the rest of this car perfectly, looking like they could actually be an OEM option but just a little more sporty. What's interesting is that before this car I've never really cared for black wheels, but for some reason I just feel like this car needs them. And yes, I know people aren't in to the red caps, but I am, so sue me 😄

And while we're talking about works of art (🤭), as I often do, I like to sneak SF icons into my posts. Featured in these photos is a large and striking sculpture installed in front of the Legion of Honor museum. It's known as "Pax Jerusalemme" by the artist Mark di Suvero. It's been in place since 1999. While obviously a very modern piece the lines and overall shape seem to invoke a classical feeling of composition which happens to tie it in nicely to the obviously classical architecture of the museum it sits in front of (maybe you've seen it in an older post of mine). Hah! Tricked you into learning something 😉 I think it's only coincidence that it's similar in color to the Golden Gate Bridge, but it is nice that when you're standing here you can see the bridge off in the distance.

Anyway, blah blah blah, Miatas, wheels, cool 😶‍🌫️

#mazda #mx5 #miata #advantiracing #sanfrancisco by @along.came.polymetal

Small car, big.... city 😐

#mazda #mx5 #miata by @along.came.polymetal

Finally bit the bullet. Ready for another What, Why, Worth it?

First off, disregard the missing center caps, I'm working on something different, and yes the lugs are trash, I'll be replacing those soon too

So:

What? These are Advanti Blizzard wheels in Gloss Black and in 17x7.5 et40 sizing

Why? Besides the obvious visual personalization that inherently comes with adding aftermarket wheels, some wheels also add performance enhancements. For example the physical differences of these wheels over the factory BBS wheels include: a slightly lower offset which combined with the slightly wider width pushes the outer face of the wheel outboard a little over 11mm helping to counteract the sunken-in look of the factory wheels and providing a more sporty stance. In addition, and probably the main reason for my choice of these wheels is that they are each roughly 2.5lbs lighter than the factory BBSs. They use a flow formed construction which may not be quite as strong as the forged BBSs, but more than strong enough for these cars both on road and track, all the while shaving off as much weight as possible. Lighter wheels means less unsprung and rotational mass which offers the benefits of better ride quality, more responsive steering, acceleration and braking, all leading to better handling overall. Other added benefits include no longer having to spend half an hour washing all the spokes on the BBSs.

Worth it? These wheels in particular are definitely worth it. They are a VERY good value for all the added benefits of both form and more importantly function!

Side note, why don't all tire shops stock black wheel weights?? My OCD just can't let that go 😅

#mazda #mx5 #miata #advantiracing #wheels by @along.came.polymetal

Appropriate for Halloween time, a quick visit to Bodega and the site of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Luckily no birds around to attack. Or worse, poop on the interior 😆 by @along.came.polymetal

Hanging out with @along.came.polymetal and chatting about subtle stand-out ND2 build at 2026 @miatareunion.

That wraps up our interview series. We appreciate all the moments and connection we were able to have with all the people we met.

So much love for the community. 🙌🏼🫶🏼 by @along.came.polymetal

Day or Night RS Products gauges from @timelessgauges_official stilll got me struck

#mx5 #miata #jdm #gauges #cars by @along.came.polymetal

Today marks 4 years with this little joy dispenser.

It's no question, I bought the right car. Not a single doubt. Not a single regret.

#mazda #mx5 #miata #goldengatebridge #california by @along.came.polymetal

From a weekend surrounded by hundreds of Miatas to a Saturday evening on Do Not Disturb; 2 very different modes, both feeding one soul

#mazda #mx5 #miata #sanfrancisco #donotdisturb by @along.came.polymetal

After a really fun weekend @miatareunion I got to link up with a wonderful friend many of you will recognize as @oldgrayleather for a return trip back to our homes in San Francisco. Getting to stop for a photo-op together along the coast was a dream and it gave us one last moment for the weekend to gush about these silly little cars and the wonderful community around them.

It was great getting to know you more this weekend Pete and getting to go for a nice long cruise with you and your awesome coupe in the rear view. What a sight.

#mazda #mx5 #miata #roadster #california by @along.came.polymetal

Back for a little revisit. Slide 2 was from over two years ago.

#mazda #mx5 #miata #california #sanfrancisco by @along.came.polymetal

Fifty members of the Bay Area Miata Association had a wonderful time yesterday morning visiting the Academy of Art University Auto Museum in San Francisco.

For more than 2 decades, Tom Matano (@miatapapa) was a much beloved teacher and mentor at the Academy of Art University School of Industrial Design. He was the brilliant designer of both the Mazda MX-5 Miata NA and the FD RX-7, and his Miata and RX-7 are housed at the museum.

The very gracious private invitation to visit the museum was in recognition of Tom’s close relationship with BAMA, and the museum also kindly provided “Inspired” coffee and donuts.

BAMA truly appreciates the tour of the museum’s stunning collection of automobiles and the opportunity to stay connected with Tom’s enduring legacy.

We highly recommend a visit to the museum, and it’s open to the public most afternoons Monday through Thursday (scan QR code in last image for details).

Thank you @academyartid and @academy_of_art—we can’t tell you how much this means to us🙏🏼❤️

📸 @along.came.polymetal

#miatapapa @mazdausa @miatareunion #miatareunion #mx5ownersclub #mx5 by @along.came.polymetal