Upgrading a car in the spirit of how it was designed at the factory can often be the best of all worlds, so to speak.
- Car: Mazda2
- Location: Texas
- Photog: Zachariah Woods (IG: @tsunamisephi)
- Camera: Canon 7D Mk2, 50mm 1.4
Take this gorgeous Spirited Green Metallic Mazda2. As you might know, I own a Mazda2 myself, and have proclaimed on more than one occasion that its one of the best modern, truly small cars, ever. It’s a Mk2 Golf with modern safety equipment.
One of the many cool things about the 2 is it has a 4×100 bolt pattern, so there are infinite wheel choices out there. Its distant, RWD cousin the ND MX-5 Miata also takes 4×100 wheels; when the two are combined, badass OEM+ things happen.
Like tasteful 17-inch wheels on the 2. I say tasteful, because what’s more tasteful than taking wheels that the automaker put on the cars themselves? It almost always works out, and this is no exception. They’re also just generally good-looking wheels; if I owned an ND with them equipped, I’d probably leave them on and forego any aftermarket options, lower it a tad, maybe paint them satin black, and fit the widest tires I could. Done.
What’s also cool about swapping different OEM wheels, is you know they’re quality, well-made wheels (usually), and can often be bought second-hand for super cheap.
Zach’s done some minor suspension and tire work to get this excellent look. Megan lowering springs on new OEM shocks and struts, Bridgestone Potenza tires, and that’s about it. I really dig the ride height; its noticeably lower than stock, therefore nice n’ sporty, but still plenty functional. When I hit him up about it, asking if I could share this photo on here, he kindly obliged, and added “the goal now for the 2 is to make as close to a ‘Mazdaspeed’ version as I can.”
That’s a solid plan, and I think he’s off to a brilliant start.
