Cyberpunk Miata Turbofans Look the Part Because They’re Made From Scratch
Get lost in the satisfying art of making turbofans for a rad roadster build.
Craftsmanship can feel like a lost art today, where almost everything we could ever need is sold off-the-shelf and there’s usually somebody who can do it better than you. Getting stuck into a project and properly figuring things out is rare now. But for YouTuber Tofu Auto Works and his Cyberpunk Miata, it’s a way of life.
You might have seen his Cyberpunk Miata make the rounds online, or followed his build where he put an R35 Nissan GT-R front clip on a Nissan Stagea wagon. There’s no doubt that this guy has serious skill and an eye for aesthetics. He’s based in New Zealand, a country famous in car circles for its lax import and emissions laws that make it a car paradise. Culturally, New Zealand is also quite hands-on and creative. Thus, when Tofu Auto Works wanted to make new turbofans for his Miata, he decided to make them from scratch and document the process on his YouTube channel.
And when I say he "made them from scratch," I mean he started with his old steel wheels, a set of wider, 13-inch wheel barrels, and a 3D printer. He painstakingly cut every wheel face out of his old steelies, measured it all to ensure a perfect fit, and then re-welded the wheels together in his preferred offset. Once the wheels were done, he recreated them in computer-aided design (CAD) software and designed his new turbofans around them. After a few iterations, he 3D-printed his new turbofans.
He did not complete the project in the 38-minute video embedded above, but he did get as far as sanding the 3D-printed turbofans in preparation for finishing work. It looks like the turbofans won’t get painted, but will get wrapped in real carbon fiber weave, or even remade in carbon fiber. Either way, the process of making the wheels in-house is a true display of modern craftsmanship. Tofu Auto Works did an impeccable job, not to mention one that's satisfying to watch.
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