MX5/Miata Thread

MX5/Miata Thread


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Unprotected rollbars are major harzard, that's why people use padding to soften the impact. Yeah, it's still a hazard, but might make enough difference. I changed the stock seat to bucket one, which is much higher and reduces of the chance to hit my head against the soon installed rollbar. And of course the rollbar will be padded. I would like to go for full cage, but then the bars going from the back to the windshield and A-pillar would be really close to my head, and that's already too large risk for me.
 
It's also a lower risk for some of us. While my head might still be able to find its way to a roll bar in a crash, my seat isn't exactly anywhere near it.

FWIW, this is an occasional hotly debated topic on Miata.net. Some say the roll bar is still an overall improvement in safety because of the help it provides in rollovers and it can stop a truck that was coming over the car in a rear-end situation (which seems... dubious, to me). IMO, the risks and benefits aren't well understood, so do what you want to do and let the angry people just be angry. :)

I do agree with you, Lastsoul, that the risks of a full cage without helmet, etc. are more than the benefits on the street. There's a whole lot of metal to hit and it's harder to get in and out of the car (increasing your risk of being trapped in it). It's not the risk of the car catching fire that causes racing to require a fire suit. It's the risk of being trapped in the car longer by the cage, harness, H&N restraint, window netting, etc. while it's on fire that requires the fire suit.
 
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So...been hunting for NAs and NBs (96s and 99s roughly) and this came up on my Craigslist RSS feed:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4186457580.html:
(Not from me, the poster)

DO NOT DRIVE A STREET CAR WITH A ROLLBAR CLOSE ENOUGH TO HIT YOUR HEAD UNLESS YOU'RE WEARING A HELMET!!

So many people selling Miatas with rollbars in them these days. What most of them don't realize is that unless you wear a helmet, a rollbar in a street car is actually more dangerous than no rollbar at all. All those idiotic style bars, Hard Dog bars, etc are EXTREMELY dangerous and should never ever be installed in a street driven Miata.

If you get in an accident and your un-helmeted head hits the steel rollbar (which it most likely will in any kind of accident), the rollbar is going to win every time. This is an easy way to sustain a brain injury or death. If you do buy a Miata with one of these, remove it ASAP. If you chose to leave it in then we'll add your name to the annual Darwin awards ceremony.



Now with that post I ask many of the people here with MX-5s who some AutoX and some do not would is it worth it?
Post this on miata.net, this e-fight is a daily occurrence over there. My car, my rollbar, my head, my life. With the stock seat, my head is a good 3"-4" away from my padded bar. If you think you're better off without a rollbar (not that you even have a Miata to begin with), then by all means don't get one.
 
So...been hunting for NAs and NBs (96s and 99s roughly) and this came up on my Craigslist RSS feed:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4186457580.html:
(Not from me, the poster)

DO NOT DRIVE A STREET CAR WITH A ROLLBAR CLOSE ENOUGH TO HIT YOUR HEAD UNLESS YOU'RE WEARING A HELMET!!

So many people selling Miatas with rollbars in them these days. What most of them don't realize is that unless you wear a helmet, a rollbar in a street car is actually more dangerous than no rollbar at all. All those idiotic style bars, Hard Dog bars, etc are EXTREMELY dangerous and should never ever be installed in a street driven Miata.

If you get in an accident and your un-helmeted head hits the steel rollbar (which it most likely will in any kind of accident), the rollbar is going to win every time. This is an easy way to sustain a brain injury or death. If you do buy a Miata with one of these, remove it ASAP. If you chose to leave it in then we'll add your name to the annual Darwin awards ceremony.



Now with that post I ask many of the people here with MX-5s who some AutoX and some do not would is it worth it?

*Clears throat*



If my head can heat the roll bar, I'm pretty sure trip to the hospital was going to be short lived before that even happened...

I will agree on style bars. My friends and I have actually gone so far to rip someones style bar out of their car for them when they came to our garage. We were doing a public service. They are nothing more than dead weight and give potential darwin award winners a false sense of safety.
 
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Thanks guys for the response! Pretty much the same response occurred when I spoke to a couple of my coworkers who one races miatas and another who has had six of them...the "style bars" is something I need to look out for since there popular add ons here in the bay area (which may have created that response). Im most likely going to go with the SCCA approved Hard dog roll bar since the car would be for a mix of fun and auto-x.
'
 
Thanks guys for the response! Pretty much the same response occurred when I spoke to a couple of my coworkers who one races miatas and another who has had six of them...the "style bars" is something I need to look out for since there popular add ons here in the bay area (which may have created that response). Im most likely going to go with the SCCA approved Hard dog roll bar since the car would be for a mix of fun and auto-x.
'

You have the benefit of being around a large community in that area. We have a large miata community down here as well. If you are going to street drive it, and you're not too tall, I would recommend going with the hard top clearing bar. As you can see from mine, it sits back a bit more (the passenger seat there is as far back as it can go). Soft top bars are higher (better for broomstick test) but are closer to your head as they are further forward in the chassis.

Keep in mind though, my pics are with a 5'10" driver and I have Elise seats. They drop by head 4" from stock IIRC (haven't sat in a stock seat car in several years).

It's not the end of the word to get a car with a style bar, but do the world a favor and just cut it up for scrap and don't give it or sell it to someone.
 
mQBJjlN.jpg
 
Alright, I have to preface this with the fact that I know the owners of this shop quite well. However...

I know most of you guys have, or are in danger of having, a broken Dipstick handle. My good buddies at Project-G came up with an ingeniously sexy solution.

They have a group buy happening in the group buy section on MazdaRoadster.net

PrecisionSeries11DipStickCollagecopy_zpsde94b390.jpg
 
Ooh, pretty. I assume you have to shave down the residual flange and screw it into the new boss to have the dipstick sit at the appropriate level?
 
metal>plastic
<3
 
Ooh, pretty. I assume you have to shave down the residual flange and screw it into the new boss to have the dipstick sit at the appropriate level?

Knowing how steve makes things, probably not, but if you want it to not show any threads you can do that. Or just use a pair of wire cutters to break the brittle plastic some more above the flange.
 
So I've got the Octavia and I'm really enjoying it. It's a whole difference experience from the Miata, and it's been my daily now. Helped immensely when I moved house a few weeks ago.

But I'm just not too sure what to do with the Miata. Initially I thought about selling it after I do up the paint scratches, the broken passenger door handle, etc. Then I thought, fuck it, I'll sell it as is. But more recently I can't really bear to part with it. It's been my first car, and I've put considerable $ into it, such as a roll bar, exhaust, brace, suspension, etc...

Currently it's just in the garage sitting there, wasting rego. I could keep it as a weekend mountain car, but I've never really done that before. Alternatively, I could strip it and do track days, but track days aren't cheap around here, and it's another investment in itself. Eventually I might have to sell it in a couple of years as I might move overseas, and in it's current form, it's basically a money sink.

So, what to do?
 
I've had the combination of daily driver plus NA ever since I bought my MX-5 in 2010. And I really like it. On longer trips I've the comfort of the 406. And then I can always remind myself what the driving is all about in the Mazda. Even if your RS Octavia is on the sportier side of family cars, it doesn't change the fact that you're quite detached from the driving in that thing.

I'd suggest you get used to the RS first. Then try out the MX-5 few times. It might amplify the good things in both cars: comfort and speed in the Skoda, and pure driving fun of the Mazda. Or, the MX-5 might feel old, uncomfortable and slow. Whatever your feelings are then, you probably have your answer.

It's not that the car would depreciate a lot in a few months. I don't know if you can save some money by declaring it temporarily off the road or something down there, but few months probably don't cost that much.
 
I'd suggest you get used to the RS first. Then try out the MX-5 few times. It might amplify the good things in both cars: comfort and speed in the Skoda, and pure driving fun of the Mazda. Or, the MX-5 might feel old, uncomfortable and slow. Whatever your feelings are then, you probably have your answer.

It's not that the car would depreciate a lot in a few months. I don't know if you can save some money by declaring it temporarily off the road or something down there, but few months probably don't cost that much.
That's a good point!
 
Everyone I?ve talked to who has sold their Miata has always regretted it.
 
Does your part of the world allow you to do a "non operational" registration? Here in California for about $40 a year you can pay to park your car. This keeps the registration and license plate but means you don't have to deal with all the other requirements of keeping a car registered (smog). You also don't need to keep the vehicle insured.

I haven't been driving my Miata much as of late either, but everyone I know that has sold theirs has generally regretted the decision. The exception being the guys with much nicer bank accounts than mine.
 
Well, in South Australia, once your current registration expires, you can choose to renew it or not. The renew period is for another 3 months or 12 months, only 2 options. You can not renew it and just leave it as is, and if you want drive it again (legally), just renew it whenever you want.

EDIT: Just found out that here in SA, the maximum time you can allow your registration to lapse is 3 months. After that, you have to bring it for another roadworthy test.
 
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