As Erin indicated, last week I picked up a Craigslist hardtop for Project Miata and ditched the blown-apart softtop. It's now a step closer to a true coupe, which is a variant of the Miata that Mazda should have made in the first place. I'm no fan of ragtops for reasons I've mentioned previously -- in my opinion, Miatas are good despite their folding roofs, not because of them. But you know what they say about opinions.
Two protruding studs at the rear deck ("Frankenstein bolts," as they're known) align the hardtop's rear seal, while two latches at the windshield header and two more at the base of the b-pillar do the heavy lifiting in securing the hardtop to the car. That is, if your Miata has side striker plates which this one does not. No matter. For additional security I picked up some Spec Miata brackets and bolted that sucker down.
The hardtop was not designed to be chassis-stiffening item but it does provide some additional structure by "closing the box," tying the two discrete ends of the car together. It's a difference you can feel when you drive over bumps. The car drives more "all of a piece" now. There's still a lot more chassis stiffness to be had -- NA Miatas are flex machines -- but the hardtop makes a difference you can notice.
There's noticeably less drag at freeway speeds too, and external noise is quelled better, though the hardtop tends to amplify interior noises. Weight-wise, it's about three pounds heavier than the softtop + now-useless brackets, bolts and claptrap that held the softtop in the car.
I'm digging the hardtop. Looks cooler, too. (Sorry the photos are sort of grainy; was using an unfamiliar camera.)
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor
moar_revs says:
09:44 AM, 08/19/10
Looks decent in black... any plans to paint it? Have you guys solved the issue with the interior smell yet so this new hardtop doesn't make anyone faint/keel over while driving? =)
hybris says:
09:54 AM, 08/19/10
Coupe FTW!
tmanz says:
10:13 AM, 08/19/10
a coupe version of the Miata would have been great. The problem with the hardtop is you don't gain the benifits of a coupe like more storage sleaker design. You just end up with a tiny, 2 door, 2 seat sedan.
ptcdawg says:
10:28 AM, 08/19/10
Needs a soft top, no doubt.
jstandefer says:
11:07 AM, 08/19/10
For the life of me, I can't figure out why Mazda never offered a proper Miata coupe (yes, I'm speaking in past tense... I seriously doubt the future of the Miata in the U.S.). There is certainly demand for one worldwide, and Mazda even commissioned a small run of 350 coupes in Japan. Although I would prefer a drop-top roadster (we've had five Miatas in the household), I fell in love with one of the Miata coupes Mazda showed at the LA Auto Show a few years back. Here is a photo I took of it:
http://sandiegomiataclub.org/galleries/miscellaneous/NB_Coupe_LA.jpg.php
exnevadan says:
11:26 AM, 08/19/10
recall that the hardtop on my '93 reduced body flex and added stiffness/tautness to the handling, but it often felt like the thing was going to burst from its latches or simply crack/shatter when I hit a New England pot hole in Feb/March. the boominess in the cabin was pretty bad.
eventually someone shot out the rear window (back in 2002/2003, while I was driving it on the highway at about 1 AM), but the rest of top never cracked and the window was replaced. I sold the thing shortly thereafter, no need to run into that clown again (red Audi 80/90 - still leery of those, though not many left around here) while in the Miata.
fundango says:
11:54 AM, 08/19/10
@jstandefer
That is a great looking Miata coupe.
banhugh says:
12:21 PM, 08/19/10
When you say "interior noises are amplified" what do you mean by that? Do you get flatulence echo in the cabin?
carlisimo says:
12:30 PM, 08/19/10
jstandefer, the Miata team felt that a coupe would be successful enough to kill off the convertible, and they didn't want to take the risk (I suppose they either loved convertibles, felt a convertible made a better halo car, or felt that demand for a coupe wouldn't be as consistent and long-lasting as a convertible's).
Porsche only got around the problem by positioning the Cayman above the Boxster. I'm not sure Mazda could justify that.
bankerdanny says:
12:36 PM, 08/19/10
With the truly excellent, non trunk encroaching retractable hard top there is no real need for a fixed roof version.
I suppose the racer crowd would like it because of the extra rigidity, but that's such a small percentage of buyers that it probably isn't worth the cost to create the tooling and add the complexity to the assembly line.
hurls65 says:
01:51 PM, 08/19/10
Have you guys done the Flying Miata frame rail/butterfly braces yet? Everyone swears by them on Miata.net...
sherief says:
01:51 PM, 08/19/10
+1
The top on the Miata PRHT is the best hardtop on the market.
jstandefer says:
02:03 PM, 08/19/10
@banhugh: Ha! That was good!
@carlisimo: This is the same Miata team that decided no 20th Anniversary Edition for the U.S. (although plenty abound for other countries), cupholders inside the covered center console on the first revision NBs, and 28 mpg is good enough for a 2,500-pound car with a 2.0L 4-cyl in a world where 3,750-pound cars with 305-hp V6s get 31 mpg. No wonder sales have dwindled to but a trickle.
Since a true coupe version of the Miata would appeal more to the performance crowd, make the coupe available as a limited build (say 3,000 units for U.S. market) and only in Mazdaspeed guise. Of course, they will need to make sure there are upgrades under the skin to justify the Mazdaspeed badge and higher price. 3,000 may not sound like a lot, but Mazda only sold 7,917 Miatas in the U.S. last year (down nearly 30% from 2008), and this year's year-to-date sales of 3,836 is down over 26% from this time last year (once summer goes away, sales slow way down).
@bankerdanny: The PRHT is a wonderfully simple and quick-acting design. It doesn't take up any trunk room, but you do lose the bins behind the seats and the ability to use the space behind the seats when the top is up. Plus, a lot of people don't like the look of the PRHT when the top is up. A true coupe would off better rigidity, potentially less weight, more storage, and more livability. There are a lot of people that like the Miata's drive, but don't want to deal with a folding top (hard or soft) and the long-term expenses.
makakio says:
10:09 AM, 08/20/10
Questions:
Can you track this car in Miata-spec class SCCA events with an approved rollbar but no hardtop?
And does an approved rollbar fit under the rag and/or hardtop?
I soooo want to build one of these and learn to race it, but 95% of the time it's going to on the street, so I',m wondering if that's what the IL crew is also thinking with this project car?
dino6 says:
01:03 PM, 08/20/10
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the whole point about having a convertible. The wind in your face, the stars above you, the closest feeling to being in a motorcycle but much safer, etc. Sure, a coupe Miata would have been/be nice but a big part of the car's sales success is because it's a roadster. Even though it's been the most popular race car in history, the vast majority of Miatas are never tracked and driven on the road the way convertibles were meant to be.
firstwagon says:
03:36 PM, 08/20/10
"28 mpg is good enough for a 2,500-pound car with a 2.0L 4-cyl in a world where 3,750-pound cars with 305-hp V6s get 31 mpg. No wonder sales have dwindled to but a trickle."
Difference you can really get 28 mpg in a Miata in day to day driving. 31 mpg in a V6 Mustang or Camaro is a dream number you might do once on a warm summer evening crusing on the hwy at 55 mpg. I just read a test of the new V6 Mustang where the best they could do was 18 mpg.
mortal1 says:
08:41 AM, 08/21/10
I own an 06 miata. Let me tell you. Putting the top down transforms this car. It instantly gets twice as good. I can't believe you guys bolted a hard to on this thing. It defeats the point of the car. You mine as well have bought an old prelude or something.
I actually bought a canvas soft top over the prht because for the extra premium they wanted for the hard top I could afford to replace the soft top 3 times over.
gmanaed says:
03:40 PM, 08/21/10
I dreaded driving my Miata with the top up. If the weather dictated top-up use, I just drove my other vehicle. I can see a hard top for a track car, but I really feel sorry for the poor souls running around with a hard top bolted on. Many don't have anywhere to leave the top when its off, so they just keep it on year round. Also, what do you do when you suddenly find yourself with a 75 degree summer evening after a rain and you left home with the hard top bolted down. Sad...
halmcgee says:
07:25 AM, 08/22/10
Try this...
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=309902
BTW the hardtop as chassis stiffener has been debated to death on Miata.net. The final consensus is that is reduces noise and gives the impression of additional stiffness but in reality this is an illusion. Its a light piece of fiberglass with six attachment points two of which are basically a loose connection over the frakenstein bolts.
theevildrsin says:
09:09 AM, 08/23/10
completely removed my blown out soft top and hardware when i added my hardtop. love it but miss the convenience of top down on a whim. now requires more energy and a check of the weather report.