I don't post here much, and most of my posts of late have had to do with me selling my Honda and buying a Miata. As background, I had a gutted Integra that was crazy fun at the track but was a cageless death trap and I never drove it on the street because it was gutted and bumpy and awful. I bought the Miata because I wanted a dual-purpose car that was more civilized.
Well, I'm coming up on 6 months into my Miata ownership and I'm not loving it.
Pros:
- My kids love it
- I get compliments (from grown ups)
- Everything works and it has carpet, so I can, in fact, commute in it
- I gotta be honest, the drop top part is pretty cool
Cons:
- I can't take it to the track without a roll bar (I'm on my 2nd roll bar, trying everything to make it work), and
- The roll bar prevents me from moving either seat (race or stock) far enough back to really be comfortable, and
- The roll bar is almost certainly going to kill me in even a minor collision
- I don't really dig the handling, there's so much body roll and it doesn't really feel right until it settles on the bump stops (at least I assume that's what's happening)
I bought some dual-density padding to address the roll bar issue, but I did a test fit today and it makes for a pretty miserable headrest (bad angle). At this point I have half a mind to rip out the roll bar -- just enjoy it as a street car and get my track kicks from my (shudder) Mazda5, or sell it and buy either a non-M E46 or a really nice 90s Honda.
Am I nuts? What am I missing? I'm sure the suspension can be fixed ($$$) and I could get 01+ seats ($$) and maybe I can figure out some way to make this padding comfortable and look nice ($) but I don't want to just sit here and throw good money after bad.
Do you have anyone local with a sorted car you could drive so you can see if it's worth it?
I struggled with this. I cannot stand these cars in stock configuration. I haaaaaaaaaaate them. They do literally nothing well except be way more noisy on the highway than anything made in the last 20 years should be because of the worst thing that ever happened to any car in history: The soft top.
Which rollbar are you using? The seat travel problem is rather familiar to me with some rollbars, too.
BoxheadTim wrote:
Which rollbar are you using? The seat travel problem is rather familiar to me with some rollbars, too.
I have a Blackbird Fabworx bar now, when I bought it it had a Hard Dog Sport bar. Same problem with both bars. I know there's some bars that sit further back but then they're shorter, and I'm already not really passing a true broomstick test so it kinda sucks either way.
Swank Force One wrote:
Do you have anyone local with a sorted car you could drive so you can see if it's worth it?
I struggled with this. I cannot stand these cars in stock configuration. I haaaaaaaaaaate them. They do literally nothing well except be way more noisy on the highway than anything made in the last 20 years should be because of the worst thing that ever happened to any car in history: The soft top.
Good call, I could probably find someone willing to let me drive their car. Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about the way it drives, at this point the only thing I really enjoy about it is dropping the top and cruising at slow speeds, but I could do that in a Sebring...
Calling Keith, Keith we have a Miata issue here...
OP: How tall & what shape are you? What year is the Miata?
nderwater wrote:
OP: How tall & what shape are you? What year is the Miata?
It's a 99, I'm 6' and 155, nothing too far off the bell curve.
Geographically, where are you at? Slightly different, but I've got a 94, Hard Dog Hard Core bar, Koni Yellows and a FM sway you are welcome to try out if you are anywhere near SW Michigan. I'm 6'2" and 200(ish) and I'm comfortable, but marginal clearance as well. Probably don't pass a true "broomstick" test, but I've been able to do local track days with it.
Hint: Total investment in the suspension is around $650.00 plus a $500 set of Dunlop Z2's and a non-factory alignment. Before that, I honestly didn't know what all the hoopla was about either.
I've seen on this board those who are 5'10" and have problems. My son is about your build, (6'/160lb) he seems to fit fine in mine, and I'm just under 5'9" and it's perfect for me.
Mine has the "style bar" and we've autocrossed it with no issues at all. I guess these things are pretty particular about what size driver goes in.
And at this point, I probably should not mention the comment I made that wound up in the "say what" section of the mag a few months ago...
I'm 6'2" and 185, was apparently able to pass a broomstick test in a friend's car with a foam-ectomy and Hard Dog bar, don't remember what kind (possibly Hard Core). So it is possible. I am more leg than torso though.
Also the stock suspension blows. They do corner on the bump stops which is why Fat Cat Motorsports makes a fortune selling fancy custom foam ones that pretty much transform the car.
steronz wrote:
BoxheadTim wrote:
Which rollbar are you using? The seat travel problem is rather familiar to me with some rollbars, too.
I have a Blackbird Fabworx bar now, when I bought it it had a Hard Dog Sport bar. Same problem with both bars. I know there's some bars that sit further back but then they're shorter, and I'm already not really passing a true broomstick test so it kinda sucks either way.
I used to have Blackbird Fabworx GT3 bar in mine and ended up bumping the seat into the crossbar. I think for your situation you probably need one with a single cross bar that allows you to use the full travel of the seat and have it recline a bit.
I'm 5'11" and the only way that I fit into a Miata with a regular rollbar and pass a broomstick test is in a race seat with the bottom cushion removed. OTOH I drove a Spec Miata with a full cage and a race seat that was bolted directly to the floor during my last time trials event and fitted fine.
If I for some reason end up with another NA or NB as a track car I'll probably just get a custom built roll bar. It's going to be more expensive but it's still cheaper than not fitting into the car in the first place.
Flight Service wrote:
Swank Force One wrote:
Do you have anyone local with a sorted car you could drive so you can see if it's worth it?
I struggled with this. I cannot stand these cars in stock configuration. I haaaaaaaaaaate them. They do literally nothing well except be way more noisy on the highway than anything made in the last 20 years should be because of the worst thing that ever happened to any car in history: The soft top.
I beg to differ...
Your example doesn't make sense, as the soft top, just like it does to every car, made that thing worse. 
In reply to Swank Force One:
You're implying the base car can somehow be made worse?
So you're still running your stock seats and stock suspension. That's the problem. A racier seat will lower you out of the way of the bar and hold you in place during cornering.
My '97 was not any good at all until I put in a Momo Corsa seat to get under the Hard Dog bar and because I found it cheap on CL a FM 2.5 suspension system. Now I stay put while the car can handle to the potential of the chassis.
Here's me in my Kirkey mounted as low as realistically possible without pulling the carpet:
The stock seat actually sits further back because it doesn't hit the down bar like the Kirkey does, but the problem there is that the seat back is low and the seat bottom higher so the roll bar becomes my headrest.
I don't consider the Kirkey to be a solution for the DD problem. I'm not that old but it's still a bit of effort to get in and out.
Curiosity question....how much clearance is there between most Miata roll bars and a hardtop? Would a hardtop allow a little more height if you didn't have the soft top to worry about? I've never liked the forward positioning and the narrow footprint of the roll bars that the soft top necessitates.The other thing I'd like to see is a taller bar that's removable by removing 4 bolts, that are conveniently sized to match the tire iron.
I never had a roll bar in my NA, I only autocrossed it. But I'm 6' and back then was a svelt 200-210lb's. I never ever drove it with the seat all the way back on the tracks, there was always a lot of room inside it.
Also I just don't buy into the whole 'roll bar = death on the streets' BS or millions would have died in these.
Because that sure as E36 M3 aint' SFIpadding.
The wife bought one of these new in 92 and we still have it. BAre metal next to the drivers head and we're all still alive, kids and all.
I think the chances of becoming a snail head after turning turtle are just as high as become a cabbage from hitting your head on a roll bar in a vert.
Have you tried the Hard Dog Hardcore bar? They're higher than the others by an inch or something. i fit in mine fine with a Sparco Speed seat bolted basically to the floor (no sliders) and the hardcore bar
If you want to send me that Blackbird bar i'll trade you a Boss Frog Clearview with harness bar.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
The case in point is a bit different though. The Miata rollbar, at least for me, rests pretty much squarely behind the back of my head. I have a bit of padding, but if someone were to rear end me, it could end very badly. The back of the skull is one of the worst places you can get hit. Personally I'm searching for a seat with a higher headrest, like the Lotus seats, to mitigate this.
Also, I fit fine under my hard dog rollbar after a foamectomy, and I'm 6'0". I have more helmet clearance with the hardtop on than I do with the soft top pulled up. The Harddog rollbar easily clears both.
DeadSkunk wrote:
Curiosity question....how much clearance is there between most Miata roll bars and a hardtop? Would a hardtop allow a little more height if you didn't have the soft top to worry about?
Yes, there are hard-top-only bars that give you a bit more room in both directions. It also places the harness bar in a better position because it doesn't need to clear the glass rear window.
Desmond wrote:
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
The case in point is a bit different though.
Very true. In that Wrangler, you'd have to get tossed around somewhat to make contact with the bar. Where I'm at now, I can just lean back a few inches and be resting my head on solid steel. Any minor collision in which your head world normally smack back against the headrest, mine's hitting metal.
eta: Here, I took a selfie. Nobody's going to convince me that this is a safe way to drive around.
Maybe a foamectomy would help, but I don't see how an inch or so is gonna cut it. I'd need NB2 seats at a minimum, and I haven't been able to find any.
