Adding hash stripes to a practically invisible Miata to improve visibility

Have a Titanium Grey Miata that is pretty much invisible, it would appear. I want to do something about it, and am thinking about putting some hash stripes on the front and rear of it on the fenders. Next question is color. Orange, yellow, maybe even light silver reflective, sort of like they paint the signs on the freeway with, though I don't think that would be as good during the daytime. I would also put some on the cool breeze scoop, so there would be something attention grabbing up high, visible from behind, maybe even wrap the mirrors. What color do you guys think?

No, I don't care if it makes me look like a poseur.

Do they make reflective vinyl? Or plasti-Dip it.

Martini color side stripes the entire length.

Some adaptation on this theme.

Another route.

I like the orange wheels/highlights!

The obvious answer is Mazda Renown livery. No way your missing that in traffic.

You can mask off area to do dashes with dip. I vote for an orange and titanium zebra pattern.

How has no one suggested this yet?

Martini has already been mentioned...

My mother used to rail against gray coloured cars, claiming you can't see them against the road. I used to ignore those rants until I owned an Edwardian Gray Saab.. I never had so many near misses in my life. People just did not see that car

Combo answer

http://www.stolzfahren.com/product-category/enthusiast-decals/

How about MIATA IS AWAYS THE ANSWER in neon yellow block letters everywhere...

Reflective vinyl is available in a number of colors, although of course it'll mostly make a difference at night where the color of the car isn't really a factor anyhow.

Personally, I'd put in DRLs. This will probably unleash the howling of the multitude who are against them, but I do believe they do work after living with them for a couple of decades. Heck, just wire the parking lights to come on with the ignition, I'll bet it's a pretty simple tweak to a Miata wiring harness. Never looked into it, but I could.

If you want graphics to make the car visible, I wouldn't do fender stripes. I'd go right down the middle, baby. Obviously something with some contrast.

if all the bumper stickers are to be believed, loud pipes apparently save the lives of people on motorcycles somehow... so straight pipes is the obvious answer..

I always run with the headlights on already. Don't want to do a full wrap, though I do like the Renown livery and what Mr Tanner did with the Targa Newfie Miata.

Maybe I need to peruse Larry's Feztastic Stripe Gallery for some ideas.

I'm with Keith T on this one. I suspect most of the time you are "going invisible" its either head on or people aren't seeing you in their mirrors. To a certain extent, Miatas seem inherently invisible. The only thing I've ever had that was worse was a motorcycle. Grey probably just compounds the problem. I'd go some sort of high contrast stripe(s) right over the middle of the hood/trunk as well, but I suspect if you're already running your daytime/parking lights, its probably not going to get much better. It may also attract attention you don't want.

It's not that you aren't "visible" it's that many people are no longer paying attention and aren't noticing anything smaller than an SUV.

In reply to kazoospec:

I feel more visible and safer on my motorcycle. Fewer incidents of people trying to kill me because they're too busy on the phone to pay attention the the massive missile they're controlling at 70+ mph...so I sold my miata. It was white which is supposed to be the 2nd most visible color right behind red according to accident studies.

novaderrik wrote: if all the bumper stickers are to be believed, loud pipes apparently save the lives of people on motorcycles somehow... so straight pipes is the obvious answer..

Can confirm. My 04 Ti Gray MSM was invisible in traffic. It was also quiet-ish.

My 2000 SE doesnt have so many near misses. Because BBBWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

secretariata wrote: It's not that you aren't "visible" it's that many people are no longer paying attention and aren't noticing anything smaller than an SUV. In reply to kazoospec: I feel more visible and safer on my motorcycle. Fewer incidents of people trying to kill me because they're too busy on the phone to pay attention the the massive missile they're controlling at 70+ mph...so I sold my miata. It was white which is supposed to be the 2nd most visible color right behind red according to accident studies.

to be fair, it's hard to see anything out of most new vehicles... the blind spots in my girfriend's 2010 Impala are huge, and that is a car that has good visibility by modern standards. the windshield posts in my 86 Camaro are practically invisible compared to that thing..

Attention I don't want, ha. The last time I got pulled over was for being a long haired white dude in the wrong 'hood, growing my hair out for locks of love doncha know. Before that, I can't remember. Maybe a day glow orange stripe down the middle or off set. That would not help with folks coming at me perpendicular to my direction of travel, but that would probably not matter. If they are trying to T bone me running a stop sign or signal, I have to spot them anyway. I already look both ways at green lights before proceeding.

Car is the same shade of invisible as the one with the teal colored wheels pictured above.

Loud pipes, loud paint, and mothaflippin train horn.

Yeah, I need to either install the air horn I have, or pick up some Hella Supertones like I put on the 914. That thing is very orange and there have been a few times I felt like it had a damn Romulan cloaking device.

Miata looks like

Swank Force One wrote:

novaderrik wrote: if all the bumper stickers are to be believed, loud pipes apparently save the lives of people on motorcycles somehow... so straight pipes is the obvious answer..

Can confirm. My 04 Ti Gray MSM was invisible in traffic. It was also quiet-ish. My 2000 SE doesnt have so many near misses. Because BBBWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

It's also the worst sounding miata I've ever heard.

novaderrik wrote: to be fair, it's hard to see anything out of most new vehicles... the blind spots in my girfriend's 2010 Impala are huge, and that is a car that has good visibility by modern standards. the windshield posts in my 86 Camaro are practically invisible compared to that thing..

Don't get me started. My 2004 Impala makes you near blind with all the spots you can't see out of. Getting into my Disco is like removing blinders.. I can see almost in every direction out of it... sad when an SUV has less blind spots than a 4 door sedan