hardtops

[Rowan Hick]

Also.. how much do hardtops go for ? I know that buying a rough MX5 I
can probably kiss goodbye to the softop being in any reasonable
condition, a hardtop would be nicer for drag coefficent and a little
more protection incase of a roll (but not much) .. I think.

Rowan

[Lou Girardin]

Hi Rowan,
Check the for sale site, H/Tops seem to go from $1000 to $1800. It will make
the car a little more slippery, but it adds a lot of weight. It'll hurt
acceleration on tight tracks. BTW it gives no roll-over protestion, you'll
need a MANZ approved cage for track events anyway.
Lou

[Rowan Hick]

Thanks.. I will be getting an MSNZ cage regardless.. I've seen a mate in
hospital after a high speed crash in the Targa.. trust me there will be a
cage in the car Along with Momo Sport seats (the type specially made for
the MX5) and full 6pt harnesses...

In an old book I read about Rallying a lot of drivers have injuries to their
arms in seeming slow rollovers because of a natural reaction to try and stop
yourself from hitting the ground, ie if the window side is coming down onto
the ground some people put their hands out to try and stop the car (!) hence
why I want the hardtop, just to help a little smidge.. I've unfortunately
been in a rolled car and any ounce of protection is better than none.

Rowan

[Clive Granger]

Rowan,

I've often wondered how an MX-5 hardtop would fare in a roll-over. They are
only fixed in six places. I don't know if I would feel particularly safer
with a hardtop although they appear pretty solidly constructed. I wonder if
they would stay in place during a roll-over.

Talking of roll cages, there is very little room in the MX-5, under the
soft or hardtop top, for a full cage. Yes I know you can do it but it has to
be pretty low to fit. I am only 165cm but with my helmet on I do not get
50mm clearance. This is sitting in the stock seats, but they are very low
anyway. Unless you bolt the Momo's straight on the floor you may have
height problems too. You may have to have a bolt in cage that is higher
than will fit under the soft/hard tops, and use it only when racing. No good
if it rains though.

Because there is not much room in the back of an MX-5 you will have to pay
attention to seat position. Make sure the cage doesn't interfere with the
seat positioning. I have a roll bar only fitted, but I struck this problem
when I tried to install a Racepro seat recently. I am now having the
rollbar replaced.

I would have thought that damage to the occupants arms could still occur if
the windows were down with no webbing. Maybe arm restraints (like they use
in Clubmans) would be a good idea.

Clive

[Sam Parker]

One issue with open vehicles , especially in something like Targa is the ability for hard objects to intrude into the cabin area in a roll over or accident, roll cage does not stop this, for instance a tree branch, large rock or fence post, don't know how much a hardtop would stop either but better than nothing. Even steel roofs are not impregnable - in my rallying days saw a MKI Escort leap off the road and land on top of a fence post, the top of the post punched through the floor and exited the top of the ash near where the eyeball vent was - this was the first time I ever saw a white maori (the driver was a Maori) a very frightening experience especially if the car had landed about eighteen inches further on.

Regards

Sam & Denise Parker
340 Beach Road
Mairangi Bay
Auckland
NEW ZEALAND

Ph/fax 64 9 478 4761
Mobile sam 021 909 140, Denise 025 774 917
email samparker@clear.net.nz

[Fletcher Blades]

Another point in favour of a hard-top in competition...

Even if it doesn't offer much/any structural support... If its got a
roll-bar or cage inside it... it still offers a solid barrier to
protect your head/arms against "gravel rash" or worse, if you do end
up sliding along the road upside-down...

Hopefully you wont actually get to test this theory...

Fletch.

[Matt Gunn]

Hi there

this may sound a little silly , but heh i'm not a bloody car engineer...
Could a full cage be fitted through the centre of the doors ?. ie fix
the doors "dukes of hazard style" which would give some extra room.

I would think you could get the seats quite a bit lower. Most racing
style seats are not padded like the standards. My old mate Muzz cut the
daylights out of his standards and he says they felt lower.you'll find
him teaching passing techniques in the north now.

in fact he's hopefully reading this now. heh muz.

cheers MADMXV

[Mark Roberts]

this may sound a little silly , but heh i'm not a bloody car engineer...
Could a full cage be fitted through the centre of the doors ?. ie fix
the doors "dukes of hazard style" which would give some extra room.

Not at all silly, but have you ever tried climbing in behind the wheel without
opening the door?