Thinking about a hardtop.

I'm thinking about getting a hardtop for my '97 and I'm interested in
hearing from those who have them.

How's the interior noise at speed compared to with a softtop?

How much hassle removing/replacing it?

Are they fragile? Heavy?

Any change in the car's handling due to aerodynamics, rigidity, etc.?

More or less headroom?

Are you happy with it?

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks very much for any information.

Dave Smith wrote:

> I'm thinking about getting a hardtop for my '97 and I'm interested in
> hearing from those who have them.

Don't have one, but have used one for a while.

> How's the interior noise at speed compared to with a softtop?

Cuts down the wind noise considerably, but it does make you hear more
clearly the minimally-insulated drive line, the tires that are very
close to you, etc., noises were somewhat "masked" by the wind noise before.
The miata is a very noisy car overall, but it will still be quieter with
a sealed hardtop in place.

> How much hassle removing/replacing it?

With a garage overhead lift, no problem. Same with two people. It can be
done by one person if you are physically capable, there is a technique
for lowering it in yourself.

> Are they fragile? Heavy?

Not particularly fragile, though I still have not heard what people do
when their window gets broken. There are probably no aftermarket
replacements and I imagine that Mazda wants your firstborn child for a
new one.
The hardtop weighs something like 50 pounds, iirc.

> Any change in the car's handling due to aerodynamics, rigidity, etc.?

Many have reported increased rigidity. I did not notice any but the car
it was on already had almost every brace you can put on it.
It has to help with aerodynamics over the rag top, but how much I do not
know. I didn't drive it long enough to do gas mileage comparisons.

> More or less headroom?

More than with the soft top up. Considerably less than with it down. :-)

> Are you happy with it?

I kinda wanted one, but wondered how much I would use it, especially in
Texas.

> Anything else I should consider?

Price, usually $800.00 to $1200.00. Check the condition, of course. Make
sure that it is a genuine Mazda hard top unless you are willing to
compromise. You might want to make sure it has not been painted, or if
it has, that it has been done properly.
How important is it to you that the color match?

I looked into having a hardtop painted once. Doing it the right way,
removing the window and such, was very expensive.
Masking off the rubber window seals and spraying a coat of paint on was
about 1/3 of the price.

HTH,

Pat

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> I'm thinking about getting a hardtop for my '97 and I'm interested in
> hearing from those who have them.
>
> How's the interior noise at speed compared to with a softtop?
>
> How much hassle removing/replacing it?
>
> Are they fragile? Heavy?
>
> Any change in the car's handling due to aerodynamics, rigidity, etc.?
>
> More or less headroom?
>
> Are you happy with it?
>
> Anything else I should consider?
>
> Thanks very much for any information.

Never understood the reason for them myself. Our Dallas winters are nothing
to compare with those "up north," but we have our share of cold, windy days
and I've never felt uncomcortable.

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 07:41:24 -0800, Dave Smith >
wrote:

>I'm thinking about getting a hardtop for my '97 and I'm interested in
>hearing from those who have them.
>
>How's the interior noise at speed compared to with a softtop?
>
>How much hassle removing/replacing it?
>
>Are they fragile? Heavy?
>
>Any change in the car's handling due to aerodynamics, rigidity, etc.?
>
>More or less headroom?
>
>Are you happy with it?
>
>Anything else I should consider?
>
>Thanks very much for any information.

One big advantage of the hardtop is better visibility to the rear
quarters compared to the soft top when up. The soft top is a real pain
backing out of parking spaces.

Before you buy a hard top check out:

http://www.miata.net/garage/hardtop/

You can fit any NA/NB hardtop to any NA/NB car, but the cost of
hardware required varies considerably.

On 2006-02-17, Dave Smith > wrote:

> I'm thinking about getting a hardtop for my '97 and I'm
> interested in hearing from those who have them.

I love mine.

> How's the interior noise at speed compared to with a softtop?

Much quieter.

> How much hassle removing/replacing it?

It takes a minute or two. It's quite trivial if you've got a
second pair of hands to help. Doing it solo is a little
tricky, but I've done it quite a few times.

> Are they fragile?

No.

> Heavy?

No. It's a bit awkward to carry, but not heavy. I routinely
carried mine solo through my apartment building and up/down two
flights of stairs.

> Any change in the car's handling due to aerodynamics,
> rigidity, etc.?

I think my NA felt stiffer with the hardtop. I haven't really
noticed any difference on my NB.

> More or less headroom?

Didn't notice any difference. Compared to a car with the
soft-top up, there's less storage space on the shelf behind the
seat since the soft-top is folded down.

> Are you happy with it?

The hardtop's rear window is _way_ wider and offers much better
visibility.

> Anything else I should consider?

A Miata with a hardtop is a really nice looking car.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Did YOU find a
at DIGITAL WATCH in YOUR box
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On 2006-02-17, Dave Smith > wrote:

> Anything else I should consider?

Oh, I forgot the link for the definitive source of hardtop info:

http://www.gweep.net/~sfoskett/miata/hardtop/index.html

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Is this my STOP??
at
visi.com

On 2006-02-17, Frank Berger > wrote:

> Never understood the reason for them myself.

It was about -15F this morning when I got into my Miata. It's
-8F currently and the high today is supposed to be about -5F.
Wind chill if you're standing on the corner is between -25F and
-50F. That equates to frostbite for exposed skin in under a
minute. You really don't want to know what happens to you with
the top down at 65MPH when it's -20F.

> Our Dallas winters are nothing to compare with those "up
> north," but we have our share of cold, windy days and I've
> never felt uncomcortable.

Uh, right.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Give them
at RADAR-GUIDED SKEE-BALL
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BURRITOS!!

Dave Smith wrote:
> I'm thinking about getting a hardtop for my '97 and I'm interested in
> hearing from those who have them.
>
> How's the interior noise at speed compared to with a softtop?

Much quieter.
>
> How much hassle removing/replacing it?

No more than lowering the soft top, but 2 people are needed really.
>
> Are they fragile? Heavy?

Easily scratched. Not very heavy.
>
> Any change in the car's handling due to aerodynamics, rigidity, etc.?

Less rattles, apart from that not much
>
> More or less headroom?

No change
>
> Are you happy with it?

They're great if you have the storage space.

"Grant Edwards" > wrote in message
...
> On 2006-02-17, Frank Berger > wrote:
>
>> Never understood the reason for them myself.
>
> It was about -15F this morning when I got into my Miata. It's
> -8F currently and the high today is supposed to be about -5F.
> Wind chill if you're standing on the corner is between -25F and
> -50F. That equates to frostbite for exposed skin in under a
> minute. You really don't want to know what happens to you with
> the top down at 65MPH when it's -20F.
>

I wouldn't put the top down under such circumstances. Why would you?

Doesn't your heater work?

On 2006-02-17, Frank Berger > wrote:
>> On 2006-02-17, Frank Berger > wrote:
>>
>>> Never understood the reason for them myself.
>>
>> It was about -15F this morning when I got into my Miata. It's
>> -8F currently and the high today is supposed to be about -5F.
>> Wind chill if you're standing on the corner is between -25F and
>> -50F. That equates to frostbite for exposed skin in under a
>> minute. You really don't want to know what happens to you with
>> the top down at 65MPH when it's -20F.
>>
>
> I wouldn't put the top down under such circumstances. Why would you?

If you can't put the top down, then you're comparing a Miata
with a soft-top up agains a miata with a hard-top. Anybody
who's driven both and thinks there's no reason to choose the
latter is nuts.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Here I am at the flea
at market but nobody is buying
visi.com my urine sample bottles...