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Old 02-20-2012, 11:10 AM   #4 (permalink)
minispeed
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Burlington, ON
Posts: 158

minispeed-Insight - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 82.15 mpg (US)

MDX - '01 Acura MDX Touring
90 day: 22.29 mpg (US)

the wife's car - '13 Toyota Prius Plus
90 day: 45.99 mpg (US)

leaf-one - '15 Nissan Leaf SV
Thanks: 4
Thanked 36 Times in 26 Posts
I'm 6'4" too so the miata is a tight fit but very comfy once inside. My first car (which I still have but it's a race car now) is an original mini. So I'm quite use to making small cars work.

I want to build the kammback onto the hard top for a few reasons. I already know from racers that the stock hard top improves aero, they say it's good for at least 7mph on straight long sections of tracks. It's weather tight, I won't find in the dead of winter that it leaks and I don't have an indoor area to work on cars. Build time will be reduced a lot Safety, I know the stock hard top is on tight and will not fly off. In the event that part or all of my kammback comes off it will be a much smaller and less dangerous event. I think that it will look a lot better and cleaner with the hard top. And the most important, body flex, the miata is famous for this, and my year (the lightest) has the most. I'll probably add a roll bar if I can, but before that any full kammback from the windshield back is likely to break or leak due to the normal everyday flexing of the chassis.

Since it's a convertible with no AC in July and Aug I'll probably end up going back to the soft top and I want something that comes off easily and still leaves the mounts for the soft top.

The kammback is also planned to be for utility. The first one I'll probably do coroplast for testing but eventually I want to use plexiglass with a higher back, remove the trunk lid and have the back section hinged to add trunk volume. I figure the old trunk seals will give me a place to bolt/screw to that can be hidden and returned to stock. I'd rather spend my time perfecting this than the fit and seal at the front of the roof.
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