I don't see any disadvantage to running a hardtop in winter other than being bummed on a day when you really want the top down, but heat retention isn't really an issue. The heater in our cars is awesomely good.

That's the part I have difficulty understanding. All you need is ear-protection, a balaclava, and eye protection, and you're good to go.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1400526996




That, for me, is the biggest disadvantage. I realize that a lot of folks on this forum prefer to run their hard-tops year-round, and have even gone so far as to remove the soft top entirely. I'm not judging them*, but my own preference is to run topless any time doing so does not result in significant water damage to the interior.






















* = Actually, I am. You're all damned fools, and your parents met at a family reunion.

I despise driving with winter gloves on. 40°F is pretty much my low limit for driving a miata with the top down with no gloves on before my hands are too cold to be comfortable.

Meh. I commute by bicycle nearly every day already, regardless of temperature. When I lived in SoCal, I simply kept my winter motorcycle gloves in the glovebox, and wore them when it was cold. I have no problem wearing weather-appropriate attire.

I am with you Joe. I bought the miata because I wanted a convertible. Assuming that I can put the top down without cracking the rear plastic window on my NA's I will gladly drive when it's cold out with gloves on and a beanie.

I could not care less that the Miata is a convertible. If there was a coupe version, I would not even consider the ragtop. I bought it because it is a cheap alternative to the nearly non-existent British roadsters of 30-40 years ago. Yes, I run a hardtop year 'round, and the convertible frame has been removed.

Drove my open diff NB all winter with snow tires. Never once got in any trouble in the Michigan snow.

Other than that, the NB is a terrible daily driver. Cramped. Bad on gas. Not comfortable. No one sees you. Slow. I could go on.

Are you saying that the NB is a terrible daily-driver as compared to an NA / NC, or as compared to a Mercury Grand Marquis?

Because I've used NAs as my exclusive daily-driver for the past nine years*, and I don't find them to be at all objectionable. I find it difficult to believe that an NB could be significantly more cramped, worse on gas, or less comfortable than a '90. And I'm 6'2", 195 lbs.








* = Excluding the period of Sep 2013-present, during which time I owned no car at all.

I've only had the joy of daily driving an NB of the 3 generations.


You asked if it was possible and it absolutely is. In fact it did best of all in the snow of any of my cars.
All the other stuff is personal opinion.

The bottom line is that if you want an NB, a soft top doesn't make life a living hell, and a retractable hardtop isn't worth the extra coin. El fin. I'm with you in thinking that a miata should have the top down whenever feasable, and I would have been heartbroken on the first rogue days of warm weather if I'd been stuck in a hardtop.

Rust free Florida 2001 Miata for $5k:
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I was actually serious when I questioned this earlier, and was hoping for a serious reply. Do you find the NB to be a poorer DD choice and an NA or NC, or do you simply not like Miatas as DDs in general?

I can't speak to the NA or NC but I can agree that an NB is a cramped daily for someone 6' or taller. Rubbing my hair on the roof sucks. Of course without a roll bar, it's a little better. But who does that?

If I were Joe Perez, I would hold out for the uNiCorn PRHT stick shift.

Well, I'm 6'2" and 195 lbs. I DD'd NAs for 9 years, and have no complaints. Obviously I don't run roll-bars on the street, and don't ever plan to, so that probably contributes somewhat to my comfort.

I've driven NBs very short distances in the past, and I don't recall them feeling any more cramped than my NAs. I've also driven an NC on one occasion, and I recall it feeling quite claustrophobic, owing to the fact that the top of the door seemed much higher than on an NA/NB.



It would take a strongly compelling reason to make my buy an NC as opposed to an NB. I prefer the aesthetics of the NB, I prefer the familiar interior of the NB, and of course my knowledge-base of the NC (wiring, mechanicals, etc) is extremely lacking as compared to the NA/NB. I really don't want to have to learn a whole new platform.

OTOH, someone needs to get off their ass and install a Megasquirt in one...

Why? With openflash you get more or less all the tuning you could want for less than the cost of an MS2 and pass OBDii checks without any funny business.

Are the NC's DBW? If so then don't expect MS to ever support it.

And for my 5000th post...

This is hella gay, DBW is awesome and lets you do dirty dirty things with turbo cars if you have enough control over it.

Interesting.

Remember when I said that my knowledge of the NC is lacking? I meant it- I'm actually kind of a luddite when it comes to OEM ECUs. Gotta do me some reading.



While I understand that the developers are hesitant to officially support DBW for liability reasons, this is a political, rather than a technological challenge.

That said, I'd want to do a parallel install anyway, as the amount of code development that would be required to completely replicate all of the auxiliary functions of the OEM ECU would be burdensome.

The robbins cloth/canvas top, in my experience, has been significantly less fussy about cold weather than the 3 or so previous vinyl tops that I've had. Pinch the center and rear horizontal supports together with your fingers, and the top will settle under its own weight every time. Also, having had both an NA and an NB for DD Winter duty, I have seen no noticeable difference in comfort/performance between the two. Get a functional LSD with snow tires on all 4 corners, and everything else is trivial. I am 6'2" 200 lbs.

DBW not being supported is purely political because of the liability as you have stated. B&G is 2 people, along with 2 developers who do it part time. So I fully understand why they have no desire to touch DBW.

Now someone like Reverant could probably write DBW code for the NC and get it working correctly.