Dave assures us this top was designed based on measurements provided by Emilio straight off the GT3. We don't have the GT3 to confirm, but I'm very hopeful based on that.

 

6'2" Brian Goodwin said that he had about 3" from the top of his head to the ceiling of the hard top. That's great for helmet room.

I also know that Dave NEEDS a car for at least two days for final fitment, and I'm sure if someone in San Diego can give up their car for a couple of days or a weekend, Dave would be offering a significant discount on any of his Miata stuff.

 

Yes, Emilio and I spent a couple minutes on the phone today chit chatting ND things, Miata Challenge and Morpheus related stuff.. I'll be the happiest guy out there to see that top sitting on Emilio's car.

Cord, helmet room is only half the puzzle.
It's the roll bar that plays the other half, and we have a great one for the the ND guys that are ready to ditch the soft top in favor of a hard top -

 

And that's the issue. Dave essentially did 90% of the top without a donor car sitting there to test-fit. It HAS been on a Miata with a roll bar -- and it cleared it easily. Doing the eyeball test makes me think that it will clear with no problems at all, but no one will know until the top makes it up to Emilio's shop. Soon, I hope.

 

I know it cleared the RZ bar by inches, I designed both bars

 

Speculation based on a couple pics is just getting ahead of ourselves on this one. We probably wouldn't have posted anything until confirmation of fitment with the GT3 bar as well.. but cat's out of the bag. All anyone can say for the moment is the top was designed directly off measurements of the GT3 bar - more than that in fact, Dave said he took all of Emilio's measurements and added an inch. So, let's wait and see once there's a chance to test fit it on the 949 car.

I'm impressed with what DG put together, and I think it looks great. I'm further impressed considering the scarcity of cars they had to work with - for sure they'd have preferred to have a car on hand through the whole process, ideally the GT3-equipped ND, but this stuff takes time and none of those with NDs are able to leave our R&D platform with a shop for months.

The top in the pics is the race version in fiberglass. Carbon will also be available. We're giving DG input on fit and finish details for the street version of the top, but those details aren't solidified yet. Unfortunately we weren't able to leave our ND there for the couple days he needs one to do final work, but it's a moot point as DG is now shipping that prototype off to another location for other testing. So, we'll have to patiently wait for the final verdict on GT3 bar compatibility for a bit.

 

This looks mighty tight, crossing fingers -

 

Mods, can we start a new thread for "ND hard tops" This is not a DIY aero discussion but merits it's own ongoing thread.

 

Ugh. more work! can do.

 

Is ANYONE using Alumalite, or has everyone gone to wood? This is in regards to front splitters

 

I've gone back to Tegris up front, but will be using alumalite or sheet aluminum for the undertray from the splitter back. The Tegris and bracket I built is strong enough that I don't need any struts or cables out front, and that's what sold me.

 

So I take it people are doing this instead of the plastic undertray, and not combined with it.

The one limitation I have is that my FM oil cooler location is a bit low, so either I bend the brackets, or need a cutout in my splitter to accomodate it. Not really building that yet as I'm not prepared to spend the money on it to do right, and don't want a POS. My buddy did make one from Alumalite and was able to stand on it though.

 

I have used alumalite type product for a few years now with good success

 

Will someone PLEASE try bamboo sheet? There's 5-ply stuff in 1/4" and 3/8", and I think it would be perfect for splitters. This stuff is nature's answer to carbon fiber. It's got super-strong strands that are lightweight, but can also be flexible.

https://www.ambientbp.com/products/g...-plywood-sheet

 

32 lbs for 4'x8' of 1/4" sound a little heavy, but other than that it looks good.

 

My first splitter was alumalite. Worked fairly well but needs quite a bit of support to keep flex down on the area extending beyond the bumper. I never was very confident putting my full body weight on it, and only would do so with my feet right next to where the supports mounted.

Eventually it got torn up on the underside, so when I made another one I moved on to a new material. At ~$100/sheet it's not bad but $30/sheet birch ply certainly wins the cost contest. Birch is a LOT more durable to boot.

 

I was putting the kids to bed so I linked to the first bamboo site I found.

This link shows essentially crossply bamboo, which is how you'd set up a strong carbon fiber layup; 0 degree then 90 degree and so on.

Dimensional Bamboo Lumber, Bamboo Plywood and Bamboo Veneers

The five ply "multi-ply" would be my choice.

 

Hmm I retract my previous statement.. the splitters I'm making these days are large enough that you can only do one splitter per 4'x8' sheet, so in my head last night I'm thinking "32 lbs would be a really heavy splitter!" but really you don't use a large portion of the sheet, it's just that they're large enough that you can't quite nest a second splitter into the same space.

Did some googling and looks like 4'x8' of standard plywood is roughly 25 lbs, so bamboo is roughly 30% heavier (makes sense, much denser). But, you're never making a splitter from 1/4" birch because it's not rigid enough (I did to shave weight, but double-layered all of the outer extension portion and skinned with lots of carbon fiber... not exactly your "easy method"). Comparing apples to apples, for a simple flat splitter we commonly use 5/8" birch which maths out to roughly 62lbs per sheet.

The jury is still out on whether 1/4" bamboo is rigid enough.. IF it is, that would be considerably lighter.

 

What is the cost of that bamboo?

Lost my GV lip to an off yesterday, and want a splitter to support it so that it will stop coming off.

Ryan you said you have gone off with your splitter solid mounted correct? I don't expect it to last a really good hit but maybe something like my off posted in the bad track driving thread.

 

That bamboo link I posted has a warehouse in Portland. You ought to give them a call Monday.