Miata PSA: Tighten Your Top Latches

"mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/" (mxxxxxm24)
10/09/2019 at 15:55 • Filed to: Miata, PSA

Top squeaking? Do you not enjoy this squeaking? Simple fix. Tighten your latch tensioners. Be careful not to over do it.

Pull down clip and turn tensioner with your hand very slightly. Line back up and close clip. Repeat until desired tightness is achieved. Do not force the latch closed.

DISCUSSION (13)

Aremmes > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
10/09/2019 at 16:21

LIFEHACK: You can eliminate squeaks from your soft top permanently by keeping the top down.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Aremmes
10/09/2019 at 16:35

I technically am keeping the hardtop down in this case.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Aremmes
10/09/2019 at 18:45

Extra Lifehack: Live in Socal and park indoors in “winter” so that you never actually need a roof at all. The only downside is that my interior is always dusty and good luck ever getting the top to close for car washes due to the material not being stretched.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
10/09/2019 at 18:49

The latches on my other miata were absolute garbage. Would always loosen over time and so I had to tighten those often. The one time I ran on track with the top up (because it was 110F and I was tired of cooking in the sun) I had zip tied the latches shut because I didnt trust they would hold at 90mph with the windows down and going around turns at high g. New miata they seem to work as intended and I never have adjusted those. Granted I have used the top a total of about 4 times since buying the car, it has otherwise been down. Of course one of those times after putting it up it frigging ripped so I am tempted to just fully remove the top to save weight. But the only concern I have is when I have to put a parking pass on the dash, I hate leaving the top down because of how easy it would be to steal the ticket/pass. Sure the top doesnt do much to protect it but at least its a barrier from the casual thief who wants to avoid paying for parking.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/09/2019 at 20:11

Damn I guess in that scenario you could have tried thread lock? As for removing the top to save weight. I did that a couple years ago. Mine was ripped too and I have a hardtop, so it was a no brainer to save 40lbs. One thing I’d recommend if you do remove it is to get the California pop top thing I got. It goes on quick and is great in case of rain not that you need it in Cali but it also keeps the interior protected in general. Though that won’t help at all for your parking pass issue lol.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
10/09/2019 at 20:44

I imagine it would be a nice sun shade too. I kind of just havent wanted to deal with it though since removing it just to save weight seems silly. NBs are chonky anyways so its a hopeless endeavor haha. I could care less for protecting the interior this is the reason I love miatas, they are cheap enough to not give a shit about any of it! I get to just get in and drive and have endless smiles for minimal dollars.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/09/2019 at 20:56

Saving weight silly? Ha. Well I guess I’m silly lol, but every thing adds up, my car is probably over 200lbs lighter than stock now . The soft top is a large part of that. I definitely feel the difference, being that even the nb is still what 2,300lbs?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
10/10/2019 at 13:13

I guess moreso its silly for street driving. And even the casual HPDE, its not really all that important to cut weight. Weight balance is absolutely important as I found a proper corner balancing and agg ressive alignment to make a hell of a difference. Achieving an actual 50/50 distribution with me in the driver seat is pretty nice. But yeah when used as a daily driver I would rather have the conveniences. And just being happy to have a manually operated top and barely any electronics and already being at least 1000 pounds lighter than most modern cars . Considering how much more the roll bar and front sway bar weighs, my car is probably heavier than stock. Sure I have saved a significant amount with the seat but I have also added tow hooks and a radiator that surely weighs more than a plastic one.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/10/2019 at 14:51

See you hit on it. It’s not just removing weight, where you remove weight from. Until I removed my a/c my car was a bit off balance because most the weight had been removed from the back. It like in gran turismo when I add ballast to balance certain cars. But yeah obsessing over weight can distract from the fun of these cars and life in general

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
10/10/2019 at 16:23

I suppose removing stuff to balance is certainly cheaper than the fancy corner balance. It was like $200 just for that! Now I dont want to adjust anything ever because I dont want to have to pay that again lol. I do scrape on way too many things while daily driving and my suspension is a bit soft causing rubbing on track during max roll when high speed cornering. I am tempted to raise my height a smidge but it would probably ruin the balance.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/10/2019 at 17:13

What exactly is this corner balance? Is it ballast weight?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/
10/10/2019 at 17:47

So they set the car on four scales (one on each corner) and then adjust the car to make the four match as close as possible. This is done with the car setup as it would be on the track (trunk stripped of everything, my 160lb self in the driver seat represented by weights, and a half tank of gas). I believe this is primarily done just by adjusting the spring perch heights on the suspension so obviously this requires adjustable coilovers to do on a Miata. https://www.elephantracing.com/tech-topics/corner-balance/

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/10/2019 at 19:16

Ok I understand now it’s basically an in-depth alignment for people with adjustable coilovers. Sounds worth it for sure.