How many of you actually use that, when making just a short road trip, say no more than 2 hrs. say to the coast, as we often do, beach bumming here in N. Calif????
I have used it for a longer (4 1/2 hr.) or our LONG trip to the Grand Canyon the month after buying our 2000 Miata in June 2000. But I found it to be such a pain, that it primarily sits in my garage.
I use the boot for any trip longer than 15 minutes. In fact, it's been on since May 2007, the last time the top was up. The boot does several useful things:
- Protects the underside of the fabric from UV rot
- Keeps the top clean
- Keeps the top from bouncing around and rattling
I still have the original 1994 top, BTW.
Don't even have one. If the top is down the tonneau cover is on.
Never use it. My top isn't down all that often, given our Minneapolis weather and that I don't like hot sun.
miker
The boot is too much of a PITA for me to deal with it that often. In fact, I never use one, I would rather replace the top periodically than put that chunk of vinyl on every time I drop it.
It does irritate me that it took Mazda 16 years to finally make the top a better design, where the outer side stays up when the top is down so that dirt and UV rays on the underside are not an issue.
Toyota had the better top design available for the MR2 in 2000, while Mazda continued with the same poorly designed top that all 1990-2005 Miatas came standard with for another 6 years until the release of the
2006+ model.The top, both the ragtop and the PRHT, are the only things on the NC that I consider an improvement over the previous models.
Pat
My 2006 does not have one, due to the improved design. But on my 1991 which had the separate boot cover I don't think I ever used it more that 5 times. Just too big a PITA. But I dutifully hauled it around and kept it protected and folded properly and passed it on to the new owner after 15 years. I also passed along the original top (with replacement zip-in window) in impressively good condition so I doubt that my failure to use the cover caused it any serious damage.
For just running around town when I know I'm going to be parking somewhere I'd rather not leave the top down, no I don't use it. However, for longer drives, more than an hour or so, it definitely goes on.
Yes, it's a PITA but it does look nice and cuts down on rattling.
And I think you cursed me - the right latch on my convertible top is now rattling and not latching properly!
Iva & Vixen
2004 Classic Red No more winkin' Miata
As others have said, it's too much of a pain. The rear window on my '96 suddenly turned brown and brittle last winter. Whether using the boot would have extended its life, I couldn't say. The top otherwise seems to be in perfect condition. But I do have to decide whether to find someone to replace just the window or to get a new top. I'm open to advice.
If everything else looks good and you are happy with a plastic window, I would just have a shop sew in a new piece of plastic.
If you want it to look original inside and out, putting a OEM window in will be pretty expensive since the window part alone is over $150.00 from the factory. I received a quote of about $200.00 to have it done with standard plastic window material such as what is used on a boat.
I have seen others here who were able to have it done this way for about $100.00. The lowest quote that I could find in the Central Texas area was a little over $200.00 total, with some quotes going over $400.00. This was about 5 or 6 years ago.
I ended up putting a 1999 top on the 1996 frame instead, but have seen the results of just replacing the window on another Miata and I was pleased with the work done this way.
Pat
xs11e>>Isn't the tonneau cover the same thing that I am talking about??? Sorry to be so late seeing your post. but I haven't used my MSNTV2 box since yesterday evening, but am now able to see this grp., cause on my PC Google Grps, which is how I access this grp. has been pretty much dead since yesterday. So I have to catch up on this entire thread :-).
iva>>Like I said, except for our trip to the Grand Canyon, and maybe driving 4 1/2 hrs. to Pismo Beach, I have hardly ever used it. And as for hearing any rattling, can't say that I ever have. Maybe because when the top is down, there is too much other niose for me to notice. but I doubt that those latches could be so poorly designed that them rattling could cause then to not lock properly.
P.S. Iva>>Probably hasn't locked in awhile and you just noticed since I brought it up. I could not even tell you how long mine hasn't, but the latch still stays snuggly in place.
P.S.S. The material on the underside (Inside) of my top looks excellent. And I am sure glad that my 2000 Miata came with a real glass window :-).
Sorry PPL. I can really spell (NOISE)>>LOL.
Just can't type worth beans :-).
I use the top boot every time I put the top down. I don't want the sun to damage the under side of the top. When I have the hard top on, I cover the soft top. I guess it just depends on how much you care about sun damage to the underside of your soft top. I don't have the kind of money to replace a cloth soft top like some of you guys have. The sun just kills the underside of your top!
Bruce Bing '03 LS
I guess from reading all the posts here, if you live somewhere sunny, you'll tend to have the roof down most if not all of the time, so then you'll use the cover to protect the roof. If however (like me), you live somewhere where the weather is more volatile, you'll tend to have the roof up a lot more than you have it down, so then when you do drop the roof now and again, using the cover is way too much hassle, especially when you might have to raise it again at short notice!
Thanks. With the top being in good shape and the car being so old, I can't see anything other than a new plastic window making sense. Now I just need to find someone to do it in the Dallas area.
No, different critter.
Tonneau cover =
Anyway back on topic. We live in a very warm climate, except for the colder winter months, here in N. Calif. (Solano County). I keep the top up nearly all the time, helping to keep the dust out, when parked at home, even though the windows are down, since I keep it garaged 100% of the time, here at home. So the underside of the top only gets exposed to the sun, on the few times we are traveling more than say maybe a couple of hours.
It takes a very short period of time to turn the underside of the pre-2006 tops gray in color when exposed to the sun, but how much actual damage is happening is hard to judge for certain.
The top on Frank's car is almost 13 years old and it is still keeping out the rain and wind despite his not using a boot.
I have seen a top on a Miata where the owner almost always used the boot, and it needed replacement for pinhole leaks after 15 years.
Using a boot is probably better for the top's condition, but I wonder to what extent since I don't see tops springing leaks from not using the boot regularly.
I'll bet that Frank's top underside is gray in color, but if 12+ years of being exposed to the Texas sun has not ruined it's usefulness, I think that the amount of meaningful damage that has occurred due to not using a boot is certainly debatable.
Pat
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