On handling? Minimal. It does make the car slightly more aerodynamic. The OEM CR wing is shaped so that the twist is perfectly aligned with the airflow that comes over the top of the car, and wrapping around the side of the car, whether its a softtop or hardtop.

 

I see. Yeah with the MX-5 you won't be competitive in such circuits as Spec Miata without a hard top at all. They have a lot of flex in the monocoque chassis. The hard top mounting points reduce that flex by so much it literally feels like a different car.

Great info, thank you.

 

One of the benefits of running a hardtop in the event of a rollover, is that the rollbar doesn't dig into soft dirt/soil as easily. I've seen that happen in a top down miata, and as you can imagine, it pretty much negates the fact that there is a roll bar present. Might not be so much of an issue in other parts of the country, but here in SoCal, when you go off, the soil is very very soft.

 

So many great pictures guys, I couldnt resist and to had whore a few of my own.

This is my car when standard exiting the complex at Croft circuit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599064103/http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599064103/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/61873555@N06/, on Flickr

This is stage 1 of my mods entering the complex at Croft circuit. (Buddyclub N+, polyurethane bushes and R compound tyres)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599057909/http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599057909/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/61873555@N06/, on Flickr

Then i had quite a lot of off time and stage 2 hit the Cadwell park Circuit. Its famous for being a dabgerous narrow circuit mostly competed on in motorbikes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599056045/http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599056045/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/61873555@N06/, on Flickr


Damn MR2s everywhere blocking my way through Halls

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599057153/http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599057153/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/61873555@N06/, on Flickr

Now the MR2s have all crashed and i get to flex the r comps through halls-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599056973/http://www.flickr.com/photos/61873555@N06/6599056973/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/61873555@N06/, on Flickr

More to follow in the new season, I hope you like. Comments appreciated.

 

Damn haha...how much damage do those poles do? How sturdy are they? Both tracks look pretty interesting...great to see more pics in this thread.

 

Raz, nice pics

Just thinking about carbon and FRP hardtops... are they not likely to splinter into dangerous pieces during a rollover?

 

Nice shots, especially the first.

I LOLed.

 

I beg to differ -- both that Spec Miatas are flexible (well built ones run welded-in roll cages and are thus fairly stuff) and that the hard top helps their rigidity (the Miata's hard top is a floppy piece of fiberglass that's just held on by four clips, similar to the S2000's setup). A Miata will go faster with the hardtop on, as I'd expect an S2000 to, but that's because of the aerodynamic benefit, not any improvement in stiffness.

 

The bollards normally get destroyed on a race meet. They wont do more than leave a black rubber mark with minor panel damage if your unlucky. The armco on the outside is very close though, 4 cars that day left the slimy cold autumn tarmac on their way into that nasty stuff


Im not directly involved in the composites field but with their move into aviation I can't avoid a little research. I understand there are many different ways to make an item out of CFRP. The material sheets and curing process all interlock with the weaving style to affect the property of the plastic. Items can be engineered to withstand high forces in a certain direction but often cant not take the same force in an alternate path. An 'omnidirectional' CF weave is also been perfected. As we know lots of modern and even some old super cars (lambo) use CFRP monocoque safety cells to great effect. The huge Audi LeMan crash this year springs to mind.

Which manufacturing technique was used on the mugen/spoon/asm style hardtops are beyond me. Id place a guess that judging by the high gloss resin finish they are primarily manufactured for a cosmetic market. I hope to be proven wrong on that.

Id certainly prefer to have an OEM hardtop on versus a CF for a major roll. That in mind though even a crappy plastic one will prevent roll bars from digging into the mud and deleting the available space for an unfortunate occupant.

 

As it sits today. Note the condition of the piston in cylinder #4.