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Hi all,
My softtop is starting to wear through on those spots between the driver and passenger outer shoulders. I can see where it's rubbing, on that stopper thing so the frame doesn't lean on the glass.

I will be putting on some patches on those wear areas but I also remember there's a mazda part that prevents it from pinching.

Does anyone know the part number and cost or a photo of said item so I can make something up?

Cheers,
Bevan

Bevan,

If you look at the metal set plates that run around the inside bottom of the soft top (the thing that the top of the parcel tray carpet clips on to) you will notice that they are in 3 pieces. The two side pieces should have a raised blob just near the seatbelt towers. If they do then you have the updated parts that the US cars got. AFAIK all aussie NB's came with those blobs.

When my second roof started getting holes in it it was just at the end of the warranty period, the holes were small, the roof had recently been replaced and Mazda didn't want to cough up the $$$$ for a new top so they stuck a patch on the inside of the top covering the whole 'C' pillar. I managed to get it repaired while the holes were still small so they are pretty much unnoticable. Because the patch covers the whole 'C\" pillar panel it looks neat and like it was supposed to be there.

The benefit of the double layer on the 'C' pillar is that the roof is stiffer and harder to fold so it manages to avoid finding it's way under the stoppers. Well so far so good. It's been there for 10 months with no problems. You may find that the stopper isn't causing the problem but it could be the little rod of steel that is welded to the top frame that the spring that works the rear bow rests on. The edges of mine were quite sharp and dug into the roof when it was folded down.

I'm onto my 3rd soft top now. Each one lasted about 50000km.

This one seems fine after 50000 so hopefully it should all be good.

don't discount the fact that you now also have a roll bar fitted.

Bevan wrote:Hi all,
My softtop is starting to wear through on those spots between the driver and passenger outer shoulders. I can see where it's rubbing, on that stopper thing so the frame doesn't lean on the glass.

I will be putting on some patches on those wear areas but I also remember there's a mazda part that prevents it from pinching.

Does anyone know the part number and cost or a photo of said item so I can make something up?

Cheers,
Bevan

http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/s09_003_03.html

yeah, i had that on my nb8b a while back too. the immediate solution was to get the split vinyl welded. worked a charm and cant notice it. to prevent it, i done the same as garry and glued some black vinyl across the c pillar and any spots which i could see were wearing.

6 months later, it is still fine.

i find the thing that wears the roof the most is when you need to FORCE the glass or the metal bar down. it causes a lot of pressure on that particular spot. i ALWAYS pull the top bar towards the front of the car while pulling the roof down so it goes down smoothly. a bit of silicone lubriicant spray helped with the smoothness a lot also.

Thanks for all the info guys!

Garry: I'll have a look at the steel rod. I just presumed it was the stoppers as the fabric folds in there and gets pinched. I will definitely have a closer look on the weekend.

Stefan: Don't think it's anything to do with the roll bar as the holes don't look anywhere near the bar. I'll do a special check on that though.

Craig: Thanks for the link, will see what the part numbers on my car are. If they're different, i'll see how much they are from Mazda. Wonder if they'll cough them up for free seeing as it's a known problem?

Ducktape: I'll definitely patch up the inside. How much and where did you get yours repaired? We're both around the same area so I could just go to the same guy.

Cheers,
Bevan

hey bevan,
i got robert from UTICOLOR(check yellowpages) to do it. he done a perfect job. and even after it tore once the same day it was done, he re-done it again with some magic glue without a problem with no charge. he charged me $120 for the holes.

i glued the vinyl on the underside myself. and am simply always careful when i put my roof down. all good for 6 months now

Hrm Robert from Uticolour...

ducktape69 wrote:and even after it tore once the same day it was done, he re-done it again with some magic glue without a problem with no charge. he charged me $120 for the holes.

It tore again after one day then used glue? Doesn't sound all that great to be honest, especially @ $120. But if it's still good 6 months on, it must be okayish.

rodent wrote:Hrm Robert from Uticolour...

Do tell (or PM if you like).

Bevan, PM'd.

It tore again after one day then used glue? Doesn't sound all that great to be honest, especially @ $120. But if it's still good 6 months on, it must be okayish.

that was my fault. i was supposed to let the glue settle for 12 hours....but it was a nice day so i wanted to take the top off and the patch came undone lol....

rodent..whats goin on therE?