Miata Mailing List: May 1993, Message #61
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   From: (none)
Subject: Re: cracking in the soft top?
   Date: (none)

> My soft top is showing some very fine cracking in a spot just above the
> top-center of each side window.  It appears to be where the top folds back
> on itself.

i'll double check mine (over 3 yrs old), but i haven't noticed this.

what i *have* noticed is some wear on the *inside* of the roof, both
on the left and right, a few inches in from the edges, between the
inside support bars.  the wear is occuring when the top is folded
down due to rubbing by the thick vinyl surround that goes around
the plastic rear window.  it hasn't worn through the roof yet (!)
but if i don't do something soon, it will... :-(

i was thinking of ordering the Mazda patch kit, but i don't know
if that's only meant for holes, or can be used for my situation too.
an alternative might be to at least cover the wearing areas with
some kind of cloth tape.  any ideas?

> These cracks are extremely hard
> to see, and certainly aren't deep enough to go through the top, but they're
> still disconcerting given the age of the car.  I'm just curious if anyone
> else has noticed this.  It looks like a likely first point of failure 
> (probably 2-4 years from now).

another issue is "how long should a soft top last, anyway?"
given that the Miata soft top isn't as heavy duty as some
(more expensive) cars, i predict a finite life before it
requires replacement, but just how long should that be?
i don't see why we shouldn't be able to get between 5 and 10 years
out of it, but that might require a fair amount of care...