Miata Mailing List: August 1993, Message #120
sponsored by



     


   From: Joshua_Bloch@transarc.com
Subject: Re: Roll bars, roll-overs, and gasoline
   Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1993 16:39:49 -0400


steve@laforge.ksc.nasa.gov (Steve Davis) writes:
>   The recent discussion of roll bars and such has reminded me of something:
>
>   When I first test-drove a Miata, the salesman claimed that the windshield
> frame would support three times the weight of the car.  I took that with a
> rock of salt  and ignored it, as it wasn't really important to my purchase
> decision.
>
>   Now I'm wondering if there's anything to what he said.  My initial gut
> feeling, as now, was that it was total B.S.  Even if you could turn your
> Miata upside down and stack two more on top of it without the windshield
> frame collapsing, would that really buy you anything in a rollover?  (I
> assume that the 3x claim is a static measurement, if it was ever actually
> measured at all.)
>

I don't know about the details of the dealer's claim, but the
Miata Club Mag did once have a letter from someone who rolled his
Miata (a soft-top wiht the top up, I believe) and escaped with only
minor injuries.

>   While we're on the subject of bogus (or suspect) dealer claims, the same
> salesman also told me never to use _higher_ than 87 octane gasoline in the
> Miata-- that the engine would stall otherwise.  Fact or fantasy?
>

Dangerous fantasy.  87 octane is recommended.  Higher is
specifically dis-recommended because it can foul up the injectors.  I
have always had good luck with 87 octane gas.

> Regards,
>
> Steve
> '93 Classic Red "A"