Actually, I find I have to take off baseball caps when I pick up speed. My whole forehead jiggles with the wind and makes things look jumpy.

 

And also, don't make the mistake of tilting your head back -- lost a good cap that way

 

I always wear a ball cap when I'm driving any car with the top down, and I've lost several hats in the S2000. That has NEVER happened in the MX5.

I don't think this is a function of turbulance though. It's just easier to get the bill of the cap up into the air stream with the S2000.

The buffeting in the S2000 does loosen the cap so I have to repeatedly pull it back down on my head to keep it from blowing off. Again, not a problem I see with the Miata (or any other rag top I can recall).

It's funny too, because the Miata has a much lower door line and the driver is much more exposed.

 

[QUOTE=RED MX5,May 16 2006, 08:48 PM] I'm sure there are cars that are worse, but two (or three or four) wrongs don't make it right.

 

[QUOTE=Lionheart,May 17 2006, 01:18 AM]I don't think there are many better 2 seaters (problem is that where the side windows stop, there is some room the air can come in before the center windstop), it's still a convertible and you're supposed to be aware that you're driving one! Vert's with side windows at the back seat and a windstop will be better of course. I think it also matters how tall you are. I really need to testdrive the MX5 I think, tried the most of them except that one... And it seems I missed out on the best. I sat in a new MX5 the past week, I just didn't drive it, but I found it quite expensive compared to the S and hard plastic on the console

 

Now I really have to drive an MX5 very soon After driving Z3's, Z4's, TTR's, SLK's, MG F's, Boxsters, 911 vert's etc, I really find the S2000 to be quite good on wind turbulence and so on Can I drive the new MX5? Is it as good as the old one? I really want to feel the difference now between good and better!?

 

Frankly, I think RED MX5 is overstating the case, but you be the judge...

 

[QUOTE=Lionheart,May 18 2006, 01:19 AM]Now I really have to drive an MX5 very soon

 

I've been concerned about that myself.
Clearly this is the kind of thing everyone should judge for themselves.

That said, let me review the factors that I believe support my contention. As stated in my original post, when caravaning with the CCR fleet, the Miatas get to keep their tops down when it rains, but I can't, because the wind blows the rain into the inside of the windshield. The car would have to have a second set of windshield wipers on the inside to be drivable in the rain, top down, the way Miata owners often do. The only other cars I can remember that have gotten the windshield wet at speed with the top down are my MGA, and Lotus Super 7's. I'm sure there are others, but I haven't had the pleasure of driving any of them in the rain with the top down.

I absolutely did not expect this kind of thing from a modern roadster, so the first time I drove through a downpour with the top down I was surprised. It's no big deal - no car is perfect - but it is not something I've learned to expect from roadsters with roll-up windows (MGAs and Super 7s have side curtains that bow out and direct the rain onto the inside of the windshield).

The rain blowing around onto the back of the windshield isn't something that will be affected by driver height or position, because it happens on both sides of the car, with or without a passenger. It's also not a subjective evaluation on my part.

^^ That much I can't be overstating, because I'm simply observing.

The buffeting is harder to judge in an objective way. Look at the array of airflow control devices (fearings, windshields, etc.) available on motorcycles. Roadsters are also designed for open air motoring, and some people want more wind in the face than others. Buffeting proper is generally considered a bad thing, but in a car like the Super 7, buffeting is a part of the character of the car, and the car was originally designed for fun handling at speeds not much more than 100 MPH. They were never designed for long distance cruising at speed, and the buffeting gets old in a hurry. Even so, at lower speeds it adds to the sensation that the car is quick and raw.

Subjectively, I think the level of buffeting in the S2000 is consistant with the rest of the cars apparent design intent, but at my height, and with my long hair and beard (imagine Santa Clause at 6'1" and 165 pounds skinny, or ZZTop) the stock airflow characteristics cause some issues that are quite irritating. Obviously this isn't going to be an issue for someone who looks more like Yul Brynner than ZZTop.

 

Because we have so many Miatas in the CCR fleet I have had to find a way to put a positive spin on the rain issue. All the Miata owners (most of whom are running superchargers) know that their cars are like toys compared to my car. They all know that any time I feel the urge, on any road, at any speed, I can reach down into my gearbox and walk away from them at an embarassing pace, so naturally, they give me crap any time they find anything their cars do better than mine. Every time we get caught in the rain they all rag me for having to stop and put up the top (and often for getting soaking wet in the process). Whenever one of them goes for a ride in my car and has to release the top latehes, they also rag me about their functioning, which lacks the simplicity of Mazdas design. I guess I haven't really come up with a great come-back (suggestions welcome), but I do the best I can.

I tell them that it is obvious that Honda was focusing on other issues when they designed the S2000. Whatever the car lacks in refinement it makes up for in performance and the overall driving experience. I will rhetorically ask them if they have ever heard of the expression, "horse and rider as one" (a phrase promoted as a big part of the design philosophy behind the original MX5). Of course they have, so I then ask if they think the Miata is more one with the driver than the S2000. Since they have all either driven, or at least ridden in my car, they know better. S2000s are much more direct than MX5s, and respond more quickly to driver inputs. So far they haven't figured out that they have a counter argument on the grounds that not all horses are are the same.

How else do you explain away the fact that you have to stop and put up the top while all the guys in Miatas drive on? I'm open to suggestions.