ND Miata Rollover Results - Ugly

There doesn't appear to be any evidence of extraction surgery on that car, so I am going to cross my fingers that it was in the process of being transported when something extraordinary happened and was therefore unoccupied.

In reply to Vigo :

https://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/viewtopic.php?id=12194

Also the smart guys cut holes in the floor to lower the cage to weld the tops and then weld plates in place.

Vigo said:

I think part of the point of a bolt-in rollbar is that you can actually maneuver it inside the vehicle without cutting the roof off. Good luck with plates 3 times the size. I'm sure there is some improvement that's actually possible and practical and i'm not defending the company, but i think bolt-in rollbars of that sort are more of a 'compliance special' than anything. Hey, you need a tube-y thing for them rules people? Here's a tube-y thing, easy install $199. 

The answer is to put a larger area piece of plate under the landing point base plate of the bolt in roll bar and bolt that down plus bolt down the roll bar through it and the floor pan.  At least you get more linear inches to resist shear of the floor pan itself and thicker cross sections to resist the punching shear.    Welded down doubler plate would be better of course. 

All pretty scary.  I just bought another Miata and it has no roll bar.  Note to self: get one soon.  You never know what is going to happen even on the street.

I also wonder the severity of the impact, a rollover at 25 from a grass berm onto the road is different than flying off a road at 145 and impacting a concrete bridge support.  Nothing can be engineered to withstand EVERYTHING,  so the details would be interesting to know here.  

Stefan said:

rashed exceeded the limits of what appears to be a bolt-in 4pt or it was an improperly installed weld-in.

No, its just Autopower and their comically undersized plates.  IF you ever install one on anything, double or triple the size of the steel plates under them.

Roll cages should be installed on plinth boxes, taking advantage of the vertical shearing forces of the side sills as well as the (limited) strength of the floor.

EastCoastMojo said:

There doesn't appear to be any evidence of extraction surgery on that car, so I am going to cross my fingers that it was in the process of being transported when something extraordinary happened and was therefore unoccupied.

I'm wondering if the a-pillar/ windshield frame was cut off during extraction and is just laying on top of the pile?  I hate seeing stuff like this because there is no way someone came out of that okay.

I would call that a typical rollover, for sure.  More like over and then backwards through the trees.  

My guess is that this particular Mazda rolled several times. And I would think that crash protection gets exponentially more difficult to predict, and engineer around, with each successive tumble.

Hell, who knows if this car wasn’t parked on a dealer lot, crash takes place in nearby street and/or avoidance maneuvers put involved vehicle on top of the Miata while it was on display. 

I think it's very hard to come to any conclusion about what actually happened here based off the one original picture. I have to question a lot of the very curious circumstances about the damage shown and  how this car is presented. I know that the results of a crash are impossible to predict but what I'm seeing seems incongruous with things that I would logically expect from a collision. I will make no accusations here, I obviously wasn't there, merely stating the curious evidence as I see it. First of all the "survival cell" seems to have done it's job. The human compartment hasn't been noticeably crushed, excusing the windshield frame and seat headrests. The driver seatbelt appears to have been cut, probably for extraction. However, the passenger belt looks to be buckled, implying there may have been a passenger. There also appears to be another piece of what looks like seatbelt running through the passenger roll hoop? Not sure what that is. I don't see any signs of blood anywhere. Driver roll hoop obviously missing, passenger's looks like it not far behind. Driver's airbags have gone off, but not the passenger's, so was there a passenger or do they just leave that belt buckled? I'm not a first responder but I think it would be pretty difficult to get somebody out of this car without cutting, which I don't see any evidence of, and I doubt the doors are still functional. In the heat of the moment you could possibly crawl out though. I really would like to know what happened here.

That car looks to be way too straight to have been in a huge crash-and-rollover. Usually if it's THAT bad you'd see the whole car twisted about both the x and the z axes, every structural member bent and crunched, and every airbag in the car deployed.

If I were betting my own money on it, I'd take "big pine tree fell on it during Hurricane Florence" - the branches would've ripped up the interior like that while applying distributed loads all over the place.

Given the recent weather, that car just screams "house fell on it"... except the steering wheel and driver seat bags had deployed.

Sad to see but with out more pictures or context it’s basically Schrodinger‘s Miata.

In reply to Knurled. :

I think the seat and steering wheel were ripped open by an external object.

interesting enough, the steering wheel and dash do not look crushed. I would think in a roll over the wheel would not be in such good condition

I witnessed a Chrysler Sebring convertible leave the road hit a concrete culvert pop straight up on the rear bumper then slowly fall over unto it's roof. The top of the doors were sitting flush with the pavement. 

The kid diving was the only one in the car. Much to my surprise he responded when I called for him. He slid his cell phone out under the gap and wanted me to tell his mom where he was. 

We waited until first responders arrived, gave our statements and then left. He told me he was bleeding a little from his ear or side of his face he couldn't tell. But he was alert and talking the whole time. 

I don't know his condition because we left but the car was absolutely flat laying on the doors. Craziest thing I've ever seen.

Guys maybe it just got put in that roof-crush machine that the Tesla Model S broke. 

If it rolled, why are that backs of the seats where theyre bent forward ripped or dirty?

A google images search of “miata rollover” yields enough horrifying results  to make a roll-bar #1 priority if I owned one.

Are we sure this thing hasn't been through the car crusher?  I don't know how you do that in a real accident without tearing the fabric of the seats or steering wheel, scratching the paint off the windshield frame, damaging the dash or even the video screen.

My money is on tree. if there was a human in that there would be brain matter and blood everywhere. Not to be crass but it take a crap ton a force to do that and accidents don't normally flatten things out that evenly.

Or it fell off a delivery truck that was on the edge of a cliff.

So any news with this?

freetors said:

So any news with this?

I checked back on the original post. Lots of speculation but no solid description of the incident. 

News flash:  convertibles are dangerous in rollovers. If such things frighten you, don't buy one. Or add a roll bar.

News flash:  motorcycles are dangerous to ride with other vehicles on the road. Don't buy one if such things frighten you.

Some people need to stay indoors with their shades drawn while the rest of us take calculated risks and enjoy life.

**These opinions come to you courtesy of a guy who rides motorcycles and drove old Fiat convertibles without rollover protection for the first 25 years of his driving life.

Oh please. This is curiosity about the nature of the damage and what caused it. Doesn't require sarcasm and condescension.