So let's talk about vent windows/window vents. Are they worth it if you don't have AC? What are your thoughts on them?
Cherry Bomb, my miata, doesn't have AC. Never had it, never will. It's been blisteringly hot here in NC recently. Like, 100F which is unusual for coastal NC. Well, that translates to like 130-170F inside. Top down doesn't help much cause I'm 5'2 and have to sit with the seat all the way forward, so windows don't exactly blow air on me. So are window vents/vented windows going to help? Or is it a waste of my money?
They should, but I'm going back decades to recall. My ES miata could have the ac removed (dealer added), but no way.
Some other ways to mitigate the heat:
What color is the car? If it's not white, I'd consider wrapping it, at least the hood and deck lid.
A little extra insulation for the transmission tunnel will help, too.
In reply to Floating Doc :
It's red. Hence the name.
Vent windows are great. It's amazing how well they redirect air into the cabin. My 2002 has no A/C, and between the vent windows and the rear pop-outs you can produce significant air flow.
EvanB
MegaDork
6/3/19 8:48 a.m.
Vent windows are great, but I don't know how you would be able to add them to a Miata.
Having daylied a black NA Miata with no AC for years... Vent windows might help. Biggest thing I did was I had a top with a zip down rear window. Really hot day preferred running configuration was top up with side and rear windows down. You get the nice air in the back window blowing right down on your neck and shade keeping you a bit cool. Dosent do much at low speeds though.
lrrs
HalfDork
6/3/19 8:53 a.m.
Vent windows rock!
My 85 dodge b350 xplorer has them.
I am going to build something to emulate them for my kelmark(no ac yet, maybe ever). When driving the kelmark I put my hand in the front corner of the window to scoop some air to cool off. What I build won't be a window, but a scoop that I can slide into the channels and remove easily when I need to roll up the window.
EvanB's link to the Cool Breeze Scoop is my recommendation. They're awesome. I consider them standard equipment in my Miatas. I've only ever owned one (out of 6?) that had functional AC.
NickD
PowerDork
6/3/19 9:05 a.m.
stuart in mn said:
Vent windows are great, but I don't know how you would be able to add them to a Miata.
Project-G, amongst others, makes kits to put little closeable scoops in the wing windows
If you want a WHOLE LOTTA air and are willing to forgo complete water tightness, https://www.advanced-autosports.com/collections/body/products/naca-duct-style-vent paired with https://www.jegs.com/i/Vintage-Air/960/499193/10002/-1 will get you this, like I have in my track car:
These things throw an amazing amount of air on you at parking lot speeds or above, but, like I said, will drip on you a bit if it's really raining.
I remember when vent windows were standard equipment.
I don't remember the last car I had with them.
I would get a spray bottle full of cold water and spray it at the air vents I the dash ......
My own style of 1950s side window swamp cooler :)
if you have an old 1950s swamp cooler I would be interested in it for my VW bug. :)
I have the Cool Breeze Scoop and love it.
Rodan
Dork
6/3/19 11:12 p.m.
Cool Breeze scoop works great, but it will dump bugs in your lap.
I have the naca ducts on our track NA, and they work really well, but probably not the best solution for a street car. A 45* silicone elbow on the passenger side can put air directly on your legs.
Carbon miata markets vent windows for Miatas. Google currently shows them out of stock, however.
Ok, you should know that:
my online research shows you have to take a lot of the door apart to do vent windows.
You can probably get scraps of lexan st a glass shop and cut out the "glass" with a jigsaw
And those pop out vents are cheap and can be found at airplane parts sites, ebay under windjammer vents and of course miata parts sellers. just need a hole saw
All the above mentioned because challenge budget
NickD
PowerDork
6/4/19 8:59 a.m.
Floating Doc said:
Carbon miata markets vent windows for Miatas. Google currently shows them out of stock, however.
The problem there is that you have to buy from Carbonmiata, so there's like a 20% chance that it actually fits. I bought some stuff from them a while back and some of the parts were just unusable because holes were drilled in the wrong places, mounting surfaces were angled completely wrong, the hardware that they included didn't fit at all. Was pretty disgusted with it.
Rodan
Dork
6/4/19 9:05 a.m.
In reply to NickD :
Goodwin Racing has started carrying Carbon Miata stuff. Don't know if they have the vent windows, and it doesn't mean they'd fit, but at least you'd have a reputable CONUS dealer to work with on returning them if they don't.
NickD
PowerDork
6/4/19 9:20 a.m.
In reply to Rodan :
I know there was a phase where Carbonmiata was making molds off of junkyard parts and didn't actually own any Miatas to test-fit. I read a thread where a forum did a group buy of NB carbon fiber decklids, and then they arrived and none of them fit. Turned out that the decklid they made a mold off of had come off a car in a front end collision, but was still warped somehow, and they had no cars to test-fit it on, so they didn't know it was wrong. That turned me off of them
With the comments about Carbon Miata, this turned out to be a much more useful thread for me than I expected.
Rodan
Dork
6/4/19 1:38 p.m.
In reply to NickD :
Wow... hadn't heard that. Great way to start a business...
