NB wheel in NA

[lazybones]

I'm going to be putting the Nardi NB oem wheel in my NA, just wanted to see if it's a "plug and play" type thing or if there are any complications or mods that are necessary.

[Atlanta93LE]

I have done it, so am speaking from experience.

It is not "plug and play." The splines fit, but you have to drill a couple holes to make the turn signal "auto-cancel" feature work. This is easy and well-documented on miata.net.

Then, there is the issue of airbag. You can wire in the NB bag, and no airbag codes will be thrown. However, there is no empirical evidence that the bag will or will not go off in an accident. Wire it in at your own risk. If you decide to leave it disconnected, there are several ways to make the light stop blinking, and don't forget to modify the seatbelt accordingly.

Hope this helps.

[lazybones]

Hmm, I mean if it's wired to the airbag, it makes sense that it would go off wouldn't it? Besides it looking much better than the NA wheel, another main reason for switching is to have the better airbag. But if it's not going to work..

[Atlanta93LE]

I spoke briefly with my dad about it when I was doing the switch, who was a seatbelt and airbag engineer for a number of years. Basically, there is no reason it wouldn't trigger, but there is also no guarantee that it would. Additionally, although NA and NB cars are quite similar in shape/size, etc, there is no guarantee that the NB bag is exactly suitable for an NA accident. My feeling though is that I'm at least as well off with an NB bag as I am with a 17-year old explosive in my steering wheel. I wired my NB bag in.

People can speculate, posture, and predict all they want, but until somebody reports real evidence, we'll never really know.

[lazybones]

This is true. Maybe I'll still go ahead with the swap. All I know is I'm scared to death of the first generation airbag, being a 5'2", 100lb female, haha. Plus the nardi just looks a lot sportier. Was the wiring difficult at all?

[Atlanta93LE]

Was the wiring difficult at all?

I had a spare NA airbag that I stole the connector from, so I can completely reverse it. Other than making sure I had the polarity correct, it was no big deal.

[lazybones]

This is probably a stupid question, but I know like in Corvettes there are airbag sensors in the front bumper in stuff, are there any like that in either the NA or the NB? Sensors elsewhere besides the actual airbag? Because if not, and it's just running on voltage, then it should work, correct? Also, you don't need to change the steering column too, right? Just the wheel?

[metalman]

This is probably a stupid question, but I know like in Corvettes there are airbag sensors in the front bumper in stuff, are there any like that in either the NA or the NB?

Your car has four sensors, two on the frame rails in front, one at hood latch, and one on inside of firewall.

[Mazdababy]

...and don't forget to modify the seatbelt accordingly.

Hope this helps.


What do you mean by this?

[Atlanta93LE]

What do you mean by this?

The seatbelt has an extra loop in the cars equipped with an airbag, so that they work "in tandem." If you remove the airbag, you should also let out the loop. See miata.net for more specifics.

[miatastuff]

If you need the chassis side steering column NB connector, LMK as I have a couple of blown clocksprings I can steal from.

[MoD_Scotty]

Just wire the airbag to a switch. So when you get in an accident, just hit the switch.

[Stealth97]

If it were me, I would install the wheel, but not connect the airbag.

[Doppelgänger]

Yeah, airbags suck and really do more harm than good if you're wearing your seatbelt IMO. I'd have no fear in putting an aftermarket steering wheel (MOMO Competition is a beautiful and comfy one) and pull the seatbelt loop. Honestly, if you're wearing your seatbelt and sitting in your seat correctly, there is no reason you should come in contact with the airbag. I've been in 2 Miatas where the airbags deployed, I speak first hand on how much they suck. Both times the expansion of the bags going off with the top up blew out the back window (ripped the window right off the top). Both times I was wearing my seatbelt and my upper body came nowhere close to contacting the bags...but my left air was slammed into the window/quarter window pillar...which really f*king hurts. Given that I'm 5'11", I sit further back then you would at 5'2"...you'd be more likely to get up close and personal with it.

In the worst accident I had in a Miata, I rolled over 3 times. That time I was wearing a 4-point harness (installed and fitted properly..lapbelt directly across my hip bones and shoulder harnesses were attached to the HD harness bar) and had a rollbar. I was much less injured (read- I walked away from the roll over without even a scrape) then the time I rear-ended a SUV at 60+ mph wearing the stock seatbelt and having the airbags go off.

*disclaimer- I base this off my own personal accounts. Luck may have played a factor or it could be said that this is indeed hard proof. Either way, nothing in this world is 100%.

[oldgrayfrog]

Doppelganger are the Crash Test Dummies your favorite band? :) JK, I've seen lots of seatbelted large men, wearing airbag scars. I don't think I'd want to see what happens to a little woman the size of Lazy Bones getting smacked by the bag.

[jzilla]

scars are fine as long as i walk out alive.

[Mazdababy]

The seatbelt has an extra loop in the cars equipped with an airbag, so that they work "in tandem." If you remove the airbag, you should also let out the loop. See miata.net for more specifics.

Is this in the garage section? I can't find it.

Edit: just kidding, I found it under the Momo steering wheel installation.
For anyone else's reference; http://www.miata.net/garage/momo/index.html
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