Community Forums

vraines · 08-08-2013, 07:22 AM

I have been towing a 2000 Mazda Miata four down for several years and loved the car and it was an easy tow. I used a Roadmaster tow bar and base plates and had the brakes wired separately to added bulbs in the taillight housing. Great setup. I traded for a 2010 Miata yesterday with only 4,000 miles on it. It is essentially a new car. It is a stick shift so I don't expect any problems in the towing department. My question is if anyone else has towed a recent Miata and what base plates do they use? On my old Miata, the Roadmaster base plates exited the grill area and no modifications were needed on the car at all. The new car grill will almost certainly require holes to be cut in the grill and that is ok, but I want to minimize the required mods. I know Roadmaster has brackets, but not sure yet about Blue Ox. I believe that Blue Ox base plates are often less obtrusive and that adapters are required to use my tow bar. Has anyone done this with their Miata? Also what about brake lights. Did you install a separate wire and bulbs as I did with the old car?

Healeyman · 08-08-2013, 07:44 AM

Vrains.

I towed a 2000 5-speed for 5 years and 35,000 miles. Two years ago, I traded for a 2010 PRHT and have now towed it for over 12,000 miles.

Roadmaster is the ONLY maker of a baseplate for the NC Miata and I did my own installation of the Roadmaster base plate as well as my own wiring of the Miata under tow lighting.

Additionally, in the last 7 years, I have helped more than 50 other Miata owners to get their NA, NB, & NC Miatas towable.

HERE is a link to the web site that I made showing my towing equipment installation = Miata NC towing equipment installation

Please Email me at the address at the bottom of the web page if you want or need more information.

Tim

reitrof · 08-09-2013, 05:00 AM

I am flat towing my 2008 6 speed with the info I got from Healeyman. 5000 miles and no issues so far.

vraines · 08-09-2013, 07:10 AM

Thanks Healyeyman for the info. Looks like a more involved process than my 2000 Miata was, as I just had to bolt on the base plates. Only cutting required was the bottom engine compartment cover. I did not remove the old base plates when I traded as I thought they would not be useful. Should I go get them in hope I can modify them in any way? I have welding skills and the equipment to make fitaments if necessary. Your instructions make it look easy, so I plan to start gathering the stuff. We plan to travel over Labor Day, so guess I need to get with the program.

Thanks to all for the tips. More later

Healeyman · 08-09-2013, 05:34 PM

vrains,

Miata towing baseplates/brackets are divided into two groups.
1) 2005 and earlier
2) 2006 and later.

I have installed 3 sets of 1) and 2 sets of 2) and believe me, the ONLY commonality between them might be the lugs or ears that the 3/4" tow bar pins go through. There are NO parts on your 2995 and earlier baseplate that would be usable on the 2006 and later basepalte.

I am a certified welder and have access to a mill and a lathe and for the approx. $400 cost of the Roadmaster hardware, I would not even consider designing and building my own. The Roadmaster design is good and the installation is easy.

Because the Roadmaster baseplate was designed for the 2006 -2008 Miata and the grill opening changed in 2010, the baseplate & brackets that you buy from Roadmaster may need to be slightly modified. Mine DID.

The Roadmaster installation PDF is very good and I have some tips that can also help you to install.

Your Roadmaster tow bar will work fine as is and I have a schematic for installing Radio Shack (4 for $3) diodes into the tail light wiring.

If you are planning to tow in 3 weeks, you'd better start humpin'.

Your installation into a 2010 may be exactly like mine, so gimmie a shout if you need any help.

Tim

Healeyman · 08-09-2013, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Healeyman

2995 and earlier baseplate

Oops.... That should be 2005, NOT 2995.

Tim

buds1954 · 08-23-2013, 07:57 AM

We are new to towing and RV'ing. We have a 1992 Miata, 5 speed and a 28 ft Ford / Glendale Class C. We are trying to determine if it is ok to flat tow the Miata. Many posts with opinions "yes and no". Any suggestions as to tow systems for the car and advice is very welcome. I can't find any data tag on the tow hitch on the RV. Ours looks about the same as the one "Healeyman" is driving.

vraines · 08-24-2013, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buds1954

We are new to towing and RV'ing. We have a 1992 Miata, 5 speed and a 28 ft Ford / Glendale Class C. We are trying to determine if it is ok to flat tow the Miata. Many posts with opinions "yes and no". Any suggestions as to tow systems for the car and advice is very welcome. I can't find any data tag on the tow hitch on the RV. Ours looks about the same as the one "Healeyman" is driving.

I see no reason not to tow your Miata. I used Roadmaster base plates and a Roadmaster Falcon II tow bar. Not sure who else makes base plates for your model, but Roadmaster makes them, possibly BlueOx. I installed them on my 2000 and 2010 Miata. The 2000 was the easiest and no cutting required except for trimming the shield under the engine. Purely a bolt on operation. For lighting, I installed a separate set of four wires and additional bulb sockets in the tail light housings of the 2000 Miata. If I remember, my 2000 Miata weighed 2450 lbs. with me in it. It towed very well.

I did not use supplemental braking for the first 4 years, but bought a BlueOx Patriot system. It cost a little over $1,000 and is just ok, but it works. There may be better units out there. The base plates from Roadmaster cost nearly $400, the tow bar cost for a Falcon II is now around $700. You can shop around and maybe beat those estimates, but remember the installation of the base plates. Not sure about the condition of your Miata, but the paint on my 2000 was like new and I was careful with it. I bought a bra for it and it was a good investment. Wish I still had my 2000, what a tow car!