Putting a luggage rack on a 2010 MX-5 Miata NC2 PRHT

I’ve been working on getting a good camping setup that is the least annoying, all while taking my dog along as the passenger. This makes space tight so I’m looking at adding a luggage rack to move the tent out of the boot.

For those with an NC 2006-2015 model you’ll find there’s any number of racks for the NA, NB, and ND. For the NC it wasn’t the most popular model at the time, and it’s been out of production since 2016 which are the reasons I can come up with to explain the shortage of racks for it – and for the PRHT it’s even harder. There are a few though once you dig far enough so I’ll go through what I have found.

Which Type should I get?

There are 3 types of racks generally available across all the MX-5 / Miata generations – Permanent, Removeable, or the Revo Rack. They all have their pro’s and cons, prices, appearances, sizes, etc. You’ll see the Revo Rack everywhere so let’s start with that.

Revo Rack

This is the most common answer you’ll see online regardless of whether you’re looking for NA, NB, NC, or ND – because it’s temporary, it is easy to attach and detach, it is reliable, and fits pretty much anything. It comes in polished silver or black.

The way it works is it attaches with vacuum cups. Each cup is rated to a large amount of weight so with all 3 it’ll be solid. These are large and flat so they don’t damage the paint, and will easily last through a day without any issues.

Pros:

• Attaches in minutes
• No damage to paint or bodywork
• Holds the same amount as removeable racks
• The most common
• Looks great in silver or black
• Fits pretty much any vehicle (NA, NB, NC, NC PRHT, ND)
• Available in many countries and many retailers.

Cons:

• The cost – it’s the second most expensive rack I found – by a long way.
• The vacuum pads may require re-calibrating during the day (the instructions say to remove the rack each night)
• The pads detract from the look, and the tube is fairly thick and oversized

If you have the money, and odd shaped vehicle, and don’t mind the appearance of it then it’s the one to get. I know that I would constantly worry about it detaching, and the look wasn’t for me, so I ruled it out.

Permanent

These are the ones that are attached permanently which require drilling through the boot lid. If you have a soft top and a fairly standard or common colour then this is a great option as spares would be plentiful – so you could swap the entire boot lid to remove it if not needed. There’s a number of these and they’re not really restricted to a specific generation, ND’s are a tiny bootlid so they might miss out on the more common ones.

Pros:

• One of the cheapest options
• They look fantastic and usually in classic styles
• Can securely hold much more than the other options, with no real risk of losing your luggage.

Cons:

• Physical holes in the boot lit – you need to make sure it’s there for life.

https://mossmiata.com/244-010-factory-style-luggage-rack

https://www.boot-racks.co.uk/mazda-mx5-rc-prht-hard-top.html

Removeable

There was actually a genuine luggage rack released by Mazda for the soft top, which is of removeable style. These tend to have a clamp over the edge of the boot lid, using screws to allow the rack to press down on the lid itself. Fairly common, and in the middle of the price brackets. The modern 3rd party variants tend to make the clamps adjustable so they can suit most generations (NA, NB, NC).

Pros:

• Removeable yet secured
• Mid-range cost wise
• Available in a variety of styles

Cons:

• Risk to the paint and panel if not done correctly
• Availability outside of America and Europe is costly – if at all possible.
• Sometimes the look is detracted from the mounts

https://mossmiata.com/901-600-removable-luggage-rack-modern-style-by-tourist-trophy

https://mossmiata.com/901-610-removable-luggage-rack-vintage-style

What about the PRHT?

So there’s a couple of things to know about the NC PRHT which changes the decision. Permanent racks are fine as long as the dimensions are good. Revo rack is fine as most people use these. Removable racks are where the issues come in…

• The boot lid is physically different to the soft top. The PRHT lid is steel, the soft top is aluminium. Also the dimensions are different – both lids start same width, but the soft top tapers more than the PRHT where there’s a 2.5cm difference on each side once it reaches the back of the car. The PRHT lid is also about 4cm deeper/longer. There’s also a curvature difference between the two – the PRHT is flatter. So where a removable rack is made for the soft top and doesn’t have adjustable feet or brackets, it won’t fit a PRHT.
• The roof mechanism – to allow the PRHT to continue to function it needs to clear the front of the rack. Most racks will work (IMPORTANT – WITHOUT LUGGAGE ATTACHED), however if the rack is too deep (or mounted with the raised rail towards the front of the car) it will cause the roof panels to bump into it and fail in a very expensive way.

So if you’re looking for a particular style that is only available in removable, you might need to let it go, or work out how to adjust it to work. The one removable rack that the majority seem to use with success on PRHTs is the Modern Tourist Trophy from Moss Miata (pictured above). If you want a no-nonsense removable option then go for that!

Which luggage rack have I chosen for my PRHT?

For me it’s so expensive to get one in Australia – there is an Australian retailer called mx5mania but the selection isn’t huge and prices are so high – this is fairly typical due to the cost of getting things here in the first place, and we just don’t have the population. I don’t want to damage the boot by drilling holes through, and I know the suckers on the revo rack would have me worrying constantly. So removable it is. And because the price is high right off the bat, I want it to look nice and be worth it even if it takes a bit of work, and the Modern Tourist Trophy just doesn’t quite gel with me, so I have chosen the Vintage Tourist Trophy from Moss Miata.