Achievement Unlocked: No More Miata

Roadster Floormats

Roadster Floormats

It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve finally rid Sharka of every “Miata” logo. The first to go was the tail badge, then the door sills. But one bit remained.

The last pieces were the floormats. Sharka’s OEM mats were very very nice – loop pile mats with almost no wear. Well… that’s not quite accurate. The “Miata” logo on the driver’s side was starting to wear before I ever got the car. I cleaned it and tried to restore it a bit with some white dye, but it’s a losing battle. The Miata logo just wears off.

And honestly, I’ve wanted to swap them out for some Roadster ones for years, but I never found any Roadster mats I liked. Most were a bit… loud for my taste. I didn’t want the floor mats to even be noticable. I just wanted a set that would flow with the rest of the interior – kind of a tall order. Then these appeared on the MR.net classifieds.

Understated and gorgeous.

Understated and gorgeous.

The JDM floormats come in many flavors – most of them the opposite of mild. Checkerboard mats are huge over there and they come in every color of the rainbow. It seems that most of the ones I see on build threads are the black and white checkerboard. And they’re fine looking mats, just not what I wanted for Sharka.

These ones are black on black. Loop pile and cut pile with a thick rubber backing and an understated metal Roadster plaque on the edge. Just what I wanted. And, as a bonus, my set is very lightly used rather than ready-to-discard. The driver’s side mat has just a bit of wear on the cut pile carpet and the passenger side seems like feet have never touched it.

Before...

Before…

After!

After!

No obnoxious checkerboard. No wearing-off Miata logo. Nothing out of place. Ahhh.

Like I said, it’s a super-subtle change, but the floor mats were the last vestige of “Miata” left in Sharka. I’m pretty pleased to have finally beaten this level.

*insert Super Mario celebration music here*

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  • Nick says:

    Am I not understanding about what exactly is wrong with “Miata”? To me, it sounds more human than MX-5 (which is literally a code name) or Roadster (which you could apply to hundreds of cars).

    • revlimiter says:

      Nothing wrong with the word Miata at all. This is just something I’ve wanted to do for a while. A small quest, if you will.

      • Nick says:

        Fair enough. Was just wondering, as my factory floor mats (NZDM) say MX-5 and I’ve been thinking of Miata-izing them.

        • revlimiter says:

          That’s kinda funny. I searched for decent MX-5 door sills for a couple years. I finally gave up and made my own RX-2 style Mazda ones.

          MX-5 logo stuff is hard to find in the US. I’m sure you could trade with a US Miata enthusiast pretty easily.

  • Garett says:

    I’ve seen mats just like that for sale on the intartoobz and have drooled all over them, but have yet to pull the trigger on a set. I too have removed every trace of ‘Miata’ from my NA in favor of the ‘Roadster’ logo and a cool retro vibe.
    Looks great, man.

    • revlimiter says:

      Not to tempt you, but these mats are thick, soft, and lovely. They’re a notch higher in quality (or perhaps just a lot less wear) than my OEM 95s. I’m really enjoying them. If you run across a set, you should grab them.

      • Garett says:

        I found a set of NIB black and white checkerboard ones from The Mother Country the other day. I’m torn since I’d much rather have the black on black ones, but I don’t know if I can let the NIB ones get away. That, and I’m not too sure how the checkerboard would go with my black interior with polished aluminum pieces. The want is so strong though….. I may just go with the checkerboard.

        • revlimiter says:

          I say jump on it! I never saw a set of NEW white/black checkerboard ones. All the ones I ran across were pretty heavily used. I say get it! Worst case, you can probably make your money back if you decide you don’t like them.

        • Garett says:

          I did it. I just couldn’t let a new old stock item rich in Japanesium awesomeness get away. I’m sure my wife will have a few things to say about it since I recently installed an HVAC panel I got from you, and bought a bunch of things for my 10AE. Oh, well. Looks like the trip to the Coach store will be happening sooner than I anticipated.

  • Bruce Sherman says:

    I much prefer the Miata name to the numeric and soulless MX-5. “Roadster” just sounds generic. To each his own.

  • Chris B says:

    I’ve had these mats for a while and I love them!! Mine look to be a different shade than the carpet, but that could be due to a number of things.

    Regardless, they look 10000000x better than the OEM “Miata” mats. More refined, if you will.

  • Dave says:

    I’ve had these mats in brown for a few years. A little worn under the accelerator where your heel sits but they’re a very nice mat. I always wanted the black, very nice 🙂

  • Speeder says:

    How did you secure your fire extinguisher to the pax seat?

  • OnePaintedMan says:

    Great choice of mats Adam. Same as the ones I run in Ronin. Really like the subtle pattern and deep pile!

  • TonyG says:

    Hey, those are nice mats indeed! I was wondering if you have at least the driver’s side mat anchored somehow or if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

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