Has anyone fitted grab handles for the passenger?
SWMBO says she feels as if she’s on a fairground ride with nothing to hold on to. I’m getting all the fun of marvellous roadholding but my missus is not.
Where could they be fitted anyway? Perhaps door/dash and tunnel but is it even possible or safe?
Frankly, I think you’ll find it’s a fifty/fifty world, half of women love the the car, and the other half hate it. Mine moved it once (I was in bed ill) and she wanted to go out in her car. She threw the keys at me, and said “In bed or not - you can bring your B- - - - car back in, I refuse to drive it any more”. Another time, not long after this, she was ill, and she asked me to driver her to the doctors. Complained all the way, “it’s too stiff, why does it thump so much, it’s noisy, Do you have to drive so fast? (25mph!) I don’t like it”. Never been in or near the car since. Call it a mindset, or a female point of view - what ever!
On the other hand, I’ve met young ladies who love their cart as much as any man. and older ladies who only get to use the car (supposed to be theirs) during the week, while Hubby takes it over for the weekend. Inevitably, it’s main use is a shopping trolley, but they still enjoy it when they can. With multiple children, not much use for school runs, so you don’t see many used for that purpose.
Male drivers have a different perspective to most women (not all), who generally prefer the soft springing and comfort of the average family saloon, where a male sportscar driver expects a firmer more positive drive in a car mainly intended for men. A male passenger will grin with delight when cornering at speed, while a woman will shriek and reach for the nearest thing to hang onto, as her sense of balance and security is threatened. Hence the fairground comment.
In the days when a car dash was made of steel, that was one favorite place to mount a grab handle, but the lightness and integrity of an MX5 means that even the door has limitations (IMHO) as being a safe and secure place to mount one. The dash is too far away to be of any use. A four or five point harness would hold your wife more securely, but she will no doubt object strongly to a feeling of being shackled as such.
All things considered, your wife is really saying she hates your car, but she is too diplomatic to say so, knowing that the alternative is to stay at home while you enjoy it yourself. A tight seat belt should hold her in place, but if she objects to that, not much hope for a safe resolution to the problem.
Before I get jumped on by some well known lady owners in the Club, let me say that there are some well known really keen lady owners out there, who not only drive their car for fun, but in some cases race it too, so I’m not slating the fairer sex, but willingly acknowledging that they are there. Fair dues. We admire you all.
Looking at this from a different angle;
when we drive, say approaching a corner, we often without realising are bracing ourselves between the seat back and the brake pedal.
The faster we drive, the harder we brake, the more we brace ourselves.
So how about a footplate in the passenger footwell ?
Knock up a template from a cornflake box. Make in ply or chipboard, then when perfected cut and fold from aluminium chequer plate, or take to a metalworker.
example:-
This is not meant as a criticism of your driving ability but could it be your driving style.
Do you have a tendency to ‘enjoy’ your driving and attack the corners (i know i do) which would upset your passenger.
Very difficult to do but try smoothing the corners out while the ‘spare’ seat is occupied then let rip when i’ts not.
This will probably double your fuel consumption as you’ll be forever nipping out for a blast to the local 50 mile away shop alone, but it’s worth it.
Edit: you could always fit an ejector seat!
Have to say, I’m not a good passenger, either in a 5 or any other vehicle for that matter. As a driver, knowing what you’re about to do and having the steering wheel to hold on to, makes your drive great. Poor passenger on the other hand is not quite as well able to enjoy these manoeuvre. Dave, above has made a good comment here. Try and save your personal driving style for when you’re out and about on your own, then temper your style to suit your passenger. It will/should reduce the amount of adverse comments from them. Ask me how I know
Barrie
. A six point seat belt would solve this, she would be held in place and could possibly go to sleep as well!
Does the door have a grab handle fitted?
My other half falls to sleep often. She even went to sleep on a drive, good job I knew where we were going. And no I do not drive that slow. Most corners around here are taken at 60 mph.
My wife often falls asleep when the top is down (head back, mouth open). I take advantage of this and when she wakes up she usually says “Are we here already”?
In my earlier years the grab handle on the passenger side was known as the ‘FM’ handle.
I’ll let you work it out, but if you need a clue the second word is ‘ME!’.
Sky-hooks?
Does she use the door pull, mine does?
Mine absolutely loves the thrill of a drive out in the Mk3 always seems to have her left hand gripped around the door pull, she says it’s a natural position for it. I thought she was hanging on like grim death, I’m not that bad a driver.
Many thanks lads for your help and advices.
My wife used to call it “That Red Thing”, but now I think she rather likes to be seen in it and often suggests we take “The Mazda”. But she still says it’s the most uncomfortable car she’s ever been in.
It? Although I never use “she” or “he” for my cars, they do have a beautiful sexy shape don’t they? I just love to stand and admire it.
I darent suggest a full harness: “What, so you can drive even faster round bends?”
She does use the door handle, but in our Volvo there’s a second handle on the centre console but I wonder if the MX-5 casing would be strong enough? I might go to Brian at BC Cars and ask his advice. He is an MX-5 specialist and does NC3.5 conversions for racing.
I think Safetymatch has the best suggestion: smooth out the corners when with my wife and let rip when on my own. The trouble is, I find it hard to resist the idiot behind trying to touch my rear, usually a BMW or a white van, so I leave them behind on every bend, but it does no good really because they just race to catch up between bends ignoring speed limits, as if to say “See you can’t lose me sunshine”.
I added my son-in-law to the insurance (and found the premium reduced!) so when we go out together I drive on the way out and he then drives back. He never tires of saying what amazing roadholding it has and thoroughly enjoys driving it. For some reason I don’t get flung about. Why is that?
As for falling asleep, long ago when I had a Triumph 500, my wife used to fall asleep on the pillion seat riding from London to Leicester! Ah, those were the days, the M1 just opened as far as Crich and the only traffic was me, Midland Red Coaches and Ribble Double-Deckers all coasting along at 90, and the occasional older car steaming quietly on the hard shoulder. And, I’ve just remembered, a few families picnicking on the side as well.
So, thanks again all of you.
Barry