When we visited the Bonneville Salt Flats in our 2000 Miata NB, we took a 10x10 canopy tent, 4 chairs, and a cooler.

We would have NEVER made it without the luggage rack on the trunk of our Miata.

Instead of buying a new rack for our new Miata PHRT, I modified the same rack that we had used on our previous car.

I cut off the forward most rail and plugged the cut tubing with plastic caps.

The edge clamps required longer screws and the support pads needed to be re-contoured to match the new trunk lid and thickened with additional foam rubber to more softly absorb the load on the rack.

Because the rack clamps to the trunk lid by the edges, there are no holes or hardware attached to the trunk lid.

The upside of this mod. is that it works VERY well.

The downside is that because the PRHT trunk lid is VERY thin steel, the pressure pads on the 4 corners of the rack can VERY EASILY deform the curvature (dent) of the trunk lid.

As a result, I added about a 1/2 inch of foam (a stack of cutouts from an old mouse pad ) to the pressure pads and I ONLY tighten the mounting screws enough to hold the rack in place side-to-side. The hook at the front of the rack keeps the rack from sliding rearwards. The rack will not slide forwards because the trunk lid is narrower at the rear than at the front.

Because of the potential for permanently deforming the trunk lid, I am VERY cautious in what I put on the rack. For me, the rack is for carrying bulky, but not heavy items. I have carried a couple of bag chairs, but not a cooler. We carry a small cooler in the trunk.

I have looked at ways to spread the weight loading on the top of the lid with larger pressure pads and possibly increasing the load bearing capabilities of the trunk lid from the back side, but as yet I haven't needed to carry enough weight to make that a "MUST do".

I don't have the rack on the PRHT all the time and only mount it when we want to go someplace and take more than a trunk full of "Stuff" with us. The rack takes less than 2 minutes to mount and even less to remove.

MY takeaway here is: IF you get and mount a rack with pressure pads that rest ON the trunk lid, be aware of the potential for trunk lid denting and don't tighten the attaching bolts to tightly and don't load the rack too heavily.

Please Email me with any questions = tim@themorans.org