'96 Mata A/C: R12 or R134a?

I have a '96 Miata with factory air. I'm away from the car right now and I was wondering what year they made the transition from R12 to R134a.

Two of the projects on my to-do list this Spring are:

1) Update the A/C components on the Porsche so that it actually blows cold air.

and

2) Remove the Miata A/C system to lighten up the car for track use.

Then I got to thinking....

ah.. just noticed you were away from the car... I was going to mention that it should say. I know my 96 BMW uses 134

Pretty sure R12 was gone by '96, but '94's had it.

Use propane

Can you even buy R12 anymore?

Javelin wrote: Can you even buy R12 anymore?

You can, but I don't want to.

Yup, I use R12 in my 1990 Miata. It's not cheap, but holy cow it's cold.

I'm pretty sure a 1996 is R134a.

I think 1995 was the switch over year and the first year for r134 in all cars sold in the US

I gave my last pound of R12 to my buddy for his Miata. Apparently on the older models the R-134 doesn't work nearly as well due to the tiny system capacity.

Odd, my '93 Protege runs 134, and either came that way, or the prior owner changed it over--which I find hard to believe, based on the level of care it got.