Soft-top always parked outside?

[TNurburgring]

Since last weekend I am the owner of a car with a soft-top.
It will be parked outside 365 days of the year...
Is that bad for a soft-top or can they handle it? Any tips?

[akirk]

my z3 is outside all year around...
after the first year I bought a cmall cover (goes over the roof / windows, but not the body work)
easy to put on and off - velcro under the wing mirrors & magnetic strip around the edge
I bought it because there was so much condensation / moisture inside the car previously that it formed a puddle on the floor under the passenger seat and killed part of the DSC system!

I used to own an MGB soe years ago and that lived out all year, when it was regularly used it was fine, when not, it had moisture / electrical problems...

both cars old(ish) a brand new one might be fine
otherwise I would cover them (only autumn - spring, the rest of the year the cover comes off)

[Blue Oval84]

They're fine with that, just keep on top of the cleaning to avoid any unsightly moss/green slime.

[The Moose]

What is it you've treated yourself to?

[Mave]

I bought an e46 330i back in November, it lives outside and even though the rood needs a reproofing its been as dry as any hard top I've owned throughout the winter. It only got wet inside when I tried the "rain doesn't get in if you drive fast enough" test, and concluded that "fast enough" is more than 50mph.... which is too fast for the villages on my commute home

[poing]

Never had a problem with the MX5, lived outside in all the weather that we get here in the North of Scotland. Used some Autoglym stuff on it twice a year and brushed off the heavy snow but that was it. If it's not used very often then some people suffer from mould inside the soft top but as long as you use it enough and drop the roof often enough it all seems to be fine.

I had a hard top when I bought mine and I used it for 1 winter but after that it went in the garage and never came back out until I sold the car a few years later.

[Ari]

Mave said:

I bought an e46 330i back in November, it lives outside and even though the rood needs a reproofing its been as dry as any hard top I've owned throughout the winter. It only got wet inside when I tried the "rain doesn't get in if you drive fast enough" test, and concluded that "fast enough" is more than 50mph.... which is too fast for the villages on my commute home

It's an urban myth.

Even at high speed the wipers push all the water to one side and then air flow pushes it over the screen.

[TNurburgring]

Thanks for all the reactions so far!

The Moose said:

What is it you've treated yourself to?

I bought a MX-5 NC Niseko.

[anonymous-user]

No problem at all

[andy-xr]

They're fine to be outside, just dont leave it under trees all the time and clean it regularly. Sometimes people get funny about cleaning soft tops because they think they need special soaps or treatments that they dont have or forgot to buy, so they never get washed. They can just be jetwashed and a bit of soapy sponge to get any crap off, or snow foamed and jet washed again. It's worth doing the treatment every so often but that's not a reason not to wash the roof. Worst case, take it down the local hand car wash and let them sort it out

[Blue Oval84]

Ari said:

It's an urban myth.

Even at high speed the wipers push all the water to one side and then air flow pushes it over the screen.

No it's not, not in a Z4 anyway.

About 40mph tended to be the magic number, depending on how hard it was raining.

[NRS]

Blue Oval84 said:

Ari said:

It's an urban myth.

Even at high speed the wipers push all the water to one side and then air flow pushes it over the screen.

No it's not, not in a Z4 anyway.

About 40mph tended to be the magic number, depending on how hard it was raining.

From the MX-5 I would also have to agree, you certainly reduce the amount getting in up to a certain speed. However at 130kmph you create a low pressure area in the car and it's much worse than going a bit more slowly as all the water gets sucked into the cabin,

[Eleven]

Ari said:

Mave said:

I bought an e46 330i back in November, it lives outside and even though the rood needs a reproofing its been as dry as any hard top I've owned throughout the winter. It only got wet inside when I tried the "rain doesn't get in if you drive fast enough" test, and concluded that "fast enough" is more than 50mph.... which is too fast for the villages on my commute home

It's an urban myth.

Even at high speed the wipers push all the water to one side and then air flow pushes it over the screen.

I used to have a Boxster (I was confused okay) and that remained dry in the rain if I drove at A road speeds.

[The Moose]

TNurburgring said:

Thanks for all the reactions so far!

The Moose said:

What is it you've treated yourself to?

I bought a MX-5 NC Niseko.

I haven't owned a NC, however have spent some time driving one (soft top version). You'll have no issues at all with that outside.

Enjoy

[mikeyr]

Had both an MX5 and a 911 Cab which lived outside. Only thing worried me was plastic rear screens in icy weather but never had any issues with either so that might have just been my own paranoia!

[Johnnytheboy]

My OH's MX5's soft top looked pretty new when she got it, it lasted ten years parked outside all the time.

[TNurburgring]

Thanks for all the reactions!
Nice to know I don't have to worry about the top.

mikeyr said:

Had both an MX5 and a 911 Cab which lived outside. Only thing worried me was plastic rear screens in icy weather but never had any issues with either so that might have just been my own paranoia!

I have a glass rear window in my MX-5 NC, so I should be fine.

[berlintaxi]

You should have no issues, I have had a Mercedes SL, Mercedes CLK, Golf Cabriolet, a couple of MGs and currently a Jaguar XK8 which all have lived outside with no problems.

[J4CKO]

Have had two and both been fine, the Autoglym kit is excellent, you want to see the water beading on the cloth and rolling off, not soaking in, my 944 leaked when I got it, one application of it and no more leaking (into the cabin, the boot still did sometimes), 350Z not a drop anywhere.

I suppose the main risk is jealous idiots with Stanley knives but I think that is pretty rare.

[SuperPav]

akirk said:

my z3 is outside all year around...
after the first year I bought a cmall cover (goes over the roof / windows, but not the body work)
easy to put on and off - velcro under the wing mirrors & magnetic strip around the edge
I bought it because there was so much condensation / moisture inside the car previously that it formed a puddle on the floor under the passenger seat and killed part of the DSC system!

I used to own an MGB soe years ago and that lived out all year, when it was regularly used it was fine, when not, it had moisture / electrical problems...

both cars old(ish) a brand new one might be fine
otherwise I would cover them (only autumn - spring, the rest of the year the cover comes off)

This - very much. If you use it daily, there is no need for a cover in my experience. If you leave it parked, it WILL get moisture inside, which will ruin things (whether it's just mould/mildew or electrics getting fried). Which is why I used a "half cover" as above.

The roof itself should be absolutely fine being outside, but might fade slightly after a few years. Also proofing it makes a big difference to its ability to look fresh and also not absorb dirt/bird excrement.