Topless motoring

[qska]

Iva Barchetta said:

What he said,first reply to thread.

sorry to be a bit "told you so"

Oh well. I also drive without kids, or with just 1 in the front seats.

It's just it's a bit of a hassle, this weather business.

It turns out also that we get sore throats too easily, and that's the main problem ruining the fun experience.

[qska]

bgunn said:

Traffic Master - precursor to google maps etc with traffic.

Oh. I'll have to google this up, the car doesn't have sat nav or anything that could actually use it. What's it for?

It did have the traffic reports on the radio (from current FM station), but I managed to disable that (very annoying)

[CharlesdeGaulle]

qska said:

It turns out also that we get sore throats too easily, and that's the main problem ruining the fun experience.

Colds and sore throats won't be caused by driving in the the fresh air. they really won't.

Keep the faith, top-down motoring is well worth the effort.

[qska]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Colds and sore throats won't be caused by driving in the the fresh air. they really won't.

Keep the faith, top-down motoring is well worth the effort.

We'll keep it for some time, the wife's S Max has to undergo a surgery to fix the air conditioning.
Two garages failed, now it's booked in with an electrician.

But I have to say, the Avantgarde suspension on the CLK sucks. My 2010 E is also Avantgarde, but rides beautifully.
Unless it's just knackered (101k miles on the clock), but I read reports of new CLK owners complaining about it too.

[qska]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Colds and sore throats won't be caused by driving in the the fresh air. they really won't.

About this - our evidence is to the contrary

Days after starting the topless motoring, we all came down with some cold virus.

Today, both males in our family started complaining about sore throats again.

I think it's not the air, rather the wind.

I'd be interested if we're unique like that, googling didn't really help.

I found that "sore throat when cycling" is a common search term, but that's nothing to do with driving with the top down

[Beati Dogu]

Never heard of that. The thing you notice with the roof down is that you can smell the countryside much more as you drive around. That's not always a good thing if they've been muck spreading, but generally it adds another dimension to the journey.

[ZX10R NIN]

qska said:

We'll keep it for some time, the wife's S Max has to undergo a surgery to fix the air conditioning.
Two garages failed, now it's booked in with an electrician.

But I have to say, the Avantgarde suspension on the CLK sucks. My 2010 E is also Avantgarde, but rides beautifully.
Unless it's just knackered (101k miles on the clock), but I read reports of new CLK owners complaining about it too.

As I said earlier you have the Sport suspension on your car you can the ride height but it had to be stiffer due to not having a roof.

[exitwound]

Beati Dogu said:

Never heard of that. The thing you notice with the roof down is that you can smell the countryside much more as you drive around. That's not always a good thing if they've been muck spreading, but generally it adds another dimension to the journey.

That's a source of vitamins mate, ..breathe deeply!!

No-one should be getting ill with cold and viruses driving with the top down. These are mainly passed on by other human contact, nothing to do with wind or temperature. Cyclists get sore throats as they are working hard and stressing their airways, same as runners.

WW1 soldiers were outdoors in trenches etc. and in cold, wet conditions a lot of the time for extended periods, but they never caught colds etc, any more than we do now.

[lostkiwi]

The only way you would suffer more from sore throats with the roof down is if you have allergies to pollen.
We drive thousands of miles each year and have no issues with sore throats etc at all.

Last year we did 200 miles in a week in France, 90% of it top down. No colds. No sore throats.

My other half suffers from asthma and even with that she prefers top down motoring (can be a trifle distracting for other motorists )

[qska]

lostkiwi said:

The only way you would suffer more from sore throats with the roof down is if you have allergies to pollen.
We drive thousands of miles each year and have no issues with sore throats etc at all.

Last year we did 200 miles in a week in France, 90% of it top down. No colds. No sore throats.

My other half suffers from asthma and even with that she prefers top down motoring (can be a trifle distracting for other motorists )

Oh - actually that is true, we're all allergic to pollen.

It would be fine in itself, but the fact that it often leads to viral infections - that's the real killer for us.

It's similar on windy days out, if we're not dressed appropriately we're often catching some colds.

[exitwound]

qska said:

It's similar on windy days out, if we're not dressed appropriately we're often catching some colds.

How so?

[qska]

exitwound said:

How so?

I thought it's normal

You go out on 12°C windy day in a T shirt, and get a sore throat/infection

Not EVERY time you know, but often enough to be annoying.

Generally once-twice a year, mainly avoided by dressing for the weather.

I thought that's where the "catching a cold" name comes from.

Edit: http://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-and-flu/colds-a...
From the heading "Weather as an Indirect Cause of the Cold".

Apparently we have crap immune systems :>

Edited by qska on Tuesday 31st May 14:13

[gemini]

Get a dog.
That'll sort out your immune system!

[qska]

gemini said:

Get a dog.
That'll sort out your immune system!

Yeah.
That's the wife's plan

[anonymous-user]

Bloody hell OP, you do like a moan "my car is too firm, the air is too cold, it's too windy, my car gave me a baddy throat"

Give that man a cold shower in his clothes and take him out on the track in a Morgan, that'll toughen him up.

[gmaz]

Perhaps your sore throats are from shouting over the wind noise?

You could replace the TrafficMaster thing with one of these if you don't smoke

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Dual-USB-Car-Charger...

[qska]

dme123 said:

Bloody hell OP, you do like a moan "my car is too firm, the air is too cold, it's too windy, my car gave me a baddy throat"

Give that man a cold shower in his clothes and take him out on the track in a Morgan, that'll toughen him up.

Yeah, that's me :-)

But you did see that thread here? I'm not alone it seems.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I don't mind the lack of comfort when I'm having fun, but these occasions are few and far in between in the South East - way too much traffic and crap road surfaces.

[qska]

gmaz said:

Perhaps your sore throats are from shouting over the wind noise?

Trust me, I do most of my shouting outside the car... ;-)

[lostkiwi]

qska said:

Oh - actually that is true, we're all allergic to pollen.

It would be fine in itself, but the fact that it often leads to viral infections - that's the real killer for us.

It's similar on windy days out, if we're not dressed appropriately we're often catching some colds.

Try eating locally produced honey.
Locally produced honey is made by the bees from pollen local to your area and in this form can give your body the opportunity to build immunity to the allergens.

[qska]

lostkiwi said:

Try eating locally produced honey.
Locally produced honey is made by the bees from pollen local to your area and in this form can give your body the opportunity to build immunity to the allergens.

We're on that

I got the windscreen replaced, tomorrow a mobile mechanic comes round to sort out some rattles, and it will be ready for Auto Trader.

Two more annoyances - lack of a cup holder and lack of Aux In to connect the phone.

But it was worth it, to see what it's like. Boys and their toys.

When this sells we'll get a new kitchen for the laydee.