Topless motoring

[austinsmirk]

at those child ages though (the OP's), don't they really still need to be in proper child seats and certainly not booster seats.

I wouldn't be putting my children in lap belts or skipping the proper seats for them, to wedge them in the back of a cabrio.

years ago I had a Saab soft top: can't imagine how you'd comfortably get child seats in the back etc ???


plus being in the back, at speed, with the roof down, is generally horrible.

[qska]

austinsmirk said:

at those child ages though (the OP's), don't they really still need to be in proper child seats and certainly not booster seats.

I wouldn't be putting my children in lap belts or skipping the proper seats for them, to wedge them in the back of a cabrio.

years ago I had a Saab soft top: can't imagine how you'd comfortably get child seats in the back etc ???


plus being in the back, at speed, with the roof down, is generally horrible.

Yeah, I don't go faster than 40-50 with the top down with them at the back.

40 is fine, 50 less so.

And while the 7 year old can only use the booster seat - I use the full proper group 2 seats, albeit I had to squeeze the headrest down a bit, as it interfered with the roof folding/unfolding.

The 3 year old is stubborn, didn't want to wear his sunglasses, and was squinting all the time lol :-)

[exitwound]

lostkiwi said:

qska said:

Oh yes.

Although last 30-40 minutes of my commute is the M4 / A316 corridor hell on earth.

Shame I can't fold/unfold the roof when stuck in very slow (but moving) traffic - the car needs to be in "P".

You may find one of these makes higher speed sections liveable with the roof down:


My other half and I sat for 3 hours at 80+ mph in France with the top down and the deflector made it quite pleasant. She even managed to sleep for about 90 mins of it!

Don't see the point of buying a ragtop then fitting that..

Its nearly as bad as dropping the roof but keeping the windows up, like sitting in a fishtank.

[crofty1984]

qska said:

Oh you were SO right. Very slow in 2nd gear up to 30 even.

And this one was very ratty, rattly and felt like it was going to disintegrate in the next few weeks.

CLK viewing on Wed now

I had an E46 318i. It was st.

[qska]

exitwound said:

Don't see the point of buying a ragtop then fitting that..

Its nearly as bad as dropping the roof but keeping the windows up, like sitting in a fishtank.

.... guilty ....

[lostkiwi]

exitwound said:

lostkiwi said:

qska said:

Oh yes.

Although last 30-40 minutes of my commute is the M4 / A316 corridor hell on earth.

Shame I can't fold/unfold the roof when stuck in very slow (but moving) traffic - the car needs to be in "P".

You may find one of these makes higher speed sections liveable with the roof down:


My other half and I sat for 3 hours at 80+ mph in France with the top down and the deflector made it quite pleasant. She even managed to sleep for about 90 mins of it!

Don't see the point of buying a ragtop then fitting that..

Its nearly as bad as dropping the roof but keeping the windows up, like sitting in a fishtank.

You'd see the benefit at 80 on a motorway.
With windows down and no deflector its pretty uncomfortable. With windows up and deflector fitted its a pretty good place to be and not nearly as claustrophobic as having the roof on.

[QuantumTokoloshi]

austinsmirk said:

at those child ages though (the OP's), don't they really still need to be in proper child seats and certainly not booster seats.

I wouldn't be putting my children in lap belts or skipping the proper seats for them, to wedge them in the back of a cabrio.

years ago I had a Saab soft top: can't imagine how you'd comfortably get child seats in the back etc ???


plus being in the back, at speed, with the roof down, is generally horrible.

My eldest daughter is 145cm tall, she does not need a child seat.

My 7 year old is also tall for her age, but uses a booster seat.

Perfectly legal and safe, especially with the roll-over bar up, unlike a lot of other cabriolets.

[qska]

Unrelated question.
The car stood there in the rain, the top is wet.
It's now not raining.
Is it OK to fold down the wet roof? How very wet, dripping or just damp is ok?

And if so - for how long? I don't want any moisture or damp issues!

[ZX10R NIN]

Next time it's dry give yourself 2 hours & use the Autoglym roof treatment on your car it'll clean, I've found the roof seems to be more taught as well as the roof becoming waterproof so the rain beads off rather than soak in.

[lostkiwi]

qska said:

Unrelated question.
The car stood there in the rain, the top is wet.
It's now not raining.
Is it OK to fold down the wet roof? How very wet, dripping or just damp is ok?

And if so - for how long? I don't want any moisture or damp issues!

It should at least not feel damp before folding it - especially if it folds into a metal compartment.

[qska]

lostkiwi said:

It should at least not feel damp before folding it - especially if it folds into a metal compartment.

That's what I thought

Thanks

[qska]

Bit fed up with the Avantgarde sports suspension - I like me some rolly polly buttery smoothness - I will be looking for an Elegance CLK now.

Any takers for the Avantgarde one? ;-)

[lostkiwi]

qska said:

Bit fed up with the Avantgarde sports suspension - I like me some rolly polly buttery smoothness - I will be looking for an Elegance CLK now.

Any takers for the Avantgarde one? ;-)

Swap out the springs and dampers for Elegance versions.
Also what size wheels/tyres are fitted? If the tyre load rating is 99 try 95 rated ones.
My SL came with 235/35/19 tyres and swapping to 245/45/17 95 rated tyres transformed it. Lovely and wafty now.

[Buzz84]

Just as a bit of information to people, in the E-class cabriolets (they droped the CLK name) I found the aircap system to be really effective. A deflector raises up along the top of the windscreen, the rear headrests and a mesh section between them raises up and with the side windows up its really comfy and relatively quiet and buffet free.
I had one on lease for a year and have a daily commute on the M25, any chance I got the roof was down and even at motorway speed it was comfy. And that's before you factor in the heated seats and airscarf system!

[C70R]

exitwound said:

Its nearly as bad as dropping the roof but keeping the windows up, like sitting in a fishtank.

Presume you've not spent much time in a convertible?

Up to 20-30mph with the windows down is absolutely fine. However, anything above this for any length of time is just bloody uncomfortable, with buffeting wind around the cabin.
Pop up the windows (to create the "fishtank") and you can easily get up to 60-70mph in comfort (in the front, at least).

[C70R]

qska said:

Bit fed up with the Avantgarde sports suspension - I like me some rolly polly buttery smoothness - I will be looking for an Elegance CLK now.

Any takers for the Avantgarde one? ;-)

Have a look at the previous generation if you want something a bit more 'squishy'.

[ZX10R NIN]

If you want something a bit softer I do know of a CLK430 Convertible with no rust (it's had the front wing replaced & is garaged it's been very well looked after as well as having the Bose upgrade, it's an avantgarde but the W208 suspension is softer than equivalent W209 Elegance.

Message me if it's something that might interest you & I'll put you in touch with the owner.

[ZX10R NIN]

qska said:

Bit fed up with the Avantgarde sports suspension - I like me some rolly polly buttery smoothness - I will be looking for an Elegance CLK now.

Any takers for the Avantgarde one? ;-)

Also check to see if your Avantgarde doesn't have the Sport Suspension fitted an easy way to find out is to look at your drop links if you have the thick ones then your car has the sport suspension.

[qska]

ZX10R NIN said:

If you want something a bit softer I do know of a CLK430 Convertible with no rust (it's had the front wing replaced & is garaged it's been very well looked after as well as having the Bose upgrade, it's an avantgarde but the W208 suspension is softer than equivalent W209 Elegance.

Message me if it's something that might interest you & I'll put you in touch with the owner.

Thanks, but I like the looks of W209 much more - W208 looks very old by now.

And sports suspension wise - I assume that's the case, as when going over manhole covers it feels like the suspension travel "ends" and results in a mighty thump, and the whole body and all the windows go rattling.

I don't mind "firm", but it feels like driving a smooth granade. Smooth most of the time, but then BANG.

[qska]

lostkiwi said:

Swap out the springs and dampers for Elegance versions.
Also what size wheels/tyres are fitted? If the tyre load rating is 99 try 95 rated ones.
My SL came with 235/35/19 tyres and swapping to 245/45/17 95 rated tyres transformed it. Lovely and wafty now.

Sounds like ££££££, at least £800 in parts plus labour. Not really worth it for a £3.5k car.

Plus I think the drop links are more beefy on the sports suspension one, so would need attention as well.

Tyre wise, it's 17", a similar size what I have in my 2010 E class (also Avantgarde), that rides beatufilly.