Convertible car + motorway + rain = ?

[Buzz84]

Now I completely expect loads of replies of get wet...

But what I really mean is what do you people who happen to own a convertible do when it rains and you are on the motorway? as you either need to be under a certain (slow) speed to use a powered roof or stop altogether for a manual one.
pull off at the next junction? hard shoulder?

Although even on the hotter days I very rarely see convertibles with their roofs down, I assume they prefer the air con!

reason for my asking is I am posibly getting an E class cabriolet and my daily commute is 30 motorway miles each way and hope to use it top down whenever the opportunity presents itself with the british summer.

[Graebob]

Pull off at next junction/services, roof up, carry on. You can usually tell when it's going to rain, especially if you're only driving 30 miles.

[Speed addicted]

If the road is clear and the rain isn't paticularly heavy I just keep going, the worst of it goes over your head and you don't get wet uless you stop.

Of course if the rain is heavy it hurts like hell and you get soaked!

[wombat172a]

Option 1) Suck it up
Option 2) Drive at the "sweet spot" speed - fast enough so that the rain is hitting the screen and not your head, and slow enough so that the spray doesn't get sucked back in from behind.

[davepoth]

If you have an MG Midget, you need to do an indicated 93 miles an hour before the aerodynamics force the rain clear over the top of the passenger compartment. Allegedly.

[Badgerboy]

I just keep going! Providing you keep your speed over 50mph, the rain doesn't enter the cabin. I've done a good 50 miles in the wet on the M4, although it helps the S2000 has a good heater!

You do get some looks though.

[Graebob]

If it's a new leccy roof thing on your fancy pants E class, you could probably pull off at the junction, slow to whatever speed is the minimum for it (I guess like 20mph or something) and put it up without even missing a beat.

[BonzoG]

Keep going. Even torrential rain stays out if you stay above 50 or so in the MX-5.

Stopping to put the hood up is just gonna get you wet as you slow, unless you can find a handy overbridge.

[redgriff500]

In all the ones I've had 30+ means rain misses you.

[Buzz84]

Now thats not something I even considered, the airflow keeping the rain out, but makes perfect sense.

[hondafanatic]

Badgerboy said:

I just keep going! Providing you keep your speed over 50mph, the rain doesn't enter the cabin. I've done a good 50 miles in the wet on the M4, although it helps the S2000 has a good heater!

You do get some looks though.

I had the same experience in my S2000. Apart from snow..that tends to 'flurry' around the cabin when a cross wind hits. The looks get even more gobsmacking. (I cut the speed wire on mine so that with one click on the handbrake, I could put the roof up and down as I pleased...never risked above 20 mph though.

[Dalto123]

Me and Dad will usually say to one another 'passing shower' when we get caught out by the rain, even to the really persistant and heavy rain. Usually though it shouldnt get in at motorway speeds, but should it do so we pull off at the next junction and put the roof up.

[Mroad]

Mythbusters Episode 124

"Driving a convertible with the top down in the rain at a high speed will ensure that no water can enter the driver compartment.

Conclusion: plausible

The MythBusters first performed several small scale tests, using a model car and a wind tunnel, and found that at higher speeds, a sort of air bubble seemed to form around the driver compartment, giving credence to the myth. In their full scale test, they used an actual convertible as well as a 200 foot rain bar to provide the rain. In a control test, they stopped the convertible in the middle of the rain to put up the top, and the interior was soaked. Then they drove through the rain at 70 mph (113km/hr), and saw that the interior was significantly less wet than the control. Next, they then drove the car through the rain at 90 mph (145km/hr) and saw that the interior was not wet at all. The MythBusters attributed this to the car’s windshield, which served its function as well as creating an air bubble over the interior of the car. However, they decided to declare the myth “plausible, but not recommended” due to the inherent danger of driving at such high speeds on wet roads."

[Major Fallout]

40mph in a z4 was a dry speed if i remember, not sure about the mx5.