Pro's and Con's of running a hard top

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Sun 04 May, 2008 10:36

As per title.....

Discuss

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Sun 04 May, 2008 10:42

Pro.........Security
Con........Cant get the top down
Con........Clutters up the garage/need storage space

Post by **Robert T** » Sun 04 May, 2008 10:47

In addition to G's comments

Pro.... Heated rear screen
Pro.... Warmer
Pro.... Quieter
Pro.... Looks good
Con.... Needs two people to put on/take off unless you use a hoist

It makes sense for me as my zed is my daily driver. I have been very grateful of it when the car has been out all night, is covered in ice, and I have to go to work in it. If your zed is just a weekend toy, then it probably doesn't make a lot of difference. Also the facelift zeds have a lined roof which makes them both quieter and warmer. Personally I love mine as it means I can use my zed year round.

Cheers R.

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Sun 04 May, 2008 10:52

Ok,

Just agreed a sale on Z3 M roadster with a hard top and the one concern I have is over the hood. I asked the owner to put the hood up so I could check the condition and it was creased to hell to the point where by the hood will be the first thing I'll be replacing once I collect.

Therefore, is it worth me spending the best part of £600 replacing the hood then running the hard top in the winter for the same thing to happen again???

Cheers,

Lloyd

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Sun 04 May, 2008 10:53

Will be used as a daily runner and I don't have access to a garage at the moment.

Robert T wrote:In addition to G's comments

Pro.... Heated rear screen
Pro.... Warmer
Pro.... Quieter
Pro.... Looks good
Con.... Needs two people to put on/take off unless you use a hoist

It makes sense for me as my zed is my daily driver. I have been very grateful of it when the car has been out all night, is covered in ice, and I have to go to work in it. If your zed is just a weekend toy, then it probably doesn't make a lot of difference. Also the facelift zeds have a lined roof which makes them both quieter and warmer. Personally I love mine as it means I can use my zed year round.

Cheers R.

teacher54 · Post by **teacher54** » Sun 04 May, 2008 10:57

We've had the Z3 (wife's daily runner) for 3 winters, hard top is on from end of October until end of March approx and the hood is absolutely fine. We use the BMW towel to protect back window when it goes "down for the winter". Enjoy your new car!!

Post by **Robert T** » Sun 04 May, 2008 11:14

The roof will initially be quite creased when you first put it up (how can it not be?), but the good news is that these will soon drop out - quicker if you give it a good wash with just water - the roof just needs to be held under tension for a little while. It is difficult to avoid creasing the window, but the bmw blanket helps prevent the worst of it. This happens anyway as soon as you put the roof down in summer.

I have had and used my hardtop with mine since the car was new (it's now 9 years old). My roof and rear screen are probably in better condition than most cars that haven't had a hardtop fitted. And in case you are worried about leaving the hardtop on for any length of time - at one point the hardtop stayed on the car for over two years as she wasn't being used. Just make sure the window is clean, that you use the window blanket and that everything is dry before you put the hardtop on again, and that you care for the plastic window and roof canvas with the correct cleaners and proofing agents, and all will be well.

Cheers R.

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Tue 06 May, 2008 11:35

Robert,

Thanks for the advise. So is the window blanket specially designed for use when the roof is done? Sorry to be a pain but will the dealer know what I'm asking for??

Cheers,

Lloyd

Robert T wrote:The roof will initially be quite creased when you first put it up (how can it not be?), but the good news is that these will soon drop out - quicker if you give it a good wash with just water - the roof just needs to be held under tension for a little while. It is difficult to avoid creasing the window, but the bmw blanket helps prevent the worst of it. This happens anyway as soon as you put the roof down in summer.

I have had and used my hardtop with mine since the car was new (it's now 9 years old). My roof and rear screen are probably in better condition than most cars that haven't had a hardtop fitted. And in case you are worried about leaving the hardtop on for any length of time - at one point the hardtop stayed on the car for over two years as she wasn't being used. Just make sure the window is clean, that you use the window blanket and that everything is dry before you put the hardtop on again, and that you care for the plastic window and roof canvas with the correct cleaners and proofing agents, and all will be well.

Cheers R.

Post by **Robert T** » Tue 06 May, 2008 17:24

compaqnx6110 wrote:Thanks for the advise. So is the window blanket specially designed for use when the roof is done? Sorry to be a pain but will the dealer know what I'm asking for??

Am trying desperately to remember which the window blanket came with - the car or the hardtop. There is nothing terribly special about the blanket - it is basically just some fleecy matter with a couple of bits of laccy and a couple of clips. A towel would work just as well - it just won't have BMW written on it.

I can't just find the blanket on RealOEM, and as I'm currently abroad (allegedly working and borrowing office internet

), I can't check the part number for you. $tealer should know, but some are a bit thick.

Cheers R.

teacher54 · Post by **teacher54** » Tue 06 May, 2008 18:06

Our "towel" came in a black pouch with the following number on the pouch below the instructions on use/care - BMW #8 410 559.9

Pouch has a barcode label under the flap with the following on it:
32343.1.23.9

QA69778

Hope this helps

mich · Post by **mich** » Tue 06 May, 2008 20:54

I was under the impression that the towel came free with the hard top but you had to obtain, and pay, if you purchase hard top as an extra latter on.

leahandsteve · Post by **leahandsteve** » Wed 07 May, 2008 21:18

Got my welding gear out, cut my daughters steel bunk bed up and made a hard top stand.

Put it on castors as well so can wheel it around.

It must be even more of a nightmare with a 3 series hardtop.

The Colonel · Post by **The Colonel** » Thu 08 May, 2008 10:35

leahandsteve wrote:Got my welding gear out, cut my daughters steel bunk bed up and made a hard top stand.

Put it on castors as well so can wheel it around.

Very inventive, but how is it living with one seriously peed off daughter with nowhere to sleep?

CON: It's a roadster. It's not meant to have a roof that can't go down or up at will.

c_w · Post by **c_w** » Thu 08 May, 2008 11:27

Maybe she sleeps in the lower bunk, under the hardtop!

When I had my roadster I never felt during winter that it really needed a hardtop, the heater was fine and the insulated roof never felt noisy.

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Thu 08 May, 2008 16:25

c_w wrote: When I had my roadster I never felt during winter that it really needed a hardtop, the heater was fine and the insulated roof never felt noisy.

The roadster I'm getting is a 1998 model so it's not triple insullated. I'm leaning away from a hard top to be honest. Looking at the colour match in photos and after viewing the car the look two completly different colours.

The car is artic silver.

Post by **Robert T** » Thu 08 May, 2008 16:37

compaqnx6110 wrote:Looking at the colour match in photos and after viewing the car the look two completly different colours.

The car is artic silver.

Well either the hardtop has been stored a long time and so not faded the same as the car, or the hardtop is an extra bought sometime later, possibly in the wrong colour - there are two silvers for the Z3, Arctic and Titanium - and they do look different when you see them parked side by side.

Cheers R.

321bhp · Post by **321bhp** » Thu 08 May, 2008 16:57

when i was looking for mine,i wasnt bovered about the hard top,and would have got the price down so they could keep the hard top,if you have a garage like myself and use it on sunny days only,whats the point of a hardtop,but with on street parking only and general daily use,id say a hardtop is a must,

they do look nice though,but not as nice as the roof down,id say the differance when say having a night drive with the heater on,with either a soft top up or your hardtop on cant be much anyway

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Thu 08 May, 2008 20:37

I don't have the luxuary of a garage or off road parking come to think of it

I'm caught in 2 minds over the hard top. It's not painted in the wrong shade of silver, just looks different in the light. I've even seen a few of the E46 boys complaining about the coulor match on their silver cars.

When I pick up the car, the first thing I plan to do is fit a new roof so my mind is saying to keep the new roof in pristine condition get the hard top but then again I'm thinking I'm best of spending the extra money in modifying the roof to accomodate a triple insullation layer.

On the test drive, I couldn't believe the amount of noise coming in through a single layer roof.

Maybe I'm trying to have my cake and eat it.

Oh well...

whiteminks · Post by **whiteminks** » Thu 08 May, 2008 20:44

Lloyd, I don't have hard top , but having seen what some detailers/paint experts can do , if you do take the hardtop, they can do a lot to help match it up. It is worth thinking about. If one would have been available with mine, I think I would have bought it even though mine has the triple insulated roof.

Mine lives outside btw.

compaqnx6110 · Post by **compaqnx6110** » Thu 08 May, 2008 20:58

To have the hard top as part of the deal, the seller wants an extra £400 on top of the asking price. I'm thinking if I don't want the hardtop I could always sell it on.

I was speaking to the soft tops uk and the guy has given me a price of £595 for a replacment hood and said it was possible to modify the hood to acommodae triple but said it will be extra due to the work involved.

My main concern is the noise level. Security is also up there but if the cars gonna be vandalised of broken in to, I'm not too sure how much a hard top will put someone off.

The Z3 is a 10 year old car at the end of the day.

The Colonel · Post by **The Colonel** » Fri 09 May, 2008 13:22

compaqnx6110 wrote:My main concern is the noise level.

Simple solution to noise with the roof up...

...put the roof down, and just enjoy.