new hoods

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 06:10

been thinking about a new hood, then a thought occurred to me - what if I had a new hood without a rear window, during the winter a cant see out of it because its usually frosted over, during the summer the roofs down, and if you have a hard top for winter then how often do you drive with the roof up anyway. question is - would it look odd, would the roof close ok without the slightly stretchy window. it would save me the hassle of years of rear window woes. it would certainly be individual

I have had a look at the mot test criteria, I cant see anywhere that would suggest this would be an mot issue, unless I have somehow overlooked it, though an insurance company might take a different view

could always mount a rear cam

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 07:01

photo shopped

BladeRunner919 · Post by **BladeRunner919** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 07:30

There's no legal reason. Most vans don't have rear windows, nor do lorries. I do think it would look odd, though.

colb · Post by **colb** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 08:18

I think that to comply with Construction and Use Regulations it will have to have mirrors offside and nearside as the rear view interior mirror would be of no use without the window. Same ruling as a van or estate car.

Colb

gookah · Post by **gookah** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 10:13

colb wrote:I think that to comply with Construction and Use Regulations it will have to have mirrors offside and nearside as the rear view interior mirror would be of no use without the window. Same ruling as a van or estate car.

Colb

If only BMW had though of putting some on.......

Rafolian · Post by **Rafolian** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 11:12

Sorry, but personally I think it would look awful, just to save 82 quid once in a blue moon for a new window?

gookah · Post by **gookah** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 11:36

littlefeller wrote:

Styling by Silver Cross

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 11:42

im tight fisted

its not just that, mine is only 2 years old and its scratched, it gets scratched when I put the roof down as it folds against one of the frame members, I see some people use a long rolled up towel or something similar to stop this, bit of a faf if you ask me. I cant decide if I like it or not, it does look a little odd but it would save a lot of future hassle, if I were to change the hood it would have a stitched in window, so if the window needs replacing would I need to folk out for another roof? the oem zip in window is around £175 aftermarket is £82, I have an £82 one, cant say im impressed with the trim tuck part. original part has a more rubbery surround, mine is more plastic and does not fold to good, the trim comes out (tried all kinds of glue to no avail) I syringed it with vasaline in the end and cured the leaks

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 11:43

ha hadn't look at it that way, brilliant

Styling by Silver Cross[/quote]

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 11:44

anyone want to ride in my pram

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 12:15

Looking at it, I would say take it a little further...
Keep the window, and make a separate fabric piece that can be fitted onto the hood around the bottom and at top so that when folding the roof down, the window will be protected....and it would make a great sun shade too...

BladeRunner919 · Post by **BladeRunner919** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 12:46

The scratching seems to be on the inside of the window across the fold, from where the window rubs on the oddments box as it closes. I have heard mention on another Z3 forum that attaching some microfibre material to the back of the oddments box will protect the window from scratching as it closes. I'll certainly be doing this if I ever get a new rear window.

gookah · Post by **gookah** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 14:59

littlefeller wrote:im tight fisted its not just that, mine is only 2 years old and its scratched, it gets scratched when I put the roof down as it folds against one of the frame members, I see some people use a long rolled up towel or something similar to stop this, bit of a faf if you ask me. I cant decide if I like it or not, it does look a little odd but it would save a lot of future hassle, if I were to change the hood it would have a stitched in window, so if the window needs replacing would I need to folk out for another roof? the oem zip in window is around £175 aftermarket is £82, I have an £82 one, cant say im impressed with the trim tuck part. original part has a more rubbery surround, mine is more plastic and does not fold to good, the trim comes out (tried all kinds of glue to no avail) I syringed it with vasaline in the end and cured the leaks

That's exactly my experience with the artmunster design one off eBay, never again. genuine BMW one next time
Its gone cloudy and wont polish out, there was no lead in for the zip making it a pig to fit and the beading just kinks and leaks.

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 15:54

yes your looks exactly like mine, once kinked (first time the roof goes down) its had it, the leaking can be stopped though but its not like the original at all.

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Fri 03 Jul, 2015 19:46

the more I think about this the more it makes sense, could even have some kind of logo stitched in

thoughts on logos

lightning · Post by **lightning** » Sat 04 Jul, 2015 17:06

I think it looks horrible.

My 2003 Z3 still has the original window in the hood, and it's still perfectly serviceable after twelve years. It the window is getting badly scratched it's either a rubbish quality aftermarket one, or there's something amiss with the frame (missing padding?)

madleemark · Post by **madleemark** » Sun 05 Jul, 2015 22:22

how about a smaller window, ive had a new roof recently, and have been very careful when lowering, making sure the window is clean and using the bmw towel, but the window is still getting marked already.

BladeRunner919 · Post by **BladeRunner919** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 07:42

madleemark wrote:how about a smaller window, ive had a new roof recently, and have been very careful when lowering, making sure the window is clean and using the bmw towel, but the window is still getting marked already.

Is the marking on the inside or the outside? I think the window covers are a bit of a red herring - most of the marking on mine is on the inside, not the outside.

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 08:03

Yep...the marking is at the fold on the inside. I have an idea the carpet in the roof well is a tad abrasive. I over laminated my carpet there with a layer of soft "fluffy" type fabric. Seems to help, but still has a tendency to mark.

BladeRunner919 · Post by **BladeRunner919** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 08:29

Southernboy wrote:Yep...the marking is at the fold on the inside. I have an idea the carpet in the roof well is a tad abrasive. I over laminated my carpet there with a layer of soft "fluffy" type fabric. Seems to help, but still has a tendency to mark.

I think the roof also touches the back of the oddments box as it folds - I'd suggest extending the fabric to that.

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 08:32

....... Good thinking Batman...

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 17:55

the line in mine is dead straight, as such I always assumed it was one of the roof bars, someone else mentioned the roof well carpet so that is most likely the problem, to be honest im not too fussed about the line I was just trying to imagine my z without a rear window. in all, if you think about it then I suppose the original window must have lasted from new ( about 15 years) so buying a new hood with window stitched in should in theory last as long works out at less that £35 a year

Koolflyer · Post by **Koolflyer** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 19:06

No windows to worry about.....seems to be the way to go!

Staggered wheels too..wow!

Koolflyer · Post by **Koolflyer** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 19:45

.....and on a more serious note, I always thought it was one of the roof bars that caused the issue, which is why some people use the soft cloth method each time time they close the lid. Infact I have just been out outside to check this. The rear window gets a layer of dust, grit dirt as well as the roof. When the roof is lowered the window folds (or should do..mine doesn't because the natural roll in the plastic is at 90 deg to the way it should fold, something to stress to your window fitter if you have it replaced) and the roof bars fold down. The first bar which is directly above the rear window is the first to be stowed, brushes and then rests against the inside of the fold (which is the contaminated/dirty), the remaining bars and their weight pushes it all down too.

This problem is certainly one I have thought about the most, and I know I'm not the only one. Could you lower the head height, but I reckon that means altering the pivot point of the roof frame..I think? (Less like Tiff's pram). Could a folding glass rear window be incorporated rather like the same generation MX5...and heated too! Could a plastic window be inserted with a minimal horizontal hinge be added, (a clear plastics hinge?) thus solving a cracking window in the winter too? There are a lot of like minded practical people here, would be great to come up with a solution. What you reckon Barry, you must have a lot of dust down there to say the least!

Del · Post by **Del** » Mon 06 Jul, 2015 20:27

I've read it's important to vacuum the hood occasionally to remove abrasive dust from the hood material, which in turn would rub on the rear window, at the frame highpoint, and cause scratching. Mike Fishwick uses a length of pipe insulation covered in toweling which is inserted into the window fold when lowering the hood - seems like a good idea if you don't have a specific BMW rear window blanket/towel. I don't think the hoods are a particularly bad design, it's more a case of the Z3s being quite old nowadays and original hoods going past their estimated life expectancy.

littlefeller · Post by **littlefeller** » Tue 07 Jul, 2015 05:56

Koolflyer wrote:No windows to worry about.....seems to be the way to go! Staggered wheels too..wow!

this is defo the way to go, if its good enough for royalty then I rest my case

my fogy line looks exactly the same as the one pictured, how about a folding hard top

nah I prefer the soft top look

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Tue 07 Jul, 2015 11:14

Hahaha... dust by the bucket load ! As for a solution to the marking across the center... I don't have an answer. I think the earlier comment regarding the possibility of the rear storage box being the culprit is the most sensible. In which case, the back of that box needs covering with some non abrasive fabric like a long haired micro-fiber perhaps.
I doubt a solid window with a hinge would be the answer. May as well put up with the fuzzy mark, since the hinge will have much the same visual interference...

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Tue 07 Jul, 2015 11:35

Del wrote:I don't think the hoods are a particularly bad design, it's more a case of the Z3s being quite old nowadays and original hoods going past their estimated life expectancy.

If a fault occurs within such a short period of time (typically < 3yrs), it is either poor design or poor manufacture.

As it has never been rectified, I can only conclude that it is poor design.

zroadster.net

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