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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Discuss problems you have had or are having with your Z4
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Crazy Harry
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Crazy Harry » Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:40 pm

I’ve been prepping the Zed for its MOT. I've had it -and been on here - three years now

Not much to do except change the front discs and pads – bit annoying because although the discs were lipped with some grooving (due I suspect; to the sand and fine stones that get washed onto the roads around here) the pads each had about 6mm left. I changed discs and pads a few days ago in a now rare dry spell; in daylight and it was then I got a good look at the hood.

The Zed is my daily drive and stands out on the drive all the time but as yet we’ve had no hard frosts (can only think of one light frosting between Christmas and New Year) just mild damp weather and boy does the algae grow – the top looked quite green in the cold light of day. Everything goes green down here but this year is particularly bad. I invested twenty minutes yesterday to scrub the hood with Miltons fluid before I washed the car – normally I can get away with not doing it until spring. This time of year it’s too damp to vacuum the dirt out first but the scrubbing did the job and also removed the cat fur :o

We have acquired a colony of seven feral cats and one of the big buggers kips on the Zed and in exchange for the hammock like accomodation leaves an extra insulation layer of discarded fur. On the upside we haven’t see a live rat or mouse for about two years so on balance I’d rather cat fur on the car then rodents in the loft running around at night or invading the chicken house.

So down for test this morning with a clean hood and it’s a straight pass and no advisories :thumbsup:

.... and then in a few weeks time it’s the hood again as the algae comes back :thumbsdown: unless of course we get a good cold snap

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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Phoenixboy » Fri Jan 10, 2020 5:16 pm

i thought everyone up your way had Turkeys, not chickens :wink:
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by enuff_zed » Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:38 pm

Phoenixboy wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 5:16 pm i thought everyone up your way had Turkeys, not chickens :wink:
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Nah, that's just Stevo, and Audi are buying that back :poke: :D

(Sorry Steve)
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Smartbear » Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:47 pm

Did you have to scrub the cat to remove its fur? :P
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Chris_D » Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:46 pm

I found white vinegar works a treat at removing the green plague.
Even better than that is investing in a hardtop.
:P :lol:
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Crazy Harry » Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:50 pm

Chris_D wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:46 pm I found white vinegar works a treat at removing the green plague.
Even better than that is investing in a hardtop.
:P :lol:
or you could buy a coupe :lol:

I did consider a hardtop when I got the car but I rarely have the hood up - even in winter. I just couldn't face missing out on top down motoring even in winter :driving:

The hood is for very bad weather and when its parked!

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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by firebobby » Fri Jan 10, 2020 8:47 pm

We live opposite woods, but my roof stays pretty blackish, it had a green hue when we first got the car. We are up your way soon, a place called Barningham
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Crazy Harry » Fri Jan 10, 2020 8:58 pm

Yea that's around 25 mins away from us - if your here on Saturday 25th Jan I'll let you have the breakfast meet details :lol:

I park under trees - that combined with wood pigeon crap and its a constant job keeping it clean in damp weather.

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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Smartbear » Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:27 pm

Crazy Harry wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 8:58 pm Yea that's around 25 mins away from us - if your here on Saturday 25th Jan I'll let you have the breakfast meet details :lol:

I park under trees - that combined with wood pigeon crap and its a constant job keeping it clean in damp weather.
Hi Harry, wondered if you’ve had your roof motor relocated into the boot yet? Trees can cause a lot of problems in the Autumn blocking the car drains :thumbsdown:
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Crazy Harry » Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:48 pm

Smartbear wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:27 pm
Crazy Harry wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 8:58 pm Yea that's around 25 mins away from us - if your here on Saturday 25th Jan I'll let you have the breakfast meet details :lol:

I park under trees - that combined with wood pigeon crap and its a constant job keeping it clean in damp weather.
Hi Harry, wondered if you’ve had your roof motor relocated into the boot yet? Trees can cause a lot of problems in the Autumn blocking the car drains :thumbsdown:
Yep - I was part of the Cambridge roof motor day with DLV the other year. I keep pulling the plugs from the bottom of the drains at the back. It's astonishing how much leaf litter (and beech nuts) drop down the screen and cover the front drains - I can pull out hand fulls every few days in autumn.

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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by buzyg » Sat Jan 11, 2020 1:31 am

Crazy Harry wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:40 pm I’ve been prepping the Zed for its MOT. I've had it -and been on here - three years now

This time of year it’s too damp to vacuum the dirt out first but the scrubbing did the job and also removed the cat fur :o

We have acquired a colony of seven feral cats and one of the big buggers kips on the Zed and in exchange for the hammock like accomodation leaves an extra insulation layer of discarded fur. On the upside we haven’t see a live rat or mouse for about two years so on balance I’d rather cat fur on the car then rodents in the loft running around at night or invading the chicken house.

.... and then in a few weeks time it’s the hood again as the algae comes back :thumbsdown: unless of course we get a good cold snap
Our cat can lick a rock hard died up bowl of just about anything, clean as a dish washer in 30 seconds. What you need is a cat that likes green algae. :wink:

and nice one on the MoT. :thumbsup:
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by MrPT » Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:15 am

Half covers are great. :thumbsup:

They can leave marks on the paintwork but you can avoid this with a quick, “waterless” clean before you put it on.
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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by mr nurburgring » Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:07 pm

I’ve only cleaned my roof once in 10 years, I just used the just wash and some car wash soap, don’t seem to suffer the green, always nice and black.

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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by Crazy Harry » Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:50 pm

MrPT wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:15 am Half covers are great. :thumbsup:

They can leave marks on the paintwork but you can avoid this with a quick, “waterless” clean before you put it on.
I've had covers on cars I've been working on - one cats gets under the cover and grabs the cats on top - nightmare :cry: We've had them destroy a cover on a MR2 in a couple of nights.

A lot of the time I can get the Zed infront of the house so its OK but the green is just a fact of life around here - even turns brickwork green in places which is odd for one of the driest places in the UK but we do suffer in damp 'green' winters and this is turning into one!

Of course I could put the Zed in a garage but same to say its further down the pecking order than the classics we've got.

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Another green (mild) winter – what a pain in the ar$e for roadster owners

Post by MrPT » Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:54 pm

No way will a cat get under a half cover. Unless you blend it spray it up there.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
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