Caught in the rain

obewan

obewan

Senior member
 End of A590 cul de sac (South Cumbria)
I've read a lot about being able to drive with the top down in the rain.
I'll be honest I was always a bit sceptical and never had the guts to try it.
That changed on Fri
I left work in the afternoon - glorious sunshine so dropped the roof
A couple of miles down the road I noticed a few small spots of rain on the windscreen
A mile further on it was a bit heavier and put the wipers on intermittent.
There was no where to pull in so I ploughed on (couldn't really slow enough to put the roof up either)

Then I saw it - up in front a torrential downpour :cry:
Once in the middle of it, the cars coming the other way were flashing their lights and giving a blast on their horns whilst waving and laughing
Anyway, to my complete surprise both myself and the inside of the car were bone dry :o
The only issue I had was leaving a sufficient gap to the car in front so as not to slow too much at the roundabout near home

I might do it more often now :)
 
Oh ye of little faith. :lol: donr it so many times now. :D Once you believe it's an even more fun world. :driving: :thumbsup:
 
I did it for the first time last week in the slk hire car, it's all good until you have to stop at a junction
 
Done it once when it was spitting and came away unscathed. I thought you had to drive at a specific speed?
 
out in the TR6 today, caught in a downpour and as expected remained dry as long as speed is 25mph or more.

as true in 1972 as 2016
 
If you need to stay above 25mph I'd need a bilge pump down here - well I would if I didn't have a Coupe! :lol:
 
Been caught in heavy heavy rain once and had to stop and raise the roof as the water was coming over the side windows :o
 
Its nuts the first time you experience this, as others have said 25MPH is the key! Was heading towards Birmingham once years ago in my TT Cab when it started flooding down, I was fine (a bit smug actually!) until I saw the traffic coming to dead stop in the distance! Though I was about to get drenched but just before the stationary traffic I managed to stop on the hard shoulder under a bridge, get the roof up and carry on. Didn't think at first I would get as far as the bridge so a lucky escape. Not strictly what the hard shoulders for, but I would have argued "its an emergency!"
 
I've had it a couple of times heading down the M11 to London City Airport.

I initially felt like a bit of a doughnut but, like you, I found that I could stay pretty much as dry as a bone, providing I was doing >50mph. The only issue at one Point was water making its way over the top of the windscreen and onto the top of the door window and dripping down into the cabin, but that was only when it was really hacking down.

Lovely sense of freedom though and quite cathartic!
 
Doesnt seem to work as well with 89s as 85s ive found
Upwards of 50mph in 85s & rain blows over but ive noticed in the 89 no matter the speed the rain catches on the headrests :(
 
mr wilks said:
Doesnt seem to work as well with 89s as 85s ive found
Upwards of 50mph in 85s & rain blows over but ive noticed in the 89 no matter the speed the rain catches on the headrests :(
Click to expand...

My head is above that, so the E85's staying around for a bit(possibly lot) longer yet. :lol:
 
Above a certain speed or amount of rain the water always comes along the windows and down the insides, but you still don't get wet unless it's torrential. Doesn't seem to have harmed he windows either.
 
If its really bad I find it rolls over top of the windows and runs down near the door switches
 
Reed20v said:
Done it once when it was spitting and came away unscathed. I thought you had to drive at a specific speed?
Click to expand...

I told mrs smartbear we had to stay over 100mph when it started raining, she wasn't having any of it :lol:
Rob
 
New2Zed said:
The problem is, it just doesn't look very cool. :)
Click to expand...

Think you are right , but I did have the satisfaction of knowing that all those that laughing were at me were wrong - I wasn't getting wet!
 
Happens to me many times, but I think I'll eventually stop it.

You drive and notice the drizzle but carry on, hey most of the time it's just drizzle. It now rains but it's still dry inside so you carry on, nothing beats driving in the rain but still staying dry. Now it pours like no tomorrow and it's too late to stop or slow down to drop the roof, if you stop then you'll get soaked and can only hope for the rain to stop.

The problem is the rain can leave water spots all over the car, including the vents, and you have to stop or slowdown at some point.

However, I've never once had a driver flash or horn because of the rain, even when driving 70 on the motorway in heavy rain. Why would they, do they think you're not smart enough to notice? I'd imagine one would realise that as long as the car is moving windscreen cuts the rain, and the fact that the rear bay is dry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom