Hard top prices

[z4all]

regarding the roof, you can just clean it, its not a big issue, do it once a year and save yourself storage space and hassle. I really don't get it. comfort wise, it might be a bit warmer but the car heats up so quickly anyway, does it make a difference?

each to their own of course. really not my cup of tea and not worth the dosh at all imo.

 

[Marlon]

regarding the roof, you can just clean it, its not a big issue, do it once a year and save yourself storage space and hassle. I really don't get it. comfort wise, it might be a bit warmer but the car heats up so quickly anyway, does it make a difference?

each to their own of course. really not my cup of tea and not worth the dosh at all imo.

They are expensive I grant you, I think firstly you have to like the look of the car with the hard top and then if your Zed is a your only motor and used all year round, and if you don't have a garage, then like me its worth having one. Mine will probably go on around November and stay on until Feb/March maybe. I'm actually looking forward to the winter months and changing the look of my Zed

 

[MACK]

There not for me, each to their own I guess. I get that people think it protects the hood in winter, but is winter really that much more detrimental that summer? A bit of snow, salt and ice isn't going to kill it.

As a modern convertible the Zed has a triple layered/insulated hood so I don't think you really need it. All the verts I have owned over the last years (many as daily's) have never had a hardtop and I cant say I have ever though "I really need a hardtop for this!" Well to be fair that's not exactly true, I did sometimes wish I had a hardtop on some cars, but those were the ones with a plastic rear screen. and no demister. Not because of the roof per se. Not an issue on verts these days.

The real killer for me is the in ability to put the roof down on the fly on a nice winter day.

To be honest Chris_D I wouldn't bother, especially if you have no one around t help you lift it on and off.

 

[Chris_D]

There not for me, each to their own I guess. I get that people think it protects the hood in winter, but is winter really that much more detrimental that summer? A bit of snow, salt and ice isn't going to kill it.

As a modern convertible the Zed has a triple layered/insulated hood so I don't think you really need it. All the verts I have owned over the last years (many as daily's) have never had a hardtop and I cant say I have ever though "I really need a hardtop for this!" Well to be fair that's not exactly true, I did sometimes wish I had a hardtop on some cars, but those were the ones with a plastic rear screen. and no demister. Not because of the roof per se. Not an issue on verts these days.

The real killer for me is the in ability to put the roof down on the fly on a nice winter day.

To be honest Chris_D I wouldn't bother, especially if you have no one around t help you lift it on and off.

yeah, the 'not havin anyone around to help' was definitely a caveat i was wondering about how to overcome. i think i would have been cajoling passers-by to help on the promise of a nice cup of tea and slice of home-made date and walnut cake in return....lol

tbh Eur800 doesnt seem like a huge amount to pay for what is otherwise quite an expensive bit of kit. again, its a 'nice to have' and not an essential by any means.
if another comes up and i can secure it for the same price then i'll be avin it....

 

[Rich8]

Just out of curiosity (I have a coupe so it is just curiosity) does having the hard top on affect how the car feels to drive?

Before my z4 I had a mr2 roadster that I had a hard top for. Mr2 roadsters not really known for scuttle shake, only ever being designed as a vert and a small one at that, but it was still there.

Putting the hard top on virtually eliminated it. Felt much more direct, and generally just felt better and tighter to drive.

Got to the point where the hard top hardly ever came off - even in summer, it made that much difference to the feel of it (to my mind anyway). Was a big reason why I went for coupe when it came to change.

With the z4 being that much bigger (mr2 was truly tiny) I would guess it makes an even more marked difference than it did with the mr2????

 

[z4all]

There not for me, each to their own I guess. I get that people think it protects the hood in winter, but is winter really that much more detrimental that summer? A bit of snow, salt and ice isn't going to kill it.

As a modern convertible the Zed has a triple layered/insulated hood so I don't think you really need it. All the verts I have owned over the last years (many as daily's) have never had a hardtop and I cant say I have ever though "I really need a hardtop for this!" Well to be fair that's not exactly true, I did sometimes wish I had a hardtop on some cars, but those were the ones with a plastic rear screen. and no demister. Not because of the roof per se. Not an issue on verts these days.

The real killer for me is the in ability to put the roof down on the fly on a nice winter day.

To be honest Chris_D I wouldn't bother, especially if you have no one around t help you lift it on and off.

yeah, the 'not havin anyone around to help' was definitely a caveat i was wondering about how to overcome. i think i would have been cajoling passers-by to help on the promise of a nice cup of tea and slice of home-made date and walnut cake in return....lol

tbh Eur800 doesnt seem like a huge amount to pay for what is otherwise quite an expensive bit of kit. again, its a 'nice to have' and not an essential by any means.
if another comes up and i can secure it for the same price then i'll be avin it....

Mate I think you're just wasting your time. It's just not that important. You can clean the roof once a year and it will look fine. I've had loads of soft top verts and never had an issue with the roof tearing it becoming too dirty etc. I don't have a garage and drive my car everywhere in all seasons. That's me though. I like the fewest amounts of removable "bits attached to the car" as possible.

 

[Marlon]

Just out of curiosity (I have a coupe so it is just curiosity) does having the hard top on affect how the car feels to drive?

Before my z4 I had a mr2 roadster that I had a hard top for. Mr2 roadsters not really known for scuttle shake, only ever being designed as a vert and a small one at that, but it was still there.

Putting the hard top on virtually eliminated it. Felt much more direct, and generally just felt better and tighter to drive.

Got to the point where the hard top hardly ever came off - even in summer, it made that much difference to the feel of it (to my mind anyway). Was a big reason why I went for coupe when it came to change.

With the z4 being that much bigger (mr2 was truly tiny) I would guess it makes an even more marked difference than it did with the mr2????

I drove the National Meet in July with the hard top on (we had a lot of rain that day). The car does feel different, but its hard to put my finger on it. I will have a better idea once Iv'e used it over the winter and then return to the soft top. It's quieter, thats for sure and it sort of feels different - like a coupe maybe It sort of feels more solid, but I don't think it actually changes the driving dynamics much - I think to notice that you'd have to compare roof on and roof off on a track day. One thing though, it does get a lot of attention (maybe thats my red and black comb).