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Winter Driving Top-Down

Johnnybee

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My first top down drive of the year was January 4. It was showing 7C on the dash. As for others, windows up, seat and wheel on and heat on bi-level. No wind screen, just a piece of cardboard behind seats to stop the draft between the seats. And a baseball hat. Quite comfortable. There have other opportunities from a temperature standpoint but too much meltwater around for roadspray from vehicles in front. We’ve finally reached the end and I anticipate top down driving on Thursday or Friday as I think the snow will be gone and the roads will have dried up.
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DRB

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I don't worry about temp, as long as it's clear skies, the top goes down. My belief is if you own a vert, then use it whenever you can, otherwise why spend the extra money to get a vert.
This...

...ore or less. If it's sunny and over about 45 Fahrenheit, the top is down.
 

victorhora

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I just got my first convertible (2019 Ecoboost) and I'm actually looking forward to drive top down in the beautiful sunny and cold days that we tend to get here in southern Ontario in the winter. I'm feeling I will driving top down at least once a week (weather permitting :p). It must be awesome to drive in the fall too and I can also imagine how great it must be to enjoy winter-freedom once we hit spring again. Heck who said that convertibles should only be enjoyed in the summer? :)
 

GW65

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I can’t imagine living without this capability anymore
Great point. I only ever run one car at a time, so for me it has to be a convertible as well. An old friend used to run multiple cars, but found he only ever drove the convertible(s) - e.g. he had a C6 Z06 but didn't drive it in bad weather (for fairly obvious reasons involving crazily wide summer tyres and cold, wet roads), but when the weather got better he didn't drive it either because he didn't want to miss out on fresh air and sunshine.

I know purists will say a convertible is less rigid so doesn't handle as well....but for the kind of driving most of us do that's pretty much irrelevant and massively outweighed by the benfits of having the roof down.
 

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DRB

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You take a performance hit with a convertible, so I understand...but I'm not racing, I'm just an old guy who likes to drive to the beach. :sun:

My brother owned a Mustang convertible when he was in high school, and that's when I fell in love with them. So there's a big nostalgic element to the experience.
 

victorhora

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Great point. I only ever run one car at a time, so for me it has to be a convertible as well. An old friend used to run multiple cars, but found he only ever drove the convertible(s) - e.g. he had a C6 Z06 but didn't drive it in bad weather (for fairly obvious reasons involving crazily wide summer tyres and cold, wet roads), but when the weather got better he didn't drive it either because he didn't want to miss out on fresh air and sunshine.

I know purists will say a convertible is less rigid so doesn't handle as well....but for the kind of driving most of us do that's pretty much irrelevant and massively outweighed by the benfits of having the roof down.
Man, I feel the same. I just did what some people would think it's impossible: Got rid of my compact SUV (2013 Infiniti EX37) for the 2019 Convertible Ecoboost. Not only it's a much more fun car in every possible sense but I get much better fuel economy (~7L/100km highway), a lot of the cool gimmicks I was missing (CarPlay, cooled seats, digital display, active exhaust, heated wheel, remote starter from phone, modern adaptive cruise control and lane keeping systems etc etc etc).

When I got the Infiniti in 2017 I was mostly interested in AWD SUV because I thought that my dream of only owning a convertible was non-sense living here etc, but I think was pretty wrong. Winter tires makes so much more difference for driving safety than just AWD. When I realized that I thought I don't actually need AWD for normal driving, it will certainly help if I get stuck though... but oh well, I still can't afford a brand new AWD Convertible BMW :)

There's compromises with the Mustang of course, but I'm still able to carry 4 passengers (2x will be uncomfortable but whatever, it's better than just being able to carry 2x like roadsters), there's still a decent amount of room in the trunk (I've realized it's the same capacity as as VW Golf or Ford Focus but more restrictive with tall items) and I can even put a stealth hitch on it to carry my bikes or a small U-Haul trailer if I need to carry larger stuff around.

It wasn't easy convincing the wife that this convertible sports car can be a pretty great cruiser (we love doing road trips) and a good everyday driver and also fits baby seats in the back and can store a stroller and other things on the trunk for the future. So far she's enjoying the car too. She loves the fact that she can put the exhaust in silent mode (she doesn't like any noise at all, not a car person), so that was definitely an extra that worth every penny.

We've been joking that once we have kids we will be the weirdest parents in the neighbourhood for refusing to own a gigantic SUV or Van like a lot of people do :)
 
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DRB

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It's nice to hear someone describe the car that way, since the original mandate for the Mustang was partly to offer young people a practical everyday vehicle - fair cost, reasonably comfortable interior space, reasonable stowage - while providing something of a sports car experience.
 

victorhora

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It's nice to hear someone describe the car that way, since the original mandate for the Mustang was partly to offer young people a practical everyday vehicle - fair cost, reasonably comfortable interior space, reasonable stowage - while providing something of a sports car experience.
Indeed. That's exactly how I see it today. Again, can't compare with the practicality of large SUVs, but I'd say the EcoBoost it's as practical and even economical to run as a hatchback like the Golf GTI but with more power, more fun, more toys and no roof! :)

I really think Ford did a smart move to come up with the EcoBoost for this car. When you think that it makes the same power as a Mustang V8 would do 10 years ago but with much better mileage. But don't get me wrong, the current generation GT/V8 is amazing and It will probably be my next car once it's time for my wife have her own car (I work from home so 2x cars is overkill), but for now I'm quite happy with the turbo whistles kicking along with the active exhaust, making it nicely loud with the top down :)
 
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Hilfloskind

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I just got my 2018 ecovert a few weeks ago and installed the Audi windscreen within the first week. Today was the lowest temp day I got to try with the top down. Windows up, windscreen up, top down...30 degrees and clear skies. With the heat at max and aimed toward the floor, I had to actually turn the fan down during stop and go because I started to get cooked by the heat.

Adding a windscreen is absolutely the best mod you could possibly do with these. So far, I'm able to do 30 degrees on a sunny day. Looking forward to seeing how hot I can handle with the A/C on come this summer. I'm in the Nashville, TN area so it gets hot as fuck in the summer. Hoping I can keep the top down in the 90s like I can in the 30s!
 

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DRB

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Yeah, my general solution to "it's too damned hot" with the top down is: drive faster.
 

MaskedRacerX

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I just got my 2018 ecovert a few weeks ago and installed the Audi windscreen within the first week. Today was the lowest temp day I got to try with the top down. Windows up, windscreen up, top down...30 degrees and clear skies. With the heat at max and aimed toward the floor, I had to actually turn the fan down during stop and go because I started to get cooked by the heat.

Adding a windscreen is absolutely the best mod you could possibly do with these. So far, I'm able to do 30 degrees on a sunny day. Looking forward to seeing how hot I can handle with the A/C on come this summer. I'm in the Nashville, TN area so it gets hot as fuck in the summer. Hoping I can keep the top down in the 90s like I can in the 30s!
Yeah, when it's "too cold" here (which means under 65 ... :D), it's mostly because of the air that blows through the center of the car, and up your back! I bet the windscreen really makes a nice difference.
 

Hilfloskind

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Yeah, when it's "too cold" here (which means under 65 ... :D), it's mostly because of the air that blows through the center of the car, and up your back! I bet the windscreen really makes a nice difference.
Yep...it's like night and day. I only get the slightest breeze over my head, but I'm also 6'3" and sit fairly high when I drive.
 
 




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