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Winter Driving Top-Down

yellow dog 62

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It's called Love The Drive, bought it off Amazon. Many people buy a used Audi convertible wind screen off ebay and are satisfied with that.
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BLU-PNY

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I also have the "Love The Drive" windscreen and am very satisfied with it. Certainly a big plus for colder weather but also makes for much less turbulence and noise and easier conversation for all top down driving. Not cheap, but well made and effective. Best accessory I've bought for the car. Easy to install/remove and stores in the trunk when not using. I also cut and fitted some black soft foam pipe insulation on the frame of the horizontal section to provide an even tighter fit to the seat, etc., which further cut down on wind in the cabin. Less than $5 at Lowes and super easy..
 

rcengr

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I also have the "Love The Drive" windscreen and am very satisfied with it. Certainly a big plus for colder weather but also makes for much less turbulence and noise and easier conversation for all top down driving. Not cheap, but well made and effective. Best accessory I've bought for the car. Easy to install/remove and stores in the trunk when not using. I also cut and fitted some black soft foam pipe insulation on the frame of the horizontal section to provide an even tighter fit to the seat, etc., which further cut down on wind in the cabin. Less than $5 at Lowes and super easy..
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BLU-PNY

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Pictures?
Sorry, no pix.....car is still in winter storage. Really easy and cheap to do though - just get a piece of that soft foam pipe insulation and cut it with hacksaw, utility knife, scissors etc. to fit the spaces you want to close up and slip the pieces onto the LTD frame. Can't remember if I used 1/2" or 3/4" pipe size - may have been 3/4. The insulation comes in 8 ft' long pieces IIRC and is slit on one side so you can slide it on. Easy to remove with no downside (other than minimal cost) if you don't like it.
 

BLU-PNY

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rcengr - As I recall, I cut two pieces to fill in the space back to the rear seat "buckets", and a couple more pieces on the sides. Only needed one piece of the pipe insulation.
 

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victorhora

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-3C last Sunday. The coldest I driven top down so far. I wasn't even wearing a hat or gloves with the heated seats and wheel and blowing hot air on back roads.

It was a fun drive, would be nicer if I left earlier and the sun was out.
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CVCashmere

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I commend your spirit and enthusiasm!!

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MaskedRacerX

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I generally don't drive unless the top is down, so sometimes that means when it's pretty cold - though I realize the latter is pretty subjective, I mean, 16° F definitely isn't happening :D
 

Johnnybee

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My first top down drive this year was New Year’s Day, I think it was 7C. We had the car out one weekend in January for a fairly long drive north of the city and it was around 3C (~37F). Love the Drive, windows up, heat and seats on. Lovely sunshine. I did drive one day in February as well. I am determined to drive at least one day every month with the top down, if for no other reason than to irritate the coupe drivers who say a convertible is a waste in the colder climates. What can I say, I’m hardcore!
 

victorhora

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My first top down drive this year was New Year’s Day, I think it was 7C. We had the car out one weekend in January for a fairly long drive north of the city and it was around 3C (~37F). Love the Drive, windows up, heat and seats on. Lovely sunshine. I did drive one day in February as well. I am determined to drive at least one day every month with the top down, if for no other reason than to irritate the coupe drivers who say a convertible is a waste in the colder climates. What can I say, I’m hardcore!
Hehe, oh yeah, I also got the looks while driving top down in winter, LOL... But I know what you mean; I feel like the S550 with things like snow mode, heated seats and steering wheel, remote starter, etc., might be the first Mustang generation where it is really easy to be a truly daily even in Canadian winter.

Also, the car is now slightly modified (you may notice a small drop in the photos), and even with the Ford Performance suspension upgrades making the car much stiffer, it is still very much driveable in winter unless you are driving over bad roads where you obviously feel the imperfections and potholes much more, but otherwise it remains a very comfortable cruiser. :)

Note to self: Make another version of my project build page in this forum (https://www.mustangecoboost.net/threads/ecoboost-convertible-with-ford-performance-upgrades.23100/)
 
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victorhora

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And while I'm here, a few notes for folks thinking about a vert for winter:

Something else I noticed that is positive for winter compared to other cars I drove is how fast the cabin heats up! (And how warm it stays) I often need to open the windows or turn off the heated seats a few minutes after driving away... Before getting the car, I was afraid I would be cold when driving in the winter because of the soft-top, but it is really not the case at all.

This is my 3rd winter with the car (little winter usage since COVID though :() and zero regrets as a daily, I feel I can confidently go almost anywhere a non-sports-2WD car can go with the Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires. I can almost say it's safer than many other cars on Canadian roads, where most cars still run without winter tires, at least in Ontario.

Not sure about long term durability or insulation degradation of the soft-top over the years, but my plan is to keep the car for as long as I have a warranty so I have 2.5 years left of experimentation :)
 
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Johnnybee

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And while I'm here, a few notes for folks thinking about a vert for winter:

Something else I noticed that is positive for winter compared to other cars I drove is how fast the cabin heats up! (And how warm it stays) I often need to open the windows or turn off the heated seats a few minutes after driving away... Before getting the car, I was afraid I would be cold when driving in the winter because of the soft-top, but it is really not the case at all.

This is my 3rd winter with the car (little winter usage since COVID though :() and zero regrets as a daily, I feel I can confidently go almost anywhere a non-sports-2WD car can go with the Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires. I can almost say it's safer than many other cars on Canadian roads, where most cars still run without winter tires, at least in Ontario.

Not sure about long term durability or insulation degradation of the soft-top over the years, but my plan is to keep the car for as long as I have a warranty so I have 2.5 years left of experimentation :)
I use the 303 Fabric Guard on my top and it sheds the winter splash beautifully. I only wash the car myself so during the winter it’s rare (although I did it today but not the top). Here’s a picture from today. Not great bu you can see how clean the top is, and it hasn’t had a wash since probably mid-November.
F6C8E4AD-A382-45E5-AC91-8E5AE1762DD5.jpeg
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