Testing Softop vs Hartop in the cold

[XCR440]

Tried testing the softop vs the hardtop this morning, didn't go as planed, sun messed it up so nothing definitive, but warmup was the same for both. On cool down I was surprised how slow they were cooling, then softop ended up in the shade and cooled faster once that happened, black roofs with the sun make it hard to compare. Having had a chance to drive mine in negative temps, I can say softtop isn't an issue, the doors leak more cold than the roof does.

Someday if I can get ahold of both again, I'll try it at night to eliminate the sun.

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[Big Boss]

Yeah it was about 4* when I left my house this morning in my soft top. It was a little colder than my mazda was but nothing extreme.

 

[XCR440]

Only issue I've had isn't softtop related, 4 door has an issue with the back door location. Roads were slushy this weekend, so the splatter coated the front of the rear fender flares, but being cold it refroze to the flares. With the door opening being right next to the flare, you couldn't open the rear doors due to the ice buildup.

 

[Wide Open Roads]

Only issue I've had isn't softtop related, 4 door has an issue with the back door location. Roads were slushy this weekend, so the splatter coated the front of the rear fender flares, but being cold it refroze to the flares. With the door opening being right next to the flare, you couldn't open the rear doors due to the ice buildup.

How hard was it to scrap the build up off of the flare? Maybe try coating with a silicone spray? That trick works well for keeping plastic snow shovels free of build up.

 

[PrepVet]

It was -4 this morning when I left the house. The interior was just fine in my soft top. I would imagine the hard tops are better than the old hard top I had on a couple of my old YJ and TJs. Those things (the roof material) stayed frigid the whole time no matter how I had the heat.

 

[XCR440]

How hard was it to scrap the build up off of the flare? Maybe try coating with a silicone spray? That trick works well for keeping plastic snow shovels free of build up.

When running around town it stayed soft/slushy and the door just pushed it off, but on the trip home (30 minute drive), it had time to freeze hard, it came off by beating on/flexing the flare, but I don't think would have done the door any good had he tried to push it open.

 

[Wide Open Roads]

When running around town it stayed soft/slushy and the door just pushed it off, but on the trip home (30 minute drive), it had time to freeze hard, it came off by beating on/flexing the flare, but I don't think would have done the door any good had he tried to push it open.

Hmmm, that seems like a crappy situation. You have kids or friends in the backseat, go for a drive and then they can't get out without potentially scratching or chipping the paint on the bottom of the door.

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