Hood effectiveness

[Chris71]

Hands up anyone who's used their S in proper torrential rain...

How well did the hood stand up to it?

I'm just curious as I've never really used mine in the wet and I've always been a bit weary of driving it to work in case I come back after a rain shower and find it's damp.

[james280779]

I used it torrential rain a few weeks back, went out to work nice and sunny. on way home it was impossible, could not see further than 10 feet in front of car.

My hood is fairly new only 2 years old and it was completely waterproof. Only leak I had was from the passenger door at the bottom.

But again every TVR is different, Get someone to throw a bucket of water over the car while you sit inside it and plug the holes lol

[Gerald-TVR]

Used in torrential rain after Chatsworth bone dry (even after being parked overnight the night before in heavy rain)

[Shnozz]

I never had any problems with mine, which is surprising perhaps given the 3 piece design, you might expect it to leak at the joins. I did keep mine regularly coated with Thompsons water proof and adjusted the roof struts to ensure the roof panels were very tightly in after hearing a few stories of people losing panels at speed. I later fitted Chimaera roof struts which looked far nicer and when i drilled the new holes for those I again made sure that the roof was very snuggly on when closed.

I had more trouble keeping water from getting in the passenger footwell from the bulkhead when it rained. Had the same problem on my Chimaera and no amount of silicon sealant around the various grommets on the bulkhead ever sorted the problem.

[tubbystu]

Ensuring that the folding section has very liberal coatings of whatever proofer you use helps as this is the weak area really, that and replacing the rubber trim makes mine very good standing in the rain.

Some water does eek in whilst moving via any number of areas around the bulhead as Snozz has already said.

[tvrgit]

Shnozz said:

I had more trouble keeping water from getting in the passenger footwell from the bulkhead when it rained. Had the same problem on my Chimaera and no amount of silicon sealant around the various grommets on the bulkhead ever sorted the problem.

Ditto. Water seems to come through the bulkhead rather than the roof, and sealing grommets doesn't seem to work.

I've come to the conclusion that it's one (or more) of three things:

1. Wiper spindles;

2. Bonnet release catches

3. Edge of windscreen - although I sealed that last winter and don't think it's that.

[Barkychoc]

What's this?
I thought water coming in was a standard feature you bunch of girls.

[mep12345]

Barkychoc said:

What's this?
I thought water coming in was a standard feature you bunch of girls.

Chris that's cos your body isn't on yet - hence no roof!!!

[Chris71]

Barkychoc said:

What's this?
I thought water coming in was a standard feature you bunch of girls.

I'd like to use mine more often, but it's the first time I've owned a smart nice example of anything and I'm paranoid about ending up with a pool of water in it!

I say that because my Quantum used to fill up all the time and that was using a detachable hard top! It had quite deeply dished seats and every evening I'd stick a bin liner on them. Then in the morning I'd come in, scoop the bin liner up, complete with whatever water had accumilated on it and drive off. Maybe I should just stop being a girl and go back to that!

PS Schnozz - How far did you have to move the mounting holes down when you put the Chimera struts in? Half the problem with mine if the roof sits a tiny bit proud of the sidescreens. The hood is extremely tight and I suspect when someone did the same thing on mine they forgot to drill a new set of mounting holes!

[jimed]

My hood doesn't leak but there is a bit of the trim carpet at the nearside rear corner of the shelf behind the seats that has always looked a bit as if its been wet. Round Scotland last year and heavy rain for a couple of hours ; perfectly dry in the car but the parcel shelf behind the seats was wet. Had a good look and found the rain was blowing round the side of the hood and under the fabric then running down the inside. I've pushed some sealer (putty sort of sealer) under since and it does seem to be fine now but others may have this problem. Another useful thing is to give the rubber seals a spray with some silicon lubricant so they seat better.
Jim

[RichardR]

I used to use my S as an everyday car so it was driven and sat outside in all sorts of weathers and was always bone dry. As has been pointed out a couple of times previously, generous applications of Thomson's Water Seal on all areas of the fabric is highly recommended!

[Wildfire]

I ran my S3 for 2 years as an everyday car, in Newcastle, through rain, shine snow and ice. Never had a problem at all. Just keep it proofed, make sure the seals are good, and get a Leven Shower Cap for overnight.