When the dealer said "A couple of drips...."

[cranep]

Hi all, still well chuffed with car.. Going to take it back to the dealers next week to have a look at the steering wheel alignment..
Anyway, cutting to the chase.. When I picked my car up, the dealer said "From time to time you will get a few drops when you open the door when its been raining" Armbands were never bought into the discussion!!!
Went outside this morning to show my pride and joy to a mate and water was literally peeing in the passenger side. Luckily my car has leather so a quick mop and bucket was all that was required.

Being an Elise novice, apart from following the manual is there any tips about putting the roof on ? It seems very particular (Almost to the milimeter) about where the roof is from a side to side point of view, is this normal? Or can most of you just put the roofs on anyway and they fit better ?

Taken 2 corrective actions.. Moved car under cover & Purchased shower cap from eliseparts.com, it arrives Wednesday!!

Paul

[northernboy]

If you make sure that you've got the roof well stretched out, so it reaches over the windows on both sides, that will help.
Then, if it leaks in one side, pull it a ouple of mill that way, and see again.

That should really make it pretty dry. If the wind is blowing hard, you'll have a problem, so use the showercap. If it's going to live outside, the cap is definitely the way to go.

[stove]

Another tip which I find helps is to ensure that if you wind the windows up with the door closed, open and close the door afterwards - the glass then tends to sit squarely on the seal rather than deforming it. You can also get some spray on water repellent which you can apply to the overhanging lips round the forward edge of the roof - this makes the water bead and run off rather than saturate the lips and drip into the passenger compartment.

[nickroberts]

I agree with the above window/door closing routine.

Also, buy a hard top. Makes a big difference. Just rememeber not to open the windows when the roof is wet as their are no rain channels to move water away.

Window open + right hand bend = wet a*rse !

[fergusd]

Yeah, they need accurate fitting, you'll get used to it

It's definately worthwhile 'proofing' the roof with a water repellant, as after a few months in the winter it will absorb water and make the drip problem worse . . .

Autoglym do some which works ok, however canvas tent proofing is perfect and about 1/10th the price, give the roof a good dousing with some of that and you may find that it leaks a lot less, if at all.

hth

Fd

[cranep]

Update chaps, had a good look at it last night.. Agree with the "need to fit it spot on" comments. But noticed that the passenger door hangs down on the hinges about 5 mm, Up at the window end this makes all the difference, the window to 'A' frame seal is definately not as good as the drivers side which I think is the key as because it sticks out a bit it catches all the water.. Booking into the dealers today as it look like a clamshell off job to get to the hinges.!
Also, will try to tent water proofer! Top Tip!
Thanks.