Roof clips

[ketvrin]

Has anyone tried an alternative to the Southco plastic roof securing clips ? I have broken two this summer and they are not cheap to replace - £8 ea from RS Components.

I have looked at the Southco website and can see a stainless steel clip - not sure about the looks though...

http://www.southco.com/product/part.aspx?pid=12472

and I am getting a couple of samples to try out, but wondered what else has been tried and what works ?

mine always break at the screw - probably due to sideways force when putting in or removing from the boot... has anyone been able to replace just that screw perhaps ?

ideas/suggestions anyone?

[tubbystu]

I took mine off years ago.

What exactly is the point of them ? The tangs on the front section of the roof panels go into the windscreen frame and are held there by pressure from the rear roof stays. If they are supposed to help stop the roof from lifting at speed then my mum's the pope.

Their only point seems to be to mark the other roof panel when stowed in the boot.

[GreenV8S]

They make sure the front of the roof stays fully engaged with the windscreen regardless of how much anything flexes. There's a huge force upwards on the front of the roof panel and if it ever did start to slip backwards I can see the whole thing ripping off in an instant. However, on mine the roof is clamped in very firmly by the rear stays and I can't imagine it ever having a chance to move.

[ketvrin]

OK I can see there is split opinion on whether they are required or not in the first place, but lets assume they are essential and I dont want to replace them with anything with inferior strength... any alternatives been tried ?

[tubbystu]

ketvrin said:

OK I can see there is split opinion on whether they are required or not in the first place, but lets assume they are essential and I dont want to replace them with anything with inferior strength... any alternatives been tried ?

Leven used to do some modified Southco stainless ones.......... They won't break but I couldn't get enough tension in the mechanism to hold the actuator part in place - the thread was about 2 or 3mm too short. It used to drop down and swing and sway and irritate me, so I took them off.

If your roof stays do not snap home with a solid clunk then you could suffer possible roof lift I suppose.

[Sweet Thunder]

tubbystu said:

What exactly is the point of them ?

Some two years ago, someone on the forum shunted his S. apparently his worst injuries were caused by his head crashing into the roof panel that had dislodged and fell down (he had an early S1 without the roof catches). That alone could be a reason to keep them, although most of the time they don't seem to have a function.

[jimed]

The last post could be relevant - I heard several years ago that the clips were needed as the roof panels came off in the crash tests and the clips stop that happening.
Jim

[M@H]

jimed said:

The last post could be relevant - I heard several years ago that the clips were needed as the roof panels came off in the crash tests and the clips stop that happening.
Jim

..what crash tests?

[ketvrin]

So apart from removing them, and the possibility that Leven had some modified Southco ones at one time has no-one tried any alternatives ? I dont believe it ! (sounded like Victor Meldrew then...).

OK I reckon the weak point of the Southco ones is the "T" bolt which fits into the latch cover so I'm going to look at modifications of my own... shouldnt be that difficult

and I'll let you know if the samples are any good

[jimed]

I did wonder about the crash tests Matt but the post above does suggest that that could be a valid reason. Maybe there were some issues with early S's in accidents as I see from posts above that they don't have the clips which I was not aware of.
Jim

[BRGS]

I fitted the Leven ones and they were fine, the originals were not nice at all.

The thread was designed too short but they still closed tight on my roof, i guess i had one of the "short roof" models.

[profstoff]

I was at a track day at Snetterton a couple of years ago and someone ran (was forced) over the kerb. The car flexed so much on the rumble strip the roof panel came off. IIRC it was Jools (Trackcar) so he'll probably be along soon with details. That, I believe, is why we have roof catches.

[Hoover.]

A few years back someone lost their roof on a motorway as it was not secured in place...

I have my reservation on ali clips.... think crash, head on ali clip.... no tah.

At least the plsatic ones break....

[ketvrin]

Cheers Jonathan

like this...
http://www.southco.com/product/part.aspx?pid=11832

looks neat, I will check out the dimensions when I get home. thanks for the info

K