How wet would you get in an RT10 with the soft top

[cfiiman]

I have mine on for the season and it seems that it would be pretty "hairy" if you got caught in a good downpour, just wondering who has ever got caught out in a downpour with their original soft top and how much water gets inside?

 

[JonB]

THE YEAR MATTERS.

With oem weatherstrip and Gen 1, you better carry a couple towels for your lap.

At VOI-1 and 3 could have transported live goldfish in my passenger seat..i re-weatherstripped at Indy and had a decent drive home....2700 miles 30% rain

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Add weatherstrip to the door over the speaker grill. Add to the sides of the top where the door contacts it. Look closely at the odd rubber thingy at the bottom forward corner of the side curtain. It can be done well, I had my car outside 100% of the time for about 10 years worth. I put on a bikini top when I didn't drive it for extended periods, or with snow.

 

[RedEnuf93]

GEN 1 and light drizzle with 40MPH is OK, just wet kneecaps.
Downpour and 65 on highway, add Speedo's.


Gen 2 might be a bit better...

 

[cfiiman]

Mine is a 94 and the soft top/ window etc. Are like new. It just seems that where the windows meet the top would be a good place for water to come in...

 

[jdeft1]

Give it a try and see.... Like Jon said, "carry a couple towels" just in case. Your car will not melt or be ruined if a bit of water comes inside and you'll know where the leaks are and what to do about them if you ever get a surpise shower when you're out. It's worth the detail time later to find out.

 

[LifeIsGood]

I put on a bikini top...

My eyes! My eyes!

 

[Next Phase]

I thought this thread was going in a different direction...

 

[cfiiman]

what about the heater blower vent in the hood, I know they have to be designed to vent water, but where does it go?

 

[eucharistos]

what about the heater blower vent in the hood, I know they have to be designed to vent water, but where does it go?

passenger foot-well

no, no, .... really

 

[eucharistos]

i have an '02, works fine for washing, not much wind noise, got caught is a downpour and the water rolled in, i grabbed the top frame right above the windshield and pulled down, and it stopped. my seals look fine. maybe need to adjust the latches

always keep a towel behind the passenger seat

 

[ViperGTS]

my 2002 was water proof in the rain and we see a lot of rain here!

 

[Fatboy 18]

Went down to Le mans in 2001 in My friends Gen1 RT/10 We had some serious rain, but to be honest we never really had a problem, the only thing we did have was a bit of water getting into the car where the Zips were on the side screens when getting in and out My old Cobra was a different matter entirely, all you needed in that car was some plastic ducks to play with while sitting in the bath

 

[pgbeek]

Took a week long trip to Vermont in August and it rained for four out of the seven days not a drop of water inside.
If you question your tops integrity then do a search on this site for a water repellents / soft top care.

 

[jay01m]

I would be fine, but my date might get "wet" in a RT10 with a soft top

 

[ront/10]

The day I bought my 94' I had to drive it home on the highway in the rain. To my amazement, I had no water inside. 2 hrs. in traffic and a few downpours!

 

[cfiiman]

Ok, so sounds like I will be ok which is good, however if the vent on the top of the hood vents to the passenger floor well then how are some of you claiming no water gets inside in heavy rain, do you all do something different with that area?

 

[snakebitdave]

THE YEAR MATTERS.

With oem weatherstrip and Gen 1, you better carry a couple towels for your lap.

At VOI-1 and 3 could have transported live goldfish in my passenger seat..i re-weatherstripped at Indy and had a decent drive home....2700 miles

I was there too. I had my '93 parked during one rain and found a half inch of water unter my passenger carpet. I lifted the carped, vacuumed up the water and blew air over the area for a few hours to dry it out.

 

[JonB]

Ok, so sounds like I will be ok which is good, however if the vent on the top of the hood vents to the passenger floor well then how are some of you claiming no water gets inside in heavy rain, do you all do something different with that area?

HE WAS JOKING !!!!



ps "sounds like I will be ok" really should be: 'sounds like I will get a bit wet and will carry a towel'

 

[cfiiman]

Took a week long trip to Vermont in August and it rained for four out of the seven days not a drop of water inside.
If you question your tops integrity then do a search on this site for a water repellents / soft top care.

^^^^ I didn't think he was joking, ok, so carrying a towel just in case it is, thanks everyone!!!

 

[Steve-Indy]

Our Gen I's drip on to driver's left arm and passenger's right arm in the rain with stock soft top and V-mania windows.

In Nashville, TN during VOI.6 (2002) we all got caught in the aftermath of a hurricane...our two Gen II's has 2-3 inches of water in the passenger floor-well...dripped in thru HVAC unit under right hood grill...at 4-6 inches of rain in very short period, it overwhelmed the drain in the HVAC unit. Upon raising hood, pad gushed then dripped watter for an hour or two !!!

 

[jdeft1]

My car is an early '94 -
Gen 1s leak when wet. Depending on your top/window configuration, some leak worse that others. All three of mine did. None ever gave me the fishbowl in the seat effect but all will drip and some bad enough the soak a medium sized towel on either side after a few hours on the highway.

When I take mine on a serious roadtrip I bring 4 towels and keep two in the cabin. The others are for backup and stay in the trunk. I've found that the factory side curtains along with the factory hardtop are the best configuration for me. The only water that finds it's way in tends to drip from above the door speakers (at a pretty good rate). I also have Vipermania windows that work well but don't seal as well along the top/front (as Steve-Indy just stated).

The best combo I had was on my '95. It had "sliders" and a V-mania top. It was tight!

Like I stated earlier in this thread, you need to drive it in the rain a bit to find out!

- your viper may vary -

 

[JonB]

A garden hose sprayer on a heavy-fast flow setting from the front can give you a quick and realistic preview of driving 60 mph in rain.

 

[Steve-Indy]

But let's be clear...at least from MY point of view...I LOVE Gen I's and wouldn't trade ours for anything !!

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

My eyes! My eyes!

I might look really good in a wet bikini top ...

 

[modernrocketry]

I might look really good in a wet bikini top ...

Hey Big boy.... new in town

 

[eucharistos]

tom's been around the block a few times

 

[Crompton]

when i first got my 94 i had to drive it 18 hours to get home.Well in the first hour i went thru a very bad rain storm and that is how i found out just how bad the soft top realy was.Got very very wet.And to wash it i always have a towel with me just to dry off the inside of the car.

 

[cfiiman]

when i first got my 94 i had to drive it 18 hours to get home.Well in the first hour i went thru a very bad rain storm and that is how i found out just how bad the soft top realy was.Got very very wet.And to wash it i always have a towel with me just to dry off the inside of the car.

Speaking of washing the car, I searched for a thread on the best way, but besides the 2 bucket method (which I do) I haven't found the best way to do it. I talked to a VCA member and was told very carefully, so I have only washed it once so far and was very careful not to shoot water too high on the doors, to far back on the rear deck, not near the engine side vents or up too far on the hood. While this gets a majority of the car, I had to go back and Meguires the areas I missed, but if there would have been heavier soil on there I doubt that would have been a good idea. So do you just soap the whole car up despite the areas I mentioned and go for broke or do you do it carefully like I did? Just curious.

 

[vipertanz]

I wash everything and hope the carpet didn't get too wet.