Z3 Hardtop: questions about the benefits

[zellamay]

This seems dumb to ask, but I will anyway. How much will the hardtop quiet the car? I've not had a convertible in 40 years. I love the car, but am put off by the noise with the top up. (Top down is wonderful.) It seems there is equal noise coming from the wheel areas and the top, so I'm not sure. Hate to buy one, only to discover most of the noise is coming from the wheels. Please save the lectures like "you bought a small convertible sports car, what did you expect", etc. I can accept it as is if there is nothing I can do about it, but if a hard top would make it significantly better, I will buy one. Anyone want to share their experiences?

[s8ilver]

It's far quieter with the hardtop. My wife reminds me on every drive (she did the initial 1100 mile road trip with me from Long Beach to Denver with the top on). I'm a top down WOT sort of guy half the time, but I did love having mine on for the noise reduction (and stereo sound improvement). It'll be on all winter this year for sure.

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Oh, and you bought a small convertible sports car, what did you expect?

[HeliHover]

It does quiet the interior down. It also seals the cab and you can feel it. Stereo sounds better too, so there is a definat change. I believe you'll have zero regrets if you purchase one.

[dimm6]

Buy one. It's one of the best options for this car. Mine stays on for most of the year. It quiets down the interior a whole bunch. Also the car is a much stiffer. You'll notice this when you take the hardtop off after having it on for a while. Basically, there are zero drawbacks to getting one.

[BimmerBreaker]

I'd install the headliner retrofit to your soft top before spending beaucoup bucks on a hardtop.

[Jakechan]

I'm also considering a hardtop and have another question for those with experience. How is the process of fitting and removing? What methods do you use (manually or winch etc) and how quickly it can be done?

[zellamay]

Thanks, I didn't know about the headliner retrofit. I couldn't find a real picture, or one for sale. I have limited budget, and if that would help, I could use the money to buy some performance stuff.

[HeliHover]

I'm also considering a hardtop and have another question for those with experience. How is the process of fitting and removing? What methods do you use (manually or winch etc) and how quickly it can be done?

The HT requires a mounting kit. Once installed and fitted, with a bit of practice, you and a buddy could remove or install it in 1-2 mins.

[Terry F.]

Without a hoist, two people can mount or dismount the roof in five minutes. I use a wheeled cart when I store the top. The roof is 50-60 lbs, I would guess.

[cngizbleevng]

As BimmerBreaker mentioned above, the headliner makes a big difference. I forget at which point the Z3s came with the headliner from the factory, but the earlier cars are more noisy due to the lack of it. I've owned a 2000, 2 2001s, and a 2002, and they all had the headliner.

The hardtop makes the car a little quieter if you're used to a car that already has a headliner. If your car is an earlier version without the headliner, you'll notice a larger difference.

Buy the hardtop. You can always resell it at the same price if you dislike it for whatever reason.

A garage hoist makes removal and replacement of the hardtop a one-person job. I've got both a manual and electric hoist in my garage bays, and during the warmer months I leave the hardtop suspended for about 8 months.

[Tim95M3]

Hardtop makes a huge difference in road/wind noise. I just put mine on a few days ago and had forgotten the huge difference it makes... You can actually hear the radio at highway speed, you can actually hold a conversation with your passenger at a normal volume. I don't suspend mine or anything, but with my girlfriend's help I can have it on/off in about 30 seconds. You will absolutely not regret buying one.

[rboehl]

The headliner came standard on the 2000 model year I believe.
I have no need for a hard top because I bought a Convertible

[Luftwaffe1O1]

The headliner came standard on the 2000 model year I believe.
I have no need for a hard top because I bought a Convertible

Convertible is fun and all, but there are months where I don't use the vert at all. Usually November through march usually. And having a nice quiet cabin that retains heat better = WIN. Yes I know I live in San Diego, which his not known for its crappy weather, but its glooming and in the 50s, still not exactly hard top weather. Plus the car just looks so good with a HT.

[Yazure]

Mine squeaks and rattles because it's misaligned on one side, rubbing somewhere. It's headliner (the actual hardtops, not the soft top liner y'all are talking about) is also sagging a bit because the previous owner let the car cook outside every day.
It's pretty annoying.

you can also feel it shifting and flexing when going over rough terrain, but it's fine on soft roads.

It does make the car a lot stiffer though, you can really feel the difference when you take it off.

If it's setup appropriately there really are no downsides, just make sure you get the mounting kit and a hoist.

The headliner came standard on the 2000 model year I believe.
I have no need for a hard top because I bought a Convertible

yep,it came standard on all facelift Z3's

[BimmerBreaker]

There is a retrofit kit for the headliner available, though I'm thinking it is now NLA. May be worth asking someone parting a facelift Z3 if they could let go of the headliner separately as I always noticed a big difference in the cars with and without it. For the $$$ I'd definitely try the headliner retrofit first - hardtops are quite expensive and not always readily available (though I suppose at this point neither are the headliners)

[Telecomtodd]

Don't forget the stability enhancement of having the roof. Mine stays on 365 days a year now. The last time I had the roof off was over 2 years ago.

[magnetchief]

There are a couple of the headliners available used on eBay. But $250

They state 99-2002.

Can these be retrofitted to a 98 M


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[TiminMb]

Forgive me for being skeptical that it stiffens the chassis appreciably. Is it really capable of that? How strong are the mounting points that they can transfer that amount of force from the A pillars to the rear of the cockpit?

[KBH22102]

Mine squeaks and rattles because it's misaligned on one side, rubbing somewhere. It's headliner (the actual hardtops, not the soft top liner y'all are talking about) is also sagging a bit because the previous owner let the car cook outside every day.
It's pretty annoying.

you can also feel it shifting and flexing when going over rough terrain, but it's fine on soft roads.

Check that your HT has the rubber stoppers. These limit the movement of the softtop that causes most of the squeaking.

[Tim95M3]

Forgive me for being skeptical that it stiffens the chassis appreciably. Is it really capable of that? How strong are the mounting points that they can transfer that amount of force from the A pillars to the rear of the cockpit?

I feel the same. I drive mine with/without the hardtop a lot, and I am certain there is no difference in chassis integrity. No way in hell this thing can stiffen the car.

[BimmerBreaker]

There are a couple of the headliners available used on eBay. But $250

They state 99-2002.

Can these be retrofitted to a 98 M


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The retrofit kit fits all year soft tops. As such I cant imagine it being difficult to install a headliner on a year that didnt come with it. Sounds like the ad you are referring to is only listing years that came with the headliner as compatible

[fletch138]

The mounting points are pretty robust. I do notice that a couple interior squeaks go away with the hardtop on.

[HeliHover]

I feel the same. I drive mine with/without the hardtop a lot, and I am certain there is no difference in chassis integrity. No way in hell this thing can stiffen the car.

There is. I could prove it to you if you were able to drive my car. I can't explain nor can I say if it's better or worse as far as performance goes, but it definitely changes the chassis. You can feel it even in a straight line in my car....

[khammack]

The hard top completes the top of the box so there is some improvement with it on. I can feel the difference too, but I can't say how much.

[cfmistry]

I looked into the softtop retrofit before. The kit is no longer available from BMW, but as mentioned above, headliners (and even complete tops with headliner) can be found for ~$250 on eBay. Unfortunately my understanding is that the entire softtop has to be removed for the headliner to be installed.