I had seen this on eBay as an option to the small stock windscreen, but I didn't care for the way it appears to be mounted with a strap around the seats.

After looking at a few options, I'm going to fabricate something similar to this from a sheet of clear acrylic, fastened to the headrest posts with a small PVC u-bracket. I've already made a cardboard template and checked that it won't interfere with the top when up. I'll post some pictures in a few weeks when finished.

 

Why fabricate...leave the top up.

 

I have some plexiglass left over from another project around the house, so I think I will try to make some clear "fill-in" pieces to plug up the openings in the roll bars. This might stop/lessen the draught on the back of the neck.

I like this idea because if I can make it work it would preserve the look of the car, and would not look like an afterthought like some of the alternatives I have seen for our cars and for other roadsters/convertibles. I'll update here if I get the time to give it a try.

 

While I can appreciate the practicality of things I'm a big fan of keeping it seamless! . . . After all I probably would not have bought the roadster if I was a pure practically driven guy

 

I wanted to post a follow-up to my original post on how to reduce the Roadster wind noise during top-down driving.


I finally had some time to experiment a bit, and I made a number of cardboard templates as "wind screen prototypes" that would expand the area of the stock Roadster windscreen. I made different sizes that were larger than the stock windscreen, and that covered the area from the outside of both roll bars. I temporarily attached them to the roll bars with zip-ties. Like suggested in Spiney's post, I had a few pieces of smoked plexiglass in my workshop to use as the new windscreen. Then did a few test drives at 60+ mph to try and compare the wind and noise reduction.

As expected, the solution with the greatest reduction in rear turbulence was a solid windscreen extending about 2 inches over the outside of the roll bars and raised to be even with the roll bar tops. But IMO it looked pretty much like a non-stock "add-on", and I still had the problem of securely fastening the larger plexiglass to the roll bars or headrest so it wouldn't rattle, so it could be removed if needed, etc.


After some trial and error (and a few beers), I settled on the option to continue to use the existing windscreen between the roll bars, and adding a barrier to cover the space inside of the roll bars. After fitting the cardboard template and cutting the plexiglass, I used a Dremel to more precisely fit the plexiglass inside of the roll bars. (The plexiglass below still has the protective plastic on both sides).





There is a plastic lip from the black plastic roll bar cover as well as a groove from the front/back plastic cover on the bottom of the roll bar. I cut the plexiglass about 1/32 inch wider and longer, and it actually flexes enough to be held tightly inside the roll bars by pressure/friction. I used a small bead of clear silicone caulk at the top and sides as added "glue".





This almost doubles the stock wind screen area, and has helped reduce the rear turbulence with the top down, and it has reduced wind noise with the windows up (my wife's usual preference). It doesn't detract from the stock appearance, and can be removed without any residual damage if needed by simply peeling off the silicone caulk and popping the plexiglass insert out. It's not very noticeable, so the smoked plexiglass doesn't reduce rear visibility. It may scratch if it's cleaned or wiped off with a dry cloth, so I'll use glass cleaner or bug remover with a microfiber cloth. After 2 weeks of use, it's looking like it will work as I had hoped.





Thanks to everyone for your input, suggestions and comments. I'll post any follow-up issues or problems after a few more months of use.

 

This is EXACTLY what I had in mind, excellent job! I think I'll go get some smoled Plexiglass, my offcuts are clear. The smoked looks right with the mesh deflector, the clear won't look as good.

 

The smoked piece I had isn't very dark, and only looks smoked when you look at it from an angle. Nice that a 2x4 piece of plexiglass (clear or smoked) only costs about $20 or so. So you can experiment with a few different kinds. And with the need for only a few pretty small pieces, it's easy to start over if you make a few cutting errors (like I did)!

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Awesome work! and I do like all the details you provided and especially the fact that it uses some of the detail features of the roll bar part assembly. Cleanliness is a big deal for me
I'm not a big fan of silicon caulking so I'd do something a little different but the general idea is great . . . more than great

It's really hard to get a feel for it online so I'll have to try it myself as well this summer to get a sense of how much wind and noise it cuts off but I don't know I'd like something any different or larger unless for long trips only and if it can be remove in 2 seconds

 

Thanks for the feedback. I looked around for some alternative to silicone caulk (I don't like it either...spent far too much time cleaning up the smear marks from the silicone). Ideal would be something like a self-stick v-window seal, black, but only about 1/2 inch wide (1/4 inch folded 90 degrees). It needs to be flexible enough to curve around the rollbar, and not bunch up when making the curve. I'll keep looking (or just make my own)!

 

By the way, they've been around for a long time but not everyone knows this place. They have a lot of materials available (I thought I'd pass it along just in case ):

http://www.mcmaster.com

 

things like this for example:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#edging-u-channels/=syd4i6

 

Looks like a great option for the edges, thanks for sharing!

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I began this thread a year ago to consider some alternatives to the Roadster factory windscreen, which IMO is far too small to provide any significant help with top down wind buffeting and wind noise. While I posted some efforts to increase the windblocking area behind the roll bars, the overall improvement was less than ideal. And my wife still insisted on top down motoring with both windows up to reduce the wind buffeting, especially on our longer road trips.

I recently found the Windblox acrylic windscreen ($88+ shipping on eBay), and it arrived a few days ago. While they indicated it would fit the Roadster, I had to use my bandsaw to trim about about 1.25 inches from both sides so it would not interfere with the seat belt retraction, and prevent the seat belt form rubbing on the edges of the screen.

Attached are a few pictures of today's project to install and test the Windblox. My initial impressions are positive, as it seems to make a significant improvement in reducing wind buffeting at speeds up to 65 mph. Well made, 1/4 inch Lexan, easy to remove if needed. As an added benefit, the removal of the factory windscreen makes a dramatic improvement in rear-view visibility.

I'll provide some additional followup after a few weeks of top down use. Any feedback is always appreciated!

 

Pretty nice overall!

The top corners squareness really bother me though . . . It would be the first thing I'd chop off

It looks pretty to put on and remove. Is it?
I'm curious about doing something like this for long trips where wind can give me headaches after a while... but I don't want to have it on when driving at the destination.

 

I left the corners shaped as delivered for maximum wind deflection, but agree that more rounded corners would look nicer. I'm sure it will be modified in the months to come...I rarely leave things as they originally were, and Lexan is pretty inexpensive to replace!

Very easy, to remove, held on with 2 snap buckles, 10 seconds and it's done...can store flat in the boot. Actually, after riding with it for several hours, I almost forgot it was on...visual clarity is impressive.

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It gets strapped to the back of the seats via the headrest posts?

What happens if the two seats are not in the same position, say when the copilot takes a nap?

 

Regarding your design in Post #30, not sure if you've yet seen evidence of the fellow over in Amsterdam who has been producing high-quality, laser-cut versions of these for aftermarket sale via the Roadster owners FB Page. They've become quite the rage. In just a few months he's sold and shipped ~100 units (including one to my address ).

 

And me!

 

My search skills must be lacking, but I couldn't find this on Facebook.

Could you post a link to where they can be ordered?

Thanks

 

Go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MINIRoadsterOwners and there are a lot of posts that show people fitting them. You can find the name of the supplier in almost all of them.

 

Why not just get a Hardtop with a sunroof?

 

Definitly not the same thing

 

Why put stuff on it...when it is not intended to be put on it...Roadsters are built for top down fun not a fishtank.

 

Suggestion: Why not cut the plexiglass to the contours of the windscreen? Either take out the mesh and put the plexiglass there or velcro the plexiglass to the windscreen...

 

You missed the point in my original post: The stock MINI Roadster windscreen is too small to be of any use in reducing wind buffeting. There is no difference if you use the original mesh, plexiglass, or plywood in the stock screen.

I live in a rural area, 90% of my driving is >55 mph, the wind buffeting gets old after a few hours on the interstate. (I also have a windshield on my Harley...horrors!)

Why put stuff (a.k.a. options) on a MINI? I thought they were marketed to make it your own!