Not sure how to search for this one.

While driving at highway speeds with the top down can you hear the radio and/or talk with your passanger without yelling?

Other conv. cars that I have driven and owned this was a problem which is why I don't didn't buy them.

Thanks for the input.
Wayne

 

Really?!?! Maybe you should not be considering a convertible?


Doug

 

Depends upon what you are calling highway speeds. If you are talking about over 75 mph the radio is not going to sound very good with all of the wind noise. You can talk to one another, but you will have to pretty much talk toward them. I haven't been in a whole lot of convertibles, but I have never been in one where there was not significant wind noise at over 70 mph.

 

On the highway forlonger than 5-10 minutes, i dont like to have the top down. I'd say 50 mph and under is my window of use, volume of road/wind noise is tolerable and radio can be heard.

 

There are both factory and aftermarket windscreens available for the car. They reduce, but do not eliminate the wind and noise. For me, they add a lot to the experience.

 

Matt, funny that you say that because I meant to add in my first post that though I drive it with the top down at highway speeds (I drive it for fun, so I only take it out when the weather is good and I want to drive around with the top down) but I have noticed that once I get over 50-55 or so, I just turn off the radio, because you can still hear it if you turn it up, but really it is just a lot of noise unless you are like a teenager and turn it up all the way until it makes your ears hurt.

 

I bought one of the wind screens that goes right behind the passenger seat. My wife and I took an 8000 mile trip last summer and the top was down 90% of the time. We could hear each other just fine. Of course, when driving in traffic on the freeway it's a lot nosier than when just driving down a road by ourselves, but most of the time we didn't have to raise our voices to speak to each other.

On the other hand, the radio sounds like crap with the top down, no matter how loud it is.

 

The wind screens really are remarkable. With one of those, and the windows raised, music and conversation require not much more than normal volume. Up to ~ 75 MPH anyway.

The other thing that gets in the way though is the "singing" of the antenna. Pretty bad at highway speeds. When listening to CDs, or playing an add-on device, of course you don't need the antenna. You can get it to retract through an easy mod, about which there is a thread here ...
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=24564

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a quality sound system, but the fun in a convertible isn't listening to tunes or the radio, it's the openness, hearing your car, and the general road noises. We very seldom have the sound system on when the top is down. A couple of other British convertibles that I owned, never even had radios, and I never missed them, just the fun of driving the convertible was enough to keep me content. I have to agree with seismic guy you probably shouldn't be looking for a convertible.
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

I completely agree with you. I'm on my third convertible now. I've probably put 50,000 miles on those three, and I doubt I've had the radio on more than 10 hours total. On the other hand, in my non-convertible cars, I would go insane if I didn't have my XM to listen to all of the time.

 

Want to thank everybody that responed. Your insight is what I was looking for. I have owned domestic convertibles in the past. Just wanted to see if 10 years of technology has done anything for to make convertibles more liveable as daily drivers. Seismic guy and rcsign, might be right about me and a convertible. Thanks again guys.

 

The one thing that was not pointed out is how remarkably quiet the convertibles are with the top up. Literally, it is as though there is a hard top on the car

 

wcmil--I did not mean to sound as flippant as I did but, to me who had not up until this point ever owned a convertible, the main reason for considering one was the unique open air experience and fun-factor, hence everything else (e.g., wind blowing, being able to talk to passenger, being able to hear radio, etc.) was pretty much secondary. I guess if you have owned a number of convertibles so that the convertible experience was nothing new, then the other issues might be more important.

Kevin--I agree wholeheartedly. My last convertible experience was many years ago when my wife and I were first dating. She had an 1962 Buick Skylark and you always knew you were inside a convertible by appearance and sound. When I first looked inside an XK8 convertible I was astounded how un-convertible like it looked. Then when I drove the car I was surprised to find it was pretty quiet. These features helped me to 'sell' the idea of getting a convertible to my wife.


Doug

 

totally agree!

 

Hi guys,
Just throwing in my 2 cents. I have to agree. I have owned several convertibles. The first one I was really impressed with was a Chrysler LeBaron, 1988 I think. It had a headliner and with the top up, it looked like a coupe on the inside, and was fairly quiet. However, the Jag is the quietest convertible I've ever been in with the top up. There may be others that I'm not familiar with, but, I love this Jag.