This thread may not be exactly what you thought!!!

2001 Jaguar XKR Convertible Wind-Dam

My wife drives me crazy sometimes, you know when the weather is perfect and she say's "you need to put the top up, it is blowing my hair".

My top is down 90 % of the time, less than 115 degrees and not raining the top is down.. Except of course for those nights out with the wife when her hair looks particularly good and in here case all the time, she DOES NOT WANT HER HAIR MESSED WITH !

If your Wife/lady has a butch hair-cut (Demi Moore/ GI Jane) you may stop reading now! This thread won't concern you :-)

Ok with that said, I decided to create and build a add-on piece that would significantly cut down on the wind factor in the cabin when the top is down. (Hopefully!)

I call it a Wind-Dam, for lack of a better name. But it is descriptive.

I started with a piece of foam insulation and glued several pieces together and started carving. It took a couple days or so to come up with the basic design and another couple weeks to get the finished product, which is fiberglassed and painted with trim black paint and UV matte clear coat for a professional looking finish.

The Wind-Dam connects to the windshield frame exactly the same way the convertible top does and it takes about 5 seconds to connect or release the Wind-Dam in place. It is very secure, as it uses the same plate that has the hook and 2 guide pins to put the convertible top in a closed position using the convertible top close/open push button on console . I have had it in place for 3 months now, no hydraulic problems, the convertible top sensors think the top is in closed position even though it is not. The dash message cell will say "convertible top not latched" for about 2 minutes during install then goes out, each time unit is removed and then reinstalled.

The Wind-Dam came out quite well. Looks good and works great. IMHO!

The Jaguar convertible top Wind-Dam does several things.

#1. Of course it cuts down on the wind in the cabin area (about 85%) IMHO! I can place a single piece of paper in passenger seat at 75 MPH and it does not move !!! and yes, there is still some wind but not nearly as much, windy weather will not help things either. It is a noticeable major improvement but certainly not perfect, for that you will need a Demi Moore cut, the top closed and windows up!

#2. Cut down on wind noise at ear level considerably (less wind passing the ear), makes for easier conversation and much better sound quality from stereo.
Even the hands off microphone for the phone system works much better.

#3. becomes a sun visor for the early morning and late afternoon hours. cuts out the sun for about 3 hours in morning and dusk. (of course depends on time of year and your location)

#4. keeps the cabin warmer or cooler, less air movement means A/C or heated air stays in cabin better when top down.

#5. and of course it keeps my wife much happier.. she does not need the top up anymore unless of couse there is imclemnant weather her choice.
The wind is cut down that much!

30 to 80 MPH no problem!

With the Wind-Dam in place the front windows, rear windows rolled up (WhiteXKR upgrade,Thx.) and rear windscreen in place it is like a cocoon with much less air/wind movement and that creates significantly less wind and a much quieter cabin.

I have included some pictures for your perusal.
I think the Wind-Dam actually looks good in place as if it was a factory part and it actually works better than anticipated.

I would not want it even if it worked perfect but looked out of place.
My wife is happy, which makes me and my Jag Convertible HAPPY

Ok, now for your opinions and/or questions.

If I get good response from the forum members I am thinking about producing them in quantity. I don't have a good idea as to the final cost of each Wind-Dam unit but I think in the neighborhood of 325 to 375 finished in matte black ready to use right out of box. No installation of extra parts. Molds need to be created, fiberglass, finish work, painting and shipping and of course quanity will all go into the final cost.

I have thought of doing it in body color but I really think color would stick out too much and the black fits in with the frame plate and other black or dark finishes. Not needing a different color will significantly save money and end user receives a finished and ready to use product. If one wants, they can have the Wind-Dam painted in their choice of color at a later date .

I am interested in your thoughts, good or otherwise. Don't worry I am very happy with being the only one with such a item for my Jaguar, but if others like the idea, it would be fun and an honor to have created something that can be used and appreciated by other Jaguar convertible owners.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

You can make your thoughts public on the forum, you can PM me thru the forum or if not a forum member yet please email at vettegood@aol.com


And remember
Happy Motoring...

Just double click on each picture to enlarge. They are big for detail.
Thank you,
Mitchell

 

It is both attractive and discrete. Nice job!

 

I found a cheaper solution. it's called a Baseball Cap.

 

I have to say that looks pretty slick and almost OEM. I was wondering how you actually install. Obviously you lower the top using the switch but then how do you get the Wind Jammer (what I would call it) to latch on to the header? If you push the switch won't the top want to come back up?

Doug

 

When did you marry my wife? In a 100,000 miles of driving my convertible with the top down at least 360 days per year, I believe my wife has been in it with the top down once! Can you either ship me one or better yet, can I ship you my wife?

 

Good one Ted! Since I finally had the top down after Queen's English, I kept it down until a few days ago. During that time I actually got my wife to be in the car two days in a row with the top down!

Doug

 

I'm guessing you hold up, but don't let the top go all the way up (as soon as you start raising the top, the latch extends, at least on mine), insert the "Wind Jammer", then hold down until the top is all the way back down.

 

I had a Corvette Convertible in a very similar brown (U69 Medium Brown Metallic) and absolutely loved the color. Your Roman Bronze looks VERY similar. Love the color!!!

 

I keep my wife happy, by not telling her what I spend on my cats.......It works on other toys as well. The secret of a car lover's happy marriage is to LIE. Kinda sad, but when I mortgaged the house to buy the 928S in 83, I learned this valuable lesson. She is clueless as to what it takes to keep these things alive, so why cause her any pain. If she asks what something costs, I just say around a hundred dollars, because anything on a Jag can be around a hundred dollars. It just matters as to how large your range is. I take care of the bills, so no one needs to be the wiser. I think she has the same thing happening about purses, shoes, and shopping in general....Be cool.....Mike

 

Wonderful job. Looks very professional. You should move forward with production.

 

Superb, great job, looks almost OEM


Great write up too, wouldn't bet against getting a few orders!

 

That is some beautiful job you did. Looks totally OEM to me.
Notice you have a rear seat wind deflector, also. How does the Air Dam perform without the deflector.
P.S. WindJammer, while a great name, is a trademark of Vetter motorcycle fairings.

 

The workmanship looks very refined, nice work. I do Note you have a windscreen as well, with it down how is the 'turbulence' in the cockpit?
Just curious as to how just he dam works by itself.

Maybe you can ask you wife to star in a Jagforums video demo !
We could get a kickstarter project to pay to get her hair redone!

 

Looks good Mitchell, nice work!

Same question as above, I assume this is used as a supplement to the rear deflector?

 

Yes please.

Ship one to Oz

Does someone do an upgrade where you can override the rear windows to come up, independent of the top?

Pete

 

Funnilly enough that has been covered!

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...op-down-37826/

 

Hello to all,

ok first thanks for the nice comments.

Answers to questions.

Question#1.

The Wind-Dam is put in place and removed very easily. The convertible button on the center console is pushed down the latch comes up immediately because it thinks you are putting the top down then it senses the top is in the down position and the latch then retracts into the top pillar when pushing continually or again.

When you raise the latch the first you push the down button is when you slide the Wind-Dam's hook into the latch and align the two pins on either side and then push the down button again and now the wind-Dam is locked in place. As I said previously the dash cell light will say "convertible top not latched" for about 1 ½ minutes or so but it is quite secure then the light goes off and will not come back on until the unit is removed and replaced.

This install and removal of Wind-Dam takes about 5 seconds either way.

Question #2.

Ok, I have done some testing with the Wind-Dam in place with the rear seat windscreen.
The absolute best case scenario is with all pieces in place the windows in the up position front and back, the windscreen mounted in rear seat area and the wind-Dam in place.

But when tested with the wind screen taken out the equation the wind factor did not change much, the single ply napkin still stayed in place on passenger seat and I could not really tell much of a difference, this actually surprised me a bit!

My thinking for this is that the Wind-Dam actually changes the path of the air passing over it so that it actually goes past the rear seats and hits the trunk area thus it really does not make a big difference with the windscreen in place.

Of course I do not have a wind tunnel with smoke to attest to this hypothesis to actually see how the air reacts to the Wind-Dam. So this is all conjecture on my part.

I can say I think there is a definite and positive difference with the Wind-Dam in place with or without the rear windscreen and does not make a big difference either way.

The other plus, Wind-Dam is good for taller people I would suspect. I am about 6 foot and my forehead is pretty much level with horizontal pillar if you were taller you would actually be directly hit with wind.
With the air passing over the Wind-Dam it would raise the wind as to not hit a taller person directly in the head.

I hope this answers your questions.
Thanks,
Mitchell

And remember
Happy Motoring...

 

Great Job Mitchel. As an Aero Engineer I appreciate good aerodynamics. Be nice to put that in a wind tunnel and flow some smoke over it.

My solution was a little different. Took my wife to a spiffy boutique and let her buy this sexy cap to protect her hair and look great at the same time.

 

That has always worked for me......

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by EZDriver

My solution was a little different. Took my wife to a spiffy boutique and let her buy this sexy cap to protect her hair and look great at the same time.

mrplow58
That has always worked for me......

rperformance
I found a cheaper solution. it's called a Baseball Cap.
************************************************** *


Ok very well you guys, but what about if she really likes the hat (presumably she does, if not let it fly) and since you bought it a "Spiffy Boutique" it probably cost a few dollars, she will be concerned about the wind blowing it off, thus holding it on with her hands and not really enjoying the drive or listening to you talk and when she does let go for a second it flies off and then you stop and turn around to go get it and just before you bend down to pick it up another car drives over it!!!

Not to mention the indentation the hat (cap) leaves in the hair and of course it is considerably flatter than when she left home. Just saying...
she might even feel everyone is looking at her while eating dinner in that fancy restaurant !
Just saying...

even baseball caps aren't cheap these days!

Ps. All in fun...

LOL!!!
and remember
Happy Motoring...