Should i worry about rain?

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:04 pm

Evening all,

Because i'm a new boy i've posted a few threads on various things that i'm not sure about and you've all been very helpful so far. Sorry, but here's another one.

My S2 is my only car and i use it every day. I don't have a garage unfortunately and i can't fit it into my flat. The weather is turning pants and i was wondering whether i should invest in a car cover to keep the rain off. Would using one help to prevent dramas or will it just attract undesireables who want to 'have a peek'?

Any thoughts?

tut · Post by **tut** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:09 pm

Ron

As regards your roof leaking, tis a suck it and see situation. On my S1, one roof leaks at the right front corner, common problem, but the other is watertight.

Not sure about the S2, but believe that it could be the same.

tut

Post by ed » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:10 pm

a shower cap wouldnt hurt, but i reckon a full cover attracts the wrong attention....

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:19 pm

tut wrote:Ron

As regards your roof leaking, tis a suck it and see situation. On my S1, one roof leaks at the right front corner, common problem, but the other is watertight.

Not sure about the S2, but believe that it could be the same.

tut

No it's only my soft top that leaks a bit. I make sure the hard top is in bad weather and it's watertight. I was more thinking about lots of rain getting in the front and back vents and whether it was an issue over time.

But yeah, a cover could attract the wrong attention and make people feel less guilty about reversing into it because they can't see the damage.

I never worried about anything like this with my last car. It was a tank.

MacK · Post by **MacK** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:20 pm

My S2 lives outside all the time too.

Recently I have noticed some 'damp' behind the seets, evident when looking at the map

There is no obvious signs of where the water is getting in, but as I don't use it everyday I'm assuming some of it could be due to dampness building up over the week, then I find it at the weekend.

Auto-Glym do a good roof cleaner/waterproofer which I've used a couple of times, others recommend a tent water-proofer like 'fabsil' (sp)

GregR · Post by **GregR** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:25 pm

Ron, like me you bought your elise in the fastest colour

I had similar concerns last winter (including rain getting into the engine bay, freezing etc) so invested in a full car cover. I will be keeping it in the cupboard for evermore for the following reasons:-

1. can only fit the car when it is spotlessly clean and dry. If fitted to a slightly unwashed car, the grit etc gets rubbed into the paintwork by a buffeting cover and causes scratches. Bad scratches.
2. its never dry when you want to put your cover on, so it stays off (unless you by a hyper expensive one that you can when wet). However, the same prob as point 1 applies.

The cars don't leak that much tbh. The only concern you may have is a damp botty when getting in, so keep a towel behind the seat. Its not as if the rain can do any harm to the cabin - what's there to rust?!

For general winter info, check out:-

http://www.deeperbeige.com/site/sensibl ... /index.php

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:31 pm

GregR wrote:Ron, like me you bought your elise in the fastest colour

The only concern you may have is a damp botty when getting in, so keep a towel behind the seat.

Greg in damp botty shocker...

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:48 pm

Cheers gregr,

You've got a black elise in edinburgh! I've only ever seen 2 others (1 S1 and 1 S2). I saw the S1 in the west end and stopped to admire it while a queue of traffic built up behind me. I think they understood though and could see there was a bond.

Thanks for the tips. The cabins usually fine and i think the engine/rad can take a bit of dampness.

Blaque · Post by **Blaque** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:18 pm

Just remember to scoop the snow out of the top radiator vent before starting too

Andy G · Post by **Andy G** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:28 pm

Hi Ron

I had mine outside loads in Edinburgh, and have never had it leak. Worth treating the roof and checking the seals on it.

Post by **simon** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:10 pm

Make sure the windows are aligned to the soft top instead of the hard top. The hard top does not fit in exactly the same position so the windows need to be adjusted when you swap over to prevent one of them leaking. Also, MY04 cars have a new drip catching seal at the top of the windscreen surround, you could find out about getting that retro-fitted.

robin · Post by **robin** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:23 pm

Ron wrote: I was more thinking about lots of rain getting in the front and back vents and whether it was an issue over time.

The S2 has plug-top coils and a solid cover over the top of the engine; this works to keep most moisture out of the HT regions, but condensation will still form under the cover, so never bone dry. I think you should be just fine, though - I never had a problem with my old S2 when I kept it outside (though mostly garaged).

The S1 has a bad design of spark plug cover that can allow moisture to flood the spark plug bores and prevent starting and/or cause rough running. It's worse on some cars than others. I did have quite a lot of problems with one of my S1's when it got jet washed ....

Robin

tut · Post by **tut** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:38 pm

Ron

My car spends most of its time outside in the weather, and as you can see, it has never really suffered from it.

tut

Mr Momo · Post by **Mr Momo** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:59 pm

No garage - out all year.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 4:09 pm

Cheers for the re-assurance and awesome photos. I now know the car is not only beautiful to look at but tough aswell. Like a mechanical version of Angelina Jolie.