SL/R129: Time to put the hard top on
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,181
Likes: 75
From: Abbotsford, BC, Canada
1999 SL 500 & 2011 E 550 4Matic
Time to put the hard top on
This was our first summer of owning a convertible. What a great summer it was!
Top down 99% of the three days a week that we drove her. What a joy it has been.
We bought the SL in Dec 2002. What finally cured my wife's buyer's remourse? Not horse power, not tourque, not handeling, not safety ... primarily the fact that she got vitamine D on our weekend drives! Who would have thought?
The seasons and weather have turned to the point that sunny or even cloudy warm days without rain are very few and far between.
We concidered going all winter with the soft top. But over the past two or three weeks the road noise with top up out weighs the few top down days we can hope to have from here on in.
So, we will be putting the hard top on today.
At least it is a panorama roof, which really gives an open feeling. 
I cant wait till spring arrives next year!
Top down 99% of the three days a week that we drove her. What a joy it has been.
We bought the SL in Dec 2002. What finally cured my wife's buyer's remourse? Not horse power, not tourque, not handeling, not safety ... primarily the fact that she got vitamine D on our weekend drives! Who would have thought?
The seasons and weather have turned to the point that sunny or even cloudy warm days without rain are very few and far between.
We concidered going all winter with the soft top. But over the past two or three weeks the road noise with top up out weighs the few top down days we can hope to have from here on in.
So, we will be putting the hard top on today.
At least it is a panorama roof, which really gives an open feeling. I cant wait till spring arrives next year!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,447
Likes: 14
From: UK
SL55 AMG
I agree it's best to put the hard top on for winter. Here in the UK, I put in on 1 November and take it off 1 March which pretty much catches fine Autumn and Spring days. It's good too to protect the soft top from the winter climate.
A word of caution - never raise or lower the soft top when it's very cold (near freezing). The plastic windows can become brittle and crack.
A word of caution - never raise or lower the soft top when it's very cold (near freezing). The plastic windows can become brittle and crack.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,181
Likes: 75
From: Abbotsford, BC, Canada
1999 SL 500 & 2011 E 550 4Matic
We got lucky this weekend and snached a couple of top down driving days from the clutches of winter.
Just running around town doing errands.
8 to 11 degrees celsius outside & sunney. Heater on at 25 degrees blowing at our feet and out the mid level dash outlets. Quite comfy even at highway speeds.
There are fewer convertibles arround at this time of year. We get a little more attention, which can be amusing.
Just running around town doing errands.
8 to 11 degrees celsius outside & sunney. Heater on at 25 degrees blowing at our feet and out the mid level dash outlets. Quite comfy even at highway speeds.
There are fewer convertibles arround at this time of year. We get a little more attention, which can be amusing.
