Wind-Deflector / Wind Shield

[adrians]

HI All,

I'm thinking about purchasing a Wind Deflector / Wind Shield for my '81 Spider.

Anyone got any experiences with the various models/manufacturers offering on the web ?

I want it to stay in situ when the roof is up.

Thanks in advance

AdrianS

[aj81spider]

I have the one from AutoRicambi. Easy to install. The top can go over it, but you need to hold it in place with one hand as you pull the top by it.

I'm very satisfied with it. A pretty easy install and does the job well.

[njoconnor]

I have the A/R deflector as well, and second AJ's comments on install and use. Does an excellent job of calming turbulence, especially with longer hair (not mine, btw... ) . It's my spouse's second favorite upgrade to the 72 (the first being the yellow Koni's....)

Neil

[joelittel]

+1 on everything said.

To date this might be the only upgrade my wife says she loves.

[dinghyguy]

I saw on another post a Plexiglas one made by one owner that basically is clipped on the back of the seats with bungies or something nicer around the headrest support rods. I was going to try that since plexi is cheap, easy to cut and finish (lightly flame the edges and they look great) and is see through as well. My plan is to make a cardboard template to get the size right so the roof will close and then proceed.

On our recent cross country trip we tried something with a large bit of cardboard and had two observations. First it needs to be high enough to block the view through the mirror to be effective, and second there was a lot of wind came between the seats below the cardboard. My next cardboard test will be from the bottom of the seatbacks up to the underside of the interior of the roof.

if you just have the parcel shelf, or don't want the back seat, you could even fab something which sits in back, houses your big amps and speakers, provides storage, and supports the wind deflector too.

dinghyguy

[Slartibartfaster]

I too made a plexiglass panel (for my old MX-5) and found that it worked well with velcro straps on the headrest posts - though the seats have to stay in the same plane. From a safety perspective this is probably the wrong materiel. If you go this way I highly recommend dinghyguy's idea of prototyping with cardboard variations first.

[adrians]

Thanks for all the replies, which one of the two models AR sell are we referring to?

$209.00US

https://autoricambi.us/collections/acce ... hind-seats

Or

$140.00US

https://autoricambi.us/collections/acce ... bi-special

To either of these have a horizontal section as well like this :
( We have a Golf Cabriolet that used a two part wind deflector )
(Stock Photo)

[joelittel]

I think there's one on eBay with the horizontal section.

I've been toying with the idea of making a boot cover that covers the entire back seat area and connects to the wind screen.

There's a German company that sells a nice one.

[spidernut]

I designed the hardware for the economy screen ($139) that Autoricambi sells. Unfortunately, they can only get the curved top on the windscreen as shown in their photo. It works just as well as the more rectangular one available through Raceland.com (originally made for a Miata), but the center of the curved windscreen blocks the vision out the rearview mirror.

In my opinion, this screen works better because it doesn't block the view out the mirror, but also doesn't look as good on the car: https://raceland.com/mazda-coilovers/mi ... ocker.html

When adjusted properly, it will easily clear the convertible top. If you don't tighten the hardware properly, the screen will tilt forward into the back of your head when driving or will hit the top itself. The nuts need to be tightened enough to ensure it doesn't tilt forward. and adjusted vertically to fit your car. I put a lot of adjustment capability in the hardware.

Neither windscreen provides the horizontal section that covers the back seat. There is some wind that comes between the front seats with the wind deflector up. I haven't found it to be too much, but my wife doesn't like it on colder days.

Hope that helps.

[scusi]

We use a very large Golden Retriever in the back seat.

[Kingme2]

We use a very large Golden Retriever in the back seat.

Can also be used to prevent small items disappearance from the front seat.

[scusi]

That only works, if the thief does not have a ball.