Just BOB

So, this question is for those who have owned other bona fide convertibles for comparison to their C4 Coupe.
How does your "Targa Off" cruising experience compare to having the top down on a Camaro, or Sebring or other vert you have owned?
(I have a 94 coupe and my basis of comparison is a '61 Impala, '66 Galaxie, '66 Cutlass, 2 Miatas, 2 Camaros and a Firebird)

Just wondering, is it just me, or...

What are your thoughts on wind, buffeting, cowl shake, etc?

PLRX

I have. I owned a 92 Vert, currently own a 95 DRM, and a 96 CE.

Like I've posted in the past, I will never buy a convertible EVER AGAIN.

92





95




96

corvetteronw

I have owned a 65 vert, 81 vert (it was converted from a coupe) an 87 vert and a 96 vert along with a 58 Impala drop top. They are sure fun to drive around town but the 86 and 91 coupes I have owned are more comfortable to drive on longer trips.
There is nothing like driving a convertible with loud pipes on a twisty back road.

ch@0s

I too prefer the targa, you get the feeling of a convertible without the drawbacks.

blue67ragtop

It kind of depends on how you are going to use your car. I've had 3 C-3 convertibles and have an 88' coupe. For trips the coupe is great because you have the extra space (even with the top stowed) and the car just has a more solid feel than the other convertibles I've owned. I still like the look of the vert though. I like them both.

65GGvert

I decided to try a Miata and bought a 2001 Special Edition six speed. It drove fine, but it was no Corvette. It wound out it each gear with very little increase in speed. I only owned it about 3 months and sold it and bought a 94 Corvette six speed convertible as my "fun" car to go with my 65 coupe. It's been great. I can tell you that the wind buffeting and cowl shake are less on the Corvette than on the Miata, and you know the power difference. The gas mileage isn't really that much different depending on how you drive.
Sorry, didn't intend on writing a review of the difference, but to answer one of your questions, for some reason the wind buffeting with the top down is almost non existent on the Corvette convertible. May be because you sit so low down in the cockpit, but it is definitely less than either the Miata or the 03 anniv convertible I owned before the Miata.
I also owned an 01 targa and the wind buffeting and noise was much worse than the convertibles.

RollaMo-LT4

My '96 with the targa top off has much more wind disturbance and noise than our 2011 Camaro convertible does with the top down.

DinoBob

I have had two Sebrings. I loved having a convertible and probably will have one again someday. But I think the Targa is pretty close overall in feel. If the top came off as easy as one goes down....

Rich Silvestris

Top down/off; my C3 vert had a lot of cowl shake. My C4 coupe has less. My C5 vert has almost none. I don't recall any buffeting issues with the C3. The C4 coupe goes nuts if I put the windows up with the top off; The C5 vert doesn't.
I take the top off whenever I can put up with the outside temps, and it's easier to put the ragtop up and down than it is to replace the targa top to park the car.
Visibility is great in the vert with the top down, but it is miserable (side and rear) with it up. The coupe's visibility doesn't change.
Either one is a hoot to drive.

ZfidyONE-84

my complaint is, I have owned 3 corvettes, 84 coupe, 90 roadster, and 94 roadster.... and mine is with the targa off there is a ton of turbulent air that builds up in the rear hatch area, and the remedy I found was a hatch vent, but to each their own
the 94


my 90


the 84



and yes I do have an affection for factory hardtops

PLRX

Geez...
another marvel for the C4 engineering. I bet those guys graduated last in their classes. Everytime I go under the Vettes, I see weird sh*t welded, or added and I wonder about it's designer.

follow the e-brake cable, and have a free laugh

65Z01

I've owned a Ford and a Mustang rag-top and rented rag-tops each time I traveled to Mesa for work and never noticed any real buffeting. Even my '88 IROC-Z has none with the tops off.

The '88 Vette really buffets a lot, especially noticible in my left ear as I drive with the seat full back.

I've been thinking that a vert Vette would likely have none of that buffeting and earlier comments seem to support that theory.

Txbobcat

I have owned many convertibles in the past. I have three now 92 Vette 70 GTO and a 65 pontiac and I love them all. No targa here

Frizlefrak

I've never driven a C4 Vert, but the coupe with the targa off drives like a bucket of wet noodles. My old '84 actually felt more rigid with the top off than my '95 does. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had the top off of either during the daytime. Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, too windy in the spring.

Summer nights in the desert, however, are prime top off cruising.

PLRX

Do it with the hood open, but down, and you will see how "stiff" it is. The funny thing is
that this frame would stand/hold on 3 jack stands.

JimGnitecki

I have had 2 C4 convertibles: a 1995 model back in that timeframe, and a 1992 model now.

Nice things about the C4 convertible:

- It's like being on a motorcycle with the top down - see, feel, & smell everything
- Really easy to put top down or up
- Looks great with the top down
- Looks REALLY great with the top up
- Stays cooler than the coupe whether parked or in motion, because way less glass area
- Less weathersealing footage to (a) maintain and (b) replace when needed
- Visibility is astonishingly good if you just set up and use all 3 mirrors (no kidding!)


Not so great things about the C4 convertible:

- Not very rigid - lots of creaks and groans on bumpy roads
- Wind noise is noticeably louder than in a coupe
- The sound system is less effective due to wind noise
- Very little cargo space, with top either up or down
- Cargo space is hard to get to
- Very hard to get larger items in or out of the cargo area
- Hard to get ANY items in and out of the cargo area
- Don't leave anything valuable inside - anyone with a knife can get in in seconds and without making a lot of noise

Having said all that, note that:

1. The C4 convertibles sold for WAY more money than the coupes did, and yet sold like hotcakes, so I guess most people prefer them, all things considered, despite the higher cost and disadvantages, which tells you something

2. I personally dislike the look of the coupe, STRONGLY preferring the appearance of the convertible with the top UP, over the coupe. It's the primary reason I bought a convertible. I even had a 2002 Z06 coupe, and it just never wove the magic for me that the convertibles do.

Jim G

maddogwyatt

I just wish my 93 vert had quaterlights, so that I could drive with the windows down over 30mph

ZfidyONE-84

???

JimGnitecki

In England and in some tech fields, "windows" are called "lights". I think he means he had quarter window vents, like older cars used to, to help keep turbulence down.

Jim G

maddogwyatt

Yes that's right. 1/4 light is English for 1/4 vent. Sorry, thought it was the same in the US. Great for killing turbulence. I wonder if anyone makes a clip-on deflector that looks o.k? When I was a kid in the '60's you could get some that worked great but looked awful!!