All this week the Weather Channel has told us there is a 30% chance of afternoon thundershowers. Yesterday we put the top up and it worked merely to ward off the rain. Today I used the cockpit cover and it acted as a rain magnet.
Not too long after our lunchtime walk the skies opened up big time. It didn’t look too bad during the walk, so I was surprised by the intensity that I heard on the roof over my head at my desk. It rained hard for at least 30 minutes. The cover has saved the Miata interior on several occasions in the past, but it has always been on the old car. It fits the new one alright, but because the seats stick up a little higher (Surfboard Fan Club maybe?) there is a slight gap left near the windows. I was worried that this might lead to less protection for the interior.
While it was raining lightly I borrowed an umbrella and made my way out to the north forty to see what I could see. When I peeked under the edge at the inside it looked perfectly dry. Instead of just walking away I decided to put the top up. During the brief seconds the inside was unprotected, between tossing off the cover and raising the roof, a little water managed to get in, but it was dry by the time we walked out to go home at 4:00.
When we got home I stuck the cockpit cover in the dryer on low and dried it out. It shrunk a little, but I have it stretched over the car now to help it get back to normal. I just hope that spinning experience hasn’t diminished the water repellency…