Zombie_OverDrive907

I live in Alaska, gonna relocate in Pheonix next year. Getting a Z28 soon.

Is the T-top a good thing to keep cool or will my forehead just get sun burned and will it just let all the friggin' HOT air in the cabin?

Looking forward to the sun and hot weather but starting to think the T-tops may be a bad idea...

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

TTops are great. but so is AC.

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

I use to own a z28 when I was stationed at Fort. Rich. Alaska. I would say at those temperatures your best bet would be AC...

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

You will have both, so why not leave the T-tops on when it's too hot out, and take them off when it's nice? They're great on warm evenings when the sun is down, btw. With the sunshades on, a t-top car is no warmer inside than a hardtop.

I don't take mine off if the sun is out and it's much more than about 80 degrees. So you might not use them all that much in Phoenix. But when the weather is right, they're unbeatable. Why not have the best of both worlds - open air cruising and cold A/C?

McGinnis

I live near Phoenix and it rarely gets 120 degrees. In the summer it's usually more like 105 degrees maybe 110 occasionally. I don't like t-tops off when it's over 90 degrees it'sd not any fun then. I would recommend sun shades for you t-tops. The ones that velcro under the t-topes themselves. It will help keep you from getting bad sunburn when driving your car and keep it cooler inside. Also you may want to look into getting some window tint. Make sure you AC is charged too. I have a black 1999 Firebird and once cooled off it will keep cool with 3/4 fan speed in 110 degree weather. These cars have a very powerful AC when functioning properly.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Agreed.

No matter how hot the sun is, it's only out for half the day and during that period it's only hottest during the middle of the day. Use the sunshades for daytime driving and you'll never know the difference between that and a hardtop in terms of interior heat. Then at night or in the morning, you have the option to remove the roof.

FWIW, it can get up to 105 degrees here in Chicago, though the summer norm is usually more like upper 80s/lower 90s on the hottest days. It's also quite humid here compared to AZ. On these hotter days, my preference would be to use A/C but in the evening the t-tops come off instead. Feels great on a warm summer night.

Nathan C

Window tint would also be a good idea if you don't already have it.

Zombie_OverDrive907

Thanks for all the advice and comments guys. I loved the idea of T-tops until I remembered how hot it got it was even just a month ago down there. I really like the idea of cruising in the cooler air with the top down vs the Scorching hot temps of the afternoon. I plan on road tripping often to Southern California with my girl and her siblings as well quite frequently during the summer ( worst idea ever lol due to the heat in the dessert ) but I have always wanted something cool like a Camaro to do it in, as it's always been a renal lol.

At first I thought it would be weird to open the T-tops with all the hot air, running the AC and all that cool air just going out into the atmosphere. I will tint the tops and use the velcro trick to keep even cooler. My heads is clean shaven and I'd imagine it'll just get sun burned without the tint!

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

I live in similar weather conditions to phoenix (110*+), and i wouldnt worry as much about the t-tops. As mentioned before, just buy the shades if you dont have them and youll be set. I find myself hardly removing them throughout the year, but when the weather does get nice, youll love taking them off.

What really bothers me the most are leather seats. Where i work, the parking space has no shade and the seats are really hot when you get in the car. I have a ws6 and they only came in leather if im not mistake, so im considering some comfy aftermarket cloth or suede seats.

Another thing is also having a good working ac unit in the car. Without it, you wont enjoy your car at all.

Window tint is a big plus, but depending on local laws, you might not be able to keep them tinted long. Here in cali, they made me remove the tint a week after putting it on.

I hope this helps

Zombie_OverDrive907

It's not so much soaking my forehead in the sun as it is letting all that heat and humidity into the cabin with the T-top off lol

With the tips given though, it really is the best idea to keep them on and blast the A/C. I actually always wanted a convertible but T-tops are also cool.

You're not kidding about the leather. I thought about upgrading to leather as well, but I figure it's not a good idea to jump into hot sun baked seats lol

What part of So Cal are you from? I just got back from visiting L.A. and parts of Buena Park ( Knotts Berry Farms FTW!), it was 98 degrees the 2nd day I was there.. I miss it a lot!

It's been 25-28 degrees all morning for us Northerner's..

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Humidity? In Pheonix? "High" humidity there is like 10%. Haha. If you want heat and humidity, try Louisiana or the Texas gulf coast or something along those lines.

Leather wasn't much of an "upgrade" on these cars, IMO. I was always disappointed with the quality of it compared to the cloth, in the long term. F-body leather was not very high quality. The other downside is dealing with it in the hottest and coldest of temps when the car is parked outside. The weather here in Chicago can range from -20°F in the winter to +100°F in the summer, so either way I always prefer cloth for a car that's going to sit outside.

Zombie_OverDrive907

Holy crap.. that's 10% to you guys? lol I must be a real Alaskan then

Us Northerners, the air is so crisp and clear, I leave for a bit and it's always a culture shock in terms of weather.

I think you may be right about the leather seats. Even the ones that are upgradable look kinda weird to me. The hot/cold issue is also an issue I hadn't really thought of since owning cloth seats for so long. One place on Ebay I found actually had some nice looking seats, quality was questionable though... but it looked cool lol

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

Im in imperial valley. I lived in san diego for a while and it was a completely different world tho. Here i ended up selling my motorcycle cus i couldnt enjoy the weather lol

The only upside is that you dont have to smog the car more than once

Zombie_OverDrive907

Different like how? I never been there to SanD...

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

I almost never have my t-tops ON. But I do so few miles and drive so infrequently. I also have the AC blasting in the summer with them off. You get a cool breeze coming from the dash even doing 80. I am a flip flop bum in the summer so it also keeps my feet cool. It just feels good to have open air above your head. And yeah, you will get sun burned. Scalp burn sucks cuz if you have hair - i do - you cant do much about it. Preventing or treating. Now I have a hat.

Zombie_OverDrive907

lol that sounds like my plans exactly.. we have long drives out to the Valley, ocean side and the Mountains... music blasting, exhaust roaring.. it's gonna be a hoot!

The air is so cool up here, I might not even run the AC.

Do you get people heckling or acting like *** hats with the top down? I have this picture of people shooting spit wads or trying to start crap with me with the top down

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

No, never. That thought hasn't crossed my mind. Although I did get bird S on one of my seats once. Took me a minute to figure out what it was, then duh.... oh yeah. Came right off with water and a rag.

Zombie_OverDrive907

at least you weren't eating fries with ranch dip, thinking it was something else on your seats

lol yeah, I guess it's the T-Tops and too many cheesy 80's movies I've seen puts odd thoughts in my head..

swoop

iTrader: (1)

As mentioned before, get sun shades for the T tops, dark window tint helps too. I drove mine in 126 degrees when I lived in AZ, car handled it fine. Make sure your A/C works well.

Firebrian

Many Z28 or Firebird T-Top cars will still have the factory sun shades with the car when you buy it. There's no real need to tint the T-Top panels if you have the shades. A fabric dash protector would be nice when parked in the AZ heat. The dashes are known to crack and AZ heat is high up on the list for exposure. Note too that in that heat the roof sail panels on these cars (built after March/April 1998) almost always bubble and blister. Unless you find a car built earlier in 1998 or a later model year where the roof panel has been properly replaced (not re-painted) you'll have to deal with this problem.

You can get Formulas, Z28 and Camaro SS's with cloth interior as those were standard. The 1998-2000 WS6 formula's could be had in cloth. For an Arizona car I'd want the cloth. The original owner of my SS opted for cloth just because of hot seats in the summer time. And as far as being wearable? The cloth interior in my '98 Z28 had no tears or obvious wear spots at 115K miles. But, I was very careful getting in and out that car. And 50% of those miles were highway. You could always go the convertible route as well.