Can I make a couple requests (I tend to analyze things to death before I spend money. . . ):

1) Brownflyer, there are several pictures that you've posted in this thread and in your gallery, but you've made a number of changes. Can you post pic's of the newest design, ideally with some annotations to show what you've done, how it installs, etc.? Sort of a cheap and dirty brochure.
2) Testers, lots of good input, but can you report back in a month or 2 with an update on how it appears to be holding up after a few summer months of usage? Initial quality sounds good, but one advantage of the OE windscreen is that I know the engineers tested the thing like crazy, I would like some confirmation of durability of the aftermarket one, as it does sound very promising.

Thanks!

 

I think it looks great so far, one question that no one else has asked thus far is about cleaning. I am sure that I am not the only one with the OEM windscreen who has gone to clean and noticed how filthy that screen gets. Have you had any thoughts or ideas of how to clean this windscreen?

Also, I think this sounds like a great value for the money, and if you don't already have an OEM windscreen or even if you do and want something different, this alternative to OEM prices seem supurb!!

I never have anyone or anything in my back seat, unless it is a special occasion, but this seems terriffic for anyone with kiddos.

 

I wonder if this would work for my MR2 Spyder.....

 

If I had a dog, I'd buy it for my hard top MINI. Great product.

 

IndyDave - I will post a "how to" brochure with close up pix once I take all the pics.

KTsMom - When my kids are back there they get it dirty with their shoes, so I clean it with a very diluted mixture of soap (tide non bleach). I get the rag nice and damp and use one hand as support as to be able to apply pressure to the screen. Make sure the rag doesn't have anything that can snag on the material. It works very well.

MaxN - PM sent

ChicagoMini - Get a dog, pleeeease...

 

Ev,

I just received my screen and couldn't wait to get it installed! I went out and put it in, very nice fit and installed in 5 min. I'll post up some reviews after I give it a good shake over the next few days!

Thanks for getting it out to me so fast, second day means second day with you man! Sent Friday, received Mon morning. Couldn't be happier with you so far!

 

I have read through the thread and am wondering if there is any kind of adjustment/ special ordering of size allowance since when my husband gets in Cecilia with me our seats are at different possitions. (I'm 5'8" and he is 6'2") with the seat all the way back and reclined a little bit, and I am obviously a bit further up in the seat position.

And also am wondering if (what the cost would be) a zipper can be placed on the drivers side as well, or actually since I would be the only one accessing the back, if it could be switched to the drivers side instead of the passenger side?

This sounds like a great product, and since I would love to be able to afford a wind deflector, as well as access the back seats, am interested in hearing people's continuing updates and reviews!

 

Hi MININurse,
The zipper can be relocated to the driver's side with no problems.

As for the seat positions, the windscreen can be made with adjusters in all 4 elastic straps. This would allow you to position the seats differently w/o overstressing the elastic by adjusting the tension. Keep in mind thou, that the windscreen does have its limitations. The upper portion of the screen where it connects to both headrest can only be stretched so far. We cannot build to much slack here otherwise the material in that area will be too loose.
The upper portion has a measurement of about 21" (headrest to headrest) and as long as the seats are in that general range you'll have no problems.

A few of the testers made a reference to this and the only drawback is that it looks a bit ackward. You might want to PM the testers about this and get their input.

I will try to posts a pic on this to show how far apart the seats can be set from each other.

 

From my limited testing with it today I can tell you this much:
The seat movement from driver to driver was a concern (Because my wife wanted to take my baby tonight )
I'm 6 feet tall, my wife is 5'7" we went out and she moved the seat where she needs to have it to drive. I left the passenger seat where it always is as far back as it can go. The windscreen moved just fine to where she needed the seat in order to drive the car. It just moved forward and I didn't see any undue stress on the material at all. She needs to move the seat forward a good 5-6 inches. It didn't even look to weird either which of course is another concern

 

I am going to "sticky" this thread as many of us as Cabrio owners either have not purchased due to various reasons or in my case " I broke mine" trying to fold it.

In my opinion, the wind screen looks much easier to operate than the factory wind screen. This is a great asset for us mechanically impaired Cabrio owners.

Lois

 

That's too funny Lois. A couple of weekends ago, I attended the MiniMania event in Nevada City. There, I met a nice gal and her Mini Cabrio. She had purchased the OEM windscreen over 8 months ago and had it put on. Well, it just so happenned that nobody could get the screen off, not even the salepeople at the Mini dealership. So, she had been driving with it on ever since. I just had to do my good deed for the day and showed her how to remove it.

By the way, I also broke my two retaining pins on my OEM one.

 

Do any testers there have long hair? Does your hair get caught in the mesh? Also, has anyone seen it on a Sidewalk? I'm wondering how it looks on the brown leather seats.

Thanks!

 

Hey Wabbit,
I found a vinyl that looks very close to the Sidewalk leather interior. I can get a sample and ship it out to you so you can compare. I also have the off-white thread that goes with the piping on the sidewalk.

That would look HOT!!!

 

Hi Wabbit,

I have long hair (well, about 3" below my shoulders). No, it doesn't get caught in the mesh, or the velcro.

Tig

 

Thanks, Tig. Maybe you know how much hair of mine has been eaten up by the seatbelt rollers and windows in my present car! It seems to get stuck in everything.

Thanks for the offer of the sample but I haven't even found a dealer with either what I want in stock or a slot open to order it for me, so I'd have to take it over to the dealership here in town (too long a wait to get from them) to compare it to a Sidewalk. We've found one Astro Black and a couple of Pepper Whites but most all of the Sidewalks out there are Sparkling Silver. I must have BRG! ;-))

Thanks for your help, everyone. I'll for sure be buying this wind deflector if the color is even close to a match.

Marilyn

 

Now all I need is a tonneau cover with two Golden Retriever sized holes in it to let the heads poke out but keep the dog bodies inside the car! I don't know if doggie seat belts work with the back seats folded down.

The classic British sports cars my dad had when I was a kid all had tonneau covers that could cover the unused seats when you were driving. But I don't see them for or on modern convertibles. Isn't it up to MINI owners (and maybe someone who has enough entrepreneurial spirit to make his own aftermarket windscreen, hint hint!) to revive this time-honoured piece of motoring equipment? The question is where and how to place the snaps.

Marilyn

 

it looks like we have real alternative to the OEM windscreen! Not just a remake/knockoff of an OEM design. Very creative brownflyer & associate

I've had my OEM windscreen for a year now and I'm very happy with it. But I was also waiting for reviews to be posted on this screen. I really like the constructive feedback so far. I'm hoping someone locally will get one so I can see it first-hand. Otherwise, I might have to get one myself

 

Now THAT is a GREAT idea! I would buy such a cover for Blimey - if someone could figure out how to make it work... attachment method and the protruding rear headrests/hoops would be problematic, I think...

 

Come down for a visit I just ordered one

Lois

 

I've got the factory wind blocker and love it. One advantage is that it covers a lot of the back seat and I can throw stuff back there with the top down (jackets, hats, packages) and the wb acts like a partial tonneau cover to keep stuff from blowing out. I keep it installed all the time. It should also be obvious to the casual observer that people don't sit in my back seat! I would like to have some sort of version of this after market design that would cut down on some of the wind comming between the seats to use with the factory, best of both worlds. A person might need the top only when it was raining.

 

Installation Instructions for the Mini WindScreen.
The whole process should take about a couple of minutes.

1) Raise the headrests about 3-4" to allow for attachment of Velcro.
Slide the windscreen headrest covers over the headreasts. The zipper goes to the
passenger side, unless zipper was requested on driver's side.

2) At this time, adjust the headrest covers so that the bar between the headrests is at the highest position possible on the headrests. This will eliminate some of the slack from the mesh. Do so by rotating/sliding the headrest covers to the outside of the headrest. Now you can attach the Velcro under the headrests.


3) Lower headrest back to their normal driving position. (I drive with them all the way down).



4) Lay out the the back of the windscreen over your rear seat or just let it hang loosely. Locate the four attachment clips. Each seat requires two clips, short and long.



5) Start with one side first and grab the short clip. Attach it to the bottom of the seat. This clips attaches to the plastic back of the seat. Next, grab the long clip and attach it to the side of the seat right above the seat release handle. It also goes attached to the plastic back.



One side attached.



6) Do the same for the other side. And you're done! ENJOY!!!



7) For rear seat access: Disengage the passenger side by
releasing the velcro on top of the passenger side headrest,
undoing zipper until zipper completely separates,
Lay the windscreen back behind the seat.








The elastic will stretch enough to move the driver's or passenger's seat forward for rear access.

For re-installation, just reverse the steps.

Note: The Double zipper windscreen allows for full removal of the windscreen w/o having to remove the headrest covers.
Headrest Adjusters: (if requested) Should be adjusted to eliminate the slack from the mesh when headrests are raised.
Seat Adjusters: (if requested) Should be adjusted to eliminate the slack from the mesh when the position of the seats are significantly offset from each other.

Cheers!!!

 

Very nice.

I don't appreciate you stealing my car to test it, though.

 

That sure does look really nice! I may just have to order one...But I need to make sure I can PAY for the car first! My list of MODS keeps growing and growing with what I want to do!

 

I was thinking about that... StLouis isn't too far

I'll just live vicariously through you and Jay regarding mods

 

We are pricing things and going to start soon!