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I had a 2005 C6 coupe a few years back and when I took the targa off, I didn't really ever think about wind buffeting or if the wind noise was loud. Some people say it's really bad but I either didn't mind or never noticed. I'm going to look at a 2003 C5 coupe today and there's a lot of posts saying that the C5 has unbearable wind buffeting above 50 MPH. If I didn't notice on the C6, will I be shocked on the C5? That would absolutely be a deal killer for me if above 50 MPH there was the "helicoptering" noise in the cabin and I'm also 6'5 so I'm not sure if it will be worse for me. It's pretty cold outside today so I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to really check it out on the highway. Anyone have an idea?
I admittedly have not had a chance to compare the cars in the particular situation that you describe. However, given the similarity of the 2 designs, I wouldn't think there would be a significant difference. You could always get a convertible instead...
I took a hundred mile trek out to the coast last summer and it was a very nice day out. Keep In mind I don't normally ever drive this car with the top off but I was like screw it I'm going to try it.
Took off on about 7 miles of side streets before I got the the freeway. I'm like well this ain't so bad. Then I got clear of traffic and made it up to cruising altitude and airspeed. I thought I was going to die. The buffeting and noise was absolutely ridiculous.
Through some coincidence I had a pair of ear plugs in my shifter boot which I always keep a pair in there (story for another day) and was able to put those in and complete the drive.
I had the top in the hatch thankfully. It went back on at the coast and has never been back off since.
Top never on don't notice or mind the wind. Even at way over turnpike speeds. Trips from Va to Fla no top. Guess you guys have the windows up and the A/C on too. If you want comfort get a Caddie!
Last edited by TinkersVet; Dec 7, 2020 at 07:10 PM.
Top never on don't notice or mind the wind. Even at way over turnpike speeds. Trips from Va to Fla no top. Guess you guys have the windows up and the A/C on too. If you want comfort get a Caddie!
I love the top off if it's a nice day. It has to be warm or the wife hates it. But noise? Sure you hear more road noise but I've never heard the "helicopters" and we cruise I-5 and I-90 at 70 to 85. That's windows up and windows down...no chopper sound. I guess we're lucky. We even took a December ride but with top on. Christmas is a great time for night rides, top on.
December and about 47 degrees,,,TOP ON AND HEATER GOING...LOL It was in the 90's this day.
I never minded the noise. But I picked up one of those wind deflector’s from CCA, I’m waiting the minimum 72 hrs after mounting hardware. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be and to install the windscreen deflector and try it out. Supposed to reduce the noise by quite a bit at highway speeds.
The C5 coupe with the top off buffets, no doubt. Anyone who says it does not has not tried it at speed. Also, anything light and loose in the cockpit is quite likely to get sucked out. "Least worst" combo if you want the top off, seems to be to put both sun visors "full up" and both windows up. But it's still grim at anything above "look at me" speeds. Owners of some other makes of cars swear blind running with a "hatch spacer" to hold the hatch open an inch or so to allow air to flow out makes things better. Never tried that on my C5 - and I would not want to drive fast like that anyway, just in case something came loose.
It buffets, but it's not THAT bad. I've had my targa top off for 2+ hour highway trips and love every minute of it. Even north of 100mph.
My favorite is a nice 40 degree morning with the roof off and the heater on. Comfortable and fun. I'll be doing that after work today - supposed to have low 50s.
It's definitely a subjective thing, so one person will not mind it and another will say holy crap I can't do this. Take a couple different test drives with it off and you'll have your answer.
One thing I have noticed is that the severity of the buffeting is very weather dependent. On a nice cool day with no breeze, it's not bad at all. If there's even a slight breeze or god forbid it's windy, it's miserable at highway speeds. I've never, and I refuse to, drive with the top off and windows up...so I can't comment on how that would affect the buffeting. I've also never experienced the "helicopter effect" in the C5. I have in most other cars though with just one window down or just the rears down. You'll know instantly what that feels like if you've ever experienced it lol.
Isn't wind buffeting part of the point of a targa top? I drive 70+ and never found it an issue. Wind rushing around me is part of the joy. If I don't want wind - I put the top back on. It's kind of like complaining about the rush of air on a motorcycle... ? Different strokes, I suppose...
I’ve done 2-3k trips 70-90 mph with the top off, love it, but the buffeting is pretty annoying at times, especially into a strong headwind. Agree with previous comments, things get sucked out of the car, lost a hat and a nice sunscreen. I’m hard of hearing and wear hearing aids which makes it worse so I take them out. The wife has to dang near yell at me when we chat at high speeds. Some little things like keeping a pair of assembly gloves in the car for removing the top after it’s sat in the sun for a while (color is EB) helps, like a hot patatoe I almost had to drop it one day.
I also put a thumper stereo in which helps at speed.
Curious about hearing the reviews on the deflector, to me it won’t be worth if it’s for only a small gain.
Still, all said I really enjoy popin the top.
I think there is good money to be made if someone could come up with something that works and easy to install or removable.
All I can say is mine did have a buffeting (droning) wind noise at like 40 mph. All you have to do is put both windows down one inch....it goes away.
Loved the targa.......on/off.....didnt matter, loved it.
I had my top off the other day and lots of buffeting noise doing 45mph - 50mph. I put the windows completely up and it didn't help much. I lowered the windows about an inch or two and that helped a lot.
C5 Coupe Wind Buffeting?
