BMW Z4 winter cover

Hello,

Has anybody purchased the BMW Z4 winter cover?
If so, does it keep the car ice and frost free?

I don't have a garage available and would like to avoid scraping the windows.

I have a bit of a sled4 situation at the moment:

That's not a pretty picture. It was 34 F when I left the house this morning but so far no snow!. Good luck with the cover.

Generally using covers in winter does not work that well. When you park the car it is warm and as it cools the cover will freeze to the car.

Yeah, it's a pain in the winter (or in wet weather the rest of the year). You need to have plan to deal with a wet/snowy/icy cover when it comes off the car. If the car already has rain/snow/ice on it, you shouldn't put the cover on.

Originally Posted by Built-in-MUC

Hello,

Has anybody purchased the BMW Z4 winter cover?
If so, does it keep the car ice and frost free?

I don't have a garage available and would like to avoid scraping the windows.

I have a bit of a sled4 situation at the moment:

I purchased a cover some time ago for our e28 when I restored the car. The car was parked all winter outside and all I did remove the cover from time to time (on nice days). The car cover was purchased from BMW and has breathing / ventilation holes.

If you get a cover I recommend you get it from BMW only. Also discuss it with your friendly BMW Service manager. However, the cover is quite expensive I think I paid over $400- for it (you can secure it and lock it up , still there is no guarantee that some one might not steal it.

If I was you I would find a garage where I could properly store the car for the November to April Months. ~s~

Perhaps if you have some sort of shelter now can you improve it by adding something like this?

CLICK here to have a look

The photo below shows the BMW cover I used (note the texture those are the ventilation provisions in the cover).

That's Kimberly-Clark Evolution 4 fabric (one of the best choice for car covers). Whoever you buy the cover from, that's a good fabric to look for. Many companies make covers with this fabric (most likely BMW sources their covers from one of the typical companies). The texture is actually part of the manufacturing process where the layers are bonded/fused, and doesn't have anything to do with the breathability. That comes from micro pores in the inner moisture barrier.

Originally Posted by skier219

That's Kimberly-Clark Evolution 4 fabric (one of the best choice for car covers). Whoever you buy the cover from, that's a good fabric to look for. Many companies make covers with this fabric (most likely BMW sources their covers from one of the typical companies). The texture is actually part of the manufacturing process where the layers are bonded/fused, and doesn't have anything to do with the breathability. That comes from micro pores in the inner moisture barrier.

Thanks for the clarification. Nevertheless the cover I got from BMW worked fine for me on the outdoors (I only used it one winter outside and indoors last year on my former 2008 Z4 30is).

Thanks for your replies.

We're not doing very well here, another 8" fell over night - haven't had this much snow since 1963 apparently.

My dealer has ordered the cover, I will go and have a look to see if it is upto the job.

Rolf: Those tents look like a police murder scene - no disrespect. I'm sure they do a great job keeping cars dry. The BMW cover is ~$400 with the exchange rate, if its OK I'll try one.

Does anybody think that much snow will harm the car? Is it better for the suspension to not have the permanent extra weight? Its forecast to rain Saturday, leave it to melt or brush it off - any thoughts?

Regards,

Built-in-MUC


I would put on some gloves/mittens and brush it off. You don't want it to rain and then freeze on you.

Update.

I recently took a look at the BMW winter cover and their instructions are: "the cover may stick to the vehicle in cold and freezing conditions, if this occurs use warm water to loosen the cover from the vehicle".

By the time I have done that I could have scraped.
Looks like it's a garage or a scraper.

Another issue is; when it rains and then shortly after freezes, the frozen water droplets are sitting in the gaps between the folding roof, therefore once you set off I hear them cracking and loosening - let's see how strong that clear coat is!

The answer is to live in a warmer climate or garage a car. I'm so envious of you guys & girls in California/ Arizona etc...

Originally Posted by Built-in-MUC

Update.

I recently took a look at the BMW winter cover and their instructions are: "the cover may stick to the vehicle in cold and freezing conditions, if this occurs use warm water to loosen the cover from the vehicle".

By the time I have done that I could have scraped.
Looks like it's a garage or a scraper.

Another issue is; when it rains and then shortly after freezes, the frozen water droplets are sitting in the gaps between the folding roof, therefore once you set off I hear them cracking and loosening - let's see how strong that clear coat is!

The answer is to live in a warmer climate or garage a car. I'm so envious of you guys & girls in California/ Arizona etc...

I visit my car everyday in my garage, we had massive snow in the past week. In my area some 1.5 Meter (about 60 inches or so). More in areas with the blowing snow. So needless to say it is not Z4 driving weather.

I always garage park my cars. That said, I did buy a car cover for my Z4 that I used when parking the car at my girlfriend's house (street parking). My biggest gripe... if the car is even slightly dirty, the dust sticks to the inside of the cover and unless you wash your car cover after every use, that dirt will smear your windows and front windshield. Suffice to say, I am not a big fan of them, but given your predicament of snow... it might be your only solution.

No cover here either, just clean with a soft brush.... start car, put seat and steering wheel heater on....

Only thing what bothers me is the ice on the windows... when you unlock the car, the window can slide down... so need to get it out of the rubber gently...

Those of you who cope with snow... how does your Z4 handle in the snow? And what modifications do you make to your car to get it winter ready (i.e. different set of tires, nose masks, etc.)?

Here is one for less than $200: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-2...Q5fAccessories

I'm a cheapskate since my car is garaged so I bought this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Z...Q5fAccessories

It is a little loose but covers the car well and is thick enough for good dent protection.

Happy Holidays!!

I have been using the Ultimate Car Cover from Bavarian Auto for nearly four years and have been pleased with it. It is on sale right now, and it has a lifetime warranty.

Originally Posted by Built-in-MUC

Hello,

Has anybody purchased the BMW Z4 winter cover?
If so, does it keep the car ice and frost free?

I don't have a garage available and would like to avoid scraping the windows.

I have a bit of a sled4 situation at the moment:

Uhh, at least you didn't have to pick up your ride in this weather. After the blizzard, I have to pick mine up on tuesday.. Dammit. Well at least I have my snow wheels on already.

Originally Posted by gotoschoolhere

Those of you who cope with snow... how does your Z4 handle in the snow? And what modifications do you make to your car to get it winter ready (i.e. different set of tires, nose masks, etc.)?

Has a 2007, 3 winters with bridgeton blizzaks. No issues whatsoever. I suspect my 2011 will be no different, if not better. But you WILL definitely need dedicated snow tires. I just got a separate set of wheels ad tires so I can just swap out each season easily myself.