Do these straps affect the top when it drops into the boot? I've had the motor replaced as well as the side pistons and a new top but the new top drops into the boot like a load of bricks when it is about 3/4 open.
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Originally Posted by RhoXS
There are elastic straips called bow straps that loose their elasticity over time (at least on Z3s and most probably on all convertable tops). There is no adjustment but they need to be replaced. This is just a predicatble wear item when one has a ragtop. Your Z4 is over eight years old so the bow straps probably have little or no elasticity left in them. These straps, I learned, play a big role in both preventing the top from closing too quickly and in helping the top open.
I discovered it is good practice to replace these straps whenever the top canvas is replaced. Not all trim shops will tell you this and reinstall the old worn straps. I learned about this three years ago when I took my Z3 with a top that operated perfectly to a local trim shop to have the worn canvas replaced. I got the car back with good canvass but a top that no longer worked properly. It slammed shut and needed a manual push to break the "knuckle" when opening. The much stiffer new canvas just overwhelmed the no longer elastic bow straps. It would have been relatively cheap to replace them when the top was replaced but I did not know about them at the time.
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