I have been driving Z31 for nearly 20 years and so, I figured I'd ask after all this time;
has any one ever solved the wind noise coming in the driver window? I accept it as I accept the water drops on my legs when its raining hard.

Is it just part of owning a Z?

 

Do you mean a the high frequency whistle/hiss - like the window isn't tight up into the gasket - or the mid-frequency noise of turbulence from the mirror? There is also the lower-freq roar of your tires on the road. My 86T is quieter than my NA and I haven't figured out why.

 

Also there are some pretty good fixes for leaky t-tops. I did mine. Zero leaks any weather.

 

referring to the wind noise whistle/hiss but not snap crackle or pop.
I always had it on my 88 even after playing with the window adjustments. Seems something in the design let's the air in. Interestingly, on all my Z's there seems to be pieces of rubber pushed in like they were trying to stop the air leak..but of course, it doesn't.

 

Could be that joint (gap) in the window gasket. (It's near the elbow turn, almost in line with the front edge of the t-top.)

Every once in a while wind can blow rain through it. Maybe that's your whistle and your drip. I thought of covering the gap with a strip of inner tube. (Rubber cement both surfaces, dry, adhere.) But mine almost never drips. I would go check it now but we're mid-blizzard at the moment. Would freeze my camera shutter.

Also make sure your window glass is going all the way up. There's probably a way to adjust that if you check out the glass travel path behind the door panel. Let me know what you figure out. A whistle isn't right tho.

 

This AM my door was frozen shut! I am getting the new bumper stops in a few days. I'll see if that makes a difference./ The only reason I mention it is because when I emailed the previous owner of my car, he mentioned it that when he brought it into Nissan, they said they fixed it. If he did not mention it, I would have just gone on with my life. But, all 3 Z31's I have\had had the rain & wind at the top of the driver side..I'd say 2-3 inches in..working wowards the back of the car. I.E right where the bend in the window happens.

 

Adjusting the window will make a lot of improvment

 

OK..will keep updating, but that is going to have to wait as everything is frozen down today! It is a mess out there!

 

why are you driving it in the rain?
crank up the Van Halen , M Crew, I think it even recommends it in the manual.

but seriously yea that type window design is /was always problematic for wind noises. the mirrors gave off a whistle or flutter noise of their own ( we found out by removing it ) in gusty conditions especially.

get some dumb gum and apply it to where you think you here a leak to find

 

Gotta confess a solid DUH moment. That gap I meant is between the window gasket on the frame - and the T-top gasket on the t-top. Duhh... that's why there's a gap. They are parts that have to separate if you want to take the tops out and butt tight when you put the tops in. Problem is the rubber shrinks over time and that widens the gap between them when the tops are in.

When the gap was dripping a little, my big idea was to adhere a short flap of inner tube to the end of the window gasket so the t-top gasket would slip under it, covering the gap - but the window glass would still glide up OVER the flap, pressing the glass edge into both gaskets tight enough to keep wind and rain out. Great in theory, needs a little work in practice.

Meanwhile, after 28 years, if all my Z is doing wrong is dripping a little on my leg during a hurricane, I'm pretty good with that. She is treating me way better than the ex.

 

I thought I was the only one on this. Air comes through into my car from the corner of my window by the mirror. It has only done this when it is colder out. I would guess because the rubber seals shrink and do not expand as much you dampen the sound. Also that rubber corner on my windows is cracked, but close to impossible to find a nice condition rubber piece for around that side mirror.

 

Here's a shot of the guilty gaps. You can see that if the window doesn't slide up, over and tight into the gasket channel at the top, you are asking for a whistle and a hiss from the gap in the gaskets. Not to mention leaks. Plus, the t-top gap can leak too. My big idea was to install a flap on the left gasket that reaches over and covers the gap without attaching to the right side - and still lets the glass snuggle up into the channel above. I would try it but the leak stopped when I re-aligned the glass travel. No whistle or hiss either at highway speed.

 

Good for you.

 

zxguy1986: I never considered that! Thx