What is the best position to keep the top in while not driving, say parked in the garage. Up I can see advantage of keeping wrinkles out and bending the vinyl which might crack at the wrinkles later on. Down I see advantage of not stressing out the vinyl and keeping it in a dark space.

This is my first convertible, the top is in excellent shape. I posted pics in the thread "My New Roadster", a red 2007 with black vinyl top.

Thanks for your comments.

 

Since your car is garaged, I don't really think it matters whether the top is up or down. Your interior will remain pretty dust free if you keep the top up but that is about the only advantage I can see.

 

Up! Those wrinkles really persist when the top is down for a long time. Mine is always closed when parked and still looking good after about 6 years.

 

Most all manufactures suggest keeping the top up even for short time storage. The cut of all the panels that make up the top, assure that tension is spread very evenly over the entire top when it is up and latched. Tops like your Z with a rigid glass window, actually put some stress into the rear panel when down. The fabric must stretch and wrinkle at the four corners of the window when the top is stuffed into the storage hatch.

Almost all convertibles have at least one stress point where they fray and wear out first. On a Z it’s at the corners of the rear window. I owned my Roadster for 10 years and usually put the top up every night in the summer and kept it up over the winter. When I sold the car, the top still looked and operated like new.

 

Thanks. Up is what I thought.

 

my mind was in the gutter here... lol

 

Everything I have ever read said to never leave the top down to keep the fabric from shrinking or cracking but what about if you have a hardtop which requires keeping the top down semi permanently? Doesn't matter to me, my top had a tear when I bought it and it wasn't closing without manually helping it so it has been down for about a year now and I never have plans of ever closing it again. Yes my car is garaged and only driven on perfect days. I do have an emergency tarp in the trunk in case I get caught.