# Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode?



## CaVWfan (Sep 3, 2003)

One of the things that most convertibles suffer is cowl shake when going over bumps and/or rough road surfaces. It comes from reduced chassis stiffness (vs. either a coupe or sedan). How is the Eos in its resistance to cowl shake in both top up and top down modes?
Thanks in advance.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (CaVWfan)*

From what I have read, there is no problem with body panels shaking when the top is down, because the Eos was designed from scratch as a car that has no roof. Most other convertibles (e.g. the Bentley Continental GT convertible, or the New Beetle Convertible) are derivatives of vehicles that were originally designed as hard-tops.
As one other Eos forum member pointed out recently, the Eos roof is just there to keep rain and dust out - it only weighs 50 pounds, and it has no structural role to play at all.
Michael


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## WolfsburgerMitFries (Jul 4, 2005)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (CaVWfan)*

Here's a newish video review, and the first thing they deal with is structural integrity. Below the video, notice the only review parameter where the Eos scored 5 stars is in "Quality and reliability".
http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-r...T=851 
I promise its a nice video but it appears there are intermittent server problems, so you may have to try later.



_Modified by WolfsburgerMitFries at 8:51 AM 11-9-2006_


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## EosEnthusiastNB (Aug 9, 2006)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (WolfsburgerMitFries)*

In some of the reviews I have seen the reviewers state that there is a slight cowl shake when the roof is down, but nothing like other convertibles that were not designed as convertibles to begin with. The reviewer that I remember saying that was using the car on mountain roads in Greece, so road condition may have also played a role in his comments.


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## CaVWfan (Sep 3, 2003)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (PanEuropean)*


_Quote, originally posted by *PanEuropean* »_From what I have read, there is no problem with body panels shaking when the top is down, because the Eos was designed from scratch as a car that has no roof. Most other convertibles (e.g. the Bentley Continental GT convertible, or the New Beetle Convertible) are derivatives of vehicles that were originally designed as hard-tops.
As one other Eos forum member pointed out recently, the Eos roof is just there to keep rain and dust out - it only weighs 50 pounds, and it has no structural role to play at all.
Michael

Well, notwithstanding the best design intentions, reality has a sometime unpleasant habit of intruding (BMW Z4 was not designed as a coupe; but it definitely has cowl shake..). Hence my original post. Have any of the 2.0T Eos owners experienced cowl shake?


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## ialonso (Aug 26, 2006)

Yes, there is some cowl shake, specially noticeable in very uneven/bumpy roads. It's minimal compared to other convertibles, but it's there.


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## justme97 (May 23, 2006)

*Re: (ialonso)*

Cowl shake can be so wierd and annoying when you first get a convertible but in time you get so used to it you don't realize the car is even doing it anymore.


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## CaVWfan (Sep 3, 2003)

*Re: (ialonso)*


_Quote, originally posted by *ialonso* »_Yes, there is some cowl shake, specially *noticeable in very uneven/bumpy roads*. [Emphasis added.] It's minimal compared to other convertibles, but it's there.

Could you provide some examples? For instance, would cowl shake be present on an asphalt roadway that had the top suface ground off (carbide cutters) in preparation for re-paving? How about a misfitted highway expansion joint (that repeats every length of concrete road block)? Here is probably one that causes cowl shake - concrete roadway that has buckled from too many freeze-defrost cycles?
I am not trying to hyper parse your comments; but I am curious about where the threshold is for noticeable cowl shake.
Thanks again for everyone's responses. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## gilesrulz (Nov 2, 2006)

*Re: (CaVWfan)*

If you're that interested, go to your local dealer and drive one..


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## CaVWfan (Sep 3, 2003)

*Re: (gilesrulz)*


_Quote, originally posted by *gilesrulz* »_If you're that interested, go to your local dealer and drive one..

Unfortunately, the nearby dealer's test drive radius does not include the best stretches of bad road to be able to test for cowl shake. Even test drive radius of the next closest dealer is out of range of the really great areas that I like to take cars for test drives....







Also, cars tend to loosen up a bit after they have accumulated some miles. Therefore, this thread soliciting real world ownership experience.


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## mauleskyrocket (Apr 22, 2006)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (CaVWfan)*

There is no noticable cowl shake.


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## Turbocrazy (Nov 14, 2002)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (mauleskyrocket)*

CaVWFan,
I have been driving my Eos for 2 weeks now, and have not noticed any major cowl shake. As a reference, I remember driving a friend's camaro convertible in college. Going over a set of railroad tracks (that went through the road at a sort of diagonal) would induce a couple odd feelings in the camaro. Hitting the tracks at a diagonal caused some flexing of the body, which could be seen/felt between the dashboard and the doors. You could literally pinch the tip of your fingers if you put them in the crevice between the dash/door. The steering wheel would also vibrate/shake at a high frequency. This combined with suspension dampening that made it feel like the body was momentarily disconnected from the wheels was very offputting.
Next to my work, we have some very similar railroad tracks. They go at an angle, they are not the newer, smoothly integrated type, and there is a little bit of a rise. The left front whel hits first. There is a subtle vibration throughout the Eos, but it is very small. My Ford Ranger extended cab feels like it flexes more over the same tracks. In the Eos, everything is in sync and feels tight. Its very hard to describe cowl shake to someone that hasn't experienced it. In the camaro, it was almost like you became very aware of the different frequencies that the dash and sterring wheel would vibrate/flex at. Sort of a queasy feeling. I have yet to feel anything similar in the Eos.


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## CaVWfan (Sep 3, 2003)

*Re: Any cowl shake with the Eos in top down mode? (Turbocrazy)*

This is really good feedback. Thank you. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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