Has anyone removed the black tape that runs around the outside of the windshield frame? (no tape on black S2000's). I guess it's painted under there and I've seen a red S2000 with this removed and it looks much better off than with the tape on.

I've also heard of paint defects being under the tape . Has anyone had to deal with this? Does anyone know why Honda put tape on there in the first place? As always, thanks for any info/feedback.

 

I don't own an S2000, so I'm not real sure what you are talking about. All I know of is the weather strip around the window & you sure as hell don't want to remove that.

 

There's a bunch of threads on http://www.s2ki.com about the windshield tape. Some people have paint defects under the tape, some don't. What sucks is that once you take it off, you can't put it back on - so you're taking a chance. I'm probably going to leave mine on until I get a hardtop.

 

In most cases the paint under the windshield tape is in good condition. I removed the tape on my '02 and was pleased to find good paint.

I would imagine Honda put black tape on the windshield frame for the same reason Chevy made Camaros with black "B" pillars. It creates a more stealthy look. With the (black) top up everything blends in together.

It's all personal preference really.

 

pete is right about it blending in with the soft top. the part of the car that the windshield tape is covering also acts as a rollbar. i removed mine when i got my hardtop, but i wish i had done it before. i have a minor paint defect thing that's about an inch wide by an inch long under my tape. my friend also had the same size "blemish" on his car after removing the winshield tape. if you're really bothered by the part of having blemishes, just take it into the dealer and complain. it looks really cool with the tape off.