I keep hearing about a flaw in the design of some of the earlier models' soft tops. Apparently the frame rubs against the top, eventually wearing through it. I'm surprised I heard very little reference to this problem here. Apparently the problem is so bad that its not a question of if, but when...

Anyways, I'm seeing some wear marks in my top and I was wondering what some of you have done to solve this problem.

I've heard anything from plastic inserts to electrical tape.

Any other insights? Anyone have done anything they can vouch for?

 

go over to s2ki and search it. recently there was a right up over there to put some type of flexible plastic pieces between the frame and top where it wears the most. also, its not really the earlier models that have this problem, have seen a few 05's with this too.

 

thats why i only put the top down once a month, i wanna save it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by s2kdre &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats why i only put the top down once a month, i wanna save it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's one thing I don't want to have to do. I didn't get the car so that I would have to keep tabs on how many times I've done what in it. I want to rev to 9000 every time I get the urge, I want to drive it sideways every time conditions permit, and I want to drop the top every time I see a ray of sun....be it once a month or 200 times a day.

 

well... I just checked my iN, and no Honda bulletin. I didn't think there would be...

I did see something interesting though... One S2K came into our dealership with a rip in the soft top... the car was out of warranty on years and way over on mileage...

It was wearing right where you guys are saying, on each frame bars... it ripped on almost all the frame bars...

Honda Goodwilled the Cloth on him... No charge...

I think they know there's a problem and want to keep it on the DL...

Just speculation...

 

You guys are funny. If you leave the top DOWN all the time, it won't be stretched over the frame, therefore it won't wear. Put the tonneau cover over that and it will stay clean.

 

well the OP lives in VA beach so the weather there isnt always good. plus, he has to worry about bird poop lol.

 

wouldnt you rather put a car cover over it instead of a tonneau cover?

 

The tonneau is to protect the softtop when it's down, I was just trying to stay on subject.

 

valve "cover" is in the same category too!!!

 

Airbox cover? Tool set cover? Spark plug cover?

 

I tried this solution:

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/ind...&st=0

It works pretty well so far. From the outside, the top doesn't look any different. Maybe if you inspect it really closely and have 2 S2000s, one with and one without the mod, you can tell, but otherwise, no.

Also, about it causing extra stress on the vinyl...well, that's not really the issue. The reason for the holes forming is wear, not stress, and the extra bit of stress seems insignificant.

One thing though, I did make the strips longer than the OPs 7 3/4". Perhaps even a couple inches longer. When I originally tried the 7 3/4" strips, they tended to deform when the top was down for a while. This deformation resulted in them becoming shorter, and they slip out from behind the back rib.

 

Any updates or other solutions to this? Thinking of starting with wrapping the bars with a couple layers of electrical tape.

 

Invest in a hard top......whenever you wanna ride w/ the top up, slap the hard top on....Not only will you add years to the soft, but you'll look good doin it!