Cabrio hardtop pros and cons
 

I'm considering buying a hardtop (painted to match my car, and with the conversion kit included) for the extreme weather months to put on the girl. I had one for an M Roadster I had a few years back, and it worked fine. The only issues I had with that were storage, finding the conversion kit (I may have gotten the last one in the country sold separately from a new top), slight wear on the paint where the back mated with the car, and the danger of bruising/scratching the paint on my car if not installed/removed carefully.

Once the top was installed, it made for a quieter, warmer in the winter, and cooler in the hot months ride.

Of those of you who have the removable hardtop, are any of these issues on your cars, and would you do it again if you had the option? Did I leave anything out?

Thanks,
JB

I have a coupe now, but drove many convertibles over 14 years as a daily driver. My vote is that if you have icy or snowy winters, then a hard top is well worth it. A simple hoist in the garage makes lifting and storing the top easy for the warmer months. The only big downside I found is that the canvas tops crease pretty good over the winter and I'm sure that adds a bit of wear to them. I've heard rumors of 996 tops being used on 997's. That could save you some cash as many 996s are aging pretty fast.

A properly fitted hard top will not rub the paint anywhere on the car. As for the rumor about 996 top fitting a 997, I use a 996 top on my '07 C4S for winter use. Many DIY posts on how to do it can be found by doing a google search. It is a simple proceedure and the only issue is matching the latching hardware for the car, the fitting of which is covered in the DIY's , with the latch pins on the top. If memory serves, Suncoast sells a very reasonably priced kit with all the necessary parts to retro fit the older tops. The only difference in a 996 top and a 997 top is in the shape of the positioning pins on the front of the top and the receiving slots built into the windshield frame . However, the 996 pins work fine and I did not find it neccessary to make any modifications to either the top or the receiving slots to insure a secure and water tight fit. The top is very practical for winter driving and spares your soft top being exposed
to the road grung that accumulates on the rest of your car when driving in the winter.

There's no negative I've found on my tops. As for storage, it only takes about 5 minutes to raise it to the ceiling of my garage. The top is simply removed. Two different cars with the top on and off. It's like having two 911's. Even if you only put the top on for a month or two, like I do, it's great.

Will a 2002 996 roof fit my 997 C2S gen 2 with the retrofit kit?

Had the top and hated it!! Gave it away for free....couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Had a hard top for my 996. Don't miss it at all with my 997. Car is slower with 75 more pounds on it and a PINT to take on and off. Save your money.

hilarious So far you've got 3 votes for, 2 votes against and a guestion from another poster unrelated to your question. If you got more responses the ratio's of for and against would probably be 50/50 which is of no help to you if you're looking for some kind of concensus. This phenomenon occures almost universally when someone is looking for " opinions ". Makes me smile everytime to think regardless of everyones good intentions the OP is no closer to his answer than if he'd never posted the question in the first place. hilarious

Kinda moot now, anyway. I already bought one and it's in the process of getting painted and the trim recovered to match. I had one for my M Roadster when I had it, and I know putting it on and taking it off can be a PITA, but that only happens twice a year. If I lived in a mild weather state like California I'd probably not have one, but then again, I'd also have to put up with living in California. ;) DOAH!!! :D

Note to Californians who may take umbrage at the above remark concerning your state. I'm an "ex-pat" of SoCal, and still follw the perennial losers Chargers and Padres as my "home" teams. There are certainly some great things about living in Cali, but for me, the old saying about "For every beautiful woman, there is at least one guy who got tired of putting up with her sh*t." applies to me. Peace out, my bruthas!

The other universal is the eventual outcome of the dilema is almost always whatever the OP intended to do before they posted their question. :)
In any event, I have a HT for my car and use it all winter until the first hint of Spring so I applaude your decision. Feels like you're driving a Coupe when the top is on. The only real issue is where to put the top when it's not on the car as it is a very large top.

Wifey likes convertibles, but I prefer hardtops when it's extreme hot or cold out. Having a HT makes a nice compromise for us.

This is Wisconsin.....where winter is real.
Along with winter wheel/tire fitments we've always had HDs.
Started with Box....then 996....now current 997II C4S....alll wife's rides.
Snow cleans off much easier....and that clean-off is no wear/tear as it would be on rag top
Love the look. It's like she has a dif car in the winter:).
To each his own.....just my 2 cents.

This Minnesota, Wisconsin is like the tropics. But here we don't even put the top up till it gets to 5 below!hilarious

Ya derr......Sotten.
Got any Lutefisk up there?

but please do put up a couple of pics when it is up and on, i personally love the hardtop, the look is different than the real 911 roofline, but just as... edible?