jxs1984

First of all I want to say my soft top is ruined. I bought the car with a tear on the soft top and it's pretty much ruined when the previous owner tried to do a temporary fix. There are glue (looks like gorilla glue) residue smeared all over with a bunch of black tape covering the tear. This car also have a replica mugen hard top so I can't just remove the hard top and close the soft top... the weird bracket/hardware (see pic) needs to be removed. I have new izzy brackets and new rear seals on the way. I plan to pick up shin-etsu grease from the dealer to remove the awful creaking noise.

My question is... ditch the soft top (and store it in my garage) to remove the unnecessary weight? Does shaving off 60-65lbs really help the performance of the car at all? If I keep the soft top and ditch the hard top, I'm afraid theft will occur again. Is it worth spending 8 hours to ditch the soft top?

NFRAP2

If your s2k was a 100% track car that you wanted to shave every possible pound from, I would say ditch the soft top and frame. You will not notice ~60 lbs weight loss in street driving. Personally I would sell the replica hard top and put the money towards a used OEM hard top, and replace the soft top at some point in the future.

RUINER831

+1

Jazzman

One of your choices should be get a new soft top
another -sell the hardtop and buy a softop with the money


I vote get a new softop


-m

jxs1984

Modified the poll, take a look. I'm afraid of theft though

takeshi

The hardtop isn't going to prevent theft. Not sure why people think it will. Non-convertibles are stolen all the time.


Probably not unless, as stated above, it's a track car and you're stripping every possible bit of weight. However, worth is always subjective regardless of topic and you haven't really provided enough info regarding your criteria for people to tell you if it's worth it or not.

NDAZONE

People think it will since thieves can no longer just cut the roof to get in.

To see if you notice 60lbs weight difference - get 60lbs and put it in your car. Drive around. Take out the extra 60lbs and drive around. See if you can tell a difference.

Triple-H

Exactly
And if you ever want another HT, get a used Honda one, they are sooooo much nicer

NFRAP2

True, nothing will 100% prevent car theft, all you can do is take steps to reduce the chances and have insurance to cover your losses if something happens. A hardtop is more of a deterrent to the typical opportunist thief as they will have to shatter a window or find another way to pick the lock which means more time and noise to potentially draw attention to theirself. With a softtop, it takes a few seconds to slash a hole in the top and reach inside to unlock the car. I believe the more common scenario would be a jealous vandal with no real intention of stealing anything... you have a nice car and they don't so they cut a hole in the top as they walk by and have the satisfaction of knowing you will have to deal with fixing it. Even if you have comprehensive insurance, you have a deductible to pay and you will be without your car while a new top is installed. That said, reduced chances of theft/vandalism is just one advantage of a hardtop and OEM hardtops will only appreciate in value since they are no longer produced by Honda.

jxs1984

thanks for the suggestion guys. most likely i will be keeping both