stingerbtry

I am looking for a hardtop and on htg's site and also handa they show that suzuka and sebring 02+ don't need the install kit. My question is do they need any install kit at all and does this kit already come with the top? I am looking at a used one (also suzuka blue) and the buyer is telling me that I still need install kit-C which is exactly what I am reading that I don't need. Very confused. So can someone with a suzuka please clear this up and tell me what I do or don't need when I buy a hardtop?

stingerbtry

Anyone?

Intrepid175

I'm afraid I have no idea as to whether you need to install kit or not. I'd try emailing H and A directly. They've been very good about answering my questions when I've had them.

Good luck & Drive Safe,
Steve R.

Stratocaster

Nope, all you need is the hardtop for suzuka and sebring. This assumes that the car is suzuka or sebring and the hardtop is suzuka or sebring. In case anyone cares, this is is because all hardtops did not exist when the MY00 was released. By the time the MY02 came on, Honda figured that if the hardtop was suzuka or sebring the car had to be MY02. So they stuck the rest of the part needed in with the hardtops.

Note: My info is from HardTopGuy. I own a sebring and I have been considering a hardtop for some time.

xviper

^ If this is true, I've just learned something new today.
ps. When I bought my HT for my '00, I just ordered the HT and all necessary stuff came in the box with the HT. I think I'm misunderstanding this thread. I'm under the impression that if you order any HT by year, it will come with whatever it needs to install it. Am I wrong? Are there some HT's where you have to order a separate kit?

stingerbtry

Yes you may need the extra install kit:

* KIT-A ($178) - Required for Model Year 2000 w/ VIN lower than 5730
** KIT-C ($136) - Required for Model Year 2002-2003 for any color except Sebring Silver and Suzuka Blue


BTW, thanks for your replies!

Intrepid175

Is this because they only made the hard top for Sebring silver and Suzuka blue in the beginning? If so, I wonder who it was that made "that" kind of marketing decision?

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

wing

Well who decided that all SPA's would have HT's in Canada?

Stratocaster

Look at it like this..

1999 Honda sold the first S2000
2000 Honda sold the first S2000 in the US
Late 2000 Honda added a Hardtop to the list of accessories.
2001 Sebring and Suzuka S2000 released.

Before the released the hardtop, they found they needed to change few small items. They made this change at MY00 VIN 5730. All cars before this needed Kit-A all cars after that need Kit-B. When the MY02 were released, the addition of the rear window defroster in the softtop meant that a change was needed to hardtop installation. This is where Kit-C comes in for the MY02+

As an example, a Spa hardtop could be installed on a car from MY00-MY05, all parts common to all installation is in the box with the hardtop. The kit is needed for the addition parts needed to each model years differences. This is why Honda used to have each hardtop ordered by the dealer using the VIN of the car it was going to be used on. This insured that the right parts were included with the top for installation in that car. This is why there used to be a VIN plauqe included with the top, now a thing of the past.

But with the Suzuka/Sebring MY02. Nothing has changed from year to year for these from a hardtop installation standpoint.

Honda's goal in with (IMHO) was to get them out of the custom hardtop ordering business.

xviper

Steve, that can't be the case, since as soon as the HT was announced (about 1 year into the release of the car), any color could be ordered for existing cars. If memory serves me correctly, I bought my car only when the HT was announced. I got an '00 about the time the '01 was coming off the boat.

Wing, since we Canadians are "goofy" by nature, we get GOOFY marketing.