Originally Posted by rosario717

@floridas2ki.. I used a brand new pair of oem front latches and there isnt a single rattle or sound from the front but the back sounds terrible.. Im wondering if I can get some other weather stripping from a parts store and use it on this besides what is provided from forbidden? Im going to do whatever I have to in order to make the noise go away!!!

Originally Posted by rosario717

I was thinking about getting some really thin rubber liner and putting it around the edge of the top kind of how door edge guards are and then grease those up a bit.. I was under the impressions that the edge of the top sat on the rubber seal that is provided with it but guess I was wrong.. Im going to try different methods this weekend and see what works best..

Originally Posted by spyder562

You see this? This is where your noise is coming from. You need to grease this area in order to stop the noise. Do both sides.

Originally Posted by rosario717

My personal review of Forbiddens staff and their product:

So after a week of owning my Forbidden Double Sided CF Mugen Hardtop I think I finally have my final evaluation of them and their product. For the record I dont have any experience with Hardtops as far as installation but I do have some experience with Carbon fiber products from previous cars and also with my current s2k as well.

1.Exterior...9/10
The Exterior and Finish of this top are fantastic on the outside and I'd rate it a 9/10. The clear coat ,shine and weaves I'd say are as good as my authentic Tamon spoiler that is currently on my car. The only reason I didn't give it a ten is because its a little rough around the side windows with some scratches and not as smooth a finish as the rest of it but most of the rough spots aren't noticeable since the the window seals cover them up for the most part.

2. Noise.. 7/10
Your first initial install will probably have alot of creaks,very very loud cracking sounds,windnoise and rattling but you will soon learn that shinetzu grease has now become your best friend lol just like I did. After removing the top atleast 3 or 4 times with yoohoo,resealing everything,regreasing everything I still get some wind noise at about 70mph from the side window areas which meets with the quarter panels. I'm eventually going to put some more weather stripping in the gaps of the top there which is where the windnoise is coming from.The creaking is totally gone but get rattles when going over bumps from the rear only and I'm assuming its due to the fact that the provided izzy brackets are not capable of pulling down the top as far down as it can so there's a point where the rear of the top may be losing contact with the car itself over bumps only. On smooth roads its totally silent but I think getting 2 piece rear brackets that can pull the top down tighter will eliminate the problem.

3.Interior....7/10
The interior is not as bad as others have mentioned. The finish is not as good as the outside but for 1/4 of the price of an authentic CF mugen top its fine with me. It has a nice layer of clear coat just like the outside which looks great when you're sitting in your car and take a look around you but it's obvious that most of the attention was focused on the outside which is fine with me as well. The interior has some dull spots, there's a few small square shaped sections about an inch big that looks like some tape or film was left on before it was clearcoated which is also on another top that I saw on another s2ki members top as well. Both myself and "Yoohoo" have the same top and agreed that it has to be an imprint in the molds that shape the top when being made which caused our tops to have identical blemishes and spots on the inside of the top only. I'd have to rate the interior a 7/10 but once again once the top is on you cant see them cause its quite dark in there anyways but if you happen to take the top off and flip it on its back its clear that the spots are there.

4.Installation...
Easy for those that work on their own cars but can get tricky for noobs like me
The Installation was pretty straight forward for you s2ki members that work on your own cars but I'd recommend Forbidden and the other HT vendors out there to come up with some kind of basic instructions for noobs like myself that aren't as skilled as I am lol. There were a couple things that "yoohoo" did to make this top fit properly that I wasn't aware of like stacking or doubling up on weather stripping in certain areas to eliminate wind noise,leaks and small gaps. The only thing I screwed up were the side window weather stripping which is easy but getting them perfect the first time to the point where you won't get wind noise and a water leak was my first failure. Alberto quickly overnighted another set of weather stripping free of charge which was quite nice of them since they didnt have to do that. After that it was a breeze but as I drove off excited I quickly got pissed off due to the extremely loud creaking and cracking sounds coming from the top itself and my happiness quickly turned into frustration thinking something was drastically wrong with the top and its seals. I waited 13 weeks for this top so I was not settling for anything less than satisfaction so I quickly contacted Alberto and he mentioned using "shinetzu" grease on every part of the black trimming that is on every s2k which wraps around the softop area which is what the hardtops seals make contact with. A few days later I took the top off myself and took Albertos advice and it definetely worked out so I was once again a happy customer. Moral of the story is shinetzu grease is my new best friend!!


5.Most complicated part to rate in my opinion is the Fitment...
1. 10/10 windshield section
2. 8/10 side windows
3. 8/10 rear with izzy brackets but 10/10 with oem or other 2piece brackets that can actually pull the top down

With the help of Yoohoo today I was able to get this top to fit as best as it could with the hardware that was provided which I'm not a fan of now that I have it. The front of my top is attached via oem latches and I'd say is 10/10 fitment since there aren't gaps, no windnoise, and it aligns perfectly with the windshield frame each and everytime that we did it. That is a 10/10 in my opinion.

The side windows will have small gaps on each side next to your shoulder area which will need to be filled by stacking 2 or 3 small pieces of weather stripping there which was something Yoohoo ended up doing on my car today since it worked on his as well. This is the only way to elimate windnoise and water leaks with mugen styled tops from that area from what we noticed. I wasnt expecting to have to fill in any gaps so thats an 8/10 to me.

The rear is held down via Izzy brackets which were provided by Forbidden which do an ok job holding the top but don't do much for adjustment whatsoever which is why I rated the fitment an 8/10 but its not due to the top but really the brackets. The brackets provided are one piece and hold the top in with 3 bolts which have to be removed each and everytime you plan to take it off but it does make the security of the top a little better. The downfall of the brackets is that all they do is hold the top in place unlike the oem and moddiction 2piece latches that actually pull down the top tighter onto the body of the car which is obviously alot better. I was able to look at Yoohoo's car which has the same top but has rear oem brackets and its a perfect tight fitment around the sides and trunk area and was easy to see why my top sat a bit higher than his does. Once again the top fits great in this area but due to the brackets it came with it will not be as tight a fit as it would be with a 2piece style bracket hence why I will be replacing those asap.

6.. My conclusion
Recommending this top and forbidden is very easy for me with my experience. Their customer service is 2nd to none and their tops are great for the cost. Don't hesitate to purchase any of their products if youre in the market cause theyre honest about everything regardless if its good or bad and people like myself appreciate that. I myself am a professional salesperson with a stellar reputation and appreciate it when I receive the same type of customer service that I myself provide to my customers. I'm also realistic and know that you can't make everyone happy but Alberto and Forbidden will do whatever they can to fulfill their commitments


7. Expectations and Reality
You're paying 1/4 of the price of an authentic CF Mugen HT so these tops will have a couple rough spots within the interior, some blemishes and take a little more work to put on than oem but unless you're extremely anal and expecting something perfect then your expectations of any replica top are too high. The only reason I had a few issues were because I'm not familiar with HT installations but anyone that is more knowledgeable than me will find it quite easy. I'm so satisfied with this top that I'd buy another one but pained BB to match my car to just switch tops here and there but unfortunately I don't have space to store two of them. Anyone local is more than welcome to check out my top and you can be the judge to decide if its for you or not.


Special Thanks..
Thank you Alberto,Braulio and Forbidden for your help and great products. I'd like to thank Aden "Gotboost79" for his knowledge and advice and also Dave aka "Yoohoo" answering atleast 1000 questions and helping me out with final adjustments and taking off this top atleast 5 times until he got it right. I greatly appreciate it and drinks are on me!


Best Regards

Rosario717

Here's the finished product
Sorry about the cell pics but will get better ones w a few friends on here as a group