pakoms

Just wondering if the pop-ups will deploy if the hard top is in place.

Edgy01

If the vehicle sensors detect a potential roll over they will.

Edgy01

Things have changed in the design since the 996. You cannot 'deploy' the roll bars because they only deploy when the sensors tell them to. (You also cannot retract them yourself, unlike the 996 units).

p0rsch3

Congrats on the cab purchase- I just picked up an 06 C2 cab myself. I'm surprised how much stiffer the 997 cab chassis is vs. the 996 cab. One really great convenience mod you may wish to consider is the "SmartTOP" module from www.mods4cars.com - What a GREAT mod, and EZ to install. discount buy over at www.pcars.us from "BlackKnight" member (site admin).

I thought about the hard top but in reality it would just become something else I have to store in the garage... If you want to protect your top from fade / wear / stains, treat it with the RagTOPP kit: http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...ROD&ProdID=193
This is the best, period.

jjv

That's a beautiful car. I'm on the North Shore too. Well, a bit inland in Middleton, but I grew up in Salem.

Caughtacab911

jjv:

Thanks for the compliments (all owed to Porsche). We're neighbors - I'm in N. Andover not far from the Middleton line. Lots of enjoyable tree-lined roads out here in the 'burbs, but (in my early driving) nothing beats the on and off ramps of 95 and 495 :-)

Gene

Caughtacab911

I sent an email to see if PDA (http://www.pdadrivingschool.com/) would allow my cab to run the track at Watkins Glen with its "factory-equipped rollover protection", as their guidelines indicate. No word yet, though I have about 2,000 reasons to hope the answer is yes. Would much prefer not to have to deal with a hardtop (cost, mounting, driving, storage) if I can avoid it.

Meanwhile, tomorrow my car is with a local electronics whiz who is installing Bluetooth and (an imperceptibly mounted) satellite radio so I can bring my 05 997 up to 2008/9 standards. His "loaner" car is a 1982 MB 560 SEL, fully loaded (incl. nav and radar detection), tints, AMG wheels, burnished wood steering wheel -- everything. Even has FastLane transponder and coins if needed. Nice experience for 24 hours, a throwback to early 80s luxury. Even better will be getting my 911 back tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the input. If the FROP (factory rollover protection, that is) will suffice for tracking my car, then the electronics upgrades are already paid for.

Gene

_________________________________________________
2005 911 C2S cabriolet, arctic silver/black/full leather/chrono plus/nav/bose/pwr seat pkg/sport design wheels/Porsche short shifter/Passport SRX = exhilaration
2001 MB E320 4Matic wagon, midnight blue/beige/E430 sport wheels = winter driver/summer hauler/bike/kayak/ski transporter
2008 Audi A3 3.2, S-Line/tiptronic/bose/sat/black on black = wife's ride (my choice)

Caughtacab911

Here's what I got back from the PDA school director:

"Open cars with factory “roll over” protection are normally allowed at the Glen but the “broom stick” rule will apply. If you are a very tall driver and our tech staff feels that your head would extend above the line from the top of the windshield to the top of pop up bars, they may not let you run. Having a hardtop will solve the potential problem."

I'm 6 feet tall. With helmet on maybe 6-1 or 6-2 (?). It's hard to tell if the activated pop-up bars (post #13) actually do extend above the headrests or not. I assume so (why wouldn't they?). If so, I should be good without the hardtop. Most opinions here are not to buy it (easy call when tracking would be its only use), but I'd hate to get to the track and be sent home. Those who know the specs, bar height, etc., -- any thoughts?

Gene

_________________________________________________
2005 911 C2S cabriolet, arctic silver/black/full leather/chrono plus/nav/bose/pwr seat pkg/sport design wheels/Porsche short shifter/SRX = exhilaration
2001 MB E320 4Matic wagon, midnight blue/beige/E430 sport wheels = winter driver/summer hauler/bike/kayak/ski transporter
2008 Audi A3 3.2, S-Line/tiptronic/bose/sat/black on black = wife's ride (my choice)

Edgy01

Good luck finding an engineering drawing that has the popup bars documented with dimensions. Perhaps a 996 owner can deploy his and you can measure them.

Speed

I bought a 996 hardtop for my 997 cab and it was $1500 with the retrofit. My previous Porsche was a 996 cab with the HT and there were some slight rattling issues but they've been solved as my current HT doesn't make a sound under any driving conditions. I happen to love the look of the car with the HT. I put it on thanksgiving weekend and take it off April 1. And it's no big deal to put on; takes about a minute.

Caughtacab911

Yeah, it's looking as though I'll need to buy one if I want to run on the track.

Speed: did you get yours from a dealer or private party? Finding one privately seems near impossible. A local dealer here quoted me $2,000, which includes the $500 retrofit hardware/labor, so I may have to go that route.

Gene

Speed

Check out this post that I wrote detailing how I got my hard top. https://rennlist.com/forums/showpost...3&postcount=12

The key is to shop around your local dealers. No body is breaking down their doors to buy 996 HT's and you may find a dealer who's willing to be more reasonable on price just to get rid of something that's taking up space. The dealer I used had a conference room filled with HT's in just about every color.

Caughtacab911

I stopped by the dealer where they offered me a matching color 996 hardtop for $2000 installed. The various roofs they have (about 20 in all) are all gathering dust in a storage area. Some have been left by former owners who sold their cars and abandoned them. As you say, deals could be had by shopping around I'm sure. I haven't tried to do that yet. I'm still considering whether or not I actually need one for the 2-3x a year I'll be tracking my car.

As it happens, my 997 (and I suspect all that did not have the HT option) is absent all mounting hardware. When we popped the circular mounting covers on the retracted cabrio, there was only a piece of plastic inside - no threaded mounting "feet". The parts manager began tallying the price for all needed parts to retrofit the 996 top, and he got up to $1,100 and still not sure he had them all. I'm standing there wondering "do I really need to take this to the track?"

Meanwhile, the service tech (who swears there are a number of non-HT 997 cabs running on tracks in New England) offered a better alternative: how about if we pop the factory roll bars in the shop, measure the heights (and take pictures with a ruler), and even do the broomstick test with me in the seat (and photograph that)? He said he can pop them out and retract them again - although he added that I would not be able to do that. Seems like a great idea that could benefit others too, so I'm going to move ahead with that approach in the coming week or two. I'll report what we find (with pics).

Gene

kw_1055

Gene,
Thanks for keeping us up to date on this.
I would really like to know the height of the roll bars myself.
Can't wait for your report.

Don't forget your helmet when you take pictures with the broom stick.

Question. Why do you insist on this track outfit?
Do they provide something you like vs maybe local PCA DE events?
Non of our PCA track days (several regions and several diff. tracks) require the hardtop.
Have you check with PCA?

Caughtacab911

kw - good question... the reason I'm trying to comply with the PDA group is that my son and a group of his car buddies do the Watkins Glen weekend every year in Oct, and I thought that's as good a time as any to get out on the track and spend time together. I have not looked into any others as yet (I've only had the car for a month!). If they're less restrictive then I could be good as is. I will check into it - thanks.