I have a removable hard top. What tips can someone offer about keeping the kreaks and sounds to a minimum. I know that the tightening of the allen screws is a key but are there any things that can be done to eliminate most of the noises.

 

The best tip is to not use it.

 

Why Not?

 

Paging Dan Edgy01.
If anyone has dealt with this it will be Dan!

 

I never cared for these tops.

Besides being a pain to install I think it changes the look of the car for the worse. I love the look of the 997 with the soft top up.......it looks old fashioned and makes me smile.

These hardtops are not very attractive on any cars not only Porsches. They just look wrong to me and again it's just my opinion and I'm sure you'll find many more people who like them.

I used one one winter in my 01 C4 and the look wore me down in about 3 days. After that I couldn't wait for spring!

Best,

Tom

 

I love the look of my hardtop on my 997...different strokes for different folks....

And it takes me about 10 minutes to install - so not that difficult. Gives the car a totally different feel in the winter, quiets it down inside and more visibility. Just make sure you have it torqued down to 37 ftlbs.

 

I like the looks of the rag top better on my Cab (almost gives it a speedster look)--but love the practicality of the HT during the cold, rainy season in the NW.

The best advice I ever got was to spray the contact surfaces (rubber strip along the front above the windscreen and the cloth strip around the back) with Wurth's dry PTFE spray.

When washing, try not to direct water into the gap between the top & the rear bodywork. The seal will keep all or most of it out, but it will tend to wash off the dry lubricant.

Putting on the top for the winter isn't just a styling exercise, it makes it a whole different car. While I enjoy the HT for the winter, I enjoy taking it off for the summer even more.

But you're right....a cab "talks to you" in ways a coupe never will. In our somewhat ultra-controlled world, I enjoy it.

 

If you want to reduce the noise factor (which is there, but very slight) you can try a bit of silicon spray on the front seal of the car and the top itself. Of course, for the back end, the requirement per spec is 34 ft lbs of torque for each of the allen bolts.

I can't suggest that the hardtop is any noisier than any other situation that involves the cabriolet. Try that and see.