North Shore 911

I did a quick search for Cab top replacements and only found a 996 thread on this, so here it goes: Has anyone done an OEM or aftermarket replacement for their ragtop? Like many, I have some annoying creases and small abrasions at the rear hinge points on my 2010 C4S Cab, and it bugs me every time I see it. While the best solution is to simply go top-down year round, sadly that's not an option here in Chicago-land for my DD

Have any fellow 997 Cab owners redone their canvas, or do you have any suggestions for who to talk to about different options? While I am absolutely certain that my Stealership will happily do this for the usual arm+leg+kidney cost, I'm looking for an aftermarket solution using at a minimum OEM-quality canvas.

Any help on this?

Dennis C

I'm surprised to hear that your top needs to be replaced so soon. They top on my 2008 cabriolet still looks very good.

I think that most dealerships send cars out to a local specialist to have tops replaced. You may be able to find out where your dealership has their work done and take the car there directly, saving a little bit of money.

Lahainabry

Auto tops direct? They have or make this one " Haartz German A5 Singed material without window. Made with original style stitchless deck seams and side tension cables. Top fits both left hand and right hand drive models". I have spoke to a couple of Cab owners who used them. They looked good and they were happy with the results. I have never used them.

Dennis C

FWiW, Haartz is the supplier of Porsche OE tops.

Schulr

I have a similar issue with my 09 C2S with 48000 miles. I had this quoted using an after market firm in Atlanta at $3200 including the liner. I,
M going to live with the issues until it starts leaking. Wonder if there is a better fabric then oem that might lessen the wear?

Bob

Edgy01

The creasing problem and abraded look will start again, as soon as the new one goes in. It's a function of the folding design.

mreloc

Does the damage occur while the top is folded and it bounces around somewhat under driving conditions? Or is it from repeatedly opening and closing? Or, finally, does it occur from storing the top too long (folded) vs storing roof closed and tight?

It appears that some are affected more than others- maybe there were slight differences in installation techniques at the factory.

JW911

Mine has looked like that since almost new and has really hardly worsened over the last 11 years. They all look this way due to the design. If you replace it, it will look this way again very soon.

JayRace

I investigated replacing mine due to the wear marks and I believe the OEM top was $2200 (part only). The majority of 997.2 cabs I've seen have the same exact wear marks on them so I declined to do anything assuming the same marks will return.

Nip are

I was told that to minimize wear it's best to always keep the top up except when driving topless. Yes they all show the same wear marks and for some reason the passenger side usually looks worse.

JayRace

Yeah I tried to tell the wife driving topless would prevent the issue but she wasn't buying.

Iceter

My '09 cab is a DD. I've had it almost 4 years and I have raised and lowered the top several hundred times. Sometimes I raise and lower it multiple times a day. The cloth is much better at hiding blemishes than vinyl, which will show a crease forever, once it's there.

From the looks of my cloth top, the original owner must have never put the top down. It was pristine when I bought it. After a few months of use, there were creases and a couple of lightly abraded areas on the sides. I was very concerned that the top would not last. I can say now that the top is exceptionally durable and the creases and abrasions haven't gotten any worse.

In fact, after a good cleaning, an application of 303 dressing and an afternoon in the hot sun, they largely, but temporarily, disappear.

The idea of having a new top installed to get rid of these minor cosmetic blemishes seems exceptionally wasteful to me, especially considering the fact that as soon as you operate the top a few times, they will reappear. And if an owner leaves the top up just to minimize the blemishes, then that owner probably should have bought a coupe or targa.

In addition, it is very rare for a second convertible top to look as good as the factory installed one. Installing a convertible top is an art that very few shops can get right.

I will put off replacing my top until it begins leaking, but I believe the top will last much longer than my ownership of the car.

JAGMAN1

I too have the creases and abrasions. I think that the abrasions occur when the roof is raised and lowered. I expect that leaving the top down in the garage will worsen the creases, but will have no effect on the abrasions.

The creases don't bother me. The abrasions do a little, but mostly for the fear that they will worsen. Though they seem to be holding steady.

On a related subject, I think that the soft top on the 991 looks really nice. You can hardly see the frame and bows that support the top. It looks like all three sections have magnesium backing. Whereas the 997 top only has the backing on the forward-most section.