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Which top to use ???
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,928
Likes: 55
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Which top to use ???
Hi
Being that l have both tops for my coupe is there a rule when to use them?
I really prefer the solid painted top but l keep the clear one on because l'm lazy!
Do you put one on for the summer months and the other one for the winter?
Alan
Being that l have both tops for my coupe is there a rule when to use them?
I really prefer the solid painted top but l keep the clear one on because l'm lazy!
Do you put one on for the summer months and the other one for the winter?
Alan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,049
Likes: 0
From: The second childhood is the best one of all.
I have both tops too. The painted one is in the back of a closet, covered w/ blankets. Here is what I have learned. The transparent top is nicer under most all conditions. It gives you the sky view and is less clausterphobic. The painted one has a little insulation in it and is warmer in the winter and cooler in the really hot summer months. I've read posts from several Southern owners who say the tranparent top is too hot in their hot summers. In N.J. and Ohio we seldom will have that problem. I hope that helps, a little.
Tom
Tom
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,928
Likes: 55
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Thanks for your candid answer.
By the way last week l was in Hilton Head, South Carolina and l have never seen more cars from Ohio in one place in my life.
Alan
By the way last week l was in Hilton Head, South Carolina and l have never seen more cars from Ohio in one place in my life.
Alan
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I only have one top for my current car, but when I had my '99, I had both. I ran the clear top probably 99% of the time - just like to be able to see out of it.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 1
From: Torrance CA
My care came with the painted top, but I bought a glass top. I have never put the painted top back on the car. The glass top gets a bit hot above about 75 or 80. However, a simple $30 or so solar shade (I bought mine from WCC) will fix the heat and preserve the cool external look of the glass top. I have been stuck in a traffic jam in the desert where the climate control read a constant external temp of 132F with this setup and was very happy.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,572
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From: Rehoboth MA . . . NRA Life Member
St. Jude Donor '06-'07
Originally Posted by BrianWe
I have been stuck in a traffic jam in the desert where the climate control read a constant external temp of 132F with this setup and was very happy.
I think I'd melt at those temps. But I'll bet it was a dry heat, wasn't it?
Racer
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 320
Likes: 0
From: Jackson Mississippi
Originally Posted by BrianWe
My care came with the painted top, but I bought a glass top. I have never put the painted top back on the car. The glass top gets a bit hot above about 75 or 80. However, a simple $30 or so solar shade (I bought mine from WCC) will fix the heat and preserve the cool external look of the glass top. I have been stuck in a traffic jam in the desert where the climate control read a constant external temp of 132F with this setup and was very happy.
Me too. I like the look of the clear (black) top on the car cause it contrasts well with the torch red. I had a navy 99 with both tops and kept the painted top on all the time. I made a sunshade for the clear top (looks like factory headliner inside) so i can stay cool in the hot mississippi sun.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,509
Likes: 240
From: Coconut Creek FL
In Florida - it's HOT all the time so I use my painted top 95% of the time...a car sitting in my work parking lot with the tinted top would bake you like a greenhouse! plus I think the noise reduction of the solid top is a lot better...then again, I have Corsa Indy's so I can hear that sweet sound anytime I hit the go pedal!
I like the look of the car better with the color matched top...
Enjoy it!
I like the look of the car better with the color matched top...
Enjoy it!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 0
From: Broken Arrow OK
Like you, I have a Torch Red with transparent top. It got really hot with temperatures above 100 degrees recently. About two weeks I bought a black painted top on Ebay for $177. It gives the same external look as the glass top but is much cooler and quieter. The transparent top is now under the bed and will probably stay there for some time.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: The line waiting to see Santa Claus stretched all the way back to Terre Haute, and I was at the end, Indiana
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18
Clear blue when it's raining, the rest of the time in the rear storage...painted top to ebay.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,024
Likes: 18
From: DFW Texas
I too used to run transparent top 100% of the time.. Had both tops, just never changed it, until last summer while sitting stuck in a traffic jam with heat blazing and heat reflection of the concrete, the A/C just could not keep up. Blazing hot.
Changed to my hardtop - haven't gone back yet, and not going to anytime soon with temps 104-107 every day for last 2 weeks.
The clear IS really nice for the 'open air' sort of view -- but didn't care to be in a solarium chamber.
Changed to my hardtop - haven't gone back yet, and not going to anytime soon with temps 104-107 every day for last 2 weeks.
The clear IS really nice for the 'open air' sort of view -- but didn't care to be in a solarium chamber.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Hard to feel filtered sun with the AC on
Dehydration can be a threat with the clear top on long road trips and drinking less for fewer stops has it's price. But my C5 wears the glass most of the time. 