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I honestly don't know which is better, top up or top down. But this board seems to favor top up, unlatched.
My main concern here was others reading this thread looking for advice. The message I would hope such ones to take away is, straps are cheap and easy to replace, tops are not. So make your decision about storage top up or down based on its effect on the top, and don't take into consideration the effect it has on the straps.
The link you provided is excellent content to help anyone make that decision.
Just a follow up on this topic.
I finally put my top up last month after about nine months of having it folded. It went up without issue. It was ever so slightly tight but only when clasping the latches shut. This is a normal tightness that I have noticed after storing the top down for shorter amounts of time. Nothing scary. The top has no signs of tearing, wear or strap fatigue. The original plastic window is like new to look out of - no permanent folding due to my long term top down storage. Big plastic rear windows are the best.
I am the sole owner of a MY2000 S2000 (17+ years now) and am still on my original top, though I had the plastic window replaced with a new OEM part about a year ago. My car is mainly stored outdoors and only sometimes under a cover. The top has been up/down cycled I have no idea how many times. I also managed to find an OEM hard top a couple years ago and I use it in the Winter (only rain here in Northern CA). So - for 15+ years my top went up/down as weather dictated. I have a felt liner in the well and I wrapped a piece of pipe insulation in felt and insert it in the folded window as I lower the top. I never got a bad window crease or bad scratches from the well. I also treated the plastic window regularly with Plexus. It was still pliable, but after 15 years it got hard to see through, so I replaced it. The top itself was starting to show wear in the normal spots, so I reinforced those from the inside with some black fabric patching material.
Not sure if this helps, but if you want to stick to plastic windows, like I have, then I'd suggest felt in the well, a felt roll in the top crease when putting it down, and using Plexus regularly.
03-23-2017, 06:07 PM
