suzuka-blue-s2k

Hey everyone, I have been experimenting with different hardtop seals, and I am going to do a small review with the few I have tried.

I am going to be comparing VIS's old seals, VIS's new ones, and Spyder562's seals.


1. VIS's old seals. These have to be the worse seals in the group. The adhesive on them is not that sticky at all, and they have the big crease in them that most people dont like when bent. For a good fitting hardtop, you would think they would have better seals than this. The main rear seal is identical to Spyders, and some people dont like them because it is harder to get the hardtop to seal up. If you mess with it for a while, you should be able to get it done.

Rating these 1-5, I would choose a 2. They could definelty use some work, but they do not leak surprisingly. Thats why these arent rated at a 1.





2. VIS's new seals. Okay since some people have been complaing about the seals, Chin at GBperformance was nice enough to get them to include better seals with the hardtops. They also upgraded the rear main seal to a thicker one so it is easier to seal. Since it is thicker, you will have a small gap between that hardtop and the car in the back. It does all seal up nicely though with no leaks. Back to the door seals, these are a HUGE impovement over the old ones. They are slightly stickier, and the no longer have that crease in them at the bend, so they look a lot nicer.

Rating these 1-5, I would choose a 4. The only small complaints is that the top sits a tiny bit higher in the rear than some would like, and the adhesive isnt completely top notch. Don't get me wrong, they are sticky, but they could be better.






3. Spyder562 seals. These seals have to take the cake. Spyder sells these as replacement seals, and he includes these seals with the hardtops slows2k sells in the vendor section. The door seal are already pre-bent for easy installation, and so they don't have the crease in them, and are very sturdy. These also have a high adhesive back on them that is very hard to remove once it is on something. These seals are not going to just come off, even pulling on them a little bit. Spyder includes the same rear seal as the old VIS ones, but some people prefer this since the top sits flush with the car, it just takes more adjustment to get the top to sit perfect. Spyder also includes a slightly thicker window seal. This would be much more durable if you have a real glass window, and will not fail on you. I have not heard of any of VIS's having problems, but these would be nice just to have.

Rating these 1-5, these take a perfect 5. I have no complaints whatsoever with these, and have never heard anything bad about them. If you are looking for replacement seals, these are what you need, and will love.





Conclusion. If you buy a VIS hardtop, they do come with the new version upgraded seals. These will do nicely and seal everything up, and look pretty decent. If you are looking for a slight upgrade or ever need replacements, I would highly suggest you get the seals from Spyder. So that is my small review, and if you have any questions or opinions on them, just post.

03supers2k

awesome how is the bottom hardtop seal? Does the hardtop creek at all?

suzuka-blue-s2k

Well I did have the new VIS one, now I have spyders (which is the same as VIS's old one) The new VIS one was very easy to get sealed, but the top sit a little high, and I didn't like it as much. My current spyder seal took a lot of adjustment and messing around with to get it sealed, but once its on it looks very nice. With both of these seals there are some sqeaks, but I searched and found some OEM Honda grease (really made for door seals) but people use them on their seals of the hardtops, and it makes the creeking go away. I just ordered this stuff from Honda so I should have it sometime this week. I will also post and let you all know if that works.

Also the top makes a little more noise when its colder out, when its warmed up some, there is almost no noise at all.

03supers2k

Thanks please update or shoot me a pm

suzuka-blue-s2k

Okay I just looked it up again, and its called Shin Etsu Grease. You can find it for cheap on ebay, or you can get it here at handa-accessories. Its in a white and green tube. I'll keep this thread updated and see if it works.

http://www.handa-accessories.com/s2000-03maint.html

Forbidden-USA

The Shin Etsu Grease works perfect

Just make sure you dont add a lot. Tap a little in your figure and spread.

chairmnofthboard

Keep in mind that if it wasn't for VIS introducing these seals, nobody would have anything to copy.

I did a custom set of seals for a that worked by far the best. Sides and rear, problem is, I forgot what combo we used at the end. I'll have to look up all my notes.

RonnieB

where do you put the grease to help with the squeaking in cold temp?

Forbidden-USA

You put it on the lower bottom seal.

Forbidden-USA

Keep in mind if it wasn't for Mugen introducing this hardtop, VIS wouldn't have had anything to copy and any reason to find a solution for seals. So all and all, lets thank Mugen for this product.

I have tried combination of many different seals. But always it doesn't seem to work.

It seems like you need a smaller seal for the back and a bigger seal for the sides. After a lot of testing, it seems that even if you only have a seal on the sides, the rear will still sit high even without a seal. The only way it works is if you use brackets for the back to hold it down.

If you use the old vis seal and stack the seals on the sides, it seems to work. All this also depends on the top and how good it is. VIS sells very good tops but not always are you so lucky to get a good one.



All these problem will soon end. We have recreated the mugen hardtop to sit lower on the sides by filling in the mold. So now, there is no huge gap and we can use a seal 2 times smaller then the old VIS seal.