Wondering what the current opinions are on aftermarket tops. I know Robbins is the gold standard, but has anyone tried any of the cheaper brands, and what were your experiences?

 

I would say the Honda OEM top is the gold standard and the Robbins is an affordable replacement with its own little quirks that come with it, IMO.

 

The Robbins Stayfast cloth is a high quality option to replace the OEM. The OEM vinyl, like any of the aftermarket vinyls, tend to get very brittle and turn a grayish color over time. The stayfast cloth is a durable material that maintains its deep, rich, black color much longer. If installed correctly, the Robbins, in my opinion, is the best aftermarket option. There are cheaper options for sure, but don't let price alone be the deciding factor when making this choice.

 

Labor is a significant part of the cost to install a top. Labor isn't any cheaper if you buy a cheap top. It might even cost more to install it right with cheap parts.

Save money on parts, spend more on labor, inferior end results.

If you are going to try and save money on install by diy, even more reason to go with the well known and documented option. These tops are not easy to install even by professionals (unless they've done several on this car already and know all the tricks - and btw most of those people strongly prefer Robbins). If you need help it'll so much easier if you're using the same kit as most who've paved this diy option. Also the only diy instructions that exist for this car are based on the Robbins kit.

If you are saving money on labor, than you can probably justify spending a little more on parts.

 

Go with the Robbins and an experienced, professional installer. The installation is highly detailed and if botched will probably look good ... and leak.

BTW, no instructions were provided with my Robbins replacement roof but @2poor2mod didn't need any he's installed so many. But he's based out of New Jersey. I nearly wet my pants when he removed the old roof with a box cutter! No going back after that.

-- Chuck

 

The Robbins is higher quality and has reinforced areas at the wear spots. OEM top is trash in comparison.

 

BuT tHaTs LHT's pReFeRrEd tOp. "wE wOn'T iNsTaLL aNyThiNg eLsE!"

 

The OEM top isn't quite as bad as people on here like to make it out to be. It's still a fairly robust top (post-TSB) for the time. Hell, I'm still on the original top myself with 85k+ miles and it has lots of life left in it. Zero rips and tears.

The Robbins is a good alternative, but it isn't exactly like the OEM top. If you're someone who wants it to have the OEM look as much as possible, even the vinyl alternative isn't quite there in terms of matching the look of an OEM top. Specifically, the round reinforcement patches also tend to stick out at certain angles. Again, not saying the Robbins is bad, but calling the post-TSB glass-equipped OEM top trash is a bit much, IMO. And in the end, it's just that - opinions. No clue what LHT says or thinks, personally, but I do know the guys at RSG are not big fans of the Robbins for whatever reason. I'm not a top installer, and I plan on going Robbins when the time comes, so I have no dog in this fight.

 

My 2009 has the original top with 75K miles. I checked the thing over when I got the car looking for sharp edges and such as mentioned in numerous posts here. So far the top looks almost new. There are some “flat” or worn looking horizontal spots on the top over the bars but it has not become gray and I have no worn spots or holes. To be fair, the car is always garaged, I use Raggtopp, and when the top is down for months at a time (when not on a road trip) during nice weather, I use the tonneau cover.

When the inevitable time comes, I always imagined I would replace it with a Robbins. I will travel some distance to get an experienced installer to do it. It does appear there is a somewhat local (to the Sacramento area) installer who has done a bunch of them with positive reviews.

 

^What he said.

I'm on the original top as well, and it's in great shape. I have an '06 with ~55k miles. I bought the car with ~16k miles, and I caught the issues/problems early with the OEM top and sharp edges and fixed them before they damaged the top. I applied some sunbrella patches on the inside with fabric clue a long time ago and they've held up well. Also put some coverings over the oem metal bars. I use 303 protectant a lot of the time after washing it which helps, and it's a garage queen now and been most of its life which helps for sure.