mayhem267

I have owned a Forbidden Mugen Replica top for 10 months at this time. I recently picked up a used authentic Mugen Hardtop for a great price and I figured this would end the debate and see if the authentic Mugen hardtop is worth the significantly higher price tag to a high quality replica top. I understand that some of the price of the Mugen top comes from the RND of the authentic top and it goes towards supporting brands that develop parts for our cars.

The forbidden USA Top is the FRP with the carbon sides, and the Authentic Mugen is the fiberglass version.

The first thing I noticed between the two tops was the weight difference between the tops. The authentic Mugen weighted around 10 pounds heavier than the Forbidden top. The added weight in my opinion is not that much of a significant increase, but added structural rigidity to the top compared to the Rep top. The Authentic top is a much more dense top where I can not flex the top by merely pressing down on it compared to the rep top. Also tapping on the authentic top has a much more dense sound compared to the "hollow" sound of the rep top.

Another difference I noticed was the rear window on the Mugen top was a much thicker plastic compared to the Rep Lexan window which in my opinion could be pressed in if someone wanted into your S2000 badly enough.

A big difference between the two tops comes down to the Mugen having the OEM hardtop latches and hardware along with OEM seals. Granted you could always fit OEM seals and hardware to a rep top, but then you would almost be at the price of a Authentic top without the resale.

I had the Forbidden USA oem style rear two-piece brackets on the rep top and it greatly improved the squeaking and creaking along with shin-etsu grease and felt tape along the u-shape plastic trim. Compared to the Authentic top, the OEM seals greatly reduced the wind noise as expected, along with almost non existent creaking due to less flexing of a sturdier top.

So which one is better?
The Authentic Mugen top is the better top (Obviously) , But is it worth almost 3x the cost of a rep?
That's gonna come to your budget and goals with your car at the end of the day.
The Forbidden USA Hardtop is a great alternative to the authentic top and would recommend it if your budget doesn't allow for an authentic.

Here's a video showing the comparison, I hope this helps with the buying process!

Midnightdennis

Nice write up.

spaded.racer

Nice write up and video, I watched the whole thing!

I didn't realize the Mugen was 'thicker'/heavier, I always assumed it was basically the same as a Forbidden/RSG top with a Mugen tag. I also didn't know it came with OEM seals AND hardware. Makes the price much easier to swallow.

I was set on just find an OEM top locally but now I may give the Mugen a harder look.

vortamock

Good job on the video Sean and thanks for the detailed comparison. It was very informative and answered some questions I had!