I recently purchased an '02 S2K that came with an aftermarket Mugen-style hard top painted to match the car in Silverstone. I plan to always run the car with the hard top on, and may remove the soft top at a later date (it has a tear in it, anyway). I'm debating about replacing this top with an OEM one instead.

What I would like to gain is:
- better sealing, as this one leaks air and water around the doors
- fewer rattles
- defrost
- better build quality in general

Would I see much improvement in those areas by making such a switch? If the color isn't black or Silverstone, I will probably just get it wrapped. I figure that between selling my top and buying an OEM, I would spend ~$2k for the switch.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

I can't comment on the build quality of the OEM hardtop but I will say you might end up spending more than $2k to get there. You're looking at about $3500 to get an OEM hardtop so unless you can get $1500 out of yours it might end up being closer to $2500-3000 to make the switch.

Also, obligatory "how can you own this car and not go top down" comment. Just getting it out of the way for you

 

I honestly think the s2k looks 1000x better with the top down. With that said, I think the OEM hardtop is the worst looking hardtop.
IMO, If the leaking is bad, try to sell it and get a better quality one. Or sell it and get the soft top fixed

 

OEM for the win ! Build quality is excellent ! Also its the best looking hardtop imo .

 

Thanks. I have seen some for tops sale locally for $3k including all mounting hardware.

I prefer a coupe but there aren't many 2 seat coupes in this price range with the same performance. And I plan to do some track driving so would want the hard top for that anyway...

 

Or just see if new seals might get the job done.
I would imagine there is a low cost way to make this top work.

Figure <$100 for seals vs 2500 for an OEM top.

 

Hardtops don't do anything in the event of a rollover. They will typically rip off the car the first time it touches the ground on the roll. The s2000 actually performs very well in rollovers, but if you want to do some serious track driving, get a rollbar.

 

Yes, a proper roll bar is also on my to-do list.

Thanks for the replies. I will get some grease and look into improving the seals. Guess that makes more sense than dropping $2k on a different top... The PO clearly tried to fix some of these issues with additional stick-on sealing rubber, but it wasn't doing the trick. I pulled the top off last night, so I will get the seals freshened up and then try for a reinstall. I was amazed at how loosely the header latches were attached.

 

^^Those latches aren't meant for hardtops. He was probably using the same catchers/latches from the soft top. Get fixed brackets for the front (like Izzy's). You'll noticed a significant improvement in wind noise if you just bolt them down securely.

 

The OEM hardtop will always be superior in terms of fitment and quality. I can't believe there's people posting that they can't speak for the quality of it - you NEVER see someone saying the one side of their OEM top is warped or that the back sits an inch too high on one side or having to replace its seals with some different ones.

Personal opinion? Sell the aftermarket and pick up the OEM.