Yeah I wish I were lying. I have pictures of 10 S2000 I've owned the past 7 years. If you want to call bullshit, I'd call it somewhere else.

 

you see.. this is where you and i disagree a little..

the oem sides have adjustability on the top part of the rear, but not much.. not nearly as much as the solid brackets we offer.. also, the brackets we use make it really easy to pull down/tighten the top to the car.

the seals we use are also at least 2x thicker then what the other replica guys use. my side window seals are also a bit more sturdy then the oem seals. with my authentic cf mugen top, the seals actually guide water into the car. its kind of hard to explain over the internet, but if you look at the seal, it has a slit in the side where water travels down and thru. not a big deal but it is not the case with my aftermarket seals. this is really what seperates us from the others. most people just assume we use the same stuff.. not the case.

OEM stuff is great. quality is great. fitment is usually great too. you cant really go wrong with the stuf.. but for price/functionality... a lot of the stuff i offer is the better bang for the buck.. at least in my opinion and a lot of our customers opinions.

if anyone is local and wants to see the differences i am talking about.. feel free to stop by. I actually keep samples in the shop of what the other companies use just so they can see why Rockstar Garage is the best in the buisness at what we do

 

you see.. this is where you and i disagree a little..

the oem sides have adjustability on the top part of the rear, but not much.. not nearly as much as the solid brackets we offer.. also, the brackets we use make it really easy to pull down/tighten the top to the car.

the seals we use are also at least 2x thicker then what the other replica guys use. my side window seals are also a bit more sturdy then the oem seals. with my authentic cf mugen top, the seals actually guide water into the car. its kind of hard to explain over the internet, but if you look at the seal, it has a slit in the side where water travels down and thru. not a big deal but it is not the case with my aftermarket seals. this is really what seperates us from the others. most people just assume we use the same stuff.. not the case.

OEM stuff is great. quality is great. fitment is usually great too. you cant really go wrong with the stuf.. but for price/functionality... a lot of the stuff i offer is the better bang for the buck.. at least in my opinion and a lot of our customers opinions.

if anyone is local and wants to see the differences i am talking about.. feel free to stop by. I actually keep samples in the shop of what the other companies use just so they can see why Rockstar Garage is the best in the buisness at what we do
[/quote]

Yes we disagree. You see, if the hardtop has the proper shape (not deformed) and the OEM seals are used, you don't need that wide of a range of adjustment to get it to fit right. Make sense right? A wide range of adjustment is just a band-aid or cover-up for parts that have wide tolerances. The OEM top is engineered very precisely and thus has high tolerances (when compared to replicas) so it doesn't need a wide range of adjustment. Let's not get this confused with my point that the top has "tons of adjustability". Like i said, the OEM hardware has pretty much every type of adjustability there is--up/down, left/right, backward/forward. It may only go in each direction a matter of millimeters, but that is all that is needed for a properly engineered top and proper seals! And, if for some odd reason, you WANT more adjustability in the OEM hardware (because you shouldn't NEED it), one could just lengthen the slots. So, again, the OEM hardware works with tops that have the correct dimensions. If you're saying that the OEM hardware doesn't have a wide enough range of adjustability for your top (that your hardware is better suited to get your tops to fit right), then maybe your tops aren't as exact [copies] as i thought they might be.

As for comparing the ability to tighten the hardtop down to the body, it doesn't get much easier than the handle on the OEM hardware that you can easily flip back and forth to remove/install the top. I believe you need a socket wrench to tighten yours right? With your hardware, it is also a pain for those that like to remove the top frequently as there is no "memory"--the ability to tighten/loosen the top is also the way to remove/install the top. So once you tighten it JUST right, it won't matter the next time you remove it and go to install it again, because you'd have to tighten it down all over again. With the OEM hardware, the tightness of the top on the car is adjusted separately from the tops ability to be removed/installed on the car (hence the 'memory'). Simply adjust the 3 bolts on the top portion of the side catcher, then all you need from there on out is a turn of the handle to tighten it up. With OEM hardware i can install the remove the top a billion times and it'll still keep the same tightness that i originally set.

As far as range of adjustability to tighten or loosen, reference my first paragraph above (cliffs notes: you shouldn't need a large range for a good top).

Ok on to the window seals. Sturdiness--OEM uses a metal skeleton/bracket inside the window seal to help keep it's shape. isn't yours just double sticky taped to the top? It doesn't seem to me that double sticky tape is a great way to keep a proper and long lasting seal against the lateral pressure of the door/window.

And for the part that supposedly leaks water--i believe you are referring to the corner where the top meets the A pillar. IIRC your fix was to extend your window seal past the end of the top and tuck it into the A pillar seal...excuse me, but that seems a bit of a ghetto fix. I don't know if you've experience leaking in rain or what, but rain won't get in with OEM seals if the top is adjusted evenly left and right on the car. A pressurized flow of water is a different story--and even then, OEM seals weren't meant to take a high pressure blast of water and keep water out. If someone gets water in their car from shooting pressurized water directly at the window seam, then that's user error! the helms manual states to test with a regular flow of water over the top of the hardtop to inspect for leaks.

Also, something that hasn't been mentioned yet is that the OEM hardware has a button on the driver side catcher that, when any hardtop is installed, deactivates the soft top switch so you can't accidentally raise the soft top while the hard top is on. Just an added bonus (along with the defroster if you choose an OEM top).

IMO, the OEM hardware pays off with convenience, ease of use, ease of installation and of course, OEM quality. But i guess, either customers don't realize all of these great aspects of the OEM hardware or people are just cheap these days and aren't willing to save for quality parts. Unfortunately, the reality is probably the latter of these two possibilities.

 

I have replica top with oem hardware instead of the cheap side catchers top fits great, could'nt see spending 3500 on used top,esp with thieves,even with hardtop locks they can get a top just slows them down.

 

Chris, you raise some very good arguments lol. Luckily, My tops are easy to install. They usually just drop on and bolt down. My tops work great with OEM hardware as well.

With the side OEM seals on my mugen top or even soft tops, water does get in. I'm sure most of us get water in the front corner, its not much but it does. It's a convertible. Lol all convertibles leak. Doesn't bother me much but some people might have an issue with this no matter how much they spend on their equipment. I didn't have this issue with the seals I provide on my tops. This is my experience, might not be what you have experienced.

I've also worked with a few OEM tops that had minor fitment issues. It's not often, but they are out there. I'm around this stuff more often then most people.

My point is, there are good affordable tops, there are bad OEM tops out there. All of them can be installed to fit properly. Some easier than others. They both have their pros and cons.

Style is another factor, I'm not a fan of OEM. Never have been.

 

replica mugen? what do you mean even with hardtop locks they can steal it?

 

Mugen replica, i had both locks from s2ki vendors.i didnt keep one set...i found it was'nt hard to pop open(not gonna go in detail im sure,some lurking thieves on here).thieves will always find away around things! i just hope my locks will slow them down. Which i doubt they will steal a mugen rep,oem brings in way more money.

 

ive had 6 hardtops(oem/authentic mugen/replicas) throughout and with oem side weather seals, never had any leaks you're talking about. not even my soft top leaks. i think something is wrong with your car specifically.

 

my cars are fine.. i just think people take what they read on the inernet WAY too seriously. if they hear a little whistle or see a few little drops of water, they freak out and think their top is bad.. what they didnt think about is how their soft top made WAY MORE NOISE and leaked the same amount of water or more.

 

The OEM may have little adjustment (which it doesn't) because it doesn't need it. I set my OEM top on my S and 15 minutes later it was adjusted an sealed/seated down properly. I can easily take the top on and off and it seals properly each time.

My issue was what was mentioned earlier, if I'm spending $2500 on a replica with hardware I'd rather spend the extra $500-$1000 and get one that fits as it was intended (OEM). I've helped a friend install a replica Mugen, the brand I won't mention, and the threaded inserts in the top for bolting it in were missing and the weatherstripping/seals were terrible.

To me also, I'm not a fan of replicas for the sheer fact they are copies of the real thing. The exclusiveness of owning a real Powerhouse Amuse top is now dead. As is the Mugen.