Hello all, recently picked up an 05 and I have some new guy questions I was hoping to get some answers.
1.) The soft top has two or three holes in it. Is there a cheaper, better alternative to a new OEM one; local Honda stealership wants 1800 for one.
2.) Does anyone have a pdf of the factory service manual that they would be will to share or for a reasonable fee?
3.) This car doesn't have an owners manual; is there a download for one floating around anywhere?
Thank you in advance for any replies and I apologize if I posted this in the wrong area.

 

For the manuals, check out this thread

Manuals and stuff

For the softtop, the Robbins top is better quality, and much cheaper than oem Honda one. This is one of the few parts for our cars that aftermarket is better than stock. Honda jas lots of motorcycle and racing experience that helped make this cars engineering superior than anything aftermarket can come up with for so many of the cars components. Meanwhile Honda doesn't have much experience with soft tops...

 

There is also a thread for nrw owners that was created a few years ago. Has a wealth of very valuable info.

 

Roof installation is probably more important than OEM or Robbins. This is a most-of-the-day installation as much of the interior has to come out. Short cuts will result in leaks. Not at all like throwing new canvas on your olde TR3.

There's an early Service Manual on line that may be linked above but it's not completely current for your car with the AP2 engine.

-- Chuck

 

Many posts appear to make this true.

I pay attention to top posts knowing that someday I will need to replace mine even though for an 09, it is in terrific shape. I keep an eye out for local folks who have installed a bunch. There is a learning curve and I don't want to do it myself.

 

There are a few sources for competent aftermarket soft tops and a few online vendors most of whom offer more than one manufacturer. I got my custom top from KwikTops in CA and they used Ace Headliners in CA to fabricate it for me. They did an outstanding job. It's 5 years old and still as tight as a drum skin.
I see that you already have responses on this.
I got my pdf version of the owner's manual by joining the Honda Owner's Link, online, and downloading it straight from Honda.

 

 

I took a downloaded (and saved to a flash chip) copy to FedEx Office and they made a very nice 9"X 5" bound book for about $5 as I recall. I found the "2009" picture I used for the front on some sales brochures I had. Not sure how the original one looked. Fits perfectly in the secret compartment.

 

Which is another reason NOT to go to Honda for the top. How much experience will the tech have installing soft tops? I'm betting zero.

Find someone that has experience installing tops on these cars...

 

lol awesome. that's good enough. They have OEM ones for sale on ebay. I thought I lost my 05 Owners manual but ended up finding it. I was about to purchase a new one.
I figure if I ever sell the car it'll be better having that type of stuff... and easier to find now in good condition then in 5+ years. ya know?

I put all of the years on S2000.club - Honda S2000 Owner's Manuals, Installation Instructions, Paint codes, Service bulletins AP1 AP2 so theyre easy to find via google. I hardly ever reference mine, but it's a pain when you need it that one time and can't seem to locate it.
Birdybog, thanks for the shoutout.

And Mcat069. Congrats on your purchase, and welcome to the club

ONE OF US, ONE OF US!