My original cover is still sealed in plastic and waiting until I get around to getting the new and improved one from the first S2000 recall. Since the tops fits all the way into the body of the car, I don't really think it needs one.

 

If the tops down, the boots on! The car just doesn't look right....looks unfinished without it.

 

I use my boot cover all the time. It makes the car look better and also protects the top from debris and the sun. It really doesn't takethat long to put on, once it's broken in. It's hard to do the frist few times.

 

Thanks much, Steve.

 

Ditto Scott, At first I wanted the ability to put the top up quickly any time I could. Now the top is down 95+% of the time and it does protect the fabric and looks better. Would be nice if it stored easier and more compact and went on quicker, but no big deal.
JohnA

 

Can the boot be "On" with the hardtop on? ( in-place)

 

Top down 95% of the time, boot on 75% of the time. I only leave the boot off if I think it's going to rain. (ie, I'm driving into dark clouds).

As for trunk space, you can roll up the boot quite small, so it takes up very little space. I've done this a lot with mine (but usually it's just flopped into the empty trunk) w/o any adverse side effects.

 

Hmmm, I'm surprised with how many of you leave the top down all the time, even when unattended. I've become a bit paranoid about that. A few people on the board have had people drop cherry sodas into their cars, have had birds shit in them, have had strange people use nails to cut the leather seats... all kinds of bizarre and unfortunate things. No matter where I park it, or when, there are always a few people who walk past, stop, and spend a minute or two looking at my car. That makes me a little worried. I've always put the top up when I park it for more than a half-hour lunch... maybe I should rethink that?

So now my boot cover is stored in my closet in my apartment. If I'm going somewhere (like an club drive) where I want to impress people, I'll throw the cover on it.

Because of the trunk space and installation-time issues, there are really only two viable options:

1) Leave the top down and cover on virtually all the time.
2) Leave the boot at home and put the top up and down every drive.

I'm just too damned paranoid to leave the top down virtually all the time, even just parked in the deck at work.

There's a guy here with a Jag XK8 that leaves it in the sun every day, top down, about 100 feet from a parking garage. It makes me cringe to think about that poor leather.

- Warren

 

Convertables are _usually_ made to withstand being weathered. I've owned a X1/9 since '85 and never had a problem, always left the top off for the most part. It's even been rained in (not lightly either), all w/no ill effect. Current X1/9's interior is in great condition, leather seat is a bit cracked because I didn't realize you had to condition it and the driver's foot rest is a bit thread bare from use but that's it.

From what I can tell, it's better for a car to be in the sun w/o a roof than to be in the sun w/a roof and the windows up. In the sun w/a roon and windows down is probably best, barring being in covered parking.

 

And I'm going to get the Honda extended warranty... so when my top stops moving because I've lowered and raised it eighteen million times, it'll get fixed for free.

I have sometimes gotten annoyed at the routine of having to put the top down every time I get in it, and I've thought about just leaving the top down all the time, because then I could use the boot. But then I thought to myself that those few seconds just help the engine warm up a bit.

As far as dust is concerned, I use a Cali duster on my car once or twice a day, top included. So it just doesn't get dusty...

And if I left the top down all the time... I think I might not be able to resist the urge to jump into it.... that would be bad for the leather.

- Warren