Question about Robbins Top? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ultimate1 · 05-02-2007, 08:14 AM

I just had a Robbins glass window top installed last week. I had it installed by a Robbins preferred installer so as to make it easy to track and use the warranty if needed. I did a lot of research and both Gahh and Robbins told me that their tops fold down neatly just as the original vynil window top did. The installer advised me to wait a week for the canvass to stretch before lowering it. I lowered the top this morning and the decklid does not fold all the way. The decklid sticks up by about a half inch to and inch. Also, the cables are moving outside of the tracks. I had to put the top up slowly to guide the cables back in to place. The top is still very stiff. Is this typical or do I need to give the canvass another week to stretch out some more?

Does anyone know if this is a bad top or if it is a minor adjustment that needs to be done to correc this problem?

I would greatly appreciate any comments or help.

FrayAdjacent · 05-02-2007, 08:23 AM

I would take it back to the installer to have them put it down and make any adjustments. It MAY just still be very tight. They might want to take a heat gun to it to warm it up.

Have you been letting it stay out in the sun to warm up? It stretches better when warm, so if you garaged it and it was cool in there, it's probably not stretched well enough.

ultimate1 · 05-02-2007, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrayAdjacent

I would take it back to the installer to have them put it down and make any adjustments. It MAY just still be very tight. They might want to take a heat gun to it to warm it up.

Have you been letting it stay out in the sun to warm up? It stretches better when warm, so if you garaged it and it was cool in there, it's probably not stretched well enough.

I have kept it out in the sun since last week to loosen the canvass and it is a lot looser than I thought. I made an appointment for a visit next week for him to make any adjustments. The canvass should have stretched out some more by then.

I hope the Florida Sun is nice and hot over the next week.

Thanks Fray

sboost · 05-02-2007, 09:22 AM

I Installed a Robbins top myself on my 2000 Boxster and have been driving with it for about 3 weeks now. Mine was (and still is) also extremely tight, but has loosened up just a little. I still have to help push it forward when closing it to get the hook to catch in the windshield. When I first opened mine I also noticed that the motor seemed to work pretty hard to close the decklid all the way, but it did close OK. I find that the fabric takes quite a bit of stress around the glass window when the top goes all the way down. So far no problems though. I was also keenly aware of the problems others have had with the sides properly seating into the B-pillar when closing the top, and the Porsche service bulletin on the subject. This did cause me to be apprehensive about the whole conversion and doing it myself. I have to say though that the whole thing worked out very well for me. Fit and finish of the final installed top is excellent. Absolutely no wrinkles, and the sides slip in and out of place perfectly every time. In your case I don't think the problems will go away as the top stretches. Even if it is very tight, I would fully expect it to open and close properly from day 1 as did mine. I haven't a clue however whether your problems are just a matter of adjustment or the result of a bad top.

ultimate1 · 05-02-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sboost

I Installed a Robbins top myself on my 2000 Boxster and have been driving with it for about 3 weeks now. Mine was (and still is) also extremely tight, but has loosened up just a little. I still have to help push it forward when closing it to get the hook to catch in the windshield. When I first opened mine I also noticed that the motor seemed to work pretty hard to close the decklid all the way, but it did close OK. I find that the fabric takes quite a bit of stress around the glass window when the top goes all the way down. So far no problems though. I was also keenly aware of the problems others have had with the sides properly seating into the B-pillar when closing the top, and the Porsche service bulletin on the subject. This did cause me to be apprehensive about the whole conversion and doing it myself. I have to say though that the whole thing worked out very well for me. Fit and finish of the final installed top is excellent. Absolutely no wrinkles, and the sides slip in and out of place perfectly every time. In your case I don't think the problems will go away as the top stretches. Even if it is very tight, I would fully expect it to open and close properly from day 1 as did mine. I haven't a clue however whether your problems are just a matter of adjustment or the result of a bad top.

Thanks for yoiur response. The motor worked fine. My biggest concern was that the decklid sticks up by a an inch or so when the top was put down. Is that still the case with your top.

blinkwatt · 05-02-2007, 11:02 AM

How much are you guys paying for your Robbins Glass Retrofit Tops? The best price I can find is $650. How much does installation run on those?

ultimate1 · 05-02-2007, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

How much are you guys paying for your Robbins Glass Retrofit Tops? The best price I can find is $650. How much does installation run on those?

I got mine from Tops online. They are a Robbins distributor for about the same amount of money.

I called a few of the Robbins preferred installers and they tried to charge me for the defroster harness in addition to the top and installation. It turns out that Robbins sells the top with the wiring harness for the defroster and that is included in the price of about $650 or so. I did find one installer and he charged me $500 for the install. The install looks good but I guess I have to leave the top for another week to stretch out in the sun and get with them to make any adjustmentst that need to be done.

Hope this helps

blinkwatt · 05-02-2007, 12:19 PM

Is this the place you bought your top from;
http://www.topsonline.com/index.php?CarmodelID=887

ultimate1 · 05-02-2007, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

Is this the place you bought your top from;
http://www.topsonline.com/index.php?CarmodelID=887

Thats the one

Peter Serbanica · 05-02-2007, 02:47 PM

These tops are new to the market. I only use GAHH tops. Cabrioletworld sells robbins tops. There fit is not always consistent. They don't have their own installation shop to tweek their fit ect. However GAHH does and they have great customer service. Ask for Jack. I charge $410 labor to install boxster tops up to 2005. 2006 tops, the soft top frame must be removed to replace top, a real pain. I have done 2 for porsche dealers. Peter

sboost · 05-03-2007, 03:30 AM

Thanks for yoiur response. The motor worked fine. My biggest concern was that the decklid sticks up by a an inch or so when the top was put down. Is that still the case with your top.

____________________
That never was the case with mine. I only wanted to state that the motor sounded like it was struggling a bit. My decklid closed fine from day 1 following the installation of the top.
I got my Robbins top from Topsonline off of eBay. $695 in original German A5 canvas and C/W the defroster harness. Peter mentioned that these Robbins tops are new to the market and that fit is not always consistant. I can only say that in my case the fit was excellent, as good or better then my old original top. I wanted the best aftermarket glass top available and was scared to go with GAHH because of the initial problems they had with the canvas seperating from the window, which many owners experienced. There's a lot of discussion threads about it on the Renntech forum.

Steven

Boxtaboy · 05-03-2007, 04:03 AM

I agree. GAHH is the only aftermarket glass top maker that had problems with the window separating from the top itself. They claim to have reinforced the window pocket now, but my thought is that if you don't change the size/location of the window to handle the stresses put on the window that caused the problem in the first place, the separation problem will only be delayed until down the road when the reinforcement eventually gives again. No one has had a GAHH long enough to see if the problem reoccurs later down the road.

At least the Robbins Top and the BAS International top (made in UK), have never had the separation problem...even from the get go. JMHO. When I do get my replacement top, it will be from Robbins. I think their warranty is longer than GAHH as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sboost

Thanks for yoiur response. The motor worked fine. My biggest concern was that the decklid sticks up by a an inch or so when the top was put down. Is that still the case with your top.

____________________
That never was the case with mine. I only wanted to state that the motor sounded like it was struggling a bit. My decklid closed fine from day 1 following the installation of the top.
I got my Robbins top from Topsonline off of eBay. $695 in original German A5 canvas and C/W the defroster harness. Peter mentioned that these Robbins tops are new to the market and that fit is not always consistant. I can only say that in my case the fit was excellent, as good or better then my old original top. I wanted the best aftermarket glass top available and was scared to go with GAHH because of the initial problems they had with the canvas seperating from the window, which many owners experienced. There's a lot of discussion threads about it on the Renntech forum.

Steven

docdyh · 05-04-2007, 02:38 AM

"At least the Robbins Top and the BAS International top (made in UK), have never had the separation problem"

I would be more confident in a product that has been on the market longer and early issues corrected, than a product which has not been available very long. Initially, Cabrioworld sold GAHH tops then went with the cheaper (less costly) Robbins top. I have had my GAHH top for 22 months without a hitch..I have no diffculties closing the top, however you should leave it up for two weeks in order for the fabric to stretch.

Boxtaboy · 05-04-2007, 03:11 AM

The BAS Int'l top has been around just as long, or longer than the GAHH Boxster glass windowed top. One guy in Florida from another board had it shipped to him and installed years ago, and it is still going strong with no issues.

That being said, I agree with your point that it is good that a maker address the initial issues early on in the development process. The issue I have, however, is that they seemingly addressed the window separation problem by simply reinforcing the window pocket seal, instead of changing the window size/location in the top to try to alleviate the stresses that caused the separation in the first place. By just reinforcing the seal around the window, the window seal may still eventually fail after repeated up/down cycles because the stress put on the window during folding is not changed.

So far, I have not heard of one Robbins or BAS Int'l top having glass window separation issues, but I still hear of GAHH tops having window separations...witness another boarder here selling a GAHH top with a repaired window separation.

chgolatin2 · 05-04-2007, 07:59 AM

If I was you I would take it back to the installer, I have the exact same top and I have to admit that the top takes quite of bit of time to fully stretch and get fully adjusted. Having a pro do the work is the best option but you have to be extremely careful as to whom you take you car to. For now I havent had any issues besides the light sometimes being activated stating that my top is not fully closed when it is. Minor issue but the light rarely comes on now after a few months of having the top.

I spend a total of $1125 for everything compared to the Porsche dealership wanting over $4,000! Ouch!

ultimate1 · 05-06-2007, 03:27 PM

The great news is that the decklid closed all the way down like its supposed to. The bad news is that the cables still don't align themselves when putting the top up. I guided the cables in by hand and I have an appointment with the installer on Tuesday to make the adjustments.

FYI the Robbins topo comes with a 3 year warranty and installation is covered if you use one of Robbins preferred installers.