My Zeintop

[BeachBum]

Hi Everybody. Just thought I would share a pick of the Zeintop. I had a local shop paint and install and overall the fit is quite nice. The only issue is there is alot of wind noise that is coming from the area where the top meets the front windshield. The directions did not call for any gasket placement there so none was put on, but I am wondering if anyone ran into the same problem and has any ideas on how to fix it. Did anyone else put gasket/weatherstripping in this area to reduce wind noise? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Greg

[Gougoushu]

Your car looks gorgeous; love the seal gray and those wheels. I bet you are thrilled.

For that front seam, there is a peel-and-stick piece of weatherstripping that should have been included with your kit. I attach a photo of it from my Zeinkit. When you close the latch, it should seal tightly.

I notice you also have not installed the "corner rubbers," the triangular, two-leveled pieces that are intended to be superglued to the two front corners. I attach photos of them too. The front seal and door weatherstripping both fit into them.

[jmatta]

Top looks great. If I ever drove mine in adverse weather, I'd be all over one of those.

[Jaxonalden]

Wow, does that look good. I have a question about engine accessibility, is there any? Can you take a picture with the hatchback open? The gap you have between the top and the windshield is definitely not right, watch out for the rain .

[BeachBum]

Gougoushu,

Is this the weather stripping and corner pieces you are talking about? I took a picture of it. The guy that installed it gave me a bag of nuts and bolts that he took off the car while installing the top. These plastic pieces were the closest thing I could find. They appear to be worn, as if they were removed from my car in order to install the top. I just went outside and tried to fit these pieces to the car and they dont seem to fit right. Thanks for the advise on the weatherstripping. Any tips on troubleshooting creeks that I can hear while driving?

[Gougoushu]

Greg,

The piece in your left hand in the photo appears to be the correct front seal. It also looks like somebody peeled off the protective layer, which is yellow in my first photo. And yes, those are the corner rubbers laying on the countertop in the background. i suggest you visit the shop that installed your top and make sure they didn't throw out anything else.

The corner rubbers must go on first. I had to trim mine a little bit to get good contact, and after I played with the fitment for a while, I applied crazy glue, and clamped them into the corners. The front seal then will neatly fit into them.

PM me with your email, and I'll send you a full collection of Ztop installation photos.

As for creaks, some Ztop owners have them, and some don't. Mine is pretty good that way. You won't know whether you have creaks until you get the front seal fit, because that might affect the fit of the top elsewhere.

Jaxon, I posted this text about the engine access issue on another topic on this forum last week. It's a problem that should be thought about if you DIY engine work.

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=195841#post195841

"[Y]ou cannot access the top of the engine with the Zeintop fitted. In order to work on the engine, you must have helpers on hand, remove the top, and then have a place to set it down. Also probably you'll need a garage to store the car and top [or at least use tarps] while you're doing engine work. Therefore, you must plan accordingly; I did all my maintenance items beforehand. One option is to remove the softtop [might help avoid damage to the plastic window from being folded up all winter], which allows some engine access, but that leaves an unattractive and fragile cavity where the top would go."

[sd_boxster]

Awesome photos - good ammunition for me, as I'm currently lobbying the wife for a zeintop for my seal grey 986.

How's headroom with the zeintop vs. the convertible top? I can't lose any height - my helmet bumps the inside of the convertible top. Have you noticed that it increases/decreases/doesn't affect headroom?

[Gougoushu]

On my 1998 car, the headroom seems to be about the same on the closed-top convertible and the Zeintop... in both cases, there isn't much. Dunno if this problem was improved on a 2003. I know the 987s are better this way.

[jrblackbox]

The car looks great! But that gap is way too wide.

[Dai]

That is a big gap. My top is flush tight and no air or water enter from there. You might want to adjust the pin where the top attached to the car from speed lock and the the latch. Try to adjust these three areas to tighten the gap first before you adjust the rear hatch to the car. Something is not right.

[23109VC]

at first I thought this was an easily removable hard top, but i googled for more pics and it appears you have to remove the trunk......this looks like a "one way" mod....

it looks cool...but i can't say i'd spend the money for this. the boxster looks "okay" with teh top up and it looks "great" with this zeintop...but it looks the BEST with the top DOWN..

[yimmy149]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

but it looks the BEST with the top DOWN..

AMEN brother!

[yellowboxster01]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

at first I thought this was an easily removable hard top, but i googled for more pics and it appears you have to remove the trunk......this looks like a "one way" mod....

Not really, if you're capable of taking off 2 or 4 screws that hold the trunk on and know how to line up a panel, it wouldn't take long in on/off time. One of those hardtop hoists would aid in this procedure. Sure, the first time it would take you a while but, there's always a learning curve.

I love the Zeintop but, I can't stomach the cost. The price has come down considerably but, it's still out of my budget. I like the big rear window, comparing that to my GAHH top "slit window". I always enter the drawings they have for a Zeintop, hoping some day I'll win. If I just had to pay for shipping that would great. I missed out on the ebay Zeintop that they sold themselves, it looked like a good deal the last time I looked at it.

That top would completely transform the look of my car. I'm already able to fool people being debadged and turbo front end. With this it would be great fun!

[BeachBum]

Thanks for everyones input on the top. I received new and improved instructions from Zeintec as well and the top is now insulated and the wind noise is significantly reduced from before. Bring on the rain!

Greg

[Gent]

If I decide to drive my Boxster all year, I'll definitely get a Zeintop for the 6 months of grey weather and rain. For now, I've made my old diesel ForTwo my winter car while the Boxster naps.
Sigh.

[gerrygug]

Why buy a roadster and then put a hard top on?
If it could be removed in 5 min. or less maybe, but otherwise I don't see the point.

The Zeintop looks good but if you want a Cayman, buy one.

[sd_boxster]

^^

...because you get a Boxster AND a Cayman if you're willing to deal with the on/off time.

(Unless you're bankrolling the "If you want one, buy one" approach, in which case, yes, I'd love a Cayman. PM me for my mailing address you can send the money order to. )

[BeachBum]

One of the main reasons why I got the zeintop is because I am just not a fan of the boxster look with the soft top up. I love the look with the top down. This way I have the ability to take the box out during the summer top down all the time and then have a sleek coupe during the winter, which here in Washington is from October to June. Two cars in one. Different strokes for different folks, but it makes sense for me. I will post some more pics in the next week as soon as I get a day off.

[BeachBum]

Here are a couple more pictures. These pics include my latest additions(H & R springs, spacers) along with the Zeintop.