[JeeperCane]

I'm very close to getting a hard top, but (honestly) it just dawned on me that this might seriously hinder the already minimal performance of my little 2.5. I was thinking that it might be more aerodynamic in some cases to have the hard top, but would that really overcome the added weight of the top and doors? Does anyone have any experience in this matter?

Secondly, just how well would a Best Top Sail Cloth really seal up the car? My current top is old and I'm getting a fair amount of leakage when it rains. Is it almost 100%? Also, being down here in Miami, I wanted the hard top for the torrential rains and hurricane season. Can a soft top adequately stand up to......lets say, strong winds. OBVIOUSLY, a cat 4 or so hurricane is going to damage everything in its path, and hopefully I'd find some cover for the YJ before one strikes, but just generally speaking.....

[redjeep669]

i hate my hardtop. it leaks air from the top of the windshield and rattles and creaks in a new place every day. i can't wait to find a new soft top.

oh yeah, 2.5 performance? what performance?

[1998zj]

I can tell a difference when I take my hardtop and doors off after the winter, but it is not a huge difference. The mighty 2.5 is gutless no matter what you do.

[Bob_R]

I just took my hardtop off till next winter. At that time I will replace the gasket that keeps the elements out while you have it on. I also put a new flat gasket on the body when I install it just to keep that creaking down to a miner creak and usually none at all. But as to performance gains, not likely, but perhaps over the lifetime of your jeep, minimal.

[jonzer12]

Put two large passengers in your jeep and you will get a rough idea.

[72cj5er]

I would say first of all any areodynamics you get from the hardtop would be negated by the extra weight so damned if you do damned if you dont on that end. when I have my HT on it seems to roll a bit easier at higher speeds, the only benefit I get for fuel mileage is coasting down the long 2 mile stretches around here instead of being in gear. but even that is only slight. mine gets around 18-20 mpg no matter what I do. (I did get 24mpg once , I experimented in shutting it down on the long hills)

as to the second question, I have the sailcloth and love it, it seals up tight even after a couplke yrs use, it still looks like new. the material on the sailcloth is alot thicker than the stock one I had before I got it.

[stilltippin]

i dont like to have my hardtop on because it makes the jeeps body unable to flex. when i have the top and doors off it feels like the body twists on turns. the hard top makes it SO much more rigid and less fun to drive

[paintguy]

a good quality soft top (BestTop!) will definitely seal-out the elements, but not 40-50+ mph winds or more -- it can blow a piece off its attachment area but not necessarily off of the Jeep.
Hard tops are great to lessen road and wind noise but suck other than that -- even in the cold months, a good thick soft top and a properly working heating system will keep you nice and warm.
My BestTop only leaks by the front door window frames when I wash it at the car wash with the pressurized water guns. A buddy of mine has a Pavement Ends s/t that leaks a little through the seal on the rear tailgate cross bar -- it is a little thinner also (windows and top material) but still looks nice and does the trick especially for 300 bills shipped.

[fr0stbite]

[QUOTE=paintguy, a good thick soft top and a properly working heating system will keep you nice and warm.
[/QUOTE]


Never any words spoken more true... when i rolled my jeep and destroyed my soft top, i replaced it with a hard top and it is soooooo cold to drive now.. the hard top doesn't keep the heat like the soft top did..

[Axl Jack]

You mentioned that you wanted to get the Sailcloth. Thats what I wanted to do as well at first.... but you can't use that top with full doors on a YJ (which I just bought).
So here is what I did:

I mostly drive my Jeep on the highway back and forth between home and school. I was tired of highway noise. (By the way, my top was a Bestop replacement top for factory hardware that has been on it since 1999.... old, but still in great shape).

So I was thinking of getting a used hardtop, but didn't want to because of all the cons mentioned above. (Plus, no offense to anyone who has a hardtop, but I just like the look of a soft top much better.)

Now on to my friend. He had the same problem. So he went out and got full steel doors. SO MUCH QUIETER on the highway with just full doors! (A bran new Supertop also helps.) He also got that soft top bow thing. Its called the Top Prop in the Quadtratec catelog. Only about $45 I think (plus its a good idea if your Jeep gets heavy snowfall on it in the winter.... I think I'll buy one too).

Also, another thing I'm looking into is this 3M liner for soft tops from California Tops. http://www.californiatops.com/ascs.html
Its supposed to turn any soft top into a Sailcloth basically. Its kinda expensive ($200 plus $40 for shipping). I think I'll order it before next X-mas. If anyone already has this, please let us know what you think of it.

Hope this helps dude.

[Burnerman]

Nothing for nothin here but a properly install hardtop is great. When I got my heep it was held on with 4 bolts. It leaked ,creaked and rattled. I bought the seal kit from Quadratec and put the new gasket on the surfaces that rest on the tub and fixed the windshield seal. At 55 it's as quiet as the wifes GC. Like someone said up above put 2 people in the back seat and drive around. That's what it'll feel like with a HT all by yourself. For the winter the hardtop can't be beat. Heated rear window, scrapeable windows, no fear of snow cave ins, better heat and easier access to stuff in the rear without cracking a window. The summer they suck, hot and just heavy enough that it takes 2 people to remove it. I just removed mine for the summer and will slap it right back on B4 the snow flies next winter.