Image courtesy Flickr/jbwan
The BMW Z3 soft top roadster debuted with a splash: it hit dealerships soon after being featured as James Bond’s car in the movie “GoldenEye.” Later that year, a special James Bond Edition Z3 was featured in the (in)famous Niemen Marcus Christmas Catalog. BMW fans went wild for the Z3, which was built starting with the 3 series’ E36 platform.
The BMW Z3 convertible top placed it in competition with two other popular sporty cars of the time: the Porsche Boxster and the Mazda Miata. All three cars deliver a remarkable bargain for what you get: some of the best sports convertibles on the road today.
Although some reviews criticized the initial Z3 as being “underpowered,” later versions shipped with a broader range of engines, up to a powerful 3.2 liter 6 cylinder that produces 325 horsepower. The redesign in 2000 also changed the styling of the car’s rear end, which some people found preferable to the original model, and others criticized for looking more bulky.
We sell replacement convertible tops for the Z3 model years 1996-2002 inclusive. All of our tops include the factory style plastic vinyl window with a very light green tint, no zipper, and factory style piping. We offer a variety of different fabrics for your replacement Z3 soft top. Click here to see them all!
Image courtesy Flickr/azote
Q: I have a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. Which cloth top should I get? With or without acoustical padding?
A: Road noise is always an issue with soft top convertible cars like the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. For the 2006-2011 model years, Mitsubishi introduced a new soft top which, in addition to the heated defroster glass window, featured acoustical padding.
The factory original top with acoustical padding reduces road noise levels by 3 to 4 decibels. That might not seem like very much, but remember that decibels are a logarithmic scale, like the Richter scale. Each 1 decibel is 10 times louder than the one before. So a noise reduction of 3 dB is 30 times quieter than without the acoustical padding.
However, as nice as it is to have a quieter ride, the factory original acoustical padding tops are also somewhat expensive. In order to offer our customers a variety of cost-effective options, we offer a second choice: the same top, but without the acoustical padding. Currently the cost difference between these two tops is about $60.
Both tops are made out of Haartz Stayfast cloth (also known as Canvas & Mohair), and are made by EZ-ON brand auto tops. Whether you choose to buy it with or without the acoustical padding, rest assured you will be getting a top quality professional grade item, featuring quality workmanship and precision tailored craftsmanship.
Read more about the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder top and options on our site here!
Image courtesy Flickr/dfrancis
The Mitsubishi Eclipse was a popular compact sports car, which was originally produced from 1989 to 2011. It was originally a sister car, sold under the names Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon, but subsequent generations shifted it farther away from those shared roots towards a sportier model.
The Eclipse Spyder convertible top became available in the second generation, from 1995-1999. The Spyder featured one of the higher trim levels, in addition to either a 141hp engine (the Eclipse GS Spyder) or a 210hp engine (on the Eclipse GS-T Spyder). The third generation Spyder got a popular boost when it was featured in the movie “2 Fast 2 Furious.”
The final Mitsubishi Eclipse rolled off the assembly line in 2011 and was auctioned off that September for charity. It was created with fan input, through the Mitsubishi Facebook page. (Instead of a convertible top, it featured a sunroof.) The car sold for $35,000, with proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross to aid victims of the then-recent earthquake and tsunami.
We offer Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible tops for all three generations of Eclipse Spyder: 1995-1999, 2000-2005, and 2006-2011.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons/IFCAR
The Toyota MR2 went through three generations of body style, each one a sporty, fun, 2-seater coupe. Perhaps surprisingly, the original purpose of the MR2 was not to act as a sports car, but simply to be “a car which would be enjoyable to drive, yet still provide good fuel economy.”
The MR2 has had something of a cult following ever since its earliest years in the mid 1970s. The third generation MR2, produced from 1999 through 2007 under the name MR2 Spyder in the United States, was the first to offer a true soft-top convertible top. (Previous model years had included a hardtop option.) This model, called the MR-S in Japan and the MR2 Roadster in Europe, was part of Toyota’s “Project Genesis,” an effort to appeal to a new, younger audience. The MR2 Spyder soft top proved to be a popular choice with consumers.
One of the breakthroughs offered by the MR2 (but not by its main competitors, the Mazda Miata and the Porsche Boxster) was a heated glass rear window in the convertible soft top option. This defroster rear window is set in the Toyota MR2 Spyder top fabric with a special sealant, and is heat-sealed for optimum bonding.
We offer a replacement Toyota MR2 Spyder convertible top in your choice of two fabrics: the EZ ON Brand top and the Robbins brand top. Both tops are professional grade, and include our standard six year warranty. Check out your replacement MR2 Spyder top options here!
