Hardtop Headroom - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Greetings to all. I am the proud owner of a new (to me at least) low mileage 2004 986. Just getting used to the car but so far it is great. I chose the Boxster due to the extra headroom (when used with electric seats) that is has over some of the lesser competition (S2000, Miata). However, I am contemplating getting a hardtop for the new toy but I'm concerned about headroom. For those with a factory hardtop, does it have a) less headroom, b) more headroom, c) about the same as the soft top. Thanks for any and all advice,

Congrats on your new Boxster! The hardtop has more headroom, but not much maybe a couple of inches, however it does not add any extra safety, so you are still reliant on the roll bar if the car rolls/flips.

Thanks for the info. Now all I have to do is find a Silver Mist hardtop that I can afford and is somewhere near Texas so I can pick it up and not mess with shipping. Thanks again,

I've got a '99, and the hardtop definetely has less headroom. The headliner reduces the headroom. Keep in mind though, that the '99 convertible top does not have a headliner, so that may be different on the newer ones. BTW, I'm 6'4", so the difference is very niticeable to me.

I'd drive it a bit first before you invest a lot of money in the hard top. The reason I say to wait is that top down is 100% improvement on a car that's already great. I've had mine for about 2 years now, and I only put the top up if it's raining hard, my nose is turning blue, or I'm getting too sunburnt! And in Texas too... that hardtop better be gathering dust in your garage most of the year! My dad and I drove from Arizona to Louisiana and we only put the top up for an hour when it rained as we were getting close to Houston. We were so burnt by then, it stayed up till we got to Louisiana.

I think how much you will use a hardtop depends on where you are. I have to deal with snow for about 6-8 months a year, so I keep the hardtop on, and the significantly reduced noise makes road trips a lot less annoying. But it depend on where you are. If you are concerned with headroom, try sitting in a Boxster with a hardtop and see for yourself. The reference to more or less than the soft top depends on whether you have a liner or not.

All good points to consider. I would like to travel around a bit with my darling bride of 30 yrs but top down is not her thing and I thought the car might be quieter with the hardtop. Top up or down makes no difference to me. I'm follicly challenged so wind in my hair is a non-issue but skin cancer could be. Looking for a good hat! I just like driving the car regardless of the top up or down. Thanks again for everyone's input.

Oh a good hat is definitely a must! I have found that female co-pilots warm up to the top down thing after a few rides.

As much of a cliche as the old British sport caps are, you know the ones all the old MG drivers never remove?, I found it to be the best. The short brim is enough to keep the nose from frying completely off my face, it does not have webbing on the back that fries the rear half of the chrome dome, and the short bill does not give the effect of putting the top back up. It also fits nicely in the little cubby hole behind the seat on my 987.

I'm in Houston too... I don't blame you a bit for considering a hard top! It's friggin' hot here and I'm going for a cayman S next time around. It ain't worth it. PM me so we can get together and do a shine and show!

Is that a euphamism?

Nope. Shine and show (or show and shine) is a term used by my local PCA. Shine up your car and show it off. Glad to clarify that though. It certainly wasn't a proposition

I agree with Randall and those that like their hardtops. I only use mine in winter, and I love the look. Interior quieter also. It stores in the Porsche wall rack with a OEM cover, altho there is a rolling cart available. Don't store it flat on the floor. Very light but it take two to tango it on or off w/o a hoist.

I'm 6'-4 and I bought a 1999 Boxster because I fit comfortably in it. At least I thought so. Too bad I didn't check to see if my head cleared the roll bar. After I bought it and drove it a while, one day I tilted my head back and discovered that in the event of a rear-end collision, my head was going to get smashed by the roll bar. Not a darned thing you can do about it short of spending thousands on new seats and seat tracks to lower you down, and maybe it wouldn't even be enought. No thanks, I got rid of my motorcycle for the safety of a car, and I wasn't going to have my car kill me. I ended up trading for a Cayman -- there's no roll bar in the Cayman, just a great big comfortable headrest -- plus scads more headroom and more legroom, too. Tall people should stick to Caymans and 987s.

Now I just have to find somebody who will trade me a Cayman for my '99 Boxster.

They make a $700 roll bar extension, for taller Boxster owners. It would certainly be cheaper than upgrading to a Cayman, and losing the drop top.

That doesn't remove the danger of the stock rollbar though.

I have a hard top on my 2004 986 and, as someone else mentioned, the hard top gives you a few more inches of head room than the convertible top. Another plus is that the cockpit is quieter while driving with the hard top than with the convertible top.

My Zeintop must be lower than the OEM hardtop, because it has even less room than the soft top from my '98. I'm getting a bit tired of my head striking the top on bumpy streets... As for the roll bar issue that John Simion mentions, I addressed that by lashing some foam pipe insulation to the rollbar using long wire ties, then painting the insulation a matching color. Not gorgeous, but could save my cranium in a rear end collision one day.

Sounds like a factory style hardtop would work for me. Now all I have to do is find one within a few hundred miles of Houston. There seem to be plenty out there for sale but they are way across the country and no one seems to want to prep one for shipment and deal with the shipping. I'm usually the first one up for a road trip but not to drive a 3000 mile round trip just for a top. Oh well, I will just keep looking and maybe a silver one will pop up in my area. If anybody knows of one in Texas or Louisiana, please let me know. Thanks again for all the input,