Are these parts necessary?

As I celebrate my first week of 2005 Boxster ownership (my intro here ) and removed the hard top, notice these two parts "missing" as I suspect the original owner left the hard top on for a long time (in fact, they only drove the car 3,000 miles last 6.5 years per carfax and the soft top is in good condition) and misplaced these parts. Are these two parts in yellow (one is "roll bar trim" - 98758080100) critical especially with the top down?. Not too concerned about aesthetics but strange wind noise with the top down, etc. (the top works but have not had a chance to ride with my top down yet). Thanks!!

My wager is you are correct, those parts were lost in multiple exchanges between hard to soft tops. Could a missing one cause a strange wind noise? Maybe but what will be your refence point? It's going to be your first time, I sincerely doubt you will know the difference. Myself? I'm a perfectionist so they would be replaced but that's me not you. PS I'd highly recommend buying the Ragg Top reconditioning kit. It will restore the rain repellency and make the canvass last longer and look newer. I just did mine firt time since new, it's amazing how well it works.

a great feedback. You are right about the reference point but I was thinking about annoying whistling noise (like a bad toilet rubber valve gasket causing whilstling noise which I just fixed at home ) I will get a set for sure in the future and they are not expensive either. Just wanted to gauge whether these are priority items. I have a long list and want to "ignore" items like this for now As for the top, I was thinking about getting those 303s but will take a look at RaggTop - they are probably similar.

I have a 2010 BS that did not come with hardtop from factory. It had round covers over the holes for the hardtop locks, and the triangular black plastic trim pieces (A in the OP's attachment). I bought the locks, which did not come with round covers, and I don't believe the original round covers fit the smaller opening in locks. I have never added covers over the locks, and don't always install the plastic trim pieces. Never had any noises from those areas. I do usually have the trim in place, which does hide the electric connection on left side. I have used 303 fabric protectant for years on various German fabric tops and it is great, long lasting, beads water for a long time (more than one season). I sold my MB SL a couple of years ago with a 15 year old brown top that looked about new (hardtop was only used in later Fall and in winter storage). My 2010 BS has original top that also looks about new, and it has hardtop on it only for same late Fall use and an occasional sunny winter day. This dexperience is all in Northeast (mostly Boston metro suburbs). Cars are garaged year round too. Enjoy your nww ride.

Ditto on the 303 - I put that on the top for my Boxster , and it is awesome. I tried the RaggTop branded stuff originally, and it was not even half as effective. With a single application of 303 it was MUCH better... and with two it's wonderful - the water beads and never even gets into the fabric: You can see I missed the front edge a little... I was being too careful not to get it on the body, but I have since found that the 303 (and even the RaggTopp) cleans off very easily with a microfiber... so I don't need to be so careful. I'll redo the front lip soon...

I see Amazon has 303 Fabric Guard, 303 High Tech Fabric Guard, 303 Marine Fabric Guard, 303 Aerospace Fabric Guard and 303 Marine and Recreation Fabric Guard. Is it one of these in particular for use on the top?

If that's the case, I am getting the AEROSPACE one Joking aside, I just order the "kit" with the Fabric one. And the main reason I chose the 303 over RaggTopp was mostly due to aerosol (RaggTop) vs. non (303). Amazon.com: 303 Convertible Fabric Top Cleaning and Care Kit - Cleans And Protects Fabric Tops - Includes 303 Tonneau Cover And Convertible Top Cleaner 16 fl. oz. + 303 Fabric Guard 16 fl. oz., (30520) : Health & Household Amazon.com: 303 Convertible Fabric Top Cleaning and Care Kit - Cleans And Protects Fabric Tops - Includes 303 Tonneau Cover And Convertible Top Cleaner 16 fl. oz. + 303 Fabric Guard 16 fl. oz., (30520) : Health & Household www.amazon.com

Nice! and I will get to it soon enough. I was planning to use the painter's tape. Did you use a brush for cleaning? I was just thinking about using Kiwi's shoe brush (horsehair) which I just happened to have (new) laying around.

mbsl98 - Great to see you, and hope your top we swapped is holding up well! Please send your son my best and hope his Jeep wrenching is going great gangbusters. @hoster - Those plugs simply come with the car to fill the spot where the spinlocks go (required for hardtops). As you own a hardtop, the optional spinlocks have already been installed. I do believe they actually fit in the spinlocks as I think I pop them in during the summertime. But if you do NOT have them, seriously -- don't bother as they're totally for aesthetics. As for the other piece, it's purely a trim piece to cover up the electric connections. Tricky to figure out how to install, but easy to do once you get the hang of it. IMHO - Neither piece is vital for the car per whistling and all that. Purely for aesthetics. Finally, there are plenty of threads about caring for your hardtop. Definitely take a look. I've used RaggTop and am likely moving over to 303 this spring. Hope all this helps!

Thanks again and good to know. Even though I just removed the hard top over the weekend, have not had any chance to drive the car with top down yet...hopefully this weekend. Yes, I won't bother with those plugs. As for what Porsche calls Roll Bar Trim piece, the passenger side has one but the driver side doesn't but no big deal, as you indicated. If I want to make my car "perfect" I may just purchase on for $20 or something but only for self-satisfaction. But I may paint the muffler before I do that (which means I may not buy one ;-) )