SmartTop - just brilliant

jw2015 · Jul 20, 2005

Just got my Smarttop module yesterday, arrived within a week, £150 approx and worth every penny. Just thought I'd say every hard rear-windowed 986 should have one. Does exactly what it claims, plug and play, it's as if it was a Porsche installed option. You'd be mad not to get one. No more sitting for 20 seconds at the start and end of a drive, no more fear of holding traffic up at the lights while you apply handbrake and keep button pressed for 20secs or so. One touch up and down while on the move, brilliant. A bit disconcerting initially, especially if the rear cover is in action while you're on cobblestones, but you soon get used to it. Just watch that speed though.

THX911 · Jul 21, 2005

ORIGINAL: jw

Just watch that speed though.

Yes, Just to emphasis that the otherwise foolproof system cannot do anything but continue if you hit the one touch and then accelerate over 30mph while the roof is going up/down.

juliany27 · Jul 23, 2005

I want one soon!!

Where did you get it from? Mark Bennet is trying to get a discount but I would like mine whilst the weather is fairly good.

Guest · Jul 23, 2005

hi i emailed Sven Tornow at Smarttop direct on Monday to see if any Discounts were available for Forum Members , He said if 10 applied he could re introduce the discount
see the body of his reply embedded in this post

Subject:
AW: Website Inquiry: re smarttop 98 boxster

From:
"Sven Tornow" <blackberry@sventornow.de>

Add to Address Book

Date:
Wed, 20 Jul 2005 10:36:39 +0000 GMT

Hello,

there is no groupbuy running at the moment. If you get 10 buyers or
more together you can start a new one!

Regards, Sven

"Please note this email has been sent from a mobile Blackberry device.
You may answer to my usual email address."

-----Original Message-----
From: gkramsay@btinternet.com
Date: 20 Jul 2005 07:11:46
To:smarttop@smarttop.de
Subject: Website Inquiry: re smarttop 98 boxster

Website Inquiry:

Name : gregor
Email : gkramsay@btinternet.com
Subject : re smarttop 98 boxster
Message : Good Morning , i am a member of porsche gb Forum and saw
several reports with regards to the smart top opening unit , can you tell
me if the grour discount wgroupbuy0418 is still available ? if so can
you send me a total cost for the unit to be shipped to scotland in the
uk
many thanks
Gregor

[FONT=verdana,geneva"]

THX911 · Jul 23, 2005

This is the thread on how we order it, I think we ended up with 15 of us ordering, we had both 986 and 996 members:

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/m.asp?m=113690&mpage=1&key=

I would suggest posting this in the 996 forum to build up numbers (they have a different part number but it is the quantity of orders that matters)

Also, we did discover that the units were posted from the US, so if you can somehow pay in dollars (rather than Euros) you can save further (probably not much now as the £ is not as strong against $ as when we ordered)

Brian Halling · Jul 24, 2005

I discovered a little wrinkle with the same facility on my 987 while on the recent Club trip in Spain. It began to rain so I slowed to 30, raised the roof and successfully engaged the latch. However, I was just a fraction too early with the latch, and the control unit decided it wasn't complete and would not close the windows. I undid the latch and pressed the button to complete the cycle, but by this time we were travelling over 30! Slowing to 30 again was not easy on the busy dual-carriageway, so by the time the windows were finally raised we were drenched.

Moral - Being too quick can have unforeseen consequences for both you and your partner.
[FONT=verdana,geneva"]

juliany27 · Jul 24, 2005

Thanks for your observations.

Can we find 10 people prepared to pay about £130 or so to get these and see what discount is available? I am so incompetent with a computer that I would not trust myself to try to e-mail the company or negotiate; with my understanding of a computer and my clumsy fingers I could accidentally order 100 with an additional 10% on the cost!!

Mark Bennett on another thread was looking into this - perhaps we can co-ordinate an approach.

Incidentally, if SmartTop can make these - why can't Porsche and sell them as after purchase items? A lost opportunity?

garyw · Jul 24, 2005

ORIGINAL: juliany27

Incidentally, if SmartTop can make these - why can't Porsche and sell them as after purchase items? A lost opportunity?

I had thought this myslef, but in thinking, most of the facilities the smarttop offer are things that Porsche removed for the sake of Health and safety-all the do-gooders and that.....what happens if a childs head gets caught in the windows/roof as they close automatically etc.
Buying and fitting the smartTop does open up all sorts of issues on who would be to blame? I would assume ourselves as we have fitted them ourselves and if I remember correctly I think there is some statement/waiver on the packaging.
I will however if I should find a childs head in my window as it makes its way up tell the little git to "get out and stop trying to steal my motor"[

]

Garyw

jw2015 · Jul 25, 2005

I can't see how there would be a safety issue with these. When the car is stopped you can't do a simple one touch open and close, only when moving, and I think you'd notice if a child was hanging onto your moving car. I know you can override the default 'keep your finger on the button' mode when stopped, by doing a reasonably straightforward button press combination, but then a single press of the toggle will stop the hood in its tracks so it can't really be considered dangerous in that mode. I can't understand why Porsche just didn't introduce the facility once they changed the hood on the 986 to have a solid rear window. Maybe it's not structurally up to the task of folding at 25-30mph. I certainly won't be the one to test this out. I only use the one touch facility at crawling speeds, 15mph max, no acceleration.

garyw · Jul 25, 2005

JW, it sound very much as if you still have common sense left.[

] but others don't, that why we have the Darwin awards etc.
Many of the feature that the SmartTop gives you were removed from previous models by Porsche. Apart from the roof going up at speed, which I believe is a new feature.
Yes it could be a money spinner for them, but there must be reasons why they removed them..possibly for those without common sense living in the sue society..[

]

garyw

Brian Halling · Jul 25, 2005

If it's a health and safety issue that made Porsche withdraw this facility, then why is it standard on the 987? [FONT=verdana,geneva"]

THX911 · Jul 25, 2005

I think it is just so Porsche can hold features to make every manufacturing year more exciting. All the 9*7 now open close below 30mph; The last batch of 996s had it too or at least the remote opening and closing feature (I have seen it on a 996 C4). I'm sure the remote opening and closing will come to Boxster next year or is it already on the 987s?

Brian Halling · Jul 25, 2005

Do you mean open/close on the move? Remote open/close would pose a problem as the hood latch still needs to be opened/closed manually. [FONT=verdana,geneva"]

THX911 · Jul 25, 2005

ORIGINAL: Brian Halling

Do you mean open/close on the move? Remote open/close would pose a problem as the hood latch still needs to be opened/closed manually.

Yes, 9*7s now open and close on the move.

Manual latch: yes, does it really need to be manual? I believe facelift 996s and 997s cabriolet have a hood control button on the key(?)

THX911 · Jul 25, 2005

ORIGINAL: Brian Halling

Do you mean open/close on the move?

Sorry, may have misinterpreted this; do you mean remotely open while on the move? now that would be fun, especially if it would also works on someone else car.[

]
I think the remote works like the way when you hold down your unlock button on the key and the windows open up or close when locking.

Peter_Bull · Jul 25, 2005

I believe facelift 996s and 997s cabriolet have a hood control button on the key(?)

My September 2000 996 (pre facelift) has a hood control button on the key and no manual latching.

juliany27 · Jul 25, 2005

A friend has a 996 C4 and he can open his roof/soft top from the key fob. He cannot open the roof/soft top whilst on the move and is also looking at the SmartTop. It seems from an article that for a 996 there is a wiring issue - lucky Boxster owners to avoid that problem.

Any takers to try to get the discount? Has Mark Bennett heard anything yet?

Guest · Jul 26, 2005

Hi nobody came back to say they would be interested in making up the numbers to 10 ,so i ordereded direct from the website yesterday , if anyone is thinking about it you will get the link from ebay , DONT use the buy it now price , go to the website direct , a module for the boxster costs 199 euros , ( £ 137) however the savings are in the postage , its £25 on ebay. whereas by doing it direct is the total is only 15 euros and that includes a 5 euro debit card fee , makes a total of £147 .
Greg

juliany27 · Jul 27, 2005

Having received PP today I note Marks' comments about this item. Those who want one should get in touch with Mark asap or, perhaps, leave a message on this thread...or go direct as indicated by Greg.

Incidentally, how long did it take between ordering and receiving the item?

THX911 · Jul 28, 2005

ORIGINAL: juliany27

Having received PP today I note Marks' comments about this item. Those who want one should get in touch with Mark asap or, perhaps, leave a message on this thread...or go direct as indicated by Greg.

Incidentally, how long did it take between ordering and receiving the item?

Roughly 10 days from ordering. It gets posted from their US branch...