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Tom,
I've driven my car thousands of miles with the top up and a lot of it at highway speeds. The owner's manual does caution against driving over maybe 60 or 70 MPH (can't recall exactly) but whatever the maximum speed is, I know I've exceeded it. The faster you go, the noisier and breezier it gets, and I don't doubt there's a point at which you would damage the top. Also, I would think prolonged high speed driving would fatigue the material faster, possibly causing it to tear or pull out the seams. I'd say up to about 60 MPH or so it's reasonably comfortable; much beyond that there's just too much commotion inside the car to be worthwhile going that fast.
You're right: the flaps over the side curtains do pull out and funnel more air into the car at higher speeds. On the other hand, with the heater on and a winter coat, I'm pretty cozy in my car with temps down into the 30's. I think the worst air leak is the area where the body, door, rear of the side curtain and top all come together near your left shoulder.
I used some foam garage door weatherstripping to seal the area between the frame of the the side curtains and the top of the door/dashboard, which I think does a great job of keeping out wind and water, although plenty of both do get in elsewhere. I can email you a photo if you like.
Hope this helps,
Lowell
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