Superformance Options

[Detroit Bill]

I am considering the cost of a Superformance and debating a few options:

Double clear coat is an interesting option. Does anyone have any experience good or bad with it?

Soft Top, I am thinking no. I can't see myself using it nor driving in the rain.
Again real world experience with this?

[Tim7139]

Well worth it. First their overall finish is litterally "show car" caliber. This only adds incremental protection. The only downside is when this type of final coat is laid on heavy or uneven, neither of which is done here.
I would also encourage you to consider a clear bra type film for rhe cars nose and rear arches. Money well spent on additional protection with no compromise to appearance.

[frankym]

the top may be of little interest to you, but it helps with resale, plus, i believe they fit the actual top onto your car, and you might have a tough time doing it later.

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by Tim7139

Well worth it. First their overall finish is litterally "show car" caliber. This only adds incremental protection. The only downside is when this type of final coat is laid on heavy or uneven, neither of which is done here.
I would also encourage you to consider a clear bra type film for rhe cars nose and rear arches. Money well spent on additional protection with no compromise to appearance.

Tim you have the double coat of clear on your car?

[chucks1]

I've got the soft top and the tonneau cover. Never used the tonneau cover before, but manage to put the soft top on at some point every year. When the weather gets colder - spring or fall - that soft top and my heater can really extend the driving season.

[Jim Vander Wal]

No experience with the double clear.

I have both top and tonneau. Use the tonneau a lot to cover the interior from prying eyes and rain. Works well. Have used the top but it is a PITA and only keeps you less wet, it isn't that much better than the tonneau. I drive long distances and have been caught in a lot of rain. Usually just use half of the tonneau and drive real fast. Stopping at lights and in city traffic is a bit damp. Put drain holes in the floor.

But both are good options. The top does help to keep heat in sorta.

Superformance has made about everything an option. Used to be the glove box was the big selection.

Jim
SPF 1855 & 2584

[Tim7139]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

Tim you have the double coat of clear on your car?

I believe so, however it becomes somewhat academic to some extant.
For instance, with clear Urathane products you have a wide range of variables such as high solids-low solids, flow rates, UV protection, etc.
I've spayed and used the whole gammut and I believe it boils down tothe fact that it [within reasonable parameters] affords additional protection as long as the work goes into the post spray effort, such as final leveling,compounding, polish, and they simply do a great job in this regard.
This last part is purely subjective, however, it looks to me like they do this and still have a really superior fnal protective layer, quite chip resistant.

[jeffgrice]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I am considering the cost of a Superformance and debating a few options:

Double clear coat is an interesting option. Does anyone have any experience good or bad with it?

Soft Top, I am thinking no. I can't see myself using it nor driving in the rain.
Again real world experience with this?

Detroit Bill - I would check with a reputable paint shop that specializes in high paint work on double clear. YEARS ago I heard that too much clear would crack..but that was many years ago.

And it depends on your objective...if you want extra clear as you are a big buffer that is one thing but extra clear will not protect from chips. A chip, scratch is just that regardless of the thickness.

Jeff

[66gtk]

Originally Posted by jeffgrice

And it depends on your objective...if you want extra clear as you are a big buffer that is one thing but extra clear will not protect from chips. A chip, scratch is just that regardless of the thickness.

Jeff

This is my understanding as well. Double clear should not impact the appearance of your paint job - at least not as much as a proper cut and buff/polish. Double clear will give you more material to work with in the future should you like to do a lot of machine compounding/polishing or need to sand out some scratches/repairs.

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by 66gtk

This is my understanding as well. Double clear should not impact the appearance of your paint job - at least not as much as a proper cut and buff/polish. Double clear will give you more material to work with in the future should you like to do a lot of machine compounding/polishing or need to sand out some scratches/repairs.

I currently have a 3 year old Black Porsche 911 with no swirls in the paint.
I have hand washing to a science. No need for double clear sounds like the vote.

Thanks.

Surprised there are not more people weighing in on the top?

[66gtk]

Originally Posted by frankym

the top may be of little interest to you, but it helps with resale, plus, i believe they fit the actual top onto your car, and you might have a tough time doing it later.

This. If your budget is tight on this one and you know for sure you will never use it (no long distance trips planned?) you can certainly save money. For some reason I thought the tops were standard now on the SPF Cobras. If I didn't have a top, I would try and order the car without all the lift a dot tabs and ferrules on the doors. Can they do that?

[66gtk]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I currently have a 3 year old Black Porsche 911 with no swirls in the paint.

If that's indeed true you are a master of washing. My black show paint gets swirls by looking it at for more than 10 seconds. That's after a 6-8 hour 3 step detail with all the expensive towels and stuff. Knowing it was black and flat sanded/buffed I made sure my painter used plenty of clear b/c I know I was going to be machine compounding that paint semi-regularly (:

[Tim7139]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I currently have a 3 year old Black Porsche 911 with no swirls in the paint.
I have hand washing to a science. No need for double clear sounds like the vote.

Thanks.

Surprised there are not more people weighing in on the top?

You might not realize it but your 3 year old 911 is esentially double cleared.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by 66gtk

If I didn't have a top, I would try and order the car without all the lift a dot tabs and ferrels on the doors. Can they do that?

The lift-a-dots and ferrules can be deleted but that reduces the resale ability as a future owner cannot easily add the top, side curtains, etc. The pins are not just screwed into the fiberglass but into an embedded steel piece molded into the glass.

[Jim Norris]

Mine came with top and tonneau. I use the tonneau frequently; it stays in the trunk. The top has never been on the car and probably never will be. I just drive locally. However, if I were to consider a cross country drive the top would go into the trunk first.

[Got the Bug]

I took delivery of my SPF in 2006 and decided to go with the clear film protection on the wheel arches and the clear bra. I wouldn't go with the clear bra again. You end up getting chips near the film line that are difficult to touch up. Also, the clear bra hasn't yellowed at all, but you do see it from certain angles in the sun with sunglasses on.

[Voyager]

Along with the 3M clear bra, ordered the glove box and softtop. While I’ve never used the softtop and window curtains, I keep the tonneau cover attached all the time (just unclip the front and tuck it behind the seat whenever I use the car). Makes it simple to cover/secure the car at a restaurant, etc. Initial clear bra yellowed within a year. 3M replace and 2nd bra has remained clear for past 4 years. Use glovebox all the time. With 500 hp, anything not secured in the glovebox is fair game.

[jhv48]

Back to the paint quality question. Mine had small chips all over the front end after 13,000 miles of So. Cal. Driving.

After the front end was repainted due to a minor altercation, it hasn't gotten a single chip in 7,000 miles. So, my take is that the clear coat from the factory is super thin and fragile.

If you don't drive more than a few hundred miles a year, you'll pick up chips slowly. If you drive thousands of miles, your front end will look like it was sand blasted. I would opt for more clear coat if you can.

Just my opinion based on my driving experience.

[madmaxx]

I agree with the paint being delicate. If a pine needle hit it appeared to chip it, I bought a bra now listed in the classified section which worked flawlessly with no paint damage. Easy on and easy off with quick jacks, full bumpers and it would not work as easy.

[GVS]

For what it is worth, a friend has a 1999 Superformance that he uses locally. He never uses the top. He claims it is a pain to install and when erect, it is difficult for him to get in and out of the car (he is about 30 years old, 6'3" or so).