Is a cloth top replacement worth the extra price over vinyl?

[dinaman714]

1998 Alpine white/Mulberry M3 with Dinan supercharger, free flow exhaust and throttle body.

I'm looking at replacing the canvas and I see there are some available online that are described as Haartz Twillfast cloth and some are Twill Grain Vinyl or something. Cloth versions seem to be anywhere from $100-300 more. The only type I'm familiar with is the original top on my car.

Is there any reason to spend the extra money for cloth? I DO want to keep the look original, but I would just as soon save the money if vinyl will do.


Thanks for any advice!

[110reef]

It is all about looks. The vinyl will not look the same as the cloth. If that is acceptable to you then go for it!

[dinaman714]

Thanks!

[RayMan]

Spend the extra and get cloth. It's so much nicer looking and probably lasts longer too. I'm still on my original top and it looks almost new even though my car is a 94.

[JDStrickland]

The short answer is, yes.

The longer answer is, it depends. If your car is a pile of crap on its last leg, then no. If you have a nice car that you will keep for years to come, then yes. My car is a '94, and I put a fabric top on it several years ago. My top will live longer than my car, and my car is in pretty good shape for 25 years old. One issue will bee that your currtent top may or may not have the pockets on the sides. The replacements do not have the pockets, and this ripples through to the routing of the strings that pull the wings into place. The routing of the string on the pocket-tops is different than the non pocket, and the difference will drive you to drink. I'm pretty sure that the vinyl or fabric tops will be similar.

HINT
vinyl looks like crap. Just sayin'

- - - Updated - - -

You do not have the issue of pockets v. non-pockets.

Your car has no pockets, the replacement top will be good.

PS
I replaced my top and headliner at home. Not a difficult job, except that the strings beat me up.