Our good friend Hank sound has released his spider top for the 348 and 355! This is great for protecting the interior from stickiness and leather shrinkage of the seats etc... Why didn't I think of this! D A M N IT!!!! Here's a Pic of the Spider Top on DarkAngel's car!!! Doesn't this make you want to buy a spider or what??? (If you don't already have one of course ) Available exclusively at Ricambi http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?cPath=100003&products_id=284211 Great product Hank!!! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't really understand the purpose of this cover... if you park the car facing the sun (with the convertible top up, if we are talking about convertibles) and you use a good windshield sun shield (like the custom ones available at www.bestcarcovers.com), the interior will be entirely shaded. What is the need for that elaborate (and dare I say aesthetically unpleasant) cockpit cover when the top combined with a simple windshield sun shield can do the same job?
Saves you from having to put the top up and down. Tonneaus are supposed to save wear on the top and also to be more convenient.
What don't you understand? This is for a Spider model, designed to be used with the top DOWN! It protects the interior of the car..... If you have ever put the top up on a 348 or 355 spider, you will know that it takes quite some time and effort to complete. The Spider Top takes all of 43.6 Seconds!
Spider Top was invented to protect your Ferrari Spiders interior really QUICKLY! Sure, you can put your top up, but Spider Top is a lot quicker to fit than the Ferrari top. This is great when you need to go to the shops or want to cover the car up for a short period as Spider Top takes less than a minute to fit and your car is protected from the sun, rain, prying eyes, ect.....ect... I think we should try and be positive about this and support Hank as much as possible as it is a great product that Spider owners have long yearned for.
Chris and Jon, thanks for the information; I understand now. I didn't know that the top is that delicate and that it takes so long to switch.
I personally love it and not just because its on my car in the pictures. Yesterday me and the wife took the car for a nice coastal drive and stopped in at the Pacific Cove beach restaurant and threw the Spider Top on in less than 30 seconds and went in to eat, no fussing with putting my top back up and the interior was protected from the sun with ease. After we finished eating we took it off real quick jumped in the car and was back on the road convertible style enjoying more of the day and the road. Its a great product! Jeff
Now if there was just one for the TS!! Removing, stowing and replacing the roof panel is a bigger pain than the spider top! Plus having this in the trunk would eliminate dragging the top panel around with me behind the seats all the time!
Nothing like running into a store and coming out to find birdcrap on the seat----change the name to Birdcrap Eliminator!!! Looks great!!
Fear not Steve, for SPIDER TOP/GTS, Dino to 355 is currently in the works. - and each top is custom made for the specific model. Just a few more weeks to "get the bugs out/off" Cheers, Hank
Might want to try here: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=137095767#post137095767 It was originally for the 3X8's but it just might work with a 348/355GTS model.
For all of you vanity users, the top can be pulled underneath the wipers better than I did in those photos to get a nice taught look if you so desire, but I was hungry and wanted to get in the restaurant to eat and the taught look seemed less important to my hunger at the time... Myself and Hank will be at VCR this Sunday the 17th @9am to put on the top for some nice and taught pictures so if you want to check it out in person look us up. Jeff
I have one of the these (not Hank's) for my BMW convertible and it works awesome - highly recommend. I was working on modifying one for the 355, but struggling with the rear attach points (the BMW has tabs that close in the trunk lid). How does this attach at the back? Also, the BMW unit is off-white so it reflects the sun and breathable so the interior is litterally cool in mid-summer sun. I'm VERY concerned about the black material absorbing heat. Any insight? Thanks!
Good question. The fit is extremely loose, and lots of air circulates from beneath the doors and through the back. Although we haven't measured temperatures (hell, it's 35 and rainy in North Carolina today!), Hank tells me the nylon is very breathable and it's not a concern, even on the sunniest of California days. If you see one installed on a car, you'll see how it just loosely billows in a breeze (but rest assured, it doesn't become an America's Cup sailboat!) I used to have a white Tyvek cover for a different car. Indeed, it was very reflective and kept the heat out. Only problem was that it got filthy dirty looking quite quickly, and the car became a bit of a 'big white egg' sitting in a parking lot because it was so darn reflective.