Just how floppy?

[MadMax2042]

Sorry this will be a repost but I cant find the info I need.

 

I would like to hear from Supra owners who have owned both aero top and hard top Supra's

 

I dont want to shell out my cash to discover I have bought the wrong car.

 

My last one was a hard top, I really want a aero top but general word is they are floppy, just how floppy is what I want to know.

 

I do a fair amount of european driving and go down to Spain a couple of times a year and stay with family, lots of twisty roads inland in Spain and I also drive the Sierra Nevada roads when I am down that way.

 

Enlighten me

[Rich.2211]

I've driven both back to back and the aerotop didn't strike me as excessively "floppy" with the roof in. However, I was only driving leisurely. The owner of the aerotop I drove has said on numerous occasions he would prefer a hard top due to the flex from the aeroptop when driving enthusiastically.

[Abz]

Not sure of your location but could you get to a local meet and drive one? Or a garage to see if it is for you?

[MadMax2042]

Not sure of your location but could you get to a local meet and drive one? Or a garage to see if it is for you?

 

No one would be happy with me driving their Supra that hard

 

Hence this thread, I shall just wait for you crazies that have driven both hard to give me honest feedback and will base my decision from there

 

There are also so many nice cars on here that it plays with ones decision making

[j_jza80]

Marc_p has owned both (at the same time), send him a PM.

[The Raven]

You can clearly tell the difference but unless you want to track it or put stupid power though it the trade off is worth it

[Hitbox Junkie]

Rollcage to help stiffen if it is truely that bad. but as above trade off is awsome in my opion

[marc_p]

Marc_p has owned both (at the same time), send him a PM.

 

 

With the roof in, the Aerotop remains fairly rigid, swapping back and forth between the two cars you could barely notice a difference, when really pushing on, you can notice a bit of chassis flex, but you really have to be pushing the car to do this, I am currently fitting a couple of additional braces which are said to remove this.

 

With the roof out, you will notice the difference almost immediately, the chassis does flex, when driving over bumps, you can feel when the front of the car twists the opposite way to the rear, it is not an unpleasant experience(not like a convertible Mustang, that has very bad scuttle shake!) and when on smooth roads, it's fine, but again, the additional brace should help here

 

So in answer to your question, I'd say go for the Aerotop, if the car never really leaves the UK, then the Aerotop can become tiresome as we don't have much good weather, but I also do European driving and to be honest, there isn't anything much better than cracking the roof off on a beautiful sunny day as you make your way down some smooth and twisty roads at a reasonable pace(plus, if you have a nice sounding exhaust system and intake system, the noise, oh my god, the noise, it's soo much better with the roof off I can't even explain).

 

If you want any more info, just shout.

Edited December 24, 2014 by marc_p (see edit history)

[supra_ufo]

I have an aero, and driven Ikys hard top, they felt the same but wasnt driven hard.

As Marc mentioned you can not beat the feeling you get when the roof is off on a nice bit of road, even on a warms summers evening, driving with the roof off is epic!

[mplavery]

,

 

With the roof in, the Aerotop remains fairly rigid, swapping back and forth between the two cars you could barely notice a difference, when really pushing on, you can notice a bit of chassis flex, but you really have to be pushing the car to do this, I am currently fitting a couple of additional braces which are said to remove this.

 

With the roof out, you will notice the difference almost immediately, the chassis does flex, when driving over bumps, you can feel when the front of the car twists the opposite way to the rear, it is not an unpleasant experience(not like a convertible Mustang, that has very bad scuttle shake!) and when on smooth roads, it's fine, but again, the additional brace should help here

 

So in answer to your question, I'd say go for the Aerotop, if the car never really leaves the UK, then the Aerotop can become tiresome as we don't have much good weather, but I also do European driving and to be honest, there isn't anything much better than cracking the roof off on a beautiful sunny day as you make your way down some smooth and twisty roads at a reasonable pace(plus, if you have a nice sounding exhaust system and intake system, the noise, oh my god, the noise, it's soo much better with the roof off I can't even explain).

 

If you want any more info, just shout.

 

I would have a Aerator over a hard top any day ... it's only because I wanted a manual I went for a hard top .. Really miss my MR2 T-Bar

[marc_p]

,

 

I would have a Aerator over a hard top any day ... it's only because I wanted a manual I went for a hard top .. Really miss my MR2 T-Bar

 

Why didn't you just convert it? That's what I did, I had a Facelift Aero(N/A Auto only) and a Facelift TT6 and just did a complete shell swap, so everything is correct(Drivetrain, subframes, dash, interior, wiring, etc) essentially everything bar the body panels, carpet and roof lining , all so I could have the car they never made.

[Chris Wilson]

If you are serious about track days, sprints or whatever, the aerotop shouldn't even get a look in, they have scuttle shake, lozenging, and low speed damper settings, and ARB changes have little effect. On the road you will just get scuttle shake and probably water leaks, they will still have reasonable handling driven as normal buyer might expect to drive one when new If a semi convertible is important to you, above ultimate ride and handling, then you know what to look for. If you worry about chassis tuning and strength in a big accident, the fixed top is, for sure, the one to go for. Even as an everyday road car I would find it impossible to live with an aerotop, I would be imagining all that shell writhing and flexing all the time The hard top shell seems reasonably stiff, far better than a Porsche 928 for example, a similar size car, that, perhaps surprisingly has appalling rigidity.

[supra_ufo]

If you are serious about track days, sprints or whatever, the aerotop shouldn't even get a look in, they have scuttle shake, lozenging, and low speed damper settings, and ARB changes have little effect. On the road you will just get scuttle shake and probably water leaks, they will still have reasonable handling driven as normal buyer might expect to drive one when new If a semi convertible is important to you, above ultimate ride and handling, then you know what to look for. If you worry about chassis tuning and strength in a big accident, the fixed top is, for sure, the one to go for. Even as an everyday road car I would find it impossible to live with an aerotop, I would be imagining all that shell writhing and flexing all the time The hard top shell seems reasonably stiff, far better than a Porsche 928 for example, a similar size car, that, perhaps surprisingly has appalling rigidity.

 

let me guess, you have no hair ?

[MadMax2042]

Thanks for the input and help here chaps

 

Next question. Is there a cage or brace system that still allows use of the rear seats (need it for luggage if roof is in the boot

[mplavery]

Why didn't you just convert it? That's what I did, I had a Facelift Aero(N/A Auto only) and a Facelift TT6 and just did a complete shell swap, so everything is correct(Drivetrain, subframes, dash, interior, wiring, etc) essentially everything bar the body panels, carpet and roof lining , all so I could have the car they never made.

 

By the time I knew you could do it I did not have the space to have another car and I have gone to far with this one now lol

 

Would of love to have done it though

[Chris Wilson]

Any cage that gives a worthwhile rigidity increase needs to be welded in, with diagonal bracing, which would render the rear seats useless. A good fabricator *might* be able to devise a removable diaganol that is still plenty stiff, but *ANY* cage intrudes a lot, and then there's the fact in an accident there's the downside of unprotected heads coming into contract with very un-resilient hefty steel tubing. You need to decide if you want a road car or a race car.

[SupraStar 3000]

I've owned both (currently own a Aerotop TT) and the way I see it, you'd have to be crazy to drive fast without the roof on, in this country as its never warm enough.

 

Not very technical, sorry.

[Graham1984]

I've owned both (currently own a Aerotop TT) and the way I see it, you'd have to be crazy to drive fast without the roof on, in this country as its never warm enough.

 

Not very technical, sorry.

 

After seeing you in this thread and the title of it, I was awaiting some fellow advice from a flaccid member.

[SupraStar 3000]

After seeing you in this thread and the title of it, I was awaiting some fellow advice from a flaccid member.

 

to obvious mate. Was waiting for you to go first,..

[Graham1984]

to obvious mate. Was waiting for you to go first,..

 

I'm cured nowadays.

[SupraStar 3000]

turn off predictive text Graham. Think you meant "crude"

[Graham1984]

turn off predictive text Graham. Think you meant "crude"

 

Pot and kettle Ed

[Havard]

Bendy is trendy though. I always regret not getting a aerotop.

[Graham1984]

Bendy is trendy though. I always regret not getting a aerotop.

 

Is that so you could experience the wind in your hair?

[charlton]

Misleading thread title....

 

I've owned both and there's some noticeable flex with the chassis, I've added a front and rear strut brace and its made a noticeable difference to the flex. Although I'm not one for hacking in to the twisties, more for a straight line and a spirited drive I wouldn't complain about any flex, the braces really do stiffen it up well

 

With the roof on I've not noticed a difference between the two, except maybe getting a little wet - the seals will most likely need replacing due to their age!