Soft Top For Jeep

A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form.

Roof designs vary widely, but a few characteristics are common to all convertibles. Roofs are affixed to the body of the vehicle and are usually not detachable. Instead the roof is hinged and folds away, either into a recess behind the rear seats or into the boot or trunk of the vehicle. The roof may operate either manually or automatically via hydraulic or electrical actuators, and the roof itself may be constructed of soft or rigid material. Soft-tops are made of vinyl, canvas or other textile material, while hard-tops are made of steel, aluminum, plastic or other rigid materials.

Contemporary convertibles are known and marketed under several different terms due to the convergence of body styles over the years. A soft-top convertible may also be referred to as a cabriolet or cabrio , although two-seater soft tops often retain the name roadster, referring to their body style. Hard-tops are marketed under the terms coupé cabriolet , coupé convertible or simply retractable hardtop , while two-seaters more commonly use coupé roadster / roadster coupé .

Folding textile roof

The collapsible textile roof section (of cloth or vinyl) over an articulated folding frame may include linings such as a sound-deadening layer or interior cosmetic headliner (to hide the frame)  — or both — and may have electrical or electro-hydraulic mechanisms for raising the roof. The erected top secures to the windshield frame header with manual latches, semi-manual latches, or fully automatic latches. The folded convertible top is called the stack .

Pros and cons

Convertibles offer the flexibility of an open top in trade for:

• potentially reduced safety
• poor break-in protection
• deterioration and shrinkage of the sun-exposed textile fabric over time
• diminished rear visibility, from a large roof structure, small rear window, or obstructed rear window — or all of these: MINI convertible.
• generally poor structural rigidity. Contemporary engineering goes to great length to counteract the effects of removal of a car's roof. For example, a 2007 article in the New York Times, referring to the Volkswagen Eos, reported:
• specifically poor structural rigidity, such as pronounced scuttle shake, a characteristic whereby the structural design of the bulkhead between engine and passenger compartment of a convertible suffers sufficiently poor rigidity to negatively impact ride or handling — or allow noticeable vibration, shudder or chassis-flexing into the passenger compartment.

Tonneau covers

Folding textile convertible tops often do not hide completely the mechanism of the folded top or can expose the vulnerable underside of the folded top to sun exposure and fading — in which case tonneau covers of various designs snap or secure into place to protect the folded roof and hide the mechanicals. Detachable foldable, rigid or semi-rigid covers require space-consuming storage inside the vehicle — and sometimes complicated installation from outside the stationary vehicle. Foldable vinyl and cloth covers can be prone to shrinkage, further complicating installation.

Evolution of the tonneau cover

• The MKI (first generation) MGB (1964) roadster featured a manually-assembled convertible frame which required the driver to install the separate vinyl or cloth convertible top — from outside the car. Likewise, a similar detachable frame installed to support a foldable vinyl tonneau cover with a series of twenty press fit snaps.

• Convertibles such as the Chrysler LeBaron (c. 1988) used sleeve and groove systems to anchor foldable vinyl tonneau cover, again installed manually from outside the car. Later textile convertibles used semi-rigid plastic tonneau covers, e.g., the first generation Audi TT and Cadillac Allanté.

• Convertibles such as the fifth generation of the Cadillac Eldorado featured a detachable two-part, fully rigid, manually installed tonneau sufficiently strong to support a seated person — also known as a parade boot .

• Convertibles such as the second generation Mercedes SL popularized the integral manually operated self-storing rigid tonneau cover -- in its case accompanied by a separate removable hardtop. In either case, the design required manual operation from outside the stationary vehicle.

• Convertibles such as first Porsche Boxster, Toyota MR2 and third generation Mazda MX5 (NC) featured Z-fold (aka zig-zag fold) tops, whereby the exterior of the neatly retracted fabric roof also protected the remaining roof from sun exposure — eliminating the aesthetic or protective need for a tonneau cover.

• Convertibles such as the second generation Ford Thunderbird (1958) convertible and the fourth generation Mercedes SL popularized the complex electro-hydraulic roof mechanism that automatically secured the folded top under a rigid tonneau — button activated by a seated driver — and later more routinely available on convertibles such as the Volvo C70, Chrysler Sebring and Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.

• The contemporary retractable hardtop convertible such as the Chevrolet SSR include tonneau covers that "self-store" the roof assembly.

Detachable hardtops

Convertibles such as both the first and eleventh generation of the Ford Thunderbird and the second and third generations of the Mercedes SL featured as standard or optional equipment fully rigid, manually installable hardtops — later examples including heatable rear windows. These hardtops provided acoustic insulation but also required space-consuming off-season storage — and a cumbersome two-person installation. The optional aluminum (i.e., lightweight) detachable hardtop for a Porsche Boxster weighed 51 lbs. A current-day example of a detachable hardtop is the Jeep Wrangler.

Convertible windows

Convertible side windows have evolved from non-existent in the earliest models, to detachable side screens and manually or power operated glass side windows. Rear-windows have evolved similarly, with plastic rear-windows appearing as late as the first generation Porsche Boxster. Contemporary convertibles and retractable hardtops feature heatable glass rear windows to maximize visibility — though rear windows often can compromise visibility by their size, as with the case of the very small rear window and restricted visibility of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider. Plastic windows can degrade, fade, yellow and crack over time, diminishing visibility.

Windblockers

Windblockers, also known as wind screens, wind deflectors, or wind shields, minimize noise and rushing air from reaching the occupants — specifically cold air (and the noise that comes with it) rushing from behind the passengers having been forced over the windshield then returning to the natural lower-pressure zone where the passengers sit.

Mazda pioneered the windblocker with its Mazda RX7 convertible featuring an integral rigid opaque panel that folded up from behind the two seats. Current convertibles feature windblockers of various designs including detachable fold-up designs (Toyota Solara), vertically retractable glass (Audi TT), carefully designed minimal flaps (Mazda Miata) — or other integrated wind controlling systems.

Mercedes currently offers a feature that routes a heating duct to the neck area of the seat on SLK and SL models, marketed as the "Air Scarf".

According to the chief engineer for the 2008 Chrysler Sebring, Jim Issner, the windblocker for the Sebring reduces "wind noise by approximately 11 to 12 decibels".

Safety

Contemporary convertible design may include such features as electrically-heated glass rear window (for improved visibility), seat belt pre-tensioners, boron steel reinforced A-pillars, front and side airbags, safety cage construction — a horseshoe like structure around the passenger compartment — and roll over protection structures or (ROPS) with pyrotechnically charged roll hoops hidden behind the rear seats that deploy under roll-over conditions whether the roof is retracted or not.

Notably, the Volvo C70 retractable hardtop includes a door-mounted side impact protection inflatable curtain which inflates upward from the interior belt-line — vs. downward like the typical curtain airbag. The curtain has an extra stiff construction with double rows of slats that are slightly offset from each other. This allows them to remain upright and offer effective head protection even an open window. The curtain also deflates slowly to provide protection should the car roll over.

As an example of current convertible safety, the Citroën C3 Pluriel received the following European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) ratings:

• Adult Occupant:

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