Ear strap. Good or bad?

[kolleykibber]

Hi All,

I found the ear strap under the seat of my car when I bought it and dutifully followed the instructions on here to fit it. The ears get tucked away nicely now.

But, now I notice that the material of the ears is suffering quite a bit of strain from the action of the 'ear' strap. This must surely lead to failure of the soft top sooner than if it was not fitted.

Is this why it is not fitted in the first place? Has anybody else removed the ear strap for these reasons?

[Davegtst]

Yes.   I have disconnected my ear strap to stop the hood getting damaged.  It was starting to get very small rips at the sides near the back of the side windows.

[greeny]

Iv had my 2 from nearly new (02 reg) and the strap was i the glovebox when i
bought her up until a couple of months ago when decided to fit it. It does work a treat
although i have noticed the same problem as Davegtst. Now its back in the glovebox!

[spit]

My strap was taken off years ago because of the stress it placed on the hood seams. I figured that a little extra manual ear-folding was preferable to a pooped roof hem.

No great hardship without it. I'd encourage members to share the pros and cons with new arrivals regarding the strap question if they should ask it, particularly as our cars are now getting to that tricky age!

[kolleykibber]

Thanks for your replies. I thought it odd that it wasn't connected in the first place. I guess that was the best way to save on ripped soft top claims.

[jinxedkitten]

Yes.   I have disconnected my ear strap to stop the hood getting damaged.  It was starting to get very small rips at the sides near the back of the side windows.

Ditto.

I'm often given stick about my ears, but I'd rather have ears that a ripped roof!

[peteshaz]

When I bought my terrific MR2 a year ago I found the ear strap in the glove box. I fitted per a very good YouTube video on it. Pretty easy to do but I have noticed small cracks where the strap pulls the hood into the tucked in position. I'm taking it out. The ears don't look too bad and not worth a cracked hood. I think if I lived in California instead of chilly Huddersfield I can see how the hood would be nice and supple and therefore not strained as much or not much at all. I suggest removing it. 30 second job
Regards Pete

[benjamino]

I reinstalled my strap but didn't like the cracks forming either. I also noticed it pulling the edge of the hood away from the edge with little dimples which I didn't like the look of. Going to live with ears for now. Although I'm tempted to just use the strap and then replace with the aftermarket hood if it ever gets too bad.

[delhusband]

I reinstalled my strap but didn't like the cracks forming either. I also noticed it pulling the edge of the hood away from the edge with little dimples which I didn't like the look of. Going to live with ears for now. Although I'm tempted to just use the strap and then replace with the aftermarket hood if it ever gets too bad.

I tried refitting the strap, but to be honest it was futile. The pop studs on the tabs attached to the hood itself were deformed, so the strap wouldn't engage properly. the fabric had worn where the pop studs attach to the hood, and so the tension was uneven. I think this led to the forming of 'wrinkles' on the hood on the drivers side, when i put the hood up with the strap attached. Putting the hood up and down became more difficult, i think as a result of unevenly distributed tension (the hood would jam/snag). The strap would naturally pop off under the added tension due to the deformed stud.  I left it off in the end as I saw a crack/tear develop on the drivers side. I'm not sure if it was directly related, but I was also beginning to notice water ingress during heavy rain at the drivers window seal. Now, the strap is off, I let the car interior heat up a little on cold mornings before lowering the hood, and I just fold the ears manually (most times I don't bother, I'm usually having too much fun to notice or care about the ears anyway    )

[Chilli Girl]

Yep, I have ears now! Did try without but like others, puts a huge amount of strain on roof, and I noticed tears showing so before they got worse, thought I'd better go around with my ears!

[benjamino]

I put my roof (without strap) down today and thought I'd try and tuck in the ears by hand - wasn't too tricky and I could position them in a way that didn't put to much stress in the weak points.