No, seriously. There really isn’t any other option for us, the best or nothing.

Haartz corporation have been in the topping business since 1897, producing superb materials we simply take for granted today German A5, RPC, Stayfast, Twillweave etc. All OEM vehicle manufacturers use this topping for their vehicles, and with good reason too. You can see from the image below, this is an example of the “Martindale Test”. A rigourous test of abrasion and durability resistance, 50,000 cycles to be accurate this example shows the significant difference between an OEM choice fabric and non-OEM. This is the reason we will only install Haartz products, we want your investment to look excellent in another 10-15 years (as it does now I’m sure).

The tops that are installed on your vehicle have been trialled on our own personal vehicles, we can personally testify to the quality of a product and also what it is like to live with. No other firm in the UK can say the same!

Image courtesy of Haartz Corp. 16/22/24 www.haartz.com Thanks!

Now HoodTech actively use and encourage aftermarket tops (longer guarantees at a fraction of the cost), cut out the middle man and all that jazz. All of our tops are sold with OEM chosen fabric (Haartz) utilising a pattern developed from the original OEM part, the price to performance ratio you get with a good quality aftermarket top is significantly ahead of an OEM top. You are probably wondering what is the difference between the various Haartz topping materials let quickly jump into that below.

1) Haartz German A5 or Sonnenland; a beautifully manufactured, tough, yet supple choice. This fabric offers superior acoustics and dampening. It is a firm favourite for OEM developers thanks to it’s excellent abrasion properties and durability. Not as soft as Twillfast RPC and is coarser to touch. Depending on the application, thickness ranges from 1.30-1.70mm.

2) Haartz Twillfast RPC; a personal favourite among the team at HoodTech and our personal choice for our own convertibles! Easier to work with than A5 and excelelnt acoustics also. Super easy to work with and a wonderful feel in the hand, a different “sheen” like finish which looks superb on every vehicle. Twillfast has more stretch than A5 but less than stayfast, this makes for an excellent compromise on a suitable soft top application. Thickness is consistent across the board at 1.35mm.

3) Haartz Stayfast; another excellent topping with manouverability in mind. Thinner than the others at 1.0mm which translates to a light and supple fabric which is very easy to manipulate. Works exceptionally well with manual operating tops; think Mazda MX5, Toyota MR2 etc. Certainly no less in quality due to the cheaper price per yard just to be used for a different application. Texture is coarser than RPC, a different directional weave than the others also.

Of course this is only a very brief insight into these wonderful range of fabrics from Haartz Corp, if you have any questions please do get in touch as there really is so much to learn!