May be there to prevent top fabric wear. I would use silicone spray on all
the rubber window and door seals. You would be surprised how many noises
disappear.

"S John M-M" > wrote in message
...
>
> Now that I've had my VW a few months, 1995 Cabrio, I can affirm I'm
> still in love with it, and it's the best suited to me car I've ever
> owned--new or used. Anyhow, now that the weather's dictated I travel
> more with the top up than down, something got me curious:
>
> The top of the rollbar has a thin layer of slick foam rubber stuck to
> it. I can be entirely sure, but it seems as though if I were to peel
> it away, there'd be nothing but black plastic underneath. The reason
> I'm wondering what the hell it's actually there for is because it
> "shimmys" against the interior headliner of the roof when it's up and
> end up making a squeaky Styrofoam-coming-out-of-a-box sound...
> PARTICUALRLY in "dry cool atmospheric conditions."
>
> What purpose does it serve?
>
> I'm not sure if you can tell very well from this picture, but here it
> is.
>
> http://www.intrex.net/jm/foamontop.jpg
>
> --S. John
>