They are a pain to take off and would make the top removal a whole lot easier

 

I only put mine in when I know I won't be taking the panels off for a while (Such as the high for the week being 40)

I've gone through car washes without them and have not had any leaks

 

Gotta say, if you are doing this your temping fate.

The screw-ins are there to keep the top in place in the back....
What Jeep should have done is put a latch like they have in the
front, for the rear of the tops. The Screw-ins keep the back from
lifting up, when you have the windows open. The pressure of the
air moving into the cab will,( at highway speeds) lift your top...
I forgot to put mine in once....I know this will happen. It scared
the crap outta me and I pulled over and replaced the screw-ins
right Then & There.

I did do something to make it a bit smoother though, I wrapped the
threads with teflon tape,(Pipe tape.) those suckers spin right in and
right out when I want them to.

Hope this helps.

 

The screw-in mounts are only needed when running the freedom top panels alone, without the rest of the hard top.

 

i didnt know you could run just the front panels, would be kinda a pita to take the back half off just to have a hard bikini top

 

I run mine w/o them all the time and have NEVER had them try to fly off.
The only way this would be possible is if you forgot to flip the back latches closed or if you were running the freedom panels w/o the back portion of the top.

 

I only run them in the winter as the cold seems to make the panels rattle a bit without the knobs. Never had a problem without them in.

 

I never run mine and I have had no issues. The turn locks under the hardtop anyways so there is no was for them to move. But if will leak in a car wash without them in

 

I personally wouldn't tempt fate, its 2 minutes, and there is a reason the little feet are in the panels, you're supposed to flip them down when running the freedom panels without the rest of the top, its personally my favorite setup to run. Tons of air with some nice shade. I'm sure there are a ton of people who have done it without issue. I have been known to ride around with the back glass open even though i've heard of people doing it for 2 miles and having there window shatter, while I have never had a problem...so I guess its a matter of preference but I wouldn't trust some small plastic clips to hold up against mother nature and highway speeds...just my.02

 

Almost 3 years. Never used. Car washes all day long. Truth be told, in the beginning they were too tight and caused the gaskets to crush causing major leaking. They are unnecessary and a pita