Hello,

anyone done that? Any good shop to suggest in the Bay Area?

Would that weaken the structure?

Thanks in advance.

 

personally i'd say f trying to get a moon roof. instead, invest your money into a bigger turbo / fuel system setup .. and fly to teh mewn... and if ur thinkin about keepin ur car cooler.. 2-80 air conditioning is the best... (2 windows down goin 80) which ur car could get up to in > 5 seconds from a dead stop ;P
my twocense

 

Sorta goes against the purpose of the car (adds weight in the worst possible location on the body). You probably won't notice it if you don't push your car that hard, though. I would never do it on my STi, but it's your car!

 

^ that is exactly what i was thinking... in one of the BMI videos they have a segment showing the difference between the evo 9 and 8's i believe, the difference being a 4-6lb lighter roof. i would never do it based on handling, but if you are more into the looks than track days, go for it

 

Got it guys; I am not going to do it anymore, actually not way too much interest for doing it. Was just seeking some opinion, that's all. Thank you for the feedbacks. Help me out on making decision.

 

I know you've already decided not to do it, but the reasons I wouldn't do it aren't because of weight. I'd be surprised if there's a weight difference at all, unless you want to get one that's powered. Putting a carbon fiber driveshaft in (-10lbs) or so would give the same effect (shifting the CG upward half a mm or so), and lots of the STI community has done that with not a second thought.

I wouldn't do it simply because I'd never trust anyone to hack a huge hole in my roof. It's going to cost an arm and a leg to do, and unless it's perfect, I'm going to hate it.

 

That's also part of my consideration as well. I'd hate to bring the car back to the monkeys if it is not working in any way.

The cost, seems like, it's below $1k. Runs about 900 otd...

 

Yeah, but the CF D/Shaft is not increasing weight anywhere whereas the moonroof would add about 40lbs in the worst possible spot. One is an improvement and one is not.

I do agree about the fit and finish worries though. Aftermarket moonroofs are shady.

It's not the end of the world by any means, but by the same train of thought why drive a fast car on the street anyway? The speed limit is 65? IMHO, the less compromises the better, and the moonroof is a pretty large compromise. It's one of the most significant reasons purists decided against buying the U.S.-spec 997 GT3- Porsche spec'd a mandatory moonroof on the U.S. GT3 (even though they allow the option to delete it on the 997 GT3 RS which costs $20k more).

Judging by the way 40lbs of ballast affects my race car (about .3 of a second), a moonroof is probably worth close to that on a road course like Thunderhill or Infineon. However, my ballast is mounted in the lowest point possible (passenger side footwell). In the case when its mounted in the roof, the transitional response is severely compromised- think of it as holding a weight straight up in the air with your arm and trying to run around and change direction. It becomes more difficult... read: more body roll. Given that the STi is a purist/enthusiast road car, I'd say the moonroof is somewhat "out of character" even if the effects aren't going to be noticed by many (most) individuals who drive them.

 

Dammit now I want a moonroof.

 

Well put

 

40lbs? I'd be surprised if it was 10, just a pane of glass and some gasket and sealant where there used to be metal. Unless you want it powered/sliding, then 40. I was just thinking of the kind that pops open.

Ideally, if you wanted to take weight away, you'd do so right at the center of gravity, so the CF driveshaft, while lighter, will cause the balance of the car to change. Will anything short of a professional driver notice? No. But I bet the differences are comparable between that and the (non-powered) moonroof.

I'd love to be able to let some light in through the roof. I open the moonroof in my civic all the time. It's probably my favorite feature on that car (that and the 35mpg )

 

people have done it, but they cut the support beam out, and their roof flops around.