Feeler: Fibreglass Sunroof

[tjhartge]

Has anyone made or tried the strength of one of these?
how much would it cost roughly

I'm thinking of getting a mould made and doing a group buy
i'm guessing in the range of 200 plus shipping for a mimimum of 5 pcs or try to get 180 for set of 10 pcs

Anyone care to share if this will be a viable project to embark on?

Please add any ideas or techniques that would arise when making one of these


last time i heard about the carbon fibre ones was a big mess

[e30devo]

strength? how strong do you need a sunroof to be?

[tjhartge]

what i meant was durability , with constant use, will it hold its strength
don't want a sunrrof that will break after 10 times of usage

i believe there will be constant downforce on the roof, but how much will it affect the fibreglass, i'm not sure, that's why i ask if its viable to make one out of fibreglass, and if it is made, how thick should it be

[nando]

it's already been done, but there was a limited # made. they also did some out of carbon fiber. I just picked up one of the FG ones from a guy on the forum.

I think you will have a very hard time making something yourself that will function like the stock peice. there's much more to it than just making a mold and slapping in some fiberglass and resin. but if you have the knowledge/skills then good luck to you!

[e34john]

is this to save weight?

[tonytony]

i think it's more to lower the center of gravity of the car

[1991 318is]

FG, CF and lower weight.

I may be wrong but the OEM sunroof panel is pretty light. It's just sheet metal. The weight of the sunroof is in the tracks and hardware. Perhaps for lower weight a sunroof delete panel would be the hot tip. Take the panel off, remove the hardware and tracks, and fix the panel to the roof. The drains are part of the hardware so it for sure has to be weathertight. There's a pic in this thread on the first page:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=73153

[tjhartge]

it's already been done, but there was a limited # made. they also did some out of carbon fiber. I just picked up one of the FG ones from a guy on the forum.

I think you will have a very hard time making something yourself that will function like the stock peice. there's much more to it than just making a mold and slapping in some fiberglass and resin. but if you have the knowledge/skills then good luck to you!

nando,
how much did you get it for?
can you get a picture?
not making it myself, having it done by a fibreglass moulder

are the tabs made from fibreglass/part of the roof, or additional fibre to hold in place
i believe that this tabs are crucial, as the carbon fibre ones broke easily.


i'm gonna try and get the tabs made from metal, and inserted during the moulding process, that way it sits in between both panels

[tjhartge]

I may be wrong but the OEM sunroof panel is pretty light. It's just sheet metal. The weight of the sunroof is in the tracks and hardware. Perhaps for lower weight a sunroof delete panel would be the hot tip. Take the panel off, remove the hardware and tracks, and fix the panel to the roof. The drains are part of the hardware so it for sure has to be weathertight. There's a pic in this thread on the first page:
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=73153

weight savings is a bonus especially at the top point of the car

this panel would also be an option for those with rusted sunroof panel, as i found out mine was rusted from the inside and it has now started to eat up the top sheet metal, and inner sides
believe this was because the seals were not checked/changed for a very long time