Looking for a couple folks willing to get in on a small initial run of carbon fiber sunroof skins. I've got a serious source, but I don't want to wait on a full-blown GB, and associated flakyness/hassles, just a couple motivated buyers.

This is an opportunity to shave some significant weight right off the highest point on the car, and recover some of the CG of base/R1 models.

 

im in if i dont have to send my sunroof anywhere and if the price is reasonable. we tried getting this going a couple years ago with shine but nothing came out of it. hopefully it works for us this time. PM me if you get anything going.

 

Details?

How much weight does this save?

Is the sunroof skin all that heavy?

I would think most of the weight would be in the motor, though I could be wrong about that.

Has anyone here ever weighed the sunroof?

 

OK, I can share some details!

The sunroof skin isn't terribly heavy, but surprisingly it's well over 10 lbs by itself. If you look at the underside of a base roof, it's literally just flat sheet metal (weighs nothing), whereas the underside of the sunroof skin is braced up like the underside of the hood! Probably because metal would flex/flap in the wind, whereas CF would be less inclined to, so it can be built slighter.

Until a first model is built, we won't know exactly how much it will save, but likely upwards of 10 lbs. Considering it is on the highest point of the car, that's considerable. Certainly the motor and framing weigh as well, so the goal is to offset that a bit.

One could spend quite a bit of money on a CF driveshaft, or Ti exhaust, or alluminum-bodied coilovers, or spend hours removing tar from your floor, and save no more weight but on a far less crucial part of the car!

Base roof here:

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...31&postcount=2

Sunroof skin attached.

 

Hi all,
I spoke with the vendor (Atomic Rex in the UK), and they just finished CF doors that weigh 2.5 kg (under 6 lbs) each. I can't imagine that this skin would weigh more than a pound or two if constructed properly.... 10 lb. savings very doable. Next to saving 10 lbs on your wheels, you won't see greater affect to weight trimming than on this item.

Looking for one other person to join me on the initial construction.

 

including jkstill and i?

edit: what about seeing if the guys from this thread are still interested CF Sunroof Skin

 

^^

I've got no joiners yet. ... I PM'd a couple guys in that thread, no takers as of yet.

 

I might be in, PM me with detail

 

^^^

PM'd you.

 

So this is for the metal sunroof guys and not the glass? I have a glass sunroof, that i wish I didn't have. Was wondering what I could do in place of it...

 

....drill out the spot welds on a wrecker with a standard roof and then remove the 15 odd kg of crap on the highest point of the car??

 

Cozmo,
I'm not sure how the glass roof attaches... the metal roof has four threaded studs. Assuming it's the same/similar, it would work. Any chance you could send me a pick of the attachment points for the glass?

You would benefit even more, I've heard the glass roof weighs a TON.

 

I will get on that tonight! Just open the roof and take pics?

I will take pics of it open and closed from the outside and the inside. I would love to get rid of the thing. It sticks and lets in light (which is far from ideal in phx az and the burning desert sun).

 

I have a glass roof and am interested in doing something....

 

I will be checking in w/ Atomic Rex this week. Having more folks to share i the initial development process would be helpful, so PM me if you're in a position to do so!

 

Is this a panel that will replace the sunroof entirely (removing function) or just a skin for the sunroof? I'd kind of like to get rid of it entirely and fit a permanent panel in place.

 

i'm interested. pm me details. i'm also looking for a permanent panel, so i can remove the motor, etc.

 

Bringing this back from the dead.. Did anything ever come of this?

 

Funny you should ask.

There's a GB going on right now:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...9#post10107229

I would urge anyone mildly interested in this to go ahead and get in the game. I've struck out already with 4 vendors despite interest threads of 15+ people, and offers on my part to pay the upfront development costs out of pocket, so we have a vendor that is looking to get this done with 10 commitments. If it doesn't happen this time, I'll likely move to simply delete my sunroof altogether, because I'm frustrated with the process.

This is an opportunity to shave about 10 lbs off the very highest point in the car, and thus the one with the most effect on center of gravity. If you'll pay $1000 for a Ti exhaust to save 10 lbs on the lowest part of the car, or $800 for a CF driveshaft, this is a relative performance bargain.

 

Interesting, thanks.. if im unable to find a clean sunroof~less shell in the near future that may be an option.

 

Will this seal properly and keep the elements out of the cabin? That's a huge concern of mine.

 

I believe the intent is to retain sunroof functionality

 

Guys, if you ever want this done, time to get in the game:

https://www.rx7club.com/group-buy-center-69/fd-carbonfiber-sun-roof-group-buy-912394/