Sunroof or no sunroof?

[bwen]

I noticed the APR in America are using GTI's with Sunroofs for their race cars. There is a gallery of the MK6 Motorsport Buildup Gallery here. They're not complete yet in that gallery, but take it for what it's worth - maybe the sunroof isn't as much as a 'weight' or 'strength' issue as people think ?!

Most of the VW's in America also have bi-xenons too. I think it's more of the fact that they come with the sunroofs rather then them ordering a car with one.

Sunroofs definitely add some weight and remove some strength in the top half of the car but even if you do track the car occassionally I doubt any of us would even notice a difference. I know for a fact that 'race' cars that do have sunroofs normally have the glass replaced with plexiglass to save that extra bit of weight but again that's only if people are trying to shave that extra one tenth of a second or less off their times

[simonm]

That's nothing a piece of "clear tint" like Solar Gard's LX-70 won't fix

If it's glass, it should block most of the UV anyway, unless you're talking about the sunroof being completely open and applying the Solar Gard directly to the scalp.

[Corey_R]

UV is not necessarily heat. I'm well aware that the sunroof being glass and already having a factory glaze tint will block most UV, but since ktrianta is stating that the "top of my head is starting to feel it with this warmer weather", what the Solar Gard LX70 will do is lower the heat via 53% Total Solar Energy Rejection, whilst still allowing 72% of the Visible Light to transmit.

Films like this are often applied onto other existing glazing and factory tinting to further reduce heat (and protect against all UV) without greatly reducing VLT such as regular tint does.


But you are correct on the "open" statement. If by open ktrianta means all the way open, and not just "tilted" or the "screen" being open, then clear tint on the sunroof won't help!

[triode12]

Had one as a standard accessory in the Civic Sport we owned for a year. Hardly ever used it. Nice to have but I wouldn't pay extra for one. But I wouldn't say no to one if it was included in the deal for "free" or if it came with the used car I was buying.

As for the slag against convertibles, sports and racing cars used to be topless/ragtops from the early part of the century till the late 60s. As a matter of fact, current F1,Indy and Formula Ford cars are still topless.

[Corey_R]

As for the slag against convertibles, sports and racing cars used to be topless/ragtops from the early part of the century till the late 60s. As a matter of fact, current F1,Indy and Formula Ford cars are still topless.

Well, lets exclude "open wheelers" from the equation, because well, they're not sedans or coupes or anything "road oriented". Topless/ragtop cars were used because having a roof was heavier! That is literally the only reason. The weight of having a roof was outweighed by any aerodynamic advantage having a roof gained due to the fact the cars were SLOW back then. It wasn't the late 60's that the changed happened either.... the end of the convertibles came in 1959 at the first Daytona 500 where for the first time they ragtops were decimated by the hardtops... due to a little discovery called "the draft", which was previously unknown to racing drivers. It was from that year that the convertibles were not able to compete any more due to their bad aerodynamics and drag and at the following year's Daytona 500 all the cars were hardtops. Although oval tracks the size of Daytona were present in Europe earlier in the century, the speeds weren't high enough for aerodynamics and the draft to really take effect.

As you've noted, other cars are still "topless" even today - but with these open wheelers (and LMP1/2 cars and the like), the opening is so small that the air simply passes over and doesn't cause any loss of aerodynamic efficiency.

[ConR]

yes, I was talking about having the sunroof open open, not closed with the slide open...my head is peeling from yesterday

[Zaul]

A peeling head? Gee it must have been warm in Sydney.

The sunroof was one of the options I ticked on my GTI and I'm enjoying it so far. I like the extra light that fills the car and the flow of air that when its opened. I can't say if it's worth full price because I negotiated a discount on mine. But I wouldn't have a GTI without one!

[AdamD]

I absolutely love my sunroof. If it's not raining (and in summer, if it's not baking), the roof is open. It's fantastic to have that feeling of openness without needing to have a window open; in my last (sunroof-less) car, I almost always drove with the driver's side window at least partially open.

The only downside for me is that it's extremely noisy with the roof open at its widest point; instead I leave it at the widest aperture with a fixed position on the sunroof dial. Oh, and speaking of which, the ergonomics of that sunroof dial are rubbish - the Germans can learn something from the Japanese in that respect.

The sunroof was the first option I ticked. And I'd do so again.

[Converted]

Oh, and speaking of which, the ergonomics of that sunroof dial are rubbish - the Germans can learn something from the Japanese in that respect.

Agreed. The dial, clock-wise then anti-clockwise all the way back.
Still prefer the switch/button if that was what AdamD was referring to.

[AdamD]

Agreed. The dial, clock-wise then anti-clockwise all the way back.
Still prefer the switch/button if that was what AdamD was referring to.

Exactly. You also need to look up at the switch to check the line is aligned directly forwards to confirm the roof is closed and not tilted, unless you count the 7-notches-to-close like I do. It juts out into the cabin, and is not illuminated at night. And as it's not motorised, it doesn't return to the closed position if you close the roof via the remote.

That control is a perfect candidate for a soft switch.