I see a lot of people not liking the sunroof option

[Finally-a-V]

I have a roof and like it. Gets more light inside. The real problem living here in AZ is, with the heat, not even the shade is open from June to Sept so it kind of defeats the purpose of a roof. Now with the beautiful weather, it's nice to have to roof open or on vent.

The position of the sunroof on a 4 makes me wonder if it's really worth it. It's kind of behind your head as opposed to over your head.

I'd think if you're going to be tracking regularly, I'd probably go without a roof.

 

[sicoo]

I have a roof and like it. Gets more light inside. The real problem living here in AZ is, with the heat, not even the shade is open from June to Sept so it kind of defeats the purpose of a roof. Now with the beautiful weather, it's nice to have to roof open or on vent.

The position of the sunroof on a 4 makes me wonder if it's really worth it. It's kind of behind your head as opposed to over your head.

I'd think if you're going to be tracking regularly, I'd probably go without a roof.

I leave the shade open all the time on my 5 with the sunroof, especially in the dreary NE winter. I'm not concerned with lap times as I'm not entering any competitions with the thing LOL. Every once in a while I open it and it's relatively quiet. No regrets.

Also, I've had sunroof cars for most of my life and never had a leak or rattle. YMMV

 

[bloominguez]

Is it due to weight, structural rigidity, noise, or personal preference?

Yes. Except replace the "or" with "and" in your sentence.

 

[dinkman]

Funny, mine was a dealer stock order without the sunroof and I would have liked one had I taken the time to spec and wait.

I guess I'm in the extreme minority of people without a sunroof who actually wanted one.

yea my dealer stock didnt have it optioned either

 

[rubberduck]

Let’s be honest, aesthetically, speaking, the black wing is not something most people would consider “a beautiful car with great lines”. It’s an animal on the road but it’s nothing to look at…. Not much better looking, exterior wise, than the Chevy SS. It’s very nice inside, but the sunroof doesn’t ruin anything other than your time on the track.

It's no Ferrari, but it's also not the ugly stick beaten Tesla either. However, you proved my point, if it needs all the help it can get, why worsen the situation. I get your situation you actually use the sunroof and in all the cars I’ve had I rarely used it.

 

[GTANotch88]

In my '05 cts-v, I had almost no headroom with a helmet, like an inch at most. And I'm only 5'10. That sunroof also leaked into my trunk and filled my spare tire well when the drain tube was improperly run, before I owned it. Just too much hassle/worry for me to deal with again. Now with a helmet in my 5bw, I feel a lot more comfortable.

 

[BimmerFan]

I got lucky, buying an in-stock car w/o sunroof. I never gave it much thought (most of my previous BMWs came stock with it, and I never pay for it when ordering a car) until the last M4, which had a sunroof and seriously limited my headroom with a helmet. And I'm short!

I get the attraction of having the roof, but I also get the advantages of not having it. But I'm still in the camp of "take it if it's free, pass if it costs money". It's moot since I do not plan to track the BW.

 

[Z51L9889]

I'm currently looking for a 4BW, and I will not even consider one that has a sunroof. I plan to do several track schools a year with it, so the extra weight and and loss of some structural rigidity definitely factor into my decision. Also, I live in Florida, and in addition to the risk of leakage during our daily monsoon in the summer, having the sunroof glass spontaneously shatter is a real thing here. I actually had that happen to me a few months ago while I was driving. Scared the **** out of me, LOL.

 

[DCV]

My last car, a 991.2 911, had the glass roof option and I think I opened it like three times. Plus when it was opened the rear spoiler actually raised itself to a higher angle once you got above 70 or so. So the sunroof does affect the airflow over the car. I was lucky enough to find my 4 BW at a dealer, and no sunroof. As others said, the drains can and do get clogged. Even in Porsches. I think there is one car where the ECU sits under the passenger footwell and the drains get clogged then floods the ECU, and destroys it.

 

[mrsully74]

Yeah - last winter a shop pumped 5 gallons of water out of my GTI due to a clogged sunroof drain and me being away for a while during a period of heavy rains. I had to dry out the car further using a fan and carbon packs - for weeks - before it was fully dry. Primarily for this reason (but also because of reduced headroom) the car I originally ordered was without a sunroof....but the one we eventually bought had one. I'm OK with that - I like sunroofs - but would have preferred it without.

I have a 4BW with a sunroof and I love it. I'm 6'2" and no head clearance issues but I will also never track it. Funny enough my only car to ever have a sunroof leak was my GTI (clogged drain) which happened about 7 years into ownership.

 

[CGB]

Never have liked them, never used them.

 

[1Evil55]

If you don't drive in the rain you don't need to worry about it leaking. jus sayin

 

[minn19]

Same as others for reasons not to have one. When I do, I never open it anyway.

Have had a couple of them leak over the years. Had a F150 with the panoramic roof that the drain clogged on multiple times. Every time it would leak in to the cab making a mess and then trigger the motion alarm. So yah, that was fun for something we rarely ever used.

 

[Grainofsand]

No sun roof for me. Adds weight and I never used it in my other cars.

 

[PrimeTime]

Just quickly browsing along here and I haven't personally dug into it, what exactly is the weight difference between a pano roof car and one that does not have it? Maybe its been answered by an SME somewhere here before? IDK.

If one is losing sleep over the power to weight ratio and nothing else when tracking the car, can you null the difference by removing the passenger seat if you have the pano roof? Would you need/want to?

I'm not sure what kind of power loss/gains one can hope to be had with (and without), strictly from a performance aspect and NOT an aesthetic preference one may choose in addition to?

Sometimes the wifey is chewing me out pretty good and the lack of a passenger seat could prove to be an ally in more than one way?

Im tracking the car honey!

After 38 years I can get away with that statement. It's a marathon and not, a sprint in that race!

SME comments would be appreciated.

 

[FLYARMY]

My local pizza shop owner inherited his Dad's Cadillac with a sunroof. The car is very low miles and garage kept by the Dad. This is the photo I took last week. The picture speaks for itself. Sunroofs are "no go" for me here in NY.

 

[Dreezy]

I love my sunroofs. Nothing better than windows down and sunroof open in the summer. I’ll pay the weight penalty do not care. I’ve never had one leak, all my cars are garaged.

 

[Finally-a-V]

I've had them on and off for years. I've lived in NJ, PA, VA and AZ. Been through some God awful snow and rain storms in the NE. Vehicles sitting out and not garaged. Automatic car washes. Never a problem, never a leak or creak. Is it luck? Back east I'd check the track once in a while when I washed the vehicle so.....maybe it's maintenance?

 

[1Evil55]

I have one. Barely ever use it. I ordered it that way. The little bit that it is open, I am happy to have it. Almost every car I've owned had one and never had a leak in any of them. I don't plan on tracking it much so the top heavy part isn't a concern. On a cooler evening it is really nice to have open so I can hear the engine.

 

[Speed Racer 007]

I enjoy the open air/light and great sound I get when it's open. But most important when I use my bong the smoke extracts a hell of a lot faster when the roof is opened, especially after 60 mph! Just saying.