Sunroof Delete (pics)

[szed03]

I decided to put my car on a diet so along with removing all the carpet and tar I took out the sunroof cassette/motor assembly.  I reused the stock panel as opposed to using the carbon fiber panel sold on ebay.  $250+ is steep for me! :p

That said, I made brackets to hold up the panel and I thought I'd share it with you guys.  I went off of a few DIY on Bimmerforums.  Some were way more complex than it needed to be and some were quite simple yet completely functional.  Decided to go with the latter.





A few things I did do differently from the DIYs:
1) I used 1/8"x 1 1/2" steel flat stock as opposed to aluminum.  MUCH stiffer yet still flexible enough for the application.

2). I used pop rivets instead of machine screws.  I just don't feel confident about screws hold onto quite thin sheet metal.  Not to mention the possibility of it denting the roof if you're not careful with length.  The rivets I used were 3/16 inch and the majority of which had a "grip range" of 1/4 inch.  I did have a few 1/2 inch just in case.  I also reused the torx bolts from the cassette along the front (towards the windowshield) of the steal straps.

On the outside, I masked off the roof and panel area around the opening and laid a bead of silicon sealant.  Did the same inside.

The cassette is about 25-30 lbs, panel is about 5 lbs and motor is about 2-3 lbs.  Honestly I do feel a difference when cornerning. Consider the fact that the weight came off the top of the car and it'll make sense.

If anyone wants additional or specific photos, feel free to let me know.  Also any questions, specific measurements, info requests ect...are more than welcome!

[EN318isPDX]

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[Jimmy Lewis]

May every day of your life bring you fresh hopes for tomorrow---because hopes give us all our reason for trying.May each new day bring a feeling of excitement, joy, and a wonderful sense of expectation. Expect the best, and you'll get it.May you find peace in simple things, because those are the ones that will always be there.May you remember the good times and forget the sorrow and pain, for the good times will remind you of how special your life has been.Don't be irresolute! Just come to our website  http://www.wowgold800.com and place your order for wow powerleveling then you will get your character to your desired high level fast. We are ready to serve you and nice to help you to have a wonderful wow life.ffxi gil is what players use to buy weapons, armors, food, potions and other items needed for game play. To do world of warcraft powerleveling instead of buying gil in game that would be more benefit to your account. ffxi power leveling not only directly reach your require but also save a lot of time for you.. you can escape the boring steps and enjoy the game freely.

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[tim_s]

Wow, good job! Shame about the spam on this thread, can this not be cleaned up? Can similar be performed on the e30 shell?

[Boyracer]

Nice! I removed the sunroof casette today, next I need to find something to fill the hole. Maybe I will use the original skin like you did.

How do you remove the metallic cover from casette? I did not see any screws etc. :confused:

[szed03]

Wow at the replies to this thread... :p LOL

Nice! I removed the sunroof casette today, next I need to find something to fill the hole. Maybe I will use the original skin like you did.

How do you remove the metallic cover from casette? I did not see any screws etc. :confused:

Here you go:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=341021

Explains it better than I can.  Haha...if you're still having trouble.  PM me.

[tim_s]

Would it be possible to take out a load of the cassette and leave a tilt-only sunroof? I think this could be qutie a good compromise between saving weight and not having a useless panel in the roof. I do quite like the sunroof, but not the 15-20kgs or so at the top of the car. i never use the slide function.

[Boyracer]

It seems that the metal skin weighs about 1/3rd of total mass of sunroof casette ie. about 5-6 kg.

I read bimmerforums and people there have had to cut up the casette to get hold of the insert. I want to retain everything intact, just in case I want to rebuild the car for street so no cutting for me.

I have plenty of fiberglass/carbon fiber sheet and all the other required things, I try to produce my own lightweight insert but seat frame for Sparco is taking lots of time to complete

[szed03]

Would it be possible to take out a load of the cassette and leave a tilt-only sunroof? I think this could be qutie a good compromise between saving weight and not having a useless panel in the roof. I do quite like the sunroof, but not the 15-20kgs or so at the top of the car. i never use the slide function.

Anything's possible!  Haha.  But seriously it wouldn't be worth it.  The portion of the cassette that you'd cut away would be a few pounds at best.  Unless you seriously track/autox the car and are serious about converting the car into a contender, then you're better off leaving the sunroof in.

It seems that the metal skin weighs about 1/3rd of total mass of sunroof casette ie. about 5-6 kg.

I read bimmerforums and people there have had to cut up the casette to get hold of the insert. I want to retain everything intact, just in case I want to rebuild the car for street so no cutting for me.

I have plenty of fiberglass/carbon fiber sheet and all the other required things, I try to produce my own lightweight insert but seat frame for Sparco is taking lots of time to complete

No need to cut up anything on an e36 sunroof cassette.  There are two really thin nuts near the trailing edge (rear) on the underside of the sunroof panel and two torx screws along the side of the panel near the leading edge (front) of the panel.  The latter two torx are difficult to locate at first.  What you need to do is look from the interior side of the cassette along the side with the panel in the full "tilt" position.

I'll take some pics tomorrow.  Hopefully it'll better help what I'm describing.

[tim_s]

Anything's possible!  Haha.  But seriously it wouldn't be worth it.  The portion of the cassette that you'd cut away would be a few pounds at best.  Unless you seriously track/autox the car and are serious about converting the car into a contender, then you're better off leaving the sunroof in.

Sounds like good advice! Was always a bit bummed that I got a sunroof model, most uk ones tend to have them though. The car gets used for a few track days a year and a 'ring trip or two, so I guess it's not all that important. Good to know that the best move is really to remove the whole lot and add a filler panel. I may have to take a look up there at some point to inspect for rust and so forth, living in England sunrooves in cars always have the potential to leak and destroy the car. I intend to try to remove some more weight from the car at some pt, probably will start with lighter wheels and maybe some trim removal. I don't want to get over the top with it as I use the car on the road.

[szed03]

Sounds like good advice! Was always a bit bummed that I got a sunroof model, most uk ones tend to have them though. The car gets used for a few track days a year and a 'ring trip or two, so I guess it's not all that important. Good to know that the best move is really to remove the whole lot and add a filler panel. I may have to take a look up there at some point to inspect for rust and so forth, living in England sunrooves in cars always have the potential to leak and destroy the car. I intend to try to remove some more weight from the car at some pt, probably will start with lighter wheels and maybe some trim removal. I don't want to get over the top with it as I use the car on the road.

Yea, I've completely gutted my car (carpet, tar, AC, sunroof ect...) save for the stock seats and the front door panels (going to be replaced with sheet metal soon! )  Funny thing is, your e30 as it is, is probably still lighter than my car! LOL :p

I'd love to see some pics of your engine, especially the throttle bodies!  PM me a link and/or some pics, please!

Anyway, back on topic...I found a pic of the location of the 2 torx screws along the sides near the front leading edge of the panel...It's from Old Skool's (BF.C) DIY thread, so you can thank him!

The right side of the pic would be the front of the cassette.  The panel is in the full tilt position.