Carbon Fiber Roof

CMS-GT4

CMS-GT4

Active member
I have been seeing a lot about race/ track cars removing the roof skin, and installing a CF roof.

I remember a member having a new non-sunroof skin installed to replace his old sunroof skin, when he switched it out to save some weight.

I don't see why one could not buy a nice sheet of finished CF from MCMASTER and cut it to the shape of the roof skin and bond it. Making it bond might be where the most research needs to be done. If you can find out the average thickenss of the CF roof replacements I think the entire size could be ordered for for a fair price. Then you just have to cut it and make it work. I bet you could drop 50+lbs from the roof of the car.

It might not be a good idea for a street car, but for a race gtfour, this might be a good solution.

It might be much more complicated then I am thinking, but its worth looking into for you full out race guys.

A thread I found from a quick google.
http://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165524
 
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turbo4wd

Moderator
Well the biggest hurdle you'll run into when working with a sheet of CF from McMaster is that its flat, and our roofs are curved.. And you can't make a flat sheet of CF bend unless you're doing it at the time its being molded.

IMO, (with 185's at least) you're better off removing the entire sunroof assembly, and replacing the roof skin with a factory roof skin from a base (non-sunroof) 18x Celica. It's the most practical and cost effective way of dropping weight in that area for normal street use. I personally use my sunroof all the time, but I can live without it as well, so I may eventually go this route. I've been in a 185 that had this done and it was noticeably more nimble on the same roads than mine.

Of course for hard-core track cars, nothing beats having an entire roof skin made out of CF.. I'd love to see it done just so its out there for the 185 owners with deep pockets.. I know a certain owner in FL that would buy one if it were available.. :wink:
 
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Toxygene

Active member
Damn that's crazy.

There was a thread where the idea was mentioned about having the moonroof panel replaced with a carbon fiber piece. It would retain the functionality and for those with ST165s it would prevent the rusting issue. I would assume that it would save in weight too. I don't know if it would be enough to compensate for keeping the moonroof mechanism, however.
 
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alltrac101

Member
I finally got my FG plug done. It looks just like a regular sunroof from the outside & I put a non-sunroof liner in, after I got it redone to a darker grey. Lots more head room & my helmet no longer touches. Rob Millman painted it factory black for me & has pictures of it...it weights 3 1/2 lbs, 4 lbs with screws & alloy bracket.

I went this route since I didnt want to mess with body work, stripping the interior & painting. This way I put the plug in, screw it in place & black caulk the seam

I'll post some pics when I have a chance.

Pat
 
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syko says

Active member
alltrac101":30h01qis said:
..it weights 3 1/2 lbs, 4 lbs with screws & alloy bracket.


Pat
Click to expand...

Correct me if im wrong but thats about a ~30 pound weight reduction? sounds awesome!

I wonder how much a full CF roof would save.
 
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built2run

New member
Ha i looked into this a long time ago and a sheet about that size costs about 600 and the curving is- or can be done by 2 curved aluminum supports going from front to back. the issue isn't how to fit it, thats the same as replacing it with an other sheet of steel that you just can't weld. the problem is that cf hardly expands with temp in comparison to any metal so you will have to compensate for that somehow, look up a bmw m3 csl if you can get info on how its done there well thats how its done
 
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jonstew

New member
alltrac101":36d0ai3p said:
I'll post some pics when I have a chance.

Pat
Click to expand...

The pictures from Pat.

pats_roof_5.jpg

pats_roof_4.jpg

pats_roof_3.jpg

pats_roof_2.jpg

pats_roof_1.jpg

pats_roof_8.jpg


a few pictures to make people drool.

pats_roof_9.jpg

pats_roof_7.jpg

pats_roof_6.jpg
 
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Shaggz00

Active member
I've seen the EVO CF roof being installed at my buddies shop, and it's actually really cool. The biggest complaint that I have heard so far is that when it rains, the drops make a hell of a lot of noise. haha
 
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88st165

New member
you said rob painted it? wow thats pretty risky to ship a one off cf piece but then again i wouldnt trust anyone else with it but rob. btw it looks great!!!... i want one for my 165 :cry:
 
Meurz

Meurz

New member
Pat that's looking awesome man! So you're telling me the roof structure is the same with sunroof and non sunroof cars? Cause in that case it's possible to weld the hole shut an install the other roofliner..

According to my info, the sunroof models have an indoor height/space of 1080 mm, whereas the sunroof cars have only 1045 mm space. Could you pleasee measure how much you have left?

Also - what mods are needed to get that result? (I assume removing the motor and sliding assy? Anything else?)

I'm very interested since I was looking into swapping over the roof like Griffin did, but if the support beams and structure is the same, it would save a hell of alot of work!
 
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jonstew

New member
Meurz":3nj8oydk said:
Pat that's looking awesome man! So you're telling me the roof structure is the same with sunroof and non sunroof cars? Cause in that case it's possible to weld the hole shut an install the other roofliner..

According to my info, the sunroof models have an indoor height/space of 1080 mm, whereas the sunroof cars have only 1045 mm space. Could you pleasee measure how much you have left?

Also - what mods are needed to get that result? (I assume removing the motor and sliding assy? Anything else?)

I'm very interested since I was looking into swapping over the roof like Griffin did, but if the support beams and structure is the same, it would save a hell of alot of work!
Click to expand...

The sunroof comes out as one large assembly (motor, frame, panel, track etc.). I think Pat used his original sunroof to make the fiberglass mold for the plug he made. If it were me, (depending on how much you want to spend) I would just hit a junk yard and get a roof skin from a non sunroof car and do it that way but Pat did not want to repaint most of the car so he did the plug and a non-sunroof head liner.
 
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smog7

Moderator
A carbon roof would be nice, but I think we should work on getting a carbon hatch first...and thanks for the pics johnstew.
 
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turbo4wd

Moderator
Meurz":1i0e4gyo said:
Pat that's looking awesome man! So you're telling me the roof structure is the same with sunroof and non sunroof cars? Cause in that case it's possible to weld the hole shut an install the other roofliner..

According to my info, the sunroof models have an indoor height/space of 1080 mm, whereas the sunroof cars have only 1045 mm space. Could you pleasee measure how much you have left?

Also - what mods are needed to get that result? (I assume removing the motor and sliding assy? Anything else?)

I'm very interested since I was looking into swapping over the roof like Griffin did, but if the support beams and structure is the same, it would save a hell of alot of work!
Click to expand...

Rene the roof structure for sunroof and non-sunroofs are identical. Only the skins are different - one has a hole, the other doesn't. Once you remove the entire sunroof assembly (which weighs in the neighborhood of about 40lbs) you gain the 35mm back. Just remove the sunroof switch / map light assembly / wiring and the non-sunroof headline will match up fine.

If the plug was a more cost effective option, I'd go with that, but Dave said the non-sunroof skin itself for the roof cost something like $300 IIRC.. It wasn't that much - Just the bodyshop costs were a bit, but I think you can still pull it off for under $1k.
 
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alltrac101

Member
jonstew":1isgrra4 said:
Meurz":1isgrra4 said:
Pat that's looking awesome man! So you're telling me the roof structure is the same with sunroof and non sunroof cars? Cause in that case it's possible to weld the hole shut an install the other roofliner..

According to my info, the sunroof models have an indoor height/space of 1080 mm, whereas the sunroof cars have only 1045 mm space. Could you pleasee measure how much you have left?

Also - what mods are needed to get that result? (I assume removing the motor and sliding assy? Anything else?)

I'm very interested since I was looking into swapping over the roof like Griffin did, but if the support beams and structure is the same, it would save a hell of alot of work!
Click to expand...

The sunroof comes out as one large assembly (motor, frame, panel, track etc.). I think Pat used his original sunroof to make the fiberglass mold for the plug he made. If it were me, (depending on how much you want to spend) I would just hit a junk yard and get a roof skin from a non sunroof car and do it that way but Pat did not want to repaint most of the car so he did the plug and a non-sunroof head liner.
Click to expand...

Basically as Jon said, I have the original paint on the car & plug in place didnt bother me, also cutting off a perfectly good roof & welding another one on just didnt sit well with me.

Rene...the assembly goes from just behind the sunvisor all the way back & is about 2" thick, structurally the non sunroof is basically the same, the reinforcement under the cabin light on the non ends up under the fold on the back edge of the sunroof opening. I did have to trim the vertical edge inside the opening on the left & right side.
If you just weld in a piece, that piece will need to have a curve in it front to back & side to side

My personal opinion: to do a CF roof with a factory like quality would require a lot of time & money.

The factory sunroof panel itself weights 12 lbs. With the whole unit (nuts, liners, switch assembly) weights roughly 45 lbs.

Pat
 
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GMan

New member
Awsome upgrade ! :D

Glad you are still on the board :smokes:
(Haven't heard from you in a while :p )

Regards;
 
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jonstew

New member
b00staholic":1gf024sd said:
Pat,

Any way we could get whoever made you that FG Plug to make some more??

I'd definitely be interested in one...
Click to expand...

Pat made it himself, he made a mold off the original panel. I am sure he still has the mold (which is easy to make BTW) but from what I know he put a lot of time into making his so who knows if he'll make more or sell the mold to someone else who would want to do it.
 
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