Carbon Fiber Sunroof Delete
#16
12-13-2010, 12:33 AM
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Posts: n/a
Is it so strange to be a performance minded car enthusiast? It seems whenever anyone says anything about doing something to their G that tends to air it towards the performance end. IE setting it up for drifting, stripping it for track, or generally improving the sporting credentials of the G, the lemmings on here just end up rehashing the same response. "Oh it's not worth it, buy another car". This is not a project that I am going to undertake personally, I offered the idea as mere theoretical suggestion for other like-minded individuals to consider. 50lb of weight is not insignificant. I'm running a 15lb lightweight battery for that same purpose. 21lb shaved from the nose is substantial. The performance potential of the G and Z is something that I can only see growing as time goes by and people continue to develop parts that will further the platform. For me, I'm dead set on reducing the weight of the car by 200lb. I know every half hearted car enthusiast on this forum will just tell me to get a Z and call it a day but that is not something I have any interest in trading up for. If i was going to trade cars, I wouldn't have gone with the G in the first place and started with a proper lightweight to build a real sports car out of. Many different cars have already had carbon fiber delete kits made for them. They were extremely popular on MR2 Turbos, and my friend has one installed in his M3 that deleted all the motor and assembly pieces. It seals and works perfectly. I'm looking for something similar to be made for the G. The exist in MANY import circles for many different cars. It was fairly surprising to me that such a thing does not exist for the G. I guess I shouldn't be, G owners would much rather buy shinier and shinier intakes than anything that actually makes a difference.
Your question isn't difficult, it's not rocket science. I think 99% of the people here (1% being socalwdup - lol jk brotha) understand the concept and some even have a glimpse of how to make it happen. You make assumptions of why no one here has thought of this "brilliant" plan... they have. The thing is by the time they get the interior stripped, or the turbo on, the built engine, the suspension dialed in, and all the other mechanics worked out they look at the sunroof and say, "Meh.. it's not as big of a deal as I thought" because by that time they have achieved what they wanted to do without this 'mod'. Everything working in their favor to participate in whatever is they want (show, drag, drift, etc).
If you want to make this happen. Make it happen. Take the initiative. Don't post up something, expect a solution within a day and then magically have some kit appear before you and slap you on the *** so you can swap it onto your car. Being a smart *** isn't going to get you very far in life and sure as hell isn't going to get you any help on this forum. My suggestion? Man up, quit whining, do your research - whether that be gathered from here, the M3 forums, or where ever else - and then come back and collaborate with us.
Last edited by AmateuRN; 12-13-2010 at 12:55 AM.
#19
12-13-2010, 02:09 AM
#20
12-13-2010, 02:13 AM
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Posts: n/a
I assume he's wanting free "hp" by doing all the weight reduction stuff. That's fine and dandy, but all your going to end up with is a slightly quicker pig.
If you want to do this, do it the right way. Rip out the head liner, remove the motor, guts and glass, weld in some metal, repaint the roof and install a nice suede headliner or headliner from a non-sunroof equipped G35 (good luck, there weren't many of them). Make everything look OEM.
The carbon fiber idea is going to cheapen it up even more than the G35 already is nowadays. If you want CF get the sunroofless CF cap to cover the hole, and replace the headliner so there is no hole on the bottom side. Random carbon square in the middle of your roof will not look right. Euros such as BMWs and VDubs can pull off things we can't.
*I believe Infiniti made 1 sunroofless Coupe for every 100 with sunroofs. - they also came with cloth interior. They were the base-base models.
If you want to do this, do it the right way. Rip out the head liner, remove the motor, guts and glass, weld in some metal, repaint the roof and install a nice suede headliner or headliner from a non-sunroof equipped G35 (good luck, there weren't many of them). Make everything look OEM.
The carbon fiber idea is going to cheapen it up even more than the G35 already is nowadays. If you want CF get the sunroofless CF cap to cover the hole, and replace the headliner so there is no hole on the bottom side. Random carbon square in the middle of your roof will not look right. Euros such as BMWs and VDubs can pull off things we can't.
*I believe Infiniti made 1 sunroofless Coupe for every 100 with sunroofs. - they also came with cloth interior. They were the base-base models.
Last edited by AmateuRN; 12-13-2010 at 02:18 AM.
#21
12-13-2010, 06:07 AM
Lol.. then you come back with insults about the very owners and enthusiasts you are looking for feedback from. Get out of here, noob. You've been here since '08 and just came up with this brilliant plan? You should know by now there is every kind of 'enthusiast' on this site- from stripped drift cars, to 800whp beasts, to autox's, to magazine cars. The information is here. The talent to make it happen is here. And the know-how, technical and dynamics of it, are here. You asked this question barely 24 hours ago and are expecting an epiphany or break through to have already appeared before you eyes? It's not going to happen, not unless it's something that has been discussed 200 times before.
Your question isn't difficult, it's not rocket science. I think 99% of the people here (1% being socalwdup - lol jk brotha) understand the concept and some even have a glimpse of how to make it happen. You make assumptions of why no one here has thought of this "brilliant" plan... they have. The thing is by the time they get the interior stripped, or the turbo on, the built engine, the suspension dialed in, and all the other mechanics worked out they look at the sunroof and say, "Meh.. it's not as big of a deal as I thought" because by that time they have achieved what they wanted to do without this 'mod'. Everything working in their favor to participate in whatever is they want (show, drag, drift, etc).
If you want to make this happen. Make it happen. Take the initiative. Don't post up something, expect a solution within a day and then magically have some kit appear before you and slap you on the *** so you can swap it onto your car. Being a smart *** isn't going to get you very far in life and sure as hell isn't going to get you any help on this forum. My suggestion? Man up, quit whining, do your research - whether that be gathered from here, the M3 forums, or where ever else - and then come back and collaborate with us.
Your question isn't difficult, it's not rocket science. I think 99% of the people here (1% being socalwdup - lol jk brotha) understand the concept and some even have a glimpse of how to make it happen. You make assumptions of why no one here has thought of this "brilliant" plan... they have. The thing is by the time they get the interior stripped, or the turbo on, the built engine, the suspension dialed in, and all the other mechanics worked out they look at the sunroof and say, "Meh.. it's not as big of a deal as I thought" because by that time they have achieved what they wanted to do without this 'mod'. Everything working in their favor to participate in whatever is they want (show, drag, drift, etc).
If you want to make this happen. Make it happen. Take the initiative. Don't post up something, expect a solution within a day and then magically have some kit appear before you and slap you on the *** so you can swap it onto your car. Being a smart *** isn't going to get you very far in life and sure as hell isn't going to get you any help on this forum. My suggestion? Man up, quit whining, do your research - whether that be gathered from here, the M3 forums, or where ever else - and then come back and collaborate with us.
#22
12-13-2010, 06:24 AM
You can buy the roof skin and roof brace from the non-sunroof model from the dealer, pull all your glass, pull out the sunroof glass and brackets, brace everything up, cut your roof with the sunroof out, weld in the non-sunroof roof, add the new roof brace, and then put all your glass back in. IMO, that will give you the cleanest result.
I was looking into it since next year I have to remove the sunroof since the 2 racing series that I plan on racing in both changed the rules for 2011, and now require the sunroof to be plugged. I think rather than go through all the work of replacing the entire skin, or plugging with a carbon fiber cap (which is not safe unless you have a cage btw), I'm going to be forming and fitting a piece of sheet metal to close it off. It won't be perfect, but it'll be clean, simple, and functional since the car will be caged and limited to the track next year.
The more money you throw at it , the cleaner it will come out... if it's a track car, it doesn't need to be show quality. Honestly, if the car isn't seeing heavy track use, I think the money could be put to better use. My car is completely gutted, I don't even have controls to use the sunroof, and it's still in the car. The only reason I'm taking it out is because I have to, otherwise I'd probably leave it till later.
Here's the K&N G35 plug... looks like carbon fiber with a cheap aluminum frame. Would be very unsafe in a rollover on a car without a full cage.
I was looking into it since next year I have to remove the sunroof since the 2 racing series that I plan on racing in both changed the rules for 2011, and now require the sunroof to be plugged. I think rather than go through all the work of replacing the entire skin, or plugging with a carbon fiber cap (which is not safe unless you have a cage btw), I'm going to be forming and fitting a piece of sheet metal to close it off. It won't be perfect, but it'll be clean, simple, and functional since the car will be caged and limited to the track next year.
The more money you throw at it , the cleaner it will come out... if it's a track car, it doesn't need to be show quality. Honestly, if the car isn't seeing heavy track use, I think the money could be put to better use. My car is completely gutted, I don't even have controls to use the sunroof, and it's still in the car. The only reason I'm taking it out is because I have to, otherwise I'd probably leave it till later.
Here's the K&N G35 plug... looks like carbon fiber with a cheap aluminum frame. Would be very unsafe in a rollover on a car without a full cage.
Last edited by zackt69; 12-13-2010 at 09:54 AM.
#24
12-13-2010, 08:01 AM
yep sure do....
No sun roof here
id say it may make a difference becuase i noticed a little more push in mine then those with all the heavy options
i bought mine strictly for speed not luxury 
so i didnt get options to weigh it down
and white with a sunroof is awful to me
so yea there are a select few out there without sunroofs but you can find them 
No sun roof here
id say it may make a difference becuase i noticed a little more push in mine then those with all the heavy options
i bought mine strictly for speed not luxury so i didnt get options to weigh it downand white with a sunroof is awful to me
so yea there are a select few out there without sunroofs but you can find them I am also very curious how your clear corners and gialla grill have helped you with you obvious need for speed. Also some insight on how your volks, which actually weight MORE than OEM 19s, have helped with your performance.
Last edited by WhosUrBuddiee; 12-13-2010 at 08:13 AM.
#26
12-13-2010, 09:25 AM
yep sure do....
No sun roof here
id say it may make a difference becuase i noticed a little more push in mine then those with all the heavy options i bought mine strictly for speed not luxury so i didnt get options to weigh it down
and white with a sunroof is awful to me so yea there are a select few out there without sunroofs but you can find them
No sun roof here
id say it may make a difference becuase i noticed a little more push in mine then those with all the heavy options
i bought mine strictly for speed not luxury so i didnt get options to weigh it downand white with a sunroof is awful to me
so yea there are a select few out there without sunroofs but you can find them If you bought your car strictly for speed, why did you buy a G?
#27
12-13-2010, 09:28 AM
#28
12-13-2010, 09:32 AM
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Posts: n/a
#29
12-13-2010, 11:16 AM
#30
12-13-2010, 12:19 PM