Sunroofs Are Rad.

[RoadworkUK]

Sunroofs are sure-fire invitations for water to get all intimate with the inner cavities of your car's roof, meaning rust from the inside out, stained and saggy headlining and interior lighting that goes all disco-frenetic.

 

But on the other hand:

 

 

I just drove my favourite local road. Clear sky, big moon, heater set all toasty, sunroof wound back (electrically, natch) and rear windows dropped a bit to counter buffeting. Stereo off, too, so I could hear the KV6 song bouncing off the scenery. 

 

The way my seat is set up my head sits just under the trailing edge of the sunroof. As I drive I can see the stars in my peripheral vision as if I'm driving some wonderful 825 convertible.

 

I know sunroofs are often a bit crap, but I really like mine.

 

This thread goes out to all the roof-hole lovers out there.

[Matt]

I've only had one car with a sunroof and it didn't leak so I guess I got lucky. I miss having one to be honest, it was gr9 being able to open it on a hot day.

[Lacquer Peel]

MOON ROOF.

 

I like them too, but they impede on head room in most cars. My Volvo is RAER in having a sunroof but no A/C I think, certainly non-A/C serpentine belts are 50% more expensive.

[EssDeeWon]

I haz no sunroof on my Rover but I did have all the windows open on my 75 today and enjoyed listening to the KV6 plodding around town 

[MrDuke]

I do like being able to open up some sky over my head, but I have a pathological aversion to glass sunroofs (sunrooves?). I just think they ruin the look of a car, and have only bought cars with them out of necessity. Steel/GRP factory jobs seem more prone to leaks, but I'd still prefer them to the glass add-ons.

 

Fatha_Duke's '86 Honda Accord had a full-length vinyl sunroof, which was all kinds of awesome on hot summer days. He took exception to the few drops of water that occasionally found their way through, and ended up sealing it shut with silicone and extra layers of adhesive vinyl, the twat.

[Inspector Morose]

One of my P6s had a webastard. It was truly wonderful on a summers day.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I love a sunroof , today I said to Mrs N that I'm going to advertise my e61 because it hasn't got a sunroof. 150mph,45 mpg, best headlights Evah, brilliant DAB stereo, reliable cheap to run . But,no sunroof means I'm looking at Chrysler 300s again - 30 mpg, rattly suspension, flaky electrics , but in the 3 years I had my last one I probably had the sunfroof open for about 75% of the time I was driving alone, winter or summer.

She thinks I'm mad , but agreed that the 5 series is a bit too normal for me.

 

Your comment about buffeting reminded me of the 2 position XJ40 sunroof, ' Normal or Grandstand' ie it only opened half way to stop drumming,but if you were parked you could open it another 6 inches- only Jaguar would think this acceptable on a luxury car, the Krauts must have been pissing themselves as they churned out 7s and S Classes.

[brickwall]

The rangie has one, but I only opened it once to see if it works. I just like the light coming in.

[r.welfare]

My Mazda MPV has the biggest glass sunroof I have ever encountered, it's the size of a small dining table. I had it open today as the weather was pleasantly clement.

[dollywobbler]

I love a good sunroof. I cleverly bought a Discovery that had no sunroofs, but it still leaked like a sieve, so I wasted my time. 

 

BX sunroofs are pretty enormous. I like that. I think it's the same sunroof used in the XM, which means in scale terms, it doesn't feel big enough. Also, the XM leaks hideously - which is why I'm hopefully replacing the entire sunroof with MO next weekend. Now it's sunny, I'm really starting to hate having a sunroof that I can't open because I taped it shut.

 

I dislike steel sunroofs and Webastos, because they don't let any sunlight in when they're closed. 

 

Not that sunroofs are a patch on the 2CV. The canvas hood does allow some light in when closed, and sun worship is very easy, whether going for the sedanca position or fully back.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Sunroofs are rad

Tinted glass blue

Your car's only dry

Once it's sealed up with glue

[UmBongo]

Steelies good, glassies bad.

[2MB]

They do seem to cause a world of shit with leaks but I do like them. The electric ones on all my mercedes have all worked implacably, even when the electric windows didn't. The sunroof in the w123 coupe also allowed me to bring home a ludicrously large Christmas tree a couple of years ago, so theyre not entirely frivolous

[HillmanImp]

GR12 for keeping 205 GTi's off the rally course.

[Station]

Found most of the sun rooves I've had leak.ts not like they leak through an obvious hole, they're crafty and. You could seal the whole car with five inches of bathroom sealant, you'd still get 2 pints of rain water down the back of the neck on the first corner driving through the Sahara.

 

NASA should install Webasto sun roofs on barren planets they are looking to colonise. The land would soon be a sodden sloshy mess, thick with black spores and moss.

[Skoze]

Capper's got one, I like it a lot. Doesn't leak on my head but does the usual Capri thing of rotting out the footwells. It's bloody lovely when the sun's out though.  

I quite like the 'just popped a bit' look as well. 

[Hendry]

I love sunroofs too, I once swore I'd never buy a car without one but its so hard to find a modern car with one these days. I've had a few, mk3 Astra with factory fit tilt and slide glass, Hyundai Accent with factory pop up sunroof, Clio mk2 phase 3 with tilt or remove glass completely sunroof and a 206 with the factory fitted electric huge glass one on rails that run the length of the roof (only good thing about the car)

 

Mk5 Astra's and Fiat Stilos have these "SkyDome" ones where most of the roof is glass but the front part opens up so half the roof is effectively gone.

[Station]

They also turn the top of your head into the surface of the sun if you open them on a hot day, in hopes that it would cool the car down, and it would be 'nice'.

I remember the windows in my 924 didn't work on one of the hottest days in 2010, and I made the mistake of taking the sun lid off.

[mat_the_cat]

I love a good sunroof. I cleverly bought a Discovery that had no sunroofs, but it still leaked like a sieve, so I wasted my time. 

 

I dislike steel sunroofs and Webastos, because they don't let any sunlight in when they're closed. 

 

We must have a unique Discovery then, as it has two sunroofs but (at present!) no water leaks. It did take a couple of years to track them all down, which involved taking the headlining out Twice.

 

I completely agree about the light too - Lana's MINI has a full length glass sunroof and it makes such a difference to the feel of a car. Never been brave enough yet to DIY fit one though!

[Aston Martin]

I've only owned 3 cars, they all had sunroofs.

[rml2345]

It's remarkable how much light you get with a glass sunroof. Really miss having one as they're great on sunny days when bowling along a nice country road.

[Sudsprint]

Can't beat a proper sunroof. 

[spike60]

I feel a bit left out, I've had loads of cars with sunroofs but no drippers that I remember. An Ascona aftermarket one blew out/off on an A road never to be seen again so technically that would have leaked I suppose. Current daily plodder Polio has a factory fitted electric glass jobbie, swish huh?

I always used to like the windey windey ones in the old Volvo 144/164/244 etc that we seem to to always have at one time.

[New POD]

MOON ROOF.

 

I like them too, but they impede on head room in most cars. My Volvo is RAER in having a sunroof but no A/C I think, certainly non-A/C serpentine belts are 50% more expensive.

 

 

My first boss in the early 90's was 6 foot 3 and his company car was a cavalier 8V sri mk3 chosen because it was one of the few cars with a sunroof that he could fit in.

[beko1987]

I'm of 2 minds with sunroofs

 

Had one in the old zx. Used it rarely, main when it was snowing, had the heaters on full, windows up and the sunroof open. Was fun

 

Xm one I rarely used as over 50 I had to open a rear window too as the wind buffeted around the back and did things to my ears. Then it leaked.

 

Current zx one was described as "the motor works, but the cassette leaks" so I've not touched it yet. May have a look in the summer but for now it doesn't leak so I've left it the fuck alone!

[Lord Sterling]

All of my cars excluding the 820E have sunroofs. Sadly with all the Rover ones the sides rust and rot out. I like the one in Merc, I like the little cloth liners on the sides of the sunroof when tilted open.

[Asimo]

I like the idea of a fixed glass roof, they let in a lot of light / view and should increase the headroom, not reduce it.

May be less likely to leak and rattle.

 

Avantime has the best sunroof ever though.

 

[Pillock]

I do like the way they make the interior of the car brighter, the first car I had without a glass sunroof seemed really dingy.

 

But a nice quick manual soft top wins. MG can have the roof down in 2 seconds at the lights, and the stars at night are wonderful....

[DSdriver]

No point having the aircon on if you have the sunroof or windows open. You are just waisting energy i.e. fuel trying to aircon the whole world.

 

I have a problem with flickering in my peripheral vision making me dizzy so glass sunroofs always have the cover closed.

 

The XM is the only car we have that has a sunroof but I haven't dared touch the switch in case it opens and wont close or it starts leaking. I find opening the windows quite stressful enough. 

 

There is nothing* wrong with the keep fit windows on the DS and Safari.

[carlo]

Me I love sunroofs too, in fact the one thing wrong with my current 405 is its lack of one.  Such a shame as all my other 405s have had roofs, and the 405 has a nice integral glass tilt and slide. Nothing beats an open roof on a summer's evening.  I'm seriously considering fitting one to it, but at £600  'tis a big decision, and the current after market ones don't open as far as they go back over the roof when open.  None of my 405 roofs leaked either, though a couple did through the boot and rear door.