chassis research

I am having a carbon fiber non-sunroof panel made to replace the steel panel witht he sunroof opening on my track car. If anyone else is interested I can pass along the info for the company doing the job.

mark kibort

has anyone done a roof replacement? I would like to know how its done.I have a stock, non sunroof roof to be installed in the new race car (call it "phoenix")
I have no idea how those spot welds are removed or where the roof ends and the a and b pillars start

mk

S4ordie

What mark said...... how to you bond/attach a CF panel to a steel car? Though CF I would be worried about it flexing. Not sure it would be that much lighter than the steel sunroof delete panel if it needed to be thich to prevent flex.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

My recollection is that Jim Bailey described the process once, do a search and perhaps you will find it. Made it sound easy for a body man...

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

Constantine had a CF panel made in the past, but it just replaced the sunroof portion, not the whole roof.

I had the skin of my sun roof welded into my race car, so much of the weight was eliminated, but there is still some structure there that could be cut out.

chassis research

It fastens front and back inside the windshield channel and the hatch opening respectively. Then along the roof above the door with flat head screws or dzus fasteners. Stronger and lighter than steel and much faster to install provided your windshield is out. Carbon dashes are also being made that will be available through a 928 parts dealer. These parts are designed for racing use. This post is to judge interest only if any. I will provide pics of the panel installed on my car later down the road as the project progresses.

IcemanG17

I saw a picture of a 928 roof with the "skin" removed....but the frame is still there.....just replace the skin with the new CF part...but I do wonder how much weight it would save....10lbs?

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

When I removed the sunroof sliding panel as well as the leather headliner, I noted that I saved 24#s. I did not calculate the weight of the welding with brackets, so perhaps 2#s (at most) added back of the 24#s.

My notes are old, but I don't have any reason to not believe them

atb

How about a CF hatch?

James Bailey

I will get some photos of the roof skin removed next week . Busy on the set of Bev Hills Chihuahua 2 this Wed-Friday have a track event at Autoclub speedway Sat and Sunday. Personally I prefer having steel above my head and the whole roof skin weighs little I will get that as well.....

chassis research

Every ounce counts! When you have a birdcage in the car and ahelmet on; the skin does nothing to protect your head. Not to mention; Carbon and Kevlar are stronger than steel!

James Bailey

Ah...."Carbon and Kevlar are stronger than steel! " Not a panel screwed or Dzus fastened in place with metal fasteners and carbon tends to be stronger only for the first impact. I saw a car go over once after a rain and the roll bar (open formula car) dug into the sod amazingly driver was not hurt but he really had to get short ! I like the steel roof skin welded in place but carbon fiber looks cool .

BC

Any idea on price?

mark kibort

the steel of the 928 chassis is really strong, even in the roof area. as Stan mentioned regarding the sunroof removal, I did the same thing. just gutting the hardware around the sunroof support, and then making false brackets to hold the original sunroof in place (its heavy too, like 15lbs) I saved near 24lbs. I got a roof from mark anderson with no sunroof, but all the roof liner, its over 50lbs!

depending on how easy or hard it might be to remove the roof the right way, i might elect to not disturb the welds, and just cut out a square section, making the non sunroof section a little larger to over lap the existing roof. the bodyshops and race shops use an adheasive, that is how they even attach body panels these days!

If I did a carbon fiber roof, i would probably want a X on the upper section of the roll cage. They are not that strong and PCA rules mandate arm restraints if you replace yours with one.

mk

S4ordie

Here are pics from my sunroof delete..... While at Sharktoberfest I happened to come across a sunroof-less panel outside. I picked it up just to see how heavy it felt. About 30 lbs to me and it had a pretty good chunk of the front frame and rear quarter attached. It would be interesting to compare the sunroof delete panel to the CF one. I bet there isn't a whole lot of weight saving.